Disembarkation Fort Lauderdale

[Southward-Bound]

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

[voljeep]

maybe - what's your backup plan ?

[suekel]

Provided there are no glitches with customs etc, you can do a walk off right at 7 and be at the airport within the hour.  I have a Princess approved flight at 11:30.  

[tailspintom]

15 minutes ago, Southward-Bound said:

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

We have never had an issue in FLL. That does not mean that you won't.  If it were my decision, I would keep my 11:15 flight.  If you are able to do a walk off disembarkation it will be an added assurance. We last used the FLL cruise terminal in April and the process was exceptional.

[neverbeenhere]

You have no issue as you could practically walk there in time. If the ship has an issue, that’s another thing. 

[Kingofcool1947]

49 minutes ago, Southward-Bound said:

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

 

Off ship and out of terminal:   About 10 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Cab to airport:  drive time 25 minutes.

Good luck.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[Colo Cruiser]

43 minutes ago, Southward-Bound said:

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

We are usually in the first walk off group by 7:30 and at the gate by 8:00.

We grab an Uber/Lyft/Taxi.

No way to tell ahead of time.

If the disembarkation is delayed then it messes everything up.

[Daisyloo]

The cruise ships usually arrive in the port of Ft Lauderdale very early in the morning - approximately somewhere between  4:30 to 6:00 am.  Our experiences have been that early walk-offs begin around 7:30 am.  Usually, getting through customs/immigration is quick at that time.  Cabs are plentiful and lined up and waiting as you exit the terminal.  It is a quick 10 minute ride to the airport. 

So, if your ship arrives on time, you should have no trouble making your flight.

I have to add :  on one of our early cruises, on the Eurodam,  the ship was about 2 hours late getting back into Ft Lauderdale because they had been involved in a rescue at sea.  So be aware that late arrivals do happen occasionally.

[Island Old Salt]

1 hour ago, Southward-Bound said:

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

2 weeks ago, they started leaving us off at 7:30, I had a transfer and made it to FLL for a 9:45 flight with time to spare! However be aware that there was no orderly disembarkation that stay and it was a mad stampede to get off with only one helpless person supervising. Caribbean Princess

Edited June 22, 2019 by Island Old Salt

[Island Old Salt]

Ha, just noticed your location, lived there over 30 years, Puerto Rico now!

Edited June 22, 2019 by Island Old Salt

[Clampram]

What will it cost you if you miss your flight?? If you don't have any kind of status with your airline you may not get anything......knowing this will give you the answer, I think!!

[fishywood]

2 hours ago, Southward-Bound said:

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

Princess' recommended flight times from FLL are at least 4.5 hours after scheduled arrival.

Cutting it short by 15 minutes is fine.

Though a few more details would be more reassuring: are you on a Royal-class ship arriving at Terminal 2? On a weekend? Which airline? And of course we are assuming FLL airport and not MIA.

[CruisinFinsUp]

On 6/22/2019 at 10:31 AM, Southward-Bound said:

How long does it take to get off the ship for a walk off in Fort Lauderdale? The ship says 7:00 so is this the time we can leave, or the time we get in, and can we make a 11:15 flight to Canada? Thanks for your help.

 

We fly Air Canada FLL to YYZ.  

As others have said, there may be delays in the ship arriving.  Some are scheduled for 6am so 7am is not the first arriving.  

 

There may be shortages of US customs staff at the port making disembarkation slow - walkoff with all luggage is a must for an 11 am flight.  

 

Also, how many other ships are coming in that day? 

 There can be a very long line for baggage drop / checkin at Air Canada.    They do take earlier flights first, but the lines are long if many ships are in port.  

 

Security at FLL is a huge bottleneck, and you can get stuck with everyone else as you try to get thru.  This causes delays. 

 

We have made it to the gate with lots of time, and we have also barely made it for boarding.    It can go either way.    I'm guessing you are making a connection somewhere - if you miss that, have a backup plan.     

[kywildcatfanone]

You will have plenty of time.  Wouldn't need to leave ship till 8:30 for an 11am flight.

[Kate P.C]

I think there is plenty of time to catch your flight at FLL airport. Ships dock on time on turnaround days, I haven't heard people missing their flights because the ship got in late on disembarkation day. You can leave as soon as it's docked and wait at the airport more relaxed.

[san diego sue]

Really depends on where the ship is coming from that can cause a delay. If the ship just did a transatlantic and has been gone for several months, may be a delay in customs and immigration. Also should there be many non U.S. citizens, can cause a bottle neck in immigration. A few years ago we were on a transatlantic that ended in NY(Brooklyn terminal). There were only 10% U.S. citizens on board. Was suppose to disembark at 9:30, got off the ship at almost noon. It was so jammed at immigration, they stopped disembarkation for  an 1 1/2 hrs.Don't know if this ever happens in Florida but will find out in November when we are on the Sky Princess transatlantic.

[tobyt]

Be sure to get through TSA as quickly as possible when you arrive at the airport. The TSA lines  can quickly back up for hours....last December I flew in with my brother to see our Dad we both are TSA pre check, no checked luggage so nothing but the TSA line and still waited an hour plus...March cruise with hubby no issues no wait, we breezed right in. It can go either way!

[Thrak]

I wouldn't hesitate to take that flight. Yes, disaster could strike and you could miss the flight but then disaster could strike and cause you to miss a 2 PM flight as well. You will almost certainly have lots of time to wait around for your flight.

[Colo Cruiser]

4 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I wouldn't hesitate to take that flight. Yes, disaster could strike and you could miss the flight but then disaster could strike and cause you to miss a 2 PM flight as well. You will almost certainly have lots of time to wait around for your flight.

Boo.......Hiss......

[FloaterBoat]

Cutting it kind of close IMO

[Steelers36]

20 minutes ago, FloaterBoat said:

Cutting it kind of close IMO

Not at all, IMO. 

 

Have always taken AM flights from FLL back home and never an issue - even when they were 10:XX versus 11:XX.

 

Just recalled - had an issue once.  Air Canada was late (delayed).  Doesn't count though.  I wish the airlines could run as efficiently as the cruiselines.  LOL.

Edited June 24, 2019 by steelers36

[voljeep]

yet another thread where the OP never came back with a backup plan...IMO

[Steven_&_Daniel]

What has anyone's recent experience been disembarking in FLL regarding use of Mobile Passport?  On previous trips, there was a separate line for Mobile Passport users and hardly anyone using it. On our last cruise, I had our Mobile Passport ready and was told they were "not doing that".   Did they discontinue it?

[FloaterBoat]

9 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Not at all, IMO. 

 

Have always taken AM flights from FLL back home and never an issue - even when they were 10:XX versus 11:XX.

You're probably right.  I think of all the things that can slow down a disembarkation.

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, FloaterBoat said:

You're probably right.  I think of all the things that can slow down a disembarkation.

We have had more than one delayed embarkation, but never anything serious for a disembarkation, except that once in PE, there were fewer than normal workers on a holiday and there were delays in getting bags organized in T2 so that passengers could retrieve them.  

 

We had been Walk Off for many cruises before that and this one did involve a large bag to pick up.  My mistake was assuming the bag would be there ready for when we wanted to walk off and head for airport (later.. around 8:30am I think).  So, we had to wait longer to be able to walk over and get that bag even though it was sitting there in plain sight.  All it meant was we didn't get a decent seat at the gate and were not there long before boarding.  All we needed to do was have an earlier bag pick-up time and it would not have been an issue.