6 am flight or red eye?

[Bridetobe88]

We are cruising out of Port of Miami on a Sunday, and originally booked a Saturday morning flight to Fort Lauderdale that left at 7:30 am and arrived at 1:30 pm. We have a wonderful (splurge!) hotel booked in South Beach for Saturday night. The airline changed our flight itinerary and we are now flying out at 6 am Saturday and arriving at Fort Lauderdale at noon. To make the 6 am flight, we'll have to get up at 3 am. I'm a little frustrated because the original flight was late enough that we would be able to function and early enough that we would have the afternoon to enjoy in Miami. There's a big difference between getting up at 3 am vs 4:30 am! We don't go to bed until close to midnight usually, and especially with the excitement, of our trip probably won't sleep much, so I know we'll be dead tired. Our airline will allow us to change our flight at no cost due to the itinerary change, and I am toying with the idea of switching to the red-eye to Miami. It departs midnight on Saturday and arrives in Miami at 5:50 am. I know we are going to be exhausted either way, so part of me is thinking well maybe it's better to be exhausted by a gorgeous pool or beach. The pros for the 6 am are that we may get a little bit more sleep if we can snag a few hours before leaving for the airport and a couple on the plane. The cons are that if we don't, the little bit of afternoon we'll have may be spent exhausted and not enjoying our gorgeous hotel. The pros for the red eye are that we get to spend the whole day in Miami. The cons are that we will be dead tired and can't check in until 4pm, so any napping would have to take place by the pool or on the beach. What would you guys do? For the record, I am usually able to sleep on planes and my husband sometimes can if he's tired enough. 

[Zach1213]

Everyone is going to be a bit different on this. I can't stand short domestic redeyes like that, but I don't mind waking up at 3am for a flight, I do it multiple times each month. The redeye would completely ruin my day of arrival as, even in first class, the amount of sleep you could get is really extremely minimal. 3am is an early wakeup, but you can at least try to crash early the night before and get a decent amount of sleep in your own bed.

 

So for me, the 3am wakeup is a very, very easy choice over a short domestic redeye.

[CruiserBruce]

55 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

So for me, the 3am wakeup is a very, very easy choice over a short domestic redeye.

Totally agree. Couldn't have said it better.

[lynne2fl]

I would take the redeye flight...,if there is a delay with the early morning flight it might arrive too late for the cruise

[Jeremiah1212]

I would do the 6am flight. A 3.5hr redeye isn't fun and you probably won't sleep at all. At least getting up at 3am you could get some decent sleep in a bed rather than an airplane seat. It does make for a long first day but I really don't mind early morning flights. No traffic, light crowds, short security lines...

[6rugrats]

We usually stay at an airport hotel for these early morning flights, to get a little extra sleep.  I don’t see this as a big deal.  It’s only a 90 minute change.  I’d take the 6:00 am flight.

 

[DogLover]

2 hours ago, lynne2fl said:

I would take the redeye flight...,if there is a delay with the early morning flight it might arrive too late for the cruise

The red-eye flight arrives the early morning of sail date. The other flight OP is considering is the day prior to the cruise. For my comfort, I'd do the Saturday flight even if it means 1 1/2 hours less sleep ... I simply have no comfort flying in "day of" cruise, and I am way past the age to survive a red-eye. You can still enjoy an afternoon/evening of sunshine the day before your cruise, so I'd stick with the 6am departure.

 

Safe travels to you.

 

[lynne2fl]

29 minutes ago, DogLover said:

The red-eye flight arrives the early morning of sail date. The other flight OP is considering is the day prior to the cruise. For my comfort, I'd do the Saturday flight even if it means 1 1/2 hours less sleep ... I simply have no comfort flying in "day of" cruise, and I am way past the age to survive a red-eye. You can still enjoy an afternoon/evening of sunshine the day before your cruise, so I'd stick with the 6am departure.

 

Safe travels to you.

 

Both flights arrive the day prior to the cruise. The original post states that the redeye flight arrives early Saturday morning and their cruise is the next day,  It comes down to enjoying Miami all day and night or just the afternoon and evening.  Most hotels have a luggage storage room so that guests can enjoy the area until afternoon checkin

Edited March 8, 2019 by lynne2fl

[DogLover]

5 minutes ago, lynne2fl said:

Both flights arrive the day prior to the cruise. The original post states that the redeye flight arrives early Saturday morning and their cruise is the next day,  It comes down to enjoying Miami all day and night or just the afternoon and evening.  Most hotels have a luggage storage room so that guests can enjoy the area until afternoon checkin

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. The OP states the red eye "departs midnight on Saturday and arrives in Miami at 5:50 am." I interprete the flight arrives Sunday morning. 

 

To each his or her own. The OP asked for opinions ... I'd rather enjoy a bit more time in FL.

 

Btw, was just in your neck of the woods last week. My son lives in Boynton, works for Law Enforcement as a K9 Officer in the area, his fiancee works as a Prosecutor for Broward County. We enjoyed a great evening at Cooper's Hawk in Palm Beach Gardens.

[Bridetobe88]

1 hour ago, DogLover said:

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. The OP states the red eye "departs midnight on Saturday and arrives in Miami at 5:50 am." I interprete the flight arrives Sunday morning. 

 

To each his or her own. The OP asked for opinions ... I'd rather enjoy a bit more time in FL.

 

Btw, was just in your neck of the woods last week. My son lives in Boynton, works for Law Enforcement as a K9 Officer in the area, his fiancee works as a Prosecutor for Broward County. We enjoyed a great evening at Cooper's Hawk in Palm Beach Gardens.

The red eye arrives Saturday morning, not Sunday morning. I would be getting more time before the cruise with the red eye, not less.

 

Thanks for the input everyone! 

[waterbug123]

I'd just suck it up and take the 6am flight.  Domestic redeyes are awful, and as you said, you'll arrive with very little sleep and no hotel to check in to. The 6am is only 90 min earlier.   Yes, that can make a big difference on how you feel when you get up at 3am instead of 4:30 am, but you'll arrive 90 min earlier.  If you're lucky, your room might be ready early and you can take a nap for 90 min, and be ready for the pool at the same time you would have been if you took the 7:30 flight. 

[Joseph2017China]

I sleep on planes.  My next flight is at 6am, where I will connect to a very long (14 hour) International flight.  My biggest fear is I sleep on the short flight since I can fall asleep so easily with the gentle movement of the jet.  I personally would not take the red eye on a short trip, if you can't sleep on a plane, it will be worse for you. 

[DogLover]

@lynne2fl and @bridetobe88:

 

Wups, I was incorrect ... apologies to you two ladies. 50 lashes with a pool noodle for moi!!!!!

 

Whatever option you choose, safe travels and have a wonderful cruise!

[Voelfgar]

I would recommend the 6am flight. This is based on the arrival times. That redeye gets into FLL at 6am but you won't be able to checkin at the hotel for almost 8 hours, and there's no guarantee the hotel will let you use their facilities that early as allowing that makes it ripe for abuse.

 

The unknown is how long of a drive to the airport is it going to be. I live in Milwaukee and if I fly out of Chicago in the early morning, i'll drive down the night before and stay at a hotel with a sleep & park option, which is you pay for your nights stay and included is your parking which helps defray the cost of the room as parking will likely run at least $60+ for a week.

[Cruise Junky]

We always opt for the 6:00 am flight.