First timer on cruise

April 22nd will be my wife and I first time on a cruise. We will be going on the Ruby Princess out of Fort Lauderdale. We are going to fly in, but my plane will be coming in around 9:30am and we can't board the ship until noon. I'm paying for the ship to pick us up from the airport, but how will that work if we can't get onto the ship until noon?

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Welcome to Cruise Critic and cruising.

I am not aware of Princess's boarding policies (best researched on the Princess board), but lets look at a couple of issues.

First, assuming your flight is on time, you still need to claim your bags, meet with the Princess rep, get on your bus, wait for the bus to fill, and then get to the ship. I think getting there by 10:30 is reasonable. That leaves you 90 minutes to checkin and wait in the Terminal, which will be like an airport, with seating area, etc..

You can simplify and cut the cost of this a little by simply taking a cab. Bet that drops your transport cost by at least half, and cuts the time by even more.

I wasn't sure how everything worked. Like I said before, this is our first time and was thinking it would be easy just to have the cruise company to pick us up.

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Some cruise line transfers will take you for a short city tour on the bus

You would be better off just to get a taxi if you are flying into FLL

I would check on the princess forum how Princess handles it

Oh ok thanks, I'll look into it more.

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If you're flying into Ft. Laud and sailing from Port Everglades, the cab ride is only about $12 or so....it's VERY close. A cab is the fastest option. Most cruiselines tell you a time to board, but if you're there early, they will start the boarding process fairly soon after all departing passengers are gone...Princess is one that doesn't do that...they allow the crew to get the cabins cleaned and ready before they start boarding.

I would take my time getting off the plane...let others go ahead of you. Take your time (not that you have much choice in this!) getting your bags....maybe grab a bite to eat before you leave. Personally, I'd rather be waiting to board the ship, than trying to "kill time" before boarding!

Can I drop off my bags and then go eat somewhere?

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Can I drop off my bags and then go eat somewhere?

 

 

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There is no place to just go eat on the Port property, so going to get food will require a walk to 17th St- something only ships parked at Terminal 2/4 can do. For everyone else, it isn't doable.

You could end up sitting on the bus for over an hour or more as it waits for other transfers from other flights. As said before, save your money and take a taxi. happy cruising.

Thank you everyone, yea I'm going to take a cab and just find a nice place for me and my wife to eat at.

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Thank you everyone, yea I'm going to take a cab and just find a nice place for me and my wife to eat at.

Are you going to get the taxi to take you to drop off your luggage before finding a good place to eat?

Remember, you have baggage to consider.

Have you considered getting something to eat in the airport to tide you over before you fly out that morning so you can go directly to the terminal and not have to bother with food until you get on the ship?

LuLu

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Can I drop off my bags and then go eat somewhere?

 

 

 

our plane landed at 8:30. We grabbed our bags then grabbed a quick breakfast at the airport. We then grabbed a taxi about 10am to get to the port. The doors are not opened until 11. So although we had to wait once inside. Go through security. Then get checked in for the cruise. Took a seat. We were then onboard by 11:45

No we are going to just eat at the airport and relax. We booked a early plane cause we didn't want to risk any delays flying in. But the best thing for us to do is eat at the airport, I saw they had a few nice places to eat at.

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No we are going to just eat at the airport and relax. We booked a early plane cause we didn't want to risk any delays flying in. But the best thing for us to do is eat at the airport, I saw they had a few nice places to eat at.

Great Decision! :)

LuLu

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No we are going to just eat at the airport and relax. We booked a early plane cause we didn't want to risk any delays flying in. But the best thing for us to do is eat at the airport, I saw they had a few nice places to eat at.

 

 

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Another option (one that I would prefer, and something for you to think about for your next cruise): fly in at least a day ahead to your embarkation port. Get a taxi or other land transportation to a hotel near the port. Many of those will shuttle your over to the port the next day so you can board around noon or so.

A big benefit to this is that if you have weather problems or your flight has mechanical problems, there'll be time to get there, while if you trying to fly in the day of your cruise, and there's problems, you'll have the stress of whether you'll get there in time (you have to be on board by a certain time before the sailaway time to satisfy Homeland Security), and you'll want time to explore the ship and have lunch on board before the mandatory muster drill (which is before the ship leaves the port).

Princess has the cabins ready when you board (some lines will let you board before the cabins are ready, but then you have your carry ons to deal with in the meantime).

Another benefit to coming in the day (or more before) is if you need to do a little shopping (wine, soda, toiletries left behind), you can do that the night before or in the morning of your cruise.

We booked a early plane cause we didn't want to risk any delays flying in. But the best thing for us to do is eat at the airport, I saw they had a few nice places to eat at.s

the most relaxing is to book your flight the day before-- get a hotel and make your way to the pier about 11am.

Even with taking that first flight out in the day you take the chance of their being delays-- with the weather the way it has been.

We took the first flight out at 6am. arrived at the airport at 4am. and the security line was out the door. Only two TSA lines were available. I made that flight with seconds to spare. THey closed the door behind me. WHat kept my cool was MANY people around me were in line for 6am flights.

It was stressful to say the least.

We were on the Ruby Princess twice last year. We got on board around 11:30. There are lots of chairs for you to wait to be able to board. You are directed to chairs, then when its time for you to board, your chair section is called. You wait until then, but its not a long wait and everyone else is waiting too.

When you get on board everyone goes to the buffet for lunch. (There is another buffet just past the main one so check that out too.) We had fried scallops that 1st day- on another day they had butterfly shrimp for lunch. They usually are carving roast beef the 1st day and other meats every day. You can get your own ice tea but the waiters, there are many, will get lemonade if you want that. They will also refill whatever you are drinking. We always scan the buffet to see what they have before we get anything.

Suggestion, you to your Roll Call here on cruisecritic and you can contact others who will be on your cruise. There is usually a meet & greet where you can meet each other. Just go to Princess then the Ruby then find the date of your sail and click on that. We have taken tours with people we have met there and once 12 of us chartered a private, just for us, sunset snorkeling tour in Aruba and a bunch of us met for a drink before dinner each night.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1949311

there is your roll call

Wow thanks everyone for all the info, I'm happy that I signed up for this. Getting all the info I needed and plus more

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No we are going to just eat at the airport and relax. We booked a early plane cause we didn't want to risk any delays flying in. But the best thing for us to do is eat at the airport, I saw they had a few nice places to eat at.

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Really good decision. You probably won't have a decent breakfast before you get on the flight to FLL. The amount of time you have in FL before you can board the ship is not enough to see or do anything worthwhile. So, eat a leisurely breakfast at the airport and then take a cab to cruise port. If you have to wait a few minutes to board, so what?

Can anyone tell me how reliable the wifi speeds are for smartphones when on the ships? The only apps I use are a few Dating apps, Facebook, SnapChat, The Weather Channel, and that's about it. I have an iPhone which does imessaging (iPhone to iPhone) so I'm also wondering if the speeds are fast enough to use imessaging bc it's free and only uses data, doesn't count as a text.

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Wifi is not free on the ships. You will be charged every time you use it. So, use it when you are in port.

just remember if you are having breakfast at the airport you will probably need to do that before you collect your luggage? I don't remember seeing any restaurants once you exit security, unless at a hotel maybe?

just remember if you are having breakfast at the airport you will probably need to do that before you collect your luggage? I don't remember seeing any restaurants once you exit security, unless at a hotel maybe?

If you're flying into FLL, there are a couple small restaurant kiosks (Chili's To Go, for example) and only one restaurant (Chili's) after you exit security. We had the opposite problem flying home from FLL in February - trying to find a restaurant at FLL before security. The Chili's To Go did not have much of a selection and the only pre-security restaurant was Chili's in Terminal 3 (I believe). So all that said, I would do as you suggested and have breakfast before existing security and collecting luggage.

Enjoy your cruise, OP!

Can anyone tell me how reliable the wifi speeds are for smartphones when on the ships? The only apps I use are a few Dating apps, Facebook, SnapChat, The Weather Channel, and that's about it. I have an iPhone which does imessaging (iPhone to iPhone) so I'm also wondering if the speeds are fast enough to use imessaging bc it's free and only uses data, doesn't count as a text.

 

 

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Not only can using wifi cost you on board, but it can be slow depending on how many others onboard are using it at the same time, and possibly which satellite the ship is using to access wifi.