I made a 10:05 flight in FLL, but wouldn't recommend it ;)

[Seatravelers]

Zales, as marci suggested, you'll definitely have to make sure that your flight time will be eligible for baggage valet. As for the rest, I'm not sure how debarkation on Oasis is/will be handled once she starts sailing at capacity.

 

Seattravelers, was the ship scheduled to arrive at 7? That is also going to make a big difference than mine which was 8.

 

Suppose to dock at 6 am but we were even earlier which we knew we would be since it was TA and we were just been floating more or less last day near FLL

[marci22]

Suppose to dock at 6 am but we were even earlier which we knew we would be since it was TA and we were just been floating more or less last day near FLL

 

Our ship docks at 7am and I had a 10am flight but I was just too worried about missing the plane with 5 people. That's a lot of extra $ if something goes wrong. If it were only me and my husband I would have definitely chanced it.

 

Oh yeah I know I am going to be sitting in the airport for 3 hours saying "why didn't I keep that flight!"

[silentbob007]

Oh yeah I know I am going to be sitting in the airport for 3 hours saying "why didn't I keep that flight!"

 

For me this would be better than the possibility of 9 hours on standby saying ... why didn't I book a later flight. ;) Besides, if you get there early enough, you might be able to fly standby on the earlier one.

[zales]

Silentbob007 and Marci22, thank u guys so much, you were both right. Luggage valet starts for flights 11:30 or later. The next flight is 1:16:mad:, the cruise is May 8th so I'm assuming the ship will be at full capacity:( I guess I'm better off with the later flight:confused:

[shayausten]

We will be getting off the Celebrity Solstice and it docks at 7am Sunday June 13th. I will have luggage to check. I am looking at Delta or USAir.

[Gonzo70]

We will be getting off the Celebrity Solstice and it docks at 7am Sunday June 13th. I will have luggage to check. I am looking at Delta or USAir.

 

Way too risky for me. Ships sometimes arrive late to port and more often than that, there are delays in customs clearing the ship for debarkation. Nobody is permitted to leave the ship until customs gives clearance. A 10:00am flight is makable when there are no delays, but it provides almost minimal wiggle room in case something goes wrong. The ship arriving an hour late, customs being slow clearing the ship, unusually long lines at the airport - any of that and you would likely miss the flight. Most travel insurance policies will not cover you if you miss a flight that early, so you would most likely have to purchase new airline tickets and that could be very, very costly.

[BillOh]

Excellent job of writing a very helpful subject. I flew into FLL on one cruise byt RCI air had me fly back out of Miami. I made my own reservations this time and have plenty of cushion.

[DivingPrincessE]

I don't know how you managed this. We got off the Majesty yesterday and waited in the self disembarkation line from 7:20 am to almost 9:00 am. We were shoulder to shoulder crammed into the little area by the elevators with about 300 other people. It was a nightmare.

 

On other cruises out of Miami, we have zipped right off and were in the car and home by 8:30 am. I think it's really the luck of the draw and can change with each cruise.

 

It's all about what time you arrive at the self assist line. The early bird gets the worm, and all that. We LOVE the way the Majesty self assist is set up, and think it's the most fair. The P, D, D+ get a private area to self disembark and can show up at any time until the ship starts the disembark process.

 

Then everyone else lines up around the dining room (often times in a row of seats) until the dining room is full and then the line moves out and around the central area. Before we were P/D we would arrive very early and be the FIRST in line in the non P/D/D+ section. If you were behind 300 people and by the elevators it's b/c you showed up late (or at least later than the 300 people before you). How is that not the fairest way to do it? If you wanted to get off sooner, you coud have shown up earlier.

 

 

The self assist on the Navigator, on the other hand, was really stupid. The people arriving later would have to walk past the line of the people who arrived earlier. Many of these people would stand off to the side, or against the other wall, thereby "cutting" in line in front of EVERYONE behind them who showed up earlier.

 

This didn't affect us very much as we had shown up very early and there were probably on 15-20 people in front of us. However we saw many rude people cutting in front of 100+ people behind them. But I'm sure the cutters are far more important than everyone else, and had somewhere important to be...unlike everyone behind them :rolleyes:

[constantcruiser]

We returned to FLL on a cruise in September and I had booked a 10:00 am flight home. Never before had I tried to get on a flight before noon, and DH was a nervous wreck. But luck was on my side, and we were in a cab by 7:45 and easily made the flight. Still DH didn't breathe until the plane actually took off with us on board. That's when I said, "Well, that was easy...next time I'll book the 8:30 flight!" He started to speaking to me again a few days later!

[executive2A]

Thank You SilentBob007 for sharing your experience:

 

I just booked the Allure of the Seas for July 31 with a disembarkation on August 7th and a Jet Blue flight out of FLL @ 9:40.

 

Unfortunately I read the article afterwards, and am making plans to change the flight to 3:00, and pay the $100 per person flight change. I don't want to worry about making the flight ( it can ruin a vacation just thinking about it).

[silentbob007]

It's not just the time of the flight but also time of arrival. I've also read that Oasis/Allure are really set up for quick debarkation, but haven't experienced it myself. You might see how current timing is working. A flight around 10 AM might not have been a silly of an idea if my ship had been scheduled to arrive sooner than 8 AM.

[chart135]

I know it's an old post, but im coming in to port E @ 7am on nos. 9.35am flight out of mia. Any suggestions would be great

[Bosjoe]

Thank You SilentBob007 for sharing your experience:

 

I just booked the Allure of the Seas for July 31 with a disembarkation on August 7th and a Jet Blue flight out of FLL @ 9:40.

 

Unfortunately I read the article afterwards, and am making plans to change the flight to 3:00, and pay the $100 per person flight change. I don't want to worry about making the flight ( it can ruin a vacation just thinking about it).

 

I had a 9:50am to Boston after the Oasis. You should be fine if you do self-assist. Oasis and allure start between 6-630am on average, of letting passangers off. If you are late for your flight I think on Jetblue you will still pay the $100 at that time instead of now. If you make it you saved the $100pp. I sat around the airport for close to 2 hours waiting.

[Buffett fan]

I also looked at the 10:00 SW flight out of FLL...and chickened out! I'm cruising on the Allure next February - the SW flight would have been perfect. I decided my sanity was worth a little more and opted for a completely different airline, and the timing is almost as good. Thanks for the info!

[Jimbo]

I also looked at the 10:00 SW flight out of FLL...and chickened out! I'm cruising on the Allure next February - the SW flight would have been perfect. I decided my sanity was worth a little more and opted for a completely different airline, and the timing is almost as good. Thanks for the info!

 

You would have made it. We didn't do express and we left our cabin at 9am in group #50 and were through security at FLL by 11am.What took the longest was getting through customs at the port. Airport security was a breeze, no one in line.

 

I think what you also have to look at as far as the airport is how many ship are in port, there was 3 yesterday I believe. one Princess, Carnival Freedom and Allure of the Seas.

 

Jimbo:)

[sr4mjc]

I'm on a 11:55 out of San Juan off the Serenade and even that makes me a little nervous!

[Ocean Boy]

I'm on a 11:55 out of San Juan off the Serenade and even that makes me a little nervous!

 

I've cruised from San Juan many times and that flight time would not make me the slightest bit concerned.

[sr4mjc]

I've cruised from San Juan many times and that flight time would not make me the slightest bit concerned.

 

Thank you for saying that! Would you recommend keeping bags and doing express walk off or can we just sign the form with our flight time and take the departure group we are assigned?

[Rich56]

This is a very interesting thread for me. I'm a first time cruiser so I really wasn't sure about the whole debarkation process and how long it takes. We're sailing on the Oasis this Saturday so I've been reading everything associated with it like crazy the last few weeks. I booked our flights a few months ago and wasn't sure how soon we'd get off the ship so i was reluctant to book anything before noon. I ended up booking a 3:00 flight but after reading a lot of threads on this subject i have the feeling we'll be at the airport a long time. Still I guess it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.

[Jimbo]

This is a very interesting thread for me. I'm a first time cruiser so I really wasn't sure about the whole debarkation process and how long it takes. We're sailing on the Oasis this Saturday so I've been reading everything associated with it like crazy the last few weeks. I booked our flights a few months ago and wasn't sure how soon we'd get off the ship so i was reluctant to book anything before noon. I ended up booking a 3:00 flight but after reading a lot of threads on this subject i have the feeling we'll be at the airport a long time. Still I guess it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.

 

You will almost have time to walk to FLL with all that time. If you are in the Southwest B Terminal (look through the window Gate B5) you will be able to look out the window and see Oasis?

 

Jimbo:)

[Ocean Boy]

This is a very interesting thread for me. I'm a first time cruiser so I really wasn't sure about the whole debarkation process and how long it takes. We're sailing on the Oasis this Saturday so I've been reading everything associated with it like crazy the last few weeks. I booked our flights a few months ago and wasn't sure how soon we'd get off the ship so i was reluctant to book anything before noon. I ended up booking a 3:00 flight but after reading a lot of threads on this subject i have the feeling we'll be at the airport a long time. Still I guess it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.

 

Yes you will. So here is a suggestion... after you have breakfast and leave your cabin, go hang out in Central Park for awhile. The Park Café will be open. You might be able to delay your departure from the ship until almost 10 AM. You will still be at the airport a very long time but you will at least have a very leisurely morning. And by the time you get to immigration most of the luggage will be gone and you will have no problem finding yours.

[Ocean Boy]

Thank you for saying that! Would you recommend keeping bags and doing express walk off or can we just sign the form with our flight time and take the departure group we are assigned?

 

You could keep your bags but I don't think is is necessary. If you are off of the ship by 8 AM or so you will have plenty of time to make your flight. Taxi service from the pier is VERY well organized. Once you are in a taxi plan on about 20 minutes to get to the airport. SJU and FLL are my two favorite ports to cruise from. They are well organized with close airports.

[Stags14]

We made an 8:10AM flight out of FLL coming off the Allure. However, we didn't actually book this one - the only other flight flying into the airport we flew into was at 8:40PM and we had that one booked :eek:

 

Our trick is always book the later flight and then fly standby. I don't think a 10:30AM flight is necessarily bad - it depends what time the ship is cleared. Allure was cleared around 6:30AM - this would be more than enough time for a 10AMish flight.

[cultie24]

Glad you made it. I would've been a nervous wreck.

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU. This is exactly what I was looking for. I have not booked my flights for my August 18 - 25 cruise on the Oasis. And, like many others, did not want to sit in the airport for hours on the return and I could save a few dollars. But I also did not want to be a nervous wreck trying to get off the ship and make the plane WITH my teenage son.

 

I will take the advice you gave three years ago and pay the extra money for a later flight, probably reserve an excursion and relax. One of my personal mottos is "peace of mind is priceless". Thanks for reminding me.

[silentbob007]

I do say that Oasis/Allure tend to have debarkation figured out, though my debarkation experience on Allure earlier this month was quite horrible.