How early flight from FLL?

[Chooz2Cruz]

Is a 10:25 am flight too early for a flight from FLL? Ship suppost to arrive Port Everglades at 7am. Domestic flight. Unfortunately, the next non-stop is not until 8:40pm. It is really a long day if we have to wait until then.

Edited June 20, 2014 by Chooz2Cruz

[journeymore]

Is a 10:25 am flight too early for a flight from FLL? Ship suppost to arrive Port Everglades at 7am. Domestic flight. Unfortunately, the next non-stop is not until 8:40pm. It is really a long day if we have to wait until then.

When I fly out of FLL I usually take a 10:50 a.m. flight. It's about a 10 minute taxi ride from port to airport. You should be fine BUT be aware that stuff does happen.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Lsimon]

I wouldn't take a 10:40 flight but there are lots here who do. If you search the boards you'll find plenty that take these but lots of discussion warning about that time.

 

The odds are in your favor but they are not as good as the odds for flights 11:30 or later. So it really depends on how much risk you are willing to take and what your backup plans would be.

 

Also, when does your cruise end? A weekday disembarkation would be much safer than a weekend when the ship, and airport, are busier. Same for other busy travel times in general such as holidays and peak season causing more delays and slow downs than non-holiday and off-peak periods. And finally, if your cruise is a Transatlantic ending in Ft. Lauderdale then forget it and pick a late flight.

 

Did you look at West Palm Beach or Miami flights? Those airports are further and cab fare is a lot more expensive to them but there might be some better times available.

 

Personally, if I couldn't find a flight later than 11 or before early evening I'd either take the late flight or stay overnight. If you stay until late you can rent a car and use it to explore the area and hold your luggage while you're doing so.

[JFontaine]

It depends on a few things: how quick are you (will you have small children, lots of bags, someone in a wheelchair, etc.) and what is your risk tolerance level?

 

I would be comfortable with a 9 am flight. But this is me: I travel frequently and have the ability to move quickly, I am TSA pre-check, and save a few minutes there, I have status on the airline, and if I miss my flight I jump to the head of the line of stand-bys, and if I do miss my flight, I have many options for other flights. I also have the ability to stay in a hotel and try again the next day - and wouldn't be terribly upset if it happens.

 

I've taken crazy early flights about 30 times after cruises. I only nearly missed a flight, and that was in Tampa because of fog, but the flight was also delayed (fog). But I have also given myself some stress too. For me, it was worth it. FLL gets extremely busy on cruise days, and I want to get out of there as soon as possible. MIA is much better.

 

Only you can decide what is right for you. Good luck.

 

(Adding this - if you are more than two people, flying standby gets that much harder. The bigger the group, the less risk you should take on flight time.)

Edited June 20, 2014 by JFontaine

[ronrythm]

The question to ask is what is your backup plan if you DON"T make the flight? Are you prepared for the consequences? Will the airline allow you to take the next one or not? What if it's already full? Are you prepared to pay extra? Only you can decide if it is worth it.

Enjoy

Ron

[ClaudiaB]

We take a 10:10 flight every time. Our contingency is one at 3 p.m. but we'd rather just get home. We self-disembark. Which means get down there with your luggage in line at least 45 minutes ahead of when they tell you to. Don't arrange for a shuttle because then they have to wait for every single person to load up and might stop at different airlines. Just grab the nearest taxi. If you're among the first dozen or so off you will have no issues.

 

Normally we arrive at the airport at least 2 hr. ahead of our flight which tells you it's very very do-able.

[Keith1010]

I would not do it because you may make it or you might not.

 

Remember unless you purchase a ticket on another airline a contingency plan does not help you with most flights already full.

 

Keith

[JohninDC]

Is a 10:25 am flight too early for a flight from FLL? Ship suppost to arrive Port Everglades at 7am. Domestic flight. Unfortunately, the next non-stop is not until 8:40pm. It is really a long day if we have to wait until then.

 

For a 10:25 flight you need to be at FLL by about 9:00 (earlier is better).

 

IF the ship arrives on time, and IF passengers are not delayed by customs/immigration or other legal issues, and IF you can carry all of your bags off, and IF you can immediately get into a taxi for the 10 or so minute trip to FLL, you CAN make your flight.

 

Do you want to spend your cruise worried about making your flight home? :confused:

 

I would book the 8:40 flight and rent a car for the day (beach, lunch, shopping) or maybe look for day-rates at a hotel with a nice pool. It is your call!

[WestLakeGirl]

You can search this board and you'll find many more comments and advice. It will mostly come down to how much stress you can tolerate

[cruisestitch]

If you miss that flight, you'll likely be wait listed on upcoming flights, which will all be connections (until that later nonstop) and that means wait listing twice. Could make for a long, tiring day. Is there any way you can just stay in Florida and take that flight the next day?

[Chooz2Cruz]

Yes, we have decided to stay one night after the cruise in FLL and take the 10:25am flight the next morning.

[waterbug123]

 

I would book the 8:40 flight and rent a car for the day (beach, lunch, shopping) or maybe look for day-rates at a hotel with a nice pool. It is your call!

 

If I decided against the early flight, I'd consider a connecting flight, rather than wait til 8:40 for the only subsequent nonstop.

[phoenix_dream]

This has been discussed at length on these boards - a search will get you a lot of opinions. With that said, I will just say one thing. Anyone who tells you it is no problem and you will always make it is wrong. How can I make this point? On at least one cruise of ours the ship did not even begin disembarkation until 9:30. I don't care how much luck you have, you would not have made that flight that day.

[waterbug123]

This has been discussed at length on these boards - a search will get you a lot of opinions. With that said, I will just say one thing. Anyone who tells you it is no problem and you will always make it is wrong. How can I make this point? On at least one cruise of ours the ship did not even begin disembarkation until 9:30. I don't care how much luck you have, you would not have made that flight that day.

 

I don't recall any threads in which someone said about a particular flight or flight time that someone would always make it. What people generally say is either 1) given the circumstances, you shouldn't have a problem, (not the same as telling someone they will always make it), or 2) that they personally would take it, given their own risk tolerance etc.

Generally speaking, I think it's a given that whatever anyone recommends, the assumption is that things out of their control will go smoothly. Of course, we all know that doesn't happen, but if you're going to say "don't book an 11:00 flight because once we didn't start disembarking until 9:30" then you also have to point out that once upon a time a volcano erupted and flights were grounded for days...does that mean someone should always stay put for a week post-cruise? Of course not. You look at the typical scenario for disembarking, factor in your own risk tolerance, and decide whether to book a 10am flight, a 1:00pm flight, a 4:00pm flight, or a flight the next day.

Edited July 7, 2014 by waterbug123

[Hlitner]

I would estimate your chances of making a 10:25 flight as 82.57689%. Given your next option is not until much later we might take the risk. But we advise using the self-debarkation option (where you carry all your own luggage off the ship). Our last experience at Port Everglades (on a Saturday) was a real downer. There were not enough taxis to meet demand (there are a lot of ships on Sat and Sun) and the queue for taxis was quite long. Getting off the ship early helps deal with this situation. We should also mention that the TSA security line at FLL was horrendous (over 90 minutes) but we made our flight because an airline employee pulled us out of the line (after a wait of over 1 hour) and got us onto a priority line (which took another 15 min).

 

So, get off the ship as early as possible, get yourself to FLL as quick as possible, and jump into that security line! If you do happen to miss your flight you can then use TSA as an excuse to try and get your airline to waive any penalties.

 

Hank

Edited July 7, 2014 by Hlitner