flights same day

[cary1306]

I always fly in day before flight as I usually go in winter. this cruise I will be going at the end of September from nj to florida same day. I would be going early am . how many people have flown same day? any problems?

[AmberCascades]

There can be non-weather related problems that could cause you to miss the ship. One time we were waiting to board and there were mechanical problems so we had to wait for another plane. Our flight was part of a Celebrity promotion at the time so we weren't too worried. This was in August. We did make it to the ship in time.

 

The second time we had a problem was after our cruise. It was September, returning from San Diego. There were mechanical problems and no other flights. So we had to come home the next day. No, we didn't miss the ship, but had the situation been reversed, we would have. I would always recommend flying in the day before. The cost of a hotel room and a taxi is cheaper than missing an entire cruise.

 

That's my experience anyway.

[lizardhowson]

There are many existing threads here discussing this and yes, many have shared their problem experiences.

Sounds like you have already chosen your flight and bought your ticket, so you will need to hope for the best.

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

We are looking cruising out of Fort Lauderdale in October, and we looking at flying out the morning of on a 7:30 flight, which should arrive at 9:30am IF it flies on time. The next flight left at 10 and got there at noon. I was looking at flight aware to see if those flight are typically on time, and the 7:30 flight had been canceled 4 out of 6 or 7 times and the other flight was an hour late leaving those days. So with that being said, we have decided to fly out the day before.

 

I'd look at the flight stats to be safe.

[jayscore]

I used to book same day flights, (non-stop if possible) until one flight was grounded (with passengers on board!)until some minor repair was completed. We got to our cabin just in time for the muster drill.

That was before the tighter restrictions as to how late you can board the ship.

Just saying..........:confused:

[Joebucks]

The chances of missing your cruise are low, but are there. The reason so many people fly in the night before is because there are catastrophic consequences if you miss your boat. A plane could be delayed. Pilots could go on strike. There could be a bad storm. You never know.

[champagne123]

The chances of missing your cruise are low, but are there. The reason so many people fly in the night before is because there are catastrophic consequences if you miss your boat. A plane could be delayed. Pilots could go on strike. There could be a bad storm. You never know.

Can't remember if it was Miami or Ft. Lauderdale...but does anyone remember the airport shooting last year? The whole town was frozen. All of those people missed their cruise. Hey, you never know what could happen.

[evandbob]

I always fly in day before flight as I usually go in winter. this cruise I will be going at the end of September from nj to florida same day. I would be going early am . how many people have flown same day? any problems?

 

 

If you are leaving from Newark, non stop direct to Florida, on the 1st flight out, not to worry. I've flown from NYC's LGA and JFK to Florida with those parameters maybe 30 times, never a problem.

 

Stuff can always happen, but my experience has been that I'm boarding the ship by noon. Only exception has been in FLL, where I had to wait in the cruise terminal until the ship was fully debarked from the prior set of cruisers. Heck, people driving to the port can get into an accident, breakdown, or have their car stolen while at a gas station getting re-fueled. Don't see many threads warning about those issues, which probably happen about as often as delays/cancellations on NY area to Florida non stop shuttle runs.

 

Despite the consensus here on CC, the majority of cruisers are flying to their ship the morning of their cruise. Suggestion to look at your flights' history is a good one. If this was going to be your one and only lifetime cruise, then fly in 2 days early, but you said it's not. Happy Cruising! Come back to tell us it was a piece of cake and say how you liked your sailing!

 

Disclaimer: if you suffer from clinical anxiety and are off meds fly in a week earlier.

[Ehpride]

It sounds like you already have your flights booked so I do hope all goes well for you.

 

It would not be my personal choice, regardless of time of year. You can find plenty of horror stories and I don't need to start my vacation with that stress.

[Alaskan Joe]

I always fly in day before flight as I usually go in winter. this cruise I will be going at the end of September from nj to florida same day. I would be going early am . how many people have flown same day? any problems?

 

We ALWAYS fly in a day early, well except one time:o. Our first Alaskan cruise 2010 was out of Seattle and we chose to fly in the same day from Detroit Metro, with fingers crossed. Well its a good thing we had our fingers crossed....LoL:halo:. We had mechanical issues with the plane, but not until we boarded. We had to disembark the plane and wait...wait....and wait some more, for them to correct the issue. In the end we literately had 15 mins when we arrived at the port before they could legally give our state rooms away:eek:. We promise you that is the one and only time we will ever fly in on the same day, *Good Luck*, and may God be with you:halo:.

[beachbum6264]

Too many issues to worry about to fly in on the same day, IMO.

And Florida and September? One word - hurricane.

September is prime season for storms, have a plan B

[Jgilbert813]

We've only flown in one time for a cruise and it was the Southern Caribbean route out of Puerto Rico. Our plan was to fly in the day before and spend the day exploring Old San Juan. When we got to the airport, my wallet was missing! It had fallen out of my pocket when I was getting the bags out of the car. By the time I went back and got it they wouldn't let us check in because it was too close to the departure time. We ended up flying in the next morning. We barely made it to the ship in time! Had we been planning on flying the morning of originally, we would have missed the boat - lesson learned, always fly in at least one day in advance.

[oceanseagle12]

Last year, for a land vacation, we intentionally scheduled a flight to leave a day earlier than we truly wanted to be there. That time it was due to the time change, we wanted to arrive at night and give us that night to adapt to the time. Our flight was initially delayed due to some thunderstorms impacting the arriving plane's path. After a few more delays, it was announced that the flight was canceled due to the pilots timing out, and we had to wait until the next day. My first thought was- thank god this wasn't for a cruise!

Yes, things happen. If you decide to stick with your plans, at least plan ahead for potential delays and cancellations.

[SadieN]

What’s your first port? Could fly there if you have a passport.

Just read a review where the just after thy boarded the plane, it got a mechanical. They didn’t leave until 11 hours later.

 

 

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[BenjiRodney]

Always day before and even then you can still have issues but have tone to fix them. Our flight that should have been 40 minutes down to Charlotte took 5 1/2 hours due to a diversion to refuel from circling Charlotte trying to land in fog. We missed the first flight to San Juan, made a later flight. Our luggage showed up to the hotel the next morning as we were checking out to go to the ship. We were going with or without the luggage.

 

 

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[jsglow]

If you are leaving from Newark, non stop direct to Florida, on the 1st flight out, not to worry. I've flown from NYC's LGA and JFK to Florida with those parameters maybe 30 times, never a problem.

 

Stuff can always happen, but my experience has been that I'm boarding the ship by noon. Only exception has been in FLL, where I had to wait in the cruise terminal until the ship was fully debarked from the prior set of cruisers. Heck, people driving to the port can get into an accident, breakdown, or have their car stolen while at a gas station getting re-fueled. Don't see many threads warning about those issues, which probably happen about as often as delays/cancellations on NY area to Florida non stop shuttle runs.

 

Despite the consensus here on CC, the majority of cruisers are flying to their ship the morning of their cruise. Suggestion to look at your flights' history is a good one. If this was going to be your one and only lifetime cruise, then fly in 2 days early, but you said it's not. Happy Cruising! Come back to tell us it was a piece of cake and say how you liked your sailing!

 

Disclaimer: if you suffer from clinical anxiety and are off meds fly in a week earlier.

 

Pretty bold assertion. I'd like to see the evidence of that. Many do fly in the morning, especially those without any connection from a city with numerous fallbacks like New York and Chicago. But if one has a connection and no realistic 'morning of' Plan B, I wouldn't even consider and I suspect few do. For the price of a $80 motel room it's pretty cheap insurance.

[LakeWobegon]

We have flown in a day early on our first two family cruises and love the piece of mind it gives. Its hard because we usually go on spring break and my wife is a teacher. School understandably does not let any teacher take the day off before or after spring break. So we had to search for a night flight and luckily found one into FLL. No such luck next year so we'll be flying the morning of. We're going on the Seaside though that doesn't sail until 7 pm so that gives us some extra time to work with!

 

Good luck. I feel that the vast majority of cruisers I talk to fly in the same day. Most on cruise critic who respond fly in a day or more early though. Probably because they are serious about their cruises and don't want to take any chance.

[maryred]

September is still prime hurricane season, so weather delays or cancellations are always possible. Make sure you have travel insurance and passports for all on your booking, in case you need to play catch-up with the ship. Aslo make sure you have refundable airline tickets in case you change your mind based on advance weather reports, that you can easily choose a different flight before the airline announces changes.

Personally for flights out of Newark or Philly I have always found the first non-stop flights of embarkation day to be more expensive than a later flight the day before. Usually more than enough saving for a couple to cover a stay at an arrival airport or cruise terminal adjacent hotel.

[A&Jfamily]

We have done it same day, but with a direct flight and taking the first flight of the day. Still makes me a little nervous. Especially when we were flying in the day before for our Alaska cruise and got stuck on the plane in Chicago with a 3 plus hour engine repair and barely made the last flight from Portland to Seattle at 10:30 pm at night as our day had started at the crack of dawn in Virginia and we should have been to our hotel by dinner time.

[sanger727]

If you are flying early AM on a nonstop you will most likely be fine. I would be much more nervous about a connecting flight. 2 flights doubles your chances of a crew or mechanical delay. The last big flight delay we had on a trip was cincinnati to Atlanta in April. No weather issues, just mechanical. But it was the first leg of a 3 leg flight. So first delay caused us to miss the second leg; but luckily we had a 4 hour layover to get caught up by the third one.

 

Personally, on cruises we ALWAYS fly in the day before, but, I’ve never had a trip (land or cruise) where we landed more than 4 or 5 hours after initially scheduled. You will probably make it. But there’s always a chance.

 

 

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[oceanseagle12]

Always day before and even then you can still have issues but have tone to fix them. Our flight that should have been 40 minutes down to Charlotte took 5 1/2 hours due to a diversion to refuel from circling Charlotte trying to land in fog. We missed the first flight to San Juan, made a later flight. Our luggage showed up to the hotel the next morning as we were checking out to go to the ship. We were going with or without the luggage.

 

 

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This! Because it is so easy for delays and cancellations to happen, I try to stick with an early flight the day before the cruise. That allows for the possibility of getting an alternate flight that day if there a possibility. If I can’t get a flight to my destination, I’m prepared to try to get one as close as possible and drive the rest of the way. Worst case scenario- we would have 24 hours or so to drive to the port!

 

 

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[cary1306]

well thanks everyone I hope I have no problems as it is non stop but out of altantic city airport on spirit ,it is first thing in am 7 am landing by 10am

[cary1306]

well thanks everyone I hope I have no problems as it is non stop but out of altantic city airport on spirit ,it is first thing in am 7 am landing by 10am

[dh464]

We always fly the day of now that we have adult children who also work.Also always get the insurance just in case ! I agree if you are flying early AM on a nonstop out of AC you will most likely be fine.Just make sure they have other flight they would be able to put you on later.We fly out of AC often since we can fly to see our oldest in myrtle beach and they our always asking for volunteer bumps.Buy insurance and Good Luck.

[NCbmwmom]

We are flying ATL to JAX on Saturday for our Elation Cruise. I’m more afraid of wrecking driving down from NC than us having flight problems. We usually do drive, but it was cheaper for 3 of us to fly, than to drive down, get a hotel, and pay for parking. Plus we don’t waste 2 days driving there and back.