Emerald Princess 5am arrival at FLL port..10:15 am SW fight..

[Fatfish]

Emerald Princess TA is due to arrive at 5 am on Sunday 10/11 and I'm thinking about booking a SW flight for 10:15 am from FLL....I've read some of the previous posts on this subject but does arriving at 5 am help us.....I know it's only 15 min taxi ride etc...Thanks for any input :D

[Colo Cruiser]

If you do, have an alternative plan. :)

[Toto2Kansas]

Emerald Princess TA is due to arrive at 5 am on Sunday 10/11 and I'm thinking about booking a SW flight for 10:15 am from FLL....I've read some of the previous posts on this subject but does arriving at 5 am help us.....I know it's only 15 min taxi ride etc...Thanks for any input :D

 

Your ship may arrive at 5:00 AM, but I would not count on getting off anytime before around 7:30 or after. It may be possible if you do a walk off and carry your own luggage, but this all depends on when they begin disembarkation. Sometimes it is held up, for a variety of reasons, and you always want to give yourself a little bit of extra time, if you can.

 

I think the earliest flight we have ever dared book was about 10:30-10:45. But we checked to see how many ships were in port that day, the time of year for crowds at the airport, and what day of the week we would be arriving.

 

I agree, just make sure you have an alternate plan if you don't make it to the airport in time. ;) Good Luck!

[regnig]

Yep an alternative plan would be an excellent idea. Right now the schedule shows 4 rather large ships (Infinity, Coral Princess, Emerald Princess, Island Princess) in port on 10/11. This will put a bit of a strain on the taxi situation and can also back up security at the airport.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I would plan on doing the self-disembarkation...we did that on the Emerald earlier this year and I think we were off somewhere in the 7:30-8:00 AM or so range. There were plenty of taxis queued up early.

 

However to do this you will need to be able to carry off all of your lugggage and hand carry at the same time, and maneuver it down the gangway, without assistance. Not as easy as you might think!!

[paul929207]

We arrived onthe Pacific Princess in Fort Lauderdale last month. People with self debarkation started off about 8am. If you have a 10.15am flight make sure you are at the front of the line and have a car service waiting. Also, have alternate flights handy.

[Fatfish]

We arrived onthe Pacific Princess in Fort Lauderdale last month. People with self debarkation started off about 8am. If you have a 10.15am flight make sure you are at the front of the line and have a car service waiting. Also, have alternate flights handy.

 

Thanks

 

What time did the PP arrive in FLL...5 am?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks

 

What time did the PP arrive in FLL...5 am?

 

 

It does not matter what time it arrives, you won't be able to disembark until 7:30-8:00.

[wrp96]

One thing to think about. With a TA cruise, typically there is extra inspection, especially for the crew which can delay disembarkation.

[D4]

Personally, I wouldn't do it, but I'm pretty cautious.

 

We just got off the Coral in FLL on Sunday. It only has about 1,900 passengers. They expected disembarkation to start at 7:15 and end by 9:45. We were the first group after the people that carry all their luggage off and we didn't get off the ship until 8:25. It took another 25 minutes to get through customs. There were a lot of non-US passengers which slowed down the customs lines. (Sometimes there has been separate lines for US and non-US people, but not this time.) That left 19 color groups that were supposed to get off after our group! I can't even imagine what time everyone got off.

 

Then at the airport, there were huge lines inside to check luggage and pretty long lines outside. I had checked in online the day before and paid for our luggage online, but we still had to check the bags. We had an 11:30 flight so it wasn't a problem for us.

[Pam in CA]

I would never attempt to make a 10:15AM flight out of FLL, even if the ship is scheduled to arrive at 5AM. The earliest flight I've felt comfortable with was at 11:20AM, and even then, we made it only as they were doing final boarding.

 

Even though the airport is only about 15 minutes away, you need to take into consideration that everything would have to go right and be on schedule to make your flight, which doesn't always happen. Everyone on the ship, including crew, have to be cleared before anyone is allowed to disembark. There are frequently non-U.S. citizens who somehow don't think that the disembarkation forms apply to them and they fail to turn them in, holding up all of the passengers on the ship as they are paged. If you choose self-disembarkation, you have to be able to handle all of your luggage yourself, including carry-ons. There will be no one to help you and behind you will be hundreds of people with heavy bags happy to run you over if you slow down. I forget if disembarking in FLL has an escalator but if it does, you MUST have one hand free to hold on to. They will not let you on it if you can't manage your luggage on the escalator and forget the elevator; that will be backed up with a 20 - 30-minute wait time.

 

And, consider FLL itself. It can take 30 minutes to check in curbside, even longer inside, and then you have a long line to go through Security. If there are any local events or conventions, FLL will be a mob scene. In order to make a 10:15AM flight, you will absolutely, positively have to be off the ship by 8AM. I've been on too many cruises where disembarkation didn't start until after 9AM to feel comfortable with that timeline. However, if you want to take a chance, make sure you have "Plan B" in place.

[Fatfish]

Thanks all...I think I'll go with plan B ( 11:40 with a stop) as there is no way that we can handle the luggage getting off the ship....Thanks again for all your input...Much appreciated :):):)

[D4]

...I forget if disembarking in FLL has an escalator but if it does, you MUST have one hand free to hold on to. They will not let you on it if you can't manage your luggage on the escalator and forget the elevator; that will be backed up with a 20 - 30-minute wait time.

 

You're right about the escalator in FLL. We got off there on Sunday. We only had our carryons, but they wouldn't let you on the escalator if you didn't have a free hand for it.

[seattlec5]

Thanks all...I think I'll go with plan B ( 11:40 with a stop) as there is no way that we can handle the luggage getting off the ship....Thanks again for all your input...Much appreciated :):):)

 

 

That's a good idea. Any earlier is cutting it too close. Everything would have to work perfectly for you to have a chance at making an earlier plane. Good to have a backup plan for these things.:)

[ggprincess2004]

Thanks all...I think I'll go with plan B ( 11:40 with a stop) as there is no way that we can handle the luggage getting off the ship....Thanks again for all your input...Much appreciated :):):)

 

Excellent decision - you won' t regret it, and will be skipping some stress.:D

[traveling1969]

We did the TA on the Emerald last year. We had a 10:10 flight. We managed to finagle one of the first colors for disembarkation but there was some kind of snafu and we got to the airport at 9:45. Thanks to a caring employee at curbside check-in, we made it but we would never try it again. To much angst. Bon Voyage!