Anyone actually fly in on the day of the cruise

[luv2cruz64]

On our first cruise we flew to San Juan from Baltimore on the same day. The big advantage there is that our ship (Dawn Princess) didn't leave until late that evening. Everything went as smooth as could be though I don't know if i'd be willing to try it with a ship that departs at 5 or 6pm.

[WECoyote]

or is that a thing of the past. I am considering this, but know that it could be risky; especially in Feb with uncertain weather. My sis had a problem once and was actually running to the ship about 20 min before sailing. Don't know if I could stand the stress, but with a limited budget, it would save the cost of a hotel room in Miami.

 

We always flew the same day, whether it was booked through RCCL or some other source, UNTIL we were to fly into New Orleans in Dec. We were circling over NO at 1130 AM (the day of our cruise) and the airport was closed due to fog. They sent us back to Dallas. The ship was due to leave at 5PM and we did not get back on a plane at DFW until 5:30PM. We did arrive in NO at 6:30. My wife asked me what we going to do and I said we will go out to the Naval Air Station and see if we could get a room and then spend a couple of days in NO and then fly home. We had no hope of making the ship and it would have cost us over $1700 each to catch the ship in Cozumel. Fortunately for us, the ship was still in port because there were 16 flights that had people booked through RCCL Air that all were coming in after 6PM (we didn't book RCCL air that trip) We waited for our luggage for an hour and a half and finally got it at 8PM. I tossed a chunk of green at the RCCL rep to allow us to buy transfers (we hadn't purchased transfers either) and jumped on the bus. My wife and i were the last two people that boarded the Grandeur that day and if either one of had hesitated, they would have pulled the gangway out from underneath us. We went to a room on deck six where they processed us in and we became one of the WGIG group at that time. Nothing will ever phase us again....but we do plan a whole lot better in advance after that. The day before is now one of our mottos.

[SkaterJasp]

I just fly out the night before and get in the day of the cruise like for Florida departures I do jetBlue's red eye service into Fort Lauderdale which arrives into FLL at around 5AM.... the problem I run into with that is finding something to do between the time I get my bags and when the port is open for embarkation.

[Esmerelda]

Yep...did this in May of 05...yikes! We got married on Saturday evening..flew into Miami early the next day...boarded a Carnival ship. We were so exhausted that we slept about 4 hrs after we got to our cabin (and yes...we REALLY slept!...see what happens when you get married in your 40's..lol) We had only had 3 hrs of sleep the night before after our reception.

 

We will never do this again...too much rush..and that wondering if anything will go wrong. We always go the day before...much more relaxing.

 

have fun!

Esmerelda

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Every cruise, we have flew out on the same day. Most of the time it's just fine. We usually have to get up by 4 AM and leave the house by around 6 AM though. I know that flights can be delayed, airports can be closed, there could be a storm, etc. But, have been pretty lucky with our flights.

 

Last time on Freedom of the Seas, our flight was 9:13 AM out of Metro Airport to Miami on the day of the cruise. We landed by around 12 ish. I couldn't believe how early we had got there. I looked at the clock when we got onboard Freedom of the Seas and it was only 12:58 PM!! At that point we were able to just walk on the ship. We had the suite check in line though. Everything went really good and we were very early. It said we would be aboard by 2 PM but since the suite line was short, we got onboard much earlier. Everything went smoothly on Freedom of the Seas and it was easy to get to the ship.

 

We had one close call but we didn't miss the ship. It was on Carnival Pride on July 27, 2002. We were inside the airplane and it was just like a normal flight. Then, we approached the runway and seemed like we would take off but we didn't. They announced that there was a bad storm in Florida and we had to wait for a little bit. The little bit turns into almost an hour. Our flight was 10:10 AM and we finally left at 11:20 AM and we left later then the 11:15 AM flight to Orlando. The ship was Carnival and Carnival leaves at 4 PM. It is 45 minute bus ride to Port Canaveral! Our plane lands around 2:30 PM and we run though Orlando Airport, which was a nice airport. We got there in time for the final bus to the ship. The cruise representatives were like "We were waiting for you!." They said that 3 or 4 people were still coming and they told us about how they had to tell people who came too late for the ship that the ship is gone. Anyway, got to the ship around 3:50 PM and it was blowing the horn almost ready to leave. They basically pushed us on the ship, we went though very quickly. They handed us our key and took our picture then we were on. There were two people who were behind us and I saw them close the embarkation door when we got on. Close, close, close call but at least we didn't miss it. :)

 

Never had a problem flying to Miami yet though. Had a small problem in Port Canaveral because of the longggg bus ride.

[J&SLowery]

We fly in the day of the cruise all the time. In fact, going to do so this Sunday :)

 

Most often, we are flying from Reagan National or Dulles to the South Florida where we have the choice of FLL or MIA. We are fortunate that there are many flightsn from this area, and we plan as such. We just pick an early flight in the morning and if worse came to worse there are plenty of others in the day.

 

As an example, we are flying AA on Sunday from DCA to MIA leaving at 0745am. There are at least 3 other flights that day (on AA alone). Not to mention the all the other airlines that fly to south Florida: UA, Spirit, USAir, Delta.

 

It really comes down to your individual comfort level, and the availability of flights where you are from. It's a gamble no matter where you are, but for us, it's a pretty safe one.

 

Jay

[w&k]

We live in north FL, and have about a 2 hour drive to Port Canaveral or Tampa.

 

For Port Everglades or Miami, it's about 6-7 hours, and we will go down the night before. We used to take the Cruise Connection bus on the day of, but that 5am business is for the birds. We were in bed, and exhausted by 9pm.

 

Make your own flight and hotel arrangments, fly the day before, and skip the insurance if you can. You will have more than enough $ left over to pay for the room and meals on the extra day.

 

Also, if you belong to a frequent traveler program, it's an ideal time to use your points.

 

We stayed in the San Juan Intercontinental Hotel and Casino on points last spring, and will do so again this spring. It was 20K for the Holiday Inn Express, 30K for the Holiday Inn, and 35K for the Intercontinental on the beach, so we spoiled ourselves.

 

DH won $200 in the casino, and we played in the pool, strolled on the beach, and had a very nice stay! I specially booked an early morning flight for next spring so I can have a nice afternoon snooze by the pool.

 

Have a great trip, however you get there!

 

Wendy

[KillaFee]

Okay okay I now admit it...I'm paranoid!!! I was fine about flying the day of FOREVER until I read this post. My boyfriend laughed at me (and so did my TA) when I explained my fear, but I don't care because I have my first ever aft balcony and I'm not about to risk it being empty if I don't make it to the ship! SO....now that I've decided to give in to going the day before, which hotel to you reccomend in San Juan? I don't want to spend too much- as long as it's in a safe area and is clean....any opinions?? Thanks guys

Laura

[mringenoldus]

We are leaving for the Med the day before our cruise - but due to the time zones, won't arrive until cruise day. I would not have recommended this to someone else - but we are teachers who couldn't ditch school for more than Friday.

 

We have fairly decent amounts of time between flights - but until we touch down in Barcelona, I won't really feel relaxed. The ship doesn't depart until 7PM which helps a lot.

 

We leave in two weeks - so hopefully there won't be any crazy weather and all will be well. Fortunately for us, if the worst happens, the ship's first port isn't far away from Barcelona - but I don't even want to think about that!

[sept10dsm]

We had "free air" with our southbound Alaska cruise a few years ago. The cruise line booked it very early in the morning and luckily we had no problems. In the air and airports for over 10 hours. NJ - AK with a stop in MN. We really would have liked to go earlier to see AK, but couldn't. I also worried about flight delays. We had none, but Princess said since the airfare was part of the deal we would be OK. I'm glad we had no problems, but with such long flights and a stopover, I felt we were very lucky.

[chubbycheeks]

or is that a thing of the past. I am considering this, but know that it could be risky; especially in Feb with uncertain weather. My sis had a problem once and was actually running to the ship about 20 min before sailing. Don't know if I could stand the stress, but with a limited budget, it would save the cost of a hotel room in Miami.

 

I've done it but wouldn't suggest it. I made out ok but my friend had to fly into Puerto Rico last year to catch up with the ship. When we were getting ready to leave for the airport that morning he couldn't find his driver's license (he didn't have a passport). He realized that the teller at the bank didn't give him license back and it was a Sunday.....on Labor Day weekend. So he had to scramble on Tuesday to get a new one and make it to the airport to catch a flight by noon. There was a tropical storm headed right for Miami (his connecting city) and his plane barely made it out in time to get to PR. He had a mad rush to get from the airport to the ship to board and made it to the ship 40 minutes before we set sail. So the moral of the story is:

-make sure you have all your documents ready the day before you leave

-have a passport (it's much easier and required beginning next year)

-don't fly in on the day of the cruise...too much opportunity for things to go wrong i.e., missed flights, cancelled flights, missing documents, missed connections.

[twohumpedcamel45]

We are flying from Richmond, Va to Orlando (non-stop) the day of the cruise, but we also do not arrive into Orlando until 9:30am, so we have room for any delays. The cruise line will pick us up at the airport and take us to the ship. As long as you give yourself enough hours for problems, you should be fine. I say that now, but just wait, something will happen. LOL :p

[yj2cute]

Okay okay I now admit it...I'm paranoid!!! I was fine about flying the day of FOREVER until I read this post. My boyfriend laughed at me (and so did my TA) when I explained my fear, but I don't care because I have my first ever aft balcony and I'm not about to risk it being empty if I don't make it to the ship! SO....now that I've decided to give in to going the day before, which hotel to you reccomend in San Juan? I don't want to spend too much- as long as it's in a safe area and is clean....any opinions?? Thanks guys

Laura

 

Laura, other's may feel safe with the decision to fly in the day of the cruise because they've done it before and nothing's ever happened. The key word here is YET. There's a first time for everything, so why tempt fate. I know there are times when folks just can't go in the day before. But if at all possible, DO! Check the pre cruise hotel board for info on hotels in San Juan. Also check out PriceLine. I've gotten many good hotel deals there.