Flight arrival morning of cruise

[Tapi]

On 3/22/2019 at 9:32 AM, jsglow said:

So I find the 'driving early - I might get a flat tire' calculation interesting.  Sure I'd leave extra time.  I might even go the night before, especially if the motel had a 'stay and park'.  But I don't see the 4 hour driving time risk as anything at all compared to a cross country flight with a plane change.

I used to live in the Miami area, so needless to say, I could be at either Port Everglades or Miami within the hour. We then moved to the Atlanta area and that convenience came to a screeching halt. The first time we took a cruise after we moved (we sailed from Port Canaveral), we decided to drive early on the morning of the cruise. GPS said 6 hours 45 minutes, so we left around 5:00am hoping to be there before 1pm with one or two quick gas/bathroom breaks.

 

Long story short, it took WAAAY longer than that. Between detours, traffic jams and more stops than expected, we realized that we’d be lucky to be there before 4:00pm; our sail away time! 

 

I called Carnival and told them about our predicament. They told me that they couldn’t make any guarantees and needless to say, the ship would not wait for us. I wasn’t holding my breath either, but we pressed on. When we arrived in Port Canaveral just shy of 4:00pm, our ship was there, but the cruise terminal looked deserted. Nobody in sight except for one lonely agent standing outside with a walkie talkie.

 

We pulled up to the curve and she asked: “Mr and Mrs “X”?” and when we said yes, she got on the walkie talkie and said “They are here!”. She gave us instructions to park quickly. We then ran into the terminal, they took a quick look at our passports and told us to proceed to Guest Services once onboard where they’d complete our check in process. I remember being at guest services  as the ship started moving. I was so shocked but pleasantly surprised that they actually waited for us until the last possible minute. I had read too many times about time cutoffs,  so I was positive they would not wait for us and that we would not be going on a cruise that day.

 

Needless to say, after that experience, we ALWAYS, ALWAYS leave at least a day early, even if we are driving. The only time since moving away from Miami when I’ve driven on the morning of the cruise was for our last one out of Mobile, AL.That drive is 4 hours and I just couldn’t convince anybody to leave a day early. We took our chances since it was a cheap getaway, but I will admit that I was a bit jumpy that morning, waking up 280 miles away from the port on embarkation day! 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Tapi

[DukeASUGirl]

We have a 7-hr drive this time bc we'll be dropping the kids off at the grandparents' first, so I'm thinking of driving to Palm Springs the night before and spending the night in a resort, then getting up the next morning to drive the remaining 2 or 2 1/2 hours.

 

The ship doesn't leave until 6:30, so we'll be fine on that end, but I always like being one of the first people aboard. So my husband worries about having a drive that morning. I think it should be fine.

[MauiWowie57]

On 3/20/2019 at 10:33 AM, Mem0ryEat3r said:

Does anyone have any experiences flying in the day of the cruise?

we know most people say to fly in a day earlier, but my wife and i are taking an 8 day Caribbean cruise on the magic and with total travel time we have maxed our vacation days from work and can not, unfortunately fly in the day before. its in october so we have time, flights are booked thru my carnival agent with the fly2fun program. we can change them if need be. 

 

both my wife and i are hoping we can get the extra day and change our flights, but if not, we want to hear some experiences to soothe our fears.  i used to fly a lot when i was in the military and i never had much problems, if any, with delays that were at all significant, but life happens. 

Again, "don't risk it."  Take a redeye if you have to, but with all the airline drama these days...?... (737 Max 8 groundings; Southwest's mechanic's union, etc...)....

[glrounds]

Many times, in fact all the times I needed to get from SoCal to Florida. Weather was never an issue. Always took the RED EYE, leaving about 12:30 day of, non-stop, arriving Miami, Orlando or Fort Lauderdale around 9:00. Grab a cup of coffee and croissant and board shuttle to the port around 10:00. Many trips, never a glitch (knocking on wood). Frequently sleep the entire flight. Even fell asleep once before take-off and had to be awakened by the stewards when everyone was off the plane ! 🙂

[jsglow]

19 hours ago, Tapi said:

I used to live in the Miami area, so needless to say, I could be at either Port Everglades or Miami within the hour. We then moved to the Atlanta area and that convenience came to a screeching halt. The first time we took a cruise after we moved (we sailed from Port Canaveral), we decided to drive early on the morning of the cruise. GPS said 6 hours 45 minutes, so we left around 5:00am hoping to be there before 1pm with one or two quick gas/bathroom breaks.

 

Long story short, it took WAAAY longer than that. Between detours, traffic jams and more stops than expected, we realized that we’d be lucky to be there before 4:00pm; our sail away time! 

 

I called Carnival and told them about our predicament. They told me that they couldn’t make any guarantees and needless to say, the ship would not wait for us. I wasn’t holding my breath either, but we pressed on. When we arrived in Port Canaveral just shy of 4:00pm, our ship was there, but the cruise terminal looked deserted. Nobody in sight except for one lonely agent standing outside with a walkie talkie.

 

We pulled up to the curve and she asked: “Mr and Mrs “X”?” and when we said yes, she got on the walkie talkie and said “They are here!”. She gave us instructions to park quickly. We then ran into the terminal, they took a quick look at our passports and told us to proceed to Guest Services once onboard where they’d complete our check in process. I remember being at guest services  as the ship started moving. I was so shocked but pleasantly surprised that they actually waited for us until the last possible minute. I had read too many times about time cutoffs,  so I was positive they would not wait for us and that we would not be going on a cruise that day.

 

Needless to say, after that experience, we ALWAYS, ALWAYS leave at least a day early, even if we are driving. The only time since moving away from Miami when I’ve driven on the morning of the cruise was for our last one out of Mobile, AL.That drive is 4 hours and I just couldn’t convince anybody to leave a day early. We took our chances since it was a cheap getaway, but I will admit that I was a bit jumpy that morning, waking up 280 miles away from the port on embarkation day! 

 

Wow.  Helluva story.  That's one way divorces get started! 

 

Yeah, I sometimes wonder when the cost is an $89 motel room.  It doesn't even have to be a 'nice' motel room.  Just clean with no bugs.  I wonder if lots of people bite off 4-5 of those hours on Friday night and then finish up in the morning?  One certainly doesn't need an oceanfront 5 star.