Can I make 10:30 flight out of FLL end of cruise

On the Sun Nov 10....coming back I want a 10:30 flight as it is non stop. Will I have time to make it if we get back at 7 am?

TY

You are really pushing it at 10:30am. I was on Enchantment in January and I got to the gate at 10:45am because of the long lines of thousands of people trying to go home at the same time, not to mention, I got pulled aside for a random pat-down which took another 15 minutes. Some people will say go for it but I say pick a flight after 11:30am just to be safe.

You might. It's a Friday and you are the only ship at Port Everglades that day.

It's doable, go for it.

What day are you flying back? You said Sunday Nov. 10th. The 10th is Friday and the 12th is Sunday.

I'm kunfuzed!:eek:

Last year we made a 10:40AM flight out of FLL on a thursday, 9-8-05. We did the self debarkation, carried off our luggage, grabbed a taxi, and was at the airport at 9:05AM. No lines. BUT, everything went just right for us. It can be done, but everything has to go just right!

Good Luck!

What day are you flying back? You said Sunday Nov. 10th. The 10th is Friday and the 12th is Sunday.

I'm kunfuzed!:eek:

They mean they are on the Sun Princess which gets back into port on November 10th which is on a Friday.

They mean they are on the Sun Princess which gets back into port on November 10th which is on a Friday.

That makes a big difference coming back in on a Friday and being the only ship coming into Port Everglades. Much less of a wait at the airport and a good chance they will make the flight but they need to get off the ship early (before 9:00am.)

Angiem originally said Sunday which usually means no less than 4 ships coming in at once and the lines at the airport are much worse.

The Sunday I cruise from Port Everglades, there are 8 ships leaving and 7 coming back in my last day. I already know there will be long waits at FLL.

I am sorry for the confusion. I am on the Sun Princess.......but the date coming back is the 20th of Nov. a Sunday. OMG It is the only non stop back~!!!!!

Angie

HELLOOOOO The 20th is on Monday! Where can I find a schedule of what ships are in? Thank you and again sorry for the confusion.

Angie

Try this link:

http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/default.aspx

You'll have 5 ships in port on Nov. 20th.

Oh - and for the record - I wouldn't chance a flight that early .... not with these new security procedures recently enacted. It's too risky to assume nothing will go wrong.

With 5 ships in port I wouldn't chance it, even for a non-stop.

I just returned from a week on Caribbean Princess this morning, sailing from FLL. We gave the passenger services desk our flight info (we were booked on the 11:20 a.m. flight out). We were off the ship by 8:40 a.m., grabbed a porter, found our luggage, cleared customs, got a cab, went to the airport, checked in at the curb, went through security, and were at the gate by 9:10 a.m.

Granted, we were the only ship in port today. In the past, we have cruised in January and February (when things are much busier). Even then, we would have had no problem making a 10:30 a.m. flight.

The key to success is beating the crowds. My approach:

Don't use the cruiseline transfer. These are nothing more than old Greyhound or charter buses. You will have to wait for the bus to fill up with passengers and their luggage before the bus leaves. In addition, you will have everybody arriving at the airport at the same time.

Grab a porter at the port. They can help you manage your bags and will get you through the customs clearance more quickly - there's a separate line. They will also get you to your cab quickly.

Depending on the number in your party, tell the porter you want a sedan cab, not a van. They will often try to load a van with several singles, couples, etc. This will obviously slow you down, as well.

At the airport, use curbside check-in. At FLL, the curbside check-in guys expect to be tipped. I always tip well, just to make sure my bags get where they are supposed to.

Make sure you have carefully inspected your luggage to ensure you are in compliance with TSA regs, etc. Despite our best efforts, on the flight from CLT to FLL, my wife was delayed slightly clearing security when they discovered a bottle of nail polish in a side compartment of her huge purse (which she had forgotten about). Not a big deal, but still a slight delay.

Some folks suggest keeping your luggage in your cabin and leaving the ship with your luggage (I forget the term Princess uses). I have never felt the need to do this and it makes life much easier moving around the ship (for breakfast, etc.) on the morning of disembarkation not to have to deal with three extra suitcases.

Of course, all this grand scheme may one day be worthless if there is one of the infamous delays in clearing customs (four cruises so far with no such event) or extraordinary security problems at the airport. I'm willing to take my chances, at least right now. I despise sitting around in airports.

Hope this helps.

We have flown out twice at 11:30 always at the airport by 9:15. As the above poster stated, grab a porter when you enter the luggage area (we hold up a $10) He will have your bags and you in a taxi in no time. With that said, 10:30 is early, good luck. Worse case, you will have to wait for another flight. ;)

I'm freaking out here...We were originally booked on a flight home leaving Miami after our cruise at 11:30 am, and even then I was worried that was pushing it, planning to do 'self-disembarkation' etc. I just checked my flight details tonight on-line, only to discover that our flight time has been changed to an hour earlier, so it's now at 10:30!!! I'm so worried now, and there's nothing I can do without incurring huge costs to change flights as prices have gone up considerably and we'd have to pay the difference in fares, plus penalties for making changes.

Yikes!

Donna

Donna call your airline. If they changed the flight time, then they should accommodate you on a later flight at no charge since the change is their fault.

Thanks for the advice, Wrona! I called the airline as soon as I could the next business day, and they changed my flight with no penalties, fees, or fare difference. They said that since they made the schedule change, there would be no penalty to me! I didn't even want to go for the next flight after my original one, just in case that one gets changed to an earlier time as well, so I played it safe and we are coming home on the 8:10 pm flight that night. We have rented a car for the day and will explore Miami before heading to the airport. Now I won't need to stress about our flight home the whole time we are on the cruise! Woo hoo! :D

Perhaps you will be lucky and make an 10:30AM flight. However, I can tell you that last year we came into FLL on a Saturday (January) and there were 4 or 5 ships in the same day. We must have been one of the last ships coming in because when we got to the airport the lines were out the door and down the street (Delta Airlines). We got in line with the "crowd" and it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to the Kiosk to check in. Unfortunately, the lines for curbside checkin were just as long or longer than inside. It was so bad the Airport had personnel out helping to keep people in the right lines and trying to prevent folks from cutting in line. Lots of stress and hard feelings I can tell you. Then we took our bags and got in another line that took about 20 minutes to drop our bags off with TSA. Next, we had to go through security which was a good 45 min to 1 hour wait. We got to the airport at about 8:30 or 9:00 for a 1:00 PM flight and we barely made it. So, try a 10:30 flight if you are a lucky person. Perhaps things have changed since last year and it might be better. If it was me, I would think about a slightly later flight if you can still make connections. You might also benefit from the experience of SC Sam and try that approach. Whatever - good luck.

If you use the Express Check-out and take your own bags off the ship, you might be able to do it, but I wouldn't count on it.

Personally, I would rather take a later flight and make the trip to the airport at leisure.