10:35 FLL FLIGHT FROM PORT MIAMI

[lake show cruiser]

Hi, we are sailing on the Symphony of the Seas in March. Any chance of making a 10:35 southwest flight from Port Miami. We do have global entry and TSA precheck.  

TIA 

[twangster]

Southwest flies from FLL.  

 

It's doable if you are using self-assist (carry all your own luggage off) and if you are near the front of the line.  Miami traffic can be really bad, even on weekends.  If you are early off the ship and on the roads in a taxi before traffic picks up you may be okay.  

 

Right now the new terminal is a zoo at disembarking.  I'm counting on that getting better over the coming months as every one figures it out and it falls into a smoother routine.  Being the first off will help that though.

 

A 10:35am flight starts to board ~ 10am.  Luggage cutoff is probably 9am - 9:30am.  

 

Basically if the stars align you are okay.  If not, you are pushing your luck.  It's your call to make.  

[TBone2K]

If you were flying from Miami instead of FLL maybe, but if you have to get to FLL I wouldn't risk it. Between ship being delayed, traffic and security (although looks like that is less of an issue for you)... too many "ifs" for me.

 

If you can switch to a later flight and/or Miami airport for low cost, I would do it.

[A&L_Ont]

OP, do you stop in Honduras for that sailing?

[lake show cruiser]

9 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

OP, do you stop in Honduras for that sailing?

Yes, Rotaan is the first port I believe, then Puerto maya and Cozumel and Nassau.  Was supposed to be the new Coca Cay but they changed it to Nassau. We are actually on Harmony now and have the same flight booked at 10:35 at FLL Sunday.  We will get a little idea of if it will be doable. The good thing about soithwest is if we miss flight we can use the credit for another flight and since we are just going to Orlando and Disney world I have a car rental reservation for back up at FLL as well and if we miss the flight we will just drive up to Disney world. Thanks for all the advice so far 

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, lake show cruiser said:

We are actually on Harmony now and have the same flight booked at 10:35 at FLL Sunday.  We will get a little idea of if it will be doable. The good thing about soithwest is if we miss flight we can use the credit for another flight and since we are just going to Orlando and Disney world I have a car rental reservation for back up at FLL as well and if we miss the flight we will just drive up to Disney world. Thanks for all the advice so far 

 

Port Everglades to FLL is super easy.   My best is to be through security and in the Delta lounge by 7:35am.  Port Miami to FLL is another matter.  

[Lordloveaduck]

Last winter we had a similar flight in Miami and our Princess cruise ported in FLL.  We spoke with the customer service desk on the ship to ensure we would get the early walk off and as it turned out we docked early and were able to be off the ship before our scheduled time.  We grabbed a cab told him our flight time and it was an interesting time but we were able to check into our flight and have a coffee prior to take off.  If the ship docks late or there is an freeway accident it might be chancy but since we have a long flight home we usually try for early flights.

 

[taxatty]

3 hours ago, lake show cruiser said:

since we are just going to Orlando and Disney world I have a car rental reservation for back up at FLL as well and if we miss the flight we will just drive up to Disney world. Thanks for all the advice so far 

Driving to Disney World could take you about the same time as taking the flight from FLL and  the Disney bus from MCO, all things considered.

[crilski]

Just this last October - on a Monday Port of Miami to the Miami Airport - 3rd in line to self to get off the ship - self assist.  We were walking down the gangway about 8:05am.  (Self Assist saved a lot of time not having to hunt for our suitcases)

 

First through security - first taxi in line.  We checked our bags in at the curb to avoid the line inside - tipped a few bucks.  Did not have TSA pre-check.  We were at our gate a little after 9am. 

 

Then our flight was late leaving since they were missing a flight attendant.  But I don't think I'll do that to myself again.  I'd rather take my time and have a relaxing debarkation. 

[ipeeinthepool]

10:35 is too close if you are sailing out of Miami and flying out of Fort Lauderdale.  Too many things can go wrong.

[JohninDC]

For a 10:35 flight you need to be at FLL by 9:00 - and earlier is better since you do not have TSA pre-check.  Even on a weekend the ride from POM to FLL can take 40-45+ min, which translates into off the ship, with bags, and clear of customs/immigration by 8:00 or just before.

 

Do you want to spend your cruise worried about making your flight home?   I would skip that flight and either pick up a later flight or plan on the car rental to WDW, but it is your call.

[A&L_Ont]

6 hours ago, lake show cruiser said:

Yes, Rotaan is the first port I believe, then Puerto maya and Cozumel and Nassau.  Was supposed to be the new Coca Cay but they changed it to Nassau. We are actually on Harmony now and have the same flight booked at 10:35 at FLL Sunday.  We will get a little idea of if it will be doable. The good thing about soithwest is if we miss flight we can use the credit for another flight and since we are just going to Orlando and Disney world I have a car rental reservation for back up at FLL as well and if we miss the flight we will just drive up to Disney world. Thanks for all the advice so far 

 

At least in Port Everglades Allure has had issues returning from Honduras sailings.  We experienced it August. We were told by port agents that round trip cruises stoppinging Honduras were being treated as open loop sailings and customs took 4 times longer than normal. They were finger printing and photographing all non US cruisers and there were separated lines for US and Non-US guests. It usually takes us 25 minutes from cabin to clearing airport security for us.  It took us almost an hour from stepping on the gangway to clearing ship customs with a Genie walk off and we have Nexus (Global Entry).

 

Symphony is returning from Honduras this week so I am waiting to see if they are being treated the same way in Miami. We have a flight booked (1:30pm out of MIA)  for our March 9th sailing on Symphony, which also stops in Honduras.  We have a Genie walk-off, TSA Precheck, and will be using luggage valet. 

 

Edit it to add this is more of a heads up for a possible delay for Honduras sailings. US and Non-US cruisers had delays, and the later after departure the worse it was. Some had a 3 hour delay in disembarkation.

Edited November 23, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[1025cruise]

I wouldn't be booking a 10:35 flight, even if I were porting at Port Everglades.

[ipeeinthepool]

16 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

I wouldn't be booking a 10:35 flight, even if I were porting at Port Everglades.

 

10:30 is my limit at Port Everglades flying Delta.  I have had a lot of experience and this works comfortably when you do the Express walk-off.  However I've seen horrendous lines at the Southwest security line later in the morning.  If you get to any of the airlines earlier, it will likely work easily.

[twangster]

39 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Edit it to add this is more of a heads up for a possible delay for Honduras sailings. US and Non-US cruisers had delays, and the later after departure the worse it was. Some had a 3 hour delay in disembarkation.

 

Very interesting.  No issues with Liberty to Honduras in February.  Odd that CBP would change the rules mid-cruise.  Open loop cruisers can't use DL and BC as ID for example.  That must have really created havoc for a lot of people without passports who boarded a closed loop cruise legally then became illegal when CBP changed the designation for that sailing. 

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Very interesting.  No issues with Liberty to Honduras in February.  Odd that CBP would change the rules mid-cruise.  Open loop cruisers can't use DL and BC as ID for example.  That must have really created havoc for a lot of people without passports who boarded a closed loop cruise legally then became illegal when CBP changed the designation for that sailing. 

 

Are you sure they changed the rules mid-cruise?  Perhaps they didn't let people board that didn't have the correct documentation.

[A&L_Ont]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Very interesting.  No issues with Liberty to Honduras in February.  Odd that CBP would change the rules mid-cruise.  Open loop cruisers can't use DL and BC as ID for example.  That must have really created havoc for a lot of people without passports who boarded a closed loop cruise legally then became illegal when CBP changed the designation for that sailing. 

 

We were told that they were treating it like an open loop sailing. It has happened to Allure every other week when going to Honduras from PE.  US citizens had their own lines most likely to use DL and BC.  Everyone else regardless of Citizenship used the Non-US, from Canadians to Chinese citizens. The family of 5 from China in front of us took 10-13 minutes to go through the photo and finger print process.  We on the other hand gave the agent our Nexus Cards and the three of us were processed in a minute, not photos or finger prints taken since they are already in file. 

 

We have no no idea why they would do this, especially every other week and Honduras is the only factor. When Allure didn’t stop there it was a non-issue. It’s strange... is the ship and the country, or the ship, country, and disembarkation port that brings it into play.  The port agent said that they are treating it like an open looped sailing and I said “but it’s closed loop” and she agreed.  

 

I didn’t take time to ask CBP, we just wanted to go.  We were fortunate enough to be put into the Mobile Passport line and it took forever. The lines went all the way back to the gangway at 9:30.  

 

Carnival and NCL go there all the time and if they had back-ups like this I sure I would have ready about it. You were on Liberty (out of PE?) and you didn’t have an issue.  I really am curious to know why.

 

Emmy is on Symphony this week with Honduras so I am curious to how her disembarkation goes. 

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

5 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Are you sure they changed the rules mid-cruise?  Perhaps they didn't let people board that didn't have the correct documentation.

 

See my post above to clarify. We were told they were “treating it” as an open loop even though it was a closed loop sailing. The ship sailed full. 

 

We originally though maybe for training for when the TAs arrived from Europe but it started happening every other week to Allure for a while. It might not be happening now but I’m anxiously awaiting Emmy’s experience in a few days. 

Edited November 23, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

... You were on Liberty (out of PE?) and you didn’t have an issue.  I really am curious to know why.

 

 

Liberty is out of Galveston.  However the port of re-entry shouldn't mean different implementation of closed loop versus open loop.  Liberty also alternates week there, week not there.  

 

Honduras requires US Citizens to posses a passport to enter their country but currently waive that for cruise ship passengers.  It sounds like this is one of those state department tit for tat retaliation efforts.

[ipeeinthepool]

23 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

....  The port agent said that they are treating it like an open looped sailing and I said “but it’s closed loop” and she agreed.  

 

...

 

 

 

It may be a closed loop cruise, but if all of the countries visited during the cruise don't follow all of the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, then they don't have any other choice but to follow more strict checks on the border.

[KansasK]

How fast customs is can be a factor as well on getting to a 10:35 flight. It might work out fine if you can get off the ship early and get through customs easily. 

[A&L_Ont]

22 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Liberty is out of Galveston.  However the port of re-entry shouldn't mean different implementation of closed loop versus open loop.  Liberty also alternates week there, week not there.  

 

Honduras requires US Citizens to posses a passport to enter their country but currently waive that for cruise ship passengers.  It sounds like this is one of those state department tit for tat retaliation efforts.

 

Someone said on FB, to where this was discussed every other week when it happened, said that there was “no agreement with Honduras” like other Caribbean nations. I didn’t question them, but not everything is true on the net. 

 

9 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

It may be a closed loop cruise, but if all of the countries visited during the cruise don't follow all of the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, then they don't have any other choice but to follow more strict checks on the border.

 

This might be what the other person on FB was alluding too.  However, how could a twangster not have the same issue when he stopped at Hondouras?  When Allure stops at Labadee, Jamaica and Cozumel this doesn’t happen. For my sailing it went to Nassau, Mexico for two ports and Hondouras and it did happen.

 

Honduras is the factor... maybe in PE CBP sees it differently than in Galveston?  Not sure why though. All I know the lines and waiting was a huge PIA.  

Edited November 23, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Honduras is the factor... maybe in PE CBP sees it differently than in Galveston?  Not sure why though. All I know the lines and waiting was a huge PIA.  

 

Which means the next cruise trying to board will be delayed until customs clears the departing guests who visited Honduras.  What a mess.

Edited November 23, 2018 by twangster

[A&L_Ont]

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 

Which means the next cruise trying to board will be delayed until customs clears the departing guests who visited Honduras.  What a mess.

 

Yup.  I hope Emmy has good news in a few days.

 

I also wondered if they did it if a certain percentage of cruisers on-board were not US citizens.  That being said, if someone was trying to “stay hidden/illegally” in the States why would they leave the country for a holiday and raise their risk of deportation. I had that discussion with a few people on FB as well, who said they were trying to catch law breakers. They didn’t seem to follow my explanation.

[chriscec2012]

Have made it to FLL for Southwest flights 2 times in a row after coming in to Miami, both times grabbed an Uber out once off the ship and were at FLL by 8:45am