Anybody ever make a 9:20AM flight debarking in Fort Lauderdale?

[chamima]

2 hours ago, tabprincess said:

Thanks for all your input!  I have decided to not risk it.  Our flight doesn't leave until 9PM!   That will be a long wait at the airport, but at least there will be no stress getting off the ship.

 

 

1 hour ago, Loverofdogs said:

Check on ezcheck when you get on the ship. If they have it and your airlines participates, it is the best way to finish the cruise.  Have your flight info and confirmation number with you and get the paperwork from guest services. They will get your luggage the last night and you will not see it until you get to final destination. Yes, it cost $ but so worth it! You will also get boarding passes. We have done this every cruise and did it this past January on the Sky Princess. 

 

6 minutes ago, Loverofdogs said:

 

Yes we used it on our cruise in January 2022. We disembarked on January 22, 2022 from Sky Princess. I had to check with guest services about it, as they had always left the paperwork in our cabin pre covid.  Got the paperwork from them( guest services) and had to be returned by Wednesday ( 19th) at noon. 

 

 

We disembarked on January 9th from the CB. Perhaps it was just a little too early in the season  or perhaps Guest Services was misinformed.

Either way  - tabprincess  - EZ check will be the best money you spend on the cruise!!!! You can disembark with just your hand luggage and spend the day however you want. There's a really nice Fort Lauderdale water taxi that will take you all over the area. You can get on and off as many times as you want. https://watertaxi.com/

[doone]

Too stressful for me.  Last time I was on a ship, we docked on time, but there was a medical emergency onboard and we were delayed disembarkation for a good hour.........I wouldn't book anything before 11 am and even that is a bit early.........I feel comfortable with a noon or later flight home.

[tabprincess]

On 2/22/2022 at 1:34 PM, chamima said:

 

 

 

 

We disembarked on January 9th from the CB. Perhaps it was just a little too early in the season  or perhaps Guest Services was misinformed.

Either way  - tabprincess  - EZ check will be the best money you spend on the cruise!!!! You can disembark with just your hand luggage and spend the day however you want. There's a really nice Fort Lauderdale water taxi that will take you all over the area. You can get on and off as many times as you want. https://watertaxi.com/

Thanks!  I will definitely check it out!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 2/20/2022 at 3:32 PM, johnmik1 said:

I have done it numerous times.We walk off as soon as we can and have been sitting in the terminal as early as 7:00AM,

 

I am curious what cruise line this was with, how early you docked and what time you actually walked off the ship? Didn't you have to go through Immigration & Customs?

[johnmik1]

10 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

I am curious what cruise line this was with, how early you docked and what time you actually walked off the ship? Didn't you have to go through Immigration & Customs?

It was with both Princess and HAL and we both have Global Entry Cards so we go through a special line at Customs where there is usually nobody in the line.We are usually lined up by 6:15 off by 6:30.We also live in Chicago and SWA has numerous flights and we can always take a later flight if we are late but that has never happened.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

9 minutes ago, johnmik1 said:

It was with both Princess and HAL and we both have Global Entry Cards so we go through a special line at Customs where there is usually nobody in the line.We are usually lined up by 6:15 off by 6:30.We also live in Chicago and SWA has numerous flights and we can always take a later flight if we are late but that has never happened.

 

Good stuff to know. One last question; was this pre-pandemic or have you had similar experiences since 2020?

 

The only cruises we've done since cruising resumed have been out of San Pedro so we have no flights to catch, therefore we've stayed on the ship as long as possible.

[johnmik1]

4 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Good stuff to know. One last question; was this pre-pandemic or have you had similar experiences since 2020?

 

The only cruises we've done since cruising resumed have been out of San Pedro so we have no flights to catch, therefore we've stayed on the ship as long as possible.

These were all pre-pandemic.We did take 3 cruises last November but the only non-stop flights home were later in the morning.We only do the early walk offs when there is an earlier nonstop and we don't want to sit in the airport all day.

[starfish327]

One year I disembarked in PR and there was a strike. The cab drivers closed down the highways, those working in customs couldn't get to the port. You will arrive early in the morning but you got to prepare for the unexpected.

[Cienfuegos]

When we last arrived in Miami cruise port, the Customs and Immigration staff did not begin work until 7 am. Precisely.  The ship arrived about 6.15 am.

 

Don't know what the schedule is for Port Everglades.

[kenb]

I'm going to try to be as nice as possible! GOOD LUCK!

[kenb]

47 minutes ago, kenb said:

I'm going to try to be as nice as possible! GOOD LUCK!

tabprincess, I saw you changed you flight. That was a good idea. 

Have a great cruise!

[weltek]

I'm just now reading this (and several versions of this same question) while deciding if we can make a 10 am flight. It's either that, or wait until the next day which is more hotel money, another burned vacation day, and by that point, I'm really just wanting to get home. I'm more of an "extra days on the front end" person.

We tried to get on an earlier MIA post-cruise flight once (when I wasn't using a BOGO), so rushed off and were through MIA security by 8:30. That was with no status or precheck. And all but one other time out of Miami, we've had no problems getting to the airport quickly, even during mid-morning crunch time.

Now, we have TSA Precheck, so hopefully that will also aid in our haste. If the ship is disembarking guests before 8 am, I'll feel good and no stress. If there's a major snafu, as there has been just once during all my cruising, then I'll sweat.

 

A backup plan will definitely be in order.