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

[Peeker28]

I'm sailing on June 1st and we aren't able to fly in the day before so we have to fly in that day. Our flight gets in at 11 am, I'm nervous but I'm having faith that Southwest will be on time

[cruzegurl104]

I'm sailing on June 1st and we aren't able to fly in the day before so we have to fly in that day. Our flight gets in at 11 am, I'm nervous but I'm having faith that Southwest will be on time

 

 

I hear ya',,,

 

I hope you have a FANTASTIC cruise. I don't think I'll ever book this far out again. The wait is driving me crazy!!:p:D

[cruzegurl104]

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

 

 

Don't be sorry Kelly, I appreciate your post:)

[krev]

Don't be sorry Kelly, I appreciate your post:)

 

You know my name! Have we met?

[cruzegurl104]

You know my name! Have we met?

 

 

hahaha! Nope, it's just in your signature;)

[krev]

Haha, ok. I'm on my ipad and the sig doesn't show. Thought perhaps you were from our roll call. I do hope all goes well! Not a cruise related story but coming home from Argentina we got held up in security in Toronto (long lines) they were paging us and we did the Amazing race through the airport! Got to the gate and they wanted us to board right away, our friends were behind us and I stood with one foot in the plane and one foot on the jet way until I saw them! As it was the plane was broken then had to wait for deciding so they would have made it. Good luck!!

[ihavecats]

We took our first cruise in February. I didn't know the whole "fly in the day before" rule until AFTER we booked our flights! Anyway, I was stressed the weeks leading up to the flight/cruise. I was checking the weather, praying for no snow or storms. Hoping the flight wasn't delayed for mechanical issues.

 

Well, day of the flight/cruise came. We had 7:30am direct flight from Detroit to FLL. Landed right on time, not a single glitch in the flight or getting to the port. We were on the ship by noon. :D

 

A lot of stress leading up to the day, but it all worked out well. In the future we will be flying down the day before, I didn't like the added stress.

[cruzegurl104]

We took our first cruise in February. I didn't know the whole "fly in the day before" rule until AFTER we booked our flights! Anyway, I was stressed the weeks leading up to the flight/cruise. I was checking the weather, praying for no snow or storms. Hoping the flight wasn't delayed for mechanical issues.

 

Well, day of the flight/cruise came. We had 7:30am direct flight from Detroit to FLL. Landed right on time, not a single glitch in the flight or getting to the port. We were on the ship by noon. :D

 

A lot of stress leading up to the day, but it all worked out well. In the future we will be flying down the day before, I didn't like the added stress.

 

Glad it worked out for you! Thanks for sharing!

[MnMomW3Boys]

Fun thread, and I agree there are a lot of serious chaps on here!!

 

We flew in the morning of our first cruise when we went on our honeymoon Minneapolis to Miami in November....oh and did I mention we are non-revs so we flew stand-by :D:D (yeah we live on the edge) We got to the boat in time for a nap prior to the muster drill.

 

2nd cruise we flew in from Atlanta to Miami and met up with our friends that also flew in that morning from Minneapolis and made it to the ship in time for lunch prior to sail away. I don't ever remember giving it a second thought.

 

We are doing our first family cruise this fall and here is our stellar plan...we are going to start trying to fly out of MSP Friday morning (remember the stand-by thing) if we don't make it on a direct flight Friday morning we will try and fly to ATL and rent a car and drive the rest of the way Saturday...if we can't get anywhere on Friday we are going to jump in the car and drive 25 hours to the cruise ship!!! One way or another we will be on that ship!!

 

~karissa

[joyride21]

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!!

 

Do you mean this one? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=391074 :D

[scopewest]

Flew from Phoenix to San Juan the same day. Left Phoenix at 4 a.m. and set foot in our cabin around 6 p.m. The room steward said we could still make dinner as the dining room had opened about 10 minutes earlier. Ran downstairs and joined our table as they were ordering. I know we must have done the muster drill, maybe after dinner? Can't remember.

 

I STILL shudder that we did this and that we made it. It was in 1997 and it was a LOT less hectic to get through security at the airport. I would never do this again.

 

The only other time we flew same day was a one hour flight to San Diego. It's like a commuter flight for us, planes nonstop back and forth on a daily basis. Get to the airport to find out there's a ground stop due to fog, nothing coming in and nothing leaving. Luckily it lifted and we were put on a flight an hour later than ours and of course made the ship. But the people trying to fly to Baltimore were very very unhappy to be told there's no way they'd leave on time. That was the last time we've flown in the day of a cruise.

[MrsLadyL]

I could use some postive stories too, seeings as this is exactly what we are doing on our upcoming, first time cruise!!

 

We fly into San Juan, and NOT a direct flight! May the flying gods be with us that day :D

 

I will post how successful (or not) we were on my return lol

 

Hi Emma! My DH and I are exactly on the same boat. First timers and flying in the same day. I'm hoping it works out too. *fingers crossed*.

[critterchick]

Do you mean this one? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=391074 :D

 

Yes! How did you find it? I did all kinds of searches and nothing panned out. i suck at it.:(

[joyride21]

Yes! How did you find it? I did all kinds of searches and nothing panned out. i suck at it.:(

 

Even though it was a long time ago (during my lurking days before I was even a member!), somehow I remembered her name was Jamie. A search for 'delayed flight jamie' brought it up.

 

My mind tends to hang on to really stupid details about things...in this case it actually did me some good.

[DaNana]

First I want to say that I have worked way to hard to miss a cruise because the airline could not get me where I needed to be with a same day flight and I had not booked it through the cruise line. :mad:

We have flown to LA from Phoenix for same day but could drive if we had too. The cruise out of Galveston was interesting. Had we not flown the day before, we would not have had nearly enough clothes as the airline lost our luggage. :eek: We did get it before the cruise by being there a day early.

We are going to Rome and for this we are going early to tour, etc.

Lastly, I do not care what others do but like to know their thoughts and do prowl these forums. It helps me to think through my plan but still do whatever I want.

Yes American cancelled many flights yesterday. Today United cancelled all flights out of Denver. My BIL cannot get to his conference until Friday because of the Denver cancellations.:(

[RCCL Fan]

I will tell you that I ALWAYS flew in the same of the cruise before I joined cruise critic.

 

It just never even dawned on me that it would be a problem and it never was.

 

I can look back and say EVERY FLIGHT on EVERY CRUISE i've taken has never been delayed.

 

When I flew in a day early, never did I get stuck.

 

BUT.....

 

All that being said, I've joined the masses here. I won't take the risk, if I missed it, I would flip. Planes are smaller these days. It's not back in the day of the big Delta birds, where if the 1pm arrival on a 767 with 300+ people was late they'd hold the plane.

 

Now there are so many ships, so many flights on smaller planes, you snooze you lose.

 

So I don't do it.

 

But sure, you can do it, and you'll more than likely be fine, but get that trip insurance.

[boatboat]

Have done it dozens of times with no problem except once in the early 70's flying to San Juan. It was New Years eve. So many people were stranded, on New Years Day Eastern airlines flow in 2 747's to get us off the island. The details make quite a cocktail story.

[musicorn]

I am from Australia so maybe things are a bit different here.

 

The serious side: I always book the earliest possible flight if I have to fly on the day of the cruise. I also check other airlines so that if there are problems I can book a last minute flight and still make it.

 

The less serious side: I was going to do a cruise to the Pacific Islands (Think Caribbean - always warm no matter what time of the year). Checke din at the airport only to be told there was frost on the aircraft and they had to dry it off before we flew. Seriously? :confused:

 

My friend and I jokes about a mother plane coming out to dry it off or a big fluffy towel. Well much to our surprise they bought out a big blower like a hair drier. We made our cruise but were 2 hours late. Still had lunch and got a good laugh for free.

[trev71]

So.... There are Several threads on this "flying to the cruise on the same day" subject. Lots of cruise critic members here say it's a definite "no no", where as I on the other hand, somewhat agree and disagree all at the same time. :D I would much prefer to fly in the day before, but it's just not happening this time. Sorry, Folks. Yes, I'm talking to you, Nervous Nellie.:rolleyes:

 

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.

 

I feel like sometimes these boards are just so serious, about what you should and should not do, on your cruise or for your cruise, that I thought it could use a lighthearted thread. So humor me. I'm stuck at work & in bad need of an umbrella drink. :)

 

100$ nights stay in a hotel in Florida is worth it for me. you are suppose to be able to relax on a vacation and I know ive only cruised 3 times, 4th coming up but, i will never chance it. Espically coming from Canada in winter storms

[temple1]

I've thought about it and many do it every cruise with no problem. In fact one of the el cheapo airlines, Spirit Air, Cattle Car of the Skies, has the only direct flight to Ft Lauderdale from here. I've been tempted - cheap fare, light on luggage, direct flight there and back. But I have resisted.

 

Why? Not only does their next flight not arrive until almost 7 PM.

 

More importantly, I remember reading about a group of golfers out of NY who were booked on a direct flight from LaGuardia to MB a few years ago. There was a problem with the plane and they were put on a US Airways flight. US Airways flight 1549 to be exact. You've all seen the photos of them standing on the wings of that aircraft as it floated in the Hudson River. :eek:

 

So, I have resisted.

[cruzegurl104]

100$ nights stay in a hotel in Florida is worth it for me. you are suppose to be able to relax on a vacation and I know ive only cruised 3 times, 4th coming up but, i will never chance it. Espically coming from Canada in winter storms

 

I don't blame you. Nope, not one bit. Canada is a good haul to sunny Florida. I'm thankful that I live fairly close:o

[cruzegurl104]

I've thought about it and many do it every cruise with no problem. In fact one of the el cheapo airlines, Spirit Air, Cattle Car of the Skies, has the only direct flight to Ft Lauderdale from here. I've been tempted - cheap fare, light on luggage, direct flight there and back. But I have resisted.

 

Why? Not only does their next flight not arrive until almost 7 PM.

 

More importantly, I remember reading about a group of golfers out of NY who were booked on a direct flight from LaGuardia to MB a few years ago. There was a problem with the plane and they were put on a US Airways flight. US Airways flight 1549 to be exact. You've all seen the photos of them standing on the wings of that aircraft as it floated in the Hudson River. :eek:

 

So, I have resisted.

 

My sweet hubby, bless his heart, wanted to fly Spirit because it was extremely cheap... I said no. Until we started planning this trip, I had heard little about them, so that sealed the deal for me. I may try them one day. Maybe.

[sunnysavannah]

No funny story here, as we always drive to FL ports.

 

Once when we tried Carnival out of JAX (the previous ship that was there) the weather had been so bad around the country that day that there was a significant portion of the passengers who were delayed boarding. (So many flights delayed...) They actually delayed us leaving port of a few hours, finally set sail sometime around 7, I think. So... It happens.

[temple1]

My sweet hubby, bless his heart, wanted to fly Spirit because it was extremely cheap... I said no. Until we started planning this trip, I had heard little about them, so that sealed the deal for me. I may try them one day. Maybe.

 

I have frequently flown Spirit. I have no problems with them, but you have to realize that - yes, you can fly roundtrip for less than $100; however you must be aware of the luggage fees.

 

No funny story here, as we always drive to FL ports.

 

We now drive also. We used to fly some, but the drive really isn't that bad, on some airlines it would take almost as long start to finish to fly as it does to drive.

 

On our first cruise out of Port Canaveral we misjudged the distance :rolleyes: from Florida state lline to Port Canaveral. (Someone who shall remain nameless thought it was much closer to Jacksonville than it is. :o ) I felt so rushed all day! We made it in plenty of time, but on a 3 night cruise you hate to waste time feeling stressed from the rush. From then on - we are in the port area, or on our last cruise less than 2 hours to the port area, the day before.

[sealeggs]

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!!

 

I totally agree. I have 3 family members that are airline employees 1 Pilot and 2 Flight Attendents. They also agree with you. Don't take a chance on a mechanical or mother nature. They are very unpredictable.