Miami Airport

Some have said that flying out of this airport is more difficult than others because of procedures on weighing the luggage and separate check-ins.

I've done a search on this board and cannot find anything relating to this.

Has anyone any experience/information on flying of this airport efficiently and easily after a cruise?

Thanks for any replies.

Pincus

Maybe we've been lucky, but the last 2 cruises are from Miami and we had no problems coming in or going out. We fly Northwest and AirTran so I don't know if that makes a difference. One taxi driver told us that American Airlines terminal is a zoo and when we passed it getting to the Northwest and AirTran terminal it looked very crowded. Both times, we were sitting at our gates at 10:30 am going home.

Thanks so much, Geema.

We're flying American, so perhaps someone else will weigh in with more information.

Thanks for your help.

Pincus

I asked my friend that few American home from the same cruise and she said she didn't have any problems. They did have a late afternoon flight and they checked their bags at the port with the special AA pre-check in that Royal Caribbean offered. I'm not sure if all cruiselines have that but she liked it. They didn't have any problems when they arrived from Detroit, either. Hope that helps.

i go to fl a lot for business and to go to south beach hehe-

Going out is NEVER a problem... goin in though- u may have to wait like 2 hours for your luggage- i hate mia for this

Thanks so much, Geema.

 

We're flying American, so perhaps someone else will weigh in with more information.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Pincus

I fly in and out of Miami on american (live here) all the time and never experienced any problem any different than in any other airport in the country. Make sure to get there in the time the airline tells you to get there to avoid the long lines at check in and security checkpoints. Other than I don't see any problems.

My wife works for Air Tran and my son for Northwest and we fly into MIA a couple times a year. Check in is no problem, but the TSA security check points are always a long line. Even when we use airline employee line it is long. Just get ther early

I think the only comment that some will have with Miami airport vs. Fort Lauderdale is that Miami is a much larger airport and as such can be more chaotic and involve significantly more walking than Fort Lauderdale. In terms of luggage weights, etc. it's all basically the same and American Airlines as a much larger presence in Miami than in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach airports.

Keith

I've been thru MIA many times - lived in Miami for over 10 years. I believe you need to remember two things.

a) MIA is a BIG airport, and not exactly the best layout. If you are not used to a BIG airport, be prepared. If you are used to a big airport like Tampa, built in a nice hub and spoke arrangement - sorry....MIA is linear and aften people find themselves needing to go from one end to the other in a hurry....get out of their way :eek:

b) MIA is the gateway to South and Central America and the Car' Islands. There WILL be a large number of folks from other countries. Don't be surprised....and be prepared to interface with people of different cultures..... Some people don't handle that situation well. Some people get upset to find a Miami worker for whom English is not the primary language. If your airline is loading outbound flights to international destinations on the same terminal as your flight to heartland USA, plan for long lines at security. It may not happen...but better to be prepared.

If you can handle OHare on a holiday weekend you can handle MIA .... but it is an airport that I don't recommend one plan for a rapid passthru. It can happen - I've retured from a cruise and been at the gate by 1030...but other times.....

Some have said that flying out of this airport is more difficult than others because of procedures on weighing the luggage and separate check-ins.

 

I've done a search on this board and cannot find anything relating to this.

 

Has anyone any experience/information on flying of this airport efficiently and easily after a cruise?

 

Thanks for any replies.

 

Pincus

I read the same things on these boards so I was prepared for a nightmare. We flew into and back out of Miami airport in June for our cruise. It was a total breeze with no issues at all. In fact my husband commented about the fact I had warned him and it was nothing like when we flew to and from Orlando airport last year. Getting our luggage and getting out was really easy too. We fly early morning so that might make a difference too. We did curbside check in in Miami and loved that as well. I'm confused as to what you mean by seperate weigh in and check ins? Not sure if it's different for various airlines but Delta's check in and weigh in is the same proceedure as any other airport I've been to.

We didn't have any problems at MIA other than waiting in the airport for 6 hours for our flight. We found getting through security in MIA a lot easier than Orlando. Orlando had the rudest TSA employees I have ever come across. Another plus with MIA is the 10 minute cab ride from the port VS the 45 minutes from MCO to the port.

Thanks, so much, everbody.

Each of you has helped...I found the original "rumor" on another board, and will direct those posters to this thread.

Thanks again.

Pincus

Some have said that flying out of this airport is more difficult than others because of procedures on weighing the luggage and separate check-ins.

 

I've done a search on this board and cannot find anything relating to this.

 

Has anyone any experience/information on flying of this airport efficiently and easily after a cruise?

 

Thanks for any replies.

 

Pincus

of late not a problem to fly out off,but flying was a nightmare until lately.

sometimes if you are transferred by coach from shipto airport there may be .

We have a long wait til our flight (5pm) after our cruise, so I was wondering if there are any places to eat and shopping at the miami airport. We recently went to Orlando and fortunately they have things to pass some time. Thanks!

Hey guys. We just booked our cruise for January. Do you know what the taxi fare runs from the Miami airport to the Bayside area? Thanks!!

I was wondering if there are any places to eat and shopping at the miami airport.

There is everything you will need, don't worry.

Hey guys. We just booked our cruise for January. Do you know what the taxi fare runs from the Miami airport to the Bayside area? Thanks!!

It's a metered fare, estimated at $21.70 per the official MIA taxi rate chart:

http://www.miami-airport.com/html/taxi_and_shuttle_service.html