Disembark at Port Everglades - Celebrity Silhouette

Hello,

My wife and I are taking a Celebrity cruise (Silhouette) in 03/2015 and have some questions/concerns about disembark at Port Everglades.

We are going to rent a car at FLL after getting off the cruise and stay in Orlando for a couple of days. So I don't really care if we can get off early or not. My goal is to avoid the crowd as my wife has a medical condition with her hips and she cannot stand up / walk for a long time ( more than an hour).

Last time when we took a cruise to Alaska from Seattle, she got a wheelchair since she was still on crutches ( not anymore now) and someone helped us out. Our family was waiting outside of the terminal so it wasn't too bad.

This time, I presume we can still get a wheelchair to get off the ship but we will be on our own to get a cab to the rental car center at FLL. I don't mind paying a bit more to have a driver waiting for us outside but I am not very sure if that is possible.

BTW, we booked AquaClass. Will that save us time to get on/off the ship in any way? I've heard it makes no difference.

Any advice for getting off the ship to the rental car center with less wait time and stand-up is very appreciated. That can also help me schedule the proper pick-up time for my rental car.

You might be better posting on the North America Homeports (FLORIDA) section - I'm sure you will get an answer from there.:) Have a great cruise.

Most of the major car rental agencies have locations

That service the cruise port

They will pick you up at the pier

& transport you to their location.

It's much better than the madhouse of FLL airport.

Just make sure the location is Cruise Port.

Jack

Celebrity will most do what they can to help you.

Rental car companies have shuttles running to and from port. However, I guess a cab would be more convenient for you. The ride to and from the RCC at FLL airport only takes 10-15 minutes.

We never had any problems at FLL. Much better than MIA.

We just returned last week from a Holy Land Cruise on the Silhouette (also Aqua Class). She is a beautiful ship!!! You will love her...

We have often turned our car in at the Port Everglades Avis office and have seen many couples waiting around for a turn-in to be cleaned and readied for them. It is a small office where they still use the computer instead of the hand-held for turn-ins and fill in all the data on the computer for rentals. While a great place for turn-ins (after dropping off our bags) and transport to our ship, we have opted to take the inexpensive cab ride to the airport and ask them to drop us at the back of the Avis area. Unload the bags right into the car, check -out at the gate and we are on the way. A bit pricier, but far more convenient that waiting for the shuttle and then waiting in line for paperwork and then waiting for a car. The rental car areas are pretty much a ghost town on the weekends at the FLL airport,

We have rented a car after disembarking a cruise at Port Everglades. We rented from Hertz and we had a fairly long wait for the shuttle bus. We will be doing this again in about 3 weeks. I would recommend a cab for you also if your wife cannot stand for a long period. OTOH, you could be lucky and just hit the shuttle immediately. Funny, we also drove to Orlando. Have change ready for the tolls (or an arrangement with the rental company) We didn't, and paid the enormous toll twice! They don't take credit cards, (so backward!) so we got a bill from the toll guy and paid that. Then Hertz billed us again.

When I got off the Silhouette in March, I waited for a taxi for about 45 minutes. I was in one of the last few groups to disembark (around 9:40am), so that might have made a difference. I don't know if that long of a wait is unusual or not, but that's something to keep in mind when deciding what to do.

The rental cars are located at the airport in Fll. If you wife needs a wheelchair so as not to stand long, have her wait at to pier, with your luggage and you get the car. Then take a 5 min ride back to pick up your wife and luggage. Easy.

The suggestions are fine but you should know that your cabin class has nothing to do with disembarkation. Since Celebrity introduced the Aqua class we have specifically booked those cabins because we prefer the menu in the dedicated Aqua class dining room, BLU.

You can request wheelchair assistance.

Talk to Guest Services when you are aboard, and organizing your D-Day Plans (Celebrity Form to be filled out for Departure Time)

If you are not in a mad rush... I would avoid the whole early off scenario and request one of the later time slots / numbers (we usually get off after 9, but before 10 when they make the All Off Announcement)

Telling Guest Services that your wife cannot stand a long time, or walk long distances without difficulty, should ensure you get a wheelchair when you get to the Ship's Exit.

We had a similar situation in San Juan, when one in our party had a vacation mishap and was left unable to walk long distances comfortly... As they came to Exit the ship, a crew member noticed their limp... And asked if they would like a wheelchair. The family member was reluctant, but in the end glad they did. The crew member wheeled them off the ship, thru Customs (went to the head of the line) and to the curb to a cab (again head of the line). Of course we tipped the Crew Member for their consideration... And the fact that as family we all got to tag along.

This is what I think I would do in your scenario...

Then you don't have to worry about anyone being at the port to pick you up at a specified time (unless there is a Rental Car Shuttle there when you arrive at the curb)... Just take a cab over to the Car Rental Place. Car Rental Places always have seating in my experience.

Port Everglades to Orlando is about 220 miles... And the quickest route is Interstate 95 to the Florida Turnpike (Tpk is a Toll Road). Alternatively, if you haven't spent much time in Florida you might want to drive at least a portion of the coast along A1A...

As per Celebrity's Literature... Aqua Class Does get Priority Disembarkation based on Travel Needs... But as this is a perk that happens "behind the scenes" some would argue it is a perceived perk (no one really knows for sure). You will however be given priority based on your wife's medical condition and how you wish to handle Debarkation (early or late) when you chat with Guest Services.

Cheers!

The Silhouette has used terminal 24/25 at Port Everglades the past few years and I believe it will use it again this year. It has been two seasons since we've cruised from this terminal, so I don't know if it has changed, but here are some comments past on our past experience there:

When disembarking the ship lines quickly form and last throughout the morning. There is a line on the dock, outside the terminal, to get into the terminal which may last for 15 to 20 minutes (fortunately covered by a canopy so you're somewhat protected from the sun or rain). There are lines inside to get through customs which is not unusual for any terminal. And there is typically a pretty long taxi line as both this terminal and an adjoining terminal (usually used by HAL) share a common taxi line. The taxi line has generally run over 30 minutes and we've usually given up on that line jumping into an airport shuttle soliciting riders while we waited.

The last time we were there (2013) there was also a huge shortage of porters due to some work rule changes. They'd eliminated the priority the porters got through the customs line which sounds fair to customers not using a porter but caused the porters to be able to service far fewer customers due to the length of time they had to spend in lines. So if you do need the assistance of a porter to help with your luggage there will be an additional wait for a porter if conditions have not improved.

The bottom line is that you're likely to run into long lines and waits at this terminal. I'd speak with guest relations as soon as you get on board regarding your wife's issues and see what they can do to help. You may be able to arrange a wheel chair but I don't know if they'll let you continue to use it for the taxi line or not.

All of the major rental car companies provide shuttle service to the pier. These usually involve smaller shuttle vans for the local offices and a larger bus shuttle to the airport rental car agency which is shared by most, but not all, rental agencies there. But due to the number of people renting cars it is sometimes a bit of an unorganized mess getting onto the shuttles. It's been many years since we've rented a car from port everglades and have never done so from terminal 24/25 so I'm not familiar with the current situation there but doubt that it has changed much. Sometimes the bus/shuttle to the airport rental center has someone at the pier to organize the line who will help you get on and sometimes not.

Bottom line is to be prepared for the wait in lines. Since your cruise isn't until March you'll have the benefit of checking on these boards in January and February to see if things have improved this year or not.

Hello,

 

My wife and I are taking a Celebrity cruise (Silhouette) in 03/2015 and have some questions/concerns about disembark at Port Everglades.

 

We are going to rent a car at FLL after getting off the cruise and stay in Orlando for a couple of days. So I don't really care if we can get off early or not. My goal is to avoid the crowd as my wife has a medical condition with her hips and she cannot stand up / walk for a long time ( more than an hour).

 

Last time when we took a cruise to Alaska from Seattle, she got a wheelchair since she was still on crutches ( not anymore now) and someone helped us out. Our family was waiting outside of the terminal so it wasn't too bad.

 

This time, I presume we can still get a wheelchair to get off the ship but we will be on our own to get a cab to the rental car center at FLL. I don't mind paying a bit more to have a driver waiting for us outside but I am not very sure if that is possible.

 

BTW, we booked AquaClass. Will that save us time to get on/off the ship in any way? I've heard it makes no difference.

 

Any advice for getting off the ship to the rental car center with less wait time and stand-up is very appreciated. That can also help me schedule the proper pick-up time for my rental car.

We used shuttle from rental companies many times and I can say taxi will be faster way . I would go later from ship ,take wheelchair and that taxi line will be for 15-20 min max .

Thanks for the information. All other posts in this thread are also helpful.

Now I get a rough idea of what I am going to do but would still be interested seeing more feedback from people cruising next year around Jan/Feb.

I just want to add a correction to directions to Orlando. We have had allot of road changes here in So. Florida. To get to the Fl. Tpk. just follow signs to 595 West. The turnpike entrance will be a mile or two west of the airport off 595. No need to use 95 at all.

Hope this helps. Also, taking a shuttle to the car rental might be difficult for your wife with regards to climbing on the bus. It is for me.

We have rented with Hertz like we do everywhere, and we were not real happy with our experience. Our issue was the waiting in line once we got to the Hertz location! This was very bad on the way to the port, but not exactly great on the way back either. Very busy and very, very disorganized. In fact DH got into a bit of a rumble with the staff because there were no waiting lines or anything - just total chaos. So people just arriving were getting taken care of before those of us who had been standing around waiting. What a mess. I am usually a big Hertz fan, but I really don't recommend them (at least at the Port location - it might be worth it to go to the airport location)