Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Earliest flight out of Ft. Lauderdale after cruise

Nurse502

By Nurse502,
in Royal Caribbean International

 Share

Recommended Posts

Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted (edited)
We are first time cruisers and we are curious as to the time it takes to get through customs and to the airport. What is the earliest flight I can book if Oasis pulls into port at 6:30 am? I'm looking at a 10:10 am flight.

If you do self-assist disembarkation, get in line early, there are no delays with the ship's arrival or customs, you should be able to make it to the airport before 8am.

Edited by clarea
Link to comment
Share on other sites
danoconnl

danoconnl

Posted
Posted

I'm doing 10:20 am 3/17 off of Independence of the seas. I'll let you know how it goes. Based on things I've read on here about self assist, my plan is to be in line no later than 6:30 am, and if everything goes ok, I expect us to be at the airport by 8:15.

For me the chance was worth it since every other flight home was non direct and would get us home so late and have us sitting in the airport for hours.

 

DAn

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
I'm doing 10:20 am 3/17 off of Independence of the seas. I'll let you know how it goes. Based on things I've read on here about self assist, my plan is to be in line no later than 6:30 am, and if everything goes ok, I expect us to be at the airport by 8:15.

For me the chance was worth it since every other flight home was non direct and would get us home so late and have us sitting in the airport for hours.

 

DAn

Indy would be more difficult with an early flight, unless they are able to use Terminal 18. If you are getting off on 3/17, it looks like you might be the only Royal ship in port, so it's very possible you would use Terminal 18. In any case, I would be first in line, because I don't believe that Indy gets in as early as Oasis class ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
danp

danp

Posted
Posted

We just got off of the Seranade last Monday in Fort Lauerdale.We had a 1157 flight.We were suppose to get off at 0800.Well we didn't get called till after 0900.When we got down to claim our luggage there were about 300 people waiting to get thru customs.The problem was that there were only two agents for the 2900 passengers.We did get to the airport in time but we were also delayed two hours due to snow at ewr.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
...get off the ship ASAP if you're going to book an early flight

This is a lesson we learned early on. If there is a customs delay, it seems to get worse at the morning wears on. Best to get away from the ship as soon as possible, even if you have a later flight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sml3

sml3

Posted
Posted

We are just off the Oasis this past Saturday. Customs was slow! We did self assist and were in line on the Promenade at 7:30. The line barely moved. We finally made it to the taxi area a little after 9:00. We were at the airport about 9:20.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nurse502

Nurse502

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I will definitely be purchasing insurance on the entire vacation. This is what I was concerned with...the hold up. I may be better off leaving the next day and getting a room somewhere. Unfortunately, the boat convention is in Ft. Lauderdale and the hotel prices are through the roof. I guess it's all luck of the draw on these sorts of things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Firefighterhoop

Firefighterhoop

Posted
Posted

Seems like Customs in FLL for all RCCL ships (Not sure about other lines) has been slow this winter. I have been on Independence, Allure, and Navigator this winter which have all used separate terminals and each has been very slow going - even for self assist. I have friends who have been on Serenade b2b and they reported the same both cruises.

 

With this I would be a bit nervous about booking an early flight. Usually on those ships they begin self walk off between 7-730am, so if you were in the first group off you SHOULD be OK, but again, depends on how quick or slow the line goes.

 

During self assist with the Allure a month ago they only started out with 3 Customs agents clearing the ship, which grew to 4 at some point (Someone who went through right away told me they actually started with 2, but I personally never saw just 2). I got off the ship around 8:30 and the self assist line was nearly an hour long from getting off the ship to getting through customs - and they were running behind calling numbers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CFD130

CFD130

Posted
Posted

We have done the self disembarkation the last three times in Fort Lauderdale and all three times we have been to the airport and through security by 8:30 am. Of course anything can go wrong-that is true with your arrival and any flight all day long. Being your first cruise just remember about mid cruise you will get a form in your cabin about your departure. Make sure you fill it out for self disembarkation. Also remember that you must carry all of your luggage, so if you have lots of bags it may not be possible, (We always have our carry on and one suitcase) I also get my boarding pass on the ship the night before. That's save a little bit at the airport as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
alexkrn46

alexkrn46

Posted
Posted
I'm doing 10:20 am 3/17 off of Independence of the seas. I'll let you know how it goes. Based on things I've read on here about self assist, my plan is to be in line no later than 6:30 am, and if everything goes ok, I expect us to be at the airport by 8:15.

For me the chance was worth it since every other flight home was non direct and would get us home so late and have us sitting in the airport for hours.

 

DAn

 

We just got off iOS, inline at 7 am, hundreds of self assist ahead of us, made it to customs line around 815, very long with two agents, we have global entry, cut the line, out around 830. airport security was long took 30 minutes to check our bag. Long security line, but had tsa pre, at gate little after 9. If we did not have global entry or tsa pre would have been close

Link to comment
Share on other sites
akowilm

akowilm

Posted
Posted

We have self disembarked on the last 2 cruises and had no issues at all being at the airport by 8:30-9:00. Maybe we were lucky, but we got up VERY early and were one of the first off the ship. It made for an easy day, and we were home unpacking by 2pm.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GUT2407

GUT2407

Posted
Posted
We are first time cruisers and we are curious as to the time it takes to get through customs and to the airport. What is the earliest flight I can book if Oasis pulls into port at 6:30 am? I'm looking at a 10:10 am flight.

 

I'd look at something later was it me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
We disembarked the Allure on Feb 14 with a 10:25 flight. We self disembarked at 6:40 am and were at the airport by 7:00 am. No problems.

That's been the experience of most folks with Oasis and Allure. Many people don't realize that these ships are normally arriving well before 6am.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...