When to fly in to port city- Advice Needed!!!

[AnnJohn]

Fly in a day early! On our last cruise, we had a very early flight the day of, thought we had all the perfect connections, times, etc. and then it started the night before....Just by chance decided to check our flights...it had been cancelled...had to reschedule to one that was really cutting it close....then the connecting flight was delayed and when we finally got on the flight it sat on the tarmac for another delay. VERY stressful...we ended up making the cruise on the dot, but the stress of not knowing whether we would make it affected the first day of the vacation. We will always go a day early...vacations should be relaxing and that's how we want to start ours out.

[Jimsgirl]

Keep your plans as they are. The reasons cited for flying in a day early are totally ridiculas.

 

My recent experience shows the wisdom of flying a day early.

 

Cruise on QE2, booked air across Atlantic and hotel London through them.I am a senior who travels solo , so I try to arrange to have some assistance by being met by Cruise line rep etc.

 

Got to departure airport two hours ahead of BOARDING time, and sat and sat and sat.Take off time came and went, information zilch as there was no staff at the gate. Finally told there was a "delay", plane took off over 2 HOURS late.I was still in the air between Ft Myers and Atlanta, when my connection to London took off.

At Atlanta got no help from air line ("you will just have to spend the night here at airport unless you get yourself a room") Found out there was another flight (same airline) 2 hours later, had to "stand my ground" with air line staff to exchange my ticket and get on this flight.

 

Got to London, to find my luggage (along with about 30 other passengers luggage was sitting in a container on the Atlanta tarmac - they had forgotten to load it!. The final straw was to find no rep and no transport . Why ?

 

"it is SUNDAY and we do not send a rep etc to the airport on a Sunday just for one passenger, you will have to make your own way into London"

 

Did the cruise line care? Not at all "we are not responsible for the airline delay, and the rep and the transport were SUBCONTRACTORS, and we are not responsible for any errors or omission on their part"

 

Follow the advise to have a happy brunch with your relatives, go a day early, stay in a GOOD Hotel, next day get up late, have a pleasant visit to the port city, and then board .

 

As one whose marriage lasted 50 years, (I still miss my husband so much) I say "you only have one honeymoon, and you want wonderful memories, not rush, rush,rush and stress to mar your special time."

 

Best wishes for your future together

[tribbs1]

Just imagine the stress of getting your wedding off the ground without a hitch. Now, imagine not getting to your honeymoon on time. Sitting in the airport on departure day watching the gate and hoping your plane will taxi up. Is it worth the stress? Not in my opinion. Imagine the boat sailing away without you and the stress of figuring out how to get to your first port to catch up with it. Imagine all the careful thought and planning not to mention cost that went into planning what is supposed to be a great honeymoon go down the drain because you tried to fly in the same day. That being said, go the night before and avoid any and all possible stress at what will surely be a very stressful time in your life (although happy too!!!).

[blaneyliss]

Thank you all so much for your advice- it was extremely helpful. We have decided to take a late afternoon flight out on Sunday- putting us in New Orleans fairly late, but we figure we can have a late dinner or just order some pizza and sleep in Monday morning then head to the ship. This gives us time to clean reception things up in the morning, tie things up with the relatives, and get the hell out of town!

 

Thanks again- this board is amazingly helpful!

[Boo's Mom]

blaneyliss....

 

I think you have made a wise decision. I don't think you will regret it for a moment.

 

Have fun planning your Honeymoon ! :D

[AnnJohn]

Enjoy your honeymoon. We did a cruise for our honeymoon and it was wonderful!

Best wishes for a wonderful life together!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Another vote for flying in the day before. Why risk missing even a second of your honeymoon cruise? I can't believe someone even said you can just fly into the second port. What kind of logic is that?

 

Besides, there have been hurricanes in October, even November (we were chased by soon-to-be Hurricane Gordon in November '94 while on a Caribbean cruise).

 

Another thing: why are you responsible for cleaning up your own reception? Why not a family member or your best man or maid of honor not offering to oversee this detail? You should be able to slip out gracefully to start your new life.

 

For our wedding (at a party place), we changed and gave our gown, tux, etc. to family members, and jumped into the waiting limo (with our suitcases). The best man was given the duty of returning the rental tux.

[trish1c]

I can't believe someone even said you can just fly into the second port. What kind of logic is that?

 

I'm not married so I really don't know exactly what it's like to plan for a honeymoon but my point & my logic are that people are more important than things. My mother is dying & if my choice was to spend part of the day after my wedding with her and risk missing a flight or having to fly into the next port' date=' I am darn (please read between the lines I actually mean a different 4 letter word beginning with "D") well going to spend time with her.

 

This bride will never forgive herself if she misses an opportunity to spend time with someone who isn't there next year. She & her new spouse can always get to the next port or go on a second honeymoon -- for stuff like that there usually is a next year. Any delay will make for a funny story years later. Failing to say "goodbye" will result in a lifetime of regret.

 

Yes, there is a [b']risk[/b] that a cruiser might miss the plane or the ship if the cruiser flies in the day of but despite the "sky is falling" attitude of a number of people on these boards, no one is required to fly in the day before. There are decided advantages to doing so but hundreds of thousands of people fly in the day of every week without problems.

 

My point was the cruiser / OP has to weigh all of the advantages & disadvantages in order to do what is best for her.

[Cruisin' Chick]

"My point was the cruiser / OP has to weigh all of the advantages & disadvantages in order to do what is best for her."

 

My point was that in a normal situation that the suggestion not to try to make the regular embarkation is not the best idea. Last summer, we went on a cruise knowing that my father in law could go at anytime. But his wife said to go and not worry, you have to live your life. We said our goodbye, even though he was already past the point of knowing us. He held on until after we came back.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I would like to clarify further myself as the earlier post may seem callous. Yes, you can be not spending time with someone who may not be here -- accidents, etc. But let's stay on topic, the OP was talking about hanging around Sunday and flying in Monday, risking not making the ship's embarkation. They'll have plenty of time on Saturday and as others have pointed out, Sunday morning. This is their honeymoon, for pete's sake. They shouldn't feel quilty if they want to start their lives together ASAP. The stress to reach the ship at the initial port or the second (not to mention the expense), if there's a hurricane or mechanical failure, is not the best way to start off.

 

I'm still wondering about why the bride and groom should be responsible for cleaning up. That should be the last thing they should be concerned with.

 

BTW, in Orthodox Jewish weddings, the rabbi locks the bride and groom in a room after the ceremony (before the reception) so they can have their first minutes as a wedded couple to themselves.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hearing the news about the recent hurricanes (a top story even here on the west coast) made me think about this thread. You never know when there's mechanical problems on the airplane and hurricanes tend to be slightly unpredictable. Plus you don't know ahead of time when you book if there's going to be bad weather or bad traffic (if you're flying in on the morning of). Even though we driving (or taking a shuttle) to the port (about 30 miles away) for our next cruise, my hubby is going to insist on leaving around 9 am. Not kidding.