Return flight too early for transfer?

[rfbk50]

We are a group of 7 sailing on the Breeze, arriving in Miami. Carnival told me not to book a return flight before 11:30 AM. We booked a flight departing at 11:40. So far, so good. Now Delta bumped up our flight to depart at 11:25 AM. I've called Carnival and now they said I wasn't supposed to book the return flight until Noon. Should I book a private transfer? Cancel my transfers with Carnival. What are the odds of getting to the airport on time?

[CruiserBruce]

Get two cabs. Do what you can to get off the ship ASAP, even if it means carrying your own bags off. If you do that you have a chance. But I would also be worried about the tendency of a larger group not moving very efficiently.

 

You can also tell Delta the schedule change doesn't work for you. They should move you to a more friendly flight.

 

Cruise line transfers are rarely the best deal, in price or convenience. Cruise lines put these "no flight sooner than" rules because they don't want to be held responsible for you missing your flight.

Edited May 15, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[xxoocruiser]

Cancel and book private transportation.

 

Note - Carnival's buses to airport do not leave until the bus is full so even if you got off the ship on time thinking you'd make the flight you still could miss it waiting for the bus to leave the port

[LHT28]

Are you flying out of MIA or FLL?

 

If MIA get off as soon as you can get 2 taxis & go $25 flat rate per car

or check for a private car service

we used John's car service he was there as soon as we called him after disembarking

[rfbk50]

Our flight departs MIA. Our cabins are all next to each other and no kids or seniors so we are quick to move. I assume you rebooked with Johns Car service. I guess I will cancel the carnival transfers.

[rfbk50]

I meant "you prebooked with Johns car service

[LHT28]

Yes I pre booked with him

You call him before you leave the ship then once you get your bags call from the curb he is there in a flash ;)

 

If he is not available check the Florida forum I am sure others will have recommendations

[zqvol]

We are a group of 7 sailing on the Breeze, arriving in Miami. Carnival told me not to book a return flight before 11:30 AM. We booked a flight departing at 11:40. So far, so good. Now Delta bumped up our flight to depart at 11:25 AM. I've called Carnival and now they said I wasn't supposed to book the return flight until Noon. Should I book a private transfer? Cancel my transfers with Carnival. What are the odds of getting to the airport on time?

 

 

In Miami, unless there is some major delay you will have no problem making that flight. Don't oay any attention to what Carnival told you.

 

Cancel your Carnival transfers, and get a cab (you might end up with two cabs or a single van). The rate is a flat fee of $26 or $27 for four people. You don't even need to do express disembarkation. You will be at the airport before 10:00 which is plenty of time, and a LOT less expensive than dealing with CCL transfers.

 

Get two cabs. Do what you can to get off the ship ASAP, even if it means carrying your own bags off. If you do that you have a chance. But I would also be worried about the tendency of a larger group not moving very efficiently.

 

You can also tell Delta the schedule change doesn't work for you. They should move you to a more friendly flight.

 

Cruise line transfers are rarely the best deal, in price or convenience. Cruise lines put these "no flight sooner than" rules because they don't want to be held responsible for you missing your flight.

 

You don't need to worry about getting off the ship as quickly as possible, you have more than enough time to enjoy normal disembarkation. You don't need to tell Delta that the change doesn't work, because it does and it is not an issue.

 

Our flight departs MIA. Our cabins are all next to each other and no kids or seniors so we are quick to move. I assume you rebooked with Johns Car service. I guess I will cancel the carnival transfers.

 

You don't need to book a car service, it is over kill in Miami, just use cabs, and save some money. A group of seven adults is no big deal even if yoru cabins are spread all over the ship. You do not need to move quickly , you can take your time.

 

You are letting Carnival's desire to sell you a transfer drive your decisions. If you read the boards carefully you will find that many people report being at the airport in Miami before 9:00 a.m. and having to wait forever at teh gate for their plane. Miami is an easy place to disembark, and it is a short 15 minute cab ride to the airport.

 

I have disembarked in Miami numerous times and the latest we have ever gotten to the airport using regular disembarkation was 9:45.

Edited May 15, 2015 by zqvol

[navybankerteacher]

Two or more people will almost always do better using a taxi than relying on cruise line transfer. Total fare will be lower, you will not have to wait until bus is loaded, and then have to shuffle off the bus after others once you get to the airport. If you self-debark, you really should be able to make a flight after 11:00 AM. If, by self-debarking and taking your own taxi, you could not, then you surely could not make a noon flight using the line's transfer.

[mabones]

I would check with the Airline to see of you could get a later flight. You could always do an excursion beforehand & be dropped off at the Airport of your scheduled departure.

[zqvol]

I would check with the Airline to see of you could get a later flight. You could always do an excursion beforehand & be dropped off at the Airport of your scheduled departure.

 

 

Why? OP has more than enough time to make that flight. They will end up spending over two hours sitting at MIA as it is.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Personally I wouldn't go on one person's insistence that they have always made pre-noon flights. You're the one who would have to deal with trying to rebook a flight if you get there too late. Try asking the airline (as they had changed your flight) if there's another flight for a more reasonable time so you won't have to scurry to get there.

 

I would rather get to the airport and have a small wait, then to be sitting in a taxi or shuttle stressing out if there's a bad accident affecting traffic or if your cruise got the full customs and immigration treatment which delayed disembarkation.

[elleluv]

We were on Breeze in December and had a similar situation with American Airlines changing our flight time. We ended up with an 11:10 departure.

 

It was no problem... We did self-disembark, took a taxi (as I recall, there was a pretty long taxi line even that early, but it moved fast). We arrived at the airport a reasonable time before our flight, but I wouldn't say we had loads of time to wait.

 

I'm glad we did the self-disembark because I've heard that it's not uncommon to sometimes see bottlenecks both getting off Breeze and at customs.

[pris993]

Flights are fully booked these days, it is always better to book a later flight and wait at the airport, getting off a ship and getting a cab can be a wait too, just because others have made it in less time before is not a good enough reason to take a chance, ask the airline to book you on a later flight.

[Mary Ellen]

I'm with those suggesting the OP ask the airline for a later flight. They've always allowed this when they've changed our flight times.

 

Several months ago our flight home was about 2 Hrs after the earliest time suggested by the cruise line. Due to weather, our ship arrived late. We missed the airline's cut off time to check our luggage by minutes. Alternative flights were full. We got home 27 hrs later than planned. I can guarantee you that those saying 'No problem' won't be there helping you if you miss your flight.

[Hlitner]

We do not want to sound like the experts of all experts, but having taken an awful lot of cruises that involved MIA we would have no problem with an 11:25 flight. FLL causes us concern with early flights on Sat and Sunday, but MIA seems to handle the weekends just fine. We also would never get involved with any cruise line transfer as they cost more then taxis and usually take longer (they are always waiting to fill every seat). The risk with any US port is if the CBP folks have some issues (or wake up on the wrong side of the bed) and hold an entire ship. But with your flight as long as you are off the ship by around 9 you should have no problem. Ideally you should try and get off by 8:30 (or earlier) but all should be fine.

 

Hank

Edited May 16, 2015 by Hlitner

[pris993]

I'm with those suggesting the OP ask the airline for a later flight. They've always allowed this when they've changed our flight times.

 

Several months ago our flight home was about 2 Hrs after the earliest time suggested by the cruise line. Due to weather, our ship arrived late. We missed the airline's cut off time to check our luggage by minutes. Alternative flights were full. We got home 27 hrs later than planned. I can guarantee you that those saying 'No problem' won't be there helping you if you miss your flight.

 

Thanks for sharing your story... as full as flights are today, I know missing a flight is a nightmare. I have started to think it is even a good idea to go 2 days early vs one when flying to a cruise given this situation. We always booked the first flight of the day when leaving for a cruise since we are flying from the west coast east. Generally there are less problems with the early flights. Also try to book non stops to avoid problems too they are more expensive but worth it.

[rfbk50]

Thanks for all of the advice. I have cancelled the Carnival transfers and booked with Johns Car Service. He feels we will not have a problem making our flight time. We'll carry or own bags for faster exit. I sound like a novice traveler but I'm only a novice cruiser. I travel independently all over Europe by car and train on my own time table. These cruise schedules and "rules" stress me out just a bit. I'm used to doing my own thing so I will find out if I'm the cruising type after this vacation. Thanks again.

[SuiteTraveler]

Just to reassure you, a week and a half ago we did self-debarkation in Miami from the NCL Getaway. They let us off the ship at 7:15 am. We were 3rd in line through customs. We had bought nothing so they just looked at our passports and dismissed us. We were in the taxi line for 15 minutes before cabs started coming. We got to MIA by 8:15. We tried to checkin and drop our bags outside, but we had been upgraded to first class and I needed to pay for this, so we had to go inside to check in. We both got priority and gate check, so we went through the priority line at security - it didn't matter since hardly anyone was in the regular line either. We were at our gate by 8:30. Our flight was at 10:30am. So we sat around at the gate for 2 hours.

 

Bottom line: you will not have a problem with a flight after 11am.

[cb at sea]

Cabs are fastest....you will need more than one....in Miami, a cab will only carry 4 passengers, unless it's a van.

 

We routinely book 10:45 am flights...no problems!

 

Oh..and we do NOT do "self carry"!!!

Edited May 21, 2015 by cb at sea

[rfbk50]

OP here. Just a follow up-we were off the ship with our luggage by 8:15. We were picked up by Johns Car Service at 8:30, at the airport by 9 and seated at our gate by 9:30. We had no problem catching that 11:25 flight departure home. Don't bother with the cruise line transfers.

[rfbk50]

OP here - just a quick update. We were off the ship with our luggage by 8:15. Picked up by Johns Car service at 8:30, at the airport by 9:00 and sitting at our gate by 9:30. We had no problem catching the 11:25 flight home.

[NMLady]

OP here - just a quick update. We were off the ship with our luggage by 8:15. Picked up by Johns Car service at 8:30, at the airport by 9:00 and sitting at our gate by 9:30. We had no problem catching the 11:25 flight home.

 

Thank you for coming back to give us 'the rest of the story'.

I am happy that all worked out well for you.

[LHT28]

OP here. Just a follow up-we were off the ship with our luggage by 8:15. We were picked up by Johns Car Service at 8:30, at the airport by 9 and seated at our gate by 9:30. We had no problem catching that 11:25 flight departure home. Don't bother with the cruise line transfers.

 

Thanks for the update

 

John was very goo ontime & got us to MIA in no time at all we had people going to 2 different terminals & he obliged no problem

[zqvol]

We are a group of 7 sailing on the Breeze, arriving in Miami. Carnival told me not to book a return flight before 11:30 AM. We booked a flight departing at 11:40. So far, so good. Now Delta bumped up our flight to depart at 11:25 AM. I've called Carnival and now they said I wasn't supposed to book the return flight until Noon. Should I book a private transfer? Cancel my transfers with Carnival. What are the odds of getting to the airport on time?

 

 

Grab a couple of cabs. It will save you a lot of time and money. There is no need for a car or private transfer and certainly no need for a CCL transfer. Don't worry about rushing. It is an easy 15 minute cab ride that costs $27 for the cab to MIA.