Advice please. Will we make it? Flight arriving 11:35am day of Royal Caribbean cruise

Hi there. I'm looking for advice please. My girlfriend and I have a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise booked on the Oasis of the Seas ship with Royal Caribbean in late April.

We booked with a travel agent and have flights included as part of the package, but the worrier that i am, I was wondering if our flight From Toronto to Fort Lauderdale that arrives at 11:35 am will pose a problem getting on-board the ship? I think I read somewhere that the ship departs at 4 pm? Not sure.

Could someone explain the rundown of events going from the plane to embarking? (particularly on a Royal Caribbean ship (maybe it doesn't matter if you weren't on the Oasis of the Seas, but maybe someone who has flown into Fort Lauderdale and cruised on the Oasis of the Seas could chime in too?)

How long does it take to get our luggage at the airport? I know this is a subjective thing.

We are taking an Airtransat transfer shuttle to the port. Any idea how long that might take?

At the Pier; what happens and how long could it take before we are on-board? I know that there will be close to 6000 other passengers. Yikes.

The travel agent said that this flight would be fine to get on the ship and am pretty sure changing flights would incur extra costs etc. but does anyone think we will be too rushed? Should we look for another flight?

Sorry for the plethora of questions but idle time makes the mind wander a bit much on potential pitfalls.

Thanks for the advice/info in advance.

Cameron

Hi there. I'm looking for advice please. My girlfriend and I have a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise booked on the Oasis of the Seas ship with Royal Caribbean in late April.

 

We booked with a travel agent and have flights included as part of the package, but the worrier that i am, I was wondering if our flight From Toronto to Fort Lauderdale that arrives at 11:35 am will pose a problem getting on-board the ship? I think I read somewhere that the ship departs at 4 pm? Not sure.

 

Could someone explain the rundown of events going from the plane to embarking? (particularly on a Royal Caribbean ship (maybe it doesn't matter if you weren't on the Oasis of the Seas, but maybe someone who has flown into Fort Lauderdale and cruised on the Oasis of the Seas could chime in too?)

 

How long does it take to get our luggage at the airport? I know this is a subjective thing.

We are taking an Airtransat transfer shuttle to the port. Any idea how long that might take?

At the Pier; what happens and how long could it take before we are on-board? I know that there will be close to 6000 other passengers. Yikes.

 

The travel agent said that this flight would be fine to get on the ship and am pretty sure changing flights would incur extra costs etc. but does anyone think we will be too rushed? Should we look for another flight?

 

Sorry for the plethora of questions but idle time makes the mind wander a bit much on potential pitfalls.

 

Thanks for the advice/info in advance.

Cameron

Just returned from our Oasis cruise two days ago. If you arrive at 11:35 you will have your luggage and be outside the airport at 12:30, cancel your shuttle unless it's free. you can grab a taxi right outside baggage claim and be at the pier in less than 15 minutes, taxis charge $17.00 for four people.. when you get out of the taxi the porters are taking your luggage as the driver unloads it, we tipped the porters $5.00 for three large suitcases. The ships starts boarding at about 11:30 and the line moves at a pretty good pace. When you board the ship, skip lunch at windjammer and head to deck 8 central park café for a much less crowded lunch, if the café is full you can take your food across the way and sit at the tables outside of Vintages or Giovanni's. Make all your show reservations well before you board, On the Oasis class ships you can get free breakfast at Johnny Rockets before 10:15, if you are planning on any specialty restaurants it is very hard to get reservations at the 8 o'clock diner hour after you board, if you are not to tired all specialty dining is half price on day one.. to make a long story short,,, your time frame is fine,, happy cruising

Hi there

Your TA wasn't doing you any favors here.

If the question is can you make it to the ship on time if your plane lands at 11:30, the answer is yes.

FLL is a small enough airport, figuring that you should be able to get your bags within 1/2 hr. and another 1/2 hr. to get a taxi and get to the port. ( it is about a 15 min drive to the port ) You could be there at 12:30. But that's in a perfect world.

Don't know what you are used to. Many people are firm believers in arriving a day before. A lot don't. If you are going to fly in the day of the cruise, it would be advisable to have a very early flight in case of any kind of delay. A couple of hours could have you missing your cruise. You want to have a back-up plan.

Even with insurance you may not be covered for a delay of only 2-3 hrs. Would you be devastated if your vacation changed from a cruise to a stay in Fort Lauderdale? Will your TA help you if you were late somehow?

There have been many, many posts here discussing this at length. It doesn't happen often, but you could have a delay that could result in you missing the ship.

Talk to your TA. You have to make a decision to either hope for the best, don't worry or stress about it because that wont help anything, or change your travel plans. Don't forget even with the best plans things can still go wrong, but that isn't the norm.

hope you have a great cruise

I agree, you will be fine, barring any delays with the flight. At least by the time you get to the cruise terminal, the line will be steadily moving, although it might appear to be pretty daunting when you show up.

Although I would never arrive at port city the day of the cruise embarkation, it is what it is.

Did you choose the flight time or did the TA choose it? That is not giving you much wiggle room. All it takes is one weather event and the domino effect begins. Good luck.

Your TA needs to book such a flight for herself/himself and see how s/he likes the stress.

If all goes as scheduled, you'll be okay.

If anything goes wrong, at all, you'll be late. There have been times we had to wait quite a while at baggage claim in FLL airport.

Didn't your TA discuss which flight to book with you? Did this booking come as a surprise to you?

Cancel the shuttle and take a taxi. Port Everglades is about $10 taxi ride from FLL Airport.

No problem, assuming your flight is on time. No worries!

Yes...taxi is the way to go.

No problem, assuming your flight is on time. No worries!

 

Yes...taxi is the way to go.

That is the problem.....

a Big Assumption !! :rolleyes:

No problems until there's problems.

Personally, I'd be looking for another TA! As others have said, assuming your flight is on time, you'll be fine. But, it doesn't take much for a flight to be delayed. On my second cruise, I was flying from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, BC. Short flight and it was in August, so no weather issues. Our flight was the first of the day and was scheduled to arrive in Vancouver at about 9:00 a.m. After multiple delays due to a "mechanical issue" we finally arrived at 4:00 p.m. and sail away was at 5:00! After a mad cab ride to port, they rolled up the gangway behind us. Never again will arrive on sailing day. Too much stress!

Hopefully (and chances are) it will be fine for you, but in the future, keep in mind there are many things that can delay your flight and overselling flights is common practice so there's the risk of being bumped.

If you asked in advance I would have recommended flying in the day before the cruise. By flying in the day of the cruise you risk missing the ship if your flight is cancelled or running very late.

Keith

Remember you have to be on the ship earlier.

In general it is 90 minutes before the cruise embarks and some cruise lines require 2 hours.

The problem when people say no problem if the flight is on time there is great risk it won't be on time.

I would see if you can change the flight.

Keith

No way would I want to be stressed and worrying if I would make the ship.

Try to fly in the day before.

Too many things can happen -- plane breaks down, doesn't leave on time, etc.

We always arrange our own flights and hotels and use taxis or limo services.

You do not have much room for delay. You must be checked in by 2:30pm, so considering you have to wait for bags and transport, you have around 2 hours leeway. I hope it all works perfectly for you, but I would not want that stress.

If the shuttle is a bus you must wait until the bus is full which could be a wait. The airport is near the pier and the cab ride there is short. I would just get a cab, it is easy and they are waiting for you to take you to the pier.

I hope you have a passport and trip insurance. Are the flights through the cruise line program or just your TA? You may want a credit card with lots of credit available. I hope the worst does not happen but you need to be ready. I would also carry a printout of potential flights to your next port. I would also try to do just carry-on, or if you cannot do that, have at least two outfits and swimwear in your carry-on.

People do fly in same day all the time and make it with no problem. I have heard the number of those who fly the same day to be as high as 50%., so obviously you are with a large group of people doing the same thing.

... I would also try to do just carry-on...

Very good point, that alone could save significant time.

OP, Is this a Transat air and cruise package? If it is you might have their flight/cruise protection feature. Double check with your T/A.

If your cruise was bought as a package the flight is scheduled to arrive in time from them to get you to the ship. If it wasn't they would have lots and lots of angry customers each and every week.;)

It would be great to know:

• what day is the actual cruise?
  
• if the air is part of the cruise ticket such that the cruise line is responsible to get you to the ship?
  
• if you are actually flying out of Toronto or whether Toronto is simply the last leg of your flight?
  

We have just returned from a cruise on the Adventure sailing from San Juan.

Some passengers did not board as they were delayed due to the snow storm on the east coast of America. We flew from JFK and were on one of the last flights to leave on Friday evening before the snow came.

We have booked another cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale in December 2016 and are flying direct from Manchester to Orlando the day before our cruise so that we will miss any bad weather.

Our TA discussed the different options about the flights before confirming the booking.

Change your TA.

If the flight arrives on time you shouldn't have a problem. Just remember you have to be onboard ninety minutes before the ships scheduled departure. The passenger manifest has to be sent to the US Homeland Security before the ship has permission to sail. If the ship is scheduled to depart at 4:00PM you need to be onboard by 2:30PM. Port Everglades is only a ten minute taxi ride from FLL. The security checkpoint at Port Everglades is usually packed and is the main reason that you can possibly lose some time. On Sunday, January 3rd,2016 I sailed with my family on Holland America's Eurodam. Larry's Limos picked me up at my condo in Hallandale Beach at 10:30AM for the short fifteen minute ride to Port Everglades. Due to the fact that eight ships were sailing that day the backup at the security checkpoint was extremely bad. We didn't arrive at the terminal until 11:30AM. Our ship sailed at 4:30PM, thirty minutes later than scheduled. While waiting on our balcony I watched two young couples arrive at 4:25PM. One couple in a taxi and another in a limo. They ran to a side entrance at the terminal and were denied entry. The ship was ten feet away from the pier when both couples walked back to the vehicles. The one woman was crying and waved to the ship as we pulled away. Unfortunately for them, there vacation was ruined. When I was younger I too would fly from Newark, New Jersey on the day of departure. I'm thirty years older and don't do that anymore. If you have to arrive on the day of departure take the earliest nonstop flight available.

... If you have to arrive on the day of departure take the earliest nonstop flight available.

Or even consider taking a very late flight the night before.

The answer to the OP's question (and concern) is simply, "are you a gambler?" because that is what taking that flight means. The gamble is whether the flight will be on time (or no more then 1 1/2 hours late. If the OP is comfortable that the airlines usually provide good service, and are willing to gamble missing the ship, then all is fine. Otherwise, as most experienced cruisers continue to recommend, the wise course is to fly-in to Florida at least one day early! Not only does this increase the odds of not missing the cruise, but it allows mis-directed luggage to catch-up prior to you leaving on your cruise (we have met plenty of passengers on cruises who do not have their luggage). And getting into Ft Lauderdale a day early allows you to enjoy a nice dinner if Florida, get a good night's sleep, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and head over to your ship in time for lunch.

As to luggage at FLL, we normally expect to have our luggage in about 45 min after landing. The good news is that it is a very short ride (around 15 min) between the airport and the pier. If the flights were arranged through RCI, then there is also the chance that the ship would wait if the flight were delayed...but this is never guaranteed.

Hank

Air Transat is poised to strike shortly!

They are a total crap charter airline. Change this flight if you can. Now.

As a crappy charter, if their plane breaks down you are SOL. They only have a few rental planes, and they will not book you on any other airline.

It is terrible that your TA booked your cruise/flight this way.

For those who aren't familiar with charter flights, they have rigid schedules. Like Monday, Cancun, Tuesday, Varadero, Wednesday Punta Cana etc. So they will only go a particular airport one day a week, except for Orlando, which they may do two times a week. They carry folks on "package holidays" and a small handful of folks just booking air only.

They are not a regular airline, like air Canada. Yes, charters can be "cheaper", but have extremely cramped cabins and horrible flight schedules. And no back up planes.

With a strike threatening, change that flight! A least one day before sailing.

I wonder if OP returned to read any of these posts?