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How Do Cruisers Get To Miami/Tampa In Time?


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I fully agree with everyone that states fly in at least 1 day early. I did fly from Salt Lake City, UT into Miami 5/28th for a 5/29th cruise to Cuba. Great weather in both locations. But still didn't want to risk it. Sunday 5/28th AND Friday, 6/2nd with a Sat. 6/3rd check out. $95.00 before tax with AAA card for Sunday, 5/28th and $105 before tax for Fri. 6/2nd. FREE shuttle to airport and $15 per person shuttle to cruise port. FYI ... the hotel has absolutely great employees, is new, modern, has GREAT free breakfast and the beds are really comfy. DO NOT stay in room 339. Too noisy .... hear planes taking off.

 

I stayed at:

HYATT PLACE MIAMI AIRPORT-EAST

3549 NW Le Jeune Road

Miami, Florida, USA, 33142

Tel: +1 305 667 1003

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My wife and I thought it might be nice to escape cold weather this coming January and take a Caribbean cruise. We'd be flying out of Denver. But after looking exhaustively (and exhaustedly!) at flights to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa, what we discovered is that...we can't get there in time! All the flights we have access to appear to land in both cities too late to get to a 4:00 PM cruise departure! We were absolutely baffled! We took a Caribbean Cruise many years ago, flying out of Minnesota, and didn't recall having any problems at all getting there on time, but we only lost one hour on that trip, we lose two on this one which contributes to the challenge. How does one get to the port cities in Florida from the Mountain Time Zone in time for cruising? Is it necessary to go a day early and stay over in an expensive hotel? Or do the airlines add more flights as winter approaches so that we will have more possibilities? Anyone with some insight? Thanks!

Minnesota Rookie (now Colorado almost-rookie)

We always go the day before and pick a hotel that will provide a shuttle to the airport. You can usually find a decent hotel for around $ 100-$120. Use the many hotel comparison websites to get the best deal.

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Don't forget that you can be on a perfectly good airplane that takes off on time on a non stop flight and have a passenger experience a medical emergency forcing you to land in the middle of nowhere.

 

Almost happened to us, but a doctor was able to determine the actual issue (nothing major) and the passenger was okay to finish the flight...

 

 

 

We were on an early morning flight from Kansas City to Salt Lake City. Perfect weather, on time departure. Somewhere along the way, a passenger passed out and was placed on oxygen while the crew scrambled for an emergency landing in Denver. Upon landing, all passengers were deplaned and were informed that the flight couldn't legally continue because the portable oxygen bottles were depleted. The airline didn't have replacement bottles in Denver, so the flight was cancelled while the passengers watched as the airplane pushed back as a ferry flight (operating empty to a maintenance base where new oxygen bottles were available) leaving them stranded with no backup flights to get to their destination.

 

Rare? Yes. But the point is that things do happen, even on the most perfect day.

 

 

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My wife and I thought it might be nice to escape cold weather this coming January and take a Caribbean cruise. We'd be flying out of Denver. But after looking exhaustively (and exhaustedly!) at flights to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa, what we discovered is that...we can't get there in time! All the flights we have access to appear to land in both cities too late to get to a 4:00 PM cruise departure! We were absolutely baffled! We took a Caribbean Cruise many years ago, flying out of Minnesota, and didn't recall having any problems at all getting there on time, but we only lost one hour on that trip, we lose two on this one which contributes to the challenge. How does one get to the port cities in Florida from the Mountain Time Zone in time for cruising? Is it necessary to go a day early and stay over in an expensive hotel? Or do the airlines add more flights as winter approaches so that we will have more possibilities? Anyone with some insight? Thanks!

Minnesota Rookie (now Colorado almost-rookie)

 

Since even an acceptable same-day flight can be delayed or even cancelled for a variety of reasons, we ALWAYS fly in a day early and stay at a reasonably priced hotel, oftentimes one with a shuttle to port.

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We started flying out one day early but a lost luggage experience prompted us to change. Now we aways go 2 days early, and 3 cruises ago it saved us a lot of inconvenience. Flying into San Juan PR, my wife's suitcase didn't arrive with the plane. We got it the next evening at 8 PM, and if we'd been sailing out that day, it would have been a very uncomfortable cruise. It wouldn't have been a total disaster, because some of her stuff was in carry-on and some in my bag, but it would definitely have been challenging. A neighbour had a similar experience, but it didn't work out so well. They flew to Europe a day early for a Mediterranean cruise. Weather caused their first leg to be delayed, and while they made the connection, their bags did not. In their case her and her husbands bags were misplaced, so all they had was what they packed in carry-on. They eventually got them a week after they got home.

 

If you are the kind of cruiser who just packs carry-on, you might be OK. Even then however, you should probably look at your flight options carefully. A friend of the family booked a discount flight that would arrive the day before they ship departed. When they checked prior to leaving for the airport, they found it was cancelled. They were automatically rebooked onto a flight that arrived after the ship departed. When they tried to change it, they found that this airline only had one flight a day to their destination. It cost them a ton of money and stress to change carriers to get to the port on-time. Now they are firm believers in the "two days early" policy.

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We're from Omaha and normally can't fly in on the day of the cruise either; flights tend to arrive in the evening or once in a while at like 2pm. We would never try flying in winter from Nebraska the day of the cruise, even if the timing did work out. Too much can go wrong. Go in a day early, at least.

 

A red-eye might be an option, but with winter weather and how tired you will be the first day, I'd only do it if nothing else was feasible.

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Holy COW!!!! Flying to Florida from Minnesota in the dead of winter the day of the cruise?????? NOOOOOOOOOOO. Fly in the day before, like most of us do in GOOD weather. :cool:

 

 

2 weeks ago on our ship, someone from our roll call was flying into Ft. Lauderdale from Raleigh. Perfect weather both places. Their plane had mechanical issues and was delayed. They were adamant about flying in the day of because their flight was to land at 8 or 9am so they had "plenty of time" to get to the ship before it sailed away.

 

They missed the ship.

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Today we are hearing about an additional risk in planning to fly on day of cruise: extreme heat, which particularly impacts smaller, regional flights, reduces engine power. - while the thinner air makes take-offs difficult - result in flight cancellations - which, of course, impacts other flights down the line.

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Today we are hearing about an additional risk in planning to fly on day of cruise: extreme heat, which particularly impacts smaller, regional flights, reduces engine power. - while the thinner air makes take-offs difficult - result in flight cancellations - which, of course, impacts other flights down the line.

 

"The extreme heat forecast for Phoenix on Tuesday now has caused the cancellation of nearly 50 American Airlines regional airline flights out of Sky Harbor International Airport.

According to a statement from American Airlines, the American Eagle regional flights use the Bombardier CRJ aircraft, which has a maximum operating temperature of 118 degrees. Tuesday's forecast for Phoenix includes a high of 120 degrees, and the flights that are affected were to take off between 3 and 6 p.m.

DON

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My wife and I thought it might be nice to escape cold weather this coming January and take a Caribbean cruise. We'd be flying out of Denver. But after looking exhaustively (and exhaustedly!) at flights to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa, what we discovered is that...we can't get there in time! All the flights we have access to appear to land in both cities too late to get to a 4:00 PM cruise departure! We were absolutely baffled! We took a Caribbean Cruise many years ago, flying out of Minnesota, and didn't recall having any problems at all getting there on time, but we only lost one hour on that trip, we lose two on this one which contributes to the challenge. How does one get to the port cities in Florida from the Mountain Time Zone in time for cruising? Is it necessary to go a day early and stay over in an expensive hotel? Or do the airlines add more flights as winter approaches so that we will have more possibilities? Anyone with some insight? Thanks!

Minnesota Rookie (now Colorado almost-rookie)

Also being from MN, we always fly out atleast one day ahead and find a reasonable priced nice hotel to spend an extra vaca nite at

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Agree with the posts about flying in to a port city one or two days before a cruise.

Anything can happen while traveling ,best not to press your luck.

We have a cruise planned that embarks from San Juan in April. We live in Long Island, New York.

We will need to take a very early morning flight,arriving in San Juan in the early afternoon.

Since the closest airport is over an hour away,we will stay the night before the flight in a hotel near the airport so that we don't have to be up at 2 AM for the drive to the airport.

We also plan to fly to San Juan two days before the cruise.

We will have a full day of relaxation at a nice resort after a long day of travel.

We are factoring in the cost of these hotel stays into the cost of our vacation.

After many years of traveling together,we find that comfort and low stress level are key to enjoying a vacation.

I may say,respectfully, to the OP,if you can afford a cruise vacation, then you can afford a hotel stay before and possibly after the cruise .

Also, I see that some posters have mentioned Spirit airlines.

Let me just say that when we were much younger and on a tighter travel budget,we chose Spirit airlines from LI to Orlando.

This was our first and last flight with Spirit -enough said !

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Coming from North Dakota, we are in the same boat. Always budget flying in the day before. Regardless of flight times.

 

I wouldn't even limit that to winter, considering the summer storms.

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If us Brits can get all the way from rainy UK to Tampa I am sure anyone can.

 

We flew in 2 days before.

 

As your closing line indicates, you Brits are apparently intelligent enough to not try to schedule an airport arrival just a couple of hours before sailaway. Does this amount to being a comment upon the effectiveness of our different education systems?

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As your closing line indicates, you Brits are apparently intelligent enough to not try to schedule an airport arrival just a couple of hours before sailaway. Does this amount to being a comment upon the effectiveness of our different education systems?

 

I think its more a comment on us Brits being used to lots of public transport options that are often late.

 

For this reason we are cautious in all sorts of transport. For example, my upcoming cruise departs Southampton in the UK which is a direct 2 hour train ride away from us and those trains are every 40 minutes. Guess what? We are taking a train the day before and having an evening in Southampton.

 

NB: I am also a teacher :)

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Even living in Florida, I still book flights that arrive the day prior and that are non-stop. I work federal search and rescue, and listen to the FAA's Domestic Events Network all day, every day, at work. The amount of flights delayed/diverted/cancelled due to drunken passengers/medical emergencies/bomb threats/on-board accidents/idiot passengers would stun most people. It's kind of amazing to me that people still fly in the day of their cruise. :eek:

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We generally go in winter and fly to Fl from Halifax, NS. Very rarely can we get a direct flight. Always 2 days before and as others have said, we make it part of the vacation.

I would be a nervous wreck flying in the day of, not how I want to spend the beginning of my holiday.

Happy travels and good luck in whatever you decide!

 

 

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