Solstice Disembarking in Fort Lauderdale Question

[I love my cat Licky]

According to the itinerary, the ship is due to return in Fort Lauderdale at 7:00 A.M. In my past cruise experiences, the ships have always returned to port earlier than their scheduled time.

 

Anyways, my question is, what time would be a good time to schedule my transportation? I don't want to keep my transportation waiting and on the other hand I don't want to wait on my ride either.

 

Also, for others that have sailed on Solstice, what time do they want you to be out of your cabins?

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Rita

[Lsimon]

This is always a difficult question! Some cruises we've been out of the terminal by 8 or so and some it has been closer to 10. And you always hear of the rare delays which extend things a few hours beyond those times. Hopefully your transportation company will be aware of the issues in meeting cruise ship passengers and have this factored into their pricing.

 

Where are you headed? If it is to the airport then cabs are readily available and are inexpensive for the 5 to 10 minute ride there. Only time it has been hard to catch a cab was when we got off a holiday (New Year's) cruise on a Sunday when the port was way busier than I've seen it at any other time.

[I love my cat Licky]

Well, I am using Holland Limousine for transportation to the port so I wanted to reserve the same for my return. But as I am sure that you know, they charge whether you show or not and if they wait, they charge per 15 minute intervals. So I was thinking about setting it up for 10 A.M. That gives me time to get ready in the morning and not be rushed. I am just not going to get in a hurry when I am on vacation. The last cruise I was on was the NCL Sky and they wanted us to be out of our cabin by 9 A.M.

 

How does Celebrity do Disembarkation?

 

Thanks,

 

Rita

[bubbie617]

When you decide what time you want to be off the ship, factor in the time for getting your luggage and getting through Customs. When we disembarked on 6/6/10, we waited until about 9:30 to get off the ship. We were in no hurry as our flight was not until 2 p.m. It took more than a half hour to get through the long snaking line to Customs. I don't know whether they didn't have enough agents available or it was business as usual. Since your transportation company charges for waiting time, I would tell them 10 a.m., but be prepared to leave the ship by 9:15. Have a great trip. It's a fabulous ship.

[Lsimon]

Well, I am using Holland Limousine for transportation to the port so I wanted to reserve the same for my return. But as I am sure that you know, they charge whether you show or not and if they wait, they charge per 15 minute intervals. So I was thinking about setting it up for 10 A.M. That gives me time to get ready in the morning and not be rushed. I am just not going to get in a hurry when I am on vacation. The last cruise I was on was the NCL Sky and they wanted us to be out of our cabin by 9 A.M.

 

How does Celebrity do Disembarkation?

 

Thanks,

 

Rita

 

 

If disembarkation goes smoothly the last passengers off will be in the terminal and through customs between 9:30 or 10 - I think that is what time we went through customs on a b2b we took on another Celebrity ship. (They took us through as a group just as the last passengers were finishing).

 

Personally, if we're talking airport transfers in August - I'd take a cab both ways. Save yourself $100 or so for the round trip. Taxis are easy and the drive to FLL is very short.

[CruiserFromMaine]

If you really want a pick-up then around 9-10 would probably work. But really, as someone already pointed out, it's a 10 minutes cab ride to the airport. If it wasn't all highway and you had minimal luggage, you could walk it.

[I love my cat Licky]

Nothing personal against cabs.

 

We are not flying in, we are leaving our car at our pre-cruise hotel.

 

Thanks for all of the great information everybody! :)

 

Rita