Cruise - Airliner timing.?

Question

I live in Las Vegas and want to travel the Panama Canal on a cruise, (My late-dad did it).
I know most cruises leave FLL about 4PM. And I've also found out (here on Yahoo answers) that the airport is about 15 mins away from the dock. That's all well and good, but I have to ask:
Has anyone had trouble with timing after their plane lands getting to the boat on time?
If I take a "redeye" I can get to the airport about noon. Plenty of time for a 4PM launch. But what if there's a delay? Has anyone "Missed the boat" so to speak?

Answer 1

Most ships arrive in part about 5:00 or 6:00Am, offload passengers and luggage, clean the ship and are ready for re-boarding about 1:00 PM and depart at about 6:00 PM. The ship will require you to check-in about 30 to 60 minutes before scheduled departure. So you cannot just show up at 6:00 PM and get on, you'll be too late.

If you book your air through the cruise line and there is a flight delay the cruise line will know about it and wait for your flight (unless its like 4 hours late). I have been on cruises where they held up departure waiting on air passengers who were late. But if you book air on your own, then you are on your own to be on time.

Yes, if you are flying into the Ft Lauderdale airport and cruising out of port Lauderdale the airport is on the opposite side of I-95 from the cruise port. It could take 15 to 30 minutes to get to your ship because the port is a commercial port handling big tankers and has a lot of truck traffic coming and going. If there is a traffic jam you could be delayed at the port entry gate.

I suggest that you plan your flight to get there at least by noon. Most ships will let you board about 1:00 PM and if not you can sit in the lounge until boarding. At any rate be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the port about at least an hour before departure. The suggestion to fly in the night before and stay at an airport hotel until about noon the next day is a good one. Then no worry about flight delays or cancellations.

Answer 2

You can fly in the night before and get a decent price on one of the little deco hotels on South Beach. They aren't your 5-Star hotels, but then again, you'll be out on the beach and taking in all the night life around South Beach. I've always spent around $90. Get up the next morning, have the hotel hold your luggage until mid-afternoon and take a taxi to the port.

You get two things here; You get a little one day pre-vacation on South Beach and more importantly you get cheap insurance that you will make the cruise and not have to worry about any delays of the airlines. It's cheap insurance and piece-of-mind while enjoying yourself a day before.

Answer 3

I have never missed a ship, but I always plan on boarding before lunch. If I were to fly in, I would get there early morning, or the night before and get a motel for the night. I would rather spend this, than lose the money that I paid for the cruise. They are non-refundable that late.

Answer 4

There is always that chance due to weather/mechanical.
It may be worth flying in a day early and rent a hotel the night before the cruise- if you do it through the cruise line along with your air - they will provide transportation to the port the next day.

Answer 5

I would be sure to get in as earlier as possible. Not matter what you decide be sure to get travel insurance, most policies will allow you money to catch up to the ship in the event that you miss it for any reason. At least that way if something does happen you will not miss the entire cruise, just up to the first port.

Answer 6

I always fly in the day before. There are just too many problems that can and do pop up. Mechanical, weather and overbooking just to name a few. I just got back from a cruise and stayed at the Dania Beach Sleep hotel.