Fly in day of, or day before?

[Chocolatemom2]

I’m sitting here chuckling. I’m scanning the boards and come across this

 

after waking up this morning from a dream that we missed our ship in FLL. 

 

FWIW, we will be driving in the day before. And fully expect what should be a 9ish hour drive to be a bit longer given that it’s the beginning of March and the beginning of spring break. 

 

So so it’ll be a typical rush hour in Atlanta drive for a good bit of the way. 

And yes we could fly, but we have a trip to Europe this summer and I’m pinching pennies

so I can shop there😁

[SmoothFlying]

4 hours ago, isladonna said:

Whew!  Maybe the fact that it's early March (7th) will lessen our odds of that scenario.  You do always take that small chance flying in day of, but, still I feel comfortable we'll be ok.  Still better than chancing the middle of winter, I think.

Yes, that's true (Thankfully) I know the odds are in your favor. BUT-take one tiny precaution. Check your local and destination weather at least 2 weeks BEFORE the cruise (starting at the end of next week, for instance) and get a gut feeling what is coming weather-wise between Indy AND Fla. Here lately, the local weather has been VERY wet, w/rain storms weekly, interrupted by temps in the mid to high 30's. IF, at any time these two fronts collide?🙄 NOT trying to alarm you, but it pays to keep your eye wide open. Also think about a plan B. I think with you flying in the 1st week of March you'll dodge the weather problem. Have a wonderful cruise !

 

Mac

[ldubs]

11 hours ago, SmoothFlying said:

Yes, that's true (Thankfully) I know the odds are in your favor. BUT-take one tiny precaution. Check your local and destination weather at least 2 weeks BEFORE the cruise (starting at the end of next week, for instance) and get a gut feeling what is coming weather-wise between Indy AND Fla. Here lately, the local weather has been VERY wet, w/rain storms weekly, interrupted by temps in the mid to high 30's. IF, at any time these two fronts collide?🙄 NOT trying to alarm you, but it pays to keep your eye wide open. Also think about a plan B. I think with you flying in the 1st week of March you'll dodge the weather problem. Have a wonderful cruise !

 

Mac

 

Thanks for SHARING that VERY important INFORMATION on the NEED to confirm THE weather ahead of TIME.   😁😁😁 

[SRF]

On 2/7/2020 at 1:24 PM, fendersrule said:

Usually when stuff is delayed, it's only delayed for a short period of time. Being that we've booked a flight that arrives at 9:02AM, we have lots of buffer room if we allow 2 hours to get to Long Beach port. So that serves as a semi-decent backup plan. Funny we talk about this, as my girlfriend's flight that she's on RIGHT NOW just got delayed.....for 30 minutes. That would be nothing based on the amount of buffer time we have for cruise day.

 

I hope your decision works for you.

 

The issue can be, if you miss your flight (late getting to airport, airplane trouble, etc), how many more flights are there?  And when?  Just because you have plenty of buffer time, does not mean there is another flight.

 

THEN, how full are the flights?  If the first flight is cancelled, the next flight will not have enough seats for everyone.  Then, things like booking class, fare paid, and frequent flyer status all come into play.

 

I have told the story here several times, but I had a flight cancelled, then a later flight cancelled, and had to spend the night.  While waiting for the hotel shuttle, I talked to a family that had been on the same later flight that got cancelled.  I flew out early the next morning.  They, going to the same destination, were scheduled out 3 DAYS later.

 

I travel a lot.  And I will say that MOST flights are on time, BUT, not always.  I have been delayed several times by more than 24 hours.  I have been delayed many times for 4 - 6 hours.  And a lot of times for less than 4 hours.

[pacruise804]

4 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

 

I have told the story here several times, but I had a flight cancelled, then a later flight cancelled, and had to spend the night.  While waiting for the hotel shuttle, I talked to a family that had been on the same later flight that got cancelled.  I flew out early the next morning.  They, going to the same destination, were scheduled out 3 DAYS later.

 

I travel a lot.  And I will say that MOST flights are on time, BUT, not always.  I have been delayed several times by more than 24 hours.  I have been delayed many times for 4 - 6 hours.  And a lot of times for less than 4 hours.

 

The bolded portion is what I rarely see addressed - one and even two days extra travel not being enough.  Planning to fly the day before sailing certainly buys some peace of mind, but that still doesn't guarantee you will make your cruise.  

[SRF]

1 hour ago, pacruise804 said:

 

The bolded portion is what I rarely see addressed - one and even two days extra travel not being enough.  Planning to fly the day before sailing certainly buys some peace of mind, but that still doesn't guarantee you will make your cruise.  

 

True, but that has been a few times in well over 3 million air miles of travel. 

 

Yes, if you want to be SURE of getting there, go a week early. 😄

 

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, SRF said:

 

True, but that has been a few times in well over 3 million air miles of travel. 

 

Yes, if you want to be SURE of getting there, go a week early. 😄

 

And would that have even worked right after 9/11?

[SRF]

Well, IIRC, nothing flew for 4 or 5 days.  One of my colleagues was stuck in Germany.

 

After that point, the flights were VERY empty.  I flew about 2 weeks after domestically.  Then about 3.5 weeks after internationally.

[4x4bob]

It is not always weather that causes flight delays.  It can be something so simple you would not even consider possible.  Case in Point.

We arrived the normal two hours early to watch the airlines move the people from another gate to our gate and board the plane scheduled for us.  Then the announcement that moved us over the that other gate.

At the same time the 30 minute delay notice went up on the flight board.  The airlines kept up dating the flight board with another 30 minute delay.  A Airline employee who was waiting to fly on the plane with us was sitting next to us.  After 3 hrs he told me that the plane had lost a step on one of the stairways and the replacement had to be flown in to Sacramento from Los Angles.  And, a certified mechanic had to be flown in also.  Long story short.  We arrived in Los Angles at 5:00PM and the ship sailed at 4:00PM.  If the airline had been in front with the problem, we could have moved to another flight in time to catch the ship. 

Bob

[Mich3554]

On 2/26/2020 at 12:12 PM, SRF said:

 

True, but that has been a few times in well over 3 million air miles of travel. 

 

Yes, if you want to be SURE of getting there, go a week early. 😄

 

I have flown fewer than 3 million miles, but I know my flight has been delayed at least 24 hours at least 6x over the last 10 years.  Of these, only 2 I can attribute to mechanical problems, the others have been snow, rain and wind.  These were all domestic flights.  
 

Every cruise we have taken so far has started non domestically, so I try to give us 48 hours before the ship sails.  For the most part, departure cities are those we have not been to so it really hasn’t been a hardship.

[donaldsc]

A major decision factor is where you are going on the cruise and how much loss you would have if you missed the cruise.  I recently did a S Georgia Island cruise out of Ushuaia.  If I missed my ship, there was zero chance to catch up and I would have lost ~$15,000.  I got to Ushuaia 2 days ahead of time.  Now if I was leaving for a cruise out of South California, I might think about taking one of the very early flights from Vegas to California.  If there appeared to be a problem with flights, I can rent a car really quickly and drive to the San Diego cruise ship terminal in about 5 hours.  

 

DON

[sverigecruiser]

We normally fly in 3-4 days before the cruise.

[cruizergal70]

If flight to embarkation city is 3 hrs or less, I fly in the day of the cruise. If over 3 hrs, I fly the day before. Simple rule that hasn't failed me yet.

[donaldsc]

On 2/27/2020 at 5:49 AM, SRF said:

Well, IIRC, nothing flew for 4 or 5 days.  One of my colleagues was stuck in Germany.

 

After that point, the flights were VERY empty.  I flew about 2 weeks after domestically.  Then about 3.5 weeks after internationally.

 

We flew to Germany about a week after 9/11 on Lufthansa.  The plane was actually very crowded as there was a backlog of people who had to get to Germany and they also cancelled several of their flights.  It was an interesting time to travel.

 

DON

[navybankerteacher]

On 3/3/2020 at 10:40 AM, cruizergal70 said:

If flight to embarkation city is 3 hrs or less, I fly in the day of the cruise. If over 3 hrs, I fly the day before. Simple rule that hasn't failed me yet.

Please explain your rationale: basing the decision on FLIGHT time - rather than alternative transportation time.  

 

Both Buffalo, NY and Cincinnati ,OH are 3 hours from Fort Lauderdale.  If your 6:00 AM flight were cancelled, what would you do?  How would you be any better off than if your home airport was 5 hours flying time from Fort Lauderdale and your 6:00 AM flight were cancelled?

[cruizergal70]

On 3/4/2020 at 1:47 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Please explain your rationale: basing the decision on FLIGHT time - rather than alternative transportation time.  

 

Both Buffalo, NY and Cincinnati ,OH are 3 hours from Fort Lauderdale.  If your 6:00 AM flight were cancelled, what would you do?  How would you be any better off than if your home airport was 5 hours flying time from Fort Lauderdale and your 6:00 AM flight were cancelled?

My home airport offers many flights to the major cruise cities. 

 

Cruise departs at 5 pm. Need to be on ship by 4 pm. I book the 8 am flight with 90 minute flight time. Plane lands at 9:30 am. I'm good.

 

I would be good all the way through 1 pm. Even if my 8 am flight was delayed, there are other flights between 8 am and 1 pm. 

 

Same with all flights under 3 hours. I'd just adjust the flight time to a 6 am flight instead of 8 am. Still plenty of time.

 

What people seem to forget is that thousands of people drive and fly in the day of the cruise and it all works out most of the time.

 

It's an acceptable risk for me.

[fendersrule]

13 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

My home airport offers many flights to the major cruise cities. 

 

Cruise departs at 5 pm. Need to be on ship by 4 pm. I book the 8 am flight with 90 minute flight time. Plane lands at 9:30 am. I'm good.

 

I would be good all the way through 1 pm. Even if my 8 am flight was delayed, there are other flights between 8 am and 1 pm. 

 

Same with all flights under 3 hours. I'd just adjust the flight time to a 6 am flight instead of 8 am. Still plenty of time.

 

What people seem to forget is that thousands of people drive and fly in the day of the cruise and it all works out most of the time.

 

It's an acceptable risk for me.

 

Word for word, this is exactly my case! Direct flight, 1.5 hours. Except, my plane lands at 9:00, with 3-4 other flights in-between 7:00 am to noon to take if it gets delayed!

 

Yep, totally an acceptable risk and really questions the "ALWAYS FLY IN X DAYS BEFORE" statements--although in general they are good statements. Sometimes, people are looking to book an "easy and cheap" cruise. Once you start making an "easy and cheap cruise" more expensive, then you could have gone on an different cruise all together. 

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by fendersrule

[navybankerteacher]

15 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

My home airport offers many flights to the major cruise cities. 

 

Cruise departs at 5 pm. Need to be on ship by 4 pm. I book the 8 am flight with 90 minute flight time. Plane lands at 9:30 am. I'm good.

 

I would be good all the way through 1 pm. Even if my 8 am flight was delayed, there are other flights between 8 am and 1 pm. 

 

Same with all flights under 3 hours. I'd just adjust the flight time to a 6 am flight instead of 8 am. Still plenty of time.

 

What people seem to forget is that thousands of people drive and fly in the day of the cruise and it all works out most of the time.

 

It's an acceptable risk for me.

If the ship sails at 5:00, you need to check in by 3:30 - not necessarily  board by 4:00.

 

No matter how many daily flights there may be from your home airport to cruise port, if your flight gets cancelled are you certain there will be available seats on later flights.

 

Regardless of the above, there seems little rationale for that three hour rule - what should determine is your willingness to accept risk.

[navybankerteacher]

10 minutes ago, fendersrule said:

 

Word for word, this is exactly my case! Direct flight, 1.5 hours. Except, my plane lands at 9:00, with 3-4 other flights in-between 7:00 am to noon to take if it gets delayed!

 

Yep, totally an acceptable risk and really questions the "ALWAYS FLY IN X DAYS BEFORE" statements--although in general they are good statements. Sometimes, people are looking to book an "easy and cheap" cruise. Once you start making an "easy and cheap cruise" more expensive, then you could have gone on an different cruise all together. 

 

Please advise what airport 1.5 hours away from which cruise port has “3-4 other flights in-between 7:00 am to noon”  to that cruise port.

[cruizergal70]

6 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Please advise what airport 1.5 hours away from which cruise port has “3-4 other flights in-between 7:00 am to noon”  to that cruise port.

Atlanta to Florida. Charlotte to NYC, Baltimore, or NJ.

[navybankerteacher]

9 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

Atlanta to Florida. Charlotte to NYC, Baltimore, or NJ.

Atlanta to Miami or Fort Lauderdale is about two hours.  Charlotte to Baltimore is about your 1.5 hours — but 3-4 other flights between 7:00 and noon - with certainty of available seats????

Have you flown much lately?

[cruizergal70]

6 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Atlanta to Miami or Fort Lauderdale is about two hours.  Charlotte to Baltimore is about your 1.5 hours — but 3-4 other flights between 7:00 and noon - with certainty of available seats????

Have you flown much lately?

I've followed my system for years. Never had a problem. I've gotten the flights I've needed. Thanks!

[navybankerteacher]

6 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

I've followed my system for years. Never had a problem. I've gotten the flights I've needed. Thanks!

I’m sure your system works for you.  Mine is similar - if I fly when the moon is waxing I do it at least one day before sailing;  if the moon is waning, I’ll book a flight at least 24 hours before check-in time.

Edited March 6, 2020 by navybankerteacher

[ducklite]

About 10 years ago I was meeting my husband in Albany, NY and we were going onward to a fairly remote part of the state.  My flight in Orlando was delayed, and delayed again, then finally cancelled.  I was re-booked onto a flight that was going to get me in about an hour later, routing through a different connection.  That flight was then also delayed enough that I was going to miss the connection.  The next flights to ALB were all full until the following late afternoon.  I told the ticket counter fine, get me to Hartford, Syracuse as a last resort.  At this point my husband is sitting in a rest area on the NYS Thruway waiting to find out where he needed to go to get me.  

 

They got me into Hartford about five hours after I would have arrived in Albany, and an extra two hours to the final destination.  I had no checked luggage, otherwise it never would have arrived with me. I had to sprint to the gate and then sprint to the gate at the connecting airport because it wasn't a legal connection.  They actually held the plane for me.

I should mention that at that point I had the highest status tier there was with that airline.  I was first in line to get a new reservation through their system.

Bottom line if I had been headed to a cruise, it would have sailed off without me.  Sure, you might be able to meet up with it the next day--if you have a passport and there is available space on the flight.  And in many cases, if you've got enough of a credit line to buy new tickets and wait for travel insurance to (hopefully) reimburse you..

[navybankerteacher]

I have taken just six domestic flights in the past two years (trans-Atlantics from JFK always seem close to on time - except, of course for Charlie) and two of them were delayed/cancelled - getting me to my destination airport more than five hours late, and one was four hours late.   There is no way I need the risk.

 

 About as important:  taking a six AM flight means getting to the airport before five, which means leaving home by four, which means that the first evening on the ship would be something of a drag.