11AM too early a flight from Ft. Lauderdale?

[Lany]

Looking at plane tickets for our trip in October. Our ship leaves/returns to Ft. Lauderdale. Wondering if we could make an 11 AM flight from FLL when the ship returns. Any thoughts?

 

How far away is the airport from the port there?

[kbt2]

Request earlier color coded tickets to get off the ship and you'll be fine. The Lauderdale airport is only a matter of a few miles from Lauderdale port. We were off our ship in Miami at 7:30 and at Miami airport at 8:00 and the port is further from Miami airport then Lauderdale's is. I'd book that 11 am flight if it were me.

[Alexis]

Think twice about that time. If you can go out a little later, do the later. I had the white tickets which were first off after the handicapped. I do not know if that color has changed since. We made our later flight by minutes when we flew from there. They were already boarding the people who needed assistance.

And, that was with the RCCL transfers. That airport was the worse I had ever seen that day. Very disorganized. JMO

[time4u2go]

Sounds a little early to me. It would probably be OK if everything goes OK, but what if there's some delay with the ship, like with customs? I'd rather spend extra time in the airport waiting for a later flight than missing a flight because there was a delay in debarking.

[GMoney]

Port Everglades is 3.5 miles from Ft. Lauderdale / Hollywood Airport. You should easily make an 11am flight, provided your ship docks on time as planned. Make sure you disembark the ship ASAP, either by using express disembarkation (carrying your own bags) or by getting white early disembarkation tags. I recommend taking a cab from the seaport to the airport. Keep in mind that there are often multiple cruise ships in port, and security lines at the airport form quickly, so the sooner you arrive, the better.

[Fang]

IF the ship is not held for customs clearance, IF you can get off first, IF you do not have a hassle going through customs, IF the terrorist threat is not raised, IF you do not have a long line to check bags, IF you can get through airport security fast you should have no problem.

 

I would be taking a later flight.

[RoofingPrincess]

do you want to end your vacation with an airport hassle?

[negc]

You can probably make it with time to spare, but you might be cutting things a bit too close for comfort. Remember Murphy's Law. If there are other flights not that much later, I would favor those. We were looking at a flight from FLL that left just before noon, but the price went up $30 while we were in the process of booking. We eventually decided on a later flight for less money and will find something to do in the FLL area that day.

[dyanna72]

Keep in mind that the ship can arrive back at the pier late. Ours did last August. We had a 11:45 flight out of FLL. The ship did not arrive until 1pm. At least we were able to get online early enough on the ship in order to change our flights to the 3pm departure.

[ZoeyZoo]

I would go with a later flight too. If you end up at the pier early, you can always try to change you ticket to an earlier time.

[wrp96]

One thing to consider is how many other ships will be disembarking that day (look at both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami). The more ships, the harder it will be to get out of the port, the more crowded the airport will be.

[mozfoz]

No problem! Had the same time flight Easter week. Off the ship at 8:15, through security and sitting in the terminal by 9:00. Smoothest ever. I would recommend not putting you luggage out ahead, but just carry (roll) it off the ship yourself.

[SC_Sam]

I agree that if your ship is late or there's a problem clearing customs, you could have a problem. That said, I'd still go for it. In fact, for my next trip, I'm booked on the 10:40 a.m. flight out of FLL. Hope I don't regret it!

 

I've flown out of FLL twice post-cruise. Each time, I was at the airport by 9:20 a.m. The first time, I had a flight around noon, and was sitting in the airport for a couple of hours. The last time, I had a 4:00 flight and sat around for over two hours before I could even check my baggage. Once we checked baggage, then we cleared security and waited another couple of hours.

 

Here are a few suggestions for making that earlier flight:

 

Get the earliest disembarkation tags the pursers desk will let you have.

 

Even if you've already paid for it, don't take the cruiseline transfer. Take a taxi. If there's a guy standing there herding you towards a taxi, make sure it's not a van (unless you need a van for your party). Avoiding the transfer and/or a taxi-van will help you get ahead of the crowds.

 

Once you arrive at the airport, do curbside check-in, if your airline has it. Kiosk check-in can also save you some time. If the lines are long and you are running short of time, let airport/airline personnel know. I've witnessed them moving people to the head of the line in order to make their flights.

 

Good luck.

[cruisersnorkler]

Too early,I believe. The earliest flight I would book is 12:30. My husband booked a 12:15 flight in Ft Lad, and I am a little panic. The limo driver said we need to be off the ship by 9: 30. We are arriving in Miami, though. He is calling it a rush to the airport. We are not putting out our bags the noc before. We will try to handle them ourselves off the ship.

[windjamming]

I'd be careful. Fort Lauderdale does not have check-in at the pier like Miami, and my impression of it (my only time there, granted) was that it is very disorganized, particularly on days when multiple ships are disembarking. One nice thing is that they have a special check-in area for cruise passengers where (if I remember correctly) we just had to show an id to get our boarding passes. I am assuming this is because we gave the ship our flight information.

 

Good luck!

[marcmedic]

You will make it with plenty of time to spare. Just make sure you get the luggage tags that are the first off the ship. We made it to FLL before 9AM from the port of Miami and made our 1040 flight. The airport was packed that day due to a hurricane headed that way and it still wasn't too bad. Of course there are a million "what if's". But what if a storm rolls comes in the afternoon and causes flights to be cancelled/delayed? It works both ways. I'd take the early flight again if given the opportunity.

[pharaoh]

I usually fly out of FLL because MIA is just.. huge and annoying, basically. I have never had a problem there, and it is literally just a few miles away from Port Everglades. If you get off the ship early, you should make it to FLL with plenty of time for your flight.