I booked the wrong flight home from my first cruise, and it was the worst way to end my 7-day voyage
- When I booked my first cruise, I selected a night flight for my journey home.
- But the cruise ship disembarked in the morning, so I arrived 14 hours before my flight took off.
I'll never forget the time I was stuck at an airport for 14 hours because it was my own fault.
Back in April of 2022, I took a 7-day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, the largest ship of its kind. It was my first cruise ever, so I wanted to make sure I planned for any possible mishaps, including missing my flight home.
On the last day of my voyage, passengers disembarked in the morning once we returned to the port. I knew this going into the trip, but when booking my cruise, I learned that the scheduled port arrival time wasn't the exact time I'd be off the ship.
As Insider previously reported, a cruise ship's scheduled arrival time is when the ship docks at the port. Before passengers can get off, there's an inspection that can take anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour or more.
Since I was traveling on the largest cruise ship in the world, I had anxiety about whether the wait time would be longer than usual. So, just to be safe, I booked a night flight, since I'd rather wait at the airport all day than miss my flight home. I selected one of the latest options — 9 p.m.
Well, I overcorrected. My cruise ship arrived and disembarked on time. So I arrived at Fort Lauderdale Airport at 9 a.m. — 12 hours before my scheduled departure to NYC, which was ultimately delayed two hours.
While in line to check in, I had already realized my mistake, and I dreaded the idea of waiting at a gate for half a day. But then I realized that killing time in surrounding shops and restaurants in my terminal would be preferable to my fate — waiting in the check-in area.
When I got to security, an employee told me that I couldn't go through until four hours before my flight. I couldn't find airport sources to confirm this policy, but according to the travel bag company CabinZero, some airports don't allow passengers to go through security until 2-5 hours before a flight.
Great, I thought, as I found a spot on the ground among packed seats in the check-in area. I put my jacket on the ground and got comfortable with my legs up on my suitcase to keep it secure with me.
Next time, to avoid spending 14 hours in an airport, I'll book an afternoon flight for the end of my cruise.