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Flight into FLL at 12 pm, going on independence?

krmlaw

By krmlaw,
in Royal Caribbean International

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krmlaw

krmlaw

Posted
Posted

Ugh. We have flights booked for the day before our sail, but of course that night is our sons Xmas pageant. And he is soooo upset to miss it.

 

We can take a flight out day of sailing, direct, from albany ny to FLL.

 

We would land at 12:10 (scheduled).

 

We have never done day of sail flight and worried about timing etc.

 

Thoughts? Doable? I know not ideal.

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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

Posted
Posted
Ugh. We have flights booked for the day before our sail, but of course that night is our sons Xmas pageant. And he is soooo upset to miss it.

 

We can take a flight out day of sailing, direct, from albany ny to FLL.

 

We would land at 12:10 (scheduled).

 

We have never done day of sail flight and worried about timing etc.

 

Thoughts? Doable? I know not ideal.

Definitely no problem as long as there is a plane to take you. I say that because there could be a storm that closes down the airport, not only in Albany, but the airport that your plane is coming from.

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
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Keep in mind that you must be checked-in at least 90 minutes before scheduled departure. So if the ship departs at 4:30pm, that means you must be in the terminal by 3pm. If you have to wait for bags at the airport, that means you probably have no more than 2 to 2.5 hours of leeway.

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CFD130

CFD130

Posted
Posted

Just make sure you have insurance- You never know- We were scheduled to arrive in FLL from Maine the day before our cruise-tried to even get out one day earlier and had a flight booked- a huge storm hit the northeast and we sat at the airport hotel for three days. Of course by the time the storm had ended Saturday night there were no seats to be had. If we had booked for Sunday to arrive the day of our departure we would have been on the ship rather than on our way home- Again thank goodness for trip insurance- we booked the same cruise the next month

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F27TW

F27TW

Posted
Posted (edited)

.... risk missing your expensive cruise for a kids Christmas pageant? seriously?

 

Christmas will come again next year ... the ship won't wait for you this year.

 

Don't cut it that close ... all you need is one delay and you're hosed. Your cruise is more important than a school play. :rolleyes: .. plus .. wont changing the flights you already have incur a penalty and fare increase at this point?

I think youre being a little silly .. keep ur day-before flight.

 

Fa La La La La La La La Laaaaa.....

Edited by F27TW
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yogimax

yogimax

Posted
Posted
.... risk missing your expensive cruise for a kids Christmas pageant? seriously?

 

 

Nonsense! It's your son. Which is more important, your child or your cruise?

 

In addition, you have a direct flight. We have flown in on the day of our cruise over 60 times and never missed a cruise.

 

I really can't believe that some are placing more value on a cruise than family!

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perditax

perditax

Posted
Posted

I'm new to flying, but I get the sense some airlines are more flaky than others (for example I've read Delta moves flights around a lot?) so I guess factor in that and if you have any layovers.

 

I'd do it if it was a nonstop on SW, but I'm a gambler.

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foxgoodrich

foxgoodrich

Posted
Posted

We actually did this very thing on our very first cruise (mostly because we didn't know any better), and it worked out just fine. Our cruise was in early January. Our flight got us into FLL at about 1pm. There were no weather delays or flight problems, despite the fact that we had one connection to get there. We had no luggage problems. Since you can see the ship from the airport, the taxi ride was very short (10-15 min?) and we were aboard by 2:00 or so, in plenty of time. The only bad thing was, since we were such total newbies, we spent over an hour walking around the ship in awe, taking pics, and managed to miss lunch in the Windjammer!:o Now we know you should get some lunch first.:rolleyes:

 

Would I do what you're doing so I could attend my kid's Christmas pageant? Absolutely! Will it work for you? Most likely - if there aren't any weather anomalies, you should be fine. Should you stress out about this? NO! You've made the best decision you could possibly make, and you have a very high probability of successfully making it to both the pageant and the cruise. Say a little prayer to the weather gods…:o And maybe you should think about buying some trip insurance. I'm betting (and hoping!) it will all be fine for you.

Judy

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WrittenOnYourHeart Great Review Rare

WrittenOnYourHeart

Posted
Posted
I'm new to flying, but I get the sense some airlines are more flaky than others (for example I've read Delta moves flights around a lot?) so I guess factor in that and if you have any layovers.

 

I'd do it if it was a nonstop on SW, but I'm a gambler.

 

You have clearly never been stranded for 5 hours and 6 hours on two separate non-stop Southwest flights because they elected to do stuff that was not necessary (rearrange their equipment for no reason anyone seemed to know on the first and then on the second (ironically booked using the "We're so sorry" voucher from the first debacle) doing elective maintenance (clearly elective as they had flown into LGA with said issue present from takeoff in Akron, so it was clearly nothing flight threatening) and el idiot working on whatever it was BROKE THE SCREW - I threw the offered "We're sorry" voucher back in their face that time... that WAS their second chance). I wouldn't trust Southwest to get me somewhere leaving a week ahead of time, much less the day of.

 

To the OP... Only you can decide what to do. I do tend to fall on the "Christmas pageants happen every year" - unless your son is playing baby Jesus, which it pretty much only one time doable - side, but only because as I read your post the trip IS a family thing, so it's not like you're scrimping on family time. Is that the absolute ONLY option to get you there? Meaning there is nothing earlier even if it means being up well before the crack of dawn?

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F27TW

F27TW

Posted
Posted (edited)
Nonsense! It's your son. Which is more important, your child or your cruise?

 

In addition, you have a direct flight. We have flown in on the day of our cruise over 60 times and never missed a cruise.

 

I really can't believe that some are placing more value on a cruise than family!

 

 

Ridiculous.

 

It sounded like they already had this cruise AND their flights down the day before booked before so YES .. this would take priority over a school Christmas show for me ... its not like this is a situation where the child needs medical treatment or there was a family emergency ....

 

And I don't care if its a direct flight --- one that gets them in at noon on the day of departure is crazy. All it would take is one delay .. a mechanical problem, a weather delay upline from where they are boarding .. and they miss ... the ... ship.

 

Sorry -- be the parents here .. tell sonny boy to get over it -- santa show next year. mommy and daddy already had the cruise booked.

 

he'll forget all about it once he;s on the ship.

Edited by F27TW
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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

Posted
Posted
Ridiculous.

 

It sounded like they already had this cruise AND their flights down the day before booked before so YES .. this would take priority over a school Christmas show for me ... its not like this is a situation where the child needs medical treatment or there was a family emergency ....

 

And I don't care if its a direct flight --- one that gets them in at noon on the day of departure is crazy. All it would take is one delay .. a mechanical problem, a weather delay upline from where they are boarding .. and they miss ... the ... ship.

 

Sorry -- be the parents here .. tell sonny boy to get over it -- santa show next year. mommy and daddy already had the cruise booked.

 

he'll forget all about it once he;s on the ship.

Didn't you already give your 2 cents in post 9? You aren't the parent. How did you get back so quick from last week anyway?
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papaflamingo

papaflamingo

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Posted
I'm new to flying...I've read Delta moves flights around a lot?) .

 

I'm not new to flying. I have been a Delta Pilot for 28 years. Delta doesn't "move flights around." They do change the schedule, many months out, as do every other airline. But barring some unusual event like weather, maintenance, etc., they do not change the schedule. In fact we all work very hard to make the schedule work.

 

 

 

... they elected to do stuff that was not necessary (rearrange their equipment for no reason anyone seemed to know ....doing elective maintenance (clearly elective as they had flown into LGA with said issue present from takeoff in Akron, so it was clearly nothing flight threatening) and el idiot working on whatever it was BROKE THE SCREW....

 

You are just wrong. There is no such thing as "elective maintenance." Things break in airplanes all the time. Some things you go back to the gate for, some things not. But if it breaks after departure, you rarely need to divert. But many times need to fix it to take off again. It's mandated by both safety and the FAA. Just because a plane arrives, doesn't mean it can legally take off again. Oh, by the way, if you think "el idiot" was working on it, maybe next time you can offer your "expertise" and do the job right. God knows you are probably way more talented than "el idiot" who works on an airplane that you are going to board, fly 7 miles above the earth, and safely land.... that is unless "el idiot" can't do the job. Then you're liable to end up in a smoking hole in the ground. But you got on the airplane knowing "el idiot" worked on it. Who's "el idiot" now?

 

OP, you are pushing the limit. It's winter, it's a small airport with little options. I would definitely take out insurance. I can tell you many stories about delays over my 28 years. Will things work out? Likely. But it's a risk. Good luck.

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conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
Posted

I would never take this chance-way too close. I am unclear whether child is sailing with you? But since this is already booked, I agree that I wouldn't even consider moving it for a school Christmas pageant. If kid is coming with you, the lesson is that life is full of choices. Sometimes things are planned and other things come up and that is a disappointment but that's life. If he is cancellable and there is a grandparent of aunt/uncle available, I'd give him the option of skipping the cruise and staying home completely to attend his pageant. If he's not sailing, then line up a few relatives or friends he enjoys as his cheering section/ support team at the pageant and assure him they will videotape it so you can enjoy later.

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