FLL 10:55 am flt - will we make it?

[budamom]

We have our flight home booked on Southwest on Sunday, Jan 8th at 10:55am. It was the only one available that we could use our free passes for.

 

We are sailing on the Navigator, and will dock at 5:30am according to the itinerary. Will we make our flight?

 

I'd appreciate any tips on how to proceed in order to get off the ship as early as possible - our cruising experience is somewhat limited. There will be 5 of us, and carrying our own luggage is not a problem.

 

Thanks in advance!

[JohninDC]

Use self-assist and carry all of your luggage off the ship; it may tie up at 5:30, but you need to wait for customs/immigration to clear the ship. You should be off about 8:00 - just grab a cab or two for the five of you (about $15 per cab) and pray for short lines at TSA security. You should make it, but it could be tight. :(

 

Good luck! :)

[CruiserBruce]

Going to be running- moving 5 people is not always easy.

 

Not the stressful way I would want to end my expensive vacation....

[mrscruisequeen]

We have our flight home booked on Southwest on Sunday, Jan 8th at 10:55am. It was the only one available that we could use our free passes for.

 

We are sailing on the Navigator, and will dock at 5:30am according to the itinerary. Will we make our flight?

 

I'd appreciate any tips on how to proceed in order to get off the ship as early as possible - our cruising experience is somewhat limited. There will be 5 of us, and carrying our own luggage is not a problem.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

From my experience, you will be fine as long as you can carry off your own luggage.

You will be first off, grab a taxi and you should have plenty of time, especially since you arrive at 05:30.

Just make sure your group stays together and are ready to go as soon as they announce your departure.

 

We are sailing in March, our ship arrives at 07:00 and our flight is at 10:30.:eek:

We will walk our luggage off, and hopefully have enough time, but then there are only two of us.

 

Jeanne

[eandj]

Yes you will make it. We were at the airport at 8:30 in Jan. We did NOT carry our bags, just made sure we were in one of the first 3 groups disembarking.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

98% yes if there is no weather or some thing problem

[budamom]

Thanks, all. I feel better now. The five include me, husband, and 3 teens, 14, 16 and 18. So, all are capable of handling their own luggage and keeping up. Plus, my husband works for TSA (yes, he is one of THOSE people) - so I'm sure he'll have us all organized and ready to whip through security when it's our turn.

[Eng23]

Thanks, all. I feel better now. The five include me, husband, and 3 teens, 14, 16 and 18. So, all are capable of handling their own luggage and keeping up. Plus, my husband works for TSA (yes, he is one of THOSE people) - so I'm sure he'll have us all organized and ready to whip through security when it's our turn.

Unless you get head of the line priviliges you will not just whip through security in FLL. The lines to get through the TSA chekpoint in the Southwest terminal are the longest that I have ever seen! I had a 1:30pm flight and I get to the airport at least 2 hours before a flight and it was a good thing because I stood in line at FLL for 50 minutes to go through the TSA checkpoint. Good luck to you though.

[Coolmama_1]

It will also depend on how many ships are in port that day. Like earlier posters, we ran into a huge mess at the SWA line. First of all, they won't let people check in more than 4 hours before flight. The line was full of people who had to stand off to the side when they got up to check bags because there flight was later in the day!:eek:. We had a 1:00 flight and got to the airport at 10:00. There were people in line really sweating it! It took us almost till noon to get down to the gate.

 

It may not be as crazy earlier though.

[215girl]

My flight leaves out at 11:15 the ship arrives at port at 7am, I will carry my bag off myself and run through the airport like O.J. lol.

[travelpeon]

A few things can help you clear that TSA line. Are you A-list or did you get Business Select tickets? They get to go through a priority TSA line.

 

It would help to check-in online ~ 24 hours before or use the EarlyBird program to get your boarding pass to avoid the "groups" and "people who didn't print ahead of time" "we need to talk to people" lines.

 

Usually the kiosk can print your actual passes if you won't be printing it while on your cruise. More info here: http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/kiosks/kiosks.html#location but basically, just use the "print boarding pass" or "lost boarding pass, please reprint" option to get a printout. That means you could use the mobile website to check-in if you have a smart phone or are on a slow connection http://mobile.southwest.com/

 

Do you need to check-in luggage? Then use the luggage drop counters or the skycap $$ if luggage line is long. If you are carry-on only that should save you some time.

 

In terms of getting through the gate quickest, I assume your husband knows the line flow patterns, how to divest non-compliant accessories, and to assume the position for scans. So you should definitely be good to go.

 

Oh! And a gate map so you know where you're going :)

http://travel.southwest.com/travel/airportDetails.html?airportCode=FLL&cityName=Ft.%2BLauderdale

http://www.broward.org/Airport/Terminals/Pages/Terminal1DeparturesLevel2.aspx

 

Uhm. Why yes, I dislike lines and inefficiency. How can you tell?

[travelpeon]

You can also check out Silentbob's entry titled "I made a 10:05 flight in FLL, but wouldn't recommend it ;)" which seems to be a direct telling of a Royal Caribbean disembarkation to a Southwest FLL flight.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=938978

 

Also, keep checking fares to see if they'll drop. Sometimes you can get lucky during a sale or something and move your flight on the same day for free.

[monicajay]

No stress. You will have plenty of time. Had an 11h30 flight on SW and was sitting in the airport at the bar at 9h30. First time I ever had a drink before noon, nothing like a Bloody Mary to end a cruise holiday:).

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

If you miss it there might be other flights

[barbemm]

Hi,

we were off the ship by 8:15 and (didn't carry off our own bags) and were at the airport at 8:50 am. The airport is very close to the pier. We had a 1:30 pm flight and were thinking why did we book such a late flight, when the Continental help person said, we have room on the 10 o'clock flight and I can put you on it. We were so happy.As long as you don't have a problem with them customs clearning the ship, you will be fine.

Barb

 

Enjoy your cruise!