9:00AM Flight Home — Yep, did it!

[What A Market]

Ok, loads of conditions and caveats about booking and making this early AM fight after disembarkation.  
Note: This is not a recommendation.  Probably like many of you, I am always wondering what time is reasonable for booking flights.

And also like many of you, I read numerous postings on this subject.  Here’s my experience.

 

Our cruise was on the Equinox. In and out of Port Everglades. We just disembarked yesterday.  (I started a Live thread, but that was a complete bust.) We flew in a day early. (Flying from Arizona to Florida makes all but impossible to fly in same day of embarkation. I wouldn’t risk regardless.)  A work event created the situation where I needed to get back to AZ by at least late afternoon. 
 

Flying out of Fort Lauderdale was the ONLY reason I booked a flight out at 9:00AM.  I’ve flown in and out of this airport a number of times for both cruises and work, so I’m as comfortable with this airport as one can be.

 

Other factors that made this “doable”:

We were in Retreat, so had access to private/early walk off.  We also kept our luggage with us.

I pre-booked private transportation to airport.

Flying first class.

We both have TSA.

 

Disembarkation did not begin until 7:30AM, so this was somewhat stressful.  The posted arrival time in port was 7:00AM.  The Retreat hosts said earliest time for disembarkation would be 7:15 to 7:20.  DW and I stood at Retreat disembarkation door just to be sure we could be first off. (I always feel stupid doing this.  LOL)  We cleared an actual in-person customs check quickly. My car arrived within a couple of minutes, and we were off to airport. We were at gate for flight before 8:10AM.  
 

Would I do this again?  Not sure.  Likely only if work dictated. (Retiring in a few months, so likely I never have to think about this again.)

Obviously, everything went right to make this work.  The cruise ship not clearing their own clearance process would have blown the whole thing up from the start, but the travel gods smiled upon us this time.

 

 

[basenji56]

On Odyssey today. Still in customs line at 11:25. 

[CruiseloverfromGA]

We are on the Apex and are in a Sky Suite.  

 

We have an 11 AM flight out of FLL and also have TSA precheck.  

 

Should we carry off our luggage or can we get in the first disembarkation group?  We also arranged a private transfer to the airport (currently set for 8:30 but I can adjust if needed).  

 

I'm also familiar with FLL.  I lived there for 20 years.

[What A Market]

8 minutes ago, CruiseloverfromGA said:

We are on the Apex and are in a Sky Suite.  

 

We have an 11 AM flight out of FLL and also have TSA precheck.  

 

Should we carry off our luggage or can we get in the first disembarkation group?  We also arranged a private transfer to the airport (currently set for 8:30 but I can adjust if needed).  

 

I'm also familiar with FLL.  I lived there for 20 years.

I guess it would depend on the Apex’s arrival time in port.  If 7:00AM or earlier, then probably ok to have your luggage handled by the ship’s normal offloading process. I’m assuming Sky Suite has all normal Retreat disembarkation privileges.  If so, don’t worry about disembarkation groups.  Just let them know you want to disembark thru the Retreat.

Edited November 13, 2022 by What A Market

[jean87510]

44 minutes ago, What A Market said:

Ok, loads of conditions and caveats about booking and making this early AM fight after disembarkation.  
Note: This is not a recommendation.  Probably like many of you, I am always wondering what time is reasonable for booking flights.

And also like many of you, I read numerous postings on this subject.  Here’s my experience.

 

Our cruise was on the Equinox. In and out of Port Everglades. We just disembarked yesterday.  (I started a Live thread, but that was a complete bust.) We flew in a day early. (Flying from Arizona to Florida makes all but impossible to fly in same day of embarkation. I wouldn’t risk regardless.)  A work event created the situation where I needed to get back to AZ by at least late afternoon. 
 

Flying out of Fort Lauderdale was the ONLY reason I booked a flight out at 9:00AM.  I’ve flown in and out of this airport a number of times for both cruises and work, so I’m as comfortable with this airport as one can be.

 

Other factors that made this “doable”:

We were in Retreat, so had access to private/early walk off.  We also kept our luggage with us.

I pre-booked private transportation to airport.

Flying first class.

We both have TSA.

 

Disembarkation did not begin until 7:30AM, so this was somewhat stressful.  The posted arrival time in port was 7:00AM.  The Retreat hosts said earliest time for disembarkation would be 7:15 to 7:20.  DW and I stood at Retreat disembarkation door just to be sure we could be first off. (I always feel stupid doing this.  LOL)  We cleared an actual in-person customs check quickly. My car arrived within a couple of minutes, and we were off to airport. We were at gate for flight before 8:10AM.  
 

Would I do this again?  Not sure.  Likely only if work dictated. (Retiring in a few months, so likely I never have to think about this again.)

Obviously, everything went right to make this work.  The cruise ship not clearing their own clearance process would have blown the whole thing up from the start, but the travel gods smiled upon us this time.

 

 

shhh.  Keep this a secret.  Let everyone think you must get an afternoon flight for this port!!  😉

[C-Dragons]

19 minutes ago, CruiseloverfromGA said:

We are on the Apex and are in a Sky Suite.  

 

We have an 11 AM flight out of FLL and also have TSA precheck.  

 

Should we carry off our luggage or can we get in the first disembarkation group?  We also arranged a private transfer to the airport (currently set for 8:30 but I can adjust if needed).  

 

I'm also familiar with FLL.  I lived there for 20 years.

Since you are in the Retreat you can get off as soon as the ship is cleared. You should receive luggage tags with a number 4.

We disembarked from the Apex yesterday and our Airline said to be at the terminal 2 hours prior to departure. There were 5 ships in port disembarking! We collected our luggage shoreside caught a cab and were at the terminal a little after 9am.

Edited November 13, 2022 by C-Dragons

[NutsAboutGolf]

Out of FLL done three flights at 8:47am.  Here are my tips for making early flights:

1) have a backup flight picked out with open seats

2) self carry if you’re able to

3) use a taxi as while I’m a huge ride share fan, you don’t want to deals a driver who cancels and/or can’t get into the port area

4) you can use curb side check in if you don’t have status, I was told the cutoff for checked luggage was 45mins before scheduled departure

5) If you ever travel a few times a year get global which is a little over $100 for 5 years which includes pre-check…Just to keep on your shoes walk through a metal detector vs a body scanner is worth it

[C-Dragons]

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

5) If you ever travel a few times a year get global which is a little over $100 for 5 years which includes pre-check…Just to keep on your shoes walk through a metal detector vs a body scanner is worth it

Best advice. 👍

We have Global Entry too.

Edited November 13, 2022 by C-Dragons

[Fly and Sail]

Using a regular cab from the taxi line is just as efficient as waiting for a driver to arrive. Also, never use ride share unless you have a lot of time. Taxis are metered but Rideshare all have peak pricing that's totally out of control when a cruise docks.

 

Btw, why are there suddenly real customs checks again at Port Everglades? None of my three cruises had them before.

[NutsAboutGolf]

-Taxi, very short walk, jump in and go to the airport; fixed price at $20

 

-Ride share, at best takes the same amount of time as a taxi and may be a few bucks cheaper…At worst, they’re more expensive, you’re waiting for a driver who may never come as they could cancel after getting spooked at the security checkpoint or may not be able to get through it for a variety of reasons including a language barrier

[dlh015]

You folks are reminding me of the old O. J. Simpson (Hertz) where he's running thru the airport...

😂🤣😂

[Fly and Sail]

24 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

-Taxi, very short walk, jump in and go to the airport; fixed price at $20

 

-Ride share, at best takes the same amount of time as a taxi and may be a few bucks cheaper…At worst, they’re more expensive, you’re waiting for a driver who may never come as they could cancel after getting spooked at the security checkpoint or may not be able to get through it for a variety of reasons including a language barrier

 

They asked my Lyft driver for ID and probably by mistake he showed his concealed carry permit. That initiated the question if he had any firearms in the vehicle to which he answered yes (doesn't bother me but I could imagine some folks would freak out) and they turned him away because "the port is a federal facility" and apparently you can't bring personal firearms there. Not sure if that law is correct but we had to turn all the way back to the nearest safe pickup point (mini mall next to the Renaissance) and I requested an UBER in the meanwhile. I was in no hurry but this was the weirdest Rideshare story I have in combination with FLL Cruise Port. 🙂

[Mark_K]

1 hour ago, dlh015 said:

You folks are reminding me of the old O. J. Simpson (Hertz) where he's running thru the airport...

😂🤣😂

…. and stuffing a duffel bag in the trash can.

[Arizona Wildcat]

5 hours ago, jean87510 said:

shhh.  Keep this a secret.  Let everyone think you must get an afternoon flight for this port!!  😉

Would not do what the OP did.  Too much stress as the OP indicated.  We use the luggage service and have our bags arrive in Tucson.  Go out and enjoy a leisurely lunch.

Too many things can go wrong.

We have  been held up to self disembark as late as 9:30 when on a TA and 8am when there was a medical emergency.   In Tampa waiting for 4 hours to clear CBP.   

[jean87510]

2 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Would not do what the OP did.  Too much stress as the OP indicated.  We use the luggage service and have our bags arrive in Tucson.  Go out and enjoy a leisurely lunch.

Too many things can go wrong.

We have  been held up to self disembark as late as 9:30 when on a TA and 8am when there was a medical emergency.   In Tampa waiting for 4 hours to clear CBP.   

TAs are a little different from a cruise starting and ending in the same port.  Tampa is not Fort Lauderdale.  It isn't stressful if you are organized, have TSA precheck, priority check in on American, have internet access/phone on during the cruise, self disembark, pre schedule your lyft transfer if needed.  Fort Lauderdale has facial recognition which is great with a passport.  I am fine with no one else doing what the OP and I did/do.  

[jean87510]

5 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

-Taxi, very short walk, jump in and go to the airport; fixed price at $20

 

-Ride share, at best takes the same amount of time as a taxi and may be a few bucks cheaper…At worst, they’re more expensive, you’re waiting for a driver who may never come as they could cancel after getting spooked at the security checkpoint or may not be able to get through it for a variety of reasons including a language barrier

We just used a taxi when disembarking from our Allure cruise.  It was so much faster and better than lyft.  We usually pre book the lyft but forgot to do it the day before.  When we walked outside in Fort Lauderdale, we just got a taxi.  Much faster and easier.  Did make our flight 90 minutes later 😉

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, jean87510 said:

TAs are a little different from a cruise starting and ending in the same port.  Tampa is not Fort Lauderdale.  It isn't stressful if you are organized, have TSA precheck, priority check in on American, have internet access/phone on during the cruise, self disembark, pre schedule your lyft transfer if needed.  Fort Lauderdale has facial recognition which is great with a passport.  I am fine with no one else doing what the OP and I did/do.  

The wild card is how long it takes for the ship to get clearance so passengers can disembark. Even with all of those things on your side, early flights are still a risk. The decision all depends on how stressful missing the flight would be. I’ve sat on the ship waiting at the port in Fort Lauderdale till after 9:00 even when I was in the first group to walk off a ship that docked very early.

[RichYak]

9 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

1) have a backup flight picked out with open seats

Open seats are not indicative of availability.

Edited November 14, 2022 by RichYak

[NMTraveller]

LOL!  This reminds me of running through JFK to catch my next flight overseas.   Not something that I would do again, but if the situation warrants perhaps so.

[jean87510]

5 hours ago, Torfamm said:

The wild card is how long it takes for the ship to get clearance so passengers can disembark. Even with all of those things on your side, early flights are still a risk. The decision all depends on how stressful missing the flight would be. I’ve sat on the ship waiting at the port in Fort Lauderdale till after 9:00 even when I was in the first group to walk off a ship that docked very early.

And if it happens, we get another flight and stay in Fort Lauderdale for the day.  However, the odds are better that the process will run smoothly.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

10 hours ago, RichYak said:

Open seats are not indicative of availability.

 

Open seats/the seat map are the predictor of availability we have; if you see a few dozen open seats odds are you're in great shape

[RichYak]

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Open seats/the seat map are the predictor of availability we have; if you see a few dozen open seats odds are you're in great shape

Or more likely it could mean that a few dozen people booked Basic Economy (can't select seats until check-in) and there's very little availability. In other words, it's not at all a predictor.

[20165]

We did kinda an opposite experiment last week when disembarked from the Silhoutte out of Miami.  Our flight wasnt until the next day so we wanted to see how long they would allow us to stay on the ship.  Same type of timing as the OP, they were disembarking around 7:30 although it was suppose to be 7.  We went to the lobby around 8:30 and they were asking us to leave at 9:30.  So even waiting to be one of the last people off the ship, we would have easily made a 11:00 flight.   Totally agree that there are factors that can change these times a lot.  An example would be when we got on the ship, it was delayed because it came from europe and i guess there is more customs procedures they have to go through and i saw people still walking off after 11.

[D C]

22 hours ago, What A Market said:

Ok, loads of conditions and caveats about booking and making this early AM fight after disembarkation.  
Note: This is not a recommendation.  Probably like many of you, I am always wondering what time is reasonable for booking flights.

And also like many of you, I read numerous postings on this subject.  Here’s my experience.

 

Our cruise was on the Equinox. In and out of Port Everglades. We just disembarked yesterday.  (I started a Live thread, but that was a complete bust.) We flew in a day early. (Flying from Arizona to Florida makes all but impossible to fly in same day of embarkation. I wouldn’t risk regardless.)  A work event created the situation where I needed to get back to AZ by at least late afternoon. 
 

Flying out of Fort Lauderdale was the ONLY reason I booked a flight out at 9:00AM.  I’ve flown in and out of this airport a number of times for both cruises and work, so I’m as comfortable with this airport as one can be.

 

Other factors that made this “doable”:

We were in Retreat, so had access to private/early walk off.  We also kept our luggage with us.

I pre-booked private transportation to airport.

Flying first class.

We both have TSA.

 

Disembarkation did not begin until 7:30AM, so this was somewhat stressful.  The posted arrival time in port was 7:00AM.  The Retreat hosts said earliest time for disembarkation would be 7:15 to 7:20.  DW and I stood at Retreat disembarkation door just to be sure we could be first off. (I always feel stupid doing this.  LOL)  We cleared an actual in-person customs check quickly. My car arrived within a couple of minutes, and we were off to airport. We were at gate for flight before 8:10AM.  
 

Would I do this again?  Not sure.  Likely only if work dictated. (Retiring in a few months, so likely I never have to think about this again.)

Obviously, everything went right to make this work.  The cruise ship not clearing their own clearance process would have blown the whole thing up from the start, but the travel gods smiled upon us this time.

 

 

Nice.  What were the flight/airport details?  I suspect some airlines/security checkpoints may be quicker/easier than others?

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Or more likely it could mean that a few dozen people booked Basic Economy (can't select seats until check-in) and there's very little availability. In other words, it's not at all a predictor.

For some airlines, sure.  One would need to do their due diligence based on the airline as they greatly vary with basic fare, some do not allow you pick your seats at all, some let you pick them at 24 hours and others allow you book in advance for a fee.

 

Another option is to just book the backup flight if you’re okay with receiving a credit vs a refund