Flight FLL

[NutsAboutGolf]

It’s a pointless debate to determine when others should get off the ship.  Some have major anxiety to be in the hustle and bustle of being one of the first off the ship while others have anxiety until they get off the ship

 

Simply do what brings you joy, whether that’s being the one of the first or one of the last off the ship

[cangelmd]

On 12/16/2022 at 8:59 PM, Nado44 said:

I got off the recent Apex Transatlantic at 0645 am. Made a 0815 am flight with a carryon. I knew I was pushing it. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

I’m not sure how lucky you were! I was on the same TA in a suite no less, and it took a solid 45 minutes, maybe closer to an hour to disembark. Special suite courtesies ended at the gangplank where the backup began.

Granted we had a later flight and we were not there to leave until later, but by the time we were leaving, customs was running through the entire crew and there was a big backlog inside the terminal. TAs are one of the most prone to customs delays.

flip side of this for us is that because of difficulties in getting our second flight, it’s often good for us to get out of FLL as early as possible so we have more choices of second flights out of ATL to home.

On this same TA, our early afternoon flight out of FLL was delayed, we missed our ATL flight home, and ended up on the very last flight home that night. Flying is really hard right now!

[DaKahuna]

13 hours ago, edgee said:

DC area residents have many other options than those you mention. Seems you choose to limit your options by sticking with Dulles and United and not DCA and other carriers. 

 

Yes, but it depends on where you live relative to those airports.   I can get from my door to the parking garage at Dulles in 20-25 minutes.  Washington National (Reagan) and BWI are much farther.   It normally takes me a hour from my door to my gate/United Club at Dulles.  It would take me longer than that to drive to either of the other two airports.   When we first moved to this area we lived in Germantown, MD and it from there it was equal distance & time to get from our house to any of the three airports.  

 

I have flown United, Delta, and American over the years and have found that with very few exceptions, United offers the flights, service, and quality that meets my needs. 

 

[DCPIV]

On 12/16/2022 at 4:18 PM, auggiemom said:

What is the earliest you all think we could make it to the airport after getting into FLL?

 

The earliest you reasonably can count on getting to FLL likely is around 8 AM, but that's if everything goes swimmingly with docking and immigration AND you carry ALL your luggage off yourself.  You can pretty much count on getting there by 10 AM unless something truly extreme happens.

 

Unfortunately, you cannot count on everything going swimmingly.  While significant delays aren't typical, they do happen.  More often than not, they happen with immigration, and there is absolutely nothing that Celebrity can do about that.  We've been delayed just getting off the ship by more than an hour because the ship had not been cleared for debarkation.  We've seen immigration lines move at glacial speed because equipment wasn't working.  If they have an equipment issue or they are short on crew (or dogs) or there's any other hold-up with immigration, well, it's anyone's guess when you'll be out of the terminal.

 

You ought to be able to get to the airport in about 20 minutes or so once you are out of the terminal.  There typically are loads of cabs waiting, or you can call an Uber/Lyft.  Once you are in the car, the trip to the airport is around 10-15 minutes depending on how busy things are.

 

If you are flying out of Terminal 1 at FLL, and if you have pre-check, and if you aren't checking bags, then you pretty much sail through security.  We've made it to the gate around 15-20 minutes after walking in the door in that situation.  If you are checking a bag and can do so with a kiosk, you probably can get to the gate in 30 minutes or so assuming you have pre-check and need nothing else.  If you need to talk to someone at a counter before security or if you don't have pre-check, again, it's anyone's guess how long it will take.

 

I wouldn't book a flight earlier than 10 AM without having a back-up plan in place.  Frankly, I would rather sit around an airport for a few hours than try to deal with missing a flight.  I'm happy to be one of the first off the ship to grab an earlier flight, and I'm happy to be one of the last off when I have a later flight.

[phoenix_dream]

Just keep in mind several things.  

1) the ship does not always dock on time.  We have been held onboard until 9:30 a couple of times. Not common, but it can and does happen

2) are you flying somewhere where there are lots of flight options should you miss yours or is it a place with one or two per day?

3) flights these days are almost always 100% full (at least the 20 or so I've been on in the past year).  If you miss your flight, it could be many hours, if not days, until you can get on another flight

4) do you live close enough that, worst case, you can rent a car and drive home?  Can you afford the time and $$ to stay in Florida for a day or two or three until you can get on another flight?

5) what day of the week is it and what other ships are arriving?  Catch a day when several of the megaships are arriving as well and taxis and ubers can be more scarce and airport lines much longer

6) are you flying international or in the US?  Do you have screening priority?  Are you checking or doing carry-on?  

 

Given all the above considerations we never book before 11:00.  We've made flights as early as 10:00 when the airline change our flight time, but we literally were running to our gate and the last ones onboard.  True story.  (granted, this was before the days of walk-off with luggage)