Flight Arrival to Ft.Lauderdale enough time

[lescas]

Is 11:45 a.m. too late to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale for the CB Princess cruise.?We have a flight leaving BWI at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2.

[Pam in CA]

Is 11:45 a.m. too late to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale for the CB Princess cruise.?We have a flight leaving BWI at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2.

That should be fine as long as there are no weather or operational delays. As always, it's a good idea to fly in the day ahead because you never know what the weather will be like at either airport. I've seen flights cancelled at Logan in June due to wind and in September, you're into hurricane season.

[jennew]

I would fly in the day before since it is hurricane season. We are flying in a day early for our 9/16 cruise.

 

However, we arrived at about 12:00 for our first cruise and made it to the ship with no problem. That was a March cruise and we were risking things (we fly out of Buffalo). I have flown in a day early ever since.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Is 11:45 a.m. too late to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale for the CB Princess cruise.?We have a flight leaving BWI at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 2.

 

If at all possible, fly in the day before! We flew in the same day for our Alaska cruise--the flight from Portland to Vancouver is just over an hour so we figured it would be no problem. We were scheduled to arrive mid-morning and didn't arrive until late afternoon because of mechanical problems. We just barely made the ship!

 

Good luck!

Jayne

[mdmomof7]

We are flying in the day of this time, arriving from BWI to FLL at 10:15AM. However, I prefer to fly in the day ahead. That's what we did last year. I felt much better. This time we have evening commitments the night before and can't fly out until the AM. I don't even want to think about weather or mechanical delays! Aaackkk! :eek: We do have trip insurance, but who wants to deal w/ that if they don't have to.

 

Does anyone know of a resource to find out how many flights from BWI to FLL are weather delayed in the summer?

[Host Caroline]

We are flying in the evening before in September to hopefully avoid delays.. IMHO it's just "peace of mind" AND it give them time to find your luggage if it somehow takes it's own path so to speak...BUT if your flight's on time you will get to the port probably around 12:45-1:00 by the time you collect luggage etc. -- just in time for the longest lines:eek:

[cruisingpeople]

11:45 arrival is more than enough time. Pier is only 10 minutes from the airport. Sail-away isn't until either 4:00 or 5:00.

[cruzkitty]

We are flying in the day of the cruise, also. DH has work committments Friday night. We don't arrive in Ft. Lauderdale until 1:34 pm, but at least the crowds and lines will be gone by then! This is our 6th cruise, and we have always flown in the day of the cruise, and so far, no problems. We have always been on the Ship, in our cabin by 1:00, but this time will be somewhat later. Hoping the Hurricane Gods are smiling:D on all of cruising in Sept/Oct-hurricane season!! BTW, we live in TN, so it's not like we are flying for hours and hours-if so, I would definitely fly in the day before!

[wrp96]

If any of you think a 11:45 am arrival is bad, on the cruise air board, we are following the adventures of a family that is sailing tomorrow on the CB, whose flight isn't scheduled to land in FLL until after 3pm, and the family is traveling from the west with a connection.

[deubank]

I had this same question and called Princess at 1-800-Princess.

They have it all figured out to a science and will tell you exactly the latest flight arrival time and the earliest flight departure time for your specific cruise. Hope that helps!

[cruisingpeople]

If any of you think a 11:45 am arrival is bad, on the cruise air board, we are following the adventures of a family that is sailing tomorrow on the CB, whose flight isn't scheduled to land in FLL until after 3pm, and the family is traveling from the west with a connection.

 

If the flights are scheduled thru Princess and you are late, they will wait for you. If the delay is too long, it's up to them to put you up and/or get you to the next port. If air travel was done not thru Princess, then they are responsible to get onboard somehow.

[serene56]

After flyin gin the same day of the cruise for my first cruise-- Learned some very valuble lessons. We had a 7am non stop flight from Phl to Tampa. Plane cancelled because of mechanical problems.

I learned: If I had a print out of all available flights that were leaving around the same time it would have saved me wear and tear.

(print out all available flight information for leaving around the same time)

 

if a flight is cancelled because of mechanical the airline is responsible to get you to your destination within a reasonable time. next flight that could accomadate us will not get us in til after 5- ship sails at 4.

 

Airline did not tell me that they are responsible...another lines agent told me. We were able to secure seats finally with arriving at 3:45pm. (ontime thank god!) paid the cab 20 bucks extra to get me there in 10 minutes and held on for dear life.

 

Sine the SO must work on saturday we will book the last flight out for the night.

 

Sept 2nd is hurricane season- sept is high peak-- if one is around your flight could be cancelled or delayed.

[wrp96]

If the flights are scheduled thru Princess and you are late, they will wait for you. If the delay is too long, it's up to them to put you up and/or get you to the next port. If air travel was done not thru Princess, then they are responsible to get onboard somehow.

 

This family chose these flights themselves, because they didn't want to have to take a red eye.

[steve20832]

I had this same question and called Princess at 1-800-Princess.

They have it all figured out to a science and will tell you exactly the latest flight arrival time and the earliest flight departure time for your specific cruise. Hope that helps!

 

I'll save everyone the phone call. Don't land after 2pm (I do suggest picking the first flight out of your hometown and land way before that in case of delays, weather, etc.)

Going home, don't pick a flight before 11am. Princess will tell you 12noon but most people can make flights after 11am.

[cruisingpeople]

This family chose these flights themselves, because they didn't want to have to take a red eye.

 

I went over to the cruise air thread after your earlier suggestion. I still have tears rolling down my face from this soap opera saga. Thanks.

[iancal]

We always fly in the day before for Carib. cruises. We always book our own air, hotel, and transfers. We don't want to take any chances and we don't want to feel rushed or tired on the first day of the cruise. Also, if the airline looses our suitcase, we have 24 hour window to have it returned.

[dcdiva]

we are on the same flight out of Baltimore. would have preferred to fly out the day before, but it's labor day weekend. the flights on friday, especially those late in the day, were booked solid or had sky high fares. So we are taking the chance and flying the day of departure. if there is really a hurricane threat, we should have a few days notice in case to come up with plan b.

[Guest Spo]

We flew in to FLL the day before and stayed at a hotel that had complimentary transportation from the airport and to the port the next day. Very convenient!

[tentativesailor]

If you encounter any flight delays, be sure to contact Princess Cruise Lines. In FLL they had an office which tracked all delayed passengers.

 

My brother's flight from Newark, scheduled to arrive at 11:30 was cancelled due to mechanical difficulties. He got on a flight arriving at 3:00. I went and spoke with the Princess Cruise people. They had a running list of cruise passengers who had contacted them from this cancelled flight. (sure hope you aren't flying Continental)

 

They made it to the cruise termial before 4:00 p.m. The boat left slightly later than the scheduled 5:00 departure (probably due to the flight issues). BUT, THEIR SHIPPED LUGGAGE NEVER MADE IT!!! Continental promised to ship it to St. Thomas by Tuesday morning - it had all their scuba gear. Missed St. Thomas, but Continenal offered to send it to St. Maarten. My brother and wife asked them to PLEASE just sent it back to FLL or Newark.

 

Final bit of advice, after I mentioned that we would be carrying on 2 rollies with enough clothes to last 3 days/1 dinner - they likewise packed carry-on. They only missed their formal wear shoes and the scuba gear, otherwise they had most items for the week. I'm assuming they did a bit of laundry. BTW, your cruise insurance does not cover missing luggage if you arrive later than 24 hours in advance.