is 830 flight out of FLL pushing it?

my guess is yes but i figured i'd ask anyway. i havent flown in 2 years and a cruise i'm looking at gets back to FLL next month on a sunday. i know the airport is close to the port

also i did self walk off in october and was back in my car by about 715

Not to be snarky, but REALLY, why not try for 6:30

so what is the earliest you really recommend

Ask the people who arrived back at Ft Lauderdale on 30th at 9 AM. :cool:

:rolleyes: If you are an experienced cruiser, surely you know the answer to this question?

Yes, it's too early. How much time do you normally allow yourself when you fly to check in, go through security. and arrive at the gate? Count back from any flight time and in this case, allow for the possibility of the ship arriving in port late, clearance of the ship to allow guests off being delayed, back ups going through customs and immigration?

funny thing, everyone asks about too early a flight. Some say go for it.

But I never see the OP from any of those threads reply back after they missed the flight, wonder why?

we would not want to even consider anything before noon...

:rolleyes: If you are an experienced cruiser, surely you know the answer to this question?

 

Yes, it's too early. How much time do you normally allow yourself when you fly to check in, go through security. and arrive at the gate? Count back from any flight time and in this case, allow for the possibility of the ship arriving in port late, clearance of the ship to allow guests off being delayed, back ups going through customs and immigration?

ERROR in my OP

i have not flown in 20 years so i'm clueless and i'm not experienced traveler at all.

i never would even consider flying to a cruise because of the expense but these offers are just too good to pass up. 99 for inside and 169 for balcony. hard to pass up for a week but air is killing me around the holiday as an expense. and people that have 9pm flights. what the heck do you do all day with your suitcases. sit in airport 12 hours. i do not know these things which is why i'm here.

so it sounds like me getting in my car just after 7 am in NYC is a rare thing?

IMHO, 8:30am is really pushing it. Your flight will begin the boarding process at about 8:00am and with a port load of 19,000+ on the 21st security at FLL could be a bit backed up.

Personally, my earliest recommend flight time would be around 10:00am which still doesn't allow for much in the way of snafus. Yes, we've done self walk-off and have arrived at the airport by 8:00am, but for a later flight. I wouldn't want to be under the gun to make an 8:30am flight.

Not to be snarky, but REALLY, why not try for 6:30

Surely you know the answer!!

It all depends on your comfort level and your plan B.

I'm not promoting an early flight, just sharing our experiences. We have never missed a flight that departed FLL between 7:30 AM and 8:15 AM off the Regal or Royal. The last three seasons we averaged 5 departures out of FLL, 2 already this season. We are usually off the ship between 6:15 and 6:40 and arrive at the Delta gate by 7 AM.

What makes this comfortable for us is that if we miss the flight we can standby for later flight at no extra cost to us.

Walk off group "A" is a must.

IMHO, 8:30am is really pushing it. Your flight will begin the boarding process at about 8:00am and with a port load of 19,000+ on the 21st security at FLL could be a bit backed up.

 

Personally, my earliest recommend flight time would be around 10:00am which still doesn't allow for much in the way of snafus. Yes, we've done self walk-off and have arrived at the airport by 8:00am, but for a later flight. I wouldn't want to be under the gun to make an 8:30am flight.

 

But it was snarky...and not at all helpful.

It was but in line with the question asked.

To the OP, sorry, I hadn't had my coffee yet, but this question gets asked over and over and over and......well you get it...

I was even bashed by a posted who "claimed" he was off the ship and in his office by 8:00...

Have you ever gotten in the short express line at the grocery store with one item and money in hand only to have the person in front of you write a check and the cashier screws up the transaction by entering it as cash.....now the long line next to you has progressed to the point where those behind you in the express line have moved over and are on their way....oh, wait, that was me over the weekend.

There is NO one with exact answers, with so many factors involved. Weather, customs, longshoremen who handle the luggage, mechanical breakdowns, traffic. Then once at the airport you get behind someone who doesn't get the 3oz rule, doesn't understand English and walks through security (I had that happen too) and they shut security down until they take that person behind closed doors....

BOOK the flight you want or need to take.....stuff happens.....wish you the best....

Ask the people who arrived back at Ft Lauderdale on 30th at 9 AM. :cool:

Just curious what your referring to on the 30th NOV? We were through passengers on the Royal but our boys got off the Royal on the 30th and one of them caught a 7:50 JetBlue.

We did see the Caribbean Princess dock around 9AM, maybe thats what your referring to?

OP - if you decide to go with this flight make sure you have a Plan B. When are the next flights? How much will it cost you to change to a later flight? Will there be seats available on a later flight (not a guarantee on a Sunday during the high season)? If you have to spend an extra night in Fort Lauderdale, will you be able to get a hotel room and how much will that cost?

As others have recommended, check out the Florida Departures Board, especially for ideas on what to do if you have an evening flight. That question is asked frequently and the usual suggestions are:

• use EZ Check and send your luggage on to the airport and that frees you up for a day of sightseeing (suggestions - including the water taxi - on http://www.sunny.org)
  
• rent a car and store your luggage in the trunk and go sightseeing
  
• if your flight is mid afternoon, take a Princess excursion - your luggage will travel with you in the bus
  
• store your luggage at the airport at Bags to Go (http://www.bagstogo.net) located in every terminal and take a cab or the free Sun Trolley airport link (http://www.suntrolley.com) into Fort Lauderdale
  

Somebody should suggest extending the pier to the airport so we can disembark at the terminal or have airline check in at the pier then a shuttle to the gate.

Just curious what your referring to on the 30th NOV? We were through passengers on the Royal but our boys got off the Royal on the 30th and one of them caught a 7:50 JetBlue.

 

We did see the Caribbean Princess dock around 9AM, maybe thats what your referring to?

Yes it was. We were sitting on our balcony when the CB arrived at 9 AM.....slightly late.

There must have been a few hundred people biting their nails at that point.

Even if you were off the ship by 7:15 that would be too late to make a flight at 8:30!!

That’s cutting it close if something would happen, such as delayed clearance of the ship. Even though we’ve done quick debarkations in the past, we try to get a flight at noon now. The tho guy of ending vacation with the stress of trying to make a flight is just not worth it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Along with hat others have said most flights later that day will most likely be full so the chance of a standby making a flight would be pretty slim. Best to have a real good Plan B as you are rolling the dice on the early flight. We usually book flights around 1:00. Sure we get o sit in the airport for a while but that is what books and computers are for. Good Luck.

funny thing, everyone asks about too early a flight. Some say go for it.

 

But I never see the OP from any of those threads reply back after they missed the flight, wonder why?

I don't recall any OP coming back and saying they made the early flight or missed it.

There are a few threads already on this exact topic. I've shared one of my experiences previouslyl- I had an 11:30 flight out of FLL. There was a problem with Immigration/Customs. Disembarkation was greatly delayed. I walked off the ship with my luggage, didn't check luggage at the airport (Rule #1 for me is NEVER check luggage! EVER!), had TSA Precheck, and walked up to the gate just as they were boarding the flight. Had I had luggage to check, I would have missed the cutoff time and been denied boarding and missed my flight.

Can you make an 8:30 flight, probably, but it isn't advisable because stuff happens.

I don't recall any OP coming back and saying they made the early flight or missed it.

If they made it, I know for sure they would be back on here to tell us

it sounds like the 2:40 flight would be what i need then. so since this is my thread let me ask a travel question. can you briefly type up what its like at the airport these days . use FLL as an example if you wish. i mean the little things like security and x ray and all that. in 1997 i dropped my luggage at the curb and went to the desk and checked in and sat there easy peasy. i have no clue what its like today out there.

more of a curiosity than what will prevent me from taking a trip.

Don't stress over it, millions of people fly every day.....

At Ft Lauderdale airport, you just gotta go with the flow.....thousands (depending on how many ships) plus non cruise passengers have flights every day.

I would bet there are times you could literally walk in check in, and go to the gate quickly, but, I wouldn't count on it.

One cruise, we decided to stay overnight to get the morning flight the next day. We decided that the day of embarkation would be too nuts to get that flight, so we extended our vacation. We leave our hotel with the requested arrived 2 hours before your flight, get to the curb of our airline, and the line.........we thought it was just people congregating on the sidewalk, but they were waiting to check their bags curbside, I had hubby wait at the curb, dashed inside, and the line was even longer. By the time we checked our bags, it was 45 minutes, THEN, we went to the security line, that line snaked beyond the "ropes" and up a hallway. When we got into the "ropes" agents were going though the line with "Fido". He stopped by me, smelled....I did shower....the woman in front of me turned, smiled, and said "he must smell MY dog" Finally got to the table to put our bags, the woman in front of me puts her bag on the table, unzipps it, takes out HER dog.....really.....by the time we got through security and to our gate, the plane was boarding.....over an hour and a half..from curb to gate....