Flight time question on travel home - Zuiderdam

[DDawson]

I'm an experienced cruiser and should know the answer to this, but I guess I'm just looking for confirmation. We will be on the 7 day Caribbean, round trip out of Ft Lauderdale on the Zuiderdam.

This is a last minute booking with limited flights available at a reasonable price. Would you feel comfortable trying to make a 10:45 am flight?

Usually there are numerous questions like this on the board, but right now I have not been able to find anything.

Thanks for the advise.

[super_grover]

It will be tight, my aunt and uncle did it. They carried their own bags off and were literally like the first people off the boat. Their flight ended up being delayed a little bit, which helped. If you havn't done the Ft. Lauderdale airport before then it might be pretty stressful but barring any thing out of the ordinary you could probably make it. You fill out a form telling management when your flight is so that they can make sure you are first off the boat.

[riz]

We had a !0:30 flight in Dec...made it with lots of time....are on the Zui this Saturday and returning next Sat on the same 10:30 flight.

[Giorgi-one]

It depends on lots of things beyond your control. We were on Celebrity cruise in January and had 12 noon flight. Debarkation was delayed about one half hour (???). We were in third group off the ship and got to the airport about 10 AM. This was the day after the snowstorm and it took almost two hours to check in. We made our flight with about 15 mintues to spare.

I don't know when you are cruising but there are considerably fewer cruises in the summer so the airport is less crowded.

I would never book a 10:45 PM flight and would never advise anyone to do it. Based on our experience in January, I have booked 1:30 PM flights for our next two cruises. We might spend a little time at the airport, but it beats all the rushing.

[doone]

I usually never book a flight before 12 noon. This month, I chanced it and booked an 11:25 am flight out of Ft. Lauderdale and am a bit nervous, but realize what will happen if I miss the flight. If you book this earlier flight, just know what can happen with delays and be prepared to make changes and perhaps pay more $$ if your delayed at all.

[DDawson]

Thanks for your opinions.

For airfair that was at least somewhat reasonable, my two choices were 10:45 am or 4:00 pm. The thought of waiting around all day and then a long flight to the west coast just did thrill me. I may live to regret my decision, but only time will tell.

Thanks again