Time frame to allow from port to airport

[Heartcruizing]

Would 3.5 hours be enough time to disembark Carnival ship at Port Everglades and get to airport in Fort Lauderdale?  We would of course carry our own luggage off and have our transfers taken care of through Carnival.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

26 minutes ago, Heartcruizing said:

Would 3.5 hours be enough time to disembark Carnival ship at Port Everglades and get to airport in Fort Lauderdale?  We would of course carry our own luggage off and have our transfers taken care of through Carnival.  

"To" an airport and "Through" an airport are vastly different things - particularly when it comes to time. Same is true for a ship's "arrival" and "disembarkation" times.

So, to answer your question: NO

[CruiserBruce]

What time is your flight? That is a better target time to work with.

 

If time is tight, catch a taxi, don't use cruise line transfers. Catch a cab if time isn't tight. Cheaper, easier.

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, Heartcruizing said:

Would 3.5 hours be enough time to disembark Carnival ship at Port Everglades and get to airport in Fort Lauderdale?  We would of course carry our own luggage off and have our transfers taken care of through Carnival.  

If you are asking about making a flight 3.5 hours from when the ship is scheduled to dock in FLL the answer is yes, that is more than enough time. Normally disembarkation begins prior to scheduled arrival time. You can often be off the ship and to the airport before the ship is scheduled to dock.

 

I am guessing that your ship is scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m. and you are looking at an 11:30 flight.

 

I would offer three suggestions:

• Carry your own liggage
• Do not use Carnival transfers
• If possible get TSA precheck, it will save you a few minutes and a lot of hassle.

 

Have a fun cruise and welcome to the boards.

[Heartcruizing]

Cruise docks at 8am and our flight is at 11:25am.  I thought it was tight but a cruise agent told me we could make it if we carried our own luggage off which isn’t a problem but should have went with my gut and got a later flight, problem being is the airlines charges so much to change flights. Grrr. 

I was thinking a cab but are the cabs right there at the port or would i have to make arrangements to have one there waiting for us and then trying to find a place of meet.  Are the cruise line transfers really slow at getting from point A to point B ?

[Heartcruizing]

28 minutes ago, zqvol said:

If you are asking about making a flight 3.5 hours from when the ship is scheduled to dock in FLL the answer is yes, that is more than enough time. Normally disembarkation begins prior to scheduled arrival time. You can often be off the ship and to the airport before the ship is scheduled to dock.

 

I am guessing that your ship is scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m. and you are looking at an 11:30 flight.

 

I would offer three suggestions:

• Carry your own liggage
• Do not use Carnival transfers
• If possible get TSA precheck, it will save you a few minutes and a lot of hassle.

 

Have a fun cruise and welcome to the boards.

Thank you, you are making me feel much better, having just a little anxiety, ha!  

 

Yes, 8am at port to 11:25am flight.  

 

We were planning on getting the cruise transfers, but apparently that is not the way to go?  Do we arrange for a cab to meet us somewhere or is a cab easy to get once we are off?  There will be 4 adults, but can go in separate cabs too.  What is the best way in your opinion to get a cab once we disembark ? 

 

Thank you in advance ))

[Heartcruizing]

36 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

What time is your flight? That is a better target time to work with.

 

If time is tight, catch a taxi, don't use cruise line transfers. Catch a cab if time isn't tight. Cheaper, easier.

Cruise docks at 8am and our flight is at 11:25am.  I thought it was tight but a cruise agent told me we could make it if we carried our own luggage off which isn’t a problem but should have went with my gut and got a later flight, problem being is the airlines charges so much to change flights. Grrr. 

I was thinking a cab but are the cabs right there at the port or would i have to make arrangements to have one there waiting for us and then trying to find a place of meet.  Are the cruise line transfers really slow at getting from point A to point B ?

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Walk off, catch a cab. There will be dozens of cabs.

 

By the way, this topic is probably the most discussed topic on the Florida Departures board. Many people catch flights between 1030 and noon.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Walk off, catch a cab. There will be dozens of cabs.

 

By the way, this topic is probably the most discussed topic on the Florida Departures board. Many people catch flights between 1030 and noon.

Yes, dozens of cabs AND hundreds of people.

OP reported having a gut feeling about this being too early a connection and s/he is absolutely correct. 

Airlines don't low ball the early flights for no reason.

In any case, maybe OP will be fine - if..........

And, if not, s/he will learn a very very expensive lesson.

[Heidi13]

Provided the ship arrives on time, and no delays are experienced, you should make a 11:25 flight. However, it would not be within my comfort level, due to a number of potential delays. 

[Hlitner]

While there are plenty of cabs at Port Everglades, the taxi queue can be long for those that do not get off the ship early (using express disembarkation).  We have been in and out of Port Everglades dozens of times and often take flights as early as 10am with no problem.  Our back-up plan if the taxi queue is too long and slow is to simply summon either Uber or Lyft (both apps are on our phone).  On our most recent cruise that ended in Port Everglades we were actually at FLL before 7am!  Sounds crazy but it is not uncommon.  Our ship docked by 5:30 and started express disembarkation around 6:20.  We walked off the ship at 6:30, quickly passed through Passport control and walked over to the taxi queue around 6:45.  Our taxi dropped us at FLL shortly before 7.  

 

Can things go wrong?  Absolutely.  Over our many cruises we have two ships with delayed disembarkation caused by issues with the US CBP folks (who refuses to clear the ship for various issues).  Others will tell you about ships that docked late although that has never happened to us in over forty years of extensive cruising.  In fact, more times then not our ship will dock early.

 

If you are the type person that ruminates about "what can go wrong" then we suggest spending the night in Ft Lauderdale and leaving for the airport at least 7 hours before your flight :).  If there is a meteor strike along your route then perhaps 7 hours for a 10-15 min drive would not be sufficient.

 

Hank

[zqvol]

20 hours ago, Heartcruizing said:

Thank you, you are making me feel much better, having just a little anxiety, ha!  

 

Yes, 8am at port to 11:25am flight.  

 

We were planning on getting the cruise transfers, but apparently that is not the way to go?  Do we arrange for a cab to meet us somewhere or is a cab easy to get once we are off?  There will be 4 adults, but can go in separate cabs too.  What is the best way in your opinion to get a cab once we disembark ? 

 

Thank you in advance ))

 

Cabs are easy to get when you get off they will be lined up waiting for you. Often you can get a cab that is a mini van so all four can go together or you can take two cabs since it is only 2 - 3 miles to the terminal.

 

Don't be surprised if you are at the aiport and though security before 9:00 if you carry your own luggage.

Edited January 9, 2019 by zqvol

[leaveitallbehind]

22 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

"To" an airport and "Through" an airport are vastly different things - particularly when it comes to time. Same is true for a ship's "arrival" and "disembarkation" times.

So, to answer your question: NO

 

Having done so a number of times at FLL, I have to disagree. I will caveat this by saying that this is with US based closed loop itineraries. 

 

FLL is only 10 minutes from Port Everglades. We do not carry our luggage, typically disembark around 8:00 and recover our luggage, get through customs, grab a cab, get to the airport and through security and are at the gate usually with an hour or more to spare for our usual 11:15 AM flight.  So basing this on our direct experience 3.5 hours is enough time to make a flight at FLL from  Port Everglades.

[Heartcruizing]

11 hours ago, Hlitner said:

While there are plenty of cabs at Port Everglades, the taxi queue can be long for those that do not get off the ship early (using express disembarkation).  We have been in and out of Port Everglades dozens of times and often take flights as early as 10am with no problem.  Our back-up plan if the taxi queue is too long and slow is to simply summon either Uber or Lyft (both apps are on our phone).  On our most recent cruise that ended in Port Everglades we were actually at FLL before 7am!  Sounds crazy but it is not uncommon.  Our ship docked by 5:30 and started express disembarkation around 6:20.  We walked off the ship at 6:30, quickly passed through Passport control and walked over to the taxi queue around 6:45.  Our taxi dropped us at FLL shortly before 7.  

 

Can things go wrong?  Absolutely.  Over our many cruises we have two ships with delayed disembarkation caused by issues with the US CBP folks (who refuses to clear the ship for various issues).  Others will tell you about ships that docked late although that has never happened to us in over forty years of extensive cruising.  In fact, more times then not our ship will dock early.

 

If you are the type person that ruminates about "what can go wrong" then we suggest spending the night in Ft Lauderdale and leaving for the airport at least 7 hours before your flight :).  If there is a meteor strike along your route then perhaps 7 hours for a 10-15 min drive would not be sufficient.

 

Hank

I added both apps to my phone, great tips and I will cross my fingers and toes that a meteor does not strike! 😉

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Having done so a number of times at FLL, I have to disagree. I will caveat this by saying that this is with US based closed loop itineraries. 

 

FLL is only 10 minutes from Port Everglades. We do not carry our luggage, typically disembark around 8:00 and recover our luggage, get through customs, grab a cab, get to the airport and through security and are at the gate usually with an hour or more to spare for our usual 11:15 AM flight.  So basing this on our direct experience 3.5 hours is enough time to make a flight at FLL from  Port Everglades.

Of course, it's not a problem .........................

until it's a problem.

[leaveitallbehind]

16 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Of course, it's not a problem .........................

until it's a problem.

How profound!  I understand that there are never any certainties - just as your certainty of "NO" to the OP (to which my response was addressing) is belied by our experience over the years.  A later flight, while agreed to provide more of a cushion, also does not provide any certainty against the unknown issues that could arise.

Edited January 9, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, leaveitallbehind said:

How profound!  I understand that there are never any certainties - just as your certainty of "NO" to the OP is belied by our experience over the years.  A later flight, while agreed to provided more of a cushion, also does not provide any certainty against the unknown issues that could arise.

Again, there's a reason (or three) why airlines have low prices on the earliest flights from port cities on disembarkation days. And it's not to reward early-risers. Perhaps their data over years show significant income from rebooking fees.

[wheezedr]

Did a 10:10 flight out of FLL and the worst thing was how long we had to wait at the gate.   If you do self debark in the first or second group you will have no problems.  Early debark beats the line at customs and gets you quickly to the cab line when many cabs are still lined up ready to go.  We debarked shortly after 7:00 and even checking luggage we cleared airport security by 8:20.  Will your timing be the exact same, probably not, but your flight gives you plenty of time.

[leaveitallbehind]

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Again, there's a reason (or three) why airlines have low prices on the earliest flights from port cities on disembarkation days. And it's not to reward early-risers. Perhaps their data over years show significant income from rebooking fees.

Just curious how many times you've done a closed loop cruise out of Port Everglades and flown in and out of FLL and what your experience has been with the time from the ship to the gate.  Would you have needed more than the 3.5 hours suggested by the OP?  We never have with our 6 times - just wondering what your experience has been....

Edited January 9, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[zqvol]

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Of course, it's not a problem .........................

until it's a problem.

 

A flight the next day could be too soon if for some reason the ship is delayed. As a seasoned traveler you know that over 99% of all cruises arrive home at or before the scheduled time. The time proposed by the OP is perfect. If the 11:30 fight is too early then one at 2:00 or 3:00 the same day is also likely to be too early.

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 minutes ago, zqvol said:

 

A flight the next day could be too soon if for some reason the ship is delayed. As a seasoned traveler you know that over 99% of all cruises arrive home at or before the scheduled time. The time proposed by the OP is perfect. If the 11:30 fight is too early then one at 2:00 or 3:00 the same day is also likely to be too early.

Not arguing that OP might make it. Rather, suggesting choice(s) that allow for Plan B and C, particularly since there are many variables that can adversely affect a cruise ship ETA or ETD and airport operations (e.g., experienced TSA security delays since the recent US govt. shutdown?).

 

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not arguing that OP might make it. Rather, suggesting choice(s) that allow for Plan B and C, particularly since there are many variables that can adversely affect a cruise ship ETA or ETD and airport operations (e.g., experienced TSA security delays since the recent US govt. shutdown?).

 

Cannot argue with your logic and it works fine for those who enjoy spending many hours sitting in airports.  We do try to help our odds by having Global Entry (which also gets us TSA Pre-Check).  In over forty years of extensive cruising we have never missed our initial flight out of any port, although we have sure missed later connections due to airline delays.  I agree with your Plan B philosophy and we usually have such a plan which can be a later flight or even an overnight with a flight the following morning.  I truly hate cooling my heels at FLL since that airport lacks decent airport lounges (we have access to quite a few).  MIA does offer some decent Lounge options....especially AMEX's excellent Centurion Lounge.  There are also some airline/specific lounges that make a long wait nicer then hanging out in a crowded terminal.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

54 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Just curious how many times you've done a closed loop cruise out of Port Everglades and flown in and out of FLL and what your experience has been with the time from the ship to the gate.  Would you have needed more than the 3.5 hours suggested by the OP?  We never have with our 6 times - just wondering what your experience has been....

In all honesty, you'd have to pay me to cruise in or out of most ports in Swamplandia.

That said, my cousin moments are meant as a general rule. Morning flights out of relatively small, episodically high traffic airports don't leave much wriggle room for adjusting to issue. This is the same reason why layovers in international connections should always be in major hubs and no less than 3 hrs.

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

In all honesty, you'd have to pay me to cruise in or out of most ports in Swamplandia.

That said, my cousin moments are meant as a general rule. Morning flights out of relatively small, episodically high traffic airports don't leave much wriggle room for adjusting to issue. This is the same reason why layovers in international connections should always be in major hubs and no less than 3 hrs.

Ahhh, so if we are talking about Europe, Asia or South America we generally use another strategy which is to very seldom take a flight the day we get off ships (Civitavecchia has been one exception for a bunch of reasons).  Our norm will be to spend days or even weeks on land, after a cruise.  A majority of time it is just a matter of picking up our rental or leased car and driving off into the sunset :).  We also like to fly-in days or weeks early (sometimes to an airport far from our port) and enjoy land time before getting our cruise.   Not only does this take away all the stress of making a flight, but it allows us to spend significant time on land.   One interesting facet about Civitavecchia is that we have never been on a ship that docked late...and the Italians are among the most efficient (it hurts to say that the Italians do anything efficient) at clearing ships.  Since there are no delays for Customs/Immigration we have no hesitancy in booking later morning flights.

 

Hank

[leaveitallbehind]

50 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

In all honesty, you'd have to pay me to cruise in or out of most ports in Swamplandia.

That said, my cousin moments are meant as a general rule. Morning flights out of relatively small, episodically high traffic airports don't leave much wriggle room for adjusting to issue. This is the same reason why layovers in international connections should always be in major hubs and no less than 3 hrs.

As I thought.  At least my response is relevant for the OP as it is based on actual experiences at that port and airport, not just an opinion based on some general rule. 

 

Enjoy your cruises.

Edited January 9, 2019 by leaveitallbehind