Would an 11:45 flight out of West Palm Beach be doable from Miami?

[kroozaholic]

We will be cruising on Oasis which ports in Miami. The cheapest airfare I can find for our return home is out of West Palm Beach. Would I have any issues making an 11:45 flight? For those that have done it, what shuttle service did you use? I know it's approximately 70 miles so I'm concerned about making this flight. 

[firefly333]

I would never do it that early. Tri rail would be the fastest trip, but then you need to get to the airport still. Uber or something. 

[voyager70]

Too early. I wouldn’t even book an 11:45 am flight out of FLL for a Miami arrival.

 

[bucfan2]

As long as you're at the gate prior to them closing the jet bridge door, no problem what-so-ever.  

[TravelinTess]

Do all members of your party have Pre-Check?

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

 Tri rail would be the fastest trip, but then you need to get to the airport still. Uber or something. 

Brightline is a bit faster (and closer to port) than Tri-rail (80 min vs 105min). Apparently RCI HQ staff use it to commute between Miami and West Palm Beach.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Biker19

[dcgrumpy]

Possible? Yes. Would I ever attempt it? No. It could make for a very stressful end to a trip. 

[pcur]

Have all the adults in your party get Southwest credit cards for the bonus 50,0000.  Then, book everyone the one way trip home from MIA with points.

 

And, starting Spring 2024 they are going to start allowing bookings with points + cash.

Edited October 17, 2023 by pcur

[RJ257]

7 hours ago, kroozaholic said:

We will be cruising on Oasis which ports in Miami. The cheapest airfare I can find for our return home is out of West Palm Beach. Would I have any issues making an 11:45 flight? For those that have done it, what shuttle service did you use? I know it's approximately 70 miles so I'm concerned about making this flight. 

Brightline would be best. FYI TSA at WPB is very quick.

[neverbeenhere]

No worries. Get up really early and stand in line, be the first off the ship. Straight to a taxi… boom you’re there. Savings gone, so next time you’ll fly to Miami. 😃

[Coralc]

No.

[dunrobbin]

No,  With the overwhelming flight delays, baggage delays I would never fly in the day of my cruise.

Always the day before.

[Biker19]

10 minutes ago, dunrobbin said:

No,  With the overwhelming flight delays, baggage delays I would never fly in the day of my cruise.

Always the day before.

The OP is flying out after cruise.

[Husky1987]

10 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

No worries. Get up really early and stand in line, be the first off the ship. Straight to a taxi… boom you’re there. Savings gone, so next time you’ll fly to Miami. 😃

 

This.

 

OP, please do us a favor and report back when you're sitting at PBI at 9:00 waiting for your flight.

[volk904]

We have made 10:15 flights easy out of FLL from Miami.  I think you can do if you walk off early as possible.  I would suggest checking out the Brightline train to get to West Palm.  Uber would be good but expensive.  

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Blessed to cruise since the 1970s and have learned never fly that early. So much can go wrong. Ship arrives late, customs and immigration arrive late, not enough officers, too many ships in port (especially Florida), weather, the airport is crazy, traffic, etc etc. My belief is you worked hard for a beautiful relaxing vacation and there is no need to stress yourself if you miss your flight and have more stress. I understand cost is a factor but I would not do it. In fact I fly in a few days early and fly out a few days later. Just my opinion.

[Dan83]

On 10/17/2023 at 10:07 AM, kroozaholic said:

We will be cruising on Oasis which ports in Miami. The cheapest airfare I can find for our return home is out of West Palm Beach. Would I have any issues making an 11:45 flight? For those that have done it, what shuttle service did you use? I know it's approximately 70 miles so I'm concerned about making this flight. 

Yes it’s doable. I have booked 11:45 flights out of PBI for a Fort Lauderdale cruise in December.  From Miami it will be more expensive and more risk. You will need to make the calculations judgment call for yourself. Have a plan and a backup plan. The savings of flying from PBI can be significant. Especially if you’re buying tickets for a family of four or five.  Even with an Expensive Uber to the airport you may come out well ahead. One thing that gripes me about this board is that people love to tell others how to spend their money. “Just pay the extra and fly from Miami” is easy advice to give when you’re traveling solo and not buying tickets for an entire family. Just do your research and make your decision based on your own comfort level.  
Just food for thought about missing flights. In a worst case scenario, the ship is late or any other reason beyond your control, you miss the flight. Depending on the airline, most of the legacy carriers will give you flat tire standby. Depending on circumstances this may be a non event or it could be a nightmare. Your confirmed ticket just became a standby ticket. Flying standby sucks these days with flight loads being so high. But it’s not the end of the world. I fly standby all the time. The flat tire standbys get a higher priority than any non revenue standby and they usually get on the next flight or in most cases will get a flight out later the same day. And if you’re cutting it close that’s an important thing to research. How many later flights that same day would get you home?  If there are several more then your chances of getting on one with flat tire standby are very good. And that’s if you miss your planned flight which is unlikely if you’ve planned ahead. 
Now take my advice with a grain of salt. I travel domestically quite a bit and I’ll take some chances. I once made an 8:35 flight from Houston Hobby after disembarking Adventure of the Seas in Galveston. Now that one was close.