Flight Time from FLL

[teo403]

Hi -

 

We are thinking of booking a cruise out of Miami next winter. We want to use miles and flights are available into/out of FLL. The way down is not a problem, but wondering if we will have time to make a 12:20 return flight from FLL.

 

Thanks!

[lds26]

I think you will have plenty of time. We flew out of miami at 1:00 pm and we were sitting bored in the airport at 9 am. Now mind you you asked for Fort Lauderdale but I think I have heard on these boards that its only a 45 min ride from Miami to FLL. I think that you should be ok but maybe bumping this up will help others reply.

[jsmac3]

We just returned from FLL yesterday. Our flight was originally scheduled to leave at 1:00pm but had been changed to a 12:15pm departure. We arrived on the Pride and were off the ship at 9:30am but didn't receive all of our baggage until 10:40am. We had paid for the Carnival post-cruise transport to FLL but took a cab instead to make sure we arrived in time for our flight - we arrived at FLL at 11:10am, and thanks to a skycap who quickly checked our bags, we made our flight. Of course, if you do self-assist you'll have your bags with you. This was the Pride's first arrival in Miami and may have been the reason for the baggage delay. 12:20pm is certainly doable, and of the 5 trips from Miami to FLL, this is the only close call - you have to be prepared to react if there is a glitch.:)

[robsvacation]

The time you actually get off the ship and make it to the airport can be quite variable. I've stepped off of Carnival ships as early as just after 8 and as late as 10:30. Add in immigration, finding your bags, getting to the airport, traffic, check-in, etc and you get pretty close to Carnival's recommended travel times. I actually came pretty close to missing a 1:30 flight out of FLL once, so now I generally go for later flights to save myself the stress, no earlier than 2PM out of FLL.

 

I know these tend to be pricer flights and you might find yourself with hours to kill but hey, you try getting an airline to move you to a later flight these days without paying the difference in fare! I've gotten in the habit of renting a car that last day, you throw your luggage in the trunk and spend the day at the beach, shopping, some tourist destination, etc. If you're running late, no harm done, just don't pick up the car!

 

It's a balance of probabilities thing: You'd very likely make a 12:20 flight but my guess is about once every other month a typical ship doing 1 week cruises has a significant delay, so I'd say there's a 1/8 chance you may miss your flight (of a 7/8th chance you will make it)

[cc stalker]

Our flight doesn't leave until 5:30, so we are looking for something to do besides spend the day at FLL. Where would we rent a car? Do you know the usual rate for a half day?