Any Left Coasters/Westerners here? Question about Redeye flights.

[Utahrd]

I don't know which line I want to take but I am pretty certain I want to go to the Western Caribbean.

 

I checked flights & it costs more to fly to Mobile from Salt Lake City than the cruise itself costs......Houston & New Orleans are more reasonable. But it seems to be an hour drive from the Houston airport to the cruise ship terminal?

 

Flights to Fort Lauderdale are surprisingly affordable if I take the Red Eye that leaves at midnight from here in the Land Of The Greatest Snow On Earth and go through Atlanta.

 

Have any of you who live in the western part of the US ever done that?

 

Did it ruin your cruise because your schedule was off and you were groggy for the whole week?

 

Or was it great because you saved money on a hotel room in Miami or Ft Lauderdale?

 

Has anyone ever flown a Red Eye to a cruise with small children? Did they deal with it or were they Nightmare Demons for the whole week because their schedule & routine were thrown off?

 

What did you do during the day after you landed in Miami or Ft Lauderdale but before the vessel left? Can you turn in your luggage early and spend the day at the beach until you have to be back?

[eritouma]

We have flown from the West, all be it the Northwest, on a redeye to catch our last cruise in MCO. Our kids were a little older so that wasn't an issue. We were a little groggy, but caught up after the first night. As for leaving your stuff... I do not think you can check you bags in and then go to the beach ( I may be wrong) but depending on what time you arrive via plane, there may be only an hour or two before you can get on the ship, once you get your bags, and get over to the terminal... Overall we found it not to be too bad, our biggest concern was ""what if the flight is delayed or cancelled ???" That bothered me until we touched down in MCO....:)

[cb at sea]

You can check into the ship, and then leave again--but why would you want to? You can use the pool onboard right away--and since you've PAID to use the ship, you may as well take advantage of it!

[Utahrd]

Thanks, Eritouma & CB.

 

Eritouma, I'm jealous because you're allowed to take the Red Eye to Varadero and I'm not.

 

It costs more to fly to Calgary from Salt Lake than the Calgary to Varadero charter costs.

[eritouma]

Dear Utahrd;

 

I guess the charter flights can be good.... as is the beer up here ...:)

[Marlissa]

We fly in the day before and spend the night at a hotel. Much less stress for the day of.

[eritouma]

Dear Marlissa; totally agree...after that same day arrival stress, have never done it again... I must have aged 10 years over that flight... I was so relived when we landed... I told myself never to do that again... and we haven't...:)

[ThePatientOne]

I agree as well.. If you are flying, (Or driving as I am next year) go a day or two ahead and start to relax a bit before the cruise.. Less stress because you have plenty of time..

I have done the fly in and board thing the same day.. I was way too tired to enjoy the ship on the first night..

With the arrival a day or two ahead, you are relaxed, can board the ship at a leisurely pace and enjoy the day...

[klfrodo]

We also fly in 2 -3 days early. So much to see and do in So. Florida.

The "red eye" can be a pain, but,,whatever...

[6rugrats]

I have taken many redeyes from the west to east coast, both alone and with kids. If you are in Utah, you will only have a two hour time difference; it's just not that much and I honestly think the only thing you will notice is the lack of sleep from the redeye on the first day. There is no way you would be groggy for an entire week! I just got back from traveling to a city that was nine hours difference from where I live, and I had no trouble at all adjusting from west to east, and it just took me a day to get back on track when I got back home.

 

What would work best if you have small children, is to take the redeye and arrive a day early and get a hotel. Just Priceline it if you want to save money. When you get to your arrival city, don't go to bed, get outside in the sun and immediately get on that time zone. Get a good's night sleep and you should do fine.

 

All kids can be demons when their schedules are thrown off, and it wouldn't just be a redeye flight that did this. You don't say how old your kids are, but make sure they have their little blankets and maybe pillows and be sure you choose seats that have armrests that will go up, so they can lay across you. Window seats are best for them; my DD always hangs out in the aisle if she has that seat and it just doesn't work out. You are the one who will probably get no sleep!

 

For less money, I'd take the redeye; not fun but it could be worth it.

[Teetype]

I don't know which line I want to take but I am pretty certain I want to go to the Western Caribbean.

 

I checked flights & it costs more to fly to Mobile from Salt Lake City than the cruise itself costs......Houston & New Orleans are more reasonable. But it seems to be an hour drive from the Houston airport to the cruise ship terminal?

 

Flights to Fort Lauderdale are surprisingly affordable if I take the Red Eye that leaves at midnight from here in the Land Of The Greatest Snow On Earth and go through Atlanta.

 

Have any of you who live in the western part of the US ever done that?

 

Did it ruin your cruise because your schedule was off and you were groggy for the whole week?

 

Or was it great because you saved money on a hotel room in Miami or Ft Lauderdale?

 

Has anyone ever flown a Red Eye to a cruise with small children? Did they deal with it or were they Nightmare Demons for the whole week because their schedule & routine were thrown off?

 

What did you do during the day after you landed in Miami or Ft Lauderdale but before the vessel left? Can you turn in your luggage early and spend the day at the beach until you have to be back?

 

 

Hi UtahRD:

 

I have to agree with the majority here -- go the day before and bunk in a hotel. ESPECIALLY with young children. THEY might not be "nightmare demons," but after an all nighter with youngsters then having to keep an eagle eye on them in airports, and at the pier, YOU will be. :)

 

Also, when you decide on the cruise, check into the cruise line's air/hotel/transfer prices. Chances are it's going to be a lot cheaper doing it yourself, but it's good to know and occasionally you get a great surprise.

 

Cheers (and good luck)!

Tee

[Utahrd]

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice!

[cruiseman40]

Last week I had a redeye flight from Honolulu to LAX with 2 kids(11 and 8). Left at 10:40 pm on Northwest and arrived around 7:50 am pac time. I should have stayed at the nearby hotel but decided to make the 4 hour trip back home, which I regretted. Struggled to stay awake and had breakfast at IHOP and had coffee to go. We all took naps that entire afternoon and still had the jet lag the next few days. Also, prior to flying to Hawaii I also flew to Midwest for an entire week. I'm finally recooperated from the Jet Lag and different time zones. I know why I'm reminded why they call it "Red-Eye"!

[bar_20]

Why not go to Mexixo and fly out of a California port. You gain a hour, you can leave in the morning and get there before noon. I am sure the flights are cheaper, about $260 roundtrip on Southwest. Besides the Caribbean is overrated.:D

[Utahrd]

Why not go to Mexixo and fly out of a California port. You gain a hour, you can leave in the morning and get there before noon. I am sure the flights are cheaper, about $260 roundtrip on Southwest. Besides the Caribbean is overrated.:D

 

I used to live in southern California. Ensenada? The place where we reprobate college students used to try to imitate Nicholas Cage's character in "Leaving Las Vegas"? Why would I want to go there again?

 

I live in a frozen desert. A desert with an ocean and slightly warmer temperatures is slightly more appealing. When the wind whips off the ocean in the winter in southern California; you feel almost as cold as you do getting off the tram at the top of Snowbird.

 

But a few years ago, my wife & I went to Playa del Carmen for a week and I fell in love with the place. We like Cozumel, too. I'd love to check out Roatan, Jamaica, Belize and maybe Progreso & Santo Tomas de Castilla. Maybe even Labadee, the Domican Republic or the Bahamas.

[deckgirl]

:) hi! you didn't mention when you were going, so i thought i'd just throw this in. the ship we sailed in caribbean last year - mariner of the seas - is moving to l.a. in jan/feb of 2009 and will be sailing mexican riviera. i'm with you about mexico - not so much on my destination wish list - but the ship itself is so awesome that i'd take that cruise just to be on the ship. they will be going to the better mexican ports (puerto vallarta, cabo san lucas, acapulco) and i hear these are much better than ensenada (which i thought was a pit).

we did take a redeye from calif. to orlando last year, but got to mco the day before cruise and napped for a while then hit the beach in the afternoon. we're really glad we didn't redeye and try to get to florida the day of sailing - we would have been zombies. it was so easy the morning of the cruise because we were rested and the hotel had a shuttle to the pier and we got on board with 1/2 hour after getting to the port parking lot. the hotels were very reasonably, especially when compared with calif. prices.

[wideeyedwonder]

Has anyone ever flown a Red Eye to a cruise with small children?

 

We've done red-eyes, LA to Miami with twin 5 year olds and an 8 year old. They adjusted no problem (after a day), they just slept on the plane. I, however, was a wreck, but after a day in Jamaica, no problem mon!

 

Our last cruise flight was a non-redeye, though, and five hours is a long time for kids to be on a plane, no matter what activities we provide (there is just so much you can play Nintendo DS before your eyeballs melt) We may go for a connector on a non-redeye next time we fly east (July 2009, Disney Magic).