Anyone have success flying the same day as sailing?

[jax430]

Let me just preface this by saying that I thoroughly researched our cruise before choosing. I even had an Excel spreadsheet! I read cruise critic reviews, but I did not visit the boards.

 

Since booking the cruise and reading the boards, I have realized that maybe we shouldn't have planned on flying down to Pt. Canaveral the same day as our sailing. Our flight is scheduled to land at 11:15 and the ship sails at 4:00 pm. I've gotten really nervous after reading so many posts about not sailing the same day, and DH just keeps telling me that we'll be fine. I'm the realist; he's the eternal optimist.

 

Someone please reassure me that you've had success flying down the same day! Thanks! :)

[cuyahoga11]

Let me just preface this by saying that I thoroughly researched our cruise before choosing. I even had an Excel spreadsheet! I read cruise critic reviews, but I did not visit the boards.

 

Since booking the cruise and reading the boards, I have realized that maybe we shouldn't have planned on flying down to Pt. Canaveral the same day as our sailing. Our flight is scheduled to land at 11:15 and the ship sails at 4:00 pm. I've gotten really nervous after reading so many posts about not sailing the same day, and DH just keeps telling me that we'll be fine. I'm the realist; he's the eternal optimist.

 

Someone please reassure me that you've had success flying down the same day! Thanks! :)

 

There will be many that tell you they had no problems and then there are the ones that missed the ship. I have done it in the past, before all the airline cutbacks. Would I do it now, no way

[jgonz]

Last Saturday our flight landed at FLL at 11:45 am. Made it to POM in no time and were fine. Prior to this cruise my family and I always fly in the day of. Just make sure it is an early flight

[FlaKrznNubie]

Lots of folks make it same day. A small fraction do not.

 

August, so snow should not be a factor, thunderstorms might be.

 

Mechanical problems might be a factor, are there multiple flights from your airport that day ?

 

Insurance is a must in these days. I recommend it. You can get some when you pay the balance which covers pre-existing conditions so if you or a family member has a medical issue, you are covered.

[crusinmama06]

You are flying in from NY to MCO at 11:15?

 

Is it a direct flight or connecting?

 

The odds are good that you will be fine if it is a direct flight from NY to MCO in August. Not like you are going to get a snow delay in August.

 

But I can tell you. We HAVE had fog delay (out of Phillie). And more than one mechanical delay (out of Baltimore and Dulles). Once our flight from Phillie to MCO got in at 10pm. :eek: We were suppose to land by noon.

 

Luckily on those cruises, we were flying in the day before. ;)

 

I can say that I don't always fly in the day before. I try to weigh the odds.

 

The good news is, your are flying from a large airport with lots of flights, right? So if all else fails...get your butt on another flight. :D

[iEmpire]

Actually flew in the same day as sailing last June, 2008. No delays or anything. I was worried the entire time that something might happen but we definitely lucked out and made it to the port with no problems.

[BND]

I know people who have and there are posters on here who have, but I personally wouldn't. We always go a day early (usually take the train). Arriving at 11:15, get luggage, etc you should be at the ship 1:30-2. But, you can also find plenty of stories from people whose flights took off late and ended up missing the ship because it just couldn't wait (assuming Carnival booked air). Flights can easily be delayed by a couple of hours and then you're really risking a lot.

 

And I know people say, get insurance, which we always do, but to have to claim insurance due to a delayed flight would really make me mad. It's a different story if a family member is ill or something, but for a delayed flight, not my idea of fun.

[jax430]

You are flying in from NY to MCO at 11:15?

 

Is it a direct flight or connecting?

 

The good news is, your are flying from a large airport with lots of flights, right? :D

 

 

Direct flight leaving JFK at 8:15, arriving at MCO at 11:15, so very large airport with many flights.

 

Ugh...it's amazing with all my research that I didn't consider this. The two previous cruises that I was on that required flying, I was a teenager with my parents, so I wasn't in charge of planning!

[Lyncoya]

Let me just preface this by saying that I thoroughly researched our cruise before choosing. I even had an Excel spreadsheet! I read cruise critic reviews, but I did not visit the boards.

 

Since booking the cruise and reading the boards, I have realized that maybe we shouldn't have planned on flying down to Pt. Canaveral the same day as our sailing. Our flight is scheduled to land at 11:15 and the ship sails at 4:00 pm. I've gotten really nervous after reading so many posts about not sailing the same day, and DH just keeps telling me that we'll be fine. I'm the realist; he's the eternal optimist.

 

Someone please reassure me that you've had success flying down the same day! Thanks! :)

 

I'm not saying that this is the "correct" thing to do.

 

I've done 3 cruises, and I've always flown in the day of. I've never had any problems, and I'm from Wisconsin! The land of unpredictable weather...:(

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Let me just preface this by saying that I thoroughly researched our cruise before choosing. I even had an Excel spreadsheet! I read cruise critic reviews, but I did not visit the boards.

 

Since booking the cruise and reading the boards, I have realized that maybe we shouldn't have planned on flying down to Pt. Canaveral the same day as our sailing. Our flight is scheduled to land at 11:15 and the ship sails at 4:00 pm. I've gotten really nervous after reading so many posts about not sailing the same day, and DH just keeps telling me that we'll be fine. I'm the realist; he's the eternal optimist.

 

Someone please reassure me that you've had success flying down the same day! Thanks! :)

 

I've had success but it's very nerve wracking to me. In fact we are doing it on April 30th and our plane gets in at 11:20am and we are cruisng from Pt. Canaveral as well.

 

Good luck but hope we don't need it.

 

Bill

[SeaMeSmile]

For my upcoming cruise on November 1st, I'll be taking the red-eye from California to Miami, which is scheduled to arrive at 10:30am. The ship leaves at 4pm, so I'm cutting it close, I know. I'll have my fingers crossed that should any problems arise with getting to MIA on time, the fact that this is the day the U.S. sets the clocks an hour back will buy me extra time, lol. ;)

[crusinmama06]

Direct flight leaving JFK at 8:15, arriving at MCO at 11:15, so very large airport with many flights.

 

Ugh...it's amazing with all my research that I didn't consider this. The two previous cruises that I was on that required flying, I was a teenager with my parents, so I wasn't in charge of planning!

 

Well don't beat yourself up over it. ;) You have an early flight. It's direct. And you are leaving from a large airport so you will have many different flights to choose from if you need a QUICK plan B. :D

 

Do you have Carnival transfers or are you driving a rental car? Private towncar?

[FlaKrznNubie]

Given it's JFK, I have not doubt there are multiple flights. You have plenty of extra time. I would feel comfortable with that flight. You should be OK.

 

Yea, try to avoid the Carnival transfers, if possible. You have to wait until the bus fills up, so that's added delay. Rent a car or arrange a limo/transport car.

[aggieastrosfan]

We have flown twice the day of. One we had big problems, but we were initially on the first flight of the day, and we had time to make it work. Flying to LA helped, gaining two hours. 2nd time was our honeymoon, we had no choice, but went on the first flight out and got there way early. We're doing it again in a few weeks, on the first flight again. We figure gaining two hours, having four flights after ours we can still catch, and a ship that doesn't leave until 5:30 will allow us enough time. Hope it works out for us!

[happy cruzin]

There will be many that tell you they had no problems and then there are the ones that missed the ship. I have done it in the past, before all the airline cutbacks. Would I do it now, no way

 

 

Agreed!!

OP: Yes.....we have done it - more than once, early in our "cruise career". I would definately think twice before doing it now. If I had to fly in the day of I would make sure it is a early, early flight to leave time as much time as possible for delays.

[vacruizer]

Given it's JFK, I have not doubt there are multiple flights. You have plenty of extra time. I would feel comfortable with that flight. You should be OK.

 

Yea, try to avoid the Carnival transfers, if possible. You have to wait until the bus fills up, so that's added delay. Rent a car or arrange a limo/transport car.

 

The question is - will those flights have any open seats on them if you needed them? I got burned once by that thinking - we had booked a 6pm flight the night before the cruise and I even had a list of all the alternate flights if something went wrong. It did. It rained up and down the east coast for three days and all other possible flights were fully booked - that night and the next morning. The earliest they could get us there was the same time the ship sailed the next day. Apparently the Gods were smiling on us that night because after a tearful hour in the airport trying to decide whether to bag the cruise we had planned for over a year or try to fly to Cozumel to catch the ship they finally found us two seats the next morning - I have a sneaky suspicion that the agents felt sorry for us (and we were the only ones not yelling at them) and actually bumped someone to get us flights finally. We still only made it by the skin of our teeth - the morning flight was also delayed and we almost didn't make our connection. It's a stressful way to start a vacation - if you can avoid it do it.

 

Something to consider with travel insurance the day of as well - check the time needed before it will cover trip delay. Some policies are 12 hours before they pay, so if your flight were delayed 6 hours and you missed the ship, you wouldn't be covered because you weren't delayed the 12 hours the policy required.

[summer08bride]

For our first cruise, yes! We got to the boat around noon and went right on.

 

This time around I was originally considering a 6am flight that would get in at 9:35am, but I was STILL paranoid and when the price on that went up, we opted to fly in the night before instead. I'm STILL a little nervous about arriving 8:15pm the night before, but I'm hopeful that everything will work out.

 

If you can, I'd go the night before just to be safe.

[big_duck]

Like probably 80-90% of all flying cruisers, we have flown in the day of a few times and never had a problem.

 

We still prefer flying in the day before, but that isn't always possible.

[LHP]

We always arrive the night before...even when we are driving.

 

Weather in New York is not the only determining factor.

 

In the crazy world we live in today, what if some nut calls in a bomb threat to the airport. What if weather from some other part of the country delays your plane from getting to New York. Or there is a mechanical issue with the plane?

 

Hubby flies every week for work....and every week, it is a zoo of some description. We have friends right now sitting in New York. Thank goodness they were flying home FROM a cruise...but they have been there for 2 days. They are trying to get back to Myrtle Beach.

 

Yes, people do still do it. But with the limited number of airline seats available these days should your airplane have a mechanical issue, be delayed due to weather or the pilots decide to sleep in..... I would not.

[KimberleyFL]

Besides delayed flights, also take traffic into consideration since the Orlando airport is about an hour or so away from port canaveral. I4 can have considerable delays.

[Disneycruisers]

I learned my lesson many years ago when I was an airline ticket agent (for now defunct PAN-AM.) I'll always remember the HORRIFIED:eek: expressions of passengers whenever we said "our flight to Miami is going to be delayed.." "BUT WE HAVE TO CATCH A CRUISE!" I then told my husband, "If we EVER go on a cruise, let's fly in the day BEFORE!" We have, for all but ONE of our cruises. (Had to attend our niece's wedding night before cruise. We got up at 3am to catch our 7am flight to Miami, for our 4pm cruise departure.) NEVER again will I fly in the same day.

[lettienets]

Besides delayed flights, also take traffic into consideration since the Orlando airport is about an hour or so away from port canaveral. I4 can have considerable delays.

That's one reason why I buy ship transfer so they get me there. I also try to get direct flights, but from here, Toronto it is easier. In the US you have so many hubs and plane changes.

[ryanpatricksmom]

I fly in same day most of the time. I take the earliest (usually direct) flight, and like you, I fly out of a busy airport (Washington DC area). You are flying in the morning, so thunderstorms shouldn't be an issue. Even with today's airline woes, flights are usually delayed for short periods, not cancelled.

We haven't had a problem as yet, and two of our same day flights were to San Juan. I know that most people will urge you not to, but often the day ahead is not an option...for us it's non-custodial kid issues, not work. I would make sure that I was armed with alternative flights. Also, you can check the reliability of the flight that you are scheduled to fly on. I forget the website, but I'm sure someone here knows what it is. Having said all that, I am a nervous wreck until I land in my departure port.

Good luck!

[SunnyDays25]

I was just on the Glory on March 14th, 2009 and I flew from Atlantic City, NJ into Orlando the morning of the cruise. I didn't have any problems. Our flight got in at 8:45am and the first transfer to port didn't start until around 10:30 or so. I thought overall it was a very smooth process and was lucky to not encounter any delays. Next cruise I take I will probably fly in the day before just in case I do encounter any problems....plus that means the partying can start a day earlier! :D

[bike1964]

We always fly in the day of unless we are flying out of San Juan. Our theroy is that if you have a connecting flight, go a day early. I would rather save the extra $300-$350 spent on a pre crusie hotel, meals, cab fares... for my ship charges/port tours!!;)

 

After 16 cruises, we haven't gotten burned yet. You just have to use common sense. If you sail in the winter and the area you live is known for weather "issues", you may want to go a day early.

 

If you book your air through the cruise line, they fly you in the day of the cruise, so 6 to 1, half a dozen to another.

 

Just my $.02