Earliest Flight to Book Upon Return to New Orleans?

[CostaCruiser1]

Hi... I'm taking the family on the Radiance of Seas to/from New Orleans.  Wondering what the earliest time is that one should book air from MSY?  I called RCL and they said noon.  That seems to be cutting it close, given the fact that you're sailing up the MIssissippi before scheduled docking at 7am.  First of all how realistic is that 7am dock time?  And second of all what's the earliest you would book a flight out of MSY?  And third of all, what's it like getting a cab/Uber/Lyft/shuttle from the dock to the airport?

[LHT28]

you can always book later  than NOON    the cruise line has probably been there before & they  give their best guess 

but as always  things could change

Book the time you feel comfortable doing  or stay over & book a flight  the  next  day

[CruiserBruce]

Given that the ship needs to offload a few thousand people, refuel and restock the ship and load a new group of several thousand people, and sail again, they will make every effort to dock BEFORE the stated time. They have done this time or two, and plan these things to the minute.

 

Generally,  cruise line recommendations on flight times are conservative...people can make flights perhaps more than an hour earlier than recommended...although that might mean carrying off your own luggage and grabbing a cab.

[pilot123texas]

I haven't ever tried to get to the airport from the port in New Orleans, but I have taken a lot of taxis, UBER, etc from downtown to the airport. Whatever amount of time you think it will take, double it. I have more New Orleans horror stories about trying to get to the airport in New Orleans than I can count!

[Aquahound]

It's a bit of a hike to get from the port to the airport.  What plays in your favor is you'll be going against traffic in the morning so without accidents, the road should be mostly clear.

 

Accidents that block the road are VERY common around NOLA.  I lived there for 3 years and have never seen aggression on the roads as I did there.  It's scary.  But that said, there are multiple ways to get there. 

 

I would plan for noon.  I don't think you need to go any later than that.  

[Mary229]

If the ship says in port at 7 they will be there.  The barge problems you are hearing about on the river are up river and won’t affect the port of New Orleans.  Everything on the river is strictly scheduled.  
 

I would allow 45 minutes to get to the airport if it is fairly busy weekend day.  If you have TSA precheck New Orleans is pretty quick. I fly there very often to visit relatives and have never spent more than 20 minutes in line and that was at a busy time.  Oddly according to the TSA agents there Monday morning is the busiest time of week to leave New Orleans.  Saturday is very light.  Sunday evening can be busy. 

[Velvetwater]

We left the Glory at 8.30 this summer....were at the airport before 9.30. Had a midday flight but could have squeezed earlier.