Would this be possible or am I taking my chances?

[danny8826]

We'll board the Independence of the Seas on 4/20.

We are flying JetBlue from the west coast (SFO) on a red eye flight on 4/19.

We have been to Fort Lauderdale before and would like to avoid the high cost of a hotel stay for Saturday night.

 

Any thoughts of major problems we might run into? Would this be doable?

 

 

Thank you

Danny

[LindaO]

Good Luck... I'd never do that... My advice... buy travel insurance...

[The Sain]

We are taking a red eye to Galveston in Nov using same thought process as you. If you are landing early enough you should be fine. We are getting in at 6:45am and booked ground transportation through RCI so I'm feeling confident. Plus we booked our air travel through Choice Air so any flight problems will be put into their hands.

[danny8826]

We are taking a red eye to Galveston in Nov using same thought process as you. If you are landing early enough you should be fine. We are getting in at 6:45am and booked ground transportation through RCI so I'm feeling confident. Plus we booked our air travel through Choice Air so any flight problems will be put into their hands.

 

 

That's a good idea. I didn't think about choice air.

The flight I look at gets in at 7:20 am. Our ship leaves late in the afternoon.

[ldubs]

Have done this from the west coast to FL & NY, as well as several European ports. Done this at least a dozen times for cruises and many more times for work. A big factor in your favor is the red-eye to FL should be a nonstop. Once you lift off, you should be in great shape. Also, you know the expected weather conditions. For example you might not want to do this for a flight to Newark in winter.

 

Yes, something can go wrong. The odds are not 100%, but the odds are in your favor.

[danny8826]

Have done this from the west coast to FL & NY, as well as several European ports. Done this at least a dozen times for cruises and many more times for work. A big factor in your favor is the red-eye to FL should be a nonstop. Once you lift off, you should be in great shape. Also, you know the expected weather conditions. For example you might not want to do this for a flight to Newark in winter.

 

Yes, something can go wrong. The odds are not 100%, but the odds are in your favor.

 

 

Thank you for boosting my confidence. :) I needed that. :)

I do admit that I'm a bit worried until when the plane is off the ground.

The red eye JetBlue is non-stop.

[Merion_Mom]

Well, you got a really fantastic airfare!

 

As pointed out, there are no guarantees, but it looks pretty good to me.

 

:)

[Ashland]

I've also done this many many times but from LAX-FLL on the redeye arriving very early morning of cruise..Take a taxi to the port (no need to use transfers...a waste of time /money) more than likely you'll be one of the first in line...I usually am..but that line grows fast quickly..Enjoy Indy she's a favorite of ours.

[Tapi]

As an Arline Pilot, and knowing everything that can delay or cancel a flight, I would never take a flight arriving on the same day, even if it's at 7:00am.

 

The one thing that you may also consider is that with a red-eye, by the time you board the ship, you'll be exhausted with jet lag, crossing time zones, and very little sleep. You will have saved money by not getting a hotel, but you will have missed out on the first day of your cruise.

[crookedhalo]

The one thing that you may also consider is that with a red-eye, by the time you board the ship, you'll be exhausted with jet lag, crossing time zones, and very little sleep. You will have saved money by not getting a hotel, but you will have missed out on the first day of your cruise.

 

 

THIS! I'm on vacation - I don't want to miss the ship nor do I want to have to take a nap on the first day:p! Even when we are going a trip we can drive to port for, we will go in the day before to avoid any possible delays on I95 (which can be a bear sometimes) and so that we are well rested and ready to roll the next day;)

[Colorado Ken]

My first cruise I used Choice Air for my flight. They originally had me arriving the day of the cruise, which I was not comfortable with. I contacted them and got the flight changed to one day earlier. We drove 200 miles to the airport and boarded the airplane, with no issues. However at that point the captain announced the flight was canceled because of high winds at out next scheduled airport. Unfortunately we were at the back of the plane so all of those ahead of us were at the ticket counter trying to rebook. My father worked for the airline industry for 30 years so I knew enough to go to a different airline, and they honored my ticket. The downside was I would have to fly to Las Vegas, then on to Miami. We did get to Miami nearly 20 hours later in time to catch the cruise shuttle. We were exhausted and did not make the dinner the first night.

 

At our first port of call there were several HUNDRED passengers waiting to get on board because they had travel issues, again it was high winds across a huge area of the US.

 

For me, there is no way I am going to roll the dice. :cool:

[nbsjcruiser]

We'll board the Independence of the Seas on 4/20.

We are flying JetBlue from the west coast (SFO) on a red eye flight on 4/19.

We have been to Fort Lauderdale before and would like to avoid the high cost of a hotel stay for Saturday night.

 

Any thoughts of major problems we might run into? Would this be doable?

 

 

Thank you

Danny

 

You can stay the the La Quinta in Hollywood for probably around $125-$150 a night and they'll shuttle you to the port for $10. Do you really want to risk your trip that you probably spent close to $2000 on for under $200? To top it off, you'll spend your first day exhausted because you flew all night. No thanks. And if you have one small issue with the plane or weather and get delayed, you'll be nibbling your fingernails all night wondering if you'll make it. Doesn't sound like a great way to start a vacation to me.

[LindaO]

We always go to the port the day ahead... and I live in Florida... but sometimes driving down I-95 can be a nightmare... and then if the Interstate is closed US1 and A1A gets backed up for hours. We have found a small, independent hotel in Ft Lauderdale that is clean and has really nice beds. Close to the beach... close to restaurants... and not too far from the port. $68 a night for a regular hotel room... plus they have apartment style rooms also. Do some research... check out the independents.... and you can find an affordable room if you choose to travel the day before. Like I said before... I'd never go in the day of a cruise...

 

And... if by chance you miss the sailing you'd have to meet the ship on day 3 in Grand Cayman... if you could even get a flight during peak travel time. Good Luck!!!

[nbsjcruiser]

We always go to the port the day ahead... and I live in Florida... but sometimes driving down I-95 can be a nightmare... and then if the Interstate is closed US1 and A1A gets backed up for hours. We have found a small, independent hotel in Ft Lauderdale that is clean and has really nice beds. Close to the beach... close to restaurants... and not too far from the port. $68 a night for a regular hotel room... plus they have apartment style rooms also. Do some research... check out the independents.... and you can find an affordable room if you choose to travel the day before. Like I said before... I'd never go in the day of a cruise...

 

And... if by chance you miss the sailing you'd have to meet the ship on day 3 in Grand Cayman... if you could even get a flight during peak travel time. Good Luck!!!

 

Would you mind posting what hotel this is? Sounds like a good place to stay.

Edited January 20, 2014 by nbsjcruiser

[sunsetbeachgal]

Personally, I would never fly in day of flight...but if it is a must,then I would make sure the airline I was flying had later flights if that one does not work out...good luck...

Edited January 20, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[mitaxi]

I work for a major airline....would NEVER try it.... can't tell you how many times, I have pax miss their cruise the unknown....weather, mechanicals....etc. not worth not paying one night room at hotel, not to mention starting rested as already mentioned...

[cello56]

Please remember too that when there are hold ups during the day, they snowball all over the country. So your red-eye might be a plane that has been running behind all day long due to weather/mechanical/logistic issues from all over the country. By the time you are ready to board the crew might have timed out their flight hours or the plane might just be very late.

 

My Mom had a saying that I think is appropriate here: "Don't be penny wise and pound foolish."

[LindaO]

Would you mind posting what hotel this is? Sounds like a good place to stay.

 

Sunrise Inn and Apartments, Ft Lauderdale... Sunriseinn (dot) com is their web site. I would call them to make arrangements. They are really nice.... Not the Ritz... but a nice, clean, convenient older hotel. With coffee and muffins for breakfast. My bill for one night Nov 30 was $66.20 for two double beds... AC worked great... Pizza place across the street had excellent food! Please note... it is more expensive during the "season" (Dec 20 through April 14) Hope this helps!

[ldubs]

Thank you for boosting my confidence. :) I needed that. :)

I do admit that I'm a bit worried until when the plane is off the ground.

The red eye JetBlue is non-stop.

 

As others point out unless you sleep on the plane you will likely be tired the first day of your cruise. I think you would be aware of this. Additionally, if you arrive FLL early in the morning you will have some spare time to fill.

 

For many, taking a red-eye exceeds their risk tolerance level. The reasons for and against are pretty clear. There are situations when I would not do the red-eye, but others, including at least one commercial airline pilot, would not do this under any circumstances. I can understand someone preferring not to take the red-eye morning of flight, but to say never would do so seems extreme. Just one of those IMOs I guess.

[Desertbelle]

Even though it's quite looked down on around here, my guess is many hundreds of cruisers travel the day of their cruise leaving. Travel insurance would be a good idea.

 

We prefer to get in the day before, but we also live on the west coast and those "red eyes" are very attractive and we have done it a couple of times.

 

Once, we arrived in Miami at 7 am, dropped off our luggage at the pier and then took a cab to South Beach and had a wonderful breakfast and walked around for a few hours....hit a drug store and bought a couple things we had forgotten. :) It was relaxing and kick-started our vacation off nicely.

[wassup4565]

Well we did this on our first cruise, knowing no better. We made it by the skin of our teeth, but we will never put ourselves through that hell again.

 

If you think you can predict the weather, you are wrong. If you think you can predict the weather in multiple airports that could affect the movement of aircraft, crew, airport gridlock and gates in your airport, you're wrong. If you think you can predict when your particular aircraft might develop a mechanical issue, you're wrong.

 

As a person who had to run barefoot through Reagan Airport in Washington to make a connection flight to Tampa (no time to put shoes back on after unexpected, unexplained duplicate security requirement), I say no.

 

Is that how you want to start your cruise? Playing dice with the airlines and airports? Wondering if you still have any possibility of making it to the pier on time? Running through an airport barefoot? Adrenaline junkies might enjoy this. Normal people who want to be on the ship instead of waving bye-bye to it, no.

 

After our first fly-in-the-day-of mistake, we will never do this again.

[mr. godfredo]

I have done the Red Eye LAX to MIA and we made it no problems, but as many have said, we were wiped out the first day of the cruise. Also though they may allow you to board the ship early, that doesn't mean that your room will be ready until after 12:30 or 1:00. That is a long time to be without a place to lay your head! If you have not already booked your flight, I would opt for the day prior and stay somewhere in FLL. If you already booked the air, I would get insurance just in case! I hope you have a great cruise!!!:D

[TahoeBob]

We'll board the Independence of the Seas on 4/20.

We are flying JetBlue from the west coast (SFO) on a red eye flight on 4/19.

We have been to Fort Lauderdale before and would like to avoid the high cost of a hotel stay for Saturday night.

 

Any thoughts of major problems we might run into? Would this be doable?

 

 

Thank you

Danny

 

This is a true story.

On my first cruise first about 9 years ago. I live at Lake Tahoe and we drove to sacramento on a friday, spent Friday night at a friends house in Davis, Ca. Got a saturday afternoon flight from Sac to LAX got to our hotel about 5:30 P.M. got on teh ship after a nice breakfast Sunday about noon.

 

part two of the story. When I was on the Vision I met a nice couple who lived in Reno (only a 75 minute flight) The had planed to leave Reno on South West on sunday morning about 9:00 A.M. if all went well they would have got to san Pedro in plenty of time. This was in december, well Reno had the worst fog ever. They did make the ship but with about 2 minutes to spare.

 

Now I won't tell what you should do, but i do ask you who do you think was calm, and who was extremely stressed.

 

Just do the math.

[Esmerelda]

I think you've already gotten lots of good advice. I'm hoping you have or are purchasing travel insurance. I would be quite nervous arriving the day of my cruise. Too many airline/weather issues happen for me. We always fly in well ahead of our cruise.

 

Best of luck with your cruise!

:)

[powelweb]

A couple of things to consider-

 

That's Easter weekend and the start of school vacation week for many states in the Northeast, so if there are any delays, most flights will likely be full that weekend already.

 

We did fly in for one cruise on day of sailing on a direct non-stop flight. We were on the 6am flight out of Boston that had us scheduled to land in Miami a little after 9am, but then there were mechanical issues with the plane and we sat on the tarmac until after 10am while they worked on repairs.

 

Very stressful, so we now fly in a day early, but understand that isn't always possible for others (e.g. work schedules, etc).

 

Good luck and have a great cruise.