Early Flight

Any advice on booking a 10:14 AM flight out of FLL in December 07. We will be disambarking from a RCCL boat in FLL that morning. We will be staying in a suite if that helps. My question is is this too early???:confused:

Most of the time people would tell you not to do it. I would probably do the same. That being said, here is my experience the last time we sailed and flew from FLL. We had a 12:10 flight booked out of FLL to Detroit and had requested early baggage tags to disembark the ship. We were off the ship, grabbed a taxi to the airport, through security and at the gate by 9:20. We actually ended up grabbing an earlier flight because there was space available and the airline let us do it without charge.

Would I plan it this way? If it was just my husband and I without the kids or friends along, and I knew there were more flights in case we missed the first one, I might. I'd be more likely though, to book a later one and then try to get on the earlier one.

That probably didn't help you at all, did it?:D

Keep in mind December is holiday time. Kids are out of school, families are vacationing.

Not sure when you are going exactly in December, but it can be done as I have done it myself.

But keep the above in mind as well as customs not clearing the ship in a timely manner etc.

In the end only you can decide whats best.

Any advice on booking a 10:14 AM flight out of FLL in December 07. We will be disambarking from a RCCL boat in FLL that morning. We will be staying in a suite if that helps. My question is is this too early???:confused:

Don't do it!!!!! To make this means that you have to be at the airport by 9:00AM at the latest which means leaving the port at 8:30ish. This is impossible.

All you need is that one family not to have paid their on-board account and disembarkation delayed as a result. As a personal tale, a couple of years back when sailing into Port Everglades disembarkation didn't start until 9:15 because the purser was trying to track down 2 families. Disembarkation was scheduled to begin at 8:00. I saw many people start to sweat (and not from the heat & humidity) as a result of this delay.

For flights in FLL, noon is pushing it but 1PM or later and you are fine. Plus if you get to the airport early you can always see about transferring to an earlier flight if one is available.

Also something to keep in mind is that planes are flying fuller than usual. What this means is that if you miss your original flight, it might be a couple of days until the airline can find available seats for you. Is it worth an extra couple of days in FLL? Can you miss those days or work? I'd just schedule something in that 1PM range and know that you are playing it safe.

Planning note: Southwest does not allow standbys for earlier flights, unless you pay for the appropriate fare that is available on that earlier departure. Also, DL and NW have same-day fees for schedule changes, including standby and confirmed changes.

I would not do this, only because its really frustrating getting off, and you'll be worried the whole morning about missing or making your flight. I personally like flights after 12:00, as do many people here. 11 is even a risk for me, so I woudn't touch a 10:14 flight.

After asking for advice, I decided to book a later flight out of Miami instead of Fll. Our ship is supposed to dock at 8:00, but there are 7 of us and it will be Thanksgiving week (11/24, sat.). As someone said, "why stress about getting off the ship". And I agree, what if you are delayed. The flight Iwas looking at departed at ll:25 a.m. from Fll. Now I have a 3:55 p.m flight from mia. I feel sooo much better doing that. It really was helpful to get other people's opinion. Not everyone said the same thing, but some of the things I had not thought about. Good luck!!

I am flying in a day early and staying a day after because the flight times wouldn't be possible. The lastest time I could get out of FLL after my cruise would be 10:14 AM also (well there was one at 11 PM but that is too late) so we decided to stay another day and catch that flight in the morning. I guess I could have went with a different airline- but I got a REALLY good price on the Skybus to Columbus. Just my preference.

I would not do it. It's just not worth the stress and the risk of missing the plane. There is lots that can go wrong from a delay in disembarkation, to having trouble locating your luggage after you get off the ship, to a line for the cabs. I always think of Murphy's Law and just take a later flight.

Keith

I guess I could have went with a different airline- but I got a REALLY good price on the Skybus to Columbus. Just my preference.

Please come back and post your experience with Skybus after your cruise.

Now I guess for the rest of the story. I booked the flight on Skybus out of Columbus. The tickets cost me $10 a piece. With taxes etc $40 bucks for two people, my wife and myself ... we can hussle (I hope). Sounds like a gamble but last time coming home from FLL we had a 1:30 PM flight on SW that sat on the runway for about 3 hours and turned around and dropped us at the gate. We then had to rebook flights for the next day and find a hotel in FFL. Last spring coming home from MIA US Air got all of us (7) as far as Philadelphia and said sorry spent the night without your baggage and $69 bucks to find a hotel at 11:00 PM. It was a nightmare. I am hoping it works out like Goodml experience. If not we will scramble around the airport trying to book a flight ASAP. The flight home is December 23rd and we don’t want to miss Christmas with the Family. Thanks for the input.:) :) :)

Please come back and post your experience with Skybus after your cruise.

I have actually flown them already. I took a flight last month to the Boston area. It's about 45 min to Boston, but my family lives right near that airport so it worked out better than flying to Boston! The flight was fine really, sure they try to sell you stuff but it's not bad- just a no thank you will work. I don't know why a lot of people are giving it a bad rap- It's a cheap, efficent, FRIENDLY airline that gets you from point A to point B without issues-- I think other people are jealous that they can't find cheap tickets where they live! ;)

I really hope they stick around. Who needs all the extras when all that matters is getting to your location safe? IMHO it's about time someone stuck it to the man and offered cheap airfair for us poor folk. :)

Now I guess for the rest of the story. I booked the flight on Skybus out of Columbus. The tickets cost me $10 a piece. With taxes etc $40 bucks for two people, my wife and myself ... we can hussle (I hope). Sounds like a gamble but last time coming home from FLL we had a 1:30 PM flight on SW that sat on the runway for about 3 hours and turned around and dropped us at the gate. We then had to rebook flights for the next day and find a hotel in FFL. Last spring coming home from MIA US Air got all of us (7) as far as Philadelphia and said sorry spent the night without your baggage and $69 bucks to find a hotel at 11:00 PM. It was a nightmare. I am hoping it works out like Goodml experience. If not we will scramble around the airport trying to book a flight ASAP. The flight home is December 23rd and we don’t want to miss Christmas with the Family. Thanks for the input.:) :) :)

I would seriouly consider changing your return to the next day. I bet money YOU WILL miss your return flight. Think about it, Christmas holiday- slow people at the airport- Remember you HAVE to be at the airport by 9:44 AM for check in- if you arrive at 9:45 AM they WILL NOT let you board... how in the world are you going to get off the boat- get to the airport- check in- go through security before then? Just my opinion of course- but I wouldn't chance it unless you want to pay big bucks for a return flight- Skybus doesn't give you any sort of credit if you miss your flight... Or maybe you can get a one way from SW to Columbus if you don't want to stay?? You're out $20.00 from Skybus, but better than being stranded on Christmas!

The flight Iwas looking at departed at ll:25 a.m. from Fll.

I noticed you are in Skokie, I'm right next door to you in Morton Grove and I work in Skokie. I'm pretty sure we booked this flight for 11/17, American Airlines to O'Hare. But it's just me and my DH so if we're delayed it won't be too bad (actually a couple of extra days in Florida sounds pretty good to me). Though the one good thing I can say about flying into O'Hare is that there are almost always more flights later in the day.

Now I guess for the rest of the story. I booked the flight on Skybus out of Columbus. The tickets cost me $10 a piece. With taxes etc $40 bucks for two people, my wife and myself ... we can hussle (I hope). Sounds like a gamble but last time coming home from FLL we had a 1:30 PM flight on SW that sat on the runway for about 3 hours and turned around and dropped us at the gate. We then had to rebook flights for the next day and find a hotel in FFL. Last spring coming home from MIA US Air got all of us (7) as far as Philadelphia and said sorry spent the night without your baggage and $69 bucks to find a hotel at 11:00 PM. It was a nightmare. I am hoping it works out like Goodml experience. If not we will scramble around the airport trying to book a flight ASAP. The flight home is December 23rd and we don’t want to miss Christmas with the Family. Thanks for the input.:) :) :)

OMG!!!!

Dec. 23-VERY early flight. Hope you have LARGE credit lines. IF you miss the flight, you will be paying VERY large dollars to get home. All planes will be full, guaranteed. If nothing else, LOTS of cruise passengers and then you have Xmas pax to boot. And don't forget the nightmare of Xmas presents trying to get through security. No one EVER pays attention to all the "do not wrap" warnings.

For the money you saved on your plane tickets, for your own peace of mind, why don't you just spend the night and fly the next day? ONE little glitch and you will really be struggling to get home. You will most likely have to pay full fare, even on SW. The cheap seats will be looooong gone. You want to get home for Xmas-you may be spending Xmas in FLL.

goodml had a great experience-but you have lots of other things going against you and Dec. 23 is the worst of them.

I wish you well, but I also will bet that you don't get on a plane at 10:14AM. Good luck!!!

I did have a good experience but it was around the 17th of December not the 23rd. Definitely a bigger gamble:D !! Is the $10 flight available on the 24th as well? Pretty unlikely but worth checking. If so, why not book it just in case?

It is pretty crazy with Skybus we booked a day before tickets and planned on getting into FFL late the night before and getting a hotel and then they added a new flight in the early AM and I booked 2 $10 tickets so we can watch the weather and take our pick of flights.

Who are the people you see from the ship leaving at like 7:00 AM?

Total 3 flights 2 people about $180. I hope they are still in business in December.;)

They have tickets for $110 for 10:14 AM on the 24th. Can I book say Delta now as a backup and get a refund if all goes as planned on Skybus???

Thanks for all the great comments and help.

 

Who are the people you see from the ship leaving at like 7:00 AM?

Sometimes the ships clear early, so that might be what you are referring to. And maybe you are seeing longshoreman, customs, ship vendors, etc. at that hour.

But you have another problem-Dec. 23 is Sunday. Airline traffic is always bad on Sundays, but Sunday before Xmas???. Air traffic will increase tremendously on Dec. 22 and 23, as Christmas is 2 days away. Lots of people can take off work MUCH easier on Monday, the 24th, than they could if Christmas was on Wednesday, where they have to take off 2-4 days.

To check my assumptions, I just checked one of my databases (I work in global logistics with access to airline databases not available to the public).

If I wanted to get freight from FLL to Columbus on Dec. 23, I would have to pay a premium. The load factors are already at 79-86%. This means I cannot put freight on an airplane, as the airline passenger and mail loads right now are "weighted out". Would have to pay premium cargo rates, as my freight would be displacing passenger revenue.

What this means to you-IF you miss your plane, there will be VERY few alternatives to get you home.

Please, please-rebook your flight to Monday.

They have tickets for $110 for 10:14 AM on the 24th. Can I book say Delta now as a backup and get a refund if all goes as planned on Skybus???

 

Thanks for all the great comments and help.

I don't understand. Book Delta as a backup for what date? If you book Delta as a backup on the 23rd, and you miss your Skybus flight, wouldn't you just take the Delta flight? You would not get a refund from your Skybus flight you missed.

IF you mean book Delta for the 23rd and you make the Skybus flight, you will have to check Delta's rules. To get a full refund (not voucher or future flight credit), you will most likely have to pay for a full fare coach ticket (fully refundable class). You generally cannot get a refund on a discount coach ticket. Full fare coach refundable tickets are usually pretty darn expensive.

Why not just book the tickets on Skybus for the 24th? Would most likely be the cheapest alternative on this date.

They have tickets for $110 for 10:14 AM on the 24th. Can I book say Delta now as a backup and get a refund if all goes as planned on Skybus???

 

Thanks for all the great comments and help.

Sorry- no refund on Skybus!

I noticed you are in Skokie, I'm right next door to you in Morton Grove and I work in Skokie. I'm pretty sure we booked this flight for 11/17, American Airlines to O'Hare. But it's just me and my DH so if we're delayed it won't be too bad (actually a couple of extra days in Florida sounds pretty good to me). Though the one good thing I can say about flying into O'Hare is that there are almost always more flights later in the day.

If you are coming back on Nov. 17th, you should be okay. We are flying back the following week which is Thanksgiving week. I don't know what I was thinking when I booked this!!!! (I have one daughter in college and a son-in-law that can't get away for a full week). We are going on this cruise for my birthday!!!!

Right Delta at like 1:30 PM on the 23rd. Also correct with Skybus they ONLY refund if the flight never happens.

Will I get a refund if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

If a flight is cancelled or delayed for more than three hours past the original departure time, we’ll try to get you on the next available Skybus flight to your destination. You can also change your flight yourself, as described above. Or, if you prefer, you may choose to request a refund for the unused portions of your Skybus reservation.

Of course, when a flight is delayed - for whatever reason - we’ll do our best to keep you informed while you’re at the airport. We’ll always provide the best information available to us about the cause of the delay and the status of your flight.

Sorry to be such a rookie but SW has a Refundable Any Time fare which I assume means that if you buy it and don't use it you can get a refund.. Such as credit back to your CC?

Will I get a refund if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

 

If a flight is cancelled or delayed for more than three hours past the original departure time, we’ll try to get you on the next available Skybus flight to your destination. You can also change your flight yourself, as described above. Or, if you prefer, you may choose to request a refund for the unused portions of your Skybus reservation.

 

Of course, when a flight is delayed - for whatever reason - we’ll do our best to keep you informed while you’re at the airport. We’ll always provide the best information available to us about the cause of the delay and the status of your flight.

All of which means - "We'll do what we can to get you there sometime. When, well, that's another story. Or, we'll give you back the $20 and let you find your own way"

Enjoy a nice sunny Christmas in SoFla.