Help please - scheduling from Miami Port back to Airport

[*oceanlvr*]

Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere - I didn't find it.

 

Regatta arrives back in port at 8:00 am. Since I'm new to O, I wondering how they disembark pax. Suites off first, then...???

Any guesses as to what time standard stateroom pax might be off the ship? Would I put in a request?

 

Is the reunion with one's bags a long process or better than the larger ships?

 

My flight is at 1:30.

 

Do most people just take a taxi to the airport and what might I expect it to cost?

The hotel we are staying at for 1 night pre-cruise says it's about a 15 min ride and they have a service within the hotel for about $10 pp - but I would have to tell them when to pick us up which is a bit iffy.

 

Suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

[LHT28]

A few days before arriving in Miami you will get a form to say what time you want to get off according to your flight schedule etc...

You then get coloured tags and you will be disembarked when the colour is called.

Your luggage & you will be reunited quickly on the pier.

 

We were late getting off because of immigration ...some people did not go to immigration to report in so disembarkation was delayed until all passengers & crew were checked.

We did not start till 9 am... people on early flight off first

 

There are shuttles to the airport. not sure of costs

Taxi's are about $25. (if you can snag one)

O has transfers

 

If you can get a transfer for $10. I would take it. Book a pick up for 10am then you can sure to be off in time.

Enjoy the cruise

[*oceanlvr*]

LHT28 -Thanks so much for taking the time. Appreciate your help.

[geegeecruiser]

I think that disembarkation is based on what time you have a flight out. We had a penthouse suite and thought that we had "priority" disembarkation, but since our flight was not until 2:00 p.m. we were sort of in the middle. Don't worry about your bags. They are color tagged, and placed in groups right inside the terminal. That part is easy. Airport is about 15 minutes from ship. You can find a cab outside of the terminal, although things are pretty busy when everyone is getting off the ship, and you might have to wait a while. Oceania offers transportation to the airport (which we did this time, and it makes things easier).

[LHT28]

after the fiasco last Wed when we disembarked the Marina I would either tell them you want off at 8 am so you are in the first group or arrange for private limo

Or take the O transfers $$

Check prices & see what works best for you

Do not book flight for before 1 pm

We had a 12:35 flight & because of the mass confusion at the port we almost missed that

The line for the Taxis were long & people were getting real nasty

 

There is a super shuttle you can pre-book

 

Good luck

 

Lyn

[Jancruz]

after the fiasco last Wed when we disembarked the Marina I would either tell them you want off at 8 am so you are in the first group or arrange for private limo

Or take the O transfers $$

Check prices & see what works best for you

Do not book flight for before 1 pm

We had a 12:35 flight & because of the mass confusion at the port we almost missed that

The line for the Taxis were long & people were getting real nasty

 

There is a super shuttle you can pre-book

 

Good luck

 

Lyn

 

Sorry you had a bad time. Miami is notorius for their security people being very difficult to deal with. We are not sure why..

Jancruz1

[raffeer]

Miami is notorius for their security people being very difficult to deal with. We are not sure why..

Jancruz1

 

To say the least. On disembarking from the maiden voyage my daughter (adult) was suddenly not with us. Turned out that for some reason or other she had been selected for a full security check. Her bags were opened and thoroughly checked and she was subjected to detailed questioning.

Reassuring to know our shores are protected.

[LHT28]

Sorry you had a bad time. Miami is notorius for their security people being very difficult to deal with. We are not sure why..

Jancruz1

Not just security

The taxi rank is the other side of the building from the exit so the line was winding around & some people just cut in at the front

Plus the taxis were not as plentiful

The POM finally put on free shuttle bus to the airport but were only telling people near the front of the line meanwhile the taxi line stretched back to near where the private buses were

 

They need a better system

We disembarked in CPH in August, they had a queue for the taxis & when you reach the front of the line the co ordinator would ask how many people where to & move the appropriate size taxi up the queue & off you went

[DrHemlock]

"They need a better system."

 

How about they need a system, period. Our arrival in Miami after a trans-Atlantic on Regatta a few years ago was the biggest cock-up of my traveling experience.

 

Taxis? Fuhgeddaboudit! Sunday morning, hundreds of disembarking passengers needing taxis, nary a one in sight. Yes, just as in a post above, things started to get ugly among some line-waiters and some line-cutters when the odd cab would drift in.

 

Was there even one Oceania person on hand to maintain some sort of order or to provide information regarding where all the cabs might be on a Sunday morning and when they might be showing up? No, there was not.

 

The assumption among the pax was that, apparently, if we weren't willing to shell out the exorbitant rate being charged by O for a shuttle to the airport, then tough...we were on our own. Legally defensible, maybe, but morally wrong if you want your passengers to depart with a sweet taste in their mouths, dreaming of next time.

 

Granted, O can't make taxis magically appear. But would it be all that difficult for them to notify the local cab companies in advance that there would be several hundred people wanting rides from the pier beginning at 8:00 in the morning on a given date? Show me a cab driver who won't forego Sunday breakfast with the family in order to get a fare...or two if he/she picks up an early disembarker and makes it back from the airport in time for a second round. Our cab driver, when we finally got one, said there had been nothing on the company radio about the pier until about 10:00 a.m.

 

I didn't post about this at the time, though I'm not sure why not. Didn't want to sound like a whiner, I guess. But finding this thread, and seeing that others have complained about the utter lack of care shown by O as soon as we step foot off the gangplank, makes it impossible to keep quiet.

[lovetocruise16]

Have you looked up http://www.Supershuttle.com? They are nationwide and we have used them with success.

[JimandStan]

I've posted this elsewhere, but in my experience a $20 bill given to ones porter totally corrects this issue in an instant.

 

You won't even be aware that there IS a taxi line!

[joyous]

We disembarked the Marina in March and got off with the first batch of people, as we were told to do, and collected our luggage. We had a driver waiting for us, his son actually, who helped with our bags and got us to their van. Contact rolandopuch@yahoo.com if you want a great team and good service. He was recommended to us by someone on the Crystal board and we'd use him again in a heartbeat. He met us at the airport and took us to the ship before the cruise, too. Joy

[capecodder2]

We got off the Regatta last week in Miami and it was much more civilized than the last time - perhaps because it was a Tuesday morning and no other ship was in. Weekends must be a total zoo with several ships disembarking. Even so, disembarkation did not start until about 8:15 or so due to some of the crew not checking with Immigration soon enough. There was a taxi line set up and people were being fairly patient, although I did see a couple of crabby old men "jumping the line". Taxis were plentiful, probably because we were the only ship. You must be out of your stateroom by 8AM and they announced they wanted everyone off the ship by 9AM so they could get things cleaned and ready for the next cruise. That change-over day must be a horror for the crew. Taxi was about $25 plus tip.

[candbgirl]

What airport are you going to? If it is FLL use SAS (ridesas.com). They can pick up at POM but they can't go to MIA. They are wonderful. We used them in January and didn't have one bit of trouble. It cost $15 per person. I would use them again in a heartbeat.

[AtMaui]

Thanks, candbgirl (from one Chicagoan to another) for the tip about ridesas.com. We will definitely use it for our November cruise since we're flying in and out of FLL and staying at the Embassy Suites in FLL. I took a cab from the port in FLL to the Miami airport several years ago and it was $90. The shuttle will be much better!!