Flight day/Cruise question

We are flying into Miami in November for a week long cruise on Celebrity Reflection. Its our first cruise. I am wondering, is it best to fly in the night before departure? Also on the return home, is it better to fly out the day after your arrival back into port? Im leaning that way in both cases, just because we are new to the cruising thing, I think it will be much more relaxing if we are not rushing trying to catch a plane along with the confusion of our first boarding and disembarkation. Tips, tricks and opinions appreciated. :)

I would plan on flying the day before. The embarkation day is considered a "day" in your cruise so even though it will pull out of the port probably around 4/5 you can get on much earlier and start enjoying the ship.

Whether or not you stay an additional day on the end depends on whether you much interest in actually exploring Miami. I personally have been to Miami and have no desire to spend anymore time there than necessary. You will need to be off really early so there is plenty of time to catch a flight in the afternoon.

I also don't like to unpack yet again for a one night stay at a hotel at the end. By the end of a Florida cruise, just send me home.

You'll probably get a variety of answers suggesting both ways.

The only one who can make the decision is you.:)

I guess for me, because I am not familiar with how easily getting off the ship is at the end of the cruise Im a bit nervous about feeling pressured or rushed. I would much rather go home the day we dock, but I also dont want to feel nervous or worried, just because Im not familiar with how it all works. Maybe somebody could fill me in? If I can save the cash and go home on our return I sure would.

If you come over to the Florida Departures board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

You will get a good idea on logistics, but flying in the day before your cruise, and flying out not before 12 noon the day of getting off, is the standard recommendation.

Just book a flight after 12 noon. That will give you plenty of time to debark and be at the airport .Debarkation generally starts early but is jammed with people trying to make early flights . Relax and get off when they call your number ( everybody is assigned a debarkation number ) . If you have a lot of luggage grab a porter . They will load your luggage and get you through customs speedily for a tip .

When flying, we fly in the day before our cruise and fly back home the day the cruise returns. ;)

LuLu

Since you are cruising in November, I would definitely fly in at least a day ahead. There are too many things that could go wrong flying in the day of your cruise.

For my next cruise I am flying home the day I disembark (flight leaves at 1:45). The cruise after that I am spending two days in Seattle before I fly home (have never been to Seattle and looking forward to exploring). If there is nothing you really want to do in Miami, pick an afternoon flight for getting home.

For the day of departure, we've done both. Flew in the night before and have also flown in the day the ship departs. For us the decision comes down to ability to take time off work and leave the day prior as well as the flight options available to us if we fly down the day the ship leaves. For our upcoming cruise we didn't feel comfortable with our flight options if we were to fly down on the day the ship departs. There were no direct flights available and the connecting flights through Montreal or Toronto didn't have good fall back options if there were delays, so we are flying down the day before on a direct flight which leaves mid-afternoon.

I see you are from New Brunswick which probably limits your ability to get a direct flight which then increases the odds of travel delays caused by connections (although weather issues should be minimal in November).

It may also be cheaper for you to fly down the day before. Take a peak at the flights showing up on ITA Matrix (just google it). You can't book flight there but it will show you everything that is available. Look at both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami as flights are often less $ into Ft. Laudedale.

As far as when you fly home, assuming there are good flights available with a noon or later departure we prefer to fly home that day. No point in hanging around Florida after you've been treated like a Queen on the ship.

We are flying into Miami in November for a week long cruise on Celebrity Reflection. Its our first cruise. I am wondering, is it best to fly in the night before departure? Also on the return home, is it better to fly out the day after your arrival back into port? Im leaning that way in both cases, just because we are new to the cruising thing, I think it will be much more relaxing if we are not rushing trying to catch a plane along with the confusion of our first boarding and disembarkation. Tips, tricks and opinions appreciated. :)

Best to fly in at least a day before. Especially true in winter months when weather can cause serious flight delays. But also true any other time. Air travel is so prone to delay, even when booking direct flights.

I like to fly out the day after. Much more relaxing. Like a good cup of coffee after a great meal.

Enjoy your cruise.

WOW...everyone, big thanks! Great information. Feeling much less stressed now!:)

Definitely fly in the day before you sail; that way if your luggage doesn't meet you at the carousel, it has time to catch up with you. at your hotel.

We like to stay at least 1 day after we disembark; there's nothing like scrambling to get off the ship to make it to the airport, only to have fight the crowds who have also disembarked their ships, to wait hours for your flight. We now book a hotel for the day we leave the ship, make our way there, and spend one final day relaxing before going back home. Your schedule may not allow the extra day(s) at the end, but we really enjoy it.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Arrival the day before is really dependent on how weather affects flights in your area and the availability of flights out of your home airport. Most people choose to arrive the day before to allow for flight delays, misplaced luggage and it's just a more relaxed way to start your vacation.

The need to stay an additional night post-cruise is driven solely by the return flights available to you. Your ship is scheduled to dock at 7 AM and all passengers are off within a couple hours. Book your return flight for mid-afternoon and have a stress-free return home.

Specific questions about taxi/shuttle service can be found on the East Coast/Florida departures board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Enjoy!

We no longer have direct flights so we have no choice but to fly in 2 or 3 days early.

And since our first flight begins early in the morning -- no choice but to stay over a day or two at the end of the cruise.

1 day before is preferred. No reason to stay after the cruise...you will be off the ship EARLY...like around 9am, if not earlier. By 10am, at the latest. Fly home the day of!

I guess for me, because I am not familiar with how easily getting off the ship is at the end of the cruise Im a bit nervous about feeling pressured or rushed. I would much rather go home the day we dock, but I also dont want to feel nervous or worried, just because Im not familiar with how it all works. Maybe somebody could fill me in? If I can save the cash and go home on our return I sure would.

Just take a taxi to the airport. I am pretty certain the driver can figure out how to get there. :)

But, to be safe, plan a flight out in the early afternoon. You may get to the airport and need to hang around for an hour or two, but that is much less stressful than trying to rush to make an earlier flight.

There have been so many threads of.. I have a 10 AM flight will I make it??

The bottom line is maybe, If the stars align, using self debarkation dragging your luggage,no problems with customs, and an available taxi.

How would you like to be at the airport when The Allure dumps 6000 passengers?

Have a late afternoon flight, relax

Too often, the lowest priced, most convenient flights leave too early in the morning. You might find it cost effective to book an early morning flight the day after your cruise ends, and stay in Miami or FLL the night yu get off the ship. EM

One of the reasons so many of us - the frequent cruisers - fly into south Florida a day prior to the cruise is chiefly because of the above mentioned reasons but an additional, and very important point, is your embarkation procedure. Homeland Security requires all ships to submit their manifests prior to anchors away. In order for the cruise lines to comply passengers must be on board 90 minutes before embarkation. If there should be a change in the threat warning this too could change.

When flying long distances and/or have flights with connections it may be difficult to make everything work flawlessly.

And, there is always the issue of flight changes when booking far out. Some airlines are accommodating and some not so much. Each airline has its variables regarding flight time changes.

The Florida Departures board will have all the information you need about hotels, transportation, sights and shopping.

Have you joined the Roll Call for your sailing? If not do so. It's a great way to plan your cruise adventure.

You will have a wonderful FIRST cruise with all the assistance you will get on Cruise Critic.

Ft. Lauderdale airport is all of 15 minutes from the cruise port. Miami is similarly convenient. If you can self -disembark (that means, roll you luggage off with you), then you can leave the ship very early. If you are in a suite, you can leave even earlier without standing in line aboard the ship. Last month we got off at 7:30am and were at the airport by 8:30am. The slowest part was the line for customs and immigration. We easily made a 10:30am flight and had tons of time at the airport for breakfast and then did some shopping and a whole lot of sitting around at the gate.

I would definitely plan to fly in the day before. The Maritimes have had some nasty snowstorms in November and you might recall the Air Canada jet this week that had to divert to offload a passenger. You do not need any of that stress prior to a cruise. You want to arrive at the cruise terminal ready to enjoy, not need at least a day to shake off your travel woes.

Flying home the day you return is not a problem but you cannot plan any early flights because occasionally there can be slowdowns disembarking and clearing U.S. Customs can sometimes be very, very slow.

Warning - cruising can become very addictive.

I guess for me, because I am not familiar with how easily getting off the ship is at the end of the cruise Im a bit nervous about feeling pressured or rushed. I would much rather go home the day we dock, but I also dont want to feel nervous or worried, just because Im not familiar with how it all works. Maybe somebody could fill me in? If I can save the cash and go home on our return I sure would.

I would suggest flying in a day early - especially since you can never predict what the weather would be in November - don't want any airline delays causing you to miss the ship.

As for disembarkation, it's quite an easy process. The night before, you'll put your luggage outside your cabin (keep a set of clothes and important paperwork with you in a carryon). You will have gotten tags (some lines use colors, others use numbers or a combination of both) which will identify what time you are scheduled to get off the ship. You'll need to be out of your cabin fairly early (again, depending on cruiseline) and typically you'll wait in one of the private lounges or theater. They'll let you know when it's time to get off, you'll go to the terminal, find your luggage, go through customs and that's it. Customs can sometimes take a while. Generally cruise lines want all passengers off by 10AM. It's quite an organized process so you shouldn't worry too much about it. As someone else said, unless you want to see more of Miami, there's no reason you cannot fly home that same day.

Enjoy your cruise!

Marianne

HeatherRN53, You are getting great advice here, in my opinion. We were told to "Run!!", by Airport aides in Florida account we once nearly missed the ship. And that was WITH the flight booked thru the Cruiseline. Snowy weather can greatly delay arrival time. Locomotiveman Tom

Fly in the day or more before the cruise.

The earlier the better so if there is a delay or a flight cancellation that options are available.

The day you disembark you can fly home but do not book a flight before Noon.

Keith