Flying. Same Day. OMG... The HORROR!!!!!!!!

[cruzegurl104]

You are SO gonna miss your cruise!

Lets see how funny and cute it was to start this thread when you're sitting in some airport halfway to your embarkation city looking out at a broken plane ... I hope you'll update us when you get back on how that all went!

Good luuuuuuck! You gonna need it, gurl! (from a former airline agent who saw lots and lots of people blow it and miss!)

 

Wow. Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.

 

Yep. That's the whooooolllllleeee reason I started this thread, bc I'm convinced that I'm going to miss my cruise. A direct flight at the butt crack of dawn from ATL to FLL spells disaster, for sure.:rolleyes:

[critterchick]

Yes, insurance IS A MUST!!!

 

That's a topic for another thread.:p:)

 

There was a great "live from" thread a few years ago about a woman who was on a delayed flight from Denver (I think) to one of the Florida ports. We were cheering her on with the airline's flight tracker. As I recall, she made it by her fingernails. That was a great diversion from work - wish I could find it!

[cruzegurl104]

That's a topic for another thread.:p:)

 

There was a great "live from" thread a few years ago about a woman who was on a delayed flight from Denver (I think) to one of the Florida ports. We were cheering her on with the airline's flight tracker. As I recall, she made it by her fingernails. That was a great diversion from work - wish I could find it!

 

Yeah, I'd love to read it!!

[dplusd]

We flew to port the same day on our very first cruise. We made it, but I was stressed all day over the possibility missing our ship as there are just too many things beyond our control. That was my first cruise and the last time I did not fly to port a day or two ahead.

 

Now we actually look forward to our extra day and night of vacation. We wake up on "cruise day" relaxed and excited to head to the port early to board the ship.

[Keith1010]

Don't fly in the day of the cruise. Too much risk of missing the ship.

 

Keith

[cruzegurl104]

Don't fly in the day of the cruise. Too much risk of missing the ship.

 

Keith

 

Hello again Keith:)

[Strangerush]

My husband and I always fly in the day of, as have my parents who are on their 9th cruise. It's just not an option for us to take the extra time off work. On our last cruise in February we were running through the airport to catch our flight...never missed one yet!!!! :)

[sonvoltken6]

We did a cruise out of San Juan. We flew in the same day and took a same day flight from Orlando. We were on time and in fact we were the first family on the ship!

[katydyd]

Of my 20+ cruises, I have ever only flown in day before for one cruise. My business situation doesn't allow me to take extra time off. I've done it in spring, winter, summer and fall from New England. Haven't missed a ship yet. I may some day, but being willing to roll the dice allows me to get away more often, so, I'll just keep doing it.

[cruzegurl104]

Of my 20+ cruises, I have ever only flown in day before for one cruise. My business situation doesn't allow me to take extra time off. I've done it in spring, winter, summer and fall from New England. Haven't missed a ship yet. I may some day, but being willing to roll the dice allows me to get away more often, so, I'll just keep doing it.

 

I like this:)

With mine and my husbands schedule, it's almost impossible to go the day before.

[rogers417]

Have done same day flights only three times...once landing in FLL and then driving (limo) to Miami. All three times everything went off without a hitch. However....was very stressed. If only going on a short 3-4 day cruise pack everything in your carry on. It will save a good 15-30 mins. Have fun!

[KeywestK]

Cool thread. OK, here's my story: 1st cruise, 1994, booked through a TA. Never once did she even mention that we could or should fly to MIA a day early. It certainly wasn't on my radar screen. We flew BWI to MIA, early in the morning, direct flight, went off without a hitch. We were on the ship by 12:30. Fast forward to our 2nd cruise, 1999, which was out of San Juan. Booked through the same TA. Again, she never even mentioned perhaps we should fly in a day early. However, by this time, it did occur to me, hummmm, that's a longer flight, and maybe we SHOULD fly in a day early. BUT, the budget really didn't allow for that. Fast forward several years and several cruises later, and, oh yeah, the annual travel budgets definitely got bigger, and we DID fly in a few days early to extend the vacation. And on one particular occasion, it's a darn good thing we did because while we made it to FLL without any problems, our luggage did not:eek: In fact, our bags never made it to our hotel until the next day. Had we flown in the same day we were sailing, we would have been in the same clothes for a week. Not a happy thought. Sooooooo, while I realize that many people fly and sail the same day without a hitch, it's not a chance I'm ever willing to take again.

[EVALUATOR]

We went on a cruise to Hawaii. The flights were an early departure from Hartford to Cincy, Cincy to San Diego, then a couple hour bus ride to Ensenada Mexico to board the ship.

 

We got to Cincy around 9am. The leg to San Diego was overbooked by 2 persons. Everyone on the flight was going on the cruise. The airline looked for volunteers to take another flight to Vegas and from there to San Diego. It would arrive about 45 minutes later then the one we were on. Nobody wanted to swap flights.

 

The Captain finally walked down the center aisle of the plane with two cashiers checks (not travel vouchers) for $1000 each. I wanted to take the deal. Mrs E said no way. someone finally did. Our departure was delayed and the Vegas flight arrived in San Diego the same time we did.

 

I'm a gambler, she wasn't. But she was the boss.

 

In about 18 cruises requiring flying we only flew in the night before once. That flight was $500 less even with the hotel.

 

A couple times on the way back we volunteered for a bump and took the very generous compensation.

[Desert Cruizers]

We always fly in the day before a cruise, yet if a situation arose where you aboslutely couldn't do that, then I guess you can only hope everything goes well. My question to the pilot or anyone who is, regarding say a flight from Palm Springs to Los Angelas, 35 min. I saw a schedule yesterday, Palm Springs to San Jose to Los Angelas, or PSP to San Fran to Los Angelas, why would such a schedule even exist.:)

[Mimajo]

We have always flown in the day of. Never had a problem. Even when we had 20 of us going on the same flight. And we've usually go during "hurricane season".

 

Saying that, this year we are flying in the night before. Not because of any worries, but because we will be traveling with our daughter, SIL and two small granddaughters. It's too long a day for the kids.

 

We wouldn't hesitate to fly in day of again ourselves.

[feealicious]

Am going on my first cruise in May! I made the mistake of getting original plane tickets the morning of then decided against it. We are excited to get in the day before and spend a wonderful day relaxing by the pool and going shopping together for some new clothes...and just dreaming of what is to come!! No stress!

[luvsunnydayz]

My husband and I flew in on the same day of our cruise for our honeymoon cruise out of Port Canaveral. We were married on a Saturday and we wanted a 7 days cruise out of PC for of honeymoon. Sunday was the only day we could sail out on unless we wanted to wait a week after we were married to go on our honeymoon. We had an early morning flight and arrived with no problems. That was our first cruise and we have cruised several times since then and have arrived early all the times since our first cruise. I'm not going to say that I will never fly in on the same day again because you never know. I'll just way that we usually try to arrive the day before but it we HAVE to fly in on the same day again then it is what it is......

Have a wonderful cruise!!!!

[phoenix1181]

Quite a few years ago, we flew to San Diego for our Panama Canal cruise on departure day & never gave it a second thought. But........... that was when the airlines were much more dependable than they are now. I don't think I'd want to do it today with all the delays & cancellations that happen so frequently.

 

I would however, take a shorter flight, same day, if I felt I had to. Naturally, the earliest (non-stop) flight possible & of course, I always buy insurance......

[Virtopia]

My very first cruise actually required us running for a connection, but we still made it to the port by noon.

 

I like to start my vacation early, so if I'm able to get the extra days I will, but if I have to book to fly in the day of, I'm booking in with Choice Air, which essentially makes them responsible for getting me on the ship should the flight be delayed or cancelled.

[varoo]

With that being said.. How about some "positive" stories about ppl catching their flights same day their ship sails. No, I'm not wanting to justify my reasons, as I've done it several times before. I'm just interested in stories. Funny stories. Scary stories. Running thru security running to the plane bc you forgot "something" Kind of stories. Anything like that.

You may find such stories entertaining, but they are merely that, entertainment.

They have nothing to do with your flight.

 

If you are someone who enjoys gambling, the odds are in your favor as more people who fly in the same day make their cruise than miss it.

 

But as others have pointed out before, if you miss the ship, it will be no comfort to you at all knowing that hundreds, or even thousands of other people made it with no problem.

 

Then there are also the incidents where the passengers make it, but their checked luggage does not.

[Garn]

Oh come on. "More people make the cruise than miss it"? Yes, and more people are missed by meteors than hit by them. Missing the cruise is rare. Think of how cheap cruise insurance is for someone in their 20s (where medical insurance is a small part of the cost). Considering the cost of flying you to the next port one way with no notice, if this were a common occurrence insurance would be much more

 

That said, sure, if time and money allow its better to extend your vacation. You get more vacation, and do lower the risk. But it's hardly the Russian Roulette situation that some are warning of.

[bigque]

I get in the day before and will on my up oming cruise also. I plan my vacation to take enough days in order to do so. I like the feel of not worrying about not making it on time and also the day in the port city the day before is part of the vacation that we enjoy also.

[SusieV]

This one isn't a cruise, but it caused nearly as much grief! My husband and I had a destination wedding in Las Vegas in 2005. Planned, not an elopement. We arrived a few days early which was good because they lost the suitcase with my veil in it for a day and a half.

 

My mother and father planned to fly in the morning of the wedding, since we had a 4:30 ceremony planned. Unfortunately, they misread the tickets and thought they were scheduled to LEAVE at 12:30 and not land at 12:30! So when they figured it out, they were seriously late for the airport. They arrived half an hour before the flight was to depart, and we live in Canada! When they got there, they were so panicked and worried that the check in agent took pity on them, put my able bodied mom in a wheelchair, and personally rushed them through security and to their gate. They made the flight, just barely!

 

We have never flown same day for a cruise because we do not take insurance. The hotel is our insurance, basically. And it's nice to have a relaxing morning and not a rushed, worried one.

 

However, on our upcoming cruise, we did decide to go same day since there are direct flights pretty much every hour from Toronto to Newark and it's only about an hour. Just this once, we'll roll the dice.

[krev]

I'm an airline pilot. I know how the system works and there's no way in hell I would ever fly in the day of a cruise.

 

I see people constantly that are stressed to the max about missing their ship because of a late or cancelled flight.

 

My advice: you've saved and saved for a nice cruise vacation for a week of R&R. You've looked forward to it for weeks, months or possibly even more than a year. Don't ruin it by going cheap and trying not to spend $100 on a hotel room. You'll end up spending more in the end. And that vacation you've been waiting and saving for? RUINED!!

 

My husband is also an airline pilot and I agree, there's not a snowballs chance I'd fly in the same day. I know the stories and have seen and lived the stories. We were 6 hours late departing SJU in Feb after our cruise. That didn't matter as we had already had our vacation, now if that was the other way around we would have missed the ship. We actually flew into SJU 5 days prior and made a vacation on Puerto Rico. Now saying all of this I would however fly in the same day as an Alaska cruise if they were departing from Vancouver, it's only a 20 minute flight, and they go every hour. We also have a ferry for back up, but this would be the only case in which I'd arrive the same day. Sorry I can't make this a fun post but there isn't much fun when you miss your vacation, I know as we fly stand by a lot of the time, again not much fun. When I have a cruise waiting for me we pay full fare and go several days in advance. Good luck to you and I hope nothing goes wrong

[cruzegurl104]

Glad everything worked out for your wedding! I hope you have a great cruise!:)