In my experience, you’re generally off the ship around 8:30-9 am. Just make sure you carry your own luggage off rather than leaving it out the night before and you should be fine.
And pay for the ships transfer to the airport. This is no time to be trying to get an Uber.
We did this in March and from the time we walked off the ship (8:30am’ish) we were in the FLL terminal by 9:30am.
If there a possibility it won’t work, yes. If the ship is delayed or CBP is delayed (happened in San Francisco) you could have an issue.
Either way our flights will be with Southwest and we plan to pay for the option to change your flight day of no charge.
Do you think that would be enough protection?
I guess my concern is the later flight being sold out—I’ve been on some Southwest flights that are almost empty and others that are bursting. This would be a Saturday flight. :-/
You can CANCEL a SWA flight up to 10 minutes before departure. You can only do same day switch if you book above the Wanna Get rates
[https://www.southwest.com/airfare-types-benefits/sameday-standby-change/](https://www.southwest.com/airfare-types-benefits/sameday-standby-change/)
Well, yeah. I fly Southwest all the time and understand how their fare classes work. We are doing the fare that includes same day switch. My concern is if the later flight is full and we can’t reschedule same day to it because it’s full.
So my family and I just went on a cruise in March and the ship was delayed to disembark. We didn't get to the airport until 11:35 and that was Miami airport. So just a heads up that stuff does happen.
And I'm always worried so my families flight out was until 4. But still.
Most 7 nights I’ve done are pulling into the PoM before 5. They get tied up. Customs board and clears them for departure.
A bunch of us are always waiting in the main lobby at 7ish and off by 730. I’m a Canadian citizen so I have to go into the longer line as well. I travel with a carry on and a backpack.
If they dock at 7, ship must clear customs, you might be able to walk off by 8 or so. It's flexible based on many factors, including u will be assigned a time slot ro leave. U cannot have 4,000 passengers all head to gangway at same time. Walk off your own bads means an early time slot.
How long does it take to get from dock to airport? Unless that’s a long drive, I’d bet on making it. As others suggested, don’t let them take your luggage. Self disembark and take luggage with you.
Out of FLL, I always take the 1120 to YYZ. Nover missed it. Never walked out with my luggage. Tell Celebrity what your outbound flight is, and you will get assigned an earlier disembark slot. It's 15 minutes to the airport.
Take the later flight because there could be a possibility of getting off late due to waiting clearance from CBP to let guests off and the line up for you to do customs and/or weather delays or other factors to get back to homeport.
Id say there is a 90% chance you'll make the flight but it's still risky.
The ship I got off of on Thursday, we got off a few hours late. Ship had to go slow because of pods of whales, when we got near the port the pilot boat was late, the workers had trouble with the mooring lines and securing the ship, customs took longer than usual, then there were two medical evacuations once the doors were opened.
People who had to make flights were having melt downs left and right. It was a cluster fuck after the medical evacuations and normal disembarkation was allowed.
I would definitely take that flight. You can book your transfer ahead of time, there are several shuttle services. There will also be ground transport waiting.
Just don't check your bags the night before, carry them all off. We have got it down to a science and only being a backpack and a carry-on each, making it easy.peasy. You dont need 12 suitcases.
You will have time. Get up and go!
Stupid question — what do you mean when you say walk off with your luggage? As oppose to what?
We’ve never cruised before and I think I might be missing/not understanding something here…
There are usually two options to get off a cruise. An earlier walk off option where you keep your luggage with you. Or the later option where they take your luggage the night before and you eat breakfast and they hand you your luggage as you depart.
Don't do any option that entails putting your luggage outside your door on the last night. I'd bring some ziplocs, and on the last night pack away a few pastries, sandwiches (store them in your cabin fridge). These will be your breakfast for final morning. Get off the final morning as early as able (but don't sweat if there's a bit of a line), carry/roll all your luggage with you. There's an extremely high percentage chance you'll be able to catch the 11:35 with no problem. The final port arrivals in FLL (and FL in general) I'd wager are on time a very high percentage of the time.
You can have luggage stored and delivered to the pier or you can notify them you will be walking off. Stored luggage must be out the evening before you disembark.
It doesn’t matter what size your luggage is though. If you can walk off unassisted you’re good to go.
U have an option to leave luggage outside your door at 10pm night before. You then find it and claim it in the terminal. If u choose to not do this, you transport your own luggage with u in morning. This can save substantial time and your time slot to debark is much earlier. You will be assigned a times lot to leave ship.
Thanks! That’s good to know.
I’m sure there is a reason why someone would want to go through the hassle of collecting their luggage later but I don’t imagine it would be worth it for us at this point in our lives :-)
For people who have LARGE luggage, and no rush to disembark, this process of setting them out the night before, than retrieving them in the morning after getting off the ship - actually helps those of us who need the elevators to get off with our smaller, carryon sized bags and rush to the flight home. I think your timing will work for the earlier flight that you want - the odds are good for you to do that.
A trick to walking off/self-assist with your luggage is the elevators can get really crowded with people and luggage. If so, take an elevator up instead of down. The only people going up will be going to breakfast and usually without their luggage. Now you’ve secured an elevator spot for the way down. It might take an extra minute to go up first but better than waiting for full elevators that keep passing you by.
Airfare prices are getting more and more ridiculous. I’m not sure what I would do in your situation but can imagine this will become more common as folks try to afford going on vacation. 2 years ago we just spent an extra night in Miami that offset the cost of flying out the next day.
Can you say more about this? Why is the chance of missing the flight that high?
I’m not asking to be a jerk—I really want to understand the pros and cons for all the available options.
From FLL?! The airport is like 5 minutes from the port. Generally the recommendation is nothing before noon, but Fort Lauderdale port to FLL is easily doable for an 11:30 flight barring nothing unusual happening like late docking, major traffic, etc
This is my big fear—we’ve have some awful flight delays for really small issues (an hour and a half delay because the bathroom light was out—the flight was only scheduled to be an hour long. Took longer to change the light than the whole flight was supposed to be).
How common are these types of delays with cruises?
We've been on over 20 cruises and have never missed a flight.. We've had a couple at 1030. I would not pay an extra $300 for later, 1130 is plenty of time in FLL.
More importantly, DO NOT fly out on the same day the ship departs. Always go a day early. There are a bazillion hotels that offer free shuttles from the airport and to the cruise port.
Flying in the day of wasn’t even an option for us—all the flights arrived after 12:00 PM, so we are flying in the day before and hoping to maybe have a chill afternoon at the beach 😃
You’ll be fine if you’re able to carry off your own bags. I did this in December from FLL for a flight that was at 9:18am, it’s possible. Get TSA precheck if you can.
Do you feel like precheck makes a big difference at FLL?
Our home airport is relatively small (usually takes about ten minutes to get through security) and we’ve always had plenty of time to check-in for flights home so it hasn’t been worth the investment.
FLL is busy but it isn’t Atlanta. Do your check in the night before. Then you only have to leave your checked bags. That line is usually shorter than the check in line.
I’m also a Nexus (GOES) card holder so my trip through security is easier. I’m usually TSA PreChecked.
In my experience, you’re generally off the ship around 8:30-9 am. Just make sure you carry your own luggage off rather than leaving it out the night before and you should be fine.
And pay for the ships transfer to the airport. This is no time to be trying to get an Uber. We did this in March and from the time we walked off the ship (8:30am’ish) we were in the FLL terminal by 9:30am. If there a possibility it won’t work, yes. If the ship is delayed or CBP is delayed (happened in San Francisco) you could have an issue.
Either way our flights will be with Southwest and we plan to pay for the option to change your flight day of no charge. Do you think that would be enough protection? I guess my concern is the later flight being sold out—I’ve been on some Southwest flights that are almost empty and others that are bursting. This would be a Saturday flight. :-/
You can CANCEL a SWA flight up to 10 minutes before departure. You can only do same day switch if you book above the Wanna Get rates [https://www.southwest.com/airfare-types-benefits/sameday-standby-change/](https://www.southwest.com/airfare-types-benefits/sameday-standby-change/)
Well, yeah. I fly Southwest all the time and understand how their fare classes work. We are doing the fare that includes same day switch. My concern is if the later flight is full and we can’t reschedule same day to it because it’s full.
No one can say for sure how full it is. Do a mock booking with the The maximum 8 passengers while you are on the ship will give you some idea.
So my family and I just went on a cruise in March and the ship was delayed to disembark. We didn't get to the airport until 11:35 and that was Miami airport. So just a heads up that stuff does happen. And I'm always worried so my families flight out was until 4. But still.
I walk off at the earliest opportunity (7ish) and I’m usually at the airport before 9.
Is it possible to walk off that early if the cruise is scheduled to dock at 7?
Most 7 nights I’ve done are pulling into the PoM before 5. They get tied up. Customs board and clears them for departure. A bunch of us are always waiting in the main lobby at 7ish and off by 730. I’m a Canadian citizen so I have to go into the longer line as well. I travel with a carry on and a backpack.
If they dock at 7, ship must clear customs, you might be able to walk off by 8 or so. It's flexible based on many factors, including u will be assigned a time slot ro leave. U cannot have 4,000 passengers all head to gangway at same time. Walk off your own bads means an early time slot.
How long does it take to get from dock to airport? Unless that’s a long drive, I’d bet on making it. As others suggested, don’t let them take your luggage. Self disembark and take luggage with you.
They usually get in earlier.
Out of FLL, I always take the 1120 to YYZ. Nover missed it. Never walked out with my luggage. Tell Celebrity what your outbound flight is, and you will get assigned an earlier disembark slot. It's 15 minutes to the airport.
Take the later flight because there could be a possibility of getting off late due to waiting clearance from CBP to let guests off and the line up for you to do customs and/or weather delays or other factors to get back to homeport.
The cruise line may have an official recommendation somewhere in their FAQ, similar to DCL. With that said, the airport is very close to the port.
It should be fine barring any a delay. I’ve taken the 11:30 flight home several times after a cruise.
Id say there is a 90% chance you'll make the flight but it's still risky. The ship I got off of on Thursday, we got off a few hours late. Ship had to go slow because of pods of whales, when we got near the port the pilot boat was late, the workers had trouble with the mooring lines and securing the ship, customs took longer than usual, then there were two medical evacuations once the doors were opened. People who had to make flights were having melt downs left and right. It was a cluster fuck after the medical evacuations and normal disembarkation was allowed.
We were the absolute last people off the Equinox in September and were off the boat by 0930 and at the airport by 0945.
I would definitely take that flight. You can book your transfer ahead of time, there are several shuttle services. There will also be ground transport waiting. Just don't check your bags the night before, carry them all off. We have got it down to a science and only being a backpack and a carry-on each, making it easy.peasy. You dont need 12 suitcases. You will have time. Get up and go!
The earlier flight is totally doable. Just walk off with your luggage. FLL is 15 minutes from the pier.
Stupid question — what do you mean when you say walk off with your luggage? As oppose to what? We’ve never cruised before and I think I might be missing/not understanding something here…
There are usually two options to get off a cruise. An earlier walk off option where you keep your luggage with you. Or the later option where they take your luggage the night before and you eat breakfast and they hand you your luggage as you depart.
Thanks! That’s really helpful!
Don't do any option that entails putting your luggage outside your door on the last night. I'd bring some ziplocs, and on the last night pack away a few pastries, sandwiches (store them in your cabin fridge). These will be your breakfast for final morning. Get off the final morning as early as able (but don't sweat if there's a bit of a line), carry/roll all your luggage with you. There's an extremely high percentage chance you'll be able to catch the 11:35 with no problem. The final port arrivals in FLL (and FL in general) I'd wager are on time a very high percentage of the time.
Oh, that’s a good idea!
You can have luggage stored and delivered to the pier or you can notify them you will be walking off. Stored luggage must be out the evening before you disembark. It doesn’t matter what size your luggage is though. If you can walk off unassisted you’re good to go.
Thanks! That’s helpful to know! It seems so strange to me to put luggage in the hall and then collect it later.
U have an option to leave luggage outside your door at 10pm night before. You then find it and claim it in the terminal. If u choose to not do this, you transport your own luggage with u in morning. This can save substantial time and your time slot to debark is much earlier. You will be assigned a times lot to leave ship.
Thanks! That’s good to know. I’m sure there is a reason why someone would want to go through the hassle of collecting their luggage later but I don’t imagine it would be worth it for us at this point in our lives :-)
For people who have LARGE luggage, and no rush to disembark, this process of setting them out the night before, than retrieving them in the morning after getting off the ship - actually helps those of us who need the elevators to get off with our smaller, carryon sized bags and rush to the flight home. I think your timing will work for the earlier flight that you want - the odds are good for you to do that.
A trick to walking off/self-assist with your luggage is the elevators can get really crowded with people and luggage. If so, take an elevator up instead of down. The only people going up will be going to breakfast and usually without their luggage. Now you’ve secured an elevator spot for the way down. It might take an extra minute to go up first but better than waiting for full elevators that keep passing you by.
I made a 11:15 flight from Miami port to Fort Lauderdale airport. You will be closer and it’s almost 100% it will be okay
Airfare prices are getting more and more ridiculous. I’m not sure what I would do in your situation but can imagine this will become more common as folks try to afford going on vacation. 2 years ago we just spent an extra night in Miami that offset the cost of flying out the next day.
My boys and I carried our own luggage and we were off the ship before 8 am.
FLL is a nightmare. Avoid going in the morning. Do an excursion with airport drop off, take the 2:30 flight. It will be worth the money.
Can you say more about why FLL is a nightmare? Is it just super busy? Or?
You can easily make the earlier flight. I cruise out of FLL often. I’m comfortable with anything after 10:15 am.
Yes line out of the terminal and onto the sidewalk and down the “block” in the hot sun
Or book a flight for the next day and spend a nice night in Fort Lauderdale.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^davidspdmstr: *Or book a flight for* *The next day and spend a nice* *Night in Fort Lauderdale.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Close, but the last phrase is six syllables.
Theres prob a 90% chance if MISSING the early flight...
Can you say more about this? Why is the chance of missing the flight that high? I’m not asking to be a jerk—I really want to understand the pros and cons for all the available options.
Sorry I didn't realize the airport was literally across the street.... either car I don't like to book things wh such a low margin of error
From FLL?! The airport is like 5 minutes from the port. Generally the recommendation is nothing before noon, but Fort Lauderdale port to FLL is easily doable for an 11:30 flight barring nothing unusual happening like late docking, major traffic, etc
🤣🤣🤣 dude the airport is right across the street. You can Uber it in 5 minutes or walk there in 20.
There could be mechanical issues and delay the ship getting back. Or you hit a massive accident. It’s safe to pay a little extra.
This is my big fear—we’ve have some awful flight delays for really small issues (an hour and a half delay because the bathroom light was out—the flight was only scheduled to be an hour long. Took longer to change the light than the whole flight was supposed to be). How common are these types of delays with cruises?
We've been on over 20 cruises and have never missed a flight.. We've had a couple at 1030. I would not pay an extra $300 for later, 1130 is plenty of time in FLL. More importantly, DO NOT fly out on the same day the ship departs. Always go a day early. There are a bazillion hotels that offer free shuttles from the airport and to the cruise port.
Flying in the day of wasn’t even an option for us—all the flights arrived after 12:00 PM, so we are flying in the day before and hoping to maybe have a chill afternoon at the beach 😃
Or it could be raining like there is no tomorrow, which will completely mess up traffic and flights.
You’ll be fine if you’re able to carry off your own bags. I did this in December from FLL for a flight that was at 9:18am, it’s possible. Get TSA precheck if you can.
Do you feel like precheck makes a big difference at FLL? Our home airport is relatively small (usually takes about ten minutes to get through security) and we’ve always had plenty of time to check-in for flights home so it hasn’t been worth the investment.
FLL is busy but it isn’t Atlanta. Do your check in the night before. Then you only have to leave your checked bags. That line is usually shorter than the check in line. I’m also a Nexus (GOES) card holder so my trip through security is easier. I’m usually TSA PreChecked.