11,000 passengers and the MIA airport

[bryanjaync]

Returning on Celebrity Reflection on November 14th 2015. Will be other ships returning that day, adding up to 11,000 passengers disembarking. Think a 12:25 pm flight out of Miami Airport is doable ? Plan on Luggage Valet service. (And yes, I realize not all 11k are flying out of MIA, others may drive, B2B, fly out of FFL, stay over, etc). thanks.

[chessbriar]

Should not be a problem

[BILLP1]

We were on the same cruise last Nov with the same amount of ships and people. We had a flight out of Ft Lauderdale and we took a cab from Miami port to Ft Lauderdale . We were in the taxi at 745AM and at the door at Ft Lauderdale airport at 825AM. I would assume you would be at Miami airport by 815 at the latest. Just make sure that you get one of the first departure times. We are elite and had a suite and were able to depart early.

[Gran2five]

We had a 12:20 flight out of MIA after our Reflection cruise in January.

 

We had no problems and asked for our disembarkation time to be 8:15. Originally Celebrity had us leaving at 9:15. We are Elite and arrived at the Elite lounge (Tuscan Restaurant) at 8:00. The gangway was situated on the same deck and our number was called on time. Quickly off the ship, found our luggage, through to Immigration and out to a cab.

 

We were flying Air Canada and there was no one at the ticket counter when we got there. We chose to go through security right away after checking our bags and then waited a couple of hours at the gate prior to boarding our flight.

 

It may be a totally different situation depending on what air line is involved.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We have flown twice out of MIA after a cruise. both times were a train wreck!! Long lines, late flights etc.

 

DH and I now avoid flying to/from MIA. YMMV

[az_tchr]

Getting on a plane is always interesting. Too many variables. We have gotten through security in Atlanta or MIA in 10 minutes and spent THREE HOURS standing in line in Sacremento! You simply never know. Since Miami handles tens of millions of passengers and they do not put on extra planes because of cruiselines the line is simply a matter of chance.

 

Remember that screening procedures have been stepped up in the last week. This has made for slower checks in many airports according to pilots we know.

[mickey89]

We have flown twice out of MIA after a cruise. both times were a train wreck!! Long lines, late flights etc.

 

DH and I now avoid flying to/from MIA. YMMV

 

Ditto - We already booked flights via PBI for later this year. Will avoid MIA at all costs.

Advise to OP is to request an early disembarkation or if possible walk-off with luggage as you never know how the Border Agency will perform on any given day. It was hell for us, OK for others, you can never tell !!

Edited February 20, 2015 by mickey89

[wallie5446]

11,000 is a meir drop in the bucket when the turn record for Miami & Ft Lauderdale together ( we were told by 3 different people that work in FLL ) was over 150,000 passengers one of the first weekends the Oasis/Allure got there.

 

With 9-11 ships turning every Sat/Sun, that is 25-30,000 going each way per day between the 2 ports.

[Trainer]

Miami airport is a nightmare on the best of days. Not only are there lots of international passengers and international airlines, not everyone speaks the same language. The airlines are actually the best part of the mix but everything else is confused and overloaded. The security lines are long and not everyone knows the drill. The cruise passengers are not the biggest part of the crowd

Just be prepared!

I do almost everything to avoid MIA, even driving to Ft. Lauderdale if necessary. I am fortunate in that I live in Florida but sometimes international flights want MIA as departure.

.

[cle-guy]

As to airport lines, I've discovered if flying with airlines that "traditionally carter" to business flyers, you will have a much smoother transit thru MIA and FLL.

 

i.e. fly United Airlines, rather than Spirit. This is because experienced flyers make lines move faster, pleasure travelers and Spirit Airlines passengers, generally don't fly too often and half of them feel it's their "patriotic duty" to argue with each command given to them by TSA screeners "why do I have to take my belt off", "but I need my 18 ounce Gatorade", "why do I have to take my computer out of its bag, I'm worried you'll break it". etc...

[Redtravel]

We were on the Eclipse. Flight was 2pm. We were at the MIA airport by 9 am. Our disembarkation was easy and quick. I know that some people have had delays. Even with delays, my friends on a different cruise made a 9:30am flight out of MIA. I wouldn't book that early just in case you have some type of delay. A plane after 11:00am should be okay. MIA airport is huge. Allow time to check in and get to the gate. MIA is better organized than FLL. FLL on a weekend is a zoo.

[dodger1964]

Returning on Celebrity Reflection on November 14th 2015. Will be other ships returning that day, adding up to 11,000 passengers disembarking. Think a 12:25 pm flight out of Miami Airport is doable ? Plan on Luggage Valet service. (And yes, I realize not all 11k are flying out of MIA, others may drive, B2B, fly out of FFL, stay over, etc). thanks.

 

MIA has a name for the day you are leaving..."Saturday"!!

 

we had 10am flight last month after reflection cruise and we were at gate over an hour early!

 

You will be FINE!

 

Have great cruise!

[Gordoncruickshank]

The big problem with Miami is arriving there not departing. We consistently have had at least an hour at passport control over the years. We font have this problem anywhere else we fly to. On Wednesday we joined the queue at 5.45pm and reclaimed our baggage at 7pm.

 

It doesn't matter which part of the plane you are on, it still takes a long time. Leaving is easy in comparison.

[LuAnn]

about getting out of the port area!! We came back from a holiday cruise this past 1/4 and it was a NIGHTMARE!! I had pre-booked Super Shuttle and when I called once we had our luggage and were out on the street was put on hold..I was the 13th caller..then they hung up on me..I had to call back and was the 13th caller again. Every Shuttle van that came was mobbed by people waiving vouchers...saw and heard many people freaked out because they were missing their flights!! If I ever disembark on a busy day like that I will book a private car...may coast more but it will be worth it!! LuAnn

[phoenix_dream]

Getting on a plane is always interesting. Too many variables. We have gotten through security in Atlanta or MIA in 10 minutes and spent THREE HOURS standing in line in Sacremento! You simply never know. Since Miami handles tens of millions of passengers and they do not put on extra planes because of cruiselines the line is simply a matter of chance.

 

Remember that screening procedures have been stepped up in the last week. This has made for slower checks in many airports according to pilots we know.

 

I found your last comment interesting. We had the exact opposite (and frankly, unsettling) situation on a flight earlier this week (not at MIA or FLL, out of Vegas). I got a TSA PreCheck on my ticket and my husband did not (even though we both applied for and received Global Entry). He went to the regular TSA line, and they sent him and everyone else in that line through the PreCheck lines as those were the only ones open. So that meant they could leave jackets and shoes on, not remove laptops, not take the 3 oz liquids out of their carry-on, etc.. So much for enhanced security! Not sure what to think these days - sometimes they get ridiculous with checking disabled 90 year old ladies, and the next day they do stuff like this. I feel safe.......not.

Edited February 20, 2015 by phoenix_dream

[Hlitner]

MIA seems to handle the cruise ship passenger influx with little problem. FLL, on the other hand, can be an unmitigated disaster on Saturday and Sunday mornings...especially if flying on SWA. We have seen TSA queues at FLL that exceeded 1 1/2 hours.

 

Hank

[dodger1964]

We used uber in Miami last month from airport to dock and then again from port to airport. Can't say enough good things about that service. Cost was under $14.

[blindrid]

Returning on Celebrity Reflection on November 14th 2015. Will be other ships returning that day, adding up to 11,000 passengers disembarking. Think a 12:25 pm flight out of Miami Airport is doable ? Plan on Luggage Valet service. (And yes, I realize not all 11k are flying out of MIA, others may drive, B2B, fly out of FFL, stay over, etc). thanks.

 

Sounds like a normal day to me. Why worry?

[neverbeenhere]

Agreed, MIA is an international airport. You aren't in Tulsa anymore. 11K or 20K, just another day....

[AlbertaCruisers]

We had a 12:55 flight from Miami this past Jan after getting off the Reflection. I don't know the number of passengers that day, but there were lots of ships. We had a departure from the ship at 8:45, but ended up being called early, I think we were walking off the ship around 8:30, the customs line was pretty long but moved pretty fast. Jumped in a cab with only a short wait. We were flying American through Dallas to Canada, so we had to use American's international check in section, which means you have to use the computers. There were tons of people (no real organized line up system), lots of computers down and it was kind of a mess, but managed to get through. We went straight through security after that and were sitting at our gate at 9:50. We ended up sitting in the plane on the tarmac with no air-conditioning for over 1 hour with mechanical issues, but everything worked out in the end. Even made our connection in Dallas (but had to run through the airport to do it).

[dennbr9]

There is a Roll Call going for this Cruise, stop on over and check in.

 

Dennis

[navybankerteacher]

...So much for enhanced security! Not sure what to think these days - sometimes they get ridiculous with checking disabled 90 year old ladies, and the next day they do stuff like this. I feel safe.......not.

 

I find this repeated theme interesting. Of course TSA is not perfect, and any screening is a hassle for those being screened. But I have to ask why you believe "... disabled 90 year old ladies..." pose no conceivable risk.

 

To my way of thinking, a fanatic willing to blow himself or herself up to bring down a plane has obviously put more value on the "mission" than in prolonging his or her own life.

 

It seems that a 25 year old in good health has more to lose than a 90 year old in frail health -- making that 90 year old more likely, rather than less, to make the trade.

 

That is such a tired, pointless, unthinking criticism of TSA procedures. I would hate to have to listen to you if you had to undergo serious screening.

[Oceangoer2]

We're thinking of 'cabbing' it from Miami to FtL as well, but told the cost was very high and we'd be better off waiting for X's bus. Your experience?

[villauk]

Ditto - We already booked flights via PBI for later this year. Will avoid MIA at all costs.

 

Word of advice - keep checking your schedule. We had also booked out of PBI (UA); after 4 changes to flight times, we were left with a 40 minute window in EWR for our connection back to the UK :eek:. Moved flights to FLL, couldn't take that risk. Tbh, it would have spoilt the last few days of our cruise, know I would have been panicking and worrying about missing that connection.

[jody75]

Word of advice - keep checking your schedule. We had also booked out of PBI (UA); after 4 changes to flight times, we were left with a 40 minute window in EWR for our connection back to the UK :eek:. Moved flights to FLL, couldn't take that risk. Tbh, it would have spoilt the last few days of our cruise, know I would have been panicking and worrying about missing that connection.

 

Flight consolidation is always a worry with non-direct flights, it is not specific to PBI. I always fly out of PBI and never had a problem. We had problems flying out FLL with Delta and miss the connection at Atlanta to UK and spent the night in an hotel, missed a whole day.