Help!! I'm Nervous.....Hubby Wants To Fly In Day Of!!!

[Romy40]

FLY IN THE DAY BEFORE YOUR CRUISE!! JUST DO IT!!!

 

Waaaaay toooo much stuff can happen.

[sewingmolly]

Our first two cruises were out of Galveston - a one hour drive from the house. For our first cruise, we left late, got stuck in traffic, found the parking lot full, and finally got to the ship a frazzled mess. The next year, we drove down the night before, late again, and checked into a hotel. The next morning we had a swim in the hotel pool, a nice breakfast and a walk on the beach, before the hotel van took us to the ship in time for lunch. Yes, we had the extra expense of a night at the hotel, but we got an extra day of vacation. It made a world of difference in getting our cruise off a great start. I recommend starting the vacation sooner rather than later.

[regnig]

Can anyone give me some assurance that we would be okay?

 

I believe the bottom line is NO, there are no assurances to be give on this board by the experienced cruisers. BOTH of you will board so much more relaxed if you travel to Lauderdale the day before. Maybe you can compromise with DH by taking an afternoon flight. The cost of a hotel, especially one that has free transportation to the pier, is not that expensive and is WELL WORTH IT.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Pam in CA]

If you have a choice and can fly in the day before, do it! If you don't have a choice, you should be OK but as always, it's a gamble. As Toto says, many flights from ATL to FLL originate from other parts of the country and while the weather might be fine in ATL, the flight could be delayed coming from Boston, New York, Chicago or who knows where. So, you can't really depend on your flight being able to take off on time. Also, at that time of the year, i.e., early November, it's still hurricane season and there could still be Atlantic storms or hurricanes that might close the airport or delay departures.

 

I would look for a hotel near the cruiseport via Priceline. You can often get great deals. There are several advantages to this: you are starting your vacation earlier, there's a lot less stress on you to make the ship, and you can sleep late and board the ship at your leisure. IMHO, there isn't a negative to arriving a day early.

[bhopal21]

Looking to book our first Princess cruise for the first week in November(very excited :D ). We have never sailed Princess, never been to FLL and I have only flown one other time in my life.......so YIKES :eek: I am stressing myself out.

 

My DH thinks we'll be okay to just fly in the day of considering we're flying non-stop out of Atlanta. We can book an early morning flight leaving Atlanta at 7:30am and arriving about 9:30am, but I'm just all worried about flying in the "day of" .....

 

Can anyone give me some assurance that we would be okay?

 

I think you will be fine. We have flown into FLL many times from ATL and if you were to have traffic problems getting to Hartsfield-Jackson there are flights almost hourly.

 

Mike:)

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Listen to the majority and fly in the day before. Think of it as cheap insurance.

[cynbar]

I know it's been mentioned here but I can't stress this enough----it is well worth the extra money for a hotel and dinner to fly in the day before. Even if your flight arrives on time on embarkation day, you will likely have gotten up at the crack of dawn to get to the airport and you'll probably be nervous about making the ship. By flying in the day before, it's much less likely that you'll be delayed so badly that the ship will sail without you. And you'll be ready to arrive at the port refreshed after a good night's sleep ---- it really makes the 1st day so much more enjoyable. Hotels and dinner come in all price ranges, it doesn't need to add a lot of extra expense -- but we have done it both ways, and now will always go at least a day early unless there is some reason we absolutely can't.

[Tak8]

Odds are you will be fine. The question is do you want to gamble or relax on your vacation. There are a million what ifs. Weather, car trouble or traffic getting to the airport etc. Probably for only the additional cost of a hotel room, you could fly down the day or night before and relax more.

For my first couple of cruises, I flew the day of, but I used cruise air. When I went to booking my own air, I went to flying in the day before.

[sackman]

Most of the advice that has been offered is valid. If you can go out a day early, do so. HOWEVER, in your case, you're just going from Atlanta to FLL, you ought to be OK. If your flight gets cancelled, there's always the option of flying into Miami or West Palm Beach. The thing you have going for you is that there are a ton of flights from Atlanta to S Florida every day on more than one airline.

[retiring soon]

HI! Another vote for flyng in the day before. We learned the hard way

when we missed our Hawaiian cruise by a day because there were 2 different problems with planes at Minn/St Paul & then the crew had to change as they would have had to work too long! Do yourself a favour for your peace of mind, go the day before.

~Jo~ :)

[cruisergal 1]

We always fly in the day before. Had a really close call a few years ago, in the summer, where weather was not an issue, but a mechanical problem was, and we made it to the cruise with 5 minutes to spare. Also cost us a bundle of $ to take a cab from the airport to the pier, as the shuttle was no longer available. Better safe than sorry.

[Colo Cruiser]

I would not do it either, the statement about flights coming in from the north is one of many resons I would not. :)

[GTO-Girl]

YIPPEE!!!!

Talked it over again with my "sweetie" and he said we would do whatever is the least stressful for me.......well ya know what I picked :D :D

Now I'm in the process of looking for a good motel near the cruise terminal. I have never used Priceline, but with everyone talking about their good rates, maybe it's time I learn!!

Everyone on this board has been wonderful....ya'll are the best!!!

[Toto2Kansas]

Congratulations! I am sure you will be happy you arrived a day early.

 

If you aren't comfortable with PriceLine, you also might look at valuetrips. The Hyatt place is quite reasonable that time of year. Close to the pier, very close to last minute shopping and very nice. And you will know which hotel you booked before you reserve (submit the reservation request), unlike PriceLine where you take whatever they give you. ;)

 

http://www.valuetrips.com/AMS/FL/F17.htm

[warnerchilcott]

The last two cruises we've taken we flew from Atlanta to SanJuan the day of the cruise. The ships don't sail until 11PM and you need to be on board by 9PM. When you fly into to SanJuan, you walk to the taxi stand (they know where to take you) and you're at the cruise terminal in about 20 minutes (cost $20.00 + tip). Weather is not normally a problem in Feb and April from Atlanta to SanJuan. Also we fly back from SanJuan to Atlanta the same day we disembark. A word about the SanJuan airport - it is small and crowded on disembarkation days because of all the cruise line passangers waiting to catch a plane. We usually take a short tour in SanJuan ( old SanJuan or the Barcardi tour) rather than sit around the airport.

[Momma Mojito]

GTO-GIRL
What ship are you thinking about booking? We haven't decided yet but are either going to book the first or second week on the Crown Princess. We have always flown in the day before and enjoyed the sights of Ft. Lauderdale. This past October we stayed at the Hyatt Place in Ft. Lauderdale, fantastic newly remodeled rooms, offers shuttle service from airport and to the ship. It also serves a continental breakfast. I think the price was around $100 a night. There is a strip mall within walking distance to get anything you may have forgotten.

[Toto2Kansas]

[quote name='lady45']GTO-GIRL
What ship are you thinking about booking? We haven't decided yet but are either going to book the first or second week on the Crown Princess. We have always flown in the day before and enjoyed the sights of Ft. Lauderdale. This past October we stayed at the Hyatt Place in Ft. Lauderdale, fantastic newly remodeled rooms, offers shuttle service from airport and to the ship. It also serves a continental breakfast. I think the price was around $100 a night. There is a strip mall within walking distance to get anything you may have forgotten.[/quote]

Hyatt Place is the hotel valuetrips offers in Fort Lauderdale. ;)

[spongerob]

Ask you hubby to make the flight arrangements he wants. Tell him if you get to the ship on time, no worries, if not, he can experience being single all over again.:)