Flying in day of

[junglecat]

OK, I know this will open a can of worms. We've always flown in the day before. Anyone ever flown in the day off? Might I add out of Indiana on a cold wintery morning! Argh. Airfare is outrageous! Flying day of is way cheaper but not sure my nerves could handle it!!!

[Disconnections]

Flying from which airport to where? Nonstop or with connections? Direct or nearby? Arrival time? Transportation from the airport to the cruise terminal provided by the cruise line or taxi? Have you looked at nearby airports for arrival the day before? Are you specific to one airline or are you using a flight matrix to display all available flights (with the exception of Southwest flights and one OTA for US Airways)?

Edited September 10, 2014 by Disconnections

[ncovert]

OK, I know this will open a can of worms. We've always flown in the day before. Anyone ever flown in the day off? Might I add out of Indiana on a cold wintery morning! Argh. Airfare is outrageous! Flying day of is way cheaper but not sure my nerves could handle it!!!

 

I have only ever flown in the day of once and it was on my first cruise. I was not in charge of booking the cruise, the airfare or the transportation to the port as it was a gift. We had no problems. Today almost nine years later... I would suck it up and pay the extra the day before just because of the stories I have heard. Really up to you though

 

Happy sailing!!!

[junglecat]

Flying out of Indy into ft. Lauderdale. We haven't booked yet as the rates are crazy outrageous. Just curious if I'm a crazy woman for even considering flying out the day of our cruise.

[jimbo5544]

Flying out of Indy into ft. Lauderdale. We haven't booked yet as the rates are crazy outrageous. Just curious if I'm a crazy woman for even considering flying out the day of our cruise.

 

Our 1st rule of thumb is in winter, never fly day of and DEF. not with a connection. There are just two many things that can go wrong.

[RWolver672]

We're from Michigan and always cruise in February. We would never consider flying in the day of a cruise.

 

In many cases, we found that if you fly in a day or two or even three, the cost of the flight is a lot less. If you find the right hotel, you come out ahead.

 

Our last cruise we left on a Thursday for a Saturday cruise and the hotel was less than what we would have paid for a flight the same day as the cruise.

[yankee04]

I've done it twice. It's risky. Probably nothing will go wrong but things happen sometimes. The last time I did it was a few years ago. I had a flight scheduled to arrive at 11am in Miami for a 4pm departure. I felt that left plenty of wiggle room for delays. While we are approaching the runway to take off, a freak storm starts and all flights were stopped for 3+ hours. When I finally made it and claimed my luggage (after being stressed out the entire length of the flight), it was 3:40. I immediately called Carnival when I landed to let them know of our situation. We arrived at 4:02 and they nicely held the ship for us. The muster drill was nearly over. Only two people boarded behind us and then they closed the doors. We were actually told that the ship was held only because we called and told them we were running late. If we didn't, they would have taken off at 4.

 

Lesson learned - I will now always either take a cruise from NY (where I live) or fly in the day prior.

[KenMo]

I'm flying out of MCI (Kansas City) in February to Tampa, non stop. Two days early.

 

Never know how the weather is going to be. And I don't want to miss the cruise!!

 

There's no way I'd fly out the day of, in the winter, from the Midwest.

 

I'm sure thousands do it all the time with no problem. But I'm not willing to chance it.

Edited September 10, 2014 by KenMo

[Bunkie103]

We did it once and had no problem and are doing it again in October....not my idea. DH did the booking and it's a non-stop from Raleigh into Tampa arriving a 10:40am. Hope I don't have to say "I told you so"!

Edited September 10, 2014 by Bunkie103

[jpm1973]

For our first cruise we flew in the day of and had no problems. Granted it was June and we purposely chose the very first nonstop flight from LaGuardia to Ft. Lauderdale but who knows what might happen. We're booked on a January cruise and plan to fly in the day before. If this winter is anything like last winter who knows!

 

 

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[Andoria]

I'm flying in the day of for my November cruise. Boston-NYC-San Juan. Not my idea but since the ship sails late, it should be O.K. I hope:)

[TeresaJ]

What is the price difference? It may be worth to go a day ahead for peace of mind. You don't want to start your vacation in panic mode!

We live in Wisconsin and cruise in February or March and always fly a day ahead on nonstop flights. It puts me at ease at the beginning of the vacation.

 

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[springs741]

Just a few weeks ago the Galveston cruise cam board allowed many of us to watch/read the story of a woman that was scheduled to land in Houston (Hobby) at something like 11AM. There was a layover/plane change in Dallas. A delay occurred and even though she called Carnival repeatedly by the time she was at the Cruise port it was too late. She arrived just shortly after the scheduled 4PM departure.

[wiskt]

I usually always fly in the day of with no problems. (knock on wood & Karma-Cap)

It helps to be familiar with the airports, have less others slowing you up and manage with just a carry-on. I try to book the first flights out, and I will pay the extra buck or two for a direct flight to the closest airport. (ex: direct to MIA over a FLL transfer)

 

At least with the first flights out at 6:45-7am there may be less of a chance for a delay waiting for the inbound flight...... and if there is, at least you have 2-3 options on a later flight to still get you there in time.

 

Coming home

I'm flexible & don't mind a connection either. I've also volunteered to take a later flight if it is offered and a voucher as a BONUS.

 

My trip on 9/21 I booked a hacker fair (two one ways) which was cheaper with a shuttle service over a round trip to/from the same airport.

PHL-MIA nonstop

FLL-PHL nonstop

Edited September 10, 2014 by wiskt

[edinboro cruiser]

As stated don't start your vacation in panic mode. When I lived up north we always flew in day before. Didn't matter what time of year. It also allows you to get to the port early and start enjoying the ship.

 

 

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[Ehpride]

I'm in Iowa. It's worth it to me to pay more to fly in the day before. I would be a nervous wreck worrying about possible blizzards, ice, etc that would delay flights or prevent me from getting to the airport.

 

 

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[INCHARGE]

Last January because of DH job. Flew out of Washington, DC on January 12, and every day for about 2 days, all flights were cancelled due to weather! Either it was flights getting to DC from other snow covered areas up north, or just getting out of DC. I thought I would have a heart attack. We were flying to Puerto Rico, so it was later in the evening before leaving, but the fear of our flight being cancelled was enough to make us a wreck. We got no sleep the night before, fearing the worse. Everything worked out, but I think we were ahead of another pending snowstorm. This January, we will fly down the day before. If snow storm is pending, we will just jump in our cars and drive to Orlando by way of 95!!

[adriennerm]

I flew in the day off in Feb from Kansas City, MO which isn't far from you. We had a snow storm hit on Friday. A lot of flights were delayed and canceled the following Saturday, which was the day of my wedding. :( By Sunday the roads were cleared but it was still below freezing temps.

 

We had the earliest nonstop flight from KC to Orlando via Southwest. The flight arrived on time but we were delayed after we boarded. They had to deice the plane. That took a little over 20 minutes. Then we had to wait to take off. We ended up losing 40 minutes because of the weather.

 

When we landed instead of arriving at noon we arrived forty minutes late. I booked Carnival transfers for us. Unfortunately for the other people on the transfer, they made them wait for my husband and me. By the time we arrived, ran threw the airport and found the Carnival stand the rep was paging us on the intercom.

 

All seasons have weather related incidents. If you can't fly the day before, just make sure you have travel insurance.

 

Even with what we went through last time, we may travel the day off for our cruise in May due to work related matters.

[Aoumd]

I flew in day of once at the end of January and it worked, but this was a situation where the odds were in my favor: New York (EWR) to Fort Lauderdale on a flight leaving EWR before 7am (first flight of the day, starting in EWR) and arriving FLL around 9am, on a route with a flight every hour or two so I could make the cruise even if my flight or the next one were canceled.

 

As others have asked, what dates/airfares are you seeing IND-FLL? Also, how far and in what direction are you coming from to get to the IND airport? Depending on where you are in the state, there are some big airports with lots of options an hour or less from the Indiana border (Chicago-Midway, Detroit Metro, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky) that may (or may not, but worth a look) save you hundreds of dollars if you drive another hour or two to get to a different airport for a flight the night before.

 

Good luck and safe travels!

Edited September 10, 2014 by Aoumd

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Flying out of Indy into ft. Lauderdale. We haven't booked yet as the rates are crazy outrageous. Just curious if I'm a crazy woman for even considering flying out the day of our cruise.

 

Um, first flight out from IND should be ok but keep in mind if there's a connection in say, ATL or PHL or JFK etc, there's a good chance of getting out late due to deicing and possible downline weather in whatever hub you are going thru. That's not to even take into consideration maintenance issues that can arise. Personally unless it's nonstop or at the least, direct, I wouldn't try it. I have flown in day of twice, once this year and once years ago, which only ended up being day of due to operational issues the day before. Just the stress alone isn't worth it.

[elliair]

OK, I know this will open a can of worms. We've always flown in the day before. Anyone ever flown in the day off? Might I add out of Indiana on a cold wintery morning! Argh. Airfare is outrageous! Flying day of is way cheaper but not sure my nerves could handle it!!!

 

It depends. If we're flying to LA, we fly in the day of the cruise. If it's Seattle, we fly in the same day. If it's clear across the country to Florida, we fly in the day before. I have a friend who is flying the red eye to Florida to do a Panama Canal cruise. There's no way I would do that, but she feels comfortable in doing it. We always get trip insurance, so either way we are covered.

Edited September 10, 2014 by elliair

[Tapi]

As an airline pilot, YES, it's insane to fly on the day of the cruise. If people only knew ALL the things that can go wrong, even on a nonstop flight departing on a beautiful, clear morning, they would NEVER even consider it. When I read things like "you should be Ok, it's summer, or there are other backup nonstops, or it's a short flight, or it's the first flight in the morning" etc, etc, I know it's a matter of time before these people are crying at the airport, realizing that they are not going on a cruise after all.

 

I remember last summer. I was operating a flight to Minneapolis and the agent came down to the airplane saying that they were waiting on 4 passengers and that they would give them another 5 minutes. I went up to the boarding area and we saw this man, out of breath, saying that the rest of his group was stuck at security and to make it worse, one was handicapped. The agent said that he was sorry, but that he was going to close the flight and that they would need to take the next flight. The passenger reacted frantically, saying that they couldn't wait because they were connecting in Minneapolis to go to Anchorage to catch an Alaska cruise that same day! :eek:

 

Knowing that there was only one flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage that day, and that if these passengers didn't get on they would miss their cruise, I told the agent to delay the flight as long as necessary. He huffed and said that he could only hold the flight a maximum of 10 minutes. I once again told him to delay as long as necessary, and that I would take the hit for the delay and discuss it later with the Chief Pilot.

 

Long story short, we got all the passengers onboard. But as we walked down the jetway, I told them that the only way that I would let them on the flight was if they raised their right hand and promised to NEVER fly on the day of the cruise! :D

 

Hope they learned their lesson with that close call, but had the pilots been someone else that couldn't care less if someone made it to their cruise, these passengers would've been screwed.

 

 

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Edited September 10, 2014 by Tapi

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Since I live 175 miles from St. Louis (my airport) I have to get a room the night before. I have flown in the day of over 20 times and only had a delay once. In February a 2 hour delay to de-ice the plane. That was our only winter cruise. Since weather is such a factor in the midwest during January you're rolling the dice. AND just because INDY is clear doesn't mean your flight couldn't be delayed by weather somewhere else. Even if you schedule a flight the day before you could still encounter weather and wind up on standby the day of the cruise. My advice, take the insurance whatever you decide.

[KPfromCT]

As an airline pilot, YES, it's insane to fly on the day of the cruise. If people only knew ALL the things that can go wrong, even on a nonstop flight departing on a beautiful, clear morning, they would NEVER even consider it. When I read things like "you should be Ok, it's summer, or there are other backup nonstops, or it's a short flight, or it's the first flight in the morning" etc, etc, I know it's a matter of time before these people are crying at the airport, realizing that they are not going on a cruise after all.

 

I remember last summer. I was operating a flight to Minneapolis and the agent came down to the airplane saying that they were waiting on 4 passengers and that they would give them another 5 minutes. I went up to the boarding area and we saw this man, out of breath, saying that the rest of his group was stuck at security and to make it worse, one was handicapped. The agent said that he was sorry, but that he was going to close the flight and that they would need to take the next flight. The passenger reacted frantically, saying that they couldn't wait because they were connecting in Minneapolis to go to Anchorage to catch an Alaska cruise that same day! :eek:

 

Knowing that there was only one flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage that day, and that if these passengers didn't get on they would miss their cruise, I told the agent to delay the flight as long as necessary. He huffed and said that he could only hold the flight a maximum of 10 minutes. I once again told him to delay as long as necessary, and that I would take the hit for the delay and discuss it later with the Chief Pilot.

 

Long story short, we got all the passengers onboard. But as we walked down the jetway, I told them that the only way that I would let them on the flight was if they raised their right hand and promised to NEVER fly on the day of the cruise! :D

 

Hope they learned their lesson with that close call, but had the pilots been someone else that couldn't care less if someone made it to their cruise, these passengers would've been screwed.

 

 

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That was SO nice of you!!!!:D:D:D They should be grateful they had a nice pilot, because I am sure not many would have done that.

If we cruise in April, we normally fly down the morning of......

However, we are booking a January cruise, and we live in Connecticut, so we are planning on the day before. AND, for the first time, we are buying trip insurance. I am cruising with my MIL. She's ANAL. lol

[Tapi]

That was SO nice of you!!!!:D:D:D

 

Thanks. I only did what I would've liked for someone else to do for me had I been in that situation. Only cruise-addicted people like us truly understand how stressful that situation would've been. :o

 

 

 

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