Disembarkment, will I have time?

[Harvest18]

My family and I are traveling on Harmony of the Seas in April from Fort Lauderdale. We planned on walking off the ship with our luggage. Are we crazy to think we can make a 9:30am flight from Fort Lauderdale airport? All advise is welcome, thanks.

[Clarea]

If you can get in the self-assist line very early so you are near the front of the line, you should be able to make the airport by 7am.

 

However, any delay at all will cause you to miss the flight.

[constable145]

Provided there are no delays with the ship returning and being cleared...and you are in line for self-debark at 5am, and there are no delays with TSA.... It is certainly doable but there are a lot of moving parts and one slight delay could screw you.

[Firefighterhoop]

I would say NO.

 

Last year with debarkation in Port Canaveral there were several significant delays. When I did a B2B in January on Allure, they started self debark with 2 (YES 2) Customs agents both times, and eventually a 3rd and 4th were added. THere was quite a delay.

 

Debark at that terminal (18) from Serenade was also very slow last winter due to few customs agents as well.

 

Independence at Pier 25 and Navigator at 29 were even slower when I went through. Again this was a result of US Customs having too few agents, not RCCL.

 

With that delay last winter there is no way I would risk a 9:30 flight.

[BillOh]

I would summize these posts and my experience and say possible, maybe likely, but not without risk to risky.

[Merion_Mom]

Do you have TSA pre-check or Global Entry?

 

If not, get it. NOW.

[OCruisers]

Way too dicey!

Also, you'll be worried about making it to the airport your entire cruise.

Edited August 11, 2016 by OCruisers

[Harvest18]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

[Clarea]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

Good choice.:)

[gagirl7143]

If you can get in the self-assist line very early so you are near the front of the line, you should be able to make the airport by 7am.

 

However, any delay at all will cause you to miss the flight.

 

 

Remember you may be behind the wheel chair guests and you must clear customs which can be long even for those first off. Plus 9:30 take off means board at around 9 so I think there is no way!!!

[gagirl7143]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

 

 

You are wise!! Have fun.

[OCruisers]

So glad you're doing a later flight!

It'll be so much less stressful for you! :)

[cincicruisers]

Good call. No sense in having the stress of making your flight after your vacation.

[Ashland]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

 

Great choice not only for you but the family that's traveling with you :)

[packercruising]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

 

Very good idea! There are post-cruise excursions you could take that will drop you and your luggage off at the airport, if your flight is late enough.:cool:

[davekathy]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

 

You made the correct decision.

[ReneeFLL]

I have seen this question asked so many times. There are so many variables and things that can go wrong. No one can really answer your question. You have to decide if you want to take that chance and is it worth it if you lose? Tons of people have done it and things went well and then there are the ones that got screwed. Really no way of telling. Whatever you decide, I hope it works out for you.

Edited August 12, 2016 by ReneeFLL

[DonnaK]

Thank you all for the advice, my decision is made....I will book us on a later flight. I mean I am going on the cruise to relax, this would stress me out to much.

If you self-disembark and get to the airport quickly, you can try to fly standby on the early flight. We've done that a few times (booked the later flight to be safe, and then got onto the earlier flight standby)

 

Or, you can take a post-cruise excursion. We loved the airboat ride in the Everglades.

Edited August 12, 2016 by DonnaK

[Biker19]

Plus 9:30 take off means board at around 9 so I think there is no way!!!

 

You must have missed the various posts by people who have made even earlier flights. If there are no snags one can be at FLL well before 8. It's all a matter of risk tolerance.

[nealstuber]

I don't understand why anyone would spend their whole cruise fretting about missing their return flight. I'd look at alternate airports, leaving a day later or just about anything else first.

[packercruising]

 

Or, you can take a post-cruise excursion. We loved the airboat ride in the Everglades.

 

We did too. We are flying down 3 days early for our Allure cruise in Feb, and this excursion is included with our hotel stay.

[TigerLady]

My family and I are traveling on Harmony of the Seas in April from Fort Lauderdale. We planned on walking off the ship with our luggage. Are we crazy to think we can make a 9:30am flight from Fort Lauderdale airport? All advise is welcome, thanks.

 

I wouldn't stress myself out that way, if you miss your flight, a great vacation and memories, is gone..

 

Good Luck and I'll pray for NO delays..

[TigerLady]

Do you have TSA pre-check or Global Entry?

 

If not, get it. NOW.

 

We just got our TSA pre check. How will that help us on our cruise. I know, stupid question...

[secrui]

We just got our TSA pre check. How will that help us on our cruise. I know, stupid question...

 

The TSA Pre check will get you through security at the Ft Lauderdale Airport faster as there's a TSA Pre only line. Then you don't have to take off shoes, belts, or remove computers from their cases. Different situation at Miami airport, at least for me. Every time I've flown out of there, the TSA Pre line has been closed, and I have to stand in the regular line. Yes, when I get up to the conveyor belt area, I show my boarding pass with the TSA Pre on it and I don't have to take off my shoes, belt, and can leave computer in the case, but waiting in a long line defeats the purpose.

 

Also, when you make your airline reservations, make sure to enter your KTN (Known Traveler Number). If your airline participates in the program it will print out "TSA-PRE" on your boarding pass. Some airlines allow you to create a profile with your KTN so you don't have to enter it for every reservation. Some airlines do not participate in this program; here I'm thinking of FRONTIER and SPIRIT, although I may be wrong. A good source of info re TSA-PRE is at https://www.tsa.gov/precheck/faq

[Hlitner]

As others posted, you would probably be OK if everything went perfectly and there were no delays. But you should consider a "Plan B" which is what will you do if you cannot make your flight. Depending on your airline you could lose hundreds of dollars (or more) and might face significant delays since flights later in the morning and early afternoon are often fully booked on Saturday and Sunday.

 

As to delays, when they happen it can be nasty. We have been on two cruises to Port Everglades that had disembarkation delayed until after 9am (due to CBP issues). And with so many ships in port on Saturdays there can sometimes be a long wait in the taxi queue (not often a major issue if you are off the ship really early).

 

Hank