Cruise day flights

[slurpster03]

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

 

When you don't have the days to do so then you can't. Just saying, I've done it before because I've had to and I've had no problems. It's not doom and gloom but go ahead and rip into me.

[TheCalicoCat]

I cruise for the relaxation. For me that includes arriving a day or 2 before. 2 days because we will fly to Seattle & take the train the next morning to Vacouver. I've never been to Seattle, so we can see/do somthing once we arrive & I have never take the train from Seattle to Vacouver, so that will be novel as well.

 

& I like to get on the ship as soon as possible...

 

(I am an early person, what can I say.)

[RevNeal]

In my opinion it is simply prudent to arrange to fly to the port of embarkation a day ahead of the cruise. I have managed to do so on multiple occasions, and have enjoyed the relaxed nature of the travel experience every time.

 

However, circumstances don't always allow for that degree of prudence. As a result, I have flown to both coasts on the day of embarkation for several cruises and haven't encountered any trouble. Similarly, while I prefer to fly to Europe at least a few days prior to embarkation for a European cruise, I have also managed to fly over and arrive on the day of embarkation and have had no problems. I know I'm gambling every time I do this, and one day it may decide to bite me in the behind, but thus far I've been fortunate to make my ship every time.

[edmusic]

The local news stations last night (here in Los Angeles) were interviewing a family who missed their cruise embarkation due to the Alaska Airlines fiasco. They were at LAX (after the ship left, of course) trying to book a flight to Cabo San Lucas to catch up with the ship three days into their cruise. Bummer!

[bepsf]

They were at LAX (after the ship left, of course) trying to book a flight to Cabo San Lucas to catch up with the ship three days into their cruise. Bummer!

 

After missing that much of the cruise, I think I'd ask myself "Why bother?" and start looking to head home.

[cruz chic]

I rolled the dice many times and never had a problem. Then I started flying in the day before. The first time I did that I got delayed in Denver. I didn't think I was going to make it but I did. I thought about how many times I'd rolled the dice and was lucky. I have to take another precious vacation day it's worth it.

[RedmondCruiser]

Same day flights ---- DON'T -- All you have to do is miss a sailing, or come close to missing the ship and you will never do it again. We did'nt take the CC advice and took red eyes from Seattle to Florida to save money. Then we missed a connecting flight and almost missed the ship. We arrived at 4pm in Tampa. The panic was not worth the savings. We now go down one or two days prior and have a chance to relax.

[travelmatron]

Same day flights ---- DON'T -- All you have to do is miss a sailing, or come close to missing the ship and you will never do it again. We did'nt take the CC advice and took red eyes from Seattle to Florida to save money. Then we missed a connecting flight and almost missed the ship. We arrived at 4pm in Tampa. The panic was not worth the savings. We now go down one or two days prior and have a chance to relax.

 

That reminds me of one of our first cruises while living in Portland. It was a Princess Southern Caribbean cruise departing from San Juan. We took the cruise line's air. Our scheduled 5pm departure from Portland didn't leave until after 7:30...fortunately we had a scheduled 4 hour layover in Los Angeles so the late flight didn't cause a problem. Then we flew to Atlanta with another layover, and finally arrived in San Juan around 10 or 11am. We got to the ship just after noon and fell asleep about 5:30pm missing both the sail away and diner....ah, but we saved the cost of a hotel room

[Spinner2]

The Oosterdam (a charter this week) left San Diego quite late last Saturday. Wonder if part of the reason was delayed flights carrying their passengers? Don't know what the itinerary was but perhaps, since it was a charter, they chose to wait for the latecomers? Of course there are still port charges, etc. for overtime so maybe that wasn't it at all, but we did wonder.

[igraf]

Working people cannot afford to take two to three additional days of vacation to go on a typical 7 day cruise. Furthermore, one has to consider the 100% probability of paying for those hotel days against the very low probability of incurring the cost of flying to the next port. Not a very good insurance tradeoff for a short cruise.

 

We typically fly to Seattle from southern California on the same day as the cruise as there are lots of cheap flights and the weather is fair (no snow on either end). As a precaution we travel early in the day and hand carry the essentials plus a change of clothes.

 

Other situations, such as a Grand Voyage or winter weather, would warrant more caution.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

[cruz chic]

Working people cannot afford to take two to three additional days of vacation to go on a typical 7 day cruise. Furthermore, one has to consider the 100% probability of paying for those hotel days against the very low probability of incurring the cost of flying to the next port. Not a very good insurance tradeoff for a short cruise.

 

We typically fly to Seattle from southern California on the same day as the cruise as there are lots of cheap flights and the weather is fair (no snow on either end). As a precaution we travel early in the day and hand carry the essentials plus a change of clothes.

 

Other situations, such as a Grand Voyage or winter weather, would warrant more caution.

 

igraf

I'm still in the work force and I do it. It's not worth it to miss the ship.

[kazu]

Working people cannot afford to take two to three additional days of vacation to go on a typical 7 day cruise. Furthermore, one has to consider the 100% probability of paying for those hotel days against the very low probability of incurring the cost of flying to the next port. Not a very good insurance tradeoff for a short cruise.

 

We typically fly to Seattle from southern California on the same day as the cruise as there are lots of cheap flights and the weather is fair (no snow on either end). As a precaution we travel early in the day and hand carry the essentials plus a change of clothes.

 

Other situations, such as a Grand Voyage or winter weather, would warrant more caution.

 

igraf

 

Dh is still working and we do it. He needs a vacation - so if we are going to pay to fly anyways, why not get on the ship relaxed. Our next cruise leaves from Rome - those are long flights. if we go early, we have no risk of missing the ship and Dh can unwind and explore Rome some more (which he wants to do). We schedule his vacation at the beginning of the year so that the cruises are included :)

 

Two years ago, I saw some of the people who arrived on the day of embarkation when we were leaving Venice - they were all exhausted from their flights - how does that make the first couple of days enjoyable on the ship?

 

Each to their own. We prefer to avoid any risk and relax at the same time :)

[catl331]

Car accidents happen also, but amazingly people drive.

If we're leaving from FLL (3 hrs away) or Tampa (2 hrs away) we drive the same day, but plan to arrive at 10:00a. That gives us at least 5.5 hrs leeway. If we have an accident serious enough to make us more than 5.5 late we probably wouldn't be interested in going on the cruise anyway. :)

[edmusic]

Working people cannot afford to take two to three additional days of vacation to go on a typical 7 day cruise. Furthermore, one has to consider the 100% probability of paying for those hotel days against the very low probability of incurring the cost of flying to the next port. Not a very good insurance tradeoff for a short cruise.

I agree. Each person (or traveling party) needs to decide for themselves whether it is worth the risk. As a small business owner, it is very tough to get away extra days, and it is more expensive when you consider hotels, food, etc.

 

Last year we flew from LA to Seattle the morning of the cruise and had no problems, but I can see how any delay would cause havoc. Earlier this month, we took the red eye to Ft Lauderdale and arrived at 5am the morning of the cruise. We had to kill 6 hours in the airport terminal (which was not very fun at all) but the anticipation of being on the Nieuw Amsterdam for a whole week tempered our tiredness and boredom. Both of these flights were non-stop to destination, so I felt secure in taking them the day before. Had there been connecting flights, I would have gone in the day before. Also, I'm in the habit of checking the flight status of the same flight number for three or four days before to see if it leaves and arrives on time. that can be a big help, although anything can happen at any time.

[Softtop67]

We are doing the VCE to VCE in Oct and we are in VCE for the first night so I was not that concerned with coming in late as the boat doesnt leave VCE until 5pm the following day. Would we have trouble getting aboard any time before the ship departs?

[catl331]

... doesnt leave VCE until 5pm the following day. Would we have trouble getting aboard any time before the ship departs?

We flew to Venice on embarkation day after being assured that we could board anytime up to an hour before sailing on the next day, if necessary. We landed about 1:30p and got to the ship around 4:00p by using the ATVO Express bus (3 € pp), then the People Mover (1 € pp) from Piazzale Roma to the Marittima Terminal Stazione.

[Boytjie]

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.

 

I'd rather not take a red-eye just to save money. For me it is about vacation and being comfortable. Too each his own . :)

[TheCalicoCat]

I'm still in the work force and I do it. It's not worth it to miss the ship.

 

Also at this point in time, I am still sailing from "new" to me cities, so I treat that time as part of my vacation... (I also do not cruise multiple times a year, nor do we take land based vacations...)

[igraf]

Flying from California to Seattle is one thing, flying from the US to Rome or Venice is another. Yes, those ports would indeed merit a hotel stay for several reasons.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Dh is still working and we do it. He needs a vacation - so if we are going to pay to fly anyways, why not get on the ship relaxed. Our next cruise leaves from Rome - those are long flights. if we go early, we have no risk of missing the ship and Dh can unwind and explore Rome some more (which he wants to do). We schedule his vacation at the beginning of the year so that the cruises are included :)

 

Two years ago, I saw some of the people who arrived on the day of embarkation when we were leaving Venice - they were all exhausted from their flights - how does that make the first couple of days enjoyable on the ship?

 

Each to their own. We prefer to avoid any risk and relax at the same time :)

[scopewest]

Way back in '97 we flew from Phoenix (7 a.m.) to San Juan (5 p.m.) and I remember asking my TA if we'd make it to dinner on time (no 24 hour food back then). We actually arrived in the dining room 15 minutes after the early dining start time. I can't believe we were so naive that we thought the only problem might be getting to the dining room late!

 

Yes, there are a lot of flights from Phx to LA and SD on a daily basis, so a few years ago we booked a 9 a.m. flight for the same day. One hour flight, ship leaves at 4 p.m. (or whenever it was), no problem, right? Except for the first time in ages the airport was fogged in, nothing arriving, nothing leaving. We finally got on a flight at 11 a.m. Now we travel the day before and enjoy the day at the port city before we board.