Fly 1 day before or day of cruise?

[wilson9112]

If you MUST fly to the ship, how many people fly the day of departure and how many fly in earlier. This is the first time Im flying the day of and Im scared. So I voted the day before because that is what I uasually do. Just curious!:D

[MD34]

Voted 'day of departure', but It depends on a number of things.

 

1) Are the kids coming with us or staying with relatives? If the latter, then we would want to minimize the time with them. If the former, then the extra time would be good

2) Do I have to make a connection on the flights or am I going non-stop? Connections=risk in my view.

3) How much time do I have after scheduled landing to get to the port? If there is a delay, how close do I come to missing the ship?

4) What is the distance to the ship from the airport? FLL-Port Everglades is very close, but if we had to do MIA-Port Everglades then we would need more time.

[sharpie13]

DW and I perfer to drive to the pier if at all possible. The only 2 times we did fly to the port, it was on the day of the cruise and the flights were no more than 2 hours long. Everything worked out fine both times, but from our standpoint the down sides of flying, luggage limits, incovienent flight schedules, extra transfers, airport security, etc. were hardly worth it. In the future, if we had to fly cross-country, we would fly in a day or two before the cruise.

[cruiselover**]

My husband and I have gone on ten cruises so far, and the first four cruises we flew to Florida the day of the cruise. That fourth cruise (back in 1998) taught us a valuable lesson! Our plane had mechanical problems at our small airport here in Erie, PA and the airline transferred us to another airline. We did not arrive in Miami, FL until 3:00 PM! There were a total of five of us that did not board the cruise ship until about 3:50 PM. Luckily, I had contacted Carnival as soon as we knew there were problems and to keep them up-to-date on our flight changes, etc. Since we had purchased travel insurance, they bent over backwards to take care of us. My husband and I agreed - NEVER AGAIN! We now fly in the day before to (hopefully) avoid problems.

 

This last cruise we took (April 2007) we flew in and out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Everything was fine on the way down, but on the way home we had problems. They could not fly us home until a full day later than we were scheduled. The airline had to put us up overnight at a hotel. I was more upset about the fact they kept us at the airport from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM before making the decision! I missed out on a lot of pool time.

[LHP]

We go in a day ahead whether we are flying or driving (even to the New Orleans port that is only 6 hours away).

 

We prefer to be well rested and not be stressed when we board.

 

Years ago, everyone flew in the day of the cruise. That was back when there were tons of airlines, far less fliers, and lots of empty seats.

 

Today there are less airline seats available due to less airlines, overbooking, and more people flying. Add to that the constant threat that an entire airport can be shut down for a day with one phone call of a bomb threat, airplanes going out for Maintenance due to over usage, pilots (like at Northwest) running out of flying hours before the end of the month......and you get a mix where weather is the least of your problems.

 

The last time we flew in "the day of" was San Juan. A Northwest Airbus 320 FULL of cruisers went out for maintenance. The only reason we made it was because of an angel named Jean at Northwest in New Orleans and the fact that we checked in at 5:20AM for a 9AM flight. Jean got us on American all the way to San Juan and we had a whooping 30 minutes to spare before the ship sailed.

 

Never again....

[freddiebud]

I would agree that alot depends on where you live, when you are flying (weather issues) and who is traveling. For trips from LA, for the most part, I fly same day but early. So many flights from Phx to LA that missing one is not an issue. Every where else in the US, a day early. Outside the continental US, as early as I can get time. We missed a flight to Copenhagen and still had two more days to get there and catch the cruise. For the trip to Alaska, we cruise on Wed and were planning on leaving on Sunday (although we now reversed our trip and am doing the land piece first).

 

Where are you flying from and to and when? It might not be worth panicing over.

[freddiebud]

Ok, never mind, it appears that you are flying from NY in January. Hmmm.

[wilson9112]

I would agree that alot depends on where you live, when you are flying (weather issues) and who is traveling. For trips from LA, for the most part, I fly same day but early. So many flights from Phx to LA that missing one is not an issue. Every where else in the US, a day early. Outside the continental US, as early as I can get time. We missed a flight to Copenhagen and still had two more days to get there and catch the cruise. For the trip to Alaska, we cruise on Wed and were planning on leaving on Sunday (although we now reversed our trip and am doing the land piece first).

 

Where are you flying from and to and when? It might not be worth panicing over.

Flying from Long Island NY on South West to Ft.Lauderdale. Flight arrives at 9:35am and cruise leaves at 4pm. Due to my friends, I cannot change my flight. I always fly the day before. Just curious as too how many people fly the day of. If I see snow in forcast, Im driving:D Cruise is Jan 5th!

[driftychick]

Something else to take into consideration is the time change between home and where you will be cruising. I always like to arrive at least 1 and possibly 3 days prior to my cruise to get used to the time change!

[GORDONCHICK]

I don't kick back and relax until I'm in the departure port! I want to be there no less than the day before.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

There are exceptions but generally we will arrive at our port of departure the day before our cruise. This is much better all around, in terms of less stress, more time to sightsee, get to the ship much earlier, and so on.

 

For first timers, and persons who do not travel a lot, and those who are going on a cruise with little kids, ALWAYS FLY TO YOUR PORT OF DEPARTURE THE DAY BEFORE YOUR CRUISE!

 

I emphasize this because there are too many variables that can adversely affect your reaching the ship in time.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[wilson9112]

Hello,

 

There are exceptions but generally we will arrive at our port of departure the day before our cruise. This is much better all around, in terms of less stress, more time to sightsee, get to the ship much earlier, and so on.

 

For first timers, and persons who do not travel a lot, and those who are going on a cruise with little kids, ALWAYS FLY TO YOUR PORT OF DEPARTURE THE DAY BEFORE YOUR CRUISE!

 

I emphasize this because there are too many variables that can adversely affect your reaching the ship in time.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

I am not a first time cruiser so I should no better. Its my friends that stuck me with this. I cant believe it. Anyway, I was hoping many people said day of departure so make it easier on me LOL...Looks like the voting is far beyond that. :(

[Spikesgirl]

We have so far departed from foreign ports on our cruises and love having the extra time to check out the departure city, so we always flying in at least two or three days prior to the cruise. It also helps relieve jet lag, so that we don't spend the first day on the ship in a daze.

 

If we are embarking at a different port, then we tend to tack on an additional couple of days to see that city as well, as it seems a waste to fly halfway around the world and not spend some time.

 

Charlie

[EggDropErin]

We usually fly in the day of departure unless it's during the winter months, then we fly in the day before.

[PhoenixCruiser]

We usually fly/drive a day or two ahead. We, however, just booked a 4 nighter for next month and will be driving to San Pedro the day of. At least we don't have to worry about snow :p

 

###

[wilson9112]

OMG this poll is killing me. Thanks for the reply all, I really really really appreciate them! I'm trying to tell my friends to go the day before, now the price has doubled for airfare and they wont go for it. Also, they don't want to take their kid out of school another day, so I guess I'm screwed (not to be offensive)! I don't know if its this site because for the most part we are experienced cruisers but I was hoping more people flew the same day. Damn friends LOL....Hope I'm OK. Keep the polling!

[cruisinbuddy]

I fly in day before. Call it insurance that you'll make the ship. Plus if everything goes fine, it's an extra day of vacation baby.

[wrp96]

And just to make you panic more, here's a classic thread of someone who flew in day of http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=391074 Suddenly makes paying double for an airline ticket absolutely worth it!:eek:

[Tarheelbelle]

I voted for flying in the day before, but actually if it is a long or complicated flight to get there, I fly in more than 1 day ahead.

[wilson9112]

And just to make you panic more, here's a classic thread of someone who flew in day of http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=391074 Suddenly makes paying double for an airline ticket absolutely worth it!:eek:

Thanks wrp96, Yes it did make me panic. OMG, but someone else just polled they fly same day, keep it coming baby:D

[jpg1747]

It all depends on where I'm cruising from. If I'm on the same coast, then I'll fly in the same day. But if I'm going cross-country or out of the country, I'll fly in the day before.

[ldog]

I agree with Spikesgirl. It's nice to spend time in the port. We think of it like another port to explore. If there is a time difference we like to add an extra day for jet lag recovery.

 

On our Caribbean cruises we have flown on the day of departure from Toronto with no problems.

[CC Help Michell]

I think it only takes one instance of a same-day flight where something goes wrong, resulting in you boarding your ship in a muck sweat, huffing and puffing, or without luggage which got misrouted, to change from a "same day" flier to a "day before" flier. We're minimum one day before people -- more if we can swing it or if we have a large time change. That way we're in our port city well in advance, with time to deal if something has happened to the luggage, etc. If nothing went wrong, even better -- we commence the party a day before we board the ship. :)

 

My "one day early" advice saved good friends of ours (first time cruisers) on their Alaskan RCCL cruise this past summer. Their flight to Anchorage involved an interline connection at Seattle -- and their luggage was left behind. The luggage caught up to them by 9:00 AM the next day -- plenty of time to board the ship. If they'd flown same day, they'd have sailed without luggage and had only what was in their carryons to tide them over (plus whatever they could purchase at a local store while wasting their their valuable Alaska touring time doing it).

 

Travelling is stressful -- particularly air travel -- but cruising normally isn't. That extra day helps keep the cruise part from becoming another stress source instead of the "disconnect" from your every day it should be.

[alphakitty]

I have done it both ways....sometimes flying in the day of and sometimes flying in the day before. I find it much less stressful flying in the day before of course, but I've never missed the ship flying in the day of...even from New England in the winter. If you have a very early flight out and a direct flight as well...you'll probably be just fine. :)

[98Charlie]

Have had a few imes when we had to fly in the day of the cruise and we were nervous wrecks until we got to the port worrying about flight delays, etc. Hate to be stressed out when we get onboard.

 

That being said, most of our cruises are during winter months. We live in Central Ohio, land of sleet and black ice. Travel to the airport can be a real trip at times. We love to have that extra travel day booked into our schedule and also very much appreciate having an extra day in the port city to kick back and enjoy the sunshine.

 

Dianne