2:15 flight FLL

[imlulu]

We plan on taking our time off ship and understand customs based on our experience last year. I'm trying to figure out if we will have a long wait at airport since FLL is no that big and if so, if I should plan something instead of heading to airport? Thoughts appreciated.

[DonnaK]

is there an early flight that you can try to get onto standby? We did this in San Juan - booked an 1pm flight but got to the airport in time to fly standby for the 930am flight. Or, have you ever taken the airboat excursion with airport drop off in FLL? It's one of our all-time favorites!

[Cigar King]

I'm guessing you'll have time to kill, so planning something may be a good idea. Seems like the worst that could happen is their is a delay in your departure from the ship, and you don't get to utilize your plan. I guess I like being prepared.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[alexkrn46]

if you get to the gate more than 4 hours you will not be allowed to the gate.

[ginadc]

Oh, thanks for this! We have a 2:50 flight out of FLL on the 23rd of Feb and I just checked to see that the airboat excursion works perfectly with our schedule. I think the kids will get a huge kick out of it.

[truffles2]

if you get to the gate more than 4 hours you will not be allowed to the gate.

 

 

And! seating space outside of the gate area is very limited FLL really needs to do something about their airport.

[At Sea 4Ever]

Oh, thanks for this! We have a 2:50 flight out of FLL on the 23rd of Feb and I just checked to see that the airboat excursion works perfectly with our schedule. I think the kids will get a huge kick out of it.

 

Not trying to b a bummer but from experience if u are flying back home to a place that is snow prone u need to keep an eye on flight changes. Make sure u know all this before getting off the ship that morning .

[imlulu]

Thank you. Last year, we had a tag getting us off ship at 10:30? We walked off sooner, but customs took awhile. We then waited 10-15 for a taxi. This is why, I'm not super worried about getting there too early. It's the only flight time for the day to our home airport so no standby.

 

The airboat does sounds interesting. I might wait until I get on board to discuss as it recommends flights after 2:30.

Edited January 3, 2014 by imlulu

[ginadc]

Not trying to b a bummer but from experience if u are flying back home to a place that is snow prone u need to keep an eye on flight changes. Make sure u know all this before getting off the ship that morning .

 

We are from NJ (just got 6 inches of snow last night!), and are flying into FLL the day before the cruise for that exact reason. We pretty much always do this when we cruise no matter what the time of year, just because missing the ship can really screw up a vacation! Plus, we like to get on the ship first thing on embarkation day, which is hard to do if you fly in the same day unless you take a super-early flight...not fun with young kids!

 

Anyway, I would assume that if weather=flight disruption on the return, it will almost certainly cause *delays*, not flights being moved up to earlier times. The RCCL airboat excursion says you can book it if your flight leaves FLL 2:30 or later, so I think we should be good. If there are delays the excursion will at least save us from even *more* time at loose ends in the FLL airport!

[Big_G]

if you get to the gate more than 4 hours you will not be allowed to the gate.

 

And! seating space outside of the gate area is very limited FLL really needs to do something about their airport.

 

Is the rule getting to the gate or checking bags. I'm pretty sure we've gotten to the gate prior to the 4 hours using luggage valet but we did walk off once and couldn't check our bags before the 4 hour restriction.

[Wilda]

if you get to the gate more than 4 hours you will not be allowed to the gate.

 

They will be allowed to go to the gate...just won't be able to check their luggage within 4 hours of their flight :D

[trev71]

They will be allowed to go to the gate...just won't be able to check their luggage within 4 hours of their flight :D

 

I know the last few cruises we flew Delta and we were never allowed to check our luggage two hours before our flight in FLL. Which really sucked since out flight last may was 3:50pm..

 

This up coming cruise its 2pm, which isn't half as bad.. one of these times I want to chance an early flight but if we book before 11am our travel insurance wont cover anything regardless.. so its a pain in the butt

[KeywestK]

FLL airport is small, and they won't allow you to check in or check your bags until 2 or 3 hours prior to flight time. There isn't a lot of space to sit either. Get off the ship as late as possible.

[At Sea 4Ever]

We are from NJ (just got 6 inches of snow last night!), and are flying into FLL the day before the cruise for that exact reason. We pretty much always do this when we cruise no matter what the time of year, just because missing the ship can really screw up a vacation! Plus, we like to get on the ship first thing on embarkation day, which is hard to do if you fly in the same day unless you take a super-early flight...not fun with young kids!

 

Anyway, I would assume that if weather=flight disruption on the return, it will almost certainly cause *delays*, not flights being moved up to earlier times. The RCCL airboat excursion says you can book it if your flight leaves FLL 2:30 or later, so I think we should be good. If there are delays the excursion will at least save us from even *more* time at loose ends in the FLL airport!

 

We are from northern nj! That was some weather we got last night!

[Eng23]

Is the rule getting to the gate or checking bags. I'm pretty sure we've gotten to the gate prior to the 4 hours using luggage valet but we did walk off once and couldn't check our bags before the 4 hour restriction.

So far my experience at FLL (Delta and Soutwest) is you cannot check bags more than 4 hours before flight time. This can vary by airline. As long as you are a ticketed passenger you can go to through security whenever you like. I have done this before and spent about 5 hours in the Delta Sky Club waiting for a flight. Of course I only had carry on bags, so no issue with the 4 hour time frame for checked luggage.

[Ashland]

So far my experience at FLL (Delta and Soutwest) is you cannot check bags more than 4 hours before flight time. This can vary by airline. As long as you are a ticketed passenger you can go to through security whenever you like. I have done this before and spent about 5 hours in the Delta Sky Club waiting for a flight. Of course I only had carry on bags, so no issue with the 4 hour time frame for checked luggage.

Correct with the DL 4 hour luggage rule..I use DL out of FLL often...If you're going to be arriving more than 4 hours prior (and I have done that :eek:) use the luggage valet offered by your cruiseline.

[Big_G]

I know the last few cruises we flew Delta and we were never allowed to check our luggage two hours before our flight in FLL. Which really sucked since out flight last may was 3:50pm..

 

This up coming cruise its 2pm, which isn't half as bad.. one of these times I want to chance an early flight but if we book before 11am our travel insurance wont cover anything regardless.. so its a pain in the butt

 

FLL airport is small, and they won't allow you to check in or check your bags until 2 or 3 hours prior to flight time. There isn't a lot of space to sit either. Get off the ship as late as possible.

 

If you're flying out on Saturday or Sunday, you're more likely to experience the 2 to 3 hour restriction because the big ships empty out those days. On one cruise, not only was there a 2 hour baggage check restriction, they had to open a secondary baggage check on the ground floor to keep up. The security lines for the Southwest terminal went all the way to the other side of the walk bridge and curved back around.

[Lionesss]

FLL airport is small, and they won't allow you to check in or check your bags until 2 or 3 hours prior to flight time. There isn't a lot of space to sit either. Get off the ship as late as possible.

 

Did not know this

 

We were lucky then.

 

Last July did valet luggage.....

 

Flight time 11:35 am from FLL

 

Walked off ship at 7:40 ish

 

Got to airport thru security and cup of Dunkin donuts coffee before 8:30

 

We were lucky to get in then

 

Maybe because we were so close to the 3 hour window they let us slide.

 

Sea Ya

[KansasK]

If you're flying out on Saturday or Sunday, you're more likely to experience the 2 to 3 hour restriction because the big ships empty out those days. On one cruise, not only was there a 2 hour baggage check restriction, they had to open a secondary baggage check on the ground floor to keep up. The security lines for the Southwest terminal went all the way to the other side of the walk bridge and curved back around.

 

We were sent by Southwest to check in at the baggage check on the ground floor. There were no kiosks and they checked us in at a counter they way airlines used to. This had a short line and worked out well. Our flight was past the 2 hour limit and we were sent there.

 

The security line went all the way back to the rent-a-car area and snaked around the entire area to come back to the bridge. Airlines would walk the line and pull passengers who had flights due to leave soon. We got close to security finally and they said to check our boarding passes for TSA approved, or something like that. We were pulled out of the line and put in a short security line and bypassed some of the security requirements like not pulling out the quart plastic bag and leaving our shoes on. I wonder if we could have gone to this line when we passed it, or if we had to go through the snaky line. Never will know. We did not apply for anything, it just showed up on our boarding passes.

[negc]

We are from NJ (just got 6 inches of snow last night!), and are flying into FLL the day before the cruise for that exact reason. We pretty much always do this when we cruise no matter what the time of year, just because missing the ship can really screw up a vacation! Plus, we like to get on the ship first thing on embarkation day, which is hard to do if you fly in the same day unless you take a super-early flight...not fun with young kids!

 

Not sure that the "fly in the day before your cruise" concept worked out too well for anyone from the Northeast who is due to sail tomorrow. Unfortunately Mother Nature's calendar doesn't always work out according to cruise schedules. It is important to realize that there are few guarantees in life and even the best laid plans can "go oft agley" Hopefully those with Friday's flights that were cancelled can get on a flight Saturday morning that will get them to the pier on time. Otherwise I hope that they have travel insurance that will cover them.

[Ashland]

Did not know this

 

We were lucky then.

 

Last July did valet luggage.....

 

Flight time 11:35 am from FLL

 

Walked off ship at 7:40 ish

 

Got to airport thru security and cup of Dunkin donuts coffee before 8:30

 

We were lucky to get in then

 

Maybe because we were so close to the 3 hour window they let us slide.

 

Sea Ya

If you were doing the "Luggage Valet" with your cruiseline then you shouldn't (wouldn't have had to) have been checking in luggage...yes....no :confused:

 

One of the +'s using the service at least for us :)

[riclop]

FLL airport is small, and they won't allow you to check in or check your bags until 2 or 3 hours prior to flight time. There isn't a lot of space to sit either. Get off the ship as late as possible.

Its 4 hours.

[BDsquared]

We fly Delta and usually you cannot check luggage more than 2 hours before your flight leaves. However, you can check in with the sky cap much earlier than that. Then we relax in the Sky Club, a nice little extension to our vacation.:)

[Eng23]

We fly Delta and usually you cannot check luggage more than 2 hours before your flight leaves. However, you can check in with the sky cap much earlier than that. Then we relax in the Sky Club, a nice little extension to our vacation.:)

At FLL, Delta will start accepting bags to be checked 4 hours prior to departure.

[BDsquared]

At FLL, Delta will start accepting bags to be checked 4 hours prior to departure.

 

I'm sorry, but that is not always the case. I was speaking from my own experience. The previous 2x we have flown from FLL on Delta, they wouldn't allow us to check bags until 2 hours prior, the most recent was November 16 2013. I did speak to a supervisor and was told the "2 hour rule" is quite common. Frustrating, but common, which is why we use the sky cap.