Embarking / Disembarking strategy when arriving and departing a day prior to and after cruise / Fort Lauderdale

[bbodb1]

Good day all.  We will be taking our second cruise in November on HAL after our first cruise last year on Carnival.  We chose Carnival for price and proximity to our home as driving to Galveston was doable for us and while we mostly enjoyed the Carnival experience, we want to experience other cruise lines to compare the on board experience to see if there is a better fit for our tastes and preferences.  

 

One lesson learned from the Carnival experience was how bad the disembarking experience can be.  We self carried our luggage mainly to allow for a quicker disembarkation but the Carnival disembarkation process (along with the layout and path passengers had to travel) created far too many choke points with NO Carnival personnel present to help direct passengers off the boat in a timely manner.  We actually tried leaving our room a few minutes prior to the time for those carrying their own luggage to depart only to discover the madness.  I do want to pause here to acknowledge this was our first cruise and I can imagine disembarkation is always going to be chaotic but we are trying to plan for a better experience with our upcoming cruise on HAL (Nieuw Amersterdam) in November.  

 

Since we will be flying to Fort Lauderdale, our plan is to arrive a day prior to the cruise departure, stay overnight in a hotel close to the cruise port, take the cruise, disembark and again stay overnight in a hotel close to the cruise port, then fly home early the next day.  This brings me to the question(s) I have:

 

• Assuming no air travel issue on the arrival side (meaning we arrive in Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise), when would be the best time to arrive at Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)?  Our check out time at the hotel is 11:00 a.m. so we are not forced to depart the hotel all that early on the morning of the cruise departure due to check out time restrictions.  Obviously, the cruise is the reason to be here but having no prior experience with Port Everglades, we want to choose the embarkation time slot most likely to result in the least amount of waiting in line without having to rush about. 
• It should be noted we will be using public transportation to commute from the hotel to the cruise port, but we have very little previous experience with taxis, Uber, Lyft, etc.  The hotel offers a paid shuttle option to Port Everglades for $13 per person but I have read more than a few horror stories about the unpredictable nature of hotel shuttles to the cruise port.  A current price check on Uber looks to be in the $10-$13 range as well and taxis about $20 so it would appear a taxi, Uber or Lyft would be a more cost conscious option but I am hoping some folks with experience in this area will offer their thoughts on the best mode of public transportation to/from the cruise port.    
• This is the highest priority concern we have - how can we create the best (smoothest) disembarkation experience?  Since we are NOT in a hurry to get off the boat (recall we have a local hotel for the night with a flight departure the next morning), I was thinking about waiting in our room until (very close to) the latest possible time to disembark.  However, I understand the crew will be deeply involved in clean up and prep for the next cruise so I am wondering (approximately) what time would be best to disembark to avoid the lines and crowds associated with disembarkation?  Again, we will carry our own luggage.  Also, the ship is scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 7:00 a.m..  How long will HA allow us to remain in our room on disembarkation day?  

 

Thanks in advance for any ideas and suggestions.  

[CruiserBruce]

There is no public transit to the port. You will need to do taxi/Uber, cruise line transfers, or hotel shuttles. Those are all quite effective, efficient and reasonable. There are FAR MORE positive and normal experiences with those than negative. Don't over think this.

 

We like to get on early...we are at the pier by 11am.

 

If you are not in a hurry, you simply wait until 9:15 or 9:30. Last call will be about then, 95+% will be off by then.

[jakers]

At least now you know what not to do on Carnival. For reasons that I don't quite understand, Carnival has the most passengers that like to walk off with their luggage at the end of the cruise. It seems like half the passengers walk off. 

Fort Lauderdale is a very busy port. It is best to arrange transportation well in advance. I have had no problem with the hotel transportation. On one occasion when the number of guests exceeded the regular shuttle, they arranged for a party bus to carry the overflow. 

Since you will be staying in town after the cruise. You don't need to be in a hurry to get off the ship. Have the steward take your bags at night. Get a good nights sleep. Go to the dining room for breakfast shortly before they close and relax. Let everybody else fight the madness. 

[Mary229]

The trick to getting on a hotel shuttle is to be sure to sign up at check in then make sure you watch your luggage loaded and unloaded on your shuttle.  It is a very convenient way to get to port. Most of those shuttle drivers know exactly what they are doing. 
 

getting off is easy and there is no need to haul your own luggage.  Select the right time, select the right color luggage tag at guest services - you will be given a letter as to when and where.  

 

if you are definitely going to stay overnight go to the hotel and store your luggage with them so you can enjoy the day luggage free OR

 

I assume you are flying into Houston so here is what I would do instead.  Arrange for a late flight (after 3) homeward on the last day of the cruise and enjoy one of the end of cruise shore excursions with airport transfer.  You could also take this same excursion , go to the airport then pick up the hotel shuttle back to the hotel.

 

I have done a number of these shore excursions as a way to relax before the airport and enjoy them.  Your luggage is on the bus all day during the tour and they drop you at the correct terminal.

 

 I also assume you may be using Southwest Airlines and as convenient as they can be they are very busy on cruise days.  See if United or American have a good flight home and avoid the Southwest experience at the airport.  

Edited Thursday at 07:31 PM by Mary229

[Roz]

I've used hotel shuttles several times without incident. Not sure what horrors you're referring to.  In Ft. Lauderdale,  the airport,  cruise port, and hotel area are all close to one another, so you shouldn't experience any delay getting to the cruise terminal. 

 

Why are you adamant about taking your luggage off the ship?  Why not let the crew take it, and you can pick it up in the terminal.

Edited Thursday at 07:38 PM by Roz

[Laminator]

1 hour ago, bbodb1 said:

Good day all.  We will be taking our second cruise in November on HAL after our first cruise last year on Carnival.  We chose Carnival for price and proximity to our home as driving to Galveston was doable for us and while we mostly enjoyed the Carnival experience, we want to experience other cruise lines to compare the on board experience to see if there is a better fit for our tastes and preferences.  

 

One lesson learned from the Carnival experience was how bad the disembarking experience can be.  We self carried our luggage mainly to allow for a quicker disembarkation but the Carnival disembarkation process (along with the layout and path passengers had to travel) created far too many choke points with NO Carnival personnel present to help direct passengers off the boat in a timely manner.  We actually tried leaving our room a few minutes prior to the time for those carrying their own luggage to depart only to discover the madness.  I do want to pause here to acknowledge this was our first cruise and I can imagine disembarkation is always going to be chaotic but we are trying to plan for a better experience with our upcoming cruise on HAL (Nieuw Amersterdam) in November.  

 

Since we will be flying to Fort Lauderdale, our plan is to arrive a day prior to the cruise departure, stay overnight in a hotel close to the cruise port, take the cruise, disembark and again stay overnight in a hotel close to the cruise port, then fly home early the next day.  This brings me to the question(s) I have:

 

• Assuming no air travel issue on the arrival side (meaning we arrive in Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise), when would be the best time to arrive at Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)?  Our check out time at the hotel is 11:00 a.m. so we are not forced to depart the hotel all that early on the morning of the cruise departure due to check out time restrictions.  Obviously, the cruise is the reason to be here but having no prior experience with Port Everglades, we want to choose the embarkation time slot most likely to result in the least amount of waiting in line without having to rush about. 
• It should be noted we will be using public transportation to commute from the hotel to the cruise port, but we have very little previous experience with taxis, Uber, Lyft, etc.  The hotel offers a paid shuttle option to Port Everglades for $13 per person but I have read more than a few horror stories about the unpredictable nature of hotel shuttles to the cruise port.  A current price check on Uber looks to be in the $10-$13 range as well and taxis about $20 so it would appear a taxi, Uber or Lyft would be a more cost conscious option but I am hoping some folks with experience in this area will offer their thoughts on the best mode of public transportation to/from the cruise port.    
• This is the highest priority concern we have - how can we create the best (smoothest) disembarkation experience?  Since we are NOT in a hurry to get off the boat (recall we have a local hotel for the night with a flight departure the next morning), I was thinking about waiting in our room until (very close to) the latest possible time to disembark.  However, I understand the crew will be deeply involved in clean up and prep for the next cruise so I am wondering (approximately) what time would be best to disembark to avoid the lines and crowds associated with disembarkation?  Again, we will carry our own luggage.  Also, the ship is scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 7:00 a.m..  How long will HA allow us to remain in our room on disembarkation day?  

 

Thanks in advance for any ideas and suggestions.  

Since you are staying over in FLL after the cruise there is no reason to rush off the ship. Wait until last call for disembarkation. Let the staff handle your luggage. It will be very easy to find with most everyone already gone. 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

If you want to leave your cabin a bit earlier to give the stewards more time to switch over for the new cruisers, the previously mentioned breakfast in the dining room is a good idea-with just your last-minute luggage. Large luggage pick-up in the terminal is easy, especially if you're one of the last off the ship. If you have the beverage package, it's still good the last morning so enjoy a latte or even a bloody Mary while waiting for last call.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

When someone goes on a cruise, they should expect something is going to happen. It could be very small our it could be very big . When you have a floating on water Hotel with a Restaurant and entertainment center. Things happen .

A cruise is a adventure. That is going to have something changed on every cruise. It's not for everyone. 

[WisRiver]

We have sailed out of Fort Lauderdale four times and disembarked three times.   The first time we used a shuttle arranged by our hotel Embassy Suites.  The shuttle was a slow, expensive process.  We were in a mini-bus and had to wait for the shuttle to load and unload passengers and luggage.  The. next three departures we used a taxi and Uber.  The cost for two persons was about half the cost of a shuttle.  In all three trips the driver helped us with our luggage, which generated nice tips.  Even with the tip, the cost was still less than the shuttle.  We had almost no wait for the taxi or Uber.  My suggestion, use Uber.

 

Our flight home did not leave until afternoon, so we chose the latest disembarkation time.  We left our bags in the hallway to be picked up by crew.  We were out of our cabin by 8 AM and had breakfast in the Lido.  When we disembarked at about 9 AM the crowds had thinned., it took us about 10-15 minutes to clear customs and immigration.  Lots of HAL staff to facilitate disembarkation.  We used Uber/Lyft to get to the airport.  We had to wait for the Uber/Lyft, but it was not long.  We like the ride share because we know the cost before getting in the car.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, Laminator said:

Since you are staying over in FLL after the cruise there is no reason to rush off the ship. Wait until last call for disembarkation. Let the staff handle your luggage. It will be very easy to find with most everyone already gone. 

@bbodb1 @Laminator and everyone else here has given you great advice - only take necessary carry-on when you disembark and let your full luggage go out the night before. MDR is a nice relaxing non-rushed place to end the cruise (very different than Lido), you can let your steward have your cabin and enjoy breakfast until last call.

The airport is very close to the cruise terminal and you should find it a much different experience than disembarking Carnival in Galveston.

if your airline participates, Luggage Direct is a great service for flights leaving out of FLL so if you haven't already gotten a flight for the next day, you might consider it. If you are set on leaving the following day, still set your luggage 🧳 out the night before then ask your hotel to store it while you enjoy yourself until you check in.

Safe travels- enjoy your cruise!

[bbodb1]

Thanks to all who have replied in this thread and thanks for sharing your cruising experiences and knowledge!  Allow me to provide a bit more detail I should have provided in the OP.

 

As we will be flying into Fort Lauderdale, we did not want to bring a lot of luggage and considering the weather on this cruise should still be plenty warm for us our thinking was a backpack and a carryon bag (for each us) should suffice.  Since we are flying Southwest (and our timeline is NOT tight), my wife and I may rethink our luggage plans for this trip.  This does bring up a concern I have.

 

If we do choose to bring a suitcase or two (something we would definitely NOT self carry), I have read the procedures (and reminders) about what to (and NOT to) put in the luggage so HAL could move our bags dockside for us to pick up after we depart the ship.  My concern is this (and please recall we only have the one previous cruise experience on which to draw from) - how secure is luggage in the claim area?  Is the baggage claim experience on cruises similar to that of flying in that no one really checks if you have the correct bag?  Do personnel with HAL or the Port Authority actually verify each passenger has the proper luggage and not someone else's?

 

I realize theft can happen anywhere at any time, but I have to admit that leaving our luggage unattended in a baggage claim area for an extended time would be a cause for concern on my part.  However, I can clearly see the advantages of letting the ship's baggage handlers deal with our large bags while we could enjoy a last breakfast aboard ship that last morning and not have to carry much more than a backpack with us.  

 

With respect to this trip, I've tried to make plans that don't have us rushing (or feeling like we need to rush) to/from the airport, hotel and ship - this is in contrast to most past trips (not limited to cruises) where we always seem to have to be very concerned about sticking to tight schedules.  

 

Got to learn to relax I guess!  

[Mary229]

The terminal area is very secure.  Of course I would not put valuables like electronics or jewelry in the bags.  You can only enter from the ship not from the street.  Personnel is out there to assist.  Personally I have never heard a HAL cruiser mention any theft.  HAL ships are smaller and tend to be a more mature audience than Carnival which lends to fewer issues 

[Haljo1935]

No, there is nobody from HAL or port services physically checking luggage tags to ensure they're only claimed by the rightful owner. Bags are sorted into areas according to the colored bag tag that you got on the ship and there are workers in the area, but again, not checking tags. So, could someone take a bag that doesn't belong to them? Yes. Is it likely? Probably not; I've not experienced in all my cruising history, but there's no fail safe to prevent it.

 

We give up luggage control (for purposes of the cruise) at 2 points - Embarkation and Disembarkation.

We drop our bags w/porters at Embarkation so we go through security w/limited carry-on and we set them out the night before Disembarkation so we leave the ship w/only limited small bags. In FLL, we use Luggage Direct so once we put our bags in the hall on the last night, we don't see them again until baggage claim at our home airport. 

Remember that whatever you carry on has to fit through a scanner (think TSA airport scanner), your larger bags are handled by porters. I know you're focused on Disembarkation, I just wanted you to be aware as you plan for getting on the ship.

[bajae]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

 - only take necessary carry-on when you disembark and let your full luggage go out the night before. MDR is a nice relaxing non-rushed place to end the cruise (very different than Lido), you can let your steward have your cabin and enjoy breakfast until last call.

If I did this, would I take my carry-on to the MDR or just leave it in the cabin, just out of the way so the stewards can clean? 

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, bajae said:

If I did this, would I take my carry-on to the MDR or just leave it in the cabin, just out of the way so the stewards can clean? 

Leave it in the room. It can become something of a trip hazard or clutter in the MDR. The room stewards will realize you are still on board, and act accordingly.

 

For @bbodb1, as you can tell from my background info, I have been around Cruise Critic, and cruising for awhile (27 cruises in 20 years, 3 more booked in next 2 years). I have never heard of theft from the bag claim area at a port, never even a false or incorrect assumption it happened.

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Unfortunately, we do know one person who did have their luggage picked up by someone else. If your suitcase is a generic blue or black, I would make sure I had bright tape on the side and maybe a neon-colored pom pom on the handle-anything to let others know it's not their bag.

[Mike B Landlubber]

You’ve gotten good advice. I wanted to support the comment by one person that taking an excursion ending in the airport to take an evening flight is an excellent plan. If I can avoid it, I don’t do any other method of disembarking now.

[sambamama]

No one has mentioned the huge benefit of having Global Entry.  Global Entry gets you right to the front of the line for customs when you disembark.  And having a redcap take your luggage usually gets you to the front of the line of whatever line you are in.  I've had TSA Precheck and Global Entry for years, and it has been wonderful!  The $5 I spend for the redcap is well worth the 30 minutes I save waiting in line.  And boy does Global Entry save you time in the  Miami Airport, the worst place to come back from in the US I've been to!!!  I've hear Mobile Passport (which is free) helps as well.  I think getting Club Orange speeds up embarking ( I don't bother as I am 4 star, and I already have priority!)

[3rdGenCunarder]

59 minutes ago, sambamama said:

No one has mentioned the huge benefit of having Global Entry.  Global Entry gets you right to the front of the line for customs when you disembark.  And having a redcap take your luggage usually gets you to the front of the line of whatever line you are in.  I've had TSA Precheck and Global Entry for years, and it has been wonderful!  The $5 I spend for the redcap is well worth the 30 minutes I save waiting in line.  And boy does Global Entry save you time in the  Miami Airport, the worst place to come back from in the US I've been to!!!  I've hear Mobile Passport (which is free) helps as well.  I think getting Club Orange speeds up embarking ( I don't bother as I am 4 star, and I already have priority!)

 

That's my experience, too, both global entry and porters. The Global Entry scanners are amazing! Coming back from London recently (at Newark), I walked up to the Global Entry kiosk, took off my glasses (as required), and when I looked up from making sure they were in my purse, not the floor, I saw "proceed to agent." I didn't think I had even looked at the camera properly and it had already scanned my face and ok'd me to move on to the next step. 

 

I'm with @WisRiver on the shuttle question. I had the same Embassy Suites shuttle experience and now take Uber to the port. 

 

 

 

[bbodb1]

2 hours ago, sambamama said:

No one has mentioned the huge benefit of having Global Entry.  Global Entry gets you right to the front of the line for customs when you disembark.  And having a redcap take your luggage usually gets you to the front of the line of whatever line you are in.  I've had TSA Precheck and Global Entry for years, and it has been wonderful!  The $5 I spend for the redcap is well worth the 30 minutes I save waiting in line.  And boy does Global Entry save you time in the  Miami Airport, the worst place to come back from in the US I've been to!!!  I've hear Mobile Passport (which is free) helps as well.  I think getting Club Orange speeds up embarking ( I don't bother as I am 4 star, and I already have priority!)

 

Now that you mention this, your point reminds me of a feature of Nexus that I have not yet tried to use.  If I have read the documentation correctly, being a Nexus holder is supposed to also allow the holder all the privileges of Global Entry as well.  I'm not sure if the Nexus (and perhaps Global Entry) benefits will matter on a cruise the leaves and returns to Fort Lauderdale, but we will be sure to bring our Nexus cards along just in case.  Thanks for the reminder @sambamama!

[CruiserBruce]

26 minutes ago, bbodb1 said:

 

Now that you mention this, your point reminds me of a feature of Nexus that I have not yet tried to use.  If I have read the documentation correctly, being a Nexus holder is supposed to also allow the holder all the privileges of Global Entry as well.  I'm not sure if the Nexus (and perhaps Global Entry) benefits will matter on a cruise the leaves and returns to Fort Lauderdale, but we will be sure to bring our Nexus cards along just in case.  Thanks for the reminder @sambamama!

GE used to provide some benefits getting off a ship. But now with facial rec, I haven't seen any benefit since resuming after Covid. But what @sambamama describes is absolutely true flying into the US. Amazingly fast and efficient.

[Banditswife]

You have already gotten great advice.  I just wanted to add:  I have sailed Carnival many times & HAL several times.  Galveston can be a bit hectic, I agree.  But doing as others have said- leave your bigger luggage outside your door the night before & let the crew handle it. I keep anything of value in my smaller carry on, have never had a problem with theft or someone mistakenly taking my bag(s.)  Don't try to rush off the ship since you don't need to.  Waiting until after 8:30 AM or so will have the crowd off the ship.  Taking post cruise tour is a good idea, but keep in mind these depart fairly early on disembark day.  But the bus stores your luggage while on the tour.  FLL airport & Port Everglades are very close together, making it easy to embark & disembark.  I have used hotel shuttles many times with no major issues.  Enjoy your 2nd cruise.

[coolbluegreenseas]

Well, OP, thank you for posting my thoughts about FLL. We will be flying in the day before and staying on the beach in one of the better hotels. I was figuring rideshare from the airport to hotel and over to the port on the next day. My hotel checkout is Noon, so we’ll head to the port at that time. I am hoping it is quieter when we arrive. (To the readers who have gone out of Port Everglades before: when does the crowd thin out?) Also, I have been playing with the idea of the excursion before going to FLL upon return and with the positive comments in this thread, we will probably do so.

 

I love it when other people ask the questions that have been floating in my head.

😊

Edited Friday at 09:15 PM by coolbluegreenseas
Grammar

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Yes, Nexus cards give you the same entry benefits as GE. We've used it many times.  We've had our cards for over 10 years now. The 2 times we tried to use the GE line at the port in Ft. Lauderdale, they weren't manning it. 

[Infi]

On 7/5/2024 at 5:14 PM, coolbluegreenseas said:

 My hotel checkout is Noon, so we’ll head to the port at that time. I am hoping it is quieter when we arrive. (To the readers who have gone out of Port Everglades before: when does the crowd thin out?) Also, I have been playing with the idea of the excursion before going to FLL upon return and with the positive comments in this thread, we will probably do so.

 

I love it when other people ask the questions that have been floating in my head.

😊

 

IME, people tend to show up at Port Everglades very early. On my last few cruises, I have arrived at 10:30/11am, only to be greeted by a chock-full regular lounge and a full priority lounge at Terminal 26. I think if you arrive after noon, crowds will be significantly less. Just be attentive to HAL's all aboard time, as they keep moving those up earlier and earlier these days.