Help me convince my husband...

[Corfe Mixture]

Try this logic on him.

Flying in on the day of the cruise is a gamble and so what is important are the odds being offered. Reportedly, 15% of flights within the US are delayed more than 15 minutes though in the case of the worst 16 airlines 25% are delayed by more than 15 minutes.

 

However if you follow the link below, which is base on information supplied by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, you may wonder who dreamt up a figure as low as 15%-25%!!! http://wgntv.com/2016/05/09/the-airlines-with-the-most-flight-delays/

 

Turning to the gamble and the odds being offered.

 

I don't know how much you are paying for your cruise, or how early in the day your inbound flight is scheduled to arrive, but, if you are paying just $600 ($300 each) on your cruise, then, by not spending $150 on a hotel, he is betting that there is a less than 25% chance of your flight being delayed.

 

Probably not a bad gamble though, if you miss your cruise, you will inevitably pick up additional unplanned costs

 

BUT

 

If your cruise is costing $600 per person then, ignoring the detrimental effect of the stress factor and any additional costs incurred as a result of missing the cruise, your husband is proposing to gamble that there is less than a 12.5 per cent chance that your flight will be delayed by enough to cause you to miss the cruise, which, on the face of it, would seem to me to be a reckless gamble

 

Show your husband the above link....but, if he doesn't understand the logic or does understand the logic and thinks those are good odds...... Give up!! You'll never convince him!!

Edited February 23, 2017 by Corfe Mixture

[Corfe Mixture]

Hang on!! Just had another thought. South Mississippi?Unless things have changed, I don't think there are any direct flights to MIA (for POM) from anywhere in South Mississippi and I'm guessing that probably means you are planning to fly out of New Orleans so I had a look at the schedules.

 

Seems to me that, unless you go for a 6am departure from New Orleans (arrive at around 9am), the only other direct does not arrive at MIA until noon, even if the flight is on time!!!

 

So, given you appear not to live near to an airport with direct flights to MIA, what is he proposing?

 

Getting up at some ridiculous time to drive to New Orleans or staying near New Orleans airport?

 

If it is the former, then surely it make more sense to take an afternoon, or early evening flight, to MIA the previous day, than to start your vacation feeling that you have just missed a nights sleep.

 

If it is the latter, then surely it is better to take the early evening flight, to MIA the previous day, and stay in a hotel in Miami and not have to worry about flight delays than to than stay in a hotel near New Orleans airport and then have to worry about the flight being delayed.

 

Seems like I am missing something, perhaps an alternative route not using New Orleans, as flying in the day before would appear to be a, perhaps cost neutral, no brainer to me.

 

My betting is that his apparent intransigence is nothing more than him saying 'May 2018 is a long time away and I don't need to think about it until much nearer the time' and that, when he gets around to thinking about it, probably in the autumn, the decision will make itself.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Corfe Mixture

[DaveOKC]

Tell your husband that it is like getting an extra day of vacation. Often the day we fly in we are so tired out that we are ready to "crash" for the evening (in our hotel). The next day we are up early and ready/excited to get started on our cruise.

 

Having flown weekly on my job I have seen SO many things go wrong that caused me to miss flights, get in very late, or lose luggage. I sure do not want that experience to be part of my expensive vacation.

 

Another thought - tell him that by flying in the day before you can get on the ship earlier and get a FREE lunch.

[slightlysilly]

To me, it all depends on your embarkation port. Port Canaveral, I wouldn't fly in day of, there are too many variables with a 45 minute drive from MCO, traffic, etc... I've flown in day of from PHL to Miami and had no problems, BUT I had a working idea of the flight times needed to get to my first port of call. This next cruise, my first port of call is Roatan with a sea day before that. That's when I strongly consider a day before flight, even with insurance. But I take all that into account when planning flights.

 

Also, I have a Marriott rewards credit card that I use for this and that and then pay off every month. I haven't paid actual money for a Marriott hotel room in I can't remember how long. Lots of credit cards have reward point systems (or even your debit card at your local bank). If you look you may have accumulated a ton of points you can use toward travel.

 

 

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[amallison]

Are you even sure the travel insurance will protect you? Travel insurance usually protects you for illness, terrorist events preventing travel, illness of an immediate family member or pet, weather preventing the travel etc.. Here you would have booked a cruise, the cruise would leave with no issue. It would be your flight, that you booked to get to the cruise that would create the issue. I would be sure to follow up and make sure you are protected.

 

I would say the hotels in June in Florida won't be expensive, unless you are staying near Disney. You could fine something for less than $150.00 that would be just fine. Its just not worth it. You are looking forward to this cruise so much that you are planning it over a year in advance and you want one little mechanical issue or one thunderstorm to not allow you to do the cruise?

 

If you do end up flying in the same day make sure to get the earliest flight possible. Anyway its WAY WAY to early to book a flight. And you might find cheaper flights the day before. Also, besides for the small chance of the flight not making it, flying in the same day makes the whole first half of the day very stressful. Why not have a relaxing vacation?

 

I told him last night that I've made the executive decision that we will fly in the day before, maybe even 2 days before if I feel like we need to. I don't want the stress and I've been on one too many flights that were delayed or had luggage lost or the flight was just cancelled altogether and it is not a fun experience. I do tend to give him a bit of a break because he's not an experienced traveler like I am, he's only been on a handful of flights so he doesn't have a good grasp on what could happen because he's never had to deal with it before.

[amallison]

Hang on!! Just had another thought. South Mississippi?Unless things have changed, I don't think there are any direct flights to MIA (for POM) from anywhere in South Mississippi and I'm guessing that probably means you are planning to fly out of New Orleans so I had a look at the schedules.Seems to me that, unless you go for a 6am departure from New Orleans (arrive at around 9am), the only other direct does not arrive at MIA until noon, even if the flight is on time!!!

 

So, given you appear not to live near to an airport with direct flights to MIA, what is he proposing?

 

Getting up at some ridiculous time to drive to New Orleans or staying near New Orleans airport?

 

If it is the former, then surely it make more sense to take an afternoon, or early evening flight, to MIA the previous day, than to start your vacation feeling that you have just missed a nights sleep.

 

If it is the latter, then surely it is better to take the early evening flight, to MIA the previous day, and stay in a hotel in Miami and not have to worry about flight delays than to than stay in a hotel near New Orleans airport and then have to worry about the flight being delayed.

 

Seems like I am missing something, perhaps an alternative route not using New Orleans, as flying in the day before would appear to be a, perhaps cost neutral, no brainer to me.

 

My betting is that his apparent intransigence is nothing more than him saying 'May 2018 is a long time away and I don't need to think about it until much nearer the time' and that, when he gets around to thinking about it, probably in the autumn, the decision will make itself.

 

 

Yes, we're in South Mississippi and lucky for us we are smack dab between New Orleans and Gulfport/Biloxi airports so flying out of either of those is convenient for us. There are no direct flights from GPT to MIA or FLL and flights from GPT tend to be more expensive than those from MSY. We'll definitely be flying from MSY because the flights are cheaper, they offer direct flights, and it's not an inconvenience.

[amallison]

Hang on!! Just had another thought. South Mississippi?Unless things have changed, I don't think there are any direct flights to MIA (for POM) from anywhere in South Mississippi and I'm guessing that probably means you are planning to fly out of New Orleans so I had a look at the schedules.Seems to me that, unless you go for a 6am departure from New Orleans (arrive at around 9am), the only other direct does not arrive at MIA until noon, even if the flight is on time!!!

 

So, given you appear not to live near to an airport with direct flights to MIA, what is he proposing?

 

Getting up at some ridiculous time to drive to New Orleans or staying near New Orleans airport?

 

If it is the former, then surely it make more sense to take an afternoon, or early evening flight, to MIA the previous day, than to start your vacation feeling that you have just missed a nights sleep.

 

If it is the latter, then surely it is better to take the early evening flight, to MIA the previous day, and stay in a hotel in Miami and not have to worry about flight delays than to than stay in a hotel near New Orleans airport and then have to worry about the flight being delayed.

 

Seems like I am missing something, perhaps an alternative route not using New Orleans, as flying in the day before would appear to be a, perhaps cost neutral, no brainer to me.

 

My betting is that his apparent intransigence is nothing more than him saying 'May 2018 is a long time away and I don't need to think about it until much nearer the time' and that, when he gets around to thinking about it, probably in the autumn, the decision will make itself.

 

 

P.S. Thanks for the numbers and odds, he's a numbers guy so this will make a lot of sense to him!

[DISFANS3]

You pay for the first day on the Cruise, Why show up at 3 pm when most of time you can get on board by 11 am 12 noon?? We also have done the same day flight and had a close call several times. Our last flight non cruise was delayed 3 hours going down 8 hours going back.. We always fly down one day early two in the winter...

[RocketMan275]

Yes, we're in South Mississippi and lucky for us we are smack dab between New Orleans and Gulfport/Biloxi airports so flying out of either of those is convenient for us. There are no direct flights from GPT to MIA or FLL and flights from GPT tend to be more expensive than those from MSY. We'll definitely be flying from MSY because the flights are cheaper, they offer direct flights, and it's not an inconvenience.

 

 

If you live between Gulfport and NOLA, perhaps you might want to consider driving? Google says it would be about a 12 hour drive from Slidell to Miami. Other ports would be less of a drive.

 

We live in North Alabama and we've started driving to the port. Saves money for one thing. Avoids the hassle of TSA and airports. Much more relaxed and enjoyable experience.

 

You can leave the ship at a time of your choosing and your car is waiting for you. If you disembark early, odds are you can drive home and beat the time you're flight would get you there.

 

We drive to the Ocala area, about 10 hours, and spend the night. We're up the next morning and it's about a four hour drive to Fort Lauderdale, maybe five to Miami. We're up, have a comfortable breakfast and are on the road by eight which means we're in FLL by 1200. We don't have to board until 3:30 so we have several hours to deal with travel issue, the car won't start, flat tire, etc.

 

It works well for us.

[Debbers]

I told him last night that I've made the executive decision that we will fly in the day before, maybe even 2 days before if I feel like we need to.

 

There you go! Nicely done. I bet he married you because you take care of these things so nicely. :D

[Harrylinden]

OMG, I will never fly the same day as the cruise,NEVER again.We almost missed the ship.That was sooo stressful.If you spending money for a cruise ,then go and spend a little money for a hotel for the night.It's 16 months away, start saving a little money out of each pay and by then you will have enough money. Embassy Suites has free shuttle from MIA to the hotel.Free managers reception that night and free breakfast the next morning.We have stayed at Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale too. Good price.Hope that helps!:D

[amallison]

If you live between Gulfport and NOLA, perhaps you might want to consider driving? Google says it would be about a 12 hour drive from Slidell to Miami. Other ports would be less of a drive.

 

We live in North Alabama and we've started driving to the port. Saves money for one thing. Avoids the hassle of TSA and airports. Much more relaxed and enjoyable experience.

 

You can leave the ship at a time of your choosing and your car is waiting for you. If you disembark early, odds are you can drive home and beat the time you're flight would get you there.

 

We drive to the Ocala area, about 10 hours, and spend the night. We're up the next morning and it's about a four hour drive to Fort Lauderdale, maybe five to Miami. We're up, have a comfortable breakfast and are on the road by eight which means we're in FLL by 1200. We don't have to board until 3:30 so we have several hours to deal with travel issue, the car won't start, flat tire, etc.

 

It works well for us.

 

 

We talked about driving but the other couple we're cruising with isn't willing to do that. They're already driving to MS from another state and it's a 9 hour drive. They would prefer to fly.

[amallison]

There you go! Nicely done. I bet he married you because you take care of these things so nicely. :D

 

 

I can pretty much guarantee you this is how things will play out.

 

DH (for the next 16 months)- "I don't want to spend $150 on a hotel room for the night before the cruise, I refuse to."

 

DH (after June 10, 2018) - "I'm really glad we decided it would be best to fly in the day before."

 

Eventually he will own up to the fact that he should've listened to me in the first place and I was right...like always! ;p

[jaskie]

I flew in a day early to Orlando for a cruise out of Port Canaveral, got a rental car, got to the hotel - walked around, etc. Next morning dropped off car and took shuttle to the port. Checking in I discovered we had missed a bag at the airport, which carried a majority of our clothing, and some information needed on the cruise. (I was cruising with 3 teenage girls so you can guess how many suit cases I had). We flew in on Delta as a standby, so they didn't track us down for the suitcase. After 10 minutes of panic, the RCCL supervisor had me call the airport to figure out where the bag was (luckily by flying in early we got on the ship at 11:00, so I could have gone to get it is needed). Delta had it, then the supervisor had their shuttle person at the airport go to pick up the bag (I was on the phone with Delta at the time so gave my blessing) and get it to me. If I would have waited until morning, no clothes. We actually ended up getting that suitcase delivered to the room before the others. ;-)

 

Moral - I now live in Tampa, so either taking my cruises out of Tampa or Port Orlando. Those I drive in the same day. In May we are going to Port Everglades and driving down -- it's a 3.5 to 4 hour drive and driving down the day before. DOn't want to worry about a car dying, etc...And yes I now keep better track of bags.

[suite dreamer]

By all means yes have the insurance,we have only done fly in day of once after that we fly in day before like the holiday inn port of Miami stay on the 8 or 9 th floor good view of the ships , bayside market is across the street and a cvs one block up taxi ride is all of 8 minutes, and a cop shop one block the other way , I found drinks in the bar to be $$ buy sprit's at cvs cheaper , you can get dinner at bayside market , day of sail get up shower ,eat , check your paper work ,pack ,your bags the way you want what to carry on and what to check at the dock

 

 

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[Lee2385]

I am a flight attendant and I'm telling you to come the day before!!!! What if your flight is delayed or even canceled? Not worth it! I live in FL and we ALWAYS go the night before to kick off our vacation JUST IN CASE of a flat tire, traffic, any little thing that could go wrong!!

 

 

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[bunnyette]

We always fly in 1 or 2 nights before, then we board relaxed .... No stressing about weather or airplane difficulties. We also buy stuff such as wine, sunscreen etc...on our day in port.

 

 

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[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Your cruise is more than a year away. Why not make a deal in which you both agree to put $10 a week in an envelope and by January 2018 you will have more than enough to cover the cost of the hotel. Keep saving the $10 a week After January, and by your cruise you will have plenty of spending money for food as well. I would much rather fly in the day before just for the piece of mind!

[vacationlover_mn]

You could tell him that you want flying in a day early to be YOUR birthday, anniversary or Christmas present?

 

 

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[Fred&Lily]

Don't play the Birthday card! Make an executive decision and definitely go a day or two early. We've done 15 cruises, including Alaska and a couple in the Mediterranean without so much as a lost bag or a late flight. It's really a matter or doing research and more research, to the point you know the airline schedules better than your own kids sports schedules!

 

Also, we travel without medical or travel insurance - saves enough money to pay for a night or two in a beach hotel pre-cruise, sharpens your situational awareness, and forces you to have a well thought out Plan "B" for every possible contingency.

 

Keep the luggage load light and well labeled. Take photos of your documents, ID and always be the one with the pen, the flashlight and some folding money hidden in an inside zipper pocket!

 

One last thing.... tip the Maitre 'd at the start of the cruise. He's the Alpha dog with all the power in the MDR and will make sure you and hubby have an amazing time!

[shipgeeks]

Years ago, we always flew in on cruise day. Had a few close calls, but never missed the ship. When we did our first transatlantic, with the first port 8 days after boarding day, we flew in the day before. We had such a nice time, walking around the port, having a casual meal, buying mouthwash, sunblock and stuff to take aboard without having to pack it at home, then getting the hotel shuttle to the port, that we now do that for all our cruises. It's a pleasant, relaxing extra vacation day. Worth every dollar.