How early do you get to port

[josee]

Hello everyone.

I've been doing the document dance for a while and planning my Xmas cruise for the family, my DH and two girls (10,14) on the Volendam, Dec 16-26.

I am concerned about getting on time at the port.

I'm arriving at Miami International airport at 1224, from Canada. A friend told me it is a very busy airport and should look into arriving directly at Ft.Lauderdale. That plane (from Ft Lauderdale) comes in at 1243.

If Miami is a 20 minute drive from Ft Lauderdale, there is not much difference however I'm told that it would be speedier from Ft. Lauderdale.

This is our first cruise. We've never been to Florida, or travel much before. My TA tells me I have sufficient time. (She's done over 16 cruises and is a family friend as well). For all of you seasoned travellers, should I be concerned at all about getting on board on time with my current flight?

Thank you all for your advice.

Josée

[gliles]

Hello everyone.

I've been doing the document dance for a while and planning my Xmas cruise for the family, my DH and two girls (10,14) on the Volendam, Dec 16-26.

I am concerned about getting on time at the port.

I'm arriving at Miami International airport at 1224, from Canada. A friend told me it is a very busy airport and should look into arriving directly at Ft.Lauderdale. That plane (from Ft Lauderdale) comes in at 1243.

If Miami is a 20 minute drive from Ft Lauderdale, there is not much difference however I'm told that it would be speedier from Ft. Lauderdale.

This is our first cruise. We've never been to Florida, or travel much before. My TA tells me I have sufficient time. (She's done over 16 cruises and is a family friend as well). For all of you seasoned travellers, should I be concerned at all about getting on board on time with my current flight?

Thank you all for your advice.

Josée

Everyone will tell you that you need to fly in a day early. I never used to and never had any trouble but the last few cruises we have and were glad. Once, the luggage didn't come in so we had the next day to get it, whew. It is so much less stressful.

 

Of course you could well encounter bad weather along the way which could delay things.

 

Your friend is correct, Miami is a very busy airport, if you can fly into Ft Lauderdale that would be much better. We just returned from a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale but had to fly into and out of Miami both ways and I can tell you, it isn't 25 minutes, it was more like 40 and that was on a Saturday going out and Sunday back so the traffic was light.

 

If you can go in the night before, get a hotel from Priceline, do it. If you can't, try to go into Ft Lauderdale....if you can't do that, keep your fingers crossed! It should be plenty of time as long as there aren't flight delays.

[jhannah]

I don't believe you will have any problem at all, provided your flight goes as scheduled or is not more than 2 hours late. That time of year there is always a possibility of weather delays. That's where flying in the night before can pay off. It just buys you a little more peace of mind with a time cushion. If it's not feasible for you to go a day early, then I also suggest that you try to fly into FLL as opposed to Miami. In FLL, you're less than 10 minutes from the port. Good luck.

[Esme]

Are you flying Air Canada? If so at this late date, I doubt that you are going to get anything into Fort Lauderdale and if you have your tickets AC will not change them. AC flights have been booked for months and my TA told me that they are changing flights daily, in fact cancelling a lot into FLL and sending the pax to Miami.

 

Miami is not a 20 min. drive from FLL - more like a 30-40 min. drive depending on traffic. If you are arriving at 12:24pm, you should be OK - but a lot depends on whether the plane takes off on time or not. You really should have gone down the day before.

 

Where in Canada are you flying from?

[josee]

I'm flying from Ottawa to MTL then Miami.

There are still seats on the AC flight to fort Lauderdale. I believe we initially booked the other one due to a seat sale. Now, I have the jitters. Leaving a day early will prevent my eldest from participating in her dance concert the night before - what a crazy life we live - and will leave behind once we gt on board -- 10 days of heaven.

My options now are

- no change, and hope

- change fight to Ft Lauderdale

- change flight to day before. no evening flight, only early am

- convince DH of need to change (DH currently outside the country)

Josée

[flashdog_1]

The traffic on I-95 between Miami and Ft Lauderdale is horrendous to say the least. It's not just the minutes but the frenetic pace. Ft Lauderdale's airport is so close to the pier that even if your flight has been delayed, you could possibly put in a call to hold the ship a few minutes!! I vote for changing your flight to Ft Lauderdale so your daughter can dance in the recital the night before. There will not be jet lag to contend with, just normal fatigue from travelling, since you are not crossing an ocean!

[gliles]

I'm flying from Ottawa to MTL then Miami.

There are still seats on the AC flight to fort Lauderdale. I believe we initially booked the other one due to a seat sale. Now, I have the jitters. Leaving a day early will prevent my eldest from participating in her dance concert the night before - what a crazy life we live - and will leave behind once we gt on board -- 10 days of heaven.

My options now are

- no change, and hope

- change fight to Ft Lauderdale

- change flight to day before. no evening flight, only early am

- convince DH of need to change (DH currently outside the country)

Josée

You should be fine, it would be awful for DD to miss her dance concert. If you can change to FLL and not mess anything else up, you probably should consider doing that. If there is bad weather, MIA will be most messed up since it is a bigger airport.

[josee]

I just emailed my TA and will try to make the changes. She was quite confident however that I should be fine to travel on same day. She lives nearby and has done the same for years.

This being our first ever vacation, and the only thing that keeps me going after this cold summer is this cruise I would hate to miss the boat!! (we have insurance also)

Josée

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

Not that this is the norm, but we like to be at the port at least a day ahead of boarding, gives us a chance to relax if we have to travel any distance. Our last cruise was from San Diego, our winter campground, made it very easy. This next week we fly to Barcelona, Spain two days early for our ms Westerdam cruise.

 

George

[wild_rose]

. . . and my Air Canada flight arrives at FLL at 2.40 p.m.

Will I get to the port on time?

HAL booked the flight, but does that ensure the ship will wait?

[weluvcruisin']

If HAL booked the flight you'll be okay....We've been on ships where departure has been delayed a few hours if planes are delayed....

[ColoradoJuli]

Yes, if you booked your flight through the cruiseline they will either wait for you or make the arrangements for you to join the ship. It will not cost you anymore.

[jhannah]

Right. The ship will wait just so long, after which they will get you to the next port. The downside to that is that you'll miss an evening on board ... and an entire day on the ship if that first day out is a sea day.