Flying out of FLL

[teacher/bartender]

Looking at flights after our cruise. How early do you think I could get off the ship if we walked off with our luggage? We are also YC if that matters? Does customs usually clear the ship early?? How far is it from Miami to FLL??

Thanks for your help!

[riclop]

You will be off the ship by 700-715 and it's about 30-35 min to fll.

[OceansOfTravels]

To be safe, though, don't book flights any earlier than 11AM. I had an 11:30AM from FLL once after disembarking a ship in Port Everglades and we almost missed it. Yes, you can get off the ship that early, but it is not worth it to stress and nearly miss a flight. Morning traffic will also not be kind. So, no later than 11AM if you plan to disembark as early as possible. But, if you can't disembark first, I would say noon or later. All predicated on prices though, I know the afternoon flights can sometimes be loads more expensive.

[teacher/bartender]

To be safe, though, don't book flights any earlier than 11AM. I had an 11:30AM from FLL once after disembarking a ship in Port Everglades and we almost missed it. Yes, you can get off the ship that early, but it is not worth it to stress and nearly miss a flight. Morning traffic will also not be kind. So, no later than 11AM if you plan to disembark as early as possible. But, if you can't disembark first, I would say noon or later. All predicated on prices though, I know the afternoon flights can sometimes be loads more expensive.

 

Exactly. If we could catch a 9am flight it would save us $700. LOL. But I figured I was just dreaming that it would work. Although we do have TSA Pre Check and will just be doing carryons. :)

[thegraminator]

I agree. I would not book any flight before 11 or 1130 . You are at the mercy of clearing Customs, a late taxi or bus, and Saturday morning traffic . The Uber driver we talked to said the ride from the Port of Miami to Fort Lauderdale would be a minimum of 45 minutes (and that's in good traffic ). And then you need to figure in that they request that you get to the airport 90 minutes before your flight .

 

It just seems that so many things could go wrong and if you miss your flight what a headache and wasted time to get a new flight ! That's my 2 cents !

[OceansOfTravels]

Exactly. If we could catch a 9am flight it would save us $700. LOL. But I figured I was just dreaming that it would work. Although we do have TSA Pre Check and will just be doing carryons. :)

 

Well, if you would save $700 by leaving at 9AM, how much is the flight the next day, same time? Because I can guarantee you'd find a cheap hotel or AirBnB for under $700, and if you do, you could possibly stay an additional day and still spend less money than you would if you took the afternoon flight. I'm not sure how many are in your party, but good hotels, even hotels by the beach, should not be more than $180 for the night, if that. If the differential is that much, I would suggest just staying in Florida an additional day.