Private transfer from FLL to Port Everglades

my in laws —who are elderly and not experienced travelers—have booked a cruise for next month and are arriving into FLL at around 2 pm on the day of their cruise. I am hoping to arrange a transfer to the port and would like a company that will meet them with a sign at baggage claim to make it as easy as possible for them.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

If you book with the cruise line they won't see their names but they will see the cruise lines signs. Or they could walk outside and take a taxi to the port. Sometimes there is a wait with the cruise line to get enough passengers which would be a longer waiting time. With their late arrival, the taxi would be the best choice.

I know this wasn't your question but the time of arrival seems very risky to me.

Not sure what time their cruise leaves but they have to be on board the ship at least 90 minutes prior to sailing.

You have to allow time for a delayed flight. Getting luggage and getting transport and over to the ship.

Seems risky to me.

I would not do this.

In terms of transport I would recommend Larry's Limo.

http://www.larryslimo.com

Keith

I know this wasn't your question but the time of arrival seems very risky to me.

 

Not sure what time their cruise leaves but they have to be on board the ship at least 90 minutes prior to sailing.

 

You have to allow time for a delayed flight. Getting luggage and getting transport and over to the ship.

 

Seems risky to me.

 

I would not do this.

 

In terms of transport I would recommend Larry's Limo.

 

http://www.larryslimo.com

 

Keith

I agree with this poster, timing of their flight seems too risky. Did they book their airfare through the cruise line or did they book their own?

If they booked with the cruise line then the cruise line will know when they land and I believe their transfers may be included with the cost of their airfare.

If they booked their airfare on their own, I would highly recommend they fly a day ahead. If they have an hour delay, they could miss their cruise.

1. Find an earlier flight

2. Book transfers with the cruise line - they will pay more but it takes all of the uncertainty out of the process

1. Find an earlier flight

2. Book transfers with the cruise line - they will pay more but it takes all of the uncertainty out of the process

Yes. Especially regarding the earlier flight. 2:00 is late for a younger experienced traveler. Way late for elderly and inexperienced. Any flight delays at all would be a bad thing. Which is not uncommon in the winter.

2:00 p.m. arrival the day of the cruise!?!?

Hope you are ready to help your in-laws figure out where to stay or how to meet up with the ship when their flight is delayed 90-mins.

Way too risky. They need an earlier flight!

As for the transfer. Book it with the cruise line which is very easy. They can also just take a taxi, its a 10-min taxi ride.

If they have already booked this flight and can't change it..book the transfers directly with RCI (or whatever cruiseline their using)...they will usually do everything possible to not sail without their booked passengers... We have been aboard many times and the ship waited for these cruiser's before departing.

Best of luck...hoping they enjoy their cruise.

completely agree that this is way too late to arrive for their cruise! Unfortunately, I was not involved at all in the planning and process and i am just trying to do damage control.

will check into Larry's limos. or just going with RCCL

i am afraid to send them through the taxi line--my father in law can make even simple things difficult and a challenge.

We always arrive the day before a cruise to allow for lateness and to be relaxed.

Oh wow. Does the cruise line even offer a transfer that close to departure? We’ve used Holland before and they were reasonably priced. I’d hope they’re lower now with the increased competition from Uber.

I’d also make sure they’re capable of finding a hotel and transportation if they don’t make the ship.

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Damage control will not help you because there is a very good chance that with a 2:00PM arrival on departure day they will miss the ship. If the ships scheduled departure is 4:00PM, they should be onboard by 2:30PM. The cruise line is required by federal law to turn in a passenger manifest to Homeland Security, usually within ninety minutes prior sailing. If they arrive after 2:30PM the terminal doors are locked and they will be unable to checkin. I have read numerous posts over the years that some companies turn in the manifest sixty minutes prior to sailing. They should attempt to change their flight to earlier on departure day or arrive a day earlier, spend a night in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale and then head over to Port Everglades. Please let us know how they make out.

On my families January 2016 sailing on Holland America’s Eurodam sailing to the Eastern Caribbean from Port Everglades we personally watched two families miss their sailing. While sitting on our balcony approximately thirty minutes prior to the ships departure we saw two different couples arrive in a cab and a limo. They ran to the terminal with their luggage and found all doors were locked. They ran around to the side of the building where they located a security guard. They were advised that they arrived too late and I watched the families wave and yell while the ship pulled away from the pier. It was a very sad sight to see.

depature is listed as 530pm and they are on RCCL Freedom

Hopefully the flights will be on time

depature is listed as 530pm and they are on RCCL Freedom

Hopefully the flights will be on time

So all abroad is probably around 4:00 p.m.

Get transfer with the cruise line and I also hope the flights are not delayed. But in the winter nothing is perfect. Just 60-min delay for traffic in the air or the gate not being ready will end up with a missed cruise.

Good luck.

depature is listed as 530pm and they are on RCCL Freedom

Hopefully the flights will be on time

You would have avoided all the posts scolding you/your in-laws/whomever booked the flights if you would have shared this info much earlier. Most ships depart Port Everglades at 4:00.

So likely they will just be within the window for a cruiseline transfer from RCI. Which is by far their best bet if finding a taxi is out of their skill set. Hopefully finding the RCI rep holding up a sign outside the baggage claim is not.

If RCCL will take the transfer then book with them. They are more inclined to wait for you if they know you are on route. We were once 45 minutes late returning to the ship from an excursion in Rome and I doubt they would have held the ship had we not been on a RCCL excursion and shuttle.

If RCCL will take the transfer then book with them. They are more inclined to wait for you if they know you are on route. We were once 45 minutes late returning to the ship from an excursion in Rome and I doubt they would have held the ship had we not been on a RCCL excursion and shuttle.

Agree that booking transfer with RCCL is the way to go. Excursions are a bit different though, they will always hold them for a late excursion of the cruise line.

To the OP. You really need to try to get them on an earlier flight. Or there is a decent chance they will be calling you in FLL with no where to go.

Are you saying they booked this cruise and air on their own. Inexperienced, ouch, To bad they didn't ask anyone who has cruised before or better yet go to an agency to help them and give them the heads up on what to do and NOT to do. We have been cruising 25+ years and my DH is also a very big challenge when it comes to traveling, so I have to make sure I have all bases covered before we leave the house

...and I thought my friends who flew in the morning of that cruise with us gave me anxiety. I cannot imagine flying in and only having a 2hr window.

In all seriousness, you may want to have transportation to a hotel and things to do in Ft. Lauderdale lined up for them because the chances of them missing their ship are definitely on the higher side. Just because they land at 2pm, they still have to debark the aircraft, make their way downstairs to their luggage and then wait on their luggage to come. We all know how long this can sometimes take. You're looking at potentially an hour just to get from the tarmac to the transportation, depending on how things go in FLL. You mentioned they're older, and we know that older folks move much slower most of the time. It may be worth it for them to pay any penalty and change their flight time/date. If they can't come in the day before, at least come in the morning of.