Ever missed the Ship because of flight???

[swissmiss]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

[Rancher Dave]

Day before is always the best idea. Never know when weather in the USA can affect flights outside the area of bad weather as well...which can mess up your flights even if weather is good at your airport.

 

You will likely be more relaxed if you are at the departure city ahead of time...flying in on the same day proves stressful for many. We have always flown in ahead or driven in a day ahead other than Galveston which is 60 minutes door to door.

[CMDE]

In July, we came very close to missing the ship due to flight problems. We waited for over an hour on the tarmac in Toronto, and then had to get off and back on a new plane. We originally had over 5 hours to get from the airport in Newark to the plane, and ended up checking in just 20 minutes before the deadline.

 

Very harrowing, especially as we were taking my mother and sister on their first cruise, and I felt responsible. I swore never again - and plan always to go the day before in future.

 

We are going on Freedom of the Seas in October, but this time we are driving down the week before, so no worries!

[Merion_Mom]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

 

You are right.

 

Your husband is wrong.

 

Surprise! ;)

[anibee]

We were flying Montreal-Paris, Paris-Venice to go on the Splendour of the Seas Aug 2009, flight in Montreal was delayed, causing a chain reaction that made us miss the flight to Venice and thus miss the ship.

We were stuck in Paris for 2 nights and flew to Athens to catch the ship in Pireaus. It was quite an adventure, but we learnt our lesson! :(

 

Still had an amazing time though, and we're going on the Navigator of the Seas Jan 10th. flying in 4 days ahead not to miss the ship...

 

Just kidding, we are doing the DisneyWorld half-marathon and full marathon that weekend. :)

 

All that to say, I wouldn't chance it, but sometimes you have no choice to fly in the same day. Good luck!

[baggal]

If you were flying from an airport that had a steady stream of flights to your destination (say Newark or LaGuardia to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami) I would say go ahead and chance it if your husband insists. But how many flights are there from Buffalo to Baltimore?

[CVU]

We never fly in the day of a cruise............too many things can go wrong.:eek:

[seeship]

I assume you are doing the "Goofy" Marathon weekend. I did it in 209. It was an awesome weekend. Good luck on your run.

[Ashland]

Most will say never fly in on the day of a cruise...Sorry I'm not one of those..We have flown from the west coast either a nonstop or connecting flights to wherever we're going on day of cruise many times....Have also just returned from doing an overnight flight from LAX-LHR for a Baltic cruise out of Harwich..again no problems..we were actually on the same RCI transfer bus with people that had flown in a day earlier and stayed at a Heathrow hotel..so it can be done..and many do it all the time..it's just how comfortable you are with the choice...and yes..I always have very good trip insurance..just in case, luckily in all the years we've been cruising have never had to use it...JMHO and personal experience..not speaking for others..so please don't flame !!!!!

[Merion_Mom]

Most will say never fly in on the day of a cruise...Sorry I'm not one of those..We have flown from the west coast either a nonstop or connecting flights to wherever we're going on day of cruise many times....Have also just returned from doing an overnight flight from LAX-LHR for a Baltic cruise out of Harwich..again no problems..we were actually on the same RCI transfer bus with people that had flown in a day earlier and stayed at a Heathrow hotel..so it can be done..and many do it all the time..it's just how comfortable you are with the choice...and yes..I always have very good trip insurance..just in case, luckily in all the years we've been cruising have never had to use it...JMHO and personal experience..not speaking for others..so please don't flame !!!!!

 

Well, of course it CAN be done.

 

But that doesn't mean that it will work every time.

 

Buffalo to Baltimore in March? <shudder>

[ricew001]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

 

on our first cruise we flew out of NC on Fri at 3 pm and were sailing out of Vancouver and were told to board the ship at 11 a.m. that Sat. The RDU flight was first delayed then canceled. Because I was OCD before OCD was cool :D, I had printed every possible flight alternative. Which came in handy when the airline folks said there was nothing available. So we caught a flight out of RDU that I had a print out of and then were stalled from 9:30 pm until 4 a.m. in Minneapolis! We made it finally...but because we were up for well over 24 hours, we fell asleep in our cabin and missed the bon voyage party. LOL!

 

Stuff happens, but just have some prepared options and just go with the flow. Will it matter a 100 years from now??

[anibee]

I assume you are doing the "Goofy" Marathon weekend. I did it in 209. It was an awesome weekend. Good luck on your run.

 

Thank you! We are also doing the 5K on Friday Jan 7th, so it's called a "Dopey" :)

Question: What happens after you finish the Marathon, you get your 2 medals (Mickey and Goofy) and you can leave? or are there activities?

[Darkwolfe]

We have to fly from KC to LAX in January with a stop in Denver.

 

Denver. January. No way on earth are we chancing that one to a same day flight. Out the day before and spend an evening in San Pedro.

 

Just seems to me that flying to the port city on the same day is just begging for a Murphy Visit.

[wrp96]

Doesn't even have to be bad weather or a mechanical that causes flight problems. On a cruise last year, I slept through my alarm and woke up as my flight was scheduled to be landing in Dallas.:eek: I managed to get to my destination only 8 hours later by buying a ticket on another airline to Dallas, taking a taxi from Love Field to DFW and then talking my airline into reinstating my ticket from DFW onward. If I had been flying in day of cruise, I would've arrived about 3 hours after the ship departed.

[NordicPrince]

Preferiing not to talk about any Goofy marathons.

 

Are you OP planning a direct flight from Buffalo to BWI airport?

The less transfers the less problems.

 

Are you planning to take the earliest flights you can?

The more time you allow the better.

 

I would estimate the direct flying time from Buffalo to BWI as 2 hours (could be wrong).

 

Might be good to have a back up plan - i.e fly into Philadelphia International, train from Philly to Baltimore or rent car etc.

 

It is very nice to spend a night in Baltimore. The Inner Harbor has lots of great restaurants.

 

Whatever happens don't go into a vacation starting with a disagreement -

it will only snowball from there (speaking from 31 years of marital experience).

[Kikkycat]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

 

The biggest issue here isn't actually the BUF-BWI leg, which in March can be bad enough. The bigger issue is this: in most cases (first flight of the day being the exception) your flight has to come from somewhere else. How's their weather? If it's Southwest airlines, which is one of the cheapest ways to get between BUF and BWI, consider that your flight might be coming from California or Las Vegas, where the weather might be fine... or it might be coming from Denver or Chicago, where the weather in March is every bit as dicey as Buffalo or Baltimore. The chance for delay or cancellation is huge.

 

It's a gamble... are you willing to risk the odds and pay the price if you're wrong? That's the question only you can answer.

[Merion_Mom]

Doesn't even have to be bad weather or a mechanical that causes flight problems. On a cruise last year, I slept through my alarm and woke up as my flight was scheduled to be landing in Dallas.:eek: I managed to get to my destination only 8 hours later by buying a ticket on another airline to Dallas, taking a taxi from Love Field to DFW and then talking my airline into reinstating my ticket from DFW onward. If I had been flying in day of cruise, I would've arrived about 3 hours after the ship departed.

 

:D :D :D :D

 

But these Wrona Moments DO make for some great stories, don't they? ;)

[joyride21]

Usually I'm one of the first to say that flying in the day before is unnecessary (even as someone who has missed a ship in part because of a delayed flight...long story) but the key word in your post is Buffalo - they tend to measure their snow in feet, not inches. Fly in the day before!

[donaldsc]

Why don't you leave a day early. Then when your husband misses the boat, you can enjoy yourself alone for a few days and meet him when he catches up w the boat.

 

Just don't gloat over his wrong choice too often.

 

DON

[AlanAllyn]

My wife graduated from SUNY Fredonia and she thinks your hubby is crazy.

[nicknboone]

The snow in Buffalo is worse earlier in the year, and the airport in Buffalo is very good in the winter. I would weigh the price difference and explore more options. Worst case scenario it is a 10 hour drive. Why not rent a car and do it in 2 days? The snow in pa is normally not bad.

[mw3527]

Been there done that.... about 4 years ago that happened to my girlfriend and I. Our flights got cancelled and we missed the cruise. We ended up missing 3 of the 7 days of our cruise and everything was a total nightmare. Im from Niagara falls and we Flew out of buffalo. I go on about 2 or more cruises a year and since that horrible vacation we always go a day early. Feel free to respond back.

[Rockfordcruiser]

You are right.

 

Your husband is wrong.

 

Surprise! ;)

Women are always right. Day before for sure. Price that some pay for trip insurance will get you hotel room night before. Also much more relaxed when boarding the ship. Just remember to make sure you don't leave any clothes hanging in the closet at hotel:mad:

[awhcruiser]

I would only consider this if the flight was nonstop...But even then there could be delays.

 

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and

I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

[Cecethekittencat]

Unless you have "choice air" which is really excessively over-priced ... don't risk it. Fly in a day or two before and be safe!

 

Last November we had "choice air" meaning they would have to get us to the next port, but we only made our sailing from Barcelona with 20 minutes to spare. I spent an entire night flying Chicago-Amsterdam-Barcelona in a panic that I would miss the sailing and our first day in port at Cannes, France.

 

We'll NEVER, NEVER do that again. Buy your own [discount] air and enjoy a day or two in the port city and get on the ship at your own desired time ... and in a relaxed state of mind!! :D