FLL port to FLL airport

[btorlv]

Is there enough time to make a 1140 flight at the FLL airport when we get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale?

Does HAL have carry your own luggage off like CCL does?

[josie724]

Yes you can carry off your own luggage. You should make it, if there are no problems. Once customs clears the ship you should be able to disembark.

[RuthC]

More than enough time! Even Luggage Direct has an 11:30 time in Ft. Lauderdale.

I used Luggage Direct, was disembarked in a wheelchair (which makes me dependant on other's timing), used a wheelchair at the airport, and was at my gate by 8:20.
My flight was at 11:45, and I was there in time for boarding for a flight just after 8:30. (Wish I had booked that one!)

[sail7seas]

Barring any unusual delay, you should make that flight fine.

Catch a taxi and don't wait for HAL transfer.

[sail7seas]

More than enough time! Even Luggage Direct has an 11:30 time in Ft. Lauderdale.

I used Luggage Direct, was disembarked in a wheelchair (which makes me dependant on other's timing), used a wheelchair at the airport, and was at my gate by 8:20.
My flight was at 11:45, and I was there in time for boarding for a flight just after 8:30. (Wish I had booked that one!)


If it makes you feel any better, perhaps you were early enough for you to get on the plane but it might have too late for you to check luggage. Maybe? :D

[RuthC]

If it makes you feel any better, perhaps you were early enough for you to get on the plane but it might have too late for you to check luggage. Maybe? :D

You're right, of course. I would not have been able to use Luggage Direct, and, had I been checking luggage it would have taken longer.
But still, to see a plane heading home more than three hours before mine was to take off.... :(

I really didn't mind waiting 3 hours for my plane, at least not too much. I was nervous about booking the 11:45 flight in the first place. I only felt a little relieved when I found that I was within the Luggage Direct time frames.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL does have the self-disembarkation like other cruise lines.

Many times those passengers who are carrying off all their own luggage will start to disembark between 7:30 - 8 AM providing that the ship has been cleared.

You have plenty of time to catch an 11:40 flight.

You might even consider Luggage Direct.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Luggage Direct:
Flight after 11:30 AM for Ft Lauderdale
Flight after 2 PM for Miami

$19 per person up to 2 bags

You must disembark and proceed to the terminal between 7:30 and 8:15 AM.

AirTran Airways
American
Delta
United
Jet Blue
Continental
US Airways
Southwest

Of course you still have to pay whatever your airline charges for each piece of luggage you check in with them.

And now keep in mind that US Airways will be charging an extra $90 for each piece of luggage that is over 50 pounds.

from HAL's web site:
Holland America Line is offering Luggage Direct in:




Fort Lauderdale
Los Angeles
Seattle
San Diego
Vancouver (on select dates only)
Tampa


On the following fourteen (14) vessels only:



ms Amsterdam
ms Eurodam
ms Oosterdam
ms Maasdam
ms Nieuw Amsterdam
ms Noordam
ms Ryndam
ms Rotterdam
ms Statendam
ms Veendam
ms Volendam
ms Westerdam
ms Zaandam
ms Zuiderdam


Please note the following general information about Luggage Direct:



Cost is $19 per person at all ports
Airline assessed baggage fees will be applied to guests' onboard account - fees vary by airline and all pricing is communicated directly from the airline to our partner company, BAGS, Inc. These fees are collected onboard and are then distributed to the airlines.
Guests are able to check no more than 2 pieces of luggage per person.
Upgrade Requests, Seat Assignment Requests, and Flight Changes cannot be accommodated onboard.
There are restrictions established for each homeport city.
Restrictions include: participating airlines, earliest and latest flight times, and citizenship requirements.
All flights must be Domestic (inclusive of U.S. Territories).
In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada all flights must be bound for the U.S.

[iancal]

No issue at all. Get off early and don't bother with the HAL transfer. Cab it...cheaper and faster.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Take a taxi - they are waiting for you. Last time in FLL, our taxi driver complained he had been waiting since 6:30 - we were off at 8 AM with carry off luggage.

[DaveOKC]

In Oct the self disembarkation was called at 7:15 (we were still in our cabin. We checked our luggage, got our boarding passes, went through security and were at the GATE at exactly 8 AM!

DaveOKC

[Boatdrill]

Is there enough time to make a 1140 flight at the FLL airport when we get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale?



yes, if you're off the ship by 9:00, and you have the airport transfer, you'll be in the terminal around 10:00. However...Sunday is a big day in port with many mega ships, so be ready for a crowded airport.

[fleckle]

We find it is no problem, no matter how crowded the airport, if we avoid the check in lines.

That is why we like to print our boarding passes in advance, curb check our bags, and head straight for the gate. The only line we encounter that way is the security line.

[peaches from georgia]

We find it is no problem, no matter how crowded the airport, if we avoid the check in lines.

That is why we like to print our boarding passes in advance, curb check our bags, and head straight for the gate. The only line we encounter that way is the security line.
I have a question I've been wondering about for ages and your post reminded me of it- why don't most people curb check their bags and avoid those long long snaking lines in an airport?? We always curb check wherever we are and then walk in the airport to the gate and see those long long lines with people dragging their bags with them. We don't fly a lot (and in Atlanta where we live there is even a Delta check-in desk at Park-n-Fly so we miss the whole airpirt luggage mess), so maybe I am missing something.

[Typhoon1]

Not a problem. Get a cab and head to the airport.

[kazu]

I have a question I've been wondering about for ages and your post reminded me of it- why don't most people curb check their bags and avoid those long long snaking lines in an airport?? We always curb check wherever we are and then walk in the airport to the gate and see those long long lines with people dragging their bags with them. We don't fly a lot (and in Atlanta where we live there is even a Delta check-in desk at Park-n-Fly so we miss the whole airpirt luggage mess), so maybe I am missing something.

Some of us Canadians who fly Air Canada can't do it. We have to check it in. C'est la vie:)

[detroit70]

I don't use curb side because, the last time I did, we walked past the curbside about an hour later and noticed they had our luggage, still sitting there and tagged to go to Kansas City rather than Chicago.

[woody73]

Is there enough time to make a 1140 flight at the FLL airport when we get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale?
If you are on a closed loop cruise out of FLL, you should have plenty of time. But if your cruise originates at a foreign port, you could encounter delays with passport control and customs.

Woody

[mudscraper]

I don't use curb side because, the last time I did, we walked past the curbside about an hour later and noticed they had our luggage, still sitting there and tagged to go to Kansas City rather than Chicago.

A Cardinal Rule of travel is to watch your luggage being tagged by the skycap or agent and observe the city code on the luggage tag. Skycaps are like stevedores and appreciate a gratuity. Luggage has been known to travel to strange locations when a tip has not been offered.

[HALrunner]

Two days ago, we disembarked the NA a few minutes before 10 (even though we were scheduled to disembark at 8:45-9:15). My parents caught a cab to the airport, made it through security and to their gate with half and hour to spare for their 11:50am flight.
We had forgotten to turn in our disembarkation planning worksheet, I imagine if we had we could have gotten off much sooner.