Hi! My family all has passports, but my mother-in-law and her friend don’t. They’ve got birth certificates, state-issued IDs, and marriage certificates. I’m not too worried about getting on the boat since it’s a closed-loop cruise to the Bahamas (Royal Caribbean).
What should we expect when we get back to the Miami port on Monday, December 9th? There’s a flight home at 10:45am. Can they make it? How long will it take to get off the ship and to the airport?
We tried to get passports in time but it didn’t work out. Any tips to speed up the line would be really helpful. Also, what’s the realistic wait time? I’ve heard some people say hours and others say 30 minutes…
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Hi! My family all has passports, but my mother-in-law and her friend don’t. They’ve got birth certificates, state-issued IDs, and marriage certificates. I’m not too worried about getting on the boat since it’s a closed-loop cruise to the Bahamas (Royal Caribbean).
What should we expect when we get back to the Miami port on Monday, December 9th? There’s a flight home at 10:45am. Can they make it? How long will it take to get off the ship and to the airport?
We tried to get passports in time but it didn’t work out. Any tips to speed up the line would be really helpful. Also, what’s the realistic wait time? I’ve heard some people say hours and others say 30 minutes…
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That 10:45am flight might not work, even with a passport. The boat could be late getting into port or have delays clearing customs. Then there’s still waiting for your zone to be called, picking up your bags, going through customs, getting a cab/uber, dealing with traffic, checking in, getting through TSA, and finally making it to the gate.
I wouldn’t risk a flight earlier than noon at the earliest.
It’s unlikely. Usually, you’re leaving the ship by 8am if everything goes smoothly. They’ll need to use the BC line, which is often slower than the passport line. Even with passports, that flight time is risky, especially with a mixed group.
Can they make it? Yes, but that would be a lot of stress. If everything goes perfectly, they might make it, but it would be a huge rush, which would take away from the relaxation of the cruise.
That 10:45am flight at MIA sounds tight, even with self-disembarkation. Any traffic or long lines at security could make things stressful. It might be better to take it easy and have a relaxing breakfast onboard, then go to MIA, FLL, or PBI with less hassle.
I wouldn’t do that flight, even solo with priority bag check and TSA precheck. Miami’s disembarkation process is always busy. I have managed to get on an 11:00am flight before, but that’s only because I got on the standby list for the earlier flight once I was at the airport.
I’ve cruised from Miami after Thanksgiving. Don’t do the 10:45am flight; go for 3 or 5pm. I once had a cruise come back at midnight because of a medical emergency, and we didn’t finish disembarking until noon. Another time, traffic was so bad that we had to sit in the car for 1-2 hours before we could even get off the expressway. You don’t want to stress out over this; just pick a later flight.
No way. Miami traffic on a Monday morning is terrible. If you arrive early, Miami has an emergency passport center. It might take half the day, but you can get a passport that day. We’ve done it three times.
If the ship arrives on time and there are no delays, it might be possible. But if anything goes wrong—like customs taking longer, waiting for your luggage, or getting stuck in traffic—there’s a good chance you’ll miss the flight. It’s not worth the risk, in my opinion.
I’m surprised by the replies here. We always fly out early and haven’t had issues, even when traveling with people who use BCs. MIA isn’t too far from the port. But there’s always a chance something could go wrong. What airline are you flying? If it’s Southwest, I’d take the risk. They’re good at putting you on a later flight. But it also depends on how much risk you’re willing to take.
@Xian
I was going to mention this! We’ve done 10:30-11:00 flights and had to wait at MIA, but we have passports. The BC line always seems long. The only concern would be traveling with older people who might not be able to carry their bags.