How stressful is arriving by plane the day of departure?

[sam1148]

What’s the latest to time to show up for embarkation? I’m deep in the pre-planning phase now. Leaving Ft. Lauderdale on the Zuiderdam Oct 15th.

 

I can get a flight that arrives on the 15th at 9:45AM or do a hotel the night before. The flight for the day before is Southwest and has a change of planes in Orlando, more chances to lose my luggage. The flight for the 15th, the day of departure, is Delta non-stop prop plane.

 

I’m starting not to trust Delta with all the talk of bankruptcy.

[cruzegirl]

Personally, I would never fly in the same as embarkation..... There's too much stress and what if your plane is late, so many things to consider....It's too stressful for me....... and if the luggage is lost, you can buy at stores the day you get yet it's before you leave on the cruise.... That's mho......:)

[CruiseCentric]

Yes, I agree, if you can, fly in a day early. Traveling on the same day is stressful and tiring. You will be ready to pass out after dinner the first night.

 

Have a great cruise!

[SharB]

Hi Sam!

There's always the possibility that the flights will get delayed for any number of reasons and you could miss the ship. If you are a risk taker, then your stress level should be fairly low. We flew a non-stop to Fort Lauderdale and had a guy (who would have been on our cruise) who had a heart attack. The flight had to be reverted to an unscheduled stop in Houston (we were flying out of LAX) and our flight got in three hours late. If we hadn't flown the day before, we could have watched our ship leaving port as we landed! Please consider going a day earlier.

 

Shar

[Bequia]

You'll still be in the middle of hurricane season as well. Anticipate weather conditions that may affect all flights in and out of SoFla. A minimum of one day before your cruise departs to play it safe.;)

[ciana]

I too advise going the day before if possible. On our 2003 cruise we couldn't go early so purchased air through the cruise line.. thank goodness. Our flight was very late leaving as the pilots and crew were delayed elsewhere for mechanical problems with their incoming plane. We were supposed to arrive in Fort Lauderdale by noon.. we arrived at 4:30 and then had to get luggage and shuttle over. The ship was held for us because there were a number of passengers on our flight.. lots of stress!!! as we all wondered what was going to happen. Since then we go the day before and do our own air.

Ciana:)

[oldnavybanker]

I've sailed Holland America a couple of times out of Fort Lauderdale - both times in June, when the weather is not likely to be a problem - I flew the sailing date (on Delta) -- no problems; but now that I am a couple of years older (and hopefully wiser) I would not do so -- unless I had booked the flight through Holland America. In that case, they will hold the ship for a reasonable while or arrange to get you to first port of call -- if you book flight on your own, you will be on your own. Getting to port a day early does allow a much more relaxed sailing - no sweat, well rested - and the savings by booking yourself rather than through HAL should more than cover the cost of a motel. Now, unless I am within a few hours drive of the port, I always fly in the dayu before.

[Wennfred]

I can get a flight that arrives on the 15th at 9:45AM or do a hotel the night before.

 

This is what I call a Vegas bet... I go with the better chance, fly the day before.

[sam1148]

Thanks everyone, it'll be the day before for us then.

[SharB]

I guarantee it's a good idea to learn from other people's mistakes!

 

Something else - even if you are on a flight booked by the cruiseline, there's no guarantee they'll wait for very long - they may end up putting you up for the night and flying you to the first port-of-call.

 

Anyway - you're making a good choice and are bound to have a wonderful cruise!

 

Shar

[doone]

I always fly a day ahead of my sailing date. I hate the stress of wondering if I will make it there in time. With flying, you never know what can happen with delays of your flights. I would highly recommend, like everyone else here, you fly a day ahead, it takes away alot of stressing.

[Northender]

For our Fort Lauderdale sailings, we always fly in the day before. Of course in 2006 the ships will be leaving on a Saturday, which means coming in late on Friday or taking an extra day off.:(

 

For those of you who have done sailings out of SJU. Is it necessary to do the night before as the ship does not leave until 11pm. Again this is a Sat/Sat sailing.

 

Does anyone know what caused Princess to change the sailing schedule from Sun/Sun to Sat./Sat? :)

[OC Mom]

We are flying in the day of our cruise, but our plane lands at 5:15 am (taking a non-stop red-eye out of Long Beach). It was going to cost A LOT more to fly in the day before. We figure that even if we are delayed a bit, we should still have plenty of time to get there- with flying in so early. We are staying an extra night in Miami after the cruise again due to airfare pricing.

[Flip2cruise]

For those of you who have done sailings out of SJU. Is it necessary to do the night before as the ship does not leave until 11pm. Again this is a Sat/Sat sailing.

 

I think its a good idea to arrive early and check out San Juan. It also depends on what time your flight is scheduled to arrive, there is always a chance your luggage might not arrive with you.

 

I dont like to feel rushed when Im on vacation so I always arrive at least a day before and stay a day after every cruise.

[mii]

I personally arrive the day before. With airplane mechanical problems that could happen not to mention weather delays I just do not need that stress in my life.

 

marilyn

[Nanatravel]

For departure out of San Juan from New England, we have flown in early on the day of embarkation. I have booked my own flights for non-stops also taking the earliest departure out of Boston thus the early arrival into SJU. I try to stay at least one night post-cruise to stretch my vacation, especially if it is a Sat/Sat sailing. In winter or hurricane season, it is stressful scheduling this way but vacation time is limited.

Bon Voyage

[Sheffie]

We have started to fly in the day before our cruise rather than the day of for all of the above reasons, PLUS the reasons that:

 

1. I have a hard time sleeping the night before a cruise. (Like a kid at Christmas!)

 

2. To catch that early flight, I have to get up in the middle of the night, hence starting out the cruise tired! :(

 

3. Being able to get on the ship early makes me feel like I have gotten an extra day of cruising! :D

[elron]

I, too, like to go a day or two earlier. Many people do book flights the same day and have no problems. Again, there are those stories of delays though.

[pokyd]

I've always flown on the day of, whether I've booked it myself or gone with the cruise line. However, if booking myself I always be sure to travel early AM. And I've never had a problem, even in winter. And I've always found that arriving at the ship in the early PM avoids a lot of long embarkation lines from the early birds or the late comers. Never had to wait very long to embark.

 

Guess it depends whether you are a worrier or are able to take extra vacation days or not. Me, I'd rather spend the hotel $$ on something else.

[cynbar]

We always try to fly in the day before, it definitely reduces the stress !! We had one cruise back in 1999 on Celebrity's Mercury where we booked our air through the cruise line (couldn't go the day before for some reason) ---- then we were involuntarily bumped in Boston because those were the lowest priced tickets, rerouted via LaGuardia and Atlanta, made the ship with literally minutes to spare --- and the Celebrity rep at the airport said that Celebrity doesn't wait even for those passengers they have booked !!! The worry upset us and really did set us back for the first couple of days on the trip, so we resolved to never do that again. Plus, by flying in the day before, we get a good night's sleep and are ready to get on the ship early and really have an extra day of vacation. Works for us!!!

[Iwanicki]

We have done both, and thankfully haven't had any problems. If you have a direct flight, and there are other likely options in case of mechanical problems, flying in the day of the cruise isn't too bad. We have flown into Puerto Rico the same day, on Princess air. I wouldn't have booked that myself, as we were flying for 12 hours via Houston to get there.

 

Storms are a major consideration. Depending upon the season, you have snow and/or thunderstorms to consider.

 

My preference is to fly in the day before, but it does cost extra. If there is a big enough blizzard, even trying to fly in the day before may not be good enough, so you never know. Flying in the day before allows you to have a good rest before boarding the ship.

 

Distance is a huge consideration. For us, an Alaska cruise is a 1 hour flight to Vancouver, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly same day. However a Caribbean cruise can be 10+ hours away, and requires a connection in a very busy airport. I would normally fly the day before in that case.

 

Good luck.