NCL Encore Miami Cruise Port- 11:40 Flight in Fort Lauderdale too early??

[bugtyler2]

On the NCL Encore flight home is February 5th out of Fort Lauderdale and cruise is out of Miami is that TOO soon??

[NW Pacific]

you really should be at airport 2 hours before flight.  Too early.  doubt if at best you will off ship, even carrying off everything with you before 830am??  Well if the travel gods are with , just maybe possible.

[phillygwm]

Depends how you expect to get to FLL.  Best case scenario, it's about 1/2 hour by car, assuming no traffic.  Don't expect that.

 

If you were among the first off the ship, carrying your own stuff, you might be out of there by 8:00.  I'd probably confirm that time with someone who has been on that cruise and knows when it disembarks.  I would NOT use the NCL transfer; that doesn't leave until the bus is full so you'll be sitting there for a while.  Take an Uber, taxi, or other private transport.  

 

Assuming 8:00-8:30 is reasonable, that will get you to FLL by 9:00-ish.  I haven't gone through that airport in a while so not sure how long it takes to clear security (Miami can be a mess.)  If you have Precheck and/or Clear I'd probably feel reasonably comfortable, recognizing that if the ship gets in late for whatever reason you don't have a lot of leeway.

Edited December 31, 2022 by phillygwm

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, bugtyler2 said:

On the NCL Encore flight home is February 5th out of Fort Lauderdale and cruise is out of Miami is that TOO soon??

The time is fine. Reduce delays by carrying your luggage off yourself and line up for self disembarkation. 

[Porsche Racing]

Just got off the Sky in MIA this morning.  Our flight was at 11:05 am leaving FLL to YYZ.   We did self disembarkation, left the ship when the all clear was given at 7:40.  Cleared American Customs (they just checked our passports and asked a few questions) which was just located outside Deck 6.  Walked thru the main terminal and got into a taxi which was just parked outside the terminal.  Got to the FLL airport at 8:30 ish and thru airport security in another 10 minutes.  (The wait at the Starbucks inside terminal 2 was longer than the security wait time.)

 

It is definitely doable, but everything has to be trouble free.  Would I do it again, not if I have other flight options (this flight was booked by NCL).  Our schedule was flexible so I wasn't too worried about missing the outbound flight.  It was stressful until we sat down at our departure gate. 

 

FYI, the taxi ride was $104 plus tip.  Our NCL transfer bus was not even at the terminal, and as someone else said, they don't leave until the bus is full....definitely not an option worth risking.

[bugtyler2]

Thank you that is what I was afraid of booked the 240 just did not want to sit around airport. What will be the latest we can get off ship?

 

[luv2kroooz]

All ashore is usually sometime between 930 and 1030. I think you booked the correct flight. If one thing goes wrong such as weather, man overboard, medical emergency, crash on I95, etc., You could be delayed and miss your flight. Why add unnecessary stress to your life for a couple of hours? You have a much greater opportunity to make a 240 flight out of FLL. If all goes as planned, have a leisurely morning onboard while others line up as early as 630 to be the first off the ship. Then, at 1000, when all ashore is called, walk off casually, without stress and long lines.

[curlstravel]

We had 11:15 flight and made it in plenty of time.  We carried our bags off the ship and got a cab.  In Oct we did exact same thing but took an uber and was surprised it came in 5 min and got us to fll even faster.

[Sailing12Away]

NCL booked us on an 11:30am flight, but we're leaving from Miami. If they didn't think it was possible, they wouldn't book you in it. Obviously no time to dilly dally and be the last off the ship, but nothing that I'm planning on worrying too much over. If I miss the flight for any reason, there will be other options to get me home to NY later so I'm not worried at all about the extra dose of vitamin D.