Another Reminder to Travel a Day Ahead!

I know this is always a debate on here, with many people having no issues with flights, but we've always flown in a day early because we usually fly during the winter. However, we stuck with the 1 day early rule even though it's summertime and im so glad we did! Because of lightening and rain in Miami today where we had a connecting flight, our plane was delayed almost 3 hours and there were FOURTEEN planes waiting in line behind us to take off. We left on one of the first flights out this morning, and would have missed our cruise anyway if it had been today. So, my point is, it can happen even in summertime, and because Florida often has rain in summer, flights can be delayed, circling the airport, or waiting in line to land (or take off), and if that happens, there's nothing you can do about it. Go a day early, the stress we would have had today would not have been worth it and while we were tired and annoyed about sitting on the Tarmac for that long, we knew we were going to make it!

We spent 12? hr waiting to leave FLL to Toronto a year ago Feb. due to mechanical problems!!! Luckily it was After the cruise.:eek: They had no other plane and we sat and waiting it out. No fun!!!!

We were just very thankful it was after the cruise. We always come 2 nights early for FLL and more for Europe.

Our very first cruise they booked us to fly out of Minneapolis through Chicago then to Orlando to board the Disney Magic in February. I felt really uneasy about it. SO we switched the flight to Friday afternoon leaving and getting in really late.

As we are waiting to board on Friday Afternoon they announced that Chicago was close because of snow. If we had not switched our flight we would have missed our first cruise with our daughters.

I always fly in a day or two early. Even if your flights arrive on time you could still lose a bag or have it delayed. Better safe and have a great cruise vacation than sorry.

JoeRum

We always arrive at the port city a day early...even if we drive. We ran into roads closed and detours because of fires in FL one year. We spent 3 hours at a remote Cracker Barrel that my Mother insisted we drive to on our way to port and she locked the van with the only set of keys hanging in the ignition. I don't want to start a vacation stressed out.

Glad you arrived safe and sound... and in time -- have a fantastic cruise!! :)

Yes welcome to summertime in Florida which means rain and lightning and thunderstorms everyday.its been crappy out everyday for the

Last 3 weeks.

We live 80 miles from LAX and always stay at a hotel near the airport the night before!

Anyone see the fire on I-15 a few weeks ago?? The one where the cars got trapped and caught on fire? You guessed it, that's our route to LAX...

about 10 years ago, we came in a day early. it was January but we drove. we had so many issues, flat tire, ran out of washer fluid, the weather was cold coming down 95... there was a snowstorm the day of embarkation, the ship was late leaving waiting for those who had been stuck on flights booked by rccl. I remember being in the sports bar watching the football game, Miami was playing the patriots in New England and the snow was just swirling! all we could say was "DAG"! we always come in a day early!

Yes welcome to summertime in Florida which means rain and lightning and thunderstorms everyday.its been crappy out everyday for the

Last 3 weeks.

Even in April things can be bad. Although not for a cruise, we were scheduled to land at Miami just after 1:00 pm about a dozen years ago. The sky had become quite stormy as we approached the airport. As we came in for a landing and just yards above the runway, suddenly the plane dropped like a rock.

The pilot immediately applied full power to keep us from slamming to the ground (full power is much more power than what is experienced during normal takeoffs - the noise and shaking were tremendous!). We quickly climbed out of our landing attempt and after a couple of minutes the pilot came on the intercom and announced that we were heading to Ft. Lauderdale to refuel because the aborted landing used up so much fuel that there wasn't enough of a safety reserve to go around and attempt another landing at Miami. A few minutes later we landed at Ft. Lauderdale (again, the plane dropped under us, but the pilot was able to land this time). We then had to wait for an opening to taxi up to a jetway to refuel.

Due to the chaos caused by the storm, it took over two hours of waiting before the pilot could position the plane and begin refueling. Now at a jetway, people were allowed to get off the plane, but they were not allowed to come back on. About a 1/4 of the passengers decided to take a taxi to the Miami airport to pick up their baggage. The rest of us stayed on the plane. It took another hour and a half to refuel.

As we pushed back from the jetway, the pilot mentioned that there were 17 planes ahead of us due to the delays the storm created, and it might take another hour to take off. You could hear the collective groan all over the plane. Then he came back on and told us we were being sent to the front of the line because we weren't even supposed to be at that airport.

A half hour later we finally landed at Miami - almost 5 hours late.

We later heard on the news that four tornadoes had touched down within a mile of the Miami airport just as we were landing, causing havoc all over the area. Traffic between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami was at a standstill due to toppled wires and trees, so anyone who got off the plane were now stuck in traffic for hours, while we safely landed and continued on our way.

With the four+ hour delay, plus the traffic problems after the storm, if we had tried to arrive the same day for a cruise, there would have been a very good chance we might have missed the ship. Imagine how frustrating that would have been, stranded for hours just a few miles from our ship as the departure time was slowly ticking ever closer.

Weather issues will happen year 'round. Blizzards in the winter in the northern half of the USA, even the occasional slight snow in ATL will cause havoc. Summer brings storms, tornados, causing havoc. These will cause troubles downtream, too. It may be sunny and perfect where you are departing from, but the plane itself is still sitting in another airport due to weather at that location.

Is it really worth the savings of some money to risk a same-day flight? Not to me!

We like to fly to the embarkation port at least 2 or 3 days early.

In 2014 we scheduled ourselves to fly into Tampa 3 days early for a cruise. We have no choice but to change planes in either Charlotte, NC or Atlanta, Georgia. February was a very bad month of snow storms and closed down both airports for the better part of 5 days. We didn't make our cruise. The cruise was to leave on Sunday and the soonest they could get us out of Pittsburgh was Tuesday.

Thank heavens for insurance.

A few years back, we did a flight to Europe with a 1 night stopover in Reykjavik. Because of weather issues, our 1 night stay ended up being a 3 night stay. We almost missed our Europe Flight to our final destination.

DON

Flying in a day ahead is always a good idea but it is not always possible. I booked a cruise a while ago with the intentions of going in the day before but before I purchased air my DW employer required her to be at a very important meeting the day before the cruise. I guess we could have canceled the cruise but it was the only time that was convenient so we booked air the day of. Thankfully things went well.

It's not the end of the world if you fly in the day of but if faced with similar problems choose a non stop if possible, the first flight of the day, or flights with multiple flights to the same location. Have insurance too.

Shak

Flying in a day ahead is always a good idea but it is not always possible. I booked a cruise a while ago with the intentions of going in the day before but before I purchased air my DW employer required her to be at a very important meeting the day before the cruise. I guess we could have canceled the cruise but it was the only time that was convenient so we booked air the day of. Thankfully things went well.

 

It's not the end of the world if you fly in the day of but if faced with similar problems choose a non stop if possible, the first flight of the day, or flights with multiple flights to the same location. Have insurance too.

 

Shak

Or pick a flight that leaves soon after the last activity that can't be avoided, such as her meeting. A late evening or red-eye flight might give more assurances that you will arrive on time, even if the flight does get delayed.

That's such a scary thing. We plan on going to Prague a week before our river cruise .. partially so there's no chance of missing it but also so we can explore the Czech Republic as well. Better safe than sorry. That's a lot of money to be out for flight issues.

Or pick a flight that leaves soon after the last activity that can't be avoided, such as her meeting. A late evening or red-eye flight might give more assurances that you will arrive on time, even if the flight does get delayed.

That wasn't an option when we went.

Shak

What people also don't realize is that your plane might be coming from someplace else that has delays. flying from San Francisco to Florida in winter but plane comes from Denver. Snow in Denver Delays flight