RPB1023

Taking Carib Princess 8/14 to 8/21 out of Ft Laud. Flights are arrriving Ft Laud 10:30AM and leaving Ft Laud 2:15PM. Did I make a mistake with the departing flight? I hear people saying they're off the ship at 8:30 AM.What will we do at the airport for hours?

Hold

While I've never sailed out of Ft Lauderdale (mostly Miami) I don't think you should be concerned.

First, no-one leaves the ship until customs has clear the entire ship. While there could be some unusual situation where someone got off that early, the reality is, it will be more like 9:00 - 10:30 before you get off.

Take your time and be one of the last off the ship, no-one insists you leave until the very end of de-barkation.

By the time you then pick up your luggage, get to the airport, etc. it will be more like 11-12 which gives you time to check in, have some lunch at the airport, find your departing gate, read a newspaper, etc.

Since most airlines pre-board 20 minutes early, you'll have a very nice pace that morning.

Now, if you were talking about a 6 pm. flight I would say you'd better make plans to fill the time. But I think you did well with the 2:15 departure.

Hope this helps. Most people advise that you not book return flights home before 12:00. You did OK. Enjoy your cruise.

maryanne1

The same question was mine a few months ago. First time sat it out in the airport which is terrible as the earliest time we could even check in was 3 hours earlier and our flight did not leave until 6:00. This last cruise a man on Fodors answered my question. The Marriott on the Marina(not the on eon the beach) will store your luggage for a tip. Because we had to wait so long we got a room for the day. The river taxi is right there that you can get on for $5.00 all day. Very delighful with explanation by captain explaining the houses you see along the way. Lunch was very good there in the Marriott or you can get off the water taxi along the way and then get back on. The people in the Marriott are very helpful. Going on a cruise in April and we will definitely use the Marriott again.
Yes, you do get off the ship early depending on the deck you are on. Being on the 8th we were somewhere around 9:30. being near the end.
You catch a taxi to the Marriott and then one from the Marriott to the airport. Taxi for each should be less then $10.00.

maryanne1

You may not need the info I gave as the other email pointed out you will not have to wait that long in the airport as your plane leaves earlier than ours did.

Heartburn3

You'll do best to follow Hold's advice of getting off the ship as late as possible, taking a cab to the airport (about a 5 minute ride), take your time at the airport and have a nice lunch and do some shopping for last-minute gifts to take home, and relax before your flight.

I see many posts from people who have their flights booked for 12:30pm and fret they might get delayed getting off the ship and miss their flight due to security being slow. You'll be more relaxed with the extra time.

Enjoy your cruise!

tigerhawk

I fly in and out of FLL all the time - just be aware that the wait in the security lines there now averages 25-30 mins particularly on cruise days, so take that into consideration. If your cruise is out of Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) then it isn't a long trip from the port to the airport, and I would agree with the other posters that you just try to stay on the ship as long as you can but I also agree that a 2:15 flight is really not all that late of a departure.

diann

We were in San Juan for several days post cruise. So we were the last ones off the ship. We were in no hurry whatsoever we let everyone get off that needed to catch a plane home. When we got off there was very few luggage left in the terminal. Very few. As a result one of ours was missing by mistake. We got it back the next day had to go to the airport to some building to retrieve it. It was a inconvenience and a mistake. Point is try and hold onto your luggage for the odds increase of someone accidently taking it as they just throw it in this huge terminal. Make sure you put ribbons on it if it sits for a long time. We certainly do now after that incidence.

simpsonc510

Just got off the Caribbean Princess this past Saturday morning (8-7-04). We were in the middle of the pack of people disembarking and were off the ship and in our hotel at about 10:15. We had to wait in a long line for a taxi after getting bags and clearing customs.

Disembarkation started at 8am, although 8:15 was what was scheduled, so we were a bit early getting on with it. Our group got called at 9:15, almost on the nose.

The airport isn't very far away from the pier area, but remember that FLL has just taken the lead as the cruise terminal leader over Miami. There will be several other ships coming and going when you are there. Taxis will be very busy. You will probably spend some of your extra time WAITING for one.

Just a quick story about taxis... we had to wait for about a half hour to get a taxi from our hotel to the pier for our embarkation on July 31. So, I got a business card from the driver who had taken us FROM the ship to our hotel and told him that we needed a taxi very early on the 8th of Aug to get to the airport for flight home. He said he would be there early to pick us up.

I got up early yesterday (8th) for flight home, checked for cab driver, he was waiting. I thought GREAT!!! We won't get stuck missing a flight because we couldn't get a cab on time.

Well well well...... when I went out to start loading bags, there was a police officer there who said he would arrest the cab driver if he picked me up!!! It seems he wasn't licensed to pick up "in the city" as it costs a lot of money for such a license.

To make a long story short, another taxi was called right away, and we made it to the airport and to our gate with about 10 spare minutes!!!

Security at FLL is slow and it doesn't seem that they have their act together yet. Bags were piled high, waiting to go thru the scanners. Passengers were asked to wait with their bags before going on to boarding gates. They finally said... "Just go to your gates and don't wait for bags to be scanned" as they couldn't keep up with the job. They (United) needed about 4 more people doing this job, I think. IMO

The CP is a gorgeous ship. I hope you have a balcony cabin, as it is so nice to sit out on the balcony and have a continental breakfast in the morning. Our cabins were on the Caribe deck. The balconies measure about 9' x 9' on this deck, and are somewhat smaller on the other decks. I don't know about decks at the aft of the ship.

DO enjoy your cruise!