disembarking and airport times

[cruisebax]

Hello,

 

We are taking our first cruise on the Zuiderdam in September and I am preparing to book my flights for Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Currently the flight into FLL that I am leaning toward arrives at 9:40. I figure that will luggage, finding my way around and HAL shuttle, I will get to the port after 11:00 AM. Is this a good idea? The next airport arrival time is at 11:22.

 

My question involves disembarking. HAL says we arrive at 8 AM, will I be able to catch a noon flight from FLL or should I schedule the next flight which is 4 PM?

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[dakrewser]

Book the earlier flight in. Most will advise that you actually come in the night before, but since there is a later flight (in case yours gets cancelled) you should be OK.

 

 

A noon flight out should work fine.

[jhannah]

A noon flight out is generally okay. Our most recent one was 12:10 and we made it with about 30 minutes to spare. The security lines were atrocious because there were lots of ships in port and apparently other major goings-on that day. You might try going to this link and entering Fort Lauderdale and your disembarkation date to see how many other ships will be there that day. You should be able to make a noon flight just fine.

[Without Tessa]

Last year we arrived back to Ft. Lauderdale aboard the Zuiderdam and arrived at the airport at 10:30 am. We were nowhere near the first off the ship but everything was super organized. We had booked a 4:00 flight so we had a REALLY long wait in the airport which was not pleasant so a 12:00 flight would have worked better for us.

[cruisebax]

Thank you, this helps a first timer with tons of questions!

[dippy]

I suggest you book a flight that arrives the day before. Remember that if you are booking your own air and you miss the ship's departure, you're on your own. Having just booked my flight, I saved alot of $$$$ doing this way and then used some of the savings to get a hotel in Ft. Laud. The hotel will provide shuttle from the airport to the hotel and then the next day (day of sailing) a shuttle from the hotel to the port.

 

In terms of transfers, just get a cab, it's cheaper than the amount the cruise lines charge for transfer and you get to leave ASAP instead of waiting for other passengers to fill the shuttle/bus.

 

With other cruises that I have been on, they will put you to the front of the disembarkation line if you have a noon or earlier flight. Once again, you will be taking full responsibility if you miss your flight.

 

My opinion...Play it safe....If this is your first cruise (or any cruise for that matter), you don't want to have a missed flight to spoil your vacation..Go in the day earlier and choose the 4pm flight when you leave.