Overnight flight to Fort Lauderdale

[Valley Girl of VA]

Joining the majority here. With two connections, you also stand a greater chance of your luggage going missing. With an overnight in FLL, you would probably get your luggage, if lost, before you boarded.

[luvcruisn']

Then why not do what my dad's doing for our alaska cruise... he's working thursday and leaving a bit earlier, and then taking a late flight from the east coast to seattle, it gets in late, but he's not using another vacation day, and it'll be that much more relaxing to get there a full day early with none of the stress of missing a flight.

 

Yes, that is another option I could do - leave work about 4 hrs. early on Thursday evening, instead of working the full shift. Would give me more time to finish packing and catch a day flight the next day to Fort Lauderdale.

[travelplus]

I vote for coming in a day or two before so if any issues happen then you won't be stranded. Also look for a nonstop to Miami and take a shuttle or at least a one stop flight vs two stops. The more stops you have the more prone you are to delays.

[skooter35]

We have taken a similar flight out of PDX to FLL and arrived at the port by 1. We were tired but more excited to notice until it was bed time. So far we havent had any issues flying in the morning of the cruise. For us, its the cost of an extra hotel expense after such high cost to fly coast to coast.

Have a good attitude and go with the flow...

[itravelalot]

We always fly in at least one day before any time of the yr. We also manage to get in at least one or sometimes two days eary when we are driving. It is such a better way to start your holiday, no pressure.

Also, we plan our flights back home for the day after the cruise is over just in case.

Enjoy!

[scamper]

I worked in consumer affairs, i.e. complaint department, for a major US airline for six years, so trust my experience:

 

NEVER FLY ON THE SAME DAY AS YOUR SAILING. **EVER**

 

Your peace of mind is worth the added cost of a hotel overnight at your departure city.

 

Moreover, the more connections you have enroute, the greater the chances of a delay or other factor causing a misconnection or a checked baggage issue.

 

Going to the port city the day before won't guarantee either problem won't happen, but at least it gives you some "wiggle" room to work it out.

 

Remember, airlines aren't flying the number of flights they used to. If you have a flight cancellation or misconnect, there are fewer options available for putting you on the next available flight.

[lovetocruise2020]

Badddddd idea.

[Leadft]

I'm flying in on a redeye the night before the cruise, but it is direct LAX to FLL, on Virgin. I feel ok about it since there are no connections, and since there is another morning flight that could still get me there on time if mine gets canceled.

[sail7seas]

 

<snip>

 

 

Going to the port city the day before won't guarantee either problem won't happen, but at least it gives you some "wiggle" room to work it out.

 

Remember, airlines aren't flying the number of flights they used to. If you have a flight cancellation or misconnect, there are fewer options available for putting you on the next available flight.

 

 

Good point about it being harder to find seats on other flights if our flight is cancelled for some reason. Used to be we could find an alternative but seems more flights are cancelled these days and there are fewer spare seats to accomodate those passengers.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always have to fly in 2 or 3 days early.

No choice -- very few flights.

We know that if something goes wrong with one flight -- there are no seats on another flight. And we may have to find another way to get to the embarkation port.

[Globaliser]

Then why not do what my dad's doing for our alaska cruise... he's working thursday and leaving a bit earlier, and then taking a late flight from the east coast to seattle, it gets in late, but he's not using another vacation day, and it'll be that much more relaxing to get there a full day early with none of the stress of missing a flight.

Yes' date=' that is another option I could do - leave work about 4 hrs. early on Thursday evening, instead of working the full shift. Would give me more time to finish packing and catch a day flight the next day to Fort Lauderdale.[/quote']You want to be careful about xitappers2bx's suggestion.

 

Not because there's anything wrong with it as such, but because it's talking about the wrong direction. It's about flying from the east coast to Seattle. But you need to fly from Vancouver/Seattle to the east coast. That changes everything.

[Typhoon1]

Think of arriving a day or two early as cheap insurance. You'll spend money on a hotel and food.

 

Should you have encountered any delays along the way, you have some wiggle room before the ship departs.

[CruiserBruce]

I'm flying in on a redeye the night before the cruise, but it is direct LAX to FLL, on Virgin. I feel ok about it since there are no connections, and since there is another morning flight that could still get me there on time if mine gets canceled.

 

Just curious. Virgin flies planes with about 130 pax onboard. Just wondering how many seats will be available on that morning flight, if all of the 100+ pax from your red eye try to get on the morning flight?

[shandryl]

I used to arrive a day before now I do two days before. Less stress, relax more and enjoy the cruise. I have done a red-eye and its not nice. my advise arrive a day or two early. You will be glad you did. :)

[luvcruisn']

Thanks everyone, for your responses.

[PumpkinPatches]

I'm not saving any money at all by doing the overnight flight - it's actually $100.00 more expensive than a flight during the day. I was trying to save one vacation day from work' date=' as my cruise is so long I will have used most of them up, and won't have very many left for unexpected visitors for the rest of the year.[/quote']

I see you're from Vancouver - so am I!

You can find overnight flights direct from Seattle - Fort Lauderdale, but it still is best to arrive in Fort Lauderdale the day before your cruise!

[Baatman]

Agree -- it is very bad idea.

 

Seeing as you have 2 layovers, you have a good chance of one of them being delayed and you may not make it to Ft Lauderdale in time to catch the ship. And the ship will not wait for you.

 

You are better to fly in 1 or 2 days before the cruise. This way you will also have time to adjust to the time change and be ready to cruise.

 

Yes, with 2 layovers there is an off chance of some sort of delay. It is worth the cost of one night hotel expense (think of it as insurance) to make sure you make the ship.

[DaveOKC]

The one thing nobody has mentioned yet is that the later in the day your flight is, the more likely it will be delayed. What happens is that with today's tight scheduling, any delay during the day will often work its way down the later flights (of that aircraft) until the end of its flight day.

 

So,your flights would be more at risk than the norm for delays.