Aussie's new to cruising the Caribbean - help please!

Morning all you good folk. My OA and I have travelled extensively. But this is our first ever cruise on Oasis in Sept. One of our 'bucket list' things. Also new to posting in this forum/site, so pls mind my ignorance of all things site related. I have found lots of wonderful information on the boards and forums about the Oasis, but being 'Virgin cruisers' we still have much to learn and a few things we are a tad concerned about. So calling all experts for help. Thanks in advance - any help will be appreciated.:)

1. Are the wine packages on board worth purchasing beforehand? How expensive is it per glass? How much is a bottel? Ditto regarding the soft/fizzy drinks packages.

2. We are already booked in for a few entertainment shows (learned that here) however have had a load of different things about shore excursions. Veteran cruise friends have suggested getting off the boat and finding our own way/negotiating with taxi's etc to go where we want, rather than paying premium shore excursion costs. I dont know how true that is in the Caribbean?

3. Assuming we were disembarking from 7am, more likely around 8 ish, we have a flight from Ft.Lauderdale at 10;10 am. Having read some posts, we are now worried about being at the airport for 9;10am. Any tips/ideas on speeding up the process would be much appreciated. I have read we can take our own luggage down, and this will save time.

4. Being in our 40's we thought 'my time dining' would be the better option for us, but it wasnt available as an option when we booked. Is there any way we could change this?

5. We are driving from Orlando early in the morning of the cruise and plan to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale around 10;30 ish. Are there things we should take into account?

Lots of questions folks - :o thanks in advance - we know there are numerous experts out there who will be able to help us have a first time cruise experience.

You are pushing it for a 10:10 flight. Hopefully it is a US domestic flight and not international.

I would recommend driving from Orlando the day before. Its actually a pretty decent drive.

Your flight home is too early. Believe me, you have to be at the airport by 8:10, and not just an hour before the flight departs. If this is a domestic flight, airlines say you have to be at the gate, if not already on the plane, 20 minutes before departure. I just flew yesterday, and they closed my 9:35 flight at 9:10.

There has been a lot of talk with disembarkation problems. When disembarking 5600 passengers, it takes a long time, even if things go smoothly. Chances are, they won't begin disembarking until after 8, and then you have to fight the other self-disembarkers and all their luggage, you have to find your transportation to the airport, then stand in line to check your bags (this could take 30 minutes or more), then you'll have an even longer line for security screening. I've been in that line for an hour on busy cruise ship days.

The cruise line always recommends to not book a flight before noon.

The drive from Orlando will be about 3 1/2 hours, IF there are no problems. If there is road construction, or an accident, it could add on quite a bit more time.

Thanks Kitty9 and 1025cruise. Yes we have a domestic flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Dallas and then a few hours later on to LA. So hoping being at the airport around 9;20 should be sufficient enough. Unfortunately the flights are booked in so cant do anything about that.:( I have read that you can notify the cruise line about early departures and they will do what they can to get you off the ship and through security as early as possible. Is this true? Thanks for your help.

I'd be researching the next flight to Dallas and hoping there are seats on it.

You can let them know you have an early flight, but depending on how many ships, the Ft. Lauderdale airport can be a zoo. You can do self disembarkation, but that means you need to be able to carry all of your luggage off, no one will be available to help you. In terms of customs/immigration, you will need to go through the non-US line, which could take longer.

Once at the airport, you will need to check in, then go through security. Again, you are pushing it to make a 10:10 flight. I personally wouldn't book a flight before noon. Given your early flight, you won't even qualify for express service where you can pay and never see your luggage again.

Spend the money on the change fee and take a later flight.

The airport is close to the port in F.L.L. But that is cuting it way to close

Really, that flight is just too early .. have a plan B. If you know the cruiseline says dont book flights before noon ...there is a reason for it.

Yes, you can disembark with those who claim to have early flights and get off early, but do bear in mind suites and VIPs those who earned loyalty on RCL will probably get off before you too... and Oasis is the biggest ship in the world.

I am flying to Dallas too, and on Oasis Sept 3rd, and the only choices were in the morning like yours or at night .. Im flying out that night. There really isnt another choice. go have lunch or have a after the cruise excursion. .. but expecting to make a 10 am flight that you probably have a 50/50 chance of making to me is going to create a lot of stress.

Im on spirit and they have two flights a day. and I think Im not flying home until really late .. no good times. the other choice was get a hotel and wait a day, which I didnt want to do.

You will be one of hundreds who is expecting to get off the ship early .. me too.

I think we're all trying to say "CHANGE YOUR FLIGHT!" Pay a change fee and be glad you did it before you're stranded missing a flight.

No matter how accommodating RCI would be about helping, there are just too many factors that can't be controlled.

No one exits the ship until it is cleared by the Port Authority, we're talking a HUGE ship and there are many, many people who will think they need to get off immediately.

There's getting a taxi and traffic to the airport.

We've yet to see the Fort Lauderdale airport when it wasn't a zoo. Imagine how many ships are arriving back in port that day, many with passengers who want to fly out. Security lines can be long and usually are all day on the day ships return to port.

I don't mean to be negative but CHANGE YOUR FLIGHT!

You've going to have a fantastic cruise so don't mar the memory by the last day foul ups.

There is no "cost advantage" to buying any drink package in advance...it will cost the same regardless if you buy before you sail, or once onboard. They do not run out.

Can't help with the cost of wine vs. packages...they are all over-priced, IMO! The soft drink (soda) package only makes sense if you will be drinking the equivilent of 3+ cans of soda per day....a can can be purchased without the package for $2.24 per can, if you don't want the fountain soda package. If you buy the package, your soda will be "fountain" soda....and you get a large cup with your package.

Thanks to all the responses. We have taken ur advice :o (a tad costly for our 1st error in cruising- but lesson learnt) and we now have a 6;40pm flight out of Ft.Lauderdale. Will mean we get in to LA just before midnight - but rather that than the stress of trying to race the clock, especially when we cannot control for the human factor. So again thank you for your convincing suggestions.

Also thanks cb at sea regarding the drink packages. What we are hearing is that wine may not be a good pre-purchase option, but if we down a few soft drinks/fizzy soda, this may be a good option. Could anyone tell me if they have purchased one package for 2 people(just quietly of course) ?:D