Flying in on sailing day

[zebra36]

To go day of or day before could depend on: where you are flying from, time of year, service available(non-stop vs direct or connecting). In the past I have gone the day of for all except one of many cruises and have never had a problem. However, with all of the cutbacks in service recently announced it may be better to go the day before if possible. The vast majority of folks make it to the ship without any problem, no doubt a lot of day before folks, but everyone has to decide their comfort level when making their plans.

[Gregg20]

Please don't provide people with a false sense of security. You cannot possibly know that they will be fine. If their plane is 2 and a half hours late (not at all uncommon) they will miss the ship. Although there a more delays in the winter, there are still plenty of delays during non-winter months (air traffic, mechanical problems, crew problems, thunderstorms, fog, etc.).

 

You're being a bit over dramatic aren't you??? I'm sure people here realize that I was simply speaking from my own experience. I'm sure most people here are aware of the kinds of delays that can occur. I always take the earliest direct fight to FL and never had any problems. I'm okay with leaving the day of...some are not....that's fine to.

[rummenroman]

You'll be fine. I've left the day of on all 5 of my cruises and never had any problems. All my cruises have beeen in May...if they were in the winter months or during hurricane season I may have considered leaving the day befoe. You should be on your ship in plenty of time before departure. when is your cruise?

 

Flying from Denver May is still a winter month. In fact i have been told July can still be a winter month!!!:eek:

[cogitosum]

If you booked a flight through the cruise ship line, will they hold the ship if the flight's late? Especially a trans-Atlantic flight?

[AllieInMD]

Not necessarily. Depends on just how late and how many passengers are on that delayed flight. Don't count on them holding a ship for anyone - even groups are sometimes left.

 

They have 3000 other passengers to keep happy - you can't just be late leaving a pier or arrive an off time in a port - there are a lot of logistics and arrangements involved.

 

If you booked a flight through the cruise ship line, will they hold the ship if the flight's late? Especially a trans-Atlantic flight?

[Merion_Mom]

Last August I needed to fly to Miami for business. My flight out of Philadelphia was scheduled to take off at 9:30 AM and arrive in Miami at 12:30 PM. Sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane was a group of 20 people who were leaving on a cruise out of Miami that evening. They all had garment bags...they were going to a wedding on the ship. The bride and groom were among this group of passangers.

 

The plane we were supposed to fly on was delayed because of weather. It was sunny and warm in Philly but there was bad weather where the plane was taking off from. The plane finally showed up 2 hours late but had mechanical issues that had to be addressed. That took an hour. The flight crew knew that there were a bunch of people who had a deadline to make it to their cruise so when the plane was fixed they got everyone on the plane in a matter of a few minutes. We thought we were going to take off but then one of the passengers was sick. They wanted to get the passenger off the plane but they refused to go. It took the medical people 30 minutes to convince this woman to get off the plane. (She was having a diabetic episode....sweaty, light-headed, etc.)

 

When we pushed back from the gate the pilot came on and said he would do everything he could to get us in the air and to Miami as fast as possible. The cruise people were told that if there were no other delays it was possible they could still make their cruise....without their luggage. The plan was for the people to go directly to the ship without waiting for their bags-the airline had called ahead and made arrangements for transportation- and that when the luggage came off it would be sent to the first port of call. So, of course we weren't given clearance to take off for 20 minutes. And when we landed in Miami there was a problem with the gate so we had to sit out on the ramp for 15 minutes. Long story short- everyone missed the boat.

 

I told my wife that when we finally go on a cruise I'm leaving the morning before. I'm not taking any chances. We've booked our first cruise for this October and we're flying out the morning before. Hopefully the 33 hour cushion I've allowed ourselves will be enough.

 

Hi, "neighbor"! You were very lucky to get the benefit of someone else's tough experience!

 

Have a fantastic first cruise! Brace yourself...........you will be addicted like the rest of us CC crazies!

[Merion_Mom]

You'll be fine. I've left the day of on all 5 of my cruises and never had any problems. All my cruises have beeen in May...if they were in the winter months or during hurricane season I may have considered leaving the day befoe. You should be on your ship in plenty of time before departure. when is your cruise?

 

Please don't provide people with a false sense of security. You cannot possibly know that they will be fine. If their plane is 2 and a half hours late (not at all uncommon) they will miss the ship. Although there a more delays in the winter, there are still plenty of delays during non-winter months (air traffic, mechanical problems, crew problems, thunderstorms, fog, etc.).

 

 

You're being a bit over dramatic aren't you??? I'm sure people here realize that I was simply speaking from my own experience. I'm sure most people here are aware of the kinds of delays that can occur. I always take the earliest direct fight to FL and never had any problems. I'm okay with leaving the day of...some are not....that's fine to.

 

Just a suggestion, Gregg.

 

Saying "I've left the day of on all 5 of my cruises and never had any problems. All my cruises have been in May...if they were in the winter months or during hurricane season I may have considered leaving the day before." is speaking from your own experience.

 

Saying "You'll be fine......... You should be on your ship in plenty of time before departure." is giving reassurance that is not yours to give.

 

That is what Gonzo70 meant. :)

[floridacruiser63]

We are cruising on the Majesty of the Sea and our departure time is at 5:00 and we have a flight scheduled to arrive in Miami at 12:30. Do yall think we will be ok with this or is is too late for sure.

If there is a flight delay it would probably be too close to sailing time.

Remember, this sailing leaves either on a Friday, or on a Monday, both very heavy traffic days in Miami. The 836 East expressway, which will take you from the Airport to Downtown (close to the port) is very busy all day long. I would not risk it. (I live in Miami and have to deal with the traffic every day).:)

[Gregg20]

Just a suggestion, Gregg.

 

 

Saying "You'll be fine......... You should be on your ship in plenty of time before departure." is giving reassurance that is not yours to give.

 

That is what Gonzo70 meant. :)

 

Ahhh....yeah...I know what he meant...thanks. This wasn't necessary to point out and who are you to say whats not mine to give??? I'll give my opinion freely and often!

[boonert]

Hi, "neighbor"! You were very lucky to get the benefit of someone else's tough experience!

 

Have a fantastic first cruise! Brace yourself...........you will be addicted like the rest of us CC crazies!

 

Thanks "neighbor"! We're very excited to say the least. Actually, Randi has cruised before in her "former" life. (Before me.) Anything that happened before me doesn't count. :D

[Host Mick]

There's no one correct answer. What you should do depends on your situation.

For my next cruise we are cruising out of LAX and leaving from OAK. It's a short flight relatively so I booked a flight that will arrive in LAX about 1100.

So play "what if?"

What if your flight gets cancelled? In my case, there are two more flights by Southwest that will get me there in time. There are about a dozen other flights that will do the same.

What about weather delays? If something serious came up, which is close to impossible in California in July, I could theoretically drive. I could make it in 6 hours which would get me there in time.

And worse case, if I miss the ship because the alarm clock failed, my flight was cancelled, I got two flat tires and I had to back-track 200 miles because I left my teenage son at a fast-food place, I would have to fly to Cabo and wait for the ship for two days.

Ask yourself, what if my flight is cancelled and what if ALL flights were cancelled that day?

[Gonzo70]

Ahhh....yeah...I know what he meant...thanks. This wasn't necessary to point out and who are you to say whats not mine to give??? I'll give my opinion freely and often!

 

Apparently you still don't know what I meant and you misunderstood her too. It is fine for you to talk about your own experience and what you yourself plan to do in the future. It is not OK for you to tell someone they will be "fine" flying in the same day their ship leaves. You cannot possibly know that. They might make it, they might not make it. Yes you are free to give your opinion as often as you want, but telling somebody they will not miss the ship when flying the same day is not an opinion. It is making a definitive statement on something nobody is qualified to opine on as nobody can possibly know beforehand.

[AllieInMD]

Interesting to continue reading this thread as my friend and collegue, who's on the way back to Baltimore from a conference in St. Louis, is texting me from her plane, that is now 2 hrs into a delay cuz it's raining somewhere (isn't here), and has been physicially on the plane sitting on the runway for a good bit of it now.....

[Hypo]

With the sorry state of air travel in the US today, we will always fly one or two days early. Also, when possible, we will take the earliest flight out of Little Rock, on Southwest, to get us to the port.

 

Southwest still allows two checked bags, they have a very good on time record, and get their passengers on the plane and into the air in a usually efficient manner. Also, it is easy to change your flight plans without a change fee, and if the price drops they will grant you a credit for a future flight.

 

Hypo

[Gonzo70]

With the sorry state of air travel in the US today, we will always fly one or two days early. Also, when possible, we will take the earliest flight out of Little Rock, on Southwest, to get us to the port.

 

Southwest still allows two checked bags, they have a very good on time record, and get their passengers on the plane and into the air in a usually efficient manner. Also, it is easy to change your flight plans without a change fee, and if the price drops they will grant you a credit for a future flight.

 

Hypo

 

Southwest is my favorite airlinein U.S. as well. Only problem is you can't book your flights far in advance, but I guess that is part of what helps them operate so smoothly.

[Merion_Mom]

All of the airlines are attempting to become profitable by flying with as few empty seats as possible.

 

Thus, they are cancelling flights, trimming schedules, and returning planes to their leasing entities.

 

This means fewer empty seats, if you miss your own flight.

 

Even having other flights after yours to your cruise port destination may not help if there are no empty seats on them.

 

It's a scary new world of air travel, folks.

 

As a columnist in today's Philadelphia Inquirer put it, passengers are just going to have to readjust their ideas of how much flying is going to cost them.

[donaldsc]

You'll be fine. I've left the day of on all 5 of my cruises and never had any problems. All my cruises have beeen in May...if they were in the winter months or during hurricane season I may have considered leaving the day befoe. You should be on your ship in plenty of time before departure. when is your cruise?

 

Is that an absolute guarantee since you have made an absolute statement based on the multiple cruises you have taken?

 

Are you prepared to back up your statement with a penalty clause that will cover expenses if the OP takes your advice and then misses the cruise?

 

I doubt it.

 

DON

[HorrorFan]

Add me to the list of 'never fly the same day' people. Our first cruise (didn't know any better) got off to a nasty start. We had a flight at 8:00 am from Toronto to Miami. 11:00 arrival time. Plenty of time right? Beautiful day...no problem.

Our flight was delayed, delayed, and delayed again. Never did find out exactly why. Finally took off at 12:30 after being at the airport since 6:00 am. We had booked through RCI and there were at least a dozen other people heading on our cruise on the same flight. The airline phoned ahead for us and RCI had people waiting for us at the airport. We landed at about 3:45 and they had us literally running through the airport to get our shuttle. It was not a fun experience and a really crappy way to start the cruise.

Had we not booked through RCI I am sure they would not have waited and we would have missed out cruise.

It ended up being a GREAT first cruise even with the nasty start.

Our second cruise we went a day early. MUCH better.:)

[AllieInMD]

my friend today - flying southwest - after sitting on the runway for about 2 hrs, txt'd and said they were taking them back to the terminal, getting them off the plane, so they could figure out what to do with them. Haven't heard anything since.

[Slowboat2]

I have a brother in-law who had the same opinion as Gregg about a day early not being necessary. After 7 cruises he never had a problem, well number 8 did him in. After taking a good size hit on his charge card and his head from my sister, it is now worth the extra day. After telling me I was crazy for going early, needless to say payback was ever so great!!!!!

[skisteamboat]

I always fly day before for business and for cruises. If its a vacation not involving a cruise, I usually go the day of since missing a day is not a big deal. Most times all is well but with bad luck, I can usually make it to the job / meeting / boat early the next day, especially if it is a major city with several options. Been doing this for over 3 million miles so far.;)

 

Cheers

[DON M.]

There's no one correct answer. What you should do depends on your situation.

For my next cruise we are cruising out of LAX and leaving from OAK. It's a short flight relatively so I booked a flight that will arrive in LAX about 1100.

So play "what if?"

What if your flight gets cancelled? In my case, there are two more flights by Southwest that will get me there in time. There are about a dozen other flights that will do the same.

What about weather delays? If something serious came up, which is close to impossible in California in July, I could theoretically drive. I could make it in 6 hours which would get me there in time.

And worse case, if I miss the ship because the alarm clock failed, my flight was cancelled, I got two flat tires and I had to back-track 200 miles because I left my teenage son at a fast-food place, I would have to fly to Cabo and wait for the ship for two days.

Ask yourself, what if my flight is cancelled and what if ALL flights were cancelled that day?

 

In your scenario you are probably 99% sure of making the ship. The other 1%, I twice I have been on the freeways of L.A. stuck in a sig-alert for over 5 hours.

[HollandA]

We flew in day-of when we were on Princess a couple of years ago, but we made sure that we got a flight that landed in FLL by 10am even though the ship wasn't scheduled to depart until 6pm. Granted, we live in Atlanta, and there are a lot of direct flights going out of Hartsfield-Jackson, so we didn't have to change planes anywhere. However, my parents were with us on the same cruise, and they nearly missed it - they had a connection in Atlanta, then another one in Pensacola (they were using SkyMiles, so that's the only way I can figure out why they had so many connections), and the plane from Pensacola to FLL got delayed by about two hours. They were originally scheduled to land in FLL at noon-ish, but didn't make it to the port until nearly 4:30. It was too close for comfort for them, and they are vowing never to fly in day-of again.

 

So, I guess my advice is, if you can get an early morning direct flight, you can probably swing it. However, if you have to make a connection anywhere, I would probably fly in the day before, just to be safe.

[Merion_Mom]

I have a brother in-law who had the same opinion as Gregg about a day early not being necessary. After 7 cruises he never had a problem, well number 8 did him in. After taking a good size hit on his charge card and his head from my sister, it is now worth the extra day. After telling me I was crazy for going early, needless to say payback was ever so great!!!!!

 

I LOVE your post, Slowboat2!!!!!! :)

[Wilda]

You want to fly in the same day- go right ahead. Just be prepared for the possibility of having to purchase a 1-way ticket to Nassau (your first stop) and pony up the additional cash for an overnight hotel in Miami:D Why risk it?

 

I flew in from San Diego yesterday and had a 2-hour delay at BWI. Incoming aircraft was delayed due to storms.