Are we crazy? Is it doable? 10:45 a.m. Flight

[Griffvols]

We are on the Conquest out of FLL for an 8 day cruise in September. We return on a Sunday and have looked at the 10:45 a.m. non-stop flight on Delta back to Knoxville. Is this doable? We are platinum and will do self-disembark. TIA for your help.

[Roz]

There will be lots of other ships in port on a Sunday, and Port Everglades is notorious for long lines at customs and immigration. You may be able to make it, but it's cutting it close, and any delay getting in or debarking could result in a missed flight.

 

Roz

[JohninDC]

For a 1045 flight you need to be at FLL by about 9:15 - 8:30 is better as TSA lines can be chaos. Off the ship early, carrying your own bags, and jump into the first cab possible, and you might make it.

 

Do you want to spend your cruise worried about making your flight home? :confused: Book a flight leaving after noon to be safe, or better yet book the 10:45 flight the next day and extend your vacation! :cool:

[setsail]

We have made a 1020 out of FLL with no problem, but as far as your cruise, no one can answer for you as your cruise or flight has not happened. Get back to us after your flight/cruise has ended

[royalcruz]

September in Port Everglades is dead. There might only be one other ship disembarking (Allure). Still, you never know what time you'll be able to disembark. You will probably make it, but not necessarily.

[BlueHerons]

We are on the Conquest out of FLL for an 8 day cruise in September. We return on a Sunday and have looked at the 10:45 a.m. non-stop flight on Delta back to Knoxville. Is this doable? We are platinum and will do self-disembark. TIA for your help.

 

Chances are good you can make this being that it is in September (only if it isn't Labor Day Weekend) but I would not chance it.

 

Just last Saturday Port Everglades was shut down for hours from a container ship bringing in some weird item.

 

You just never know what could happen so no, I personally would not.

[5soccer9]

We had a 10:45 flight out of FLL in March on a Sunday. I did worry the whole cruise that what is we miss out flight. We were past security and at our gate at 8:30. We did have a shuttle waiting for us and did the self disembark so that helped. I know on Princess they say to book your flight 4 hours after the time they arrive back to port. We were schedule back at 7 am so I thought I would be fine.

[DaveOKC]

We had a 10:45 flight out of FLL in March on a Sunday. I did worry the whole cruise that what is we miss out flight. We were past security and at our gate at 8:30. We did have a shuttle waiting for us and did the self disembark so that helped. I know on Princess they say to book your flight 4 hours after the time they arrive back to port. We were schedule back at 7 am so I thought I would be fine.

 

IMO, you should be able to make this flight, HOWEVER most people are reluctant to tell you to do this as you could get caught up in delays along the way and miss your flight - it is far from a "sure thing". So, its up to you if you want to chance it or not. If you have a fall back plan, go for it. Or, if your airline allows it, book the later flight, get to the airport as early as possible and take the earlier one (I do this often since my airline allows it given my Gold status) if seats are available.

 

One more thing, I like to take a later flight than one before 11 am, as I do not want to worry about it at the end of a nice vacation. But thats just me.......

[Grimsby]

We are on the Conquest out of FLL for an 8 day cruise in September. We return on a Sunday and have looked at the 10:45 a.m. non-stop flight on Delta back to Knoxville. Is this doable? We are platinum and will do self-disembark. TIA for your help.

 

 

Just one more little thing to think about. During our last cruise we were three hours late leaving the last port stop before Fort Lauderdale because of some mechanical problems on the ship. The Captain made up two hours of this delay over the course of the night, but we still docked at Ft. Lauderdale an hour later than expected.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Grimsby

[andymattmom]

We made a 1045am flight in January on a Monday when we sailed on Celebrity. Walked off, got through customs and were at the airport early. There weren't many people at TSA line but it was SLOW! This was before the nightmares they show now at airports. There were only 2 ships docking that day.

 

Next May we sail on Allure and arrive in port on a Sunday. There is no way I will do a 1045am flight when we leave such a large ship. We only tried in January as my kids had to get back to college, it was a non-stop flight heading to Indiana and we didn't want to do a 40 minute layover in Atlanta.

 

Yes, it is possible. We did it but honestly I wouldn't do it again! Not worth after seeing how bad airport security is now.

[Keith1010]

If things go right you make it.

 

If they don't you could miss it.

 

It really comes down to your stress level.

 

For me I don't do it. Others will.

 

Keith

[Snit13]

Have you read the stories of TSA lines that have been reported the past day or so? Long, long lines to get thru security and expected to get worse. There was actually a video posted by someone showing the long, long line. Are you a gambler? Not worth the worry and headache/heartache. You never know how many agents show up for work to check you thru in Ft. Lauderdale. We have had some very long waits and not the cruise lines fault. Three agents on duty one time.

[IndyDenise]

Let me tell you March 2015 disembarking the Conquest was a cluster. They only had two custom agents... And they were really questioning people. The line snaked around the whole building.

 

Then at the airport it took FOREVER to check in luggage ( Southwest) . Then the security lines were HUUGGEEE. People kept trying to cut because they were going to miss their flight, agents were making them go back to the end.

 

There was NO WAY we would have made a 1045 flight. ., my sis barely made her 11:20 one.

 

Of course every line we encountered was crazy., your mileage may vary.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Do you have global entry?

[JamesEM]

TSA stands for, Thousands Standing Around, on my last cruise I got held up for almost a hour in Ft Lauderdale.

[Snit13]

TSA stands for, Thousands Standing Around, on my last cruise I got held up for almost a hour in Ft Lauderdale.

 

Love it. We have been held up for up to 2 hours in line and also have been off ship in less than 30 minutes. One never knows. Depends on how many TSA agents show up for work. (Work!!!!)

[Lou33]

You didn't mention what time your ship returns to port, but you should have plenty of time. This was our experience on our last cruise out of FLL:

 

We had a 10:40 am flight and our ship was scheduled to arrive at 5 am. The ship was delayed and arrived at port at 6:45 and they changed to a small terminal even though we had a huge ship. We had a leisurely breakfast and we planned to disembark at 7:45 using "self assist" and arrive at the airport with two hours to spare. We went downstairs at 7:45 it was a madhouse. Because of the delayed arrival, everybody was trying to disembark at the same time. We had to wait in line for one hour just to get off the ship. When we got inside the terminal it was also a madhouse and we waited in line for another hour because they had only three lines through customs in the small terminal. We got outside, scrambled for a taxi and made it to the airport in 10 minutes, just 45 minutes before our flight. We checked our bags curbside, made it through security, and made our flight with 10 minutes to spare.

 

So we had three major delays: The ship was two hours late, another hour delay to get off the ship, and another hour delay to get through customs, and we still made a 10:40 flight. And this was on a Saturday with 5 large ships in port.

[DaveOKC]

You didn't mention what time your ship returns to port, but you should have plenty of time. This was our experience on our last cruise out of FLL:

 

We had a 10:40 am flight and our ship was scheduled to arrive at 5 am. The ship was delayed and arrived at port at 6:45 and they changed to a small terminal even though we had a huge ship. We had a leisurely breakfast and we planned to disembark at 7:45 using "self assist" and arrive at the airport with two hours to spare. We went downstairs at 7:45 it was a madhouse. Because of the delayed arrival, everybody was trying to disembark at the same time. We had to wait in line for one hour just to get off the ship. When we got inside the terminal it was also a madhouse and we waited in line for another hour because they had only three lines through customs in the small terminal. We got outside, scrambled for a taxi and made it to the airport in 10 minutes, just 45 minutes before our flight. We checked our bags curbside, made it through security, and made our flight with 10 minutes to spare.

 

So we had three major delays: The ship was two hours late, another hour delay to get off the ship, and another hour delay to get through customs, and we still made a 10:40 flight. And this was on a Saturday with 5 large ships in port.

 

Glad you made your flight. That would have been too much stress on me!

[Lou33]

Glad you made your flight. That would have been too much stress on me!

 

Normally it would be completely stress free and we would make a 10:40 flight with 2+ hours to spare. But the point that I was trying to make is that even if everything goes wrong, it is still possible to make that flight. And if we didn't make it, it wouldn't be the end of the world. They would put us on standby for the next available flight.

[DaveOKC]

Normally it would be completely stress free and we would make a 10:40 flight with 2+ hours to spare. But the point that I was trying to make is that even if everything goes wrong, it is still possible to make that flight. And if we didn't make it, it wouldn't be the end of the world. They would put us on standby for the next available flight.

 

Good point. I always tell people who book an early flight home to be sure that they know their options if they miss it. Obviously, this can vary greatly, depending on the airline and your home airport.

 

For example, if you are flying home to Atlanta on Delta, their area lot of options if you miss your flight. Returning home to OKC is different, as we have to make a connection and some airlines have limited schedules.

 

One thing I do is schedule a later, safe time flight on the airline I have status on and get to the airport as early as possible to standby on the earlier flight (for no extra charge). Sometimes this works great, but if not, we still get home at a decent hour. I have scheduled different airlines out than back for this reason (nowadays most airlines charge the same for one-ways as roundtrips).