Flying in day of.....

[mickiemac]

Last week we flew into FLL the day of the cruise. Had a 56 min layover and plane change in ATL and got to FLL at 10:43 as scheduled. Lots of what if's when doing this and not sure if we will do it again.

[wantocruisemore]

A landing around Noon is cutting it WAYYYYYY to close for me.

 

I believe in Murphy's law, whatever can go wrong, will.

 

I also seem to remember someone's flight being delayed and they thought they were safe because they had booked the cruise transfer. Nope, they were out of luck because the rule that says you have to check in so much ahead of time trumps cruise transfer.

 

I've only flown in the day of once and I had a direct flight that landed at 8am in summer.

 

Do yourself a favor, change your flight to either earlier or the day before. Yes it could go smooth, but everything would need to click just right.

[BeautifulPlumage]

A few months ago I made a trip to Phoenix from Austin. Three hour delay on the trip out, and the trip home took TWENTY hours (it only takes 15 hours to drive!). There was no bad weather. Both sets of delays were caused by mechanical issues.

 

Needless to say, we are planning to fly the day before our next cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited April 3, 2014 by BeautifulPlumage

[Cruiseaholichal]

We are flying in the late morning of the day of our cruise (June 29th)....please tell me this won't be a problem!!?!?!?

 

It's only a problem if it is a problem.

[gelo7]

My favorite answer to this question comes from an ATC (Air Traffic Controller). "You are one thunderstorm away from missing your cruise." Nobody knows the odds for that day. Nobody knows the weather, the state of the airplane, the airline's computer system, the taxi/shuttle tires, etc of that day. The answer you seek is indeterminate at this time because, nobody knows if you will run into problems or not. Because of this is why most CCer's fly in a day or two ahead of time.

My sentiments exactly....

[VA_Gym_Guy]

I would never chance it. I always travel the day before as it gives me options of something happens. Between weather and airline issues, you never know what may happen. The cost of one night hotel room is a great price for stress free travel

[PortSideCruzan]

 

We are flying in the late morning of the day of our cruise (June 29th)....please tell me this won't be a problem!!?!?!?

 

 

Hi Cobianlover :)

 

Flying the day of your cruise is indeed a risk. Why gamble and take such

a chance with all of the planning and $money$ that is involved.

 

Have a wonderful voyage!

 

 

 

:)

[dd2355]

Another thought:

 

Is the reason for not flying in the day before important enough to miss your cruise over?

[pe4all]

Just because someone books Carnival transfers or flights, there are no guarantees you will make the cruise. This is a myth. With the transfers, if you are there in TIME, sure they will be available, but a cab is going to go to the same place, so the costly transfers are NOT of any benefit. The Cruise Air, "may" wait for you, but if you are stuck in Atlanta, sorry, no the ship is not going to make sure you get on the ship. The departure may be delayed, but not indefinitely.

Of course the ship won't wait indefinitely. But I have heard of people who were flown to their first port by CCL after missing a CCL bought flight which then missed the debark of the ship!

[TX_Atlantis_Cruiser]

In the past year, I have had several close calls with getting on a flight out of IAH Houston due to security lines. Even though I arrived two hours before my flight (or with certainly a reasonable amount of time before), the delays at security were so bad that, in one case I arrived at the gate for a business trip 15 mins before departure and the gate had already closed. Two couples came up behind me to find they were not going on the plane with their friends--all were going on a cruise that day. I have frequent flyer status and still make sure I allow extra extra time to get to the gate even when flying in the day before (as I always do). As so many have said, ya never know

[wrigley80]

Still don't understand why people fly in the day of the cruise.....I would be stressed to the MAX. There are so many things that can go wrong

[pe4all]

Still don't understand why people fly in the day of the cruise.....I would be stressed to the MAX. There are so many things that can go wrong

I would guess that some only have "x" amount of vacation days, and flying in on a weekday goes over the amount they have.

[wrigley80]

I would guess that some only have "x" amount of vacation days, and flying in on a weekday goes over the amount they have.

 

Yeah you are probably right but I was a nervous wreck making sure that we would get to the port in time

[soccersharon]

Yeah you are probably right but I was a nervous wreck making sure that we would get to the port in time

 

We have flown in late Friday night for a Satuday cruise. After 2 close calls, we will never fly or drive in the day of...

 

Sent from my mobile device. Typos are inevitable.

Edited April 3, 2014 by soccersharon

[tonit964]

I do not want to start my vacation being stressed out wondering if I'll make it or not.

 

We always fly in two or three days before.

[mrpayroll]

From personal experience. Recently flew from Michigan to Ft. Lauderdale . First flight out at 6:15 am direct. Because of some mechanical problem we did not leave till after 1pm. We were going a day early , but there was a group of eight who were supposed to be leaving that day. They were in tears boarding the plane knowing they were going to miss the ship. :(

[rjrice1]

Living so close to all the ports we always drive.. many times staying the night before.

We decided to cruise out of San Juan for the second time. Direct flight leaving Orlando at 8ish and arriving at 11ish. FTTF

First flight delayed; then canceled.. till the following day.

Gave us a flight 3 hours later telling us it was only 90 minutes away.

Was 2 1/2 hours away.

Made the flight with 5 minutes to spare (took a cab too $500.00)

Jet Blue did reimburse us cause I faxed them map quest; weather for the day.. sunny skies and etc.

Will never fly day of a cruise again..not worth the stress

Cathy

[keishashadow]

I would guess that some only have "x" amount of vacation days, and flying in on a weekday goes over the amount they have.

 

yep, many us only have 7 calendar days to work with on what is termed a week of vacation that is for most a full 9 days factoring in the weekend.

 

OP What airline are you using out of BWI? Are you on the 1st NS out that day? If there are issues with 'your' flight as to short staff or mechanical, sometimes you can be pro-active and hop on the next one out. Have you checked the flight schedule to determine what's available that day?

 

We have flown in the same day and would do so again into FLL, TPA & MCO but not without buying TI & making sure the flight we selected met the deadline the cruiseline has established.

[Sugar67]

We always fly in the day before and our last cruise proved exactly why people SHOULD travel in the day before. We were scheduled to fly out around 7am and arrive in San Juan around 2pm. Sailaway was scheduled for 10pm, lots of time even to allow for a couple hiccups.

 

The night before our scheduled flight, I went to do on-line check-in and our first flight had been cancelled due to mechanical issues :eek:. Once I had everything rescheduled, we were now set to arrive in San Juan at midnight.

 

Had this been the day of the cruise, we would have missed our ship. Flying in the day before is just a small price to pay for extra insurance that we will get there on time, our luggage arrives, etc. and besides, it's always nice to get into vacation mode as early as possible :D

Edited April 3, 2014 by Sugar67

[Mysticks1]

I wish you the best of luck. My nerves wouldn't take the stress that I would be under if trying to do that. There are too many things that could go wrong. Many have been mentioned. Even when driving we normally go the day before and spend the night near the port.

 

My last experience was flying for business. We boarded the plane, everyone seated and at the time that the plane should have been pushed back from the terminal. An announcement was made that we need to add more fuel.:eek: That was a first for me and that plane was sitting there when I checked in over an hour before my flight (small airport). I am not sure why at last minute we didn't have enough fuel to make the 45 min trip to Atlanta. I ended up missing my connection in Atlanta and was 4 hours late to my destination because of that.

[Tapi]

I would guess that some only have "x" amount of vacation days, and flying in on a weekday goes over the amount they have.

 

I know a longer cruise is preferable, but if people only have 7 days of vacation, how about taking a 5-6 day cruise instead of taking the 7 day cruise and then coming here looking for reassurance because they have NO choice but to fly on the morning of the cruise? :rolleyes: Yes, I know that the itineraries and the ships on the shorter itineraries aren't as nice, but if that's all your vacation time allows, why risk it? Either go on a shorter cruise or take more vacation time.

 

I'd love to take a 7 nighter for our next cruise, but we only have 6 days to play with. So we're taking a 4 night cruise with a 2 night pre-cruise hotel stay. Not my ideal cruise, but it's what my vacation time allows.

[Tapi]

An announcement was made that we need to add more fuel.:eek: That was a first for me and that plane was sitting there when I checked in over an hour before my flight (small airport). I am not sure why at last minute we didn't have enough fuel to make the 45 min trip to Atlanta.

 

Sometimes Air Traffic Control gives you a different route than what you were filed for at the last minute, adding more miles to your trip. (Just yesterday, what was supposed to be a 990 mile flight turned into a 1,300 mile flight when we got a reroute due to weather along our original route of flight as we were getting ready to close the boarding door). Needless to say, more miles more fuel.

 

Other times, weather at your destination may drop below what was originally forecasted and they may need to add an "alternate" airport to your flight plan (a requirement when visibility or cloud bases at your destination airport drops below a certain value, just in case you can't land there). Adding an alternate also requires more fuel.

 

These are two of the most common reasons that I can think of why they may need to add extra fuel at the last minute. But there are more.

 

Since you mention Atlanta, this airport is notorious for putting airplanes on holding patterns for extended periods of time, even on a perfectly clear day just because of the sheer volume of airplanes landing there (it's the busiest airport in the world). The airline may consider prudent to add extra holding fuel if they are notified that Atlanta is on a delay program.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Tapi

[Tapi]

LIKE! and your posts are always very informative (sometimes nicely sarcastic as well)!

 

Thanks, I try to be subtle! :o

[Budget Queen]

Living so close to all the ports we always drive.. many times staying the night before.

We decided to cruise out of San Juan for the second time. Direct flight leaving Orlando at 8ish and arriving at 11ish. FTTF

First flight delayed; then canceled.. till the following day.

Gave us a flight 3 hours later telling us it was only 90 minutes away.

Was 2 1/2 hours away.

Made the flight with 5 minutes to spare (took a cab too $500.00)

Jet Blue did reimburse us cause I faxed them map quest; weather for the day.. sunny skies and etc.

Will never fly day of a cruise again..not worth the stress

Cathy

 

A significant point with your booking is Jet Blue has NO interline agreements. People seem to think planes are easily replaced etc. sorry no. This is the same with Southwest, no interline. If flying those airlines, it is even more important to allow back up plans.

[Mysticks1]

Sometimes Air Traffic Control gives you a different route than what you were filed for at the last minute, adding more miles to your trip. (Just yesterday, what was supposed to be a 990 mile flight turned into a 1,300 mile flight when we got a reroute due to weather along our original route of flight as we were getting ready to close the boarding door). Needless to say, more miles more fuel..........

 

Thanks for the explanation, that was a first for me. It does seem that anything involving the Atlanta airport takes more time(much more to change terminals) and I live in Mobile and you pretty much have to go through Atlanta to get anywhere.