When is the earliest time you would book a flight for after a Miami-based cruise?

[TigerLaw]

Assuming you were flying out of Miami and not Fort Lauderdale, when would be the earliest you would get a flight for when your Disney cruise is based out of Miami? What are the major factors to consider in answering this question?

 

[monarchsfan16]

Major factors include: dining time (early dinner means early breakfast, which means you're off the ship sooner) and/or whether you're going to do self-debarkation. Also know, though, that things can happen. We had late dinner/late breakfast, and anticipated being through customs by 9:30. We were off the ship about 9:15, but we weren't through customs until an hour later. Why? We were on the noro-cruise last April and the line completely stopped. Word is people got sick in line ahead of us. Also, traffic in Miami is a beast. If you're coming in mid-week, plan for it to take awhile longer to get to the airport than it would if you come in on a Sunday.

We had a 1:30 flight out of FLL. I was VERY happy it wasn't any earlier. We got to the airport at 11:30. We had followed Disney's guidelines. My recommendation? Follow their guidelines (on their website).

 

[lizabu]

I would feel nervous with anything earlier than 1 or 2 pm. I found checking in for our flight 24 hours prior while on the ship challenging. Next time we're staying overnight after the cruise and taking an early morning flight home. We still have a couple of hours of driving once we fly to our destination so that's a consideration we have that those with a major airport in their city don't need to think about.

 

[Deb T.]

Here's what Disney Cruise Line has to say about airline departure times for Miami International airport. You'd probably do well to allow an extra 30-60 minutes for FLL.

Sailing from Miami to the Bahamas: Earliest departure time from Miami International Airport on Debarkation Day: 12:00 PM

Sailing from Miami to the Caribbean: Earliest departure time from Miami International Airport on Debarkation Day: 12:00 PM

 

[sbridgeman]

A couple of years ago we did self-debarkation (we were there early and were first in line) and made a 10:15 am flight out of MIA.

Not sure I'd do it again. I think a lot of your decision will also be driven by the airlines and what flight options you have to work with -- for us, that was the only direct flight from MIA.

 

[Donna3271]

A couple of years ago we did self-debarkation (we were there early and were first in line) and made a 10:15 am flight out of MIA.

Not sure I'd do it again. I think a lot of your decision will also be driven by the airlines and what flight options you have to work with -- for us, that was the only direct flight from MIA.

We had a 10:28 fight once. The airport is only 7 miles from the Port. Totally doable, but I stressed the whole night before. Our next DCL cruise out of Miami, we had an 11:45. It was perfect.

 

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

We'll probably end up booking the 2pm flight from Miami and yes even I will feel stressed about it but our last cruise we were off the ship by 930 so I'll try not to fret about it. I don't think I'd go any earlier then that even though the say it's doable just not worth the headache and rush

 

[sbridgeman]

but I stressed the whole night before

Funny, we didn't stress until we got in the line for the airline/security check -- they were long for us that day.