Flying in day of-1st cruise

[COMBOY]

Hi guys!! So, this will be the first cruise that my husband and I are taking. We are sailing on Oasis of the Seas on October 20... I would REALLY like to fly in the day before, but my husband says he just doesn't think it's really doable due to his job. I've read lots of posts on here... and I know that flying in the day before is definitely advisable. I'm trying to see if we could even fly in on a late flight the night before... I don't know.

 

Anyways- we have free points with Southwest and so will be booking with them. I am flying out of Raleigh/Durham to Ft. Lauderdale. The current flight that we are looking at flies out of Raleigh on October 20 at 7:05 AM and lands in Ft. Lauderdale at 10:35 AM. I am worried about layovers/delayed flights, etc.... any advice? Do you think we will be okay or should I reallllly try to go down the day before? Thanks everyone!!

 

It is always advisable to fly in the day prior to your cruises. It really takes the stress out of getting to the ship. Given your flight schedule you should be OK since you are arrive prior to noon and the drive to the port is only 15 minutes away. The ship departs at 5PM.

Now that's if everything goes OK. You only have a 45 minute connection time in Orlando. If for some reason your outboard is delay getting into Orlando the next flight Orlando/Fll is 3:30P arriving FLL 4:30P and you have to be checked in and onboard the ship by 4PM. You won't be sailing. Yes, you can rent a car and drive to FLL or buy two OW tickets on another carrier MCO/MIA as I don't see many flights MCO/FLL and expensive last minute. That's a hassle and it does not guarantee arriving in time either. SW might be able to get you to FLL in time...but here you are stressing out at the airport. Then there's issues with your checked luggage, etc. Flight times always sound great until there's a flight delay/problem. I don't see any Friday evening flights to FLL so that doesn't seem like a solution either.

 

So, given the fact your are using flight miles and the limited flights & tight connections you should either fly in the day prior on SW or saving your miles and book the JetBlue non-stop RDU/FLL arriving 11:50A if your husband can't take off Friday. Remember if you book your flight independently you are responsible to get to the ship in time. If you miss the ship you either have to get to the first port on your own dime or forfeit the total cost of the cruise. Right now the JetBlue $237/RT pp or a hotel in FLL $100 or so or just take your chances on SW on sailing day. Travel insurance would be highly advisable.

[efields2]

If we were able to take the 5:30 flight on the afternoon before... how early do we have to arrive at the airport? What's the latest we could be there, while still "playing it safe"? Thanks!!

 

I always check in 90 minutes prior. I've been in hour+ long security lines before, at all hours of the day, at many different airports. I'm not a fan of RUNNING through the airport hoping that they haven't closed the gate to boarding (been there, done that).

 

EDIT: I plan on arriving to the airport 90 minutes prior, should there be back ups on the highway, rerouting drop offs at the airport, no agents to check bags, etc.

[dz9yvr]

If it were me, i would fly out the day before. My quick check shows a driect fight from RDU to Miami for $83 one-way at 7:30 pm. That seems pretty cheap to me, so I would save my points for a more expensive trip. I would fly into Miami and make my way to Fort lauderdale Saturday morning. Everyone is different, but I hate the stress of flying in the day of the cruise and making a connevtion makes it a lot worse. Good luck

[jstducky]

I think every person has a different comfort level.

 

For all of my US cruises (and this includes my 3 cruises to Canada), I have always flown in the day off. But, then again, I fly out of LAX where weather is almost never an issue.

 

Actually, I guess I should correct my statement. For my caribbean cruise, I took a red-eye flight from LAX to FLL and arrived in FLL in the wee early morning hours. Slept in the airport for 3 hours waiting for an eatery to open to grab breakfast. At 10 am, I grabbed a cab over to the pier and boarded the ship. Simple, easy. I never had any concerns about arriving into FLL the day of the cruise. And I didn't have weather concerns as far as FLL was concerned.

 

My Canada/New England cruise, I did the same thing. Took a red-eye out of LAX and flew into BOS in the early morning hours the day of the cruise (which also happened to be on September 11th - just not 2001). Waited at the airport and had breakfast until we could take a taxi to the pier and board the ship. No problems whatsoever.

 

My one issue came on my 3rd cruise to Alaska - I had booked an LAX to YVR (Vancouver) via Calgary (it was on sale with this route) early morning the day of the flight. We were to arrive in YVR with plenty of time to catch a cab to the pier. However, when we landed in Calgary, we were immediately told that our connecting flight to Vancouver was cancelled due to mechanical and the next flight they could get us on would land in Vancouver too late for the ship. We asked for alternatives and was told that there were one-way WestJet flights leaving to Vancouver, 2 of them that would land with enough time for us. So we hightailed it to WestJet and purchased 1 one tickets to Vancouver. We arrived with plenty of time and made the cruise, no problem. Contacted Air Canada (our original carrier) when we arrived home. After some letter writing, they gave us a refund for the unusued (Calgary to Vancouver) portion of our trip, and that amount covered the cost of our 1-way ticket we purchased.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd have no qualms about flying into a US embarkation port the day of the cruise departure. But that's just me. When I book flights, I always look to see what the next few flights for that airline, and other airlines are, just in case. And if I have a stopover, I always look to see what my other alternatives are in case the stopover is delayed.

 

I'd never fly in the day of embarkation for a European cruise. But, I have flown in the day of for the start of a European land tour. Perhaps, I've just been lucky.

 

With your flight being from NC to FL, I would think you'd be ok if you have no other alternatives.

 

BUt again, you have to do what you are most comfortable with.

[easybay]

If it were me, i would fly out the day before. My quick check shows a driect fight from RDU to Miami for $83 one-way at 7:30 pm. That seems pretty cheap to me, so I would save my points for a more expensive trip. I would fly into Miami and make my way to Fort lauderdale Saturday morning

 

TAKE THIS ADVICE!!!! You should be using your points for a $500+ flight not an $83 flight!!! I always listen to my inner voice when it's talking to me (is yours speaking to you?).

[MCK]

Consider Miami if hang ups at RCU or MCO. Only about a 30-40 min drive to port which is very close to FLL (10 minutes). Due to scheduling problems we flew into MIA from DFW, rented a car for about $35 one way MIA to FLL, took a cab to port from airport rental car center. A lot more flight options to MIA or MCO from DFW, probably the same from where you live.

[constable145]

Hi guys!! So, this will be the first cruise that my husband and I are taking. We are sailing on Oasis of the Seas on October 20... I would REALLY like to fly in the day before, but my husband says he just doesn't think it's really doable due to his job. I've read lots of posts on here... and I know that flying in the day before is definitely advisable. I'm trying to see if we could even fly in on a late flight the night before... I don't know.

 

Anyways- we have free points with Southwest and so will be booking with them. I am flying out of Raleigh/Durham to Ft. Lauderdale. The current flight that we are looking at flies out of Raleigh on October 20 at 7:05 AM and lands in Ft. Lauderdale at 10:35 AM. I am worried about layovers/delayed flights, etc.... any advice? Do you think we will be okay or should I reallllly try to go down the day before? Thanks everyone!!

 

Don't do it. Tell him to take the day without pay. Fly a late evening flight if you have to but don't fly in the day of.

[KeywestK]

TAKE THIS ADVICE!!!! You should be using your points for a $500+ flight not an $83 flight!!! I always listen to my inner voice when it's talking to me (is yours speaking to you?).

 

Very good advice!! We always save our points (Capital One Visa) for our more expensive flights. Flights from BWI to FLL (which we do probably once a year) are cheap enough that it would be stupid to waste points for that.

[prettyNpinkpumps]

If it were me, i would fly out the day before. My quick check shows a driect fight from RDU to Miami for $83 one-way at 7:30 pm. That seems pretty cheap to me, so I would save my points for a more expensive trip. I would fly into Miami and make my way to Fort lauderdale Saturday morning. Everyone is different, but I hate the stress of flying in the day of the cruise and making a connevtion makes it a lot worse. Good luck

 

Which airline are you quoting for this price?! Thanks!!:)

[dz9yvr]

American Airlines Flight 1541

[MCK]

We always use the $200 rule. If you can book a flight for under $200, save the points for more expensive flights.

[Scotty G]

Please also keep in mind that October is still right in the thick of our hurricane season. :)

And many places on the East coast could have significant flight delays if one has come ashore anywhere along the Gulf/East coast. If you book a day early and this happens you still have the option to drive down!

[ladiedee100]

American Airlines Flight 1541

If I were you I would take this flight. We are sailing on the Allure in 2 weeks. We are flying into Miami the day before. We have a rent a car that cost $35 dollars. We will drive to FLL. Our hotel is $100 and serves breakfast. So after breakfast we will drop the car off at FLL airport and then get a taxi to the Port. We have done this before and it is fairly easy. All you need to do is book a late flight into Miami after Hubby gets off of work, and then drive the 30 mins to Fll. You will have a peace of mind and also starting your vacation a day early.:)

[mking8288]

And many places on the East coast could have significant flight delays if one has come ashore anywhere along the Gulf/East coast. If you book a day early and this happens you still have the option to drive down!

 

+1 on the weather factor along the Eastern seaboards in mid October. Both of OP's planned flights only operated on Saturdays - which tend to have fewer flyers traveling & fewer a/c in the air, as scheduled in the Fall and, flight availabilities are different for weekdays & on Sundays. SouthWest, like other carriers operate on a hub concept and it's most likely that a/c flight RDU-MCO came in overnight, get ground servicing & is ready to go as 1st. flight out with a fresh crew. However, the MCO-FLL flight is likely coming in somewhere else on the system as a short-haul/shuttle, perhaps BWI as continuation onward to FLL. Thus, weather, air & ground operations at 4 airports could play tricks on whether OP can get to FLL to board the ship before the cut-off time for embarkation - RDU, MCO, FLL and ?? airport(s) for the in-bound flights. One could have an on-time/early departure from RDU to MCO, landing early & be parked at the gate for the 2nd. flight segment - that is, if that inbound flight isn't delayed or on ATC hold/traffic management or ground stops at its origin airport. These delays are known to trigger chained reactions in planes being late, diverted or cancelled completely - passengers being rebooked for a later/available flight. You get the idea ... and if there's a tropical storm (doesn't need to be hurricane status) further south in the FLL area, all "bets" are off - and prayers for the ship to be held in the port for a late departure.

 

If you fly as a fare-paying passengers, you tend to be taken care of first - especially those with elite flying status - if you are on an award/points ticket, there are more restrictions & rules to abide by, and fewer options (less flexibility) on what they must do to get you there ... I don't believe Southwest is better on this vs. other legacy airlines.

 

Personally, I can think of half a dozen times sitting on the plane, idling at the taxiway or tarmac at our home airports in NY (LGA & EWR) with an on-time departure & gate push-back, for as much as 3+ hours due to weather, traffic and/or runaway issues at the arrival airport - totally missing our connections and scrambling for re-booking, and not knowing whether our checked luggages will be waiting/coming out of the carousel at the final destination. If you are already running late & far behind schedule for sailing, the last thing you need is to find the downstairs luggage office inside the airport, file a claim & wait for them to trace it, and arrange on getting it placed on the next flight and then for the messenger service to deliver to you (at their expense.) Same for getting a one-way car rental at the connection city (MCO) last minute - walkup rates usually aren't cheap to begin with.

 

If you MUST fly that morning, book a non-stop flight and hope for the best - stranded air travelers sometimes cannot get "out" or "home" for days when flights are delayed, cancelled or diverted, etc. Let's not forget that, a Code Bravo by TSA screeners at an airport could trigger a shutdown, terminal dump & full re-screening of all passengers & flights - security lapses that "occassionally" disrupt all flights at the airport ...

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

We do try to arrive the day before a cruise, how ever we have been know to travel the same day, We even flew in for a transatlantic to England where we arrived at Gatwick at 4am rented a car and drove to Southampton, stopped at Stone Henge for a visit , did some Christmas shopping in Southampton, returned our rental car got dropped off at the ship. We were very tired, we layed down and missed dinner i believe. Then the next day we were in La Havre and we did a 12hr day bus trip in to Paris and we walked up the stairs at the Eiffel Tower, to the main level.

 

We live near Toronto, but usually fly from Buffalo NY because the flights are much cheaper. Southwest has a direct flight to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando so we can fly the same day get off the plane taxi to the ship and away we go.

 

We are sailing on Explorer in December and we are wondering what to do now, we may fly in the night before, it is only a one hour direct flight and I would like to fly the same day but it is December and anything can happen.

 

Happy Sailing and flying LOL

 

Brian J

[dz9yvr]

Hey Pretty, have you decided on a travel plan?

[Desert Cruizers]

I will not stress the importance of flying in the day before, as others already have, so will wish you a good flight and a wonderful cruise and hope nothing interrupts your trip.:). One cruise, here in So Calif, we drove in the night before even though we are 2.5 hrs away.I wanted to leave us time incase we had mechanical problems or then had been an accident which could possibly have delayed us.

 

Hello Karen & Dave, have you heard the good news from Sherry and their flight home today with a nurse for Ivor.

 

Gay

[jennmaybe]

If we were able to take the 5:30 flight on the afternoon before... how early do we have to arrive at the airport? What's the latest we could be there, while still "playing it safe"? Thanks!!

 

OP-going out of RDU this time of day, allow yourself 2-2 1/2 hrs. The airport is crazy this late in the day! We always fly back in the afternoon and it's always a zoo in there this time of day.

 

Also, if you park in the "park & ride" lot, which is the cheapest, (we always park there-never a problem), allow yourself 30 min from the time you park until you get up to the airport. The buses are supposed to come around every 10 min or so........BUT, when we flew out last October, we waited right at 30 min for a bus. Waiting for a bus can be a time-killer, but it's soooooooo much cheaper than parking in the deck.

[negc]

Even flying in a day before your cruise doesn't guarantee you won't encounter problems but it does lower the chances somewhat. Two years ago, a winter storm was due to arrive in Boston on the day we were due to fly to Florida (a day before our cruise) but the airline allowed us to fly out a day earlier without an extra fee. As it is, the storm arrived even earlier than forecast and our flight out was among the last to leave before Logan airport was closed. It remained closed all that day and part of the next and had we not made it out, it is unlikely that we could have been placed on another flight before the ship actually sailed. We also had an occasion where we flew in a day early and the airline lost one of our pieces of luggage. It was eventually recovered and was delivered to our hotel in Miami at 1 am. Had we flown in the day of our cruise, and encountered the same problem, we would have been far out to sea before the bag arrived in Florida.:eek:

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Are there any flights into Miami? It's about 45 minutes away from the Fort Lauderdale port. See if you could get something into Miami for the night before then head up to FLL in the morning.

 

 

The OP is flying SW by using her points, SW does not fly into Miami.

 

OP...hope it works out where you can fly out the night before, good luck!!

 

***

[Rocker7639]

I agree with others you should be fine - the airport and port are not far, so even if slightly delayed, you should be fine.

 

I read where you would like to stick with SWA, given the points/free tickets. They also fly into PBI (about a 1/2 hr further north), TPA & Jax. Absolute worst case scenario, assuming your hold-up isn't at initial departure - get them to send you to one of the other cities. If you go into PBI you can take a Super Shuttle - not my thing, but if that's what you have to go with, then it's certainly not a horrible situation. SWA is also now part of AirTran which goes into Miami (about a 1/2 hr further south - same thing, you could use the Super Shuttle)

 

I'm going to echo what everybody else has said - in an ideal situation - you would fly in the day/night before, however, that's just not possible for everyone. If that's not possible, then you're ideal situation would be to have a back-up plan.

 

I am a very detailed & thorough (ahem, anal retentive) planner, so if it were me, I might start looking at one-way rentals from MCO to FLL. As others have suggested, you can always rent a car & drive down. The rental car reservations are free and you can always cancel if not needed. Alamo tends to run decent rates on one-way rentals, but you have to keep checking, because they are only offered cyclically - sometimes the rate will be high - but then you'll see where the cost is minimal. If you check regularly, you'll know it when you see it.

 

A little bit of pre-planning will at the very least calm some of your nerves & at best, allow you to react.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[ZoeyVictoria]

I myself hate cutting it close like that, it stresses me out.

 

Perhaps you guys fly separate. You could head out the night before yourself with all the luggage so your husband can just breeze right through skipping baggage claim.

 

I think this is a really good idea (and one I've never seen on the same-day-flight discussions). Both of you would be more rested - you would have the night in a hotel and he would have an easier time without luggage to deal with.

[prettyNpinkpumps]

We haven't figured out a plan yet... we are still tossing ideas around! We have considered doing a one-way car rental and driving down the night before... the bad part is that is a 14 hour drive- eek! I am mostly concerned about our layover being so short in Orlando- only 45 minutes... this makes me concerned that our luggage wouldn't make it. I do like the idea of possibly flying into another airport closeby and driving from there to port. Thanks for everyone's suggestions!!!

[mking8288]

We haven't figured out a plan yet... we are still tossing ideas around! We have considered doing a one-way car rental and driving down the night before... the bad part is that is a 14 hour drive- eek! I am mostly concerned about our layover being so short in Orlando- only 45 minutes... this makes me concerned that our luggage wouldn't make it. I do like the idea of possibly flying into another airport closeby and driving from there to port. Thanks for everyone's suggestions!!!

 

If you can travel each with a single MLC suitcase/softside luagge plus a small bag/backpack, then same day fly-n-cruise on a non-stop flight would be a lot easier - your belongings will stay with you at all times & not checked (except for a possible gate check for full bins/oversized, typical only for a smaller regional jets - but more legacy carriers like UA are flying them hub-to-hub, on shuttle & short/medium haul flights! )

 

Nevertheless, a total of 45 minutes connecting time is very, very tight on a perfect, clear & sunny day - assuming the 2 a/c's are parked nearby or very close in the same terminal, and there's no delay upon landing on the taxiway or getting to the gate to park & deplane, and no last minute surprises at take-off time. In practice, you have 10 to 15 minutes between the 2 planes before they start boarding passengers ... and the gate will typically close a few minutes before scheduled departure time to allow for push-back & taxi (so that the airline will be "good" for their performance records) There're been times we ran (knew there're good reasons for us to hate Chicago O'Hare - huge ORD is a PITA) just to dash up to the gate, to find that our seat assignments have been released, well - at least we managed to get onboard (one time, it was just that, our luggage never made it - we flew onward to Vancouver, BC & 1 of 2 checked luggage flew to Dulles, long story on that) Fortunately, we planned an overnight stay in YVR & courier didn'd show up at our hotel with the mis-routed suitcase until 8 p.m. - 7 hours after we landed & cleared customs/immigration.

 

This morning, flights out of our 2 local airports were running into 30 to 60+ minutes of departure/taxiway hold delays due to passing rain/t-storms ...

[prettyNpinkpumps]

I'm so thankful for Cruise Critic and the WONDERFUL people on here willing to offer helpful advice! I honestly would have NEVER even considered the issue of having such a short layover and our luggage. I would like to think that I could just pack all that I need on a carry-on and not worry about checking luggage... but, I know me... and I just reallllllly don't think that is likely to happen.

 

I'm really leaning towards just driving down overnight to Florida- with a rental car.... and then using SW points to fly back. 14 hours is a long time... but we've made the drive down to South Florida before and just switched off and napped. Now, if I can get my husband on board with this idea! (I enjoy long drives much more than he does ;) )