Fly in the same day of embarkation… Too risky? (and insurance question)

[pluto107]

Hello everyone! I just booked my first cruise and getting slightly nervous about all the prep work… One thing that bother me the most is my flight timing and hope you guys can give me any advices. Thanks a lot in advance!! :)

My cruise is Ruby Princess and set sail in Fort Lauderdale (mid-December). My flight (NWA) will arrive at 12pm of embarkation day. I’m connecting in Detroit (to FL). I have plenty of time between connection (like 3 hrs), but I do worry about any delay in Detroit flight because it’s winter… And next NW flight won’t get into FL till 4:30pm.

So should I try to get to FL the day before? I didn’t do this because it would mean I need to take an extra day off work and book a hotel (which I won’t check in till midnight).

What about travel insurance? Are there any good one will give me such protection? I just read the one provided by Princess. It looks like I might not be able to enroll because I already made the final payment...

I’m getting all confused now. :confused: Please help and thanks for reading!

[Ehpride]

As far as insurance, try insuremytrip.com. You can compare policies and get quotes.

 

Personally, I fly in the day before. Weather can cause problems. Flights can get delayed. Hopefully there will never be a problem. It just causes less stress for me if I know that we're going to be there in plenty of time, even if somehow I have a missed or delayed flight along the way. That's just me though. I know some people travel the day of without any problem.

[elaineb]

Pluto - you don't want to start your vacation all stressed out worried that you might miss the cruise. Personally, our last 3 cruises we have left the day before. No worries, relax from the flight, and the next day get up refreshed and ready to start! We had people on our cruise whose flight was cancelled and missed the first 2 days of a 5 day cruise!

As for the insurance, I agree with the previous poster. Use www.insuremytrip.com. The only problem is that it will not cover a pre-existing condition. In order for that, you would have to get the insurance within 48 hours of your 1st deposit.

Play around with the amounts. For instance, if you can get $2000 worth of insurance for the same price you would pay for $1500, then go with the $2000.

Good luck!

[Loves_Dogs]

It is always a good idea to fly in the day before (if possible). I am a 'worry wart'. The stress of flying in the day of the cruise is just something I personally do not want to deal with.

 

Our tablemates on our Valor cruise shared their story of a previous cruise when they flew in the day of. Some mechanical thing on the plane caused a delay and they did not make it to the port on time. They had a 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' type story of how they eventually made it to the ship (2 days later and a LOT of extra cash spent). They said they have flown in the day before on every cruise since!

[Keith1010]

Yes, I would defiintely change my flight and fly in the day before. I always recommend doing this no matter where you are flying. In addition to weather, there could be delays due to so many other reasons or worse yet a cancellation. So, change the reservation and fly in the day before.

 

As mentioned, a good source for looking for travel insurance is insuremytrip.com

 

Good luck.

 

Keith

[Grandiva]

Hello.

 

Here is another fly day before (if possible) suggestion. It's the connection in Detroit in December that is scary. Michigan winters can be real nasty, and start early. If it wasn't for possible bad weather I would say cross your fingers and catch your flight. I have flown in the day of and so do many, many others. Infact our transport bus was packed to capacity.

 

As others have shared, flying in the day before makes for a less stressful start to a long awaited vacation. Happy Cruising to you.

[cb at sea]

I agree with arriving the day prior. You will want to get on the ship early, as you've already PAID to use the ship, and boarding day is day 1!!!! And, you'll be more relaxed, no rushing, since your "vacation" started the night before!!!

And even in good weather, you can't trust the airlines.....with your schedule or your bags. This way, should a bag go missing, they will have time to find it, and reunite it with you!

[fann1sh]

My home airport is DTW (Detroit). I'm intimately acquainted with everything the weather can deal out in December, and how our NWA hub responds to it.

 

There's 75 - 90% odds you'll be fine...but those are NOT odds I want for my vacation. Even without the problem of connections, I fly in a day early.

[arlodog]

Go the day before so you don't have to stress out over anything. FLL is a lot of fun and if you go to the east coast departures board and click on the Florida link there is a thread on Priceline that will let you know what everyone has been getting their hotels for in the FLL area. Betterbidding.com is a great resource if you haven't used Priceline before to understand how it all works. We were able to stay in a hotel right on the beach during spring break for $100 ;) --well worth it!

[pluto107]

Wow. Thanks everyone for their advice! It’s our first cruise and long overdue vacation, so definitely want to make sure it’s perfect. I’m going to try changing my flight. And insuremytrip is very very helpful.

Thanks a million!! :D

[Sea Hag]

Wow. Thanks everyone for their advice! It’s our first cruise and long overdue vacation, so definitely want to make sure it’s perfect. I’m going to try changing my flight. And insuremytrip is very very helpful.

 

Thanks a million!! :D

 

Enjoy your cruise, but do be forewarned that you may quickly become addicted to cruising. You just might end up like many of us here - existing from cruise to cruise. Getting the shakes if you don't have one booked and coming up. Breaking into tears every night when you go to bed at home and there's no chocolate on your pillow. Making your own towel animals and manufacturing surprised delight when you find them on your bed. I could go on ... :D

[satxdiver]

I agree with the other posters. We always arrive the day before so that we can start our vacation rested and worry free. The other suggestion when you are flying is to always book an early flight such as the first flight out. That will give you two advantages. If there is a delay and/or you miss the connecting flight, you have the entire day to arrive at your destination. I have had planes leave late and arrive late at the destination as well as missed connections. I have always been able to recover and arrive that day. The second advantage is that if your luggage does not arrive with you, the airline will have the opportunity to send it to you on the next flight that day instead of the next day. I have had my luggage arrive on the next flight later the same day. Just some advice from a frequent business flier.

[Sheffie]

I am a big proponent of flying in a day early also. We aren't able to do it for our next cruise, but we have booked a direct flight from DTW to SJU. Our ship doesn't sail till 10 or 11 (can't remember which) so we should be fine. If I had the option, though, I would definitely fly in the day before. As a bonus, you get what seems like an extra day on the ship!

 

Have fun planning!