The last day of the cruise

[Shay13]

Hello guys !

 

I am planning my holidays in Florida and will cruise with the Carnival Valor !.

 

I have a question regarding the last day of the cruise, the day of arrival to Miami port.

 

My cruise is supposed to arrive to Miami at 8:00 am. How much time do I need to get out of the ship to take a shuttle ? Do you use to arrive at the time scheduled ?

 

I want to catch the 9:15 shuttle to Orlando, leaving the port at 9:15... but I dont know if I have enough time. As I am from Europe, I dont know how they proceed about passports, control, etc.

 

Thanks for your help ! ;)

[Traveler353]

Hello guys !

 

I am planning my holidays in Florida and will cruise with the Carnival Valor !.

 

I have a question regarding the last day of the cruise, the day of arrival to Miami port.

 

My cruise is supposed to arrive to Miami at 8:00 am. How much time do I need to get out of the ship to take a shuttle ? Do you use to arrive at the time scheduled ?

 

I want to catch the 9:15 shuttle to Orlando, leaving the port at 9:15... but I dont know if I have enough time. As I am from Europe, I dont know how they proceed about passports, control, etc.

 

Thanks for your help ! ;)

 

That is really cutting it close. A hundred things could delay the ship getting in to port. It can easily take a couple of hours just for the ship to clear customs. Is it possible to take a later shuttle?

[Gonzo70]

It is always hard to predict when debarking will commence. Although ships usually do not arrive late to the port, nobody can leave the ship until local authorties clear the ship. Sometimes this is fast, sometimes it can take a long time. I personally do not schedule anything that would require me to be off the ship early just in case a delay arises. Other people are bigger risk takers and assume everything will go smoothly and schedule early transportation. It depends how much risk you are willing to take.

[cherylandtk]

Plan on at least 2-3 hours to clear the ship. You can do things to get off faster (self-disembark, use a porter, take private transportation) if you have a flight in Miami you have to catch, but if just setting up your plans, give yourself time for delays.

[FTLcruisers]

Cruiselines usually ask for your disembarkation schedule (early flight etc) or give you the option to get off very early by carrying off your own luggage so you should have no problem getting to your shuttle. Just make sure you have the proper luggage tags that will get you off the ship early check with the purser's desk if you are not sure.

[broberts]

Carnival recommends that people not schedule flights from MIA before noon. I would think that recommendation extends to pretty much any scheduled transportation. (MIA is less than 20 minutes from the port.)

 

You mentioned that you are from Europe, if you are traveling on a European passport and require a visa to enter the US make sure that you get a multiple entry visa. You will enter the US twice. Once to board the Valor and once when you leave the Valor.

 

I presume that you are also checking to see if you need visas for each of the ports of call. Usually cruise passengers don't need them, even when other visitors do, but you need to check.

[silentbob007]

There's no way I would rely on a 9:15 shuttle if the ship docks at 8. Miami generally has a ton of ships in. If everything runs smoothly and you carry your own luggage off, you may be off by then, but is it worth the risk?

[Hlitner]

You need to understand that there are some disembarkation issues that are totally beyond the control of the cruise line. When they get back to port they are immediately at the mercy of ICE (immigration and customs) not to mention the luggage handlers in port. We have been on ships where nobody was allowed off the ship until after 10 am (due to immigration issues) and we have been on ships where everyone was off the ship by 10. After a lot of experience we have found that we enjoy that last morning the best when we relax on the ship until most of the other passengers are off the ship. We than leave the ship, grab our luggage (which is easier to find after most of the other luggage is gone) and get a taxi. While everyone is standing around waiting in lines, crowds, etc. etc. we just relax up on deck. This does not work for everyone, but it is nice to avoid the hassles of fighting the hoards trying to be first off the ship. As to a 9:15 shuttle, there is no way we would ever count on that (even though we get priorty disembarkation from several cruise lines) and would never plan on a 9:15 unless we were sure we had other options if we missed the shuttle.

 

Hank

[knittinggirl]

Once we didn't arrive back to the disembarkation port until 3 PM due to bad weather. Another time, we were tied to the dock for the first 36 hours of the cruise. Which was better than having the ship stranded 10 miles off shore not being able to get to port.

[Shay13]

Thank you for your advice. Finally I have decided to take a shuttle to Orlando, leaving at 03:15 pm... it's better, it's safe ;)

[penguin1974]

Enjoy your stay in Florida! There are a lot of things to do here (some fun, some not so much) :)