What would you do?

[tonit964]

I’m looking at an Ocean to Ocean Panama Canal cruise. 
Should  I fly to Florida on the front end of the cruise or fly back to Los Angeles after the cruise?

What are the pros & cons of each?

 

TIA!

Toni

[candy4040]

Personally I would choose the LAX departure rather than Fort Lauderdale.  Getting from the boat to airport is not always easy at LAX while the Fort Lauderdale departure is easy.  

[that]

In our experience, prefer to board in LA, no airtravel considerations for luggage or delays and then fly home after the cruise.

 

[PMGS247]

Count me as 3rd to Board in LA / Fly after friom FLL.  Getting to the airport from FLL is a breeze and I always prefer flying East to West. The time change makes for a long day but that opens up your flight options vs flying west to east a day just disappears and you're left trying to sleep when it feels like 9pm.  Just in general, the time change east to west I find way easier to take in a lump sum than the other way.  Take in the west to east time change piece by piece.

[wcflats]

We prefer FLL to LA.   We like to spend a couple of days in FLL enjoying the restaurants and the area then back to LA.   

[rjack22]

When we did this cruise we boarded in LA and ended in FLL.     We live in Ohio and by arriving in FLL it was the same time zone as at home so no jet lag or time change to contend with.

[cruzinfamilyof4]

I personally would fly first. I'm not a good flyer so I would be stressed about that my whole vacation. For me get the yucky stuff done and over with first. Plus we live closer to the west coast so the trip home would be shorter.

[Sea Hag]

I would vote for flying to FLL. We've only done that once, but the luggage handling was superior. Sacramento is our home airport, and it's a real hassle trying to get a decent flight back. Of course, that may not be true for you. Another reason I'd do it that way is that I think of long flights as painful nuisances, so if I front-load the pain then the return from the cruise isn't so bad. Or so I think.

[snoozecrooze]

I would also fly to FLL first and get the flying out of the way. You also gain time as you travel west on the cruise.

[EDDY0827]

37 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

I’m looking at an Ocean to Ocean Panama Canal cruise. 
Should  I fly to Florida on the front end of the cruise or fly back to Los Angeles after the cruise?

What are the pros & cons of each?

 

TIA!

Toni

Toni- Since you live in SoCal, get the flying out of the way first and then arrive in LA, your time zone, and drive home. Works for us the same way in SF.

[Roberto256]

40 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

’m looking at an Ocean to Ocean Panama Canal cruise. 
Should  I fly to Florida on the front end of the cruise or fly back to Los Angeles after the cruise?

What are the pros & cons of each?

I would say ... start near your home.   Much less stressful.

 

If a suitcase gets lost ... and it's when you are flying ... it hardly matters.

[LACruiser88]

8 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

Toni- Since you live in SoCal, get the flying out of the way first and then arrive in LA, your time zone, and drive home. Works for us the same way in SF.

We have also cruised b2b from LA to Ft Lauderdale and back to LA.  Very relaxing!

 

We always like to get the flight out of the way first if our trip involves only one flight.  Or the longest leg first if our trip involves two flights.

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by LACruiser88

[tonit964]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts!

I wish I could do a B2B, that would solve everything.

 

I think I'm going to go with my initial thought and fly to FL, stay a day or two then arrive back at my home port stress free. 

I would rather get the flight out of the way before the cruise. 

[LACruiser88]

Just now, tonit964 said:

Thank you everyone for your thoughts!

I wish I could do a B2B, that would solve everything.

 

I think I'm going to go with my initial thought and fly to FL, stay a day or two then arrive back at my home port stress free. 

I would rather get the flight out of the way before the cruise. 

Great plan, enjoy your trip!

[edspec]

Fly first.  The long flight after is a downer.

[Fortunate 2 travel]

Be sure to give yourself plenty of time before the cruise in case of flight delays/cancellations.

[Fortunate 2 travel]

Also, have a fantastic time. 

[skynight]

You live in So. Cal. If it was me, we don't have time restraints, then I would fly to FLL 2 or 3 days early. Enjoy FLL. Take the cruise. A t the end you are close to home.

If you don't have the time I would board in CA. Less of a chance of flight delays. Then fly home at the end of the cruise. You should probably plan on a flight from FLL around noon. It's easy as the airport is roughly a 20 minute drive from the ship. Arrival in CA would be around 4pm leaving lots of time to get home. 

Edited August 3, 2023 by skynight

[richla]

We always fly to FL and debark in LA closer to home. For us, we find that we are packed neater for the flight there at the start of the cruise. We pick up odds and ends during the cruise and maybe end up with some dirty laundry at the end. We don't need to worry about how we pack, luggage weight restrictions or fitting everything in. It's just a drive home.

[tonit964]

1 hour ago, Fortunate 2 travel said:

Be sure to give yourself plenty of time before the cruise in case of flight delays/cancellations.

Yes, thank you. I always fly in at least a day before.

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, tonit964 said:

I would rather get the flight out of the way before the cruise. 

You're from the west coast. It's the time changes. Fly yes. Then get some hours back during the cruise. Same as if  doing a TA. Better to do east to west.

[memoak]

Since we live in the PNW we always opt to fly to FL to get the long flight out of the way early

[rjack22]

From the responses I gather that its all in WHERE you live.   East coast residents prefer to fly west and leave from there.   West Coast residents prefer the opposite leaving from FLL first.   Those in the middle of the country can go either way.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would only do the Panama Canal cruise for the first time on a ship small enough to fit through the old locks.  On Princess, that means the Island or Coral. 

[memoak]

9 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I would only do the Panama Canal cruise for the first time on a ship small enough to fit through the old locks.  On Princess, that means the Island or Coral. 

Have done both old and new locks and they are a different experience and both were great