Departure flight Fort Lauderdale

Just looking for opinions on the earliest flight time to book in Fort Lauderdale when we arrive back in port.

Thanks in advance

Nearly everyone will tell you to not book anything before noon.

BUT, if you are a "gamblin' man", take the time you are expected to arrive, add an hour for the ship to be 'cleared'. Do a self-disembarkation and be in line early. Maybe allow an hour to clear customs/immigration (less if you are at the beginning of the line). Travel time from the pier to FLL (if you arrive at Port Everglades) is only 15 - 20 minutes. Clearing security in FLL is easier than MIA as it is a smaller airport....say 30 minutes.

Since you are from Canada, you might have to arrive at the airport earlier than someone from the US, but lets do the math =>

6am dock. 7am clear. 8am on the road. 8:30am arrive at airport. Possibly 9:30am arrival at the gate. Earliest departure time would be 10am.....but that's assuming everything goes right.

The question is, do you have a backup plan if you miss that 10am flight?

I see you will be disembarking from Oasis of the Seas. That is the one ship (also Allure of the Seas) I would say you would be fine booking a flight at 10am (or even earlier) from FLL.

Self-disembarking for Oasis starts at 6:30 and if you are waiting in line when it starts, you can be off the ship, through immigration and customs and at the airport by 7am (maybe 7:30 at the latest). I waited until 7:15am to leave the ship and even having to wait for immigration/customs for a bit (I was behind all the self disembarkers at that point), I was at FLL before 8am.

Any other ships, I would say 11am or later, but Oasis and Allure really are that efficient at getting people off the ship and on their way.

But if Customs delays the ship for some reason, and it has happened to me twice with disembarkation starting after 9:00 am, then all bets are off. No guarantees if you book before noon, just estimates of the probabilities of making it.

Who cares when we're going home? :-) I only REALLY care when I'm getting on the ship. We always leave at least 1 day after we return home before returning to work, just in case there is a problem getting home.

Thank you for your replies. We are gambling type people sooooooooooo.

Just looking for opinions on the earliest flight time to book in Fort Lauderdale when we arrive back in port.

 

Thanks in advance

It would be helpful to know the following in order to give a better answer:

Are you on Oasis/Allure or another ship?

Can/will you self-disembark?

Are you relying on a cruise line transfer to the airport?

Are you checking bags on your flight?

Are you an elite level FF with your airline? i.e. check in via a priority line

Do you have Pre-Check, through your FF program or Global Entry?