If you need more convincing to fly in the day before cruise

[cincicruisers]

For those who still consider flying in the same day as your cruise here's the scoop on my day..

 

Cruise

Radiance, departing Florida on Sunday

 

Flights booked 3 months ago

Ohio for my son

Texas for me

 

No issues, no emails, no notifications of problems.

 

Had my son and call to confirm his gate/time for tomorrows flight... Guess what.. Cancelled!

 

After an hour or so on the phone with agents and trying to get things settled all is well. I am so happy that after joining cruise critic 3 years ago I always fly in the day before the cruise because that is entirely too much stress to deal with the day of the cruise. I was not nervous getting things resolved because there was no chance he would miss the ship as we were coming in the day before.

 

Just thought I would share for those who need convincing to fly in the day before your cruise just in case!

 

Happy Cruising.

[Sue L]

Thank goodness you had the foresight to call and confirm. Have a wonderful cruise!!!

[negc]

It is always advisable to monitor your flight schedules regularly. Even if you are flying in the day before, if you didn't find out that your flight has been cancelled until you get to the airport, you might have a problem rescheduling a flight for the following day. I guess that our motto should be "Trust but Verify":D

[boomhaursgrl]

Thank you finally some one who can share a horror story like mine. It is always smarter to fly in a day before!!!

[judyf]

Good story. I always go in a day or to ahead of time and spend that time checking out the port area.

[David4]

Would love to be able to fly in the day before but 99% of the time we cant. We just say a prayer and check to make sure that its not cancled. It has worked out sofar.

[Crosboro]

I agree with you 100%. Unless you are close enough to be able to drive to the port, flying in the day before takes so much stress off. And with Priceline, you can usually get a room for under $100, plus maybe having to pay for dinner and breakfast. Considering the overall price of a cruise, it's not that much more.

Glad it all worked out for you!

[BopRN]

Our first cruise in 2000, we didn't know any better and let the TA book our flights. We were delayed in Atlanta, arriving on the cruiseship during the muster drill! We had NO idea why all these orange people were running around. They were yellling at us to get to our stations...what chaos for someone new to cruising!! It took a day and a half to unwind from the stress of our arrival and enjoy cruising. We decided then...never again would we fly in the same day!

 

 

2 years ago, I was flying to Fla. My flight with 250 passengers was cancelled while we were sitting on the runway...mechanical problems. They unloaded us and you can imagine the line to re-book. It was a nightmare! They finally announced they would bus people to another airport 1.5 hours away where there would be more flights available. On the bus was a family of five trying to get from Ohio to a cruiseship. They were panic-stricken! I felt so sorry for them and that confirmed for me why we ALWAYS fly in the day before. I was 4 hours late to FL so they probably were too. Who needs that stress to start a vacation?

[land lover]

I think it all depends on the time of year, time of flight, where you are flying to and stop overs......we seldom go in the day ahead...its been close but we have always made it. The way I look at it your flight the day before can be cancelled or changed too.

[cruiseguy1016]

I think it all depends on the time of year, time of flight, where you are flying to and stop overs......we seldom go in the day ahead...its been close but we have always made it. The way I look at it your flight the day before can be cancelled or changed too.

 

Yes, but at least you have time to reschedule. If it's canceled the day of cruise departure, you're going to miss the ship. I like the comfort of having a day to reschedule if necessary.

[phoenix1181]

Going a day early is great for those who have the time. Unfortunately, not everyone can take that extra day. That said, we make that decision based on the time of year. In the winter months, we go in early. We never cruise in hurricane season. The rest of the year, we generally take an early morning flight. It may not be perfect, but we've never missed a cruise nor have we been in a situation that has caused us to be concerned.

 

Of course, the day my DH left two suitcases home and had to go back and get them was another issue.................. :D

[mckinna]

We used to watch a show on A&E- "Airline". It would show Southwest airlines, and the situations some people would get into trying catch their flights. Very often, flights would be delayed or cancelled, and there would be people saying "I have to get to Miami- I'm going on a cruise!!" I felt sorry for them.

 

We have flown in the day of on 2 occasions, and had no problems, but now we always come in the day before, just to be sure.

 

I sure would hate to pay for and plan a cruise, only to miss the ship!

[Lionesss]

The last time we cruised was our first time, we flew out of Cleveland and arrived in Orlando about noon. By the time we checked in with Disney and waited for a bus (45min.) we left the airport about 1pm. Arrived at Port canavral about 1:45pm. Went thru security, check in, (we had done everything we could on-line), got on board, picture taken, about 2:30pm. We felt rushed, although we had more than enough time before the sailing.

This time we are flying down a day early, get up and enjoy an anxious breakfast and go over to the dock.

[Cruise Cat]

Just a note on checking your flight: You need to check regularly, especially if you book far in advance. As the time gets closer, the airline my jumble their flights and yours may leave EARLY. A lot of people had this happen to them last summer as did we (there is a thread or two on this board about it). Luckily, we had automatic notifications set up so it sent us an e-mail a few months before. You can't just rely on that as sometimes e-mails like that end up in your 'screened' mailbox and you may never see them.

 

Check early and check often!

[kingsgirl]

There is too much airport/flight BS for me ever to fly again probably. I hate how you are at their mercy. It's not fair. They should make a better system.

 

Glad you got everything sorted out!

[dutchess43]

Flying from NY I do not care what time of the year we always come in the day before there always seems to be some type of a hold up. We have 3 cruises booked for this year & we have hotels booked for the day before. It has proven to be less stress & worrisome for us it's a much better way to start our cruise's.

[Sue L]

Flying from NY I do not care what time of the year we always come in the day before it is always some type of a hold up. We have 3 cruises booked for this year & we have hotels booked for the day before. It have proven to be less stress & worrisome for us it's a much better way to start our cruise's.

 

 

 

I am with you , we were delayed in August for 4 hours at Jfk going to Vancouver because of horrible thunderstorms. Weather delays are not only a winter issue.

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

Yes, but at least you have time to reschedule. If it's canceled the day of cruise departure, you're going to miss the ship. I like the comfort of having a day to reschedule if necessary.

 

Absolutely what we always thought. Until our last trip. We booked to fly out 3 days before the cruise (taking NO chances), but there was a bad ice storm here in the northeast. Our flight was cancelled as we were on the way to the airport, and there was no flight available on any airline that would get us to Florida on time for our cruise (we had called and checked as soon as we heard the storm was coming). We were lucky. To make a long story short, our flight was reinstated, and we were the last flight out before the airport closed.

 

So, be sure if you are traveling at peak times to have alternate plans in case the unthinkable happens. We were planning to drive the 28 hours to Florida, but would have missed the early part of our vacation plans in Orlando. Unfortuantely, we have no other options but to travel during school vacation times. We know the risks, but we try to be prepared for anything.

[cruisegirl1]

This is especially important as I just received this e-mail from RCCL.

It seems we need to be onboard 90 minutes prior to sailing – or you will NOT BE ABLE TO BOARD.

M

 

 

 

Due to new government regulations requiring cruise lines to submit

final departure manifests at least 60 minutes prior to sailing,

guests are requested to complete Online Check-in no later than 3 days

prior to their cruise. If you do not complete Online Check-in 3 days

prior, you will be required to complete this process at the pier at

least two hours prior to the published sailing time.

 

Please note: All guests must be checked-in and onboard the ship no

later than 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time or you will

not be permitted to sail

[candydane]

Another reason to regularly check reservations made way in advance is that the airlines may cancel your flight and put you onto another flight WITHOUT NOTIFYING YOU right away. When they do that, they often assign your seats randomly.

 

For instance, you're booked on the aisle way up front in row 10 but they'll reassign you a inside seat way back in row 32! Even if there are better seats available! It's happened to me more than once! A friend and her granddaughter were reassigned to the same row but on opposite sides of a 7-seats-across row!

 

It's usually easy to move yourself to a better seat IN ADVANCE but may not be possible right before your flight.

[BobBeaSea]

We fly to the port a day before the cruise. We do this for our convenience rather than travel considerations. Can you imagine the utter chaos with hotels etc. if ALL cruisers flying to their departure ports flew in a day early :D

 

In the winter time in the north you CAN miss your cruise if you fly out a day early. If a terrific snow storm hits on your day, you won't be going. You will not likely be going the next day either as the flights booked for that day have priority. In this situation, if you booked your flight for the day of the cruise - you will make it. There are no guarantees.:)

[Cruise Cat]

Another reason to regularly check reservations made way in advance is that the airlines may cancel your flight and put you onto another flight WITHOUT NOTIFYING YOU right away. When they do that, they often assign your seats randomly.

 

For instance, you're booked on the aisle way up front in row 10 but they'll reassign you a inside seat way back in row 32! Even if there are better seats available! It's happened to me more than once! A friend and her granddaughter were reassigned to the same row but on opposite sides of a 7-seats-across row!

 

It's usually easy to move yourself to a better seat IN ADVANCE but may not be possible right before your flight.

 

OR they only think about that flight and do not consider your connecting flight! Last summer there were several on these boards who had their flights switched on them or time changed and the plane was scheduled to land after their connecting flight was scheduled to take off.

[Cruise Cat]

I looked for those threads about airlines changing the flights and there were a couple of pages of them dealing with multiple airlines. Here is one of them:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=589346

[land lover]

Another reason to regularly check reservations made way in advance is that the airlines may cancel your flight and put you onto another flight WITHOUT NOTIFYING YOU right away. When they do that, they often assign your seats randomly.

 

For instance, you're booked on the aisle way up front in row 10 but they'll reassign you a inside seat way back in row 32! Even if there are better seats available! It's happened to me more than once! A friend and her granddaughter were reassigned to the same row but on opposite sides of a 7-seats-across row!

 

It's usually easy to move yourself to a better seat IN ADVANCE but may not be possible right before your flight.

 

So true and using FF miles it really can be a pain when you are on different booking numbers............we have probably gone on 10 flights in the last 5 years with AA and everyone that was booked far in advance the seats have been changed usually because the aircraft has changed.

 

We have even had to change airports so it is imperative that one keeps their eye on flight reservations and seating.

[Host Kewlguy]

We always fly in the same day of the cruise and have never had a problem. We just book the earliest flight possible which is usually around 6:00 am to Florida. Have saved lots of money not having to book pre cruise hotels. No reason for us to change things over one negative story. To each their own.