Dock at 7 (FLL) and trying to make a 9:40 flight - how risky?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, BuckeyeMark said:

the dog says DO IT!  

I agree with the dog.

[BNBR]

18 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

While it's a short ride from PE to FLL, I kinda doubt you can make the airport by 7:30 when the ship is supposed to dock at 7 - at best you might walk off at 7:30.

 

Maybe I'm wrong (quite possibly) - whenever they say "7" it always seems that's about the time they start disembarkation.  Not the actual physical docking time.  Every time I've sailed and been told 7, it's always been right around 7 they start disembarkation.

[BNBR]

9 minutes ago, BuckeyeMark said:

you're killing me Smalls!  LOL

had this all worked out and decided it's a "no" and now I'm back in the "well maybe we could..."  

the dog says DO IT!  

 

As long as you don't blame me if you miss the flight!  Delays do happen, even if rarely.  If you accept that missing the flight is possible and won't give you an anxiety attack, then going for the 9:40 is not crazy.  Some people handle travel stress much differently than others, so it's really a comfort level with you.  But is it doable?  Yes, very much so.  I'm yet to go on a cruise in South Florida and do self-disembark where I couldn't have made a 9:40AM flight.  I'm always home early.  But that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions!  If missing your flight isn't an emergency and you can manage to hang around, even until the next day, to get on another flight, then why not go for it?  If it's going to stress you out the whole cruise and you get anxiety, then maybe go with a later flight 🙂

[BuckeyeMark]

Just now, BNBR said:

 

As long as you don't blame me if you miss the flight!  Delays do happen, even if rarely.  If you accept that missing the flight is possible and won't give you an anxiety attack, then going for the 9:40 is not crazy.  Some people handle travel stress much differently than others, so it's really a comfort level with you.  But is it doable?  Yes, very much so.  I'm yet to go on a cruise in South Florida and do self-disembark where I couldn't have made a 9:40AM flight.  I'm always home early.  But that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions!  If missing your flight isn't an emergency and you can manage to hang around, even until the next day, to get on another flight, then why not go for it?  If it's going to stress you out the whole cruise and you get anxiety, then maybe go with a later flight 🙂

Oh if things go wrong we are ABSOLUTELY blaming you!  "That guy on CruiseCritic GUARANTEED us that we'd make it and they'd bump us to first class and the flight would be diverted to Paris where the airline would pay for a week's vacation there due to the inconvenience."  You are on the hook now!!!!!

JK ... gonna have to think on this ... 

[Biker19]

17 minutes ago, BNBR said:

Maybe I'm wrong (quite possibly) - whenever they say "7" it always seems that's about the time they start disembarkation.  Not the actual physical docking time.  Every time I've sailed and been told 7, it's always been right around 7 they start disembarkation.

The published arrival time (in any port, not just turn around port) is supposed to be the physical docking (or at tender location) time . And generally, the time from docking to first passengers being able to walk off is 30 min.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Biker19

[brillohead]

50 minutes ago, BNBR said:

How comfortable are you missing the flight?  It would suck, but you fly standby, or get rebooked on another flight.  You'll get home eventually.  For some people, this isn't the end of the world.  For some it's super stressful.  Figure out where you stand. 

Exactly this. 

That's why I said, "And hey, if you miss your flight, you fly standby the next go-round...."  It's not like if you miss your flight, you can NEVER get home!  Have a backup plan in place for doggy duty in case you have to take a later flight or even spend the night and fly the next day, and que sera, sera.

I always prefer a flight that's earlier rather than later, but I'm never in a situation where it's a crisis if I don't get home on time because even with a later flight, there's no guarantee that I'll get home on time!  Weather, mechanical issues, scheduling issues, overbooking.... all kinds of things could happen that would prevent me from getting home on time even with a later flight.  

One thing I would recommend -- don't plan on carrying on anything more than your "personal item" that will fit under the seat in front of you.  That way, if you're one of the last people to board the plane, you're not stuck trying to find overhead bin space when everyone else already used it all because heaven forbid they put smaller items under the seat. 

[dancingfish]

The slow guy ahead of you getting off the ship- The elevator stops every floor-  the customs gal who oversleeps and now they are down a custom agent- traffic- your bag is MIA- Traffic Traffic-Traffic-- TSA line is sooo long- TSA agents are taking a break- 

 

My guess is your know all of this... but It bears repeating...  You can not control so much of what happens when you get off the ship. I would "let it go" and find another flight that gives you some grace for all the knuckleheads that can slow your morning.

[BuckeyeMark]

1 minute ago, dancingfish said:

The slow guy ahead of you getting off the ship- The elevator stops every floor-  the customs gal who oversleeps and now they are down a custom agent- traffic- your bag is MIA- Traffic Traffic-Traffic-- TSA line is sooo long- TSA agents are taking a break- 

 

My guess is your know all of this... but It bears repeating...  You can not control so much of what happens when you get off the ship. I would "let it go" and find another flight that gives you some grace for all the knuckleheads that can slow your morning.

a lot of wisdom in this...

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, dancingfish said:

The slow guy ahead of you getting off the ship- The elevator stops every floor-  the customs gal who oversleeps and now they are down a custom agent- traffic- your bag is MIA- Traffic Traffic-Traffic-- TSA line is sooo long- TSA agents are taking a break- 

 

My guess is your know all of this... but It bears repeating...  You can not control so much of what happens when you get off the ship. I would "let it go" and find another flight that gives you some grace for all the knuckleheads that can slow your morning.

 

Agreed, planning on everything being perfect would not be the way I'd like to approach disembarkation.

[BuckeyeMark]

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

Agreed, planning on everything being perfect would not be the way I'd like to approach disembarkation.

Planet Perfect doesn't seem to be the planet I currently reside on ...

[Queen of Oakville]

The biggest delay we faced getting off Symphony (Miami) - was the cab line.  Granted we got off the ship late (9.30) - but we waited over an hour in the lineup for a cab.

 

Granted you avoid a lot of this by being first off the ship - but just an example of a delay beyond your control.

[cruisegal40]

2 hours ago, Lionesss said:

If you do not already have it why don't you invest in TSA pre-check or global entry to expedite your check in thru security.

 

When we left at Cleveland we had TSA pre-check, randomly assigned....the other line for regular flyers took 2 1/2 hours to get thru, people missed their flights.

 

In July after our Allure cruise we did not have the randoom TSA pre check, but got thru the long line at Fll because we flew in first class.....and were directed to the pre-check in area.

 

After seeing that line on Sunday morning to get thru TSA in Fll , I said I would never do that.............. (not able to fly first class all the time).

So two weeks ago we registered for TSA pre-check, for $85 dollars we have 5 years of this. We were issued our security numbers in 4 days, and now are logged in to United, and Delta profiles............those are the two airlines we use.

 

We do not travel out of the country at this time, that is why we did not do global entry.

 

Just something to think about.

 

Safe travels.

 

 

Addendum.

Brillohead, I was typing as your post was posting......................................just saying.

 

Do you know if this works for Jetblue?  We have an 11:20 flight in two weeks out of FLL and wondering if I have the time to do this.

[brillohead]

5 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

Do you know if this works for Jetblue?  We have an 11:20 flight in two weeks out of FLL and wondering if I have the time to do this.

Are you asking if TSA Pre-Check works for Jetblue?  

It's for the airport security, not airline-specific.

[Lionesss]

You print your boarding pass from the airline site....to get TSA noted on your ticket, it has to come from either the airlines (your record on file) or random thru TSA,

 

so

 

 

Go to your profile page on Jet Blue

 

See if there is a space for ID numbers...................that is where the profile would be.

 

If it is.............................

 

Attempt to get a quick TSA appointment.....

 

We were fortunate one of the TA locations had it opened to all in town, and you did not have to be a member.

 

Made our appointment 2 weeks before going.

 

Did most of the paperwork on line.

 

Showed up with Passport, credit card.................

 

Was fingerprinted and had picture taken 

 

This all happened on a Tuesday

 

That Friday, we could log on and see our ID number on the TSA site.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Start by going to the TSA site and see where closest sign up area is.

 

 

Safe travels.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Lionesss

[cruisegal40]

8 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Are you asking if TSA Pre-Check works for Jetblue?  

It's for the airport security, not airline-specific.

Well someone said that they were signed up on United and Delta so that was why I was asking.

[cruisegal40]

9 minutes ago, Lionesss said:

You print your boarding pass from the airline site....to get TSA noted on your ticket, it has to come from either the airlines (your record on file) or random thru TSA,

 

so

 

 

Go to your profile page on Jet Blue

 

See if there is a space for ID numbers...................that is where the profile would be.

 

If it is.............................

 

Attempt to get a quick TSA appointment.....

 

We were fortunate one of the TA locations had it opened to all in town, and you did not have to be a member.

 

Made our appointment 2 weeks before going.

 

Did most of the paperwork on line.

 

Showed up with Passport, credit card.................

 

Was fingerprinted and had picture taken 

 

This all happened on a Tuesday

 

That Friday, we could log on and see our ID number on the TSA site.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Start by going to the TSA site and see where closest sign up area is.

 

 

Safe travels.

Thanks for the info. Very helpful

[brillohead]

4 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

Well someone said that they were signed up on United and Delta so that was why I was asking.

 

If you have a frequent flyer account with an airline, you can enter it into your profile so the logo prints on your boarding pass with every ticket purchased automatically.  

If you don't have a frequent flyer account, you can manually enter the KTN (Known Traveler Number) when you purchase your ticket (or any time up until you print your boarding pass).  

 

[BNBR]

 

38 minutes ago, dancingfish said:

The slow guy ahead of you getting off the ship- The elevator stops every floor-  the customs gal who oversleeps and now they are down a custom agent- traffic- your bag is MIA- Traffic Traffic-Traffic-- TSA line is sooo long- TSA agents are taking a break- 

 

My guess is your know all of this... but It bears repeating...  You can not control so much of what happens when you get off the ship. I would "let it go" and find another flight that gives you some grace for all the knuckleheads that can slow your morning.

 

Elevator is irrelevant.  Customs being short handed is irrelevant if you are one of the first off the ship.  There is no traffic between Port Everglades and FLL, so that's irrelevant.  They'll have their bag with them, so that's irrelevant.  TSA is unlikely to be long that early before the cruisers, so that's probably irrelevant.  Any other irrelevant issues you would like to scare OP with?

 

 

29 minutes ago, Queen of Oakville said:

The biggest delay we faced getting off Symphony (Miami) - was the cab line.  Granted we got off the ship late (9.30) - but we waited over an hour in the lineup for a cab.

 

Granted you avoid a lot of this by being first off the ship - but just an example of a delay beyond your control.

 

You said it yourself.  You can avoid the delay by being first off the ship, so it's not "beyond your control" one bit.  You could also use Uber and skip the cab line or if a shuttle is leaving and available, that's another option.  So it turns out there is quite a bit of control in this scenario.

[Merion_Mom]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Oasis class ships normally dock at least an hour earlier than the OP's ship.  I've seen Oasis class ships arrive at 5:45am at FLL.

 

Do you think that this is true in Miami also, Bob?

[BNBR]

31 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

Do you know if this works for Jetblue?  We have an 11:20 flight in two weeks out of FLL and wondering if I have the time to do this.

 

Yes, and get Global Entry.  It's bad advice to just get PreCheck.  Global Entry works at the cruise port as well (you just have to have your GE card, there isn't a kiosk or anything).  It can save a ton of time with disembarkation is there is a long customs line and you get PreCheck included with it.  Just make sure to have your GE cards.

[BNBR]

26 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Are you asking if TSA Pre-Check works for Jetblue?  

It's for the airport security, not airline-specific.

 

It's airline specific, actually.  The airline has to participate in order to issue PreCheck boarding passes.

[WeLuvVacation]

Try for the early flight and arrive at the airport tired, sweaty, grumpy, hungry from getting up really early to be the 1st ones off, having no breakfast(no room service on departure day) racing through the customs,taxi and airport to make that flight. OR leave later and arrive home nice and relaxed from being on vacation. Of course the choice is yours.

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Do you think that this is true in Miami also, Bob?

 

Don't know Carol, I cannot recall seeing any reports about Miami arrivals.

[BNBR]

19 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

Well someone said that they were signed up on United and Delta so that was why I was asking.

 

You don't "sign up" with the airline.  However, when you book, you'll see the Known Traveler ID field.  You would fill this in with your PreCheck/Global Entry number.  That's with any participating airline.  Generally, you can just add that number to your online profile with the airline as well to save time.

[BNBR]

1 minute ago, WeLuvVacation said:

Try for the early flight and arrive at the airport tired, sweaty, grumpy, hungry from getting up really early to be the 1st ones off, having no breakfast(no room service on departure day) racing through the customs,taxi and airport to make that flight. OR leave later and arrive home nice and relaxed from being on vacation. Of course the choice is yours.

 

What's with all the scare mongering?  Why would you be tired, sweaty, grumpy or hungry from getting up at 6AM?  That's a pretty normal time for many people.  You wander down and hop in line, then walk off the ship like anyone else, then get in a cab like anyone else, then get out of the cab at the airport like anyone else... then walk up and go through security and to your gate like anyone else.  You can keep a snack in your cabin for when you wake up or just grab a really early breakfast, or just grab something at the airport as well.  It's really not that difficult or complicated to act like a grown up.