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11:35 am flight out of Fort Lauderdale


OldGrayMare

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You will probably have no problem. Disembarkation can be affected by customs delays, CDC inspections, technical problems, weather. It would depend on how much of a problem it would be if you did miss a flight. Can you absorb the potential extra cost of missing a flight and/or staying an extra day in Ft. Lauderdale? My rule of thumb would be no flights before noon, but if it's a great fare, it's probably worth the slight risk.

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You will probably have no problem. Disembarkation can be affected by customs delays, CDC inspections, technical problems, weather. It would depend on how much of a problem it would be if you did miss a flight. Can you absorb the potential extra cost of missing a flight and/or staying an extra day in Ft. Lauderdale? My rule of thumb would be no flights before noon, but if it's a great fare, it's probably worth the slight risk.

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. So many people 'guarantee' posters they will make such and such a flight. But sometimes there are issues - it can and does happen on occasion. I once was delayed disembarkation in FLL until after 9:00. Depending on the lines at the airport, it could have been really iffy that day. Also, on another FLL flight, I booked a flight close to 11:30 and the airline then bumped it up close to an hour about a month before sailing. We JUST made it in time but it was VERY stressful as we were traveling with disabled elderly family members. So stuff does happen. We were the last ones on our flight. Your answer is right on - they will likely make this flight but to guarantee them so is not right.

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One thing to consider is what are your options should you miss the flight. There are usually many options out of FLL to my area (Chicago) so I would likely take this risk even having said we had a couple of close calls (we are also United Premier so have faster check-in). I do not know if that is the case for where you live so that is something you may want to look into as well before making a decision.

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Should be no problem at all. there is always the possibility of some rare unforeseen circumstance holding up arrival back in port or disembarkation, but that could effect flights at noon or 1 PM also. We made a 10:15 flight out of Miami last March after self disembarkation from Eclipse. We were sitting at our gate waiting for our flight by 8:30. Even though we made it, I wouldn't schedule a flight that early again. I was such a nervous wreck about it. I wouldb't hesitate with a flight after 11 though. if you have concerns, make sure you do self disembarkation.

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Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to book an 11:30 from Ft. Lauderdale, with two notable exceptions:

 

If your cruise is the termination of a Transatlantic cruise I'd book a later flight as the ship and crew go through extra procedures in clearing the ship with customs and immigration on its initial arrival in the USA at the beginning of each season. Also, if your trip is on a busy turn around day during the Christmas/New Year's Holiday cruise period I'd pick a later flight.

 

The 11:30 time spot is within Celebrity's general guidelines and wouldn't be a problem even with a reasonable disembarkation delay. There is always the possibility of a severe delay nut as New Hampshire pointed out a rare delay could theoretically cause a problem with flights even an hour or two later.

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So far, we haven't had any problem with an 11:30 flight, and have booked one for our next cruise. While FLL is much nicer than it used to be, the slight risk of not being able to get to the airport by 10:00 is far outweighed by NOT having to spend all day there!

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