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Earliest we can make a flight from the Port in Fort Lauderdale


slanik
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We are cruising in February out of Fort Lauderdale on Celebrity Silhouette. I have made 9:30 am flight arrangements on return. Now I'm having second thoughts that it's too early. What are your opinions? Any recent experience out of the port in FLL to the airport? Thank you. Let me know if I should change them. What is the earliest I should make?

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If you look on the Florida Departure board, you will see this topic discussed daily. While I would not recommend a 9:30 flight,,some will. You need to carry off your bags, and grab a cab. If you were on Allure, or her sisters, maybe, as they usually get in first, although not always.

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The "earliest" might be 9:00 AM - but there is a chance that 11:00 AM might be on the early side.

 

Do you know how many other ships will be arriving that day? Will it be the end of a land-based vacation week? Have you got TSA pre-check? Have you checked the possibility/cost/hassle of getting on a later flight?

 

I have experienced delays getting through FLL on busy days. Unless you are comfortable with your answers to the above, are you sure you want to book a flight which starts boarding at 9:00 - on which you will probably lose your seat if you are not at the gate by 9:15?

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Make sure you have a Plan B. Will you incur any costs for missing your flight(s)? When is the next available flight? Will it have seats available (don't count on it on a weekend in the high season; you may get luckier on a weekday or in the low season). If you have to wait a day, how much will a hotel room cost? etc., etc.

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That time frame is way too risky for me. I have been on a ship where we were delayed 3 hours coming into port due to a storm in Florida, another time we were held up for over an hour due to customs and then other times we breezed right thru and were at the airport at 9 am.

 

As others here have said, I would have a plan B ready in case there are any wrinkles that may happen during your cruise.

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We had a 9:50 AM flight off the Allure in October and were at the airport by 7 AM. We were in express line with our luggage at 6 AM. No issues at all. I agree it is risky. No doubt we could have missed our flight. We are doing it again in January coming off the Freedom. The other flight times are way too late for us. I will say this. Getting off the ship is always an issue. The whole process stinks and you have to wait in lines. Getting off super early alleviates all of the stress.

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We had a 9:50 AM flight off the Allure in October and were at the airport by 7 AM. We were in express line with our luggage at 6 AM. No issues at all. I agree it is risky. No doubt we could have missed our flight. We are doing it again in January coming off the Freedom. The other flight times are way too late for us. I will say this. Getting off the ship is always an issue. The whole process stinks and you have to wait in lines. Getting off super early alleviates all of the stress.

 

The OP is not on Allure or one of her sisters. The OP is on Celebrity. It is commonly discussed here that being on Allure or one of her sisters is different, as those ships are typically docked up to an hour before other ships.

 

9:30 is risky...we were just delayed by shortage of CBP officers two weeks ago. This is a case of booking a flight without checking the logistics.

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