Questions--debarking in Miami

We are looking at a cruise on the Navigator that ends on Monday, 11/13, in Miami. There are some other ships debarking that morning as well--some "big guys"-- Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and ncl.

Our itinerary states "debark 8 a.m." I'm trying to determine the earliest we can leave the ship so I can figure out our flight home to Syracuse. Does Regent allow self-assist? I do realize that customs clearance etc. always will affect a ship's debarkation schedule. But what else??--for example, would we be debarking at the same pier as one of the other big ships? Going through customs with them? And how difficult to get a cab to the airport with all the hoards of pax from the other ships?

On our last Regent cruise, we debarked in Montreal and drove home, so I'm totally unfamiliar with Miami!

Have also heard that Miami airport is less than pleasant. Would it be better to arrange transport to fll or even West Palm Beach if there's not a signifcant air $ difference to Syracuse?

Thanks for any and all advice!:)

Since we typically do our own air and transfers, we just keep our luggage in our cabin and disembark when we want to. As long as you are off the ship by 9 am, they don't care when you disembark if you are carrying your own stuff.

The only catch in that is that if you are clearing customs in Miami, you can't disembark until the ship is cleared. Usually that is early, but there have been times when it has been significantly delayed. I would personally not book a flight leaving Miami earlier than noon, just to be safe.

IMO, Miami is one of the worst ports for debarking. Although you will not be going through the same terminal as passengers from other ships, the unionized workers make the process take twice as long as it should. No one is permitted to leave the ship until ALL of the luggage has been off-loaded. You can not just walk off the ship with your luggage as you can do in most ports in the world.

Fortunately you dock when the workers are actually working (we arrived at 6:00 a.m. last November and had to wait until their workday began - I believe at 7:00 a.m.). Since we had an 11:20 a.m. flight (that 100% of CC'ers said that we would not make), we were in the front of the line -- watching luggage being off-loaded and moved to the entrance of the terminal. Then someone else has to pick it up and move it again. It is worse than watching a turtle race. Repeated announcements indicated that they were "almost done" but 30 minutes later, they were not.

Once we finally got into the terminal building, the process of getting the luggage and passing through customs was easy and quick (and there was no line for the taxi). We were off of the ship at 9:10 a.m. and at the airport a little past 9:35 a.m. Had we not been standing in the front of the line for well over an hour, we would not have fared as well. While standing in line, the couple next to us missed their earlier flight.

Again, other ships and passengers will have no affect! I would suggest not booking a flight until noon or later since you should be at the airport 2 hours prior to boarding and 9:00 a.m. seems to be the very earliest you could get off of the ship.

Hope this helps!

Thank you both for the information! We too book our our flights and transport, so I was hoping that if we did self-assist it might make things go quicker. In Miami, doesn't sound like that's likely to happen! Our last port of call is Grand Cayman, so I'm assuming we'll have to clear customs in Miami. I did not know that all luggage had to be off-loaded before we could leave the ship. I learn something new here every day!:)

I know Regent's offices are in Miami, but I sure wish they had chosen another port for their cruises--West Palm Beach, perhaps, or at least stayed in FLL!:p

Thank you again!

All luggage for all cruise lines must be off loaded before the ship is cleared. All Shore Workers in the US are unionized and they go by their contract.

Miles

One positive thing--at least with only 490 passengers on the Navigator, as opposed to the thousands on the other ships in port that day, off-loading shouldn't take too long!:D

Take everyone's advice, do not book anything before noon. Miami is a real trip. Getting a taxi is alone an experience. Sometimes there is a line 50 to 75 people long. Better be safe than sorry.

Depends on the time you disembark. I live in South Florida and if there is an accident on the Dolphin Expressway you can be short on time for your flight. Take it from a local.

You will more then likely be at the terminal that is across from where the larger ships will be docked. No guarantees on that but it is usually what happens.

I would try to pick a flight that leaves around Noon.

My experience is that is a safe flight. If all goes well you might find that you arrive much earlier then that but once in awhile something goes wrong and I have seen this first hand not only arriving back to Miami but also to New York and Los Angeles.

So what can go wrong?

- Union slowdown. I've seen this. Yes the union must offload the luggage with no assistance from the cruise line. I've seen this first hand at this port as well as others in the USA.

- Ship arrives later then expected. It happens.

- Insufficient customs/immigration personnel which I have seen first hadn't at this port and others in the USA.

As to Taxis, there are plenty of them. It's a flat fare of $28.00 before tip between the Port and Miami International Airport.

Another option which I highly recommend is UBER. You'll not only get there at a cost almost half but you'll likely have a very professional drive and a vehicle much nicer then a taxi. You can always use the Taxi as a fall back plan if a UBER vehicle is not ready.

Again, when all goes well you might get to Miami International Airport around 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM. But if something goes wrong, you will wish you had the extra time.

Keith

Thanks, everyone, for your input and information.

We don't have Uber here (tho I believe the Syracuse area is legislating for it), so if we decided to use it in Miami, I have a couple of questions. (Forgive the country-bumpkin, please!;)--We actually live 30 miles from Syracuse)

--Can Uber be arranged in advance?

--How do we know which car/driver is ours?

--Where do we meet the car?

We will definitely book a later flight. I don't want to be stressed after leaving 15 wonderful (I hope) nights on the Navigator.

Thanks, everyone, for your input and information.

 

We don't have Uber here (tho I believe the Syracuse area is legislating for it), so if we decided to use it in Miami, I have a couple of questions. (Forgive the country-bumpkin, please!;)--We actually live 30 miles from Syracuse)

 

--Can Uber be arranged in advance?

--How do we know which car/driver is ours?

--Where do we meet the car?

 

We will definitely book a later flight. I don't want to be stressed after leaving 15 wonderful (I hope) nights on the Navigator.

You put the UBER App on your smart phone in advance as you set everything up.

When you are ready you request a ride. They will know your location outside the port.

You will see information such as the vehicle and you can say no.

You cannot pre book it which is why I said if there is no car available your fall back plan is the taxi.

We used it for the first time in January getting from a downtown hotel in Miami to the Port of Miami and going forward we will continue to use it.

You can go to this site to get some additional information:

https://www.uber.com

Keith

Deleted...wrong link.

This is the official FAQ on Uber.

https://help.uber.com/

Thank you!

You put the UBER App on your smart phone in advance as you set everything up.

 

When you are ready you request a ride. They will know your location outside the port.

 

You will see information such as the vehicle and you can say no.

 

You cannot pre book it which is why I said if there is no car available your fall back plan is the taxi.

 

We used it for the first time in January getting from a downtown hotel in Miami to the Port of Miami and going forward we will continue to use it.

 

You can go to this site to get some additional information:

 

https://www.uber.com

 

Keith

FYI you can schedule a ride with Uber allowing a 15 minute pickup window. Just select schedule on the app.

Thanks, LoonCall. Good to know

Keith

FYI you can schedule a ride with Uber allowing a 15 minute pickup window. Just select schedule on the app.

Yes you can do this but uber doesn't send out the order for the pickup until the time arrives so not a lot better than you ordering the car once you have your luggage and if you are late you would still have to order your own car

Also not like scheduling a limo or the like so if no Uber's in the area you would need to wait for the next one in your area.