Winter cruise: How early to fly down?

[M&Dcruisers]

I would like advise from anyone who has flown to meet a winter cruise. I will be flying from Montreal to take a cruise departing Miami on February 1. Winter storms are frequent and can close airports. I will take a non-stop flight to help avoid delays. How many days ahead of time would be safe to fly to Miami?

[C 2 C]

Our winters are not as bad as Montreal's but we always fly down the night before.

 

Has Montreal's YUL been shut down more than one day at a time?

[rnrcruzin]

I think your poblem isn't with Miami weather, which at most might be rainy. Your biggest problem will be getting out of Montreal and you're in a better position to determin that.

 

Last February we flew out of Minneapolis the day before the cruise. I find it a lot less stressful. It gives you a Hudson's Bay Start to your trip. The morning of the cruise you can sleep in and take your time getting to the ship.

 

But then some folks like living on the edge and don't fly in until embarcation day.

[OkanaganRon]

We fly from BC, usually a non-stop from Vancouver. We always allow an extra day for possible weather issues, but have never experienced one. I believe the extra day would cover MOST weather delays, but of course, an extreme event is remotely possible I suppose!

[Lady Chew]

We always fly down at least one day before a cruise out of Florida. It takes the pressure off.

 

Even if your own airport is not affected by storms, and you have a non-stop flight, it can still be affected by storms elsewhere. If your aircraft can't get to your airport you may be stuck for a day or two.

 

We usually cruise with my SIL & BIL ... they fly out of Norfolk Virginia, and my BIL refuses to pay for the extra night in a hotel. They have to connect somewhere, but for the past two years they couldn't even get out of Norfolk because of storms elsewhere. Their weather was fine.

 

In 2013, they reached the ship on the 3rd day of a 7-day cruise (their luggage took another 2 days!) and last year they reached the ship on the 2nd day of a 7-day cruise.The other thing we do is to start watching the forecasts about a week out, in case we have to "bug out" a day or two early.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Lady Chew

[Du vent dans les voiles]

I would like advise from anyone who has flown to meet a winter cruise. I will be flying from Montreal to take a cruise departing Miami on February 1. Winter storms are frequent and can close airports. I will take a non-stop flight to help avoid delays. How many days ahead of time would be safe to fly to Miami?

 

We book our flight planning to leave two days in advance so if the morning we're suppose to leave the weather is awfull and our flight canceled, we're ready to jump in our car and drive to FFL. It gives us the 30 hours needed to arrive on time. :eek:

 

Silly me, but no way I'm going to miss one minute of our cruise!

Josée

[hcat]

If flying from NY we fly two days ahead or more. And hope for good weather.

 

But that's no guarantee. One yr there was very bad weather predicted for our flight days but forecasters were on the fence as usual, We jumped the gun and advanced our flts to avoid the ice storm and snow. Good thing.....Stayed the earlier day ahead with rels and then at the pre-cruise hotel as planned. It cost more but in the end we sailed away while others did not make it..

 

winter cruising always iffy but well worth it to get out of the cold!

[dkjretired]

We book our flight planning to leave two days in advance so if the morning we're suppose to leave the weather is awfull and our flight canceled, we're ready to jump in our car and drive to FFL. It gives us the 30 hours needed to arrive on time. :eek:

 

Silly me, but no way I'm going to miss one minute of our cruise!

Josée

 

I do the same thing except from Pa or NJ, wherever I happen to be....

[stones902]

At least a day, maybe two.

 

I live in Chicago so we also experience harsh (to use a polite term) winters. It's not only getting you to the port city in time but it's also about your luggage. Sometimes mistakes happen and if you don't have your luggage when you sail it can take days to get to a port where it can be claimed if you get it at all.

 

My advice is if you can swing two days that is your best option but in no case would I come in less than one day early.

[stratixman]

In winter I would strongly recommend you fly a minimum of one day, two days even better, in advance. The last thing you want is to be sitting at the airport thinking about the cruise that you booked leaving without you. The odds probably favor you being able to make it the same day of the cruise; but any significant glitch - weather, mechanical issue with plane, air crew doesn't show up (yes it happens), even your own screw up - and suddenly you could be up the creek without a paddle. Airlines as rule do not put passengers whose flight gets canceled due to weather on the next scheduled flight(s) unless there are open seats on those flights. Ticket holders for the next scheduled flight retain priority for their flight, i.e. they don't get bumped in order to put those travelers from the previously cancelled flights on. Several canceled flights to same destination on the same day or even previous day can pretty much guarantee major anxiety trying to get a flight that will arrive in time to make it to the ship. So a significant weather delay could easily push your travel date back by more than a day. Also, remember that the window to make the ship isn't the time it the ship departs - it is at least an hour earlier due to US regulations that require the passenger manifests be finalized by that time.

[foodsvcmgr]

We always fly to Florida or any embarkation port one or two nights ahead.

 

Not only will you have peace of mind and board rested and refreshed, it's great to get on ship wearing shorts and t-shirt while others are schlepping their winter coats in the heat.

[Big Chief]

We book our flight planning to leave two days in advance so if the morning we're suppose to leave the weather is awfull and our flight canceled, we're ready to jump in our car and drive to FFL. It gives us the 30 hours needed to arrive on time

 

The real issue is..when does the storm hit"? If it hits the day of the cruise you are obviously out of luck; but if you plan to go on the day before and the storm hits then, you still would probably be out of luck since your flight was cancelled and you would be flying "standby" the next day, since you don't have a reservation, an iffy proposition.

Probably the only reasonable guarantee is the 48 hour rule, preserving one's ability to drive.

I missed a departure under the exact circumstances and missed the entire cruise. The first port was Grand Cayman (3 days into the cruise) and we could not get confirmed seats, the next port was Cartegena (5 days into the cruise. We were lucky as the insurance company allowed us to cancel.

[donaldsc]

Part of the problem is the domino effect. You may be having perfect weather in Montreal but bad weather anywhere in the system can cause problems everywhere in the system. If you can stand being in Florida (I can't) allow 2 days. Otherwise 1 day but schedule an early flight out and be aware of alternatives.

 

 

DON

[diesel1973]

We also are faced with this decision for a cruise next Feb. This past Feb. we left on same day of cruise(ChoiceAir) and lucked out because storm day before caused plenty of people to miss the cruise. We usually fly day before but tried a different approach this year

[M&Dcruisers]

Thanks for the advice. I think we will go down a minimum of 2 days prior. We are retired, so I think we might do 3 or 4 days ahead. There must be something to do in Miami for a couple of days.

[Bobocasey]

Suggest renting a car and visiting areas in southern Florida. Better to spend a couple of days in the warm weather than stressing about not being able to get out of Montreal.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Thanks for the advice. I think we will go down a minimum of 2 days prior. We are retired, so I think we might do 3 or 4 days ahead. There must be something to do in Miami for a couple of days.

 

I suspect you'll find plenty of things to do. Starting with thawing out. :) Then you can start working on your tans by the pool.

[captdave]

I flew G-IV's for quite a few years. I get to a location 2 nights before. I stayed 2 nights at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan just to be safe for my cruise on the Summit. Getting to San Fran (or Oakland) in Sept, 2015 at 2-3 nights before our Panama Canal trip.

 

Getting on the ship (safely) is the #1 most important part of the trip.

 

CaptDave

[d4m]

We book our flight planning to leave two days in advance so if the morning we're suppose to leave the weather is awfull and our flight canceled, we're ready to jump in our car and drive to FFL. It gives us the 30 hours needed to arrive on time. :eek:

 

Silly me, but no way I'm going to miss one minute of our cruise!

Josée

 

I agree with two days. If last year's winter is any indication, many flights were delayed two days.

[wpgcycler]

I live in Winnipeg and have travelled a lot for business for many years. I've seen enough weather related fiascos to convince me to fly in two nights ahead of embarkation.

[teecee60]

We always fly down at least one day before a cruise out of Florida. It takes the pressure off.

 

We usually cruise with my SIL & BIL ... they fly out of Norfolk Virginia, and my BIL refuses to pay for the extra night in a hotel.

 

In 2013, they reached the ship on the 3rd day of a 7-day cruise (their luggage took another 2 days!) and last year they reached the ship on the 2nd day of a 7-day cruise.The other thing we do is to start watching the forecasts about a week out, in case we have to "bug out" a day or two early.

 

They sure saved a LOT, AND had a MUCH better vacation experience by not paying for that hotel! :eek: :o :rolleyes:

Edited July 7, 2014 by teecee60

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We fly in 2 days before and one year spent the night at the airport hotel in Pittsburgh because they were predicting a late evening, overnight ice storm. We left on time but there were a lot of cancelled flights that day due to the storm. This year we flew to San Antonio in April and had mechanical problems in Pittsburgh that caused us to miss our connecting flight. We could not get to San Antonio until the next morning. Luckily it was a land tour and we had insurance that covered our missed day of the program.

 

As they say, "Man Plans, God Decides". You never can predict what will happen.

 

Mary Lou

[stratixman]

Thanks for the advice. I think we will go down a minimum of 2 days prior. We are retired, so I think we might do 3 or 4 days ahead. There must be something to do in Miami for a couple of days.

 

You are making the right choice to get to FL early. There is plenty in Miami to do, but hotels and food aren't cheap in February. Since you are retired and have the time you might check out the availability of a 3 day cruise ahead of your currently planned cruise as a possible alternative to staying in Miami. Probably be a lot cheaper than hanging out in Miami. Also since Fort Lauderdale is only a little ways north of Miami you could also check out accommodations there. We much prefer Fort Lauderdale over Miami and, if we can, always choose to cruise out of there.

[Du vent dans les voiles]

Part of the problem is the domino effect. You may be having perfect weather in Montreal but bad weather anywhere in the system can cause problems everywhere in the system. If you can stand being in Florida (I can't) allow 2 days. Otherwise 1 day but schedule an early flight out and be aware of alternatives.

 

 

DON

 

Good reason for us to book with Air Canada (there's more Air Canada's planes in Montreal than in Detroit per example) and direct flight only!

 

Josée

[awhfy]

If you have the time (& it sounds as though you do) I'd fly in 4 days early, rent a car & do the 4 hour drive to Key West to the south or 2-1/2 hours west to Sanibel Island, stay there 3 days, drive back. & spend 1 night in a Miami hotel, have a leisurely breakfast & board your cruise already relaxed & slightly tanned. This is what we're thinking about doing this year as we have to come in from Colorado. Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk