Fort Lauderdale flight question

[crusin1112]

Hey all! Going on a Symphony of the Seas cruise out of Port Everglades. The cruise returns on Sunday April 28th. Thoughts on booking a flight leaving from FLL at 10:05am to return home?  Is that too close for comfort or should I be ok?

[khm1]

I had a flight booked for 10:15 am on Easter Sunday. I am also on Symphony OTS. I read too many posts and blogs about how that was cutting it too close for comfort. I switched my flight home to 2 pm. I don’t want to spend the entire cruise stressed about debarking the ship and making my flight. It may be possible, but I chose not to risk it. 

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, crusin1112 said:

Hey all! Going on a Symphony of the Seas cruise out of Port Everglades. The cruise returns on Sunday April 28th. Thoughts on booking a flight leaving from FLL at 10:05am to return home?  Is that too close for comfort or should I be ok?

Way too close.  I just flew out of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.  It was 40 minutes in the Delta Sky Priority Line to drop luggage while Security PreCheck was just five minutes.  There was no sitting left in in the checkin area, lines stretching outside to checkin with police manning entry to keep line jumpers out.   

[crusin1112]

Thanks to the both of you for the feedback. I’m definitely going to explore options for a later flight time and see what’s available

[nhraformula00]

Or just stay an extra day and fly home the following day. 

[nhraformula00]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1850+Eller+Dr,+Fort+Lauderdale,+FL+33316/@26.0949723,-80.1273174,15z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x88d9000acb53aa5b:0xb27ceb98027011f0!2s1850+Eller+Dr,+Fort+Lauderdale,+FL+33316!3b1!8m2!3d26.0816224!4d-80.1205692!16s%2Fg%2F11bw3_l97g!3m5!1s0x88d9000acb53aa5b:0xb27ceb98027011f0!8m2!3d26.0816224!4d-80.1205692!16s%2Fg%2F11bw3_l97g?entry=ttu

Here is a link to the area, just blow it up a little and you can see everything in the area. Enjoy!!

[philv]

On 3/4/2024 at 6:52 PM, crusin1112 said:

Hey all! Going on a Symphony of the Seas cruise out of Port Everglades. The cruise returns on Sunday April 28th. Thoughts on booking a flight leaving from FLL at 10:05am to return home?  Is that too close for comfort or should I be ok?

We are on the Caribbean Princess in a week. Returning following Sunday at 7:00 am. We have a 10:10 am flight back to Denver. Not worried about making it. In February 2023 we walked off ship shortly before 7:00 am and were at our gate at FLL at 7:45. We had our luggage with us, breezed through customs with a nod, didn’t even have to produce passport, and stepped into waiting taxi, there were many lined up waiting. Security at airport was wide open that time of day, no waiting. I don’t know how they do disembarkation on Symphony of the Seas but we made 10:30 am flight with time to spare. Princess does recommend booking after 12:30 if you go through the standard disembarkation procedure but you can walk off earlier. Doing the walk off rather than hanging around airport all day.

Edited March 9 by philv

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, philv said:

We are on the Caribbean Princess in a week. Returning following Sunday at 7:00 am. We have a 10:10 am flight back to Denver. Not worried about making it. In February 2023 we walked off ship shortly before 7:00 am and were at our gate at FLL at 7:45. We had our luggage with us, breezed through customs with a nod, didn’t even have to produce passport, and stepped into waiting taxi, there were many lined up waiting. Security at airport was wide open that time of day, no waiting. I don’t know how they do disembarkation on Symphony of the Seas but we made 10:30 am flight with time to spare. Princess does recommend booking after 12:30 if you go through the standard disembarkation procedure but you can walk off earlier. Doing the walk off rather than hanging around airport all day.

If the cruise line says no flights before 12:30 pm, travel insurance won't cover a missed flight before 12:30 pm.  

[capriccio]

10 hours ago, philv said:

Princess does recommend booking after 12:30 if you go through the standard disembarkation procedure but you can walk off earlier.

After our Princess cruise last July we flew out of FLL at 11:15.  I just checked EZ-Air with a mocked booking and it allows booking flights after 11 am.

[DaveOKC]

On 3/4/2024 at 7:52 PM, crusin1112 said:

Hey all! Going on a Symphony of the Seas cruise out of Port Everglades. The cruise returns on Sunday April 28th. Thoughts on booking a flight leaving from FLL at 10:05am to return home?  Is that too close for comfort or should I be ok?

We usually get right off our ship (about 8 am), catch a taxi and get to the airport in about 15 minutes.  Have TSA and airline Priority and usually are at the gate by 9 AM.  Of course, your situation may not be the same, so a 10:05 flight could be cutting it a bit close.  Key is to get to the airport BEFORE the cruiseline buses start dropping off their customers, as then the lines can get very long.

[JGmf]

OP: you shouldn't have a problem:

 

This past Thursday 3/7/24 left cabin at 7am, walked-off Princess ship, waited for Lyft, got to airport, checked bag, went through security, and was at gate by 8:10... nearly 2.5 hours early for our 10:30 SWA boarding time.