Night Flight home - What do you do?

We are going on a cruise with Celebrity Solstice on the 18th March from Fort Lauderdale, we have a night flight home back to Scotland on the 25th from Miami airport, has anybody got any suggestions about what could we do in Miami for the day and is there anywhere at Miami airport that we could store our luggage till our flight, anybody got any suggestions or tips on what they have done in the past?

We are going on a cruise with Celebrity Solstice on the 18th March from Fort Lauderdale, we have a night flight home back to Scotland on the 25th from Miami airport, has anybody got any suggestions about what could we do in Miami for the day and is there anywhere at Miami airport that we could store our luggage till our flight, anybody got any suggestions or tips on what they have done in the past?

MIA has a hotel inside the airport.

You could do a post cruise excursion. A city tour or whatever. You would get off the ship, put luggage on a charter bus, then the bus drives thru the city and the driver gives some historical perspective. Some stops along the way such as Little Havana. Then the bus drops you at the airport around 1 or 2 PM. You could check into the hotel, relax, catch a nap, shower, eat a nice dinner, relax some more, then take the elevator down and directly to your gate.

Just an idea

After our first cruise we also had a day to spend in Miami before our flight home.We bought an excursion through the cruise line, and Celebrity also offers it. We chose to do Parrot Jungle. It was convenient,they kept our luggage for us while there. Check out other excursions the cruise line offers for day trips.

The cruise line will probably offer excursions that end at the airport. However, they will probably end mid afternoon.

I would get a hotel room for the day...a pool, restaurants, bathroom, shower, etc....somewhere to store your stuff.....there's nothing worse than trying to "kill time" until a late flight.

I'd compare prices for the room, vs. changing to an earlier flight!

Or you can rent a car for the day, and store the luggage in your trunk.

Book a room for the night before you return and when you get off the ship, you will be able to check in and go to your room immediately to drop your luggage etc. The KEY to this is be certain that you advise you will not be arriving until early morning or they will call you a no show the night before AND be sure you can have late check out at 4 P.M. We have done this in San Juan and it worked out great.

We spent the day having fun and then had shower to clean up and dress before going to the airport.

We have travelled back from miami a few times and the cruise line has always had excursions on the day before returning us to the airport.

i presume celeb will do the same .

have a great time

Although I am not travelling with Celebrity, but Princess, I have an evening flight home from Miami.

The Princess transfer includes a stop at a shopping Mall for several hours before heading on to the airport. Luggage is stored on the bus.

I did a similar thing recently with an evening flight out of LA and it worked well. :)

If you ask, I am sure Celebrity will be offering something similar.

A personal thing I know, but I would not want the hassle of renting cars or booking a hotel room for a few hours. By the time you get off the ship, do immigration, collect your luggage and get on the bus several hours have elapsed already. What might sound like hours and hours on paper, actually

doesn't end up being so. Not forgetting the need to be at the airport 2-3 hours before your flight - check in, security etc all takes time.

Don't worry about it. It will all be fine. Have a great trip! :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Sadly the ship's tours in Ft Lauderdale do end early in the afternoon at the airport -- usually around 2 or 3 PM. Thus you will still have a lot of time on your hands before you can actually check in and turn in your luggage.

I strongly suggest that you go to the airport hotel and stay there for the day.

If you are comfortable driving on the wrong side of the street, you can rent a car, store your luggage & explore. We did that & went to the Miami Zoo. We didn't want to go to the beach & get sandy. There is no luggage storage per se. If Celebrity has one of those programs where they send your luggage to the AP you can do that. Getting a hotel room for the day is another option.

If you rent a car, do not leave luggage/carryons visible in the car. Put everything in the trunk. Some time ago, we read about thefts from rental cars.

We are going on a cruise with Celebrity Solstice on the 18th March from Fort Lauderdale, we have a night flight home back to Scotland on the 25th from Miami airport, has anybody got any suggestions about what could we do in Miami for the day and is there anywhere at Miami airport that we could store our luggage till our flight, anybody got any suggestions or tips on what they have done in the past?

Thank you all for your kind advice we will see what Celebrity have to offer on our last day.

What time is your flight? We frequently fly to Miami as my Dad lives in Florida, I would certainly be at the airport 3 hours before take off as sometimes it can take a long time going through security checks for international flights.

If you do not want to run around Miami check into the clubs that some airlines have. American has the Admirals Club and I have happily spent a day in the one in Chicago.