Flying In on the Day of Cruise

[KnEcruisers]

Took my first ever cruise last October on the Glory, Planned on arriving in Miami by 11am. My flight out of Boston was delayed 3 times in a span of 12 hours, We ended up not even leaving Boston until 12:20pm....and arriving in Miami at 3:15pm....for a 4:00pm sailing. We were a nervous wreck that we were going to miss the start of the cruise, and would end up having to catch the ship in St Thomas. Luckily for us, Carnival was aware that a whole bunch of passengers on our plane...were cruising that day on several of the different Carnival ships...and they had a shuttle waiting for us at the airport to get us to the port in time to board the ship. But I've learned my lesson, about the dangers of plane delays that COULD potentially cause passengers to miss the cruise, so we are going again this October, again on the Glory...and we'll be flying in the day before. I never want to experience cutting it that close ever again.

[Jay Sam]

Took my first ever cruise last October on the Glory, Planned on arriving in Miami by 11am. My flight out of Boston was delayed 3 times in a span of 12 hours, We ended up not even leaving Boston until 12:20pm....and arriving in Miami at 3:15pm....for a 4:00pm sailing. We were a nervous wreck that we were going to miss the start of the cruise, and would end up having to catch the ship in St Thomas. Luckily for us, Carnival was aware that a whole bunch of passengers on our plane...were cruising that day on several of the different Carnival ships...and they had a shuttle waiting for us at the airport to get us to the port in time to board the ship. But I've learned my lesson, about the dangers of plane delays that COULD potentially cause passengers to miss the cruise, so we are going again this October, again on the Glory...and we'll be flying in the day before. I never want to experience cutting it that close ever again.

 

You are wise. Glad it worked out. Especially nice that Carnival helped out.

[evandbob]

Your idea of me being fatalistic is my idea of being realistic. You may be a frequent flyer, but I do this for a living.

 

I have little sympathy for those who say that they have no choice but to fly on the day of the cruise because "they don't have enough vacation time". If they don't have enough vacation time, the simple solution is to select a cruise that does fit their vacation time. Weighing in on people's finances is more delicate so I won't comment on that one.

 

As a side note, I hope that nobody flying today out of LGA (and using your reasoning) missed their cruises. Today's massive cancellations, on a beautiful, clear summer day, are a clear example of why it's dumb to choose to fly on the day of the cruise because of "statistical data". 168 cancellations, several of those nonstops to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and other cruise ports. Does today incident happen often? Absolutely not. But the point is that by flying on the day of the cruise you just don't allow yourself enough time to recover for that or ANY unforeseen circumstance, flight related or not.

 

 

Any cruisers flying out of LGA as of your Friday post above were more than likely trying to fly in the day before their cruise as is the gospel here on CC.

Edited July 27, 2015 by evandbob

[Budget Queen]

You are wise. Glad it worked out. Especially nice that Carnival helped out.

 

And think of the extra expense Carnival spent for that overtime sailing. :)

[StillPooh]

Sailing on Fascination Aug 6. Flying DCA to JAX nonstop on the 6th. Arrival 10:45 am. Carrying on only, no dealing with baggage claim. Getting to pier using Carnival's transfer service. In my head this is plenty of time but all the comments I read on here and on a Facebook Carnival page have me thinking otherwise.

 

So: if you have had SUCCESS flying in the day of the cruise, please comment here. I know the stories are out there!!Thanks!! :-)

We sailed Carnival out of Miami, flying out of the Midwest in the dead of winter! Like you, we used Carnival to take us from the airport to the pier. The flight ran a bit late, but there were several dozen cruise passengers on it, and the Carnival employee in charge of us assured us we would not be left behind.

 

You have a direct flight, at a time of year when weather should not be an issue. So you've got good betting odds. Bon voyage! :cool:

[Shipbound]

I fly out of BDL(Bradley) in Connecticut while it is small airport,if I fly direct and it is not during the winter I will fly the same day of a cruise. But if I have a connection or it is during the winter months I will fly in one or two days before a cruise. Regardless of when I fly I get travel insurance.

 

Gary

[sandiacresteds]

With the money paid for the cruise itself, plus the months of planning and preparation, not to mention the fact that even more money will have to be spent on flights for us to 'catch up' to the ship if our flight is delayed, should we choose to fly in the day the cruise strarts, it's totally worth the expenditure of a hotel room for the night for us to fly in the day before.

Edited July 27, 2015 by sandiacresteds

[Jay Sam]

I fly out of BDL(Bradley) in Connecticut while it is small airport,if I fly direct and it is not during the winter I will fly the same day of a cruise. But if I have a connection or it is during the winter months I will fly in one or two days before a cruise. Regardless of when I fly I get travel insurance.

 

Gary

 

Just remember, even on nonstops there can be delays/cancels for mechanical issues. Just sayin'.

 

I agree with what you said about getting travel insurance, and good idea flying in a day or 2 before the cruise during the winter months. When I lived in Denver, I remember years ago when the airport was closed for 2 days due to a blizzard in late Nov. This can happen in other places than in Denver.

[evandbob]

And think of the extra expense Carnival spent for that overtime sailing. :)

 

Carnival had probably booked some pax on the delayed flights themselves, so Carnival was responsible for getting those pax to the ships. I have been on a Miami based cruise when local thunderstorms didn't allow for landings at MIA. We waited until 6:15PM or so that those who booked Carnival air could land and get to the port.

 

Independent flyers can benefit from being on a flight with Carnival booked cruisers on it.

 

As a neophyte cruiser, I booked Carnival air once, and my direct flight landed close to 2PM in MIA. Now I schedule a 10AM arrival.

 

As far as costs involved, the ships may have had to sail at 18 knots/hr rather than 17 to make up for the delayed time at the home port.

[KnEcruisers]

I don't think Carnival had any extra expenses incurred. We had already purchased our Carnival transfer(as did others I assume), and the ship did not leave late....We left right on time..... I think maybe the only expenses was having a shuttle standing by for the late arrivals..and the shuttle was full, so I think Carnival wanted to make sure we all got there in time for the ship(s) to sail.

[Shipbound]

Just remember, even on nonstops there can be delays/cancels for mechanical issues. Just sayin'.

 

I agree with what you said about getting travel insurance, and good idea flying in a day or 2 before the cruise during the winter months. When I lived in Denver, I remember years ago when the airport was closed for 2 days due to a blizzard in late Nov. This can happen in other places than in Denver.

 

You are correct even non-stop flights can have delays that is why I get the earliest flight out.

 

Gary

[skittl1321]

Want a horror story?

 

All flights within a 4 hour drive of us got shut down the day we left for our once in a lifetime vacation on the Xpedition. There was a fire in Chicago control center, and the FAA grounded all planes. It took us 5 hours in an airport before the finally admitted we were going nowhere, and another 4 hours on the phone to get rebooked.

 

Thankfully, we were leaving a day early for our cruise land tour.

 

Well, then, Chicago was still closed the next day. But by shear luck, we had been booked on a flight out of Dallas; so we were able to leave. But because Chicago was still closed, we had to fly at a low altitude to stay out of Chicago airspace until we got to Kansas City airspace. Combined with a 2 hour manifest delay out of our hometown, we made it to FtW in time to be the LAST people on the plane. Well then, due to the rebooking fiasco we were put on an international airline in Miami, with only a 45 minute connection- ticketing was closed by the time we got there. Only absolutely sobbing tears secured us tickets. And THEN we barely made it through security in time to run to the gate; the fourth to last people on the plane.

 

We made it to Quito at midnight. Obviously, we missed the entire land tour. The luggage had already been collected for transfer to the ship, they had to take ours separately.

 

But thank god we made the ship. Because with that one, there are no ports to catch up to.

 

But if we had been rebooked through Chicago, the 2 day leeway wouldn't have been enough. (Insurance did give us back the minimal cost of the included land tour. But we'll never get back the experience we missed.)

 

It was an absolute nightmare start to a vacation. I've never had such bad travel days.

 

I will NEVER fly in the day of a cruise. And if it is an expensive vacation, I'd give it 2 days.

[mss22859]

On 4 of our 5 previous cruises (2 out of Miami, 2 FLL), we flew in a day early. The only time we didn't, we sailed out of NYC and had a bus drop off and pick us up at the pier. This year, we are flying in the day of, as the late departure from San Juan should be okay, as our flight arrives in SJU at 1:00 P. M. With travel insurance, I am not concerned. I don't think I would risk it with any other departure port.

[Tapi]

Any cruisers flying out of LGA as of your Friday post above were more than likely trying to fly in the day before their cruise as is the gospel here on CC.

 

 

Exactly my point. If people sailing on Saturday got stuck in that mess on Friday, they still had plenty of time to rebook on a different flight, on a different airline, through a different city, and worse case scenario, hop on the car and drive down to Miami. NONE of these options would've been possible had this mess happened on the same day of the cruise.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Tapi