Flight in on Cruise Day

[arlsvera]

I live in Virginia -close to Dulles and National Airports. The flight to Fort Lauderdale is 2.5 hours. For my previous cruises, I have had no problems flying in to Florida on the morning of my cruise departure (I take an early morning flight that arrives in Ft. Lauderdale around 10:45). With fewer flights these days, am I crazy to contemplate flying in on the same day for my upcoming cruise?

[6rugrats]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=937669

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=982990&highlight=fly+day+cruise

[paul929207]

You are taking a chance. Usually, your flight will be on time or close enough for you to make the cruise. However, every now and then, thing will go wrong and you will arrive after the ship has sailed.

[cruznjan]

If you run into problems, let the airline know you're a cruise passenger. they're usually very helpful. Also, call the cruise line (the number will be in your documents) and let them know.

[ab0si]

Unless you are doing something really silly, such as taking a flight which if it arrives an hour late would mean missing your flight, you are quite unlikely to miss the ship.

 

That said, it is always worthwhile to my peace of mind to fly in a day early. This obviously further reduces the chance of missing the ship (already low as I said), reduces the chance of me making it but sans luggage but must importantly allows me to start the trip in a relaxed mode.

 

The amount of risk you are taking by not doing this varies by:

1) airline schedule (how many other flights can you catch and make the ship?)

2) Time of year (both probability of bad weather causing a serious delay/cancellation and the probability of seats being available on a later flight)

3) day of week (probability of a seat being available)

4) airline: some cancel much more than others.. feeder (regional) airlines are almost always worse for both this and delays than the major carriers.

5) fare type and FF status with the airline. These factors will influence who would get limited seats on later flights.

6) airports. some have additional options; some don't. some have more delays/cancelations than others

[back to the islands]

I got cruise insurance for just such a problem. We are sailing out of FLL, also, and flying in from Dallas. Our flight is later than yours -12:29 - ouch! But I had no options for flying in the day before due to previous commitments. I went to insuremytrip.com and found insurance to cover a 3 hour delay of connection (flight to cruise) because I was worried about missing the ship! Hopefully, it won't be needed, but I feel better! It was this or nothing and I NEED a vacation! Good luck!

[6rugrats]

Also, call the cruise line (the number will be in your documents) and let them know.

 

Just interested to know; if you were going to be late, why would you call the cruise line?

[steve20832]

I used to live in Montgomery County. Try to go non-stop if you can, Delta and Spirit do it from DCA. JetBlue and United go non-stop from IAD. (There might be one or two I can't remember.) You have even more options if you want to drive to BWI or Richmond.

Washington gets bad weather all year, thunderstorms in the summer and a chance of ice or snow in the winter months. This will back up the system if bad weather is in the area. I highly suggest going the night before and spending the night in a hotel. You also won't be half alseep at dinner because you had to get up 3:30am to make a 6am flight.

[Keith1010]

I would fly the day before the cruise.

 

I just don't think it is worth taking a chance of a delay or flight cancellation. While there might be other flights they don't help you if they are all booked.

 

And while it's nice to have the cruise insurance if you miss the boat then you miss the start of the cruise.

 

While the odds say all should work out all it take is one cancelled or delayed flight to ruin your vacation.

 

If it was me, I would fly in the day before.

Keith

[wrp96]

Just interested to know; if you were going to be late, why would you call the cruise line?

 

 

Because if you let them know about your delay, they can make a decision to wait (if it is even possible in that port) or give you information about how to catch up to the ship.

[keltic]

No problem if you leave plenty of time before the sailing. And no problem is the same airline has other alternative flights later on, which get just in time. If don´t have a B plan, don´t do it. If you do, go ahead.

 

I always make a list of airlines and schedules to the next port of call, and from one to the next one. I have a sailing on the QM2 in October. She sails at 18:00 and will plan to fly on the same day, on a trasatlantic flight getting at NY at 10:15. I know there´s another flight getting two hours later, so I risk because the next port of call is New Port at easy reach from NY. It´s worthy than paying a night hotel in NY.

 

So depends on many factors. But I would always try to fly the same day, with options.

[skf]

I am assuming your cruise is on a Saturday. If you were to take USAirways from IAD at 6:02pm Friday (thru Charlotte) you would arrive at FLL at 10:16pm. There are other flights at many different times on various airlines.

Steve

[Lookingforfacts]

Although many (most?) posters on cruisecritic suggest flying in a day or more before your cruise the vast majority of cruisers, including most passengers with cruise air, fly in the day of their cruise.

 

You shouldn't have a problem. Chances are there is a later flight that will work.

[world~citizen]

Well, if you miss a cruise once under the circumstances you describe, you never take that chance again.

 

You pays your money and takes your pick.

 

Good luck.

[sail2thebay]

I was so anxious, worried and stressed about my flight out of Norfolk to Charlotte. To make matters worse, there was a storm system over Charlotte before we took off and the Captain came over the loudspeaker to let us know..he said there would be a delay in taking off by about 10 minutes and said he was shutting off the engines to save fuel. Of course this added to my stress, thinking I would not make my connecting flight or get into Orlando on time...but I did get the insurance and had all the numbers just in case. The good news came when we were in the air, that the Captain got good news and was able to swing around and come in on another approach vector which would get us into Charlotee a few minutes early. Of course my connecting flight was at the furthest gate possible, but I was able to make it just as they started boarding...whew! I was able to get on board quickly despite having about as much space in my seat as a can of sardines:mad::rolleyes:. Next time, I am flying South West which flys directly into Orlando. Long story short: Made into Orlando, caught the bus to the Port of Canavaral, and got on board. Funny thing is: on the flight out of Charlotte...we all had to wait for one, yes one crew member to report to the plane which caused a delay:eek::mad::rolleyes:.

[sail2thebay]

Hi, I see you guys live in VA. So do I. I am in Virginia Beach and plan to take my 2nd cruise in October leaving from Norfolk. It's going to be a murder mystery cruise aboard Carnival Triumph and going to Nassau and Freeport. I can't wait!

I live in Virginia -close to Dulles and National Airports. The flight to Fort Lauderdale is 2.5 hours. For my previous cruises, I have had no problems flying in to Florida on the morning of my cruise departure (I take an early morning flight that arrives in Ft. Lauderdale around 10:45). With fewer flights these days, am I crazy to contemplate flying in on the same day for my upcoming cruise?

[parody]

Although many (most?) posters on cruisecritic suggest flying in a day or more before your cruise the vast majority of cruisers, including most passengers with cruise air, fly in the day of their cruise.

 

Since you are rightly looking for facts, the answer is most. The last such poll resulted in 91.95% voting for flying in the day before. Clearly, quite unscientific.

[travelntreats]

Since you are rightly looking for facts, the answer is most. The last such poll resulted in 91.95% voting for flying in the day before. Clearly, quite unscientific.

While it may be true that many people voted for flying in 1 day early...I question if that is a definite DO fly in one day or SUGGEST flying in one day early.

 

There are many factors in what is best for each individual... some can;t get off work that extra day... some feel they can make it to the ship with an early flight.

 

Personally, I fly in the day of a cruise and have done so in 50+ cruises and NEVER had a problem.... but always have a back up plan and purchase trip protection insurance too ! :D

[kenish]

I'm not sure about Florida sailings, but in Alaska missing the ship will cause you to miss the first 4 days of a 7 day S/B cruise. Sure, travel insurance will probably cover it but in my book that would do little to "make whole" my cruise.

 

A FYI, be sure to read up carefully what documentation is required for a claim. Some of it may be difficult or impossible to obtain later.

[Keith1010]

While it may be true that many people voted for flying in 1 day early...I question if that is a definite DO fly in one day or SUGGEST flying in one day early.

 

There are many factors in what is best for each individual... some can;t get off work that extra day... some feel they can make it to the ship with an early flight.

 

Personally, I fly in the day of a cruise and have done so in 50+ cruises and NEVER had a problem.... but always have a back up plan and purchase trip protection insurance too ! :D

 

I fully understand if someone cannot fly in early due to work schedules, other conflicts or financial issues. I alway recommend people flying in a day or more early but always note if these items (work related, financial) are not a problem.

 

With that said, unless your backup plan is to drive, there are not many viable plans that most people have.

 

Say, you know there is another flight. Most flights are full these days so I do not consider that a backup plan unless you pay for another flight. And, I have been on flights where we sat on the plane for a few hours so even if there was another flight that did not help me. Or what about a flight where you sit on the flight for an hour while they work on a mechanical problem and then they let you back off and have another plane for you and you wait an hour, get on that plane, and sit another two hours due to mechanical issues. I can tell you about the day that I was supposed to fly from Dallas to St.Louis, ended up getting on two flights that had mechanical problems and on the third flight we had to go to another airport because 15 minutes before landing there were too many thunderstorms in the area so after circling for 45 minutes we went to another airport and then a few hours later took off again. Things happen. And, today there are other issues, such as an airport closing for several hours for a security breach or a computer glitch affecting one airport, an entire corridor, or even an entire airline or system. So, backup plans are not always viable. Again, to me the only real backup plan is one where you can hop in the car which is not an option for most people.

 

As to insurance, that's great, but if you are on a short cruise and can't get to your port for a few days while you can get money back it has still ruined your vacation.

 

For those who have the option to fly in early, it is for these and many more reasons that IMHO they should consider flying in.

 

Consider yourself fortunate that you have taken so many cruises without a problem. The odds say that one will not do as well.

 

All it takes is for this to happen once to someone and they will rethink their approach going forward in most cases.

 

Keith

[parody]

I question if that is a definite DO fly in one day or SUGGEST flying in one day early.

 

I think you may have misconstrued my previous post, so I should elaborate.

 

I believe that polls of this question by members of this board clearly reflect a "DO" by most vs. many, but it represents a biased sample and doesn't reflect what the average cruiser does. What you do is more in line with the traditional cruiser. Using data published by the Cruise Lines International Association, I have estimated that probably no more than 57% of the people who fly do so the day before. (And, if one modified some assumptions, it is certainly possibly that this number is less than 50%.) Remember, I was responding to a poster with the clever name of "lookingforfacts".

[travelntreats]

I think you may have misconstrued my previous post, so I should elaborate.

 

I believe that polls of this question by members of this board clearly reflect a "DO" by most vs. many, but it represents a biased sample and doesn't reflect what the average cruiser does. What you do is more in line with the traditional cruiser. Using data published by the Cruise Lines International Association, I have estimated that probably no more than 57% of the people who fly do so the day before. (And, if one modified some assumptions, it is certainly possibly that this number is less than 50%.) Remember, I was responding to a poster with the clever name of "lookingforfacts".

I agree with you regarding your above statemements and CC is but a small % of cruisers onboard ships so really the polls that folks make and responde to here really can be misleading overall.

 

I meant no disrespect to ya :D

[Lookingforfacts]

Since you are rightly looking for facts, the answer is most. The last such poll resulted in 91.95% voting for flying in the day before. Clearly, quite unscientific.

 

An internet poll is very unscientific. The results are only indicative of those people who chose to answer the poll. There isn't any way to determine if the numbers reflect what members of cruise critic in general do. People who fly in the day before feel very strongly and are more likely to respond to the poll. People who fly in the day of their cruise are told they're taking a big risk and are meant to think they're very lucky they made their cruise. I suspect those people are less likely to respond.

 

That said I'll agree the majority of cc members probably fly in a day (or more) before their cruise but that's not typical of cruise passengers.

 

 

The OP may be "the exception that makes the rule". A short flight. Booking the first flight of the day provides multiple alternative flights as well as enough time for extensive delays. I'm not suggesting this but the OP could probably even drive, if there is an issue. I suspect they could leave at midnight and get to FL in time to embark.

 

I'll agree with other posters, flying in the day of the cruise for an Alaska cruise or Europe cruise makes less sense. There may not be a later flight to catch if your flight is cancelled. Flying in a day before gives you time to adjust to time differences plus time to tour your embarkation city.

[cruznjan]

Just interested to know; if you were going to be late, why would you call the cruise line?

 

Sometimes if they know you're having travel problems, they'll wait a while for you, even if you didn't book through them. That happened with a friend with whom we were cruising.

[greatam]

Sometimes if they know you're having travel problems, they'll wait a while for you, even if you didn't book through them. That happened with a friend with whom we were cruising.

 

PLEASE quit posting this train of thought (second or third time I have seen it). The cruise lines will NOT wait for a couple of passengers, ESPECIALLY if you booked air independently.

 

You give false hope to people who book flights tooo close to cruise ship departure.