Am i cutting it to close

[loman]

Hello all, I`m on a flite scheduled to depart Miami at 9:40 am at the conclusion of my cruise . I`m on RCCL Liberty of the Seas.

Ship will be in port for 7:00 am .The ship leaves Labadee at 4:30 pm and then a day at sea ,to arrive in Miami for 7:00 am a day and half later .I was planning on carrying off my luggage myself and taking a cab at 7:00 am to get to the airport on time.

What are the chances of this going smoothly if i notify the ship of my early departure.

 

regards

[2Cruise4Ever]

Yep, I'd say you're cutting it too close. If the ship pulls in right at 7:00 you won't be getting off right then. It has to clear immigration first. Usually people will be able to start disembarking 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours after arrival. Now, if the ship is early, then disembarkation will take place a little earlier. But, if the ship is late coming in for any reason, you'll definitely miss your flight. Self-disembarkation is a bit quicker. But, not by much. If it were me, I'd change my flight to a later time.

[lvtotrvl1]

I agree. I think you are cutting it way to close....as the above poster mentioned, you will not disembark immediately upon arrival. Customs clears the ship and sometimes it will take a couple hours. Plus you should be at the airport an hour prior to your flight time which would be 8:40....I really wouldn't want that stress at the end of my vacation....

[Karysa]

The only way that I would consider an early flight like this is if I had only carry-on luggage and I printed my boarding pass on board. This would be do able for say a 3 or 4 day cruise but anything longer and I would need a larger suitcase than a carry-on.

Karysa

[98Charlie]

Most of our cruises have arrived earlier than the scheduled time. However, I cannot recall anyone getting off before 8 AM. With self debarkation it's still going to be 8:20-8:30 before you are getting in to a cab. Best time to MIA is maybe 20 minutes making it 8:50.

 

If curbside checkin is not very busy you may have your luggage checked and boarding passes by 9. Off to security screening and the trek to the gate, maybe another 20 minutes so it's now 9:20 at the very earliest.

 

I's give it a 10% chance that you'd make the flight, 90% chance that you'll be moving from gate to gate for a standby flight for the rest of the day and, if it were me, a 100% chance of kicking myself for thinking I could make the flight :)

 

Charlie

[Carnival Game]

My flight leaves shortly after 11:00. It was the only flight Continental had flying out of Miami on the 18th.

[silentbob007]

My flight leaves shortly after 11:00. It was the only flight Continental had flying out of Miami on the 18th.

 

You should be fine with that ... you would even have the choice of doing self-assist or getting tags for an early flight.

 

To the OP ... I've had ships get in both early and late. I've also had quick and extremely slow customs in Miami. That's a lot of risks to run ... cruise insurance won't even cover you if your flight leaves before 11.

[bluesea777]

Seeing that you live in Canada I assume you'll be flying internationally - there is no chance of you making the 9:40 am flight. Unless you camp outside the gangplank door overnight.

 

Even if you print your own boarding pass in advance you still have to be there more than one hour beforehand for the bags drop. International flight checkins and bag drops close 1 hour before flight departs.

[Marie51]

I agree with the others.....almost no chance of making the flight but you could get real lucky. For myself, I would not book a flight before 11am and even that is cutting it close.

[loman]

Just checked with expedia . I am getting whacked with 800.00 per

person to re-book . First choice was 1500.00 per person. I think what

i am going to do is call the airlines on the morning of departure and tell them i may miss my flight and to put me on stand-by . I am going to have some flight numbers with me for them to check that are not a direct flight but a reasonable length of time . I`ll bet if i used a travel agent this wouldn`t of happened. Live and learn i guess? I thought i was being very efficient with my use of time .I`m feeling very foolish right now .

[broberts]

Booking such an early flight is just throwing money away.

 

Do the math. If you are flying back to Toronto you have to check-in 90 minutes before departure 9:40 - 1:30 = 8:10. Its about 15 minutes by cab from the cruise terminal to the airport, 8:10 - :15 = 7:55. Count on 15 minutes just to walk off the ship and clear US Customs & Immigration, even if you are the first one through, 7:55 - :15 = 7:40. I won`t even bother trying to account for the time it can take clearing MIA security and walk to the gate.

 

I can't recall a cruise that I've been on has been not been berthed before its stated arrival time. BUT I don't recall a single cruise that cleared US authorities in less than 1 hour.

 

Just re-read OP, flight's already booked. Don`t know about other airlines, but if its AC I'd advise changing the flight now. Day of departure changes usually cost an extra $100.

[grandmato4]

Just checked with expedia . I am getting whacked with 800.00 per

person to re-book . First choice was 1500.00 per person. I think what

i am going to do is call the airlines on the morning of departure and tell them i may miss my flight and to put me on stand-by . I am going to have some flight numbers with me for them to check that are not a direct flight but a reasonable length of time . I`ll bet if i used a travel agent this wouldn`t of happened. Live and learn i guess? I thought i was being very efficient with my use of time .I`m feeling very foolish right now .

 

To try to make you feel better- maybe everything will go smoothly for you and you will make it ! Ships often get into port early and hopefully yours will and disembarkment will go smoothly for you. Your biggest problem may be the Miami airport itself. Getting your luggage checked in and making it through secruity can be a time consuming process. Good luck !! You've learned something now about booking air so your next cruise will be even better than this one ! Good luck !

[cathyz]

And they occasionally do 'crew immigration' checks, if that's the case, then that all has to be done before anyone can get off the ship, you might not even get off the ship before your flight leaves!

[PurpleCow]

Not to throw cold water on the OP, but, the last time we disembarked in Miami it took until after 9 to clear immigration. All of the crew has to pass immigration. They kept calling names over the loudspeaker. It was close to 10 when we finally got off the ship.

[waterfever]

You'll never make it. I sailed on Freedom last Sept. We got in to Miami at 7:00 & our flight was at 11:30. That was just about right. Don't forget, that's a huge ship with everybody wanting to disembark at the same time. It takes a long time to collect your luggage from the carousel, go through customs, etc., and then get to the airport. And Miami's airport is huge, so it takes a long time there as well.

[kitty9]

Just checked with expedia . I am getting whacked with 800.00 per

person to re-book . First choice was 1500.00 per person. I think what

i am going to do is call the airlines on the morning of departure and tell them i may miss my flight and to put me on stand-by . I am going to have some flight numbers with me for them to check that are not a direct flight but a reasonable length of time . I`ll bet if i used a travel agent this wouldn`t of happened. Live and learn i guess? I thought i was being very efficient with my use of time .I`m feeling very foolish right now .

 

 

There's a reason why the flight you booked is so much cheaper---the airlines know that cruise passengers cannot possibly make a flight that early. Forget about standby---you might not even get out that day. Airlines don't have room for standbys anymore because flights are way overbooked to begin with, so the chance of your getting on with standby is relatively small, especially on a cruise departure day.