Am I ok getting to the port on cruise day?

Does anyone have positive stories about getting to the port on time when taking a flight to the port city the day of embarkation? We are taking a Celebrity cruise in mid-November out of Ft Lauderdale, booked on a Southwest flight from Ohio scheduled to arrive at 10:40AM (makes 1 stop). I have heard and read all the scary stories and the reasons people stay overnight the day before, but we have other complications that make it impossible for us to travel the day before, which means 2 nights in a hotel and 2 weekends away from the kids instead of 1. Please share your positive stories with me so I'll stop worrying.

I would not do this. You run the risk of missing the ship should your flight be significantly delayed or canceled. DOn't take the chance. Change your reservations which you should be able to do for Southwest and arrive the day before.

Keith

I suspect the majority of cruisers out of Florida arrive the same day as the cruise but we would not be in the group. It is a risk and as long as you are willing to take it the odds are nothing will go wrong but you have to accept that something can and cause you to miss all or part of the cruise and the cruise line will not reimburse you.

When cruising out of FLL, I always take the red eye flight from the Left Coast which leaves about 11:30. It stops in Atlanta and arrives about 10:00 the next a.m. for a 4:00 departure that afternoon. I think you'll be fine as you're giving yourself enough wiggle room in case your flight is delayed - assuming your ship doesn't leave at noon.:D

Once you miss the ship one time you will never do this again.

The odds say you will make your flight but there is so much that can go wrong that it is just not worth taking the risk.

I have a different view than what was mentioned. More and more people who we know are arriving a day or more before a cruse. And that includes Florida. I see so many people who are at the hotels who were there before their cruise. Easy to spot on embarkation day as they have cruise tags on their luggage.

Keith

We usually fly in the day of the cruise. The key for us is that we take direct fights and the first flight of the day.

Does anyone have positive stories about getting to the port on time when taking a flight to the port city the day of embarkation? We are taking a Celebrity cruise in mid-November out of Ft Lauderdale, booked on a Southwest flight from Ohio scheduled to arrive at 10:40AM (makes 1 stop). I have heard and read all the scary stories and the reasons people stay overnight the day before, but we have other complications that make it impossible for us to travel the day before, which means 2 nights in a hotel and 2 weekends away from the kids instead of 1. Please share your positive stories with me so I'll stop worrying.

no way in heck would I risk it. a redeye( nonstop) that arrives by 8 am.. MAYBE,

Not on Southwest, no way, no how. Not in November. Not anytime!

They will not put you on another carrier. Check the schedule to see when the next flight arrives into FLL if you miss your connection.

Let's see if this will put your mind at ease. We have always flown out the same day of the cruise. Out of nine cruises, we've only been delayed once, due to mechanical problems with the plane, and missed the sail-away. By the way, that flight was arranged for us by the cruise line, not us. It was with Delta, one of my least favorite airlines. Ever since then, I have made the flight arrangements myself. I always choose the earliest flight available, which typically has a departure time of around 6:00 a.m. Of course, that means getting up at 4:00 a.m., chug down some coffee, throw the bags in the car, then head to the airport, all while those that have arrived a day early are still in bed at their hotel(s) dreaming of being on the ship. Anyway, if you choose to fly in the morning of, make the flight arrangements yourself, and try to get the earliest flight possible. Also, in case there is a problem, check to see what the next departing flight time is. It should be no more than an hour later. So if your original flight of choice departs at 6:00 a.m., and gets delayed or cancelled, try to have a back-up plan to catch one leaving around 7:00 a.m. You'll still get to the port in plenty of time.;)

If this cruise in really important to you and one you've been looking forward to taking, go the day before. ;)

LuLu

For many years & 30 cruises, we always flew into the port city on the day of -- never missed a ship, even in Europe. My late DH was making the arrangements then. (We lived in Ohio & Wisconsin.)

Since then, I've taken 2 more cruises, 1 from FLL & one from Europe. In FL, I flew in same day; no problem. I used Princess Air for Europe w/a direct flight from my home city & a short connection in Germany. It worked fine, but I knew PC would get me to the next port (the next day) if needed.

Tomorrow, I leave for Holland -- a day early. Will do the same next winter for San Francisco to go to Hawaii.

As I get older, I've decided not to risk wild summer weather or winter snow storms. Consider where you lived & the time of year. I wouldn't risk it!

Please share your positive stories with me so I'll stop worrying.

I guess the most positive story I can share is this…If you have ever arrived at FLL on cruise mornings/days…you will have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of other cruise folks also arriving !!

So, if you have no choice…and can't make changes…no point in fretting over it…go with the flow, and have back-up plans in case of a worst-case-scenario.

Hope it all works seamlessly for you.

Enjoy

Woody

We live in the Pittsburgh area and there are very few flights to anywhere. And nothing is direct.

A couple of times we have arrived at the airport only to find that our Delta or US Airways plane had a mechanical and would not be taking off for a couple of hours thus making us missing our connecting flight and they had to juggle our flight schedules.

Thus we always fly into the embarkation ports 2 or 3 days early.

You really should consider flying in a day early.

If you have no choice then it doesn't matter what others say. I have had success with flying in the day of.

Two times out of FLL in November, red eye from LAX right before midnight and arrive just as the sun rises in FL. Beautiful sunrises you don't see in CA. And I otherwise would never see FL sunrise as I don't wake that early. Third time was out of Orlando in Feb. Worst thing was that I was dead tired all three times. Also nothing to do until time to board. Once we rented a car just to nap in it. Most of the first day on the cruise was wasted sleeping. Now, we don't fly in day of, not really for the buffer, but so we aren't so tired from traveling all night.

As I get older, I've decided not to risk wild summer weather or winter snow storms. Consider where you lived & the time of year. I wouldn't risk it!

As time goes by, many of us tend to take less risks because we know what can and sometimes does happen.

LuLu

Does anyone have positive stories about getting to the port on time when taking a flight to the port city the day of embarkation? We are taking a Celebrity cruise in mid-November out of Ft Lauderdale, booked on a Southwest flight from Ohio scheduled to arrive at 10:40AM (makes 1 stop). I have heard and read all the scary stories and the reasons people stay overnight the day before, but we have other complications that make it impossible for us to travel the day before, which means 2 nights in a hotel and 2 weekends away from the kids instead of 1. Please share your positive stories with me so I'll stop worrying.

I've flown to Fort Lauderdale twice on embarkation day and made it - and the odds are that you will also (so much for the encouragement).

Of course, those flights were in June, not November, and were non-stops, not changes.

You have two flights - twice as many chances for delay; also, Ohio might experience snow in November - where do you change planes?

Since you say flying the day before is "impossible" - you have no choice. I'll repeat: the chances are that you will make it. There is a chance that you won't - not too great, but still a chance I would not take.

Does anyone have positive stories about getting to the port on time when taking a flight to the port city the day of embarkation? We are taking a Celebrity cruise in mid-November out of Ft Lauderdale, booked on a Southwest flight from Ohio scheduled to arrive at 10:40AM (makes 1 stop). I have heard and read all the scary stories and the reasons people stay overnight the day before, but we have other complications that make it impossible for us to travel the day before, which means 2 nights in a hotel and 2 weekends away from the kids instead of 1. Please share your positive stories with me so I'll stop worrying.

We've always made it on time to our cruises flying in the same day. Actually, the closest we have come to being late for embarkation was a bus from upstate NY to NY City that ended up full so we were put on a bus with several stops instead of direct.

One bit of advice---make sure you have insurance, and that it covers missing embarkation because of the airplane.

Does anyone have positive stories about getting to the port on time when taking a flight to the port city the day of embarkation? We are taking a Celebrity cruise in mid-November out of Ft Lauderdale, booked on a Southwest flight from Ohio scheduled to arrive at 10:40AM (makes 1 stop). I have heard and read all the scary stories and the reasons people stay overnight the day before, but we have other complications that make it impossible for us to travel the day before, which means 2 nights in a hotel and 2 weekends away from the kids instead of 1. Please share your positive stories with me so I'll stop worrying.

Plane change, beginning of winter, same day as cruise: what's wrong with that picture?

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I would never do this. I fly too often and have sat in airports all over the country due to mechanical delays and weather. Why put yourself through the aggravation?

Can not you find a nonstop flight? SW should have them. Need line that also has later flights in case first nonstop fails In Feb, sat in MIA airport 5 hours while they found a replacement plane for one with mechanical problems. It happens.

Also, do you have passports? You'll have to have them to fly to the first port out of the US if you do miss the sail away.

Once you miss the ship one time you will never do this again.

 

The odds say you will make your flight but there is so much that can go wrong that it is just not worth taking the risk.

 

I have a different view than what was mentioned. More and more people who we know are arriving a day or more before a cruse. And that includes Florida. I see so many people who are at the hotels who were there before their cruise. Easy to spot on embarkation day as they have cruise tags on their luggage.

 

Keith

My brother's wife flew into Dallas yesterday morning. The plane she was on developed hydraulic problems, with two of the four systems malfunctioning, but they were able to make a safe, although long and hard landing, all the while being ordered into the "crash" position against the seats in front of them. Pretty scary!

They waited at the end of the runway for over 1-1/2 hours while the crews on the fire trucks, which were on standby in case the landing went bad, could inspect the plane for any fires and damage, and mechanics did their inspection to make sure the plane was safe to be towed to the gate. When they finally arrived at the gate, it was announced that anyone continuing on the same plane would have to deplane because the plane was being taken out of service. A replacement plane wasn't to be available for at least two more hours. Fortunately this was her final destination. All in all, she was a bit shaken up, but quite relieved that it didn't go worse.

Anyone counting on boarding that plane at a later destination was going to have a long wait with the replacement plane now out of the planned scheduling sequence, with connecting flights certainly at risk.

You never know what may happen and when. Not worth the risk on something like a inflexible departure time of a cruise ship.

My husband and I always go in a day early. If we can't, we plan a different cruise that will allow us to do so.

My wife flew into Dallas this morning. The plane she was on developed hydraulic problems, with two of the four systems malfunctioning, but they were able to make a safe, but a long and hard landing, all the while being ordered into the "crash" position against the seats in front of them. Pretty scary!

 

They waited at the end of the runway for over 1-1/2 hours while the crews on the fire trucks, which were on standby in case the landing went bad, could inspect the plane for any fires and damage, and mechanics did their inspection to make sure the plane was safe to be towed to the gate. When they finally arrived at the gate, it was announced that anyone continuing on the same plane would have to deplane because the plane was being taken out of service. A replacement plane wasn't to be available for at least two more hours. Fortunately this was her final destination. All in all, she was a bit shaken up, but quite relieved that it didn't go worse.

 

Anyone counting on boarding that plane at a later destination was going to have a long wait with that plane now out of the planned sequence, with connecting flights certainly at risk.

 

You never know what may happen and when. Not worth the risk on something like a inflexible departure time of a cruise ship.

 

We always go in a day early. If we can't, we plan a different cruise that will allow us to do so.

I'm glad your wife is all right. I would be freaking out (I still remember a turbulent flight when the pilot told everyone to fasten their seat belts -- I think it was a wind shear situation -- I glanced back and one of the flight attendants had her rosary out).

One thing that people don't always consider is that if one plane gets delayed in one airport, it may have a ripple effect on other airports.

Most of the time we sail out of our home port, which is an hour's drive for us (and even then, we try to be in our car by 9:30 or 10am and headed to San Pedro). Other than that, we have decided to be in our embarkation port at least a day early. If we can't do that, we rethink our plans and do something else. No way are we going to risk missing out on a single day of our cruise and on top of it, have to arrange for a flight to get to the next port (assuming it's allowed on that itinerary).

And we won't do a red-eye that gets in the morning of a cruise. When I got our tickets for my first cruise out of Miami, I was shocked that our arrival time was in the morning, rather than the evening before. I called the TA and insisted it gets changed. When we got up after a restful night in our hotel and were going to grab breakfast, we saw a good of people getting off the elevator on our floor, looking all bleary-eyed. Turned out they accepted a red-eye flight (or had a flight delay) and were going to a room to use for a rest before catching the shuttle to the pier. We were so glad we changed our flight and reminded each other never to do that to ourselves.

The cost of a hotel room means that we won't be stressed out because of a delay.

And consider the flight delays just get worse. Just last week one of our neighbors were flying to NY to see their daughter in a play. The Wednesday afternoon flight ended up being an early morning flight on Thursday (after being at the airport all night). With the time difference too, they were undoubtedly wigging out they would miss their daughter (I think the play was just that day as it was some sort of summer workshop with several plays going on). Fortunately they got there in time (just barely). And today, they were posting on FB that they had a long delay returning to LA, but at least they didn't have to worry about missing anything.

For the OP, NOVEMBER? And we're talking about Ohio. :eek::eek::eek:

I'm glad your wife is all right.

Thanks for your kind words. Unfortunately, I did a typo error. This was my brother's wife, not mine. :)

You must have started your reply at the same time I discovered my typo and before I could correct it. Nothing against gay marriage - I'm in full support of it, actually - but I don't want to create unnecessary confusion for any friends - or my husband! - who might be reading this thread. ;)

Thanks so much for all te helpful feedback!

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