Almost done. Don't know about Sihlouette's disembarkation times for flight home?

[can'twaittogoagain]

Silhouette out of FLL is booked!~!!!!!!!! Do you think I have a decent chance of making a 10:00 flight home from Fort Lauderdale airport on in February??? I am not familiar with their disembarkation process..... If not, what is the earliest flight time you would recommend?

 

 

Thanks!

[2theship]

The recommendation is a flight at noon or later. Many people talk about catching a 10:30 flight or earlier. If you absolutely must catch the 10:00 a.m. flight, you should do self-disembarkation, carrying your luggage from your cabin to the exit. However, if your cruise is delayed in it's arrival time or there are limited customs agents at the port, you could have a problem. The FLL airport is very close to Port Everglades so there is hope. Having a backup plan is a good idea.

[cruisestitch]

We don't have enough information to really answer your question.

 

What day of the week?

Domestic or international?

Do you have TSA precheck?

Do you have any airline status that would expedite your check in?

Can you handle all your luggage without assistance in order to do self disembark, including possibly up or down a flight of stairs?

How will you get to the airport?

What will you do if you miss the flight? Later flights are undoubtedly going to be booked, will it cost you anything to fly standby? What if you have to spend another night in FLL?

 

These are just some of the considerations

[alcpa1]

I would not recommend a 10 am flight either.

Cruisestitich's points are mine as well and I will add a few others....

If your departing airline changes schedules between now and your cruise generally you may only make a free change if the schedule is altered by 90 minutes for most airlines. Sometimes this works in your favor but what if they change the departure to 9:15?

Status on that particular airline might come into play but not always.

The numbers of passengers who choose to self disembark are increasing and in order to really get off the ship early you will have to get your luggage to the designated area VERY early. Don't forget you will be fighting for the same elevators as the passengers heading to breakfast. Stairs become a real possibility.

Once you exit the ship you may get into another line for an elevator. The escalator will be blocked for anyone who cannot maintain one hand on the escalator rail. Large suitcases and escalators are dangerous.

Customs and Immigration is another point where you could face a delay especially if you have gone over your duty allowance or are bringing back an excess of liquor or tobacco products. When we have exceeded our allowance and dutifully declared the overage our stops to pay and handle the paperwork have taken an average of 20 minutes.

If you insist on that 10 am flight grab a cab or call Uber. Do not wait for a Celebrity bus or larger private shuttle. Both are slow to fill and may or may not drop you off near your airline.

Global entry will help.

We have made flights at 11:30 from FLL without much of a problem.

I really hate the thought of ruining a great cruise with the anxiety of an early flight.

[dodger1964]

10am flight is EASILY made 99% of time...many people can't handle travel stress for the 1% chance of not making it.

 

If you do all the right things you can make 830am flight!...but there is always the 1% chance.

[Jeremiah1212]

You’ll probably make it. If there is a hiccup of any kind, you may not. It’s really a toss up that no one can answer. It just depends on how comfortable you are with pushing it a bit. I usually try to aim for 11am or after but we’re lucky to have tons of flight options between FLL/MIA and Chicago.

 

 

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[Alakegirl]

Take a later flight and you can take advantage of Luggage Valet....a great convenience and well worth the money, IMO

[can'twaittogoagain]

As it turned out, we found a better flight leaving out of West Palm Beach at 1:00 p.m. that will get us home at a more reasonable hour. That should be doable! Thanks for all your answers.