Anyone disembark from Miami and try to catch 10:00 flight?

auteur55

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 22, 2014
Going on Miami Disney Cruise magic for 5 days in April. Anyone cruise from there that has insight into what time you can get off the ship and get to the airport. Flights are a real problem and we are wondering if 10:00 flight is unrealistic.

Also we are coming in Thursday to leave Friday morning. Any recommendations on where to stay for a smooth journey to the port Friday morning. We kind of want to see Miami Beach too while there. Thanks
 
Don't do it. We docked in Miami and had an issue of some kind and didn't get off the ship until 830. Anything can happen. I believe Disney says after noon is the safe zone for flights.
 
Don't do it. We docked in Miami and had an issue of some kind and didn't get off the ship until 830. Anything can happen. I believe Disney says after noon is the safe zone for flights.
Thanks for the tip. About how long did it take to get to airport?
 


Last week The Wonder circled outside the port (Galveston)till after 11am due to bad weather.
Don't risk it, too much of a hassle if something goes wrong.
 
My flight to Toronto is 12 noon from MIA this upcoming cruise, and I am still a bit worried. We will have only carry-ons and will do Express Walk-off. For international flights, I have to get to the airport earlier than domestic flights. Fingers crossed that Disney Magic will be able to dock uneventfully!

If possible, try to catch a flight at a later time. Have fun planning!
 
My flight to Toronto is 12 noon from MIA this upcoming cruise, and I am still a bit worried. We will have only carry-ons and will do Express Walk-off. For international flights, I have to get to the airport earlier than domestic flights. Fingers crossed that Disney Magic will be able to dock uneventfully!

If possible, try to catch a flight at a later time. Have fun planning!
I keep hoping that Miami adopts Global Entry so that I can bypass some lines on my next cruise. Do they do mobile passport?
 


Going on Miami Disney Cruise magic for 5 days in April. Anyone cruise from there that has insight into what time you can get off the ship and get to the airport. Flights are a real problem and we are wondering if 10:00 flight is unrealistic.

Also we are coming in Thursday to leave Friday morning. Any recommendations on where to stay for a smooth journey to the port Friday morning. We kind of want to see Miami Beach too while there. Thanks

DCL recommends a flight NO EARLIER than 12:00 Noon on debarkation day from Port of Miami to Airport. Definitely do NOT book it for 10:00 AM
 
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I think they meant the port and not the airport.
Correct. I have a NEXUS which gives me Global Entry, and in Port Everglades that (or mobile passport) allows you to bypass a potential hour or two in line at customs. Plus you usually get TSA precheck. So I’m always looking to take advantage of this where I can.

@AngelDisney - I don’t know if you have NEXUS, but you and your family should apply if you travel a lot - i feel it’s well worth the $50 per adult.
 
Correct. I have a NEXUS which gives me Global Entry, and in Port Everglades that (or mobile passport) allows you to bypass a potential hour or two in line at customs. Plus you usually get TSA precheck. So I’m always looking to take advantage of this where I can.

@AngelDisney - I don’t know if you have NEXUS, but you and your family should apply if you travel a lot - i feel it’s well worth the $50 per adult.

Nexus is the best money we've ever spent for travelling. It has paid for itself ten fold in the year and half we've had it. And kids are free to apply.
 
Unless there is some unforeseen circumstance you can easily make an MIA flight by 10am. That should give you 2-3 hours to make your flight which is more than enough. Normally you get off the boat by approx 7:30a and it's about a 15 min taxi to MIA. As stated above, there is always the possibility of exceptions but they are not the norm, which is why they will be called exceptions. There are things you can do to help your cause such as carrying your own bags with you off of the boat, not having declarable items that have to be inspected by customs, checking in for flight online, private transfer to MIA, being TSA precheck to get through MIA faster and not traveling during peak times such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, etc.

On a side note, if you're flying American Airlines you have additional options that help eliminate any stress about making your flight. They have a "flat tire" policy. If you are less than 2 hours late for your flight, you can fly standby on the later flights for free or pay $75 pp for a guaranteed seat on a later flight. So for example, we are scheduled on a 9:30a flight back from our Magic cruise out of MIA in March. The next available flight was after 11:00a which was significantly more money and would have us waiting at the airport for hours. We took the cheaper 9:30a flight. If we miss the flight, no big deal. I'll just pay the $75 pp fee to be booked on the later flight and still save more money than I would have if I had booked the more expensive 11:00a to begin with. Everyone's different with personal preferences, this is just my 2 cents.
 
Unless there is some unforeseen circumstance you can easily make an MIA flight by 10am. That should give you 2-3 hours to make your flight which is more than enough. Normally you get off the boat by approx 7:30a and it's about a 15 min taxi to MIA. As stated above, there is always the possibility of exceptions but they are not the norm, which is why they will be called exceptions. There are things you can do to help your cause such as carrying your own bags with you off of the boat, not having declarable items that have to be inspected by customs, checking in for flight online, private transfer to MIA, being TSA precheck to get through MIA faster and not traveling during peak times such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, etc.

On a side note, if you're flying American Airlines you have additional options that help eliminate any stress about making your flight. They have a "flat tire" policy. If you are less than 2 hours late for your flight, you can fly standby on the later flights for free or pay $75 pp for a guaranteed seat on a later flight. So for example, we are scheduled on a 9:30a flight back from our Magic cruise out of MIA in March. The next available flight was after 11:00a which was significantly more money and would have us waiting at the airport for hours. We took the cheaper 9:30a flight. If we miss the flight, no big deal. I'll just pay the $75 pp fee to be booked on the later flight and still save more money than I would have if I had booked the more expensive 11:00a to begin with. Everyone's different with personal preferences, this is just my 2 cents.
Very interesting. We are flying during spring break but it is during the week and almost all of April is spring break. Someone had told me it was almost 45 minutes to airport due to traffic but it sounds like you think it can be only 15. There is an 11 flight and 12 I’m thinking I can at least do the 12 but it’s really expensive.
 
Very interesting. We are flying during spring break but it is during the week and almost all of April is spring break. Someone had told me it was almost 45 minutes to airport due to traffic but it sounds like you think it can be only 15.

It is 15 minutes with clear streets, no traffic and you catch all the lights just right. When we cruised out of Miami, it took us a good little while to get to the port on what was GPS'd at 20 minutes because all the drawbridges were up except one, which everyone was trying to use.

With it being Spring Break and Miami being a big tourist destination, I would say 45 minutes is optimistic. Although I guess everyone could be sleeping it off at that hour.
 
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It's approx 8.3 miles from port to MIA gate D21. The average walking speed is 3.1 miles per hour for humans and I assure you your cab will travel faster than someone walks. Only thing is the "what if's" but the "what if's" could prevent you from catching your noon flight just as easily as the 11am flight. You'll be more than fine with an 11am flight out of MIA.
 
It is 15 minutes with clear streets, no traffic and you catch all the lights just right. When we cruised out of Miami, it took us a good little while to get to the port on what was GPS'd at 20 minutes because all the drawbridges were up except one, which everyone was trying to use.

With it being Spring Break and Miami being a big tourist destination, I would say 45 minutes is optimistic. Although I guess everyone could be sleeping it off at that hour.

45 minutes is optimistic? For an 8 mile trip? I'd hate to see your pessimistic estimate.
 
45 minutes is optimistic? For an 8 mile trip? I'd hate to see your pessimistic estimate.

During Spring Break in a major tourist town? I will grant that most of the traffic will be nearer the beaches, etc... but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Given that it took us almost 40 minutes to make a 20 minute trip outside of a big event like Spring Break, I'm not going to say 15-20 is likely for a 15 minute trip. I'd say, if everything goes against OP, it could be an hour or more. They might be able to make a 10am flight but 11am would be safer just in case.

I sit in busy traffic every workday of my life where going 3 miles can take 15-20 minutes so yeah, 45 can be optimistic for 8.
 
We did it once. Our flight left at 10:20. Never again.

We made the flight. We let the ship know when we got on that we had an early flight, so we were first off the ship. Everything went perfectly, there was minimal traffic, and the airport wasn't too hectic - but there's a lot of what ifs. And I spend 1/2 of our cruise worrying about whether or not we'd make the flight. It was awful!

As for your second question, most hotels in the area will shuttle you to the port, so just pick a hotel you like, in your price range.
 
We have a MIA 9:30am flight on 03/17/19. I'll dig up this thread when I get back and update how it went. Hopefully you can use that as a yard stick on your timing. Not sure if it will help you for April because you'll prolly book well before April but it can be noted for future use.
 

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