Cruise day flights

[travelmatron]

I've always felt a little silly flying from Portland to a West Coast port a day early. I don't feel so silly after reading today's paper:

"One hundred forty Alaska and Horizon airline flights were canceled and hundreds more delayed Saturday after a central computer transformer blew up, disrupting tavel plans nationwide of more than 11,000 passengers."

Even though there are a lot of flights to California I'm not at all sure that all of those passengers were able to re-book on another airline at the last minute...what a frustrating way to start a vacation! Who knows when there will be a storm, a mechanical problem, or a computer glitch?

[IRL_Joanie]

I've always felt a little silly flying from Portland to a West Coast port a day early. I don't feel so silly after reading today's paper:

 

"One hundred forty Alaska and Horizon airline flights were canceled and hundreds more delayed Saturday after a central computer transformer blew up, disrupting tavel plans nationwide of more than 11,000 passengers."

 

Even though there are a lot of flights to California I'm not at all sure that all of those passengers were able to re-book on another airline at the last minute...what a frustrating way to start a vacation! Who knows when there will be a storm, a mechanical problem, or a computer glitch?

 

Exactly!!! One of the many reasons for NOT flying in the same day:( Sad, but so many people think they can make it....

 

Joanie

[Krazy Kruizers]

i heard about them on the tv -- sad

 

where we live there are very, very flights to anywhere -- so if one airline had to cancel flights the other lines at our airport could not accommondate us

 

we fly 2 - 3 days early -- and even that may not always work out

[rafinmd]

Absolutely. I won't even go to New York the day of the cruise, even though I can get there in less than 4 hours by bus, train, or air--unless something goes wrong.

 

Roy

[photomikey]

Right, but the newspaper doesn't publish a story other days saying "5,000 Alaska Airlines flights arrive on-time, tens-of-thousands of passengers reach their destination without incident" -- even though that's what happens.

 

I agree people should be informed of the remote possibility of a flight delay, and I certainly wouldn't book a 3pm arrival for a 4:30pm all-aboard, but flying in a day or more early 100% of the time seems like a pound of prevention, not an ounce. :-)

[ricki]

We definitely believe in flying in at least one day, and sometimes two or three days ahead of our cruise. It reduces the anxiety about a canceled flight or weather problems and allows us to enjoy the port city and relax before our cruise. Also, by arriving early, it allows your luggage to catch up with you if it goes astray.

 

We've heard many horror stories about people missing the ship, having to pay out of pocket to get to the next port and whose luggage never caught up with the ship. After 26 cruises, I definitely would avoid traveling on the day of your cruise!

 

Ricki

[travelmatron]

Right, but the newspaper doesn't publish a story other days saying "5,000 Alaska Airlines flights arrive on-time, tens-of-thousands of passengers reach their destination without incident" -- even though that's what happens.

 

I agree people should be informed of the remote possibility of a flight delay, and I certainly wouldn't book a 3pm arrival for a 4:30pm all-aboard, but flying in a day or more early 100% of the time seems like a pound of prevention, not an ounce. :-)

 

Of course you are correct, the majority of people who fly the day of a cruise will make it to the terminal on time. For us the cost of a hotel room and a meal is less than $200 (YMMV). That is less than our cabin rate for a day (or two if the first day is a sea day), and considerably more pleasant than missing those potential cruise days. Maybe if we cruised more often or took longer cruises I'd be more willing to risk it.

[sapper1]

Right, but the newspaper doesn't publish a story other days saying "5,000 Alaska Airlines flights arrive on-time, tens-of-thousands of passengers reach their destination without incident" -- even though that's what happens.

 

I agree people should be informed of the remote possibility of a flight delay, and I certainly wouldn't book a 3pm arrival for a 4:30pm all-aboard, but flying in a day or more early 100% of the time seems like a pound of prevention, not an ounce. :-)

I guess we're using a ton of prevention because we are flying in three days early this week. We have snow delays all winter and fog delays all summer. We fly out of a small airport that is only served by the small jets and there are only a few of them each day. They are usually full so it is not simply a matter of catching the next flight out.

 

Everything from here has to connect through Montreal or Toronto so we have to take the snow situation there into consideration as well. Not to mention Air Canada has a nasty habit of changing your perfectly timed flights without warning. Our flight was originally booked to arrive in Fort Lauderdale mid afternoon---Now we are arriving 5 hours later than booked.

[sevenseasnomad]

Absolutely agree that flying in a day early makes perfect sense. Who knows when a plane might have a mechanical problem or a glitch in the system could back up hundreds of flights, not to mention a weather delay, all on embarkation day.

 

To us, it's not worth the hassel or worry. We always go in a day early, no matter how we plan to arrive in the port city.

[Kay240]

We definitely believe in flying in at least one day, and sometimes two or three days ahead of our cruise. It reduces the anxiety about a canceled flight or weather problems and allows us to enjoy the port city and relax before our cruise. Also, by arriving early, it allows your luggage to catch up with you if it goes astray.

 

 

Ricki

 

Whether you are 18 or 80, stress is no way to start a trip; why make it worse than necessary? You can't avoid stress before a trip (Did I unplug the iron? Do I have all my pills? Will I get to the airport on time? Will there be a problem with the security line?...), but you also don't want to worry about missing your cruise! :eek: I'm not going to relay all of our "horror stories" about stuff left home or things we forgot to do (my lists have lists, but it still happens). We used to fly in the day of embarkation and it took 3 days out of a 7 day cruise for DH to relax. This all changed about ten years ago, when DH wanted to return home because we didn't have HIS passport for a Caribbean cruise. The cruise line didn't care, but after that experience, we always come in a day early, except when we leave from Tampa, which is only 45 minutes away.

[Tripper10]

Exactly!!! One of the many reasons for NOT flying in the same day:( Sad, but so many people think they can make it....

 

Joanie

 

So many people do make it. Car accidents happen also, but amazingly people drive. Sometimes its more cost effective to go same day.

[jhannah]

When we lived in Las Vegas, we'd fly to San Diego or Los Angeles on the day of sailing. Flights go to both almost every hour, so there's some wiggle room.

 

Other than that, we go ahead of time for peace of mind.

[matondo]

We always fly out a day early. Not only for peace of mind but to start the relaxation process a day early. Flying for me used to be enjoyable now it is annoying and sometimes stressful. I get a day to recover from the flight so I can really enjoy my cruise.

[CowPrincess]

Right, but the newspaper doesn't publish a story other days saying "5,000 Alaska Airlines flights arrive on-time, tens-of-thousands of passengers reach their destination without incident" -- even though that's what happens.

 

I agree people should be informed of the remote possibility of a flight delay, and I certainly wouldn't book a 3pm arrival for a 4:30pm all-aboard, but flying in a day or more early 100% of the time seems like a pound of prevention, not an ounce. :-)

 

You should live somewhere where the weather is a major concern, where road conditions can change in a heartbeat, where there is ONE flight available per day. Then it would not seem like a "pound of prevention".

 

So many people do make it. Car accidents happen also, but amazingly people drive. Sometimes its more cost effective to go same day.

 

Can you explain that for me please? The "cost effective" part. I'd be interested in the analysis that got you to that conclusion.

[AZNative2000]

Even though there are a lot of flights to California I'm not at all sure that all of those passengers were able to re-book on another airline at the last minute...what a frustrating way to start a vacation! Who knows when there will be a storm, a mechanical problem, or a computer glitch?

Even though we live about an hour flying time from San Diego we will go a day early for our upcoming cruise. Shopping time, kick-back time, and time to replace whatever we forgot. What's so bad about an extra night ... in San Diego?

 

Why stress?

[liketraveling]

We usually drive! Once due to traffic we made it to ship with only a half hour to spare. So now we get a Cruise and Snooze Package with Parking.

 

Even with flying I would go in a day before.

[photomikey]

You should live somewhere where the weather is a major concern, where road conditions can change in a heartbeat, where there is ONE flight available per day. Then it would not seem like a "pound of prevention".

 

You should live somewhere with 20 flights a day to many destinations. Then it might seem like a "pound of prevention".

 

Personally, I don't care if you come in the same day or a day early or a week early or you move to San Diego to be nearby 24x7x365. I just tire of everyone on this board talking about being at port days ahead of time being a necessity.

[luv2travel06]

Right, but the newspaper doesn't publish a story other days saying "5,000 Alaska Airlines flights arrive on-time, tens-of-thousands of passengers reach their destination without incident" -- even though that's what happens.

 

I agree people should be informed of the remote possibility of a flight delay, and I certainly wouldn't book a 3pm arrival for a 4:30pm all-aboard, but flying in a day or more early 100% of the time seems like a pound of prevention, not an ounce. :-)

Due to mechanical problems, we almost missed our connection in Cleveland for our flight to Fort Lauderdale. They held the plane for us and 2 other families. As soon as we got on, they closed the door and were ready to back away from the gate. And our luggage made the plane! (On a flight a few years ago, we weren't so lucky.) We weren't stressing too much because even if there were no more flights tonight, we still had a chance in the morning. We join those who suggest arriving the day before your cruise sails.

[mastergator]

I have learned my lesson. We were booked on our First HAL cruise in January on the Zuiderdam to the Canal (which by the way was wonderful) and I booked a flight from Augusta, Ga to Fll leaving a 6AM the day of the cruise . The Z didn't leave until 5 so I didn't worry about any issues there. And the flight connected in Atlanta, not one of those snowy northern cities. Lots of folks drive from here but it is 10-12 hrs to Fll from here and I got tickies for uner $200 so I wanted to fly.

 

All was cool.....until Atl got 6 inches os snow on the Sunday before our Wednesday departure.....but that's still 3 days away. Surely things will be OK by then, right? Well, I was born and raised in Ohio so I do know some things about winter and I do know that most of the South just relies on God to warm things back up and melt the snow (snow plow? what's that). Monday brought a high of 34 and Tuesday was much the same. Everything at Augusta was cancelled on Monday (we had 2 inches of snow and an inch of ice)..no surprise....but I'm not leaving until Wednesday. Well Tuesday the temp got all the way to 36 and while the roads were pretty good by then, ATL was still messed up and therefore Augusta, too. Everything was cancelled out of AGS except one lonely flight still showing at 7 PM on tuesday night to ATL and there was the first flight out of ATL going to Fll at 10 PM. So I made a ressie on those babies with not much but a prayer that they would really go.

 

The other thing I learned is that the airlines will only show cancellations for the day ahead and the current day, which makes some sense since they don't know how the weather is going to change either. Anyway, the flight I had wednesday morning was still showing on time. Well that was little comfort to me since things looked so bad on Tuesday. But, I travel out of this small airport enough to know that that 6 AM flight is actually the last plane in the night before...and guess what, I could see that rascal was cancelled on Tues night, which meant there was 100% chance my flight Wed morning to catch the Z was going to be cancelled...hard to fly if there is no airplane.

 

But I was determined to be on the Z Wednesday at 5. I still had resvs on the 7 PM flight Tuesday but who knows? That was now plan B since I knew plan A was dead. I also booked a rental car for Tuesday and Wednesday since I could drive as Plan C.

 

So after about 36 hours of watching the weather channel and the flights into and out of ATL, I had plans and back up plans. I made a resv at the Holiday Inn express in Fll due to good recommendations at CC and we went to the Augusta airport. Runways were clear but that isn't the issue.....it's what is the deal in ATL since all Delta flights come out of and go to ATL. Well the flight was still listed and it actually went at 9PM due to waiting for a stewardess....weather isn't the only issue....once the runways get clear you then got to get people and planes in the right places.

 

Well, we missed the Fll flight but there was one more set to leave at 12:39 AM and we got on that rascal. Made it to Fll at 3 AM and asked the HI night manager for a discount since we wouldn't use the bed but a few hours. He laughed but no discount. Got nothing for dinner in Ags OR atl so had the cabbie drive through mickey D's at 3AM for a big mac....promised DW I would take her out to a nice dinner Wednesday night (on the Z of course). She laughed.

 

So, we made it! Ugly but we made it. I have no idea how it would have worked out if we had tried things on Wednesday but I know we would have not gone at 6 and I'm sure the flights to FLL would have been full. It would have been stressful at best and I would have probably had to drive down at just uner light speed to make the departure.

 

As it was, it was just an adventure Tuesday and we got up Wednesday, had a leisurely Breakfast, went to Total Wine (thanks again CC) and had a nice embarkation and stories to tell of how we made it.

 

But I learned my lesson....we are booked on the O for a hawaii cruise 3/31/12 and we will fly to San Deigo 1-2 days early and take a lot of potential stress out of the equation.

 

As we had dinner that night in the MDR of the Z we watched plane after plane make the approach to FLL. The Z left the dock about 7 instead of 5 and I'm sure they were waiting for folks. Only going to HMC the next day so no hurry.

 

I do get a little smarter as I get older (and the extra cost of the hotel looks like a good insurance policy). It would be hard to catch up with the O if I missed her (with 4 days at sea on the way to Hawaii!!)

 

We only get snow here every 5-6 years so what are the odds...............

 

The wiser mastergator

[Boytjie]

You should live somewhere with 20 flights a day to many destinations. Then it might seem like a "pound of prevention".

 

Personally, I don't care if you come in the same day or a day early or a week early or you move to San Diego to be nearby 24x7x365. I just tire of everyone on this board talking about being at port days ahead of time being a necessity.

 

So just skip any threads that discuss this topic. :D

[cruz chic]

So just skip any threads that discuss this topic. :D

Yeah no kidding. But then who would put us in our place:D?

[Mollynme]

Whether you are 18 or 80, stress is no way to start a trip; ... We used to fly in the day of embarkation and it took 3 days out of a 7 day cruise for DH to relax. .

I'm with you. Been there, done that.

When I first started cruising, I just went along with the rest of the family and flew in the day before. On the first 2 cruises we had flight delays and last minute rapid transit to the terminal. It does cut down on check-in time, though, when everyone else is already on board. :rolleyes:

Every other cruise since, I have come in the day before.

However, if you are traveling with frugal family members who do not want to pop for the extra cost of an hotel room, you can still have the stress. On my NE/Canada cruise, I spent a restful night in NYC then took the hotel shuttle to the airport to join my family for the HAL transfer to the terminal. After one flight delay, a missed transfer and a last minute re-booking, they arrived with about an hour until last call. Luckily, the HAL reps had a van waiting for us and we had one harrowing sprint through the city and another rapid check-in in an empty terminal. My parents still talk about "that crazy driver". Sigh.

So now, if any loved ones want to cruise with me, they get a free hotel room the night before, at my expense. My peace of mind is worth it. :D

[slurpster03]

Been on 4 cruises (defunct Hawaiian-American, HAL, Disney, Royal Carribbean), flew into the day of on three (the Disney was at the backend of the park trip) and had no problems, no stress and will be doing it again on the next cruise.

 

Cost effective? Uhm, how is it not? I'm not paying for a hotel room and my red-eye flight is cheaper than one during the day.

[IRL_Joanie]

Been on 4 cruises (defunct Hawaiian-American, HAL, Disney, Royal Carribbean), flew into the day of on three (the Disney was at the backend of the park trip) and had no problems, no stress and will be doing it again on the next cruise.

 

Cost effective? Uhm, how is it not? I'm not paying for a hotel room and my red-eye flight is cheaper than one during the day.

 

And if your flight is delayed, you miss the flight and/or canceled?? What is the cost then?? Tremendous waste of money to pay for a cruise and not be able to go on it because you did not plan for contingencies...

 

I'd rather pay for a hotel the night before (Average $150.00) that the cost of a cruise (Average 7 day $1200.00 per person) and Air (Average $300-600.00 perperson) These are our average costs, I realize others may have lower and some higher, I just averaged the $$ amounts out.

 

You tell me, what is worse, spending $150 for a hotel or the loss of $1500.00-$1800.00 per person??)

 

Smart is as smart does and in my book smart is going in a day early!!

 

Joanie

[Taxguy77]

A few years ago: Planes flew with 85-90% of seats full. Meals on long flights. Few delays at check-in. Ship boarding until half hour before sailing. :)

Now: Planes fly with 98% much of the time, miss a flight and the next 2 may already have long standby lists. Allow time for physical abuse in the name of "security". Be on board aircraft 20 minutes before scheduled flight. Nothing to eat. Must be at ship 90 minutes before sailing, "security" again. :(

We have used cruise-air several times and always made the cruise (not coming from snow country), but won't try it now. Fortunately I have the time to spend an extra day or two on a trip.