safe landing time in MIA to ensure time to get to port

[DreamOf]

I have a couple of options to arrive in Miami on the same day as my cruise. I can get a flight with connections in Atlanta and arrival in Miami at 11:00 a.m. Is that sufficient time to allow transportation and check in for my cruise that leaves at 4:00 p.m.? :confused:

[wrp96]

If you must fly in day of, then take the flights that get you in the earliest with the least connections, an 11am arrival should be okay if it is the earliest arrival you can get.

[caripoo]

The day BEFORE!!! Seriously...Make it stress free fly in the day before.You will want to wake up in the same city your ship is in!!!!:):)

[Fattony]

What will you do if the flight is late? You don't say whether arriving a day early is an option. It should be.

[Bowie MeMe]

We just flew international and then domestic through MIA last month. I have probably flown 15 flights this year and these 3 involving MIA were the most stressful, tiring and distressing of any flights in the last few years. The airport facility seems to be old, dingy, confusing, poorly laid out and extremely poorly signed and explained. We were using a rental car and that was very hard in that you have to go to a building a mile away but the GPS does not recognize or warn of construction changes. Traffic in the area of the airport is to put it mildly A MESS. Watching from the Miami airport Hilton (stayed there 4 days coming and going) could see the runways and the 15 lanes of traffic. You DO NOT want to be arriving at 11 AM and hoping to wander on down and get on the ship. Way too many things can go wrong. Anyway good luck and do what you have to do. I think I would rather do FLL and take a car or van than come into MIA. Just MHO and worth not much. :p

[ab0si]

DreamOf: Scheduled arrival of 11 am does not mean an actual arrival of 11 am.

 

If your flight (I am assuming domestic) really does arrive at 11, you will have no problem being on-board your ship by 4 pm.

 

If anything goes wrong of course (flight quite late, miss your connection because your first flight is late, one of the two flights is cancelled, luggage misrouted, etc.) you will have a problem and time in which to solve it.

 

Bowie MeMe: I used to have my company's Buenos Aires reporting to me which made for MANY trips through Miami. MIA would be the best airport in the country ..... if the country where Niger.

[soulsistah007]

Things can go wrong but to offer an alternate perspective, I flew in direct from Toronto to Miami for my last cruise and arrived at 10am and made it to the port at 10:45am. However, if you have to fly in the day of, see if you can eliminate connections; your risk of things going wrong is greatly increased.

[FlyerTalker]

MIA would be the best airport in the country ..... if the country where Niger.

I've heard that they have put a second bathroom in at NIM. And soon, you'll be able to board by stairs, rather than the current rope-ladder arrangement.

 

Watch out MIA -- you're being challenged!

[Keith1010]

I have a couple of options to arrive in Miami on the same day as my cruise. I can get a flight with connections in Atlanta and arrival in Miami at 11:00 a.m. Is that sufficient time to allow transportation and check in for my cruise that leaves at 4:00 p.m.? :confused:

 

As others have said, I would highly recommend flying in the day before. If you fly in the day of the cruise you are taking a big chance that if something goes wrong you can miss your ship.

 

Remember if your ship leaves at 4:00 PM you are supposed to be on the ship no later than 2:30 PM (90 minutes prior to the start of the cruise).

 

If you have to fly in that day which I do not recommend see if you can find a flight with no stops and one that gets you in even earlier. However, I still recommend flying in the day before.

 

Keith

[PennyAgain]

Fly in at least 24 hours in advance. MIA is no airport to deal with if you are short of time.

 

You can wait half of forever just to get your baggage at baggage claim.

[melligene]

I have a couple of options to arrive in Miami on the same day as my cruise. I can get a flight with connections in Atlanta and arrival in Miami at 11:00 a.m. Is that sufficient time to allow transportation and check in for my cruise that leaves at 4:00 p.m.? :confused:

 

 

Our very first cruise was in 2008. Flew in the same day as the cruise....flew out same day as our cruise ended at 11:30 a.m. Got lucky.....dodged the proverbial bullet. Being unfamiliar with what could happen and reading some horror story's here on CC from experienced cruisers we have since opted to do the hotel thingee pre and post cruise. Sure...it might cost an extra couple hundred bucks but, for what a cruise costs it is really cheap insurance. Just sayin....

[gingerboo]

I've heard that they have put a second bathroom in at NIM. And soon, you'll be able to board by stairs, rather than the current rope-ladder arrangement.

 

Watch out MIA -- you're being challenged!

 

I'm laughing non-stop for the next few days!!~ Thanks....I think!!

[bedfordmom]

Our very first cruise was in 2008. Flew in the same day as the cruise....flew out same day as our cruise ended at 11:30 a.m. Got lucky.....dodged the proverbial bullet. Being unfamiliar with what could happen and reading some horror story's here on CC from experienced cruisers we have since opted to do the hotel thingee pre and post cruise. Sure...it might cost an extra couple hundred bucks but, for what a cruise costs it is really cheap insurance. Just sayin....

 

I try to look at the precruise (and sometimes post-cruise) hotels as part of my extended vacation. Since I still have to fly during school vacations when the Northeast rates are sky-high; I try to leave a couple of days before and the airfare savings more than makeup my 2-3 nights in a hotel.

[cb at sea]

If you actually land at 11am, you'll be fine. It's 20 mins. to the port, not counting time to collect your luggage.

[DreamOf]

Thanks for the help everyone. As it turns out, we will lay over 2 days in Atlanta visiting my family and then will fly out of Atlanta on a 7:30 direct flight to Miami, arriving at 9:30. I figured that can't go bad! Plenty of flights to catch if the 7:30 is delayed, but bottom line - a direct flight is the best way to go and no worry about making a connection in Atlanta!

[waterbug123]

The airport facility seems to be old, dingy, confusing, poorly laid out and extremely poorly signed and explained. We were using a rental car and that was very hard in that you have to go to a building a mile away but the GPS does not recognize or warn of construction changes. Traffic in the area of the airport is to put it mildly A MESS. Watching from the Miami airport Hilton (stayed there 4 days coming and going) could see the runways and the 15 lanes of traffic. You DO NOT want to be arriving at 11 AM and hoping to wander on down and get on the ship. Way too many things can go wrong.

 

If the OP's flight gets in on time at 11am they should be able to get to the port in time for a 4:00 cruise with little difficulty. They are almost certainly not renting a car at MIA to drive to the port, so don't need to worry about getting to the rental facility a mile away, and local cab drivers will likely be well-familiar with construction re-routings. In other words, they won't have the same issues you did trying to procure and navigate a rental car through an unfamiliar city amidst construction!

They could still have issues if the flight is delayed, but if the flight gets in on time, they should easily be able to take a cab to the port in plenty of time.

[waterbug123]

Thanks for the help everyone. As it turns out, we will lay over 2 days in Atlanta visiting my family and then will fly out of Atlanta on a 7:30 direct flight to Miami, arriving at 9:30. I figured that can't go bad! Plenty of flights to catch if the 7:30 is delayed, but bottom line - a direct flight is the best way to go and no worry about making a connection in Atlanta!

 

Chances are, you will be fine with that itinerary. But please don't say it "can't go bad!" Plenty of things CAN still happen. Also, keep in mind that while there may be plenty of flights to catch if the 7:30 is delayed or cancelled, the key is that those flights must have available seats, and everyone on your flight will be fighting for those same few available seats.

[Ashland]

Thanks for the help everyone. As it turns out, we will lay over 2 days in Atlanta visiting my family and then will fly out of Atlanta on a 7:30 direct flight to Miami, arriving at 9:30. I figured that can't go bad! Plenty of flights to catch if the 7:30 is delayed, but bottom line - a direct flight is the best way to go and no worry about making a connection in Atlanta!

Arriving at 9:30am on day of cruise into MIA ..I would think you will probably be at the port if not onboard by 11:00-11:30am..;)

[Fattony]

I'm laughing non-stop for the next few days!!~ Thanks....I think!!

 

Oh, aren't we the witty ones. Have either of you actually been to Niamey or just making the usual American traveler jokes about third world countries?

 

Back to OP: what is your Plan B if your flight is late?

[FlyerTalker]

Can't speak for ab0si, but I've been to a number of 2nd and 3rd world countries. Any humor is not from a superiority perspective, just the way it is. And it isn't just Americans who make jokes.

 

Niamey is on my list of places to visit. Of course, there are about 14,587 (give or take a few) places above it, so I might not make it in the few years left in my life. I hope to combine it with a trip to nearby Ouagadougou and Gao so as to hit the trifecta.