After reading another thread I find I have a problem, and need assistence. I am scheduled to take a cruise in February. My return flight will leave FLL at 4:15 pm with a change in TPA. I will only have 35 minutes between flights.

What happens if my first leg of the trip is delayed or late? I guess I'm asking .. what happens if I don't make the connecting flight? Will my ticket be honored on a later flight, or will I have to book a flight from scratch out of TPA? I'll be flying Southwest Airlines.

The thought that I might not have enough time for the stopover in Tampa never crossed my mind until now.

Hopefully it's the same airline and the flights are on one ticket. If your flight is on time, then TPA is great for connections.

If your flight is late and if it is the same ticket, then yes, you will be protected, if not, then you're on your own.

If it is the same ticket and you do miss your original connection, then it's either a later flight (if available) or an overnight hotel stay at a local airport hotel at the airline's expense.

Agreeing with the post above, if both flights are on SW and purchased as one ticket they will honor it.

If purchased as separate tickets, you could be on your own if you miss that second flight.

Thank you for the replies. Both flights were booked on one ticket, and both are Southwest.

I was afraid I would have to purchase a new ticket, losing what I had already paid for the first.

I would call Southwest and ask their agent exactly the question you posted here:

"What happens if my first leg of the trip is delayed or late? What happens if I don't make the connecting flight? Will my ticket be honored on a later flight? Or will I have to book a flight from scratch out of TPA?"

Southwest is pretty good about waiting on their transfering passengers. They KNOW how many passengers are coming off one of their planes to connect to another. We waited on a group of eight once for a half hour in FLL.
The whole plane cheered when they finally arrived! Cheaper for them to pay the late gate fees than to put up several people in hotels. It's a short hop between FLL and TPA with probably no weather to contend with. You should have no problem.