Am I ok getting to the port on cruise day?

[herbanrenewal]

The good news - you are not travelling during peak hurricane season, nor major snowstorm season.

Weather delays count for the majority of cancellations, which cause a backlog of people trying to readjust schedules.

 

So that you don't start out your relaxing vacation with super high stress levels, know your What Ifs...

If this is your only option, then go for it, but know before you go the alternate flights you can try to book, and have the airlines bookmarked for self- rescheduling. Know the airlines phone numbers, but this is a slow way of rebooking when everyone else is also trying to reschedule.

 

And know how to get to the first port if you miss the ship and are going to join the cruise there IF this is possible. You also need to contact the cruiseline let them know if you will be missing the ship, and ask if its possible to board at a later port.

 

And bring a credit card with enough credit to cover the extra expenses.

 

That said, we have cruised many times with same day flights. Had a couple close calls. one we made it and luggage didn't (Pack a well-thought out carry-on for each of you), but we have never missed a cruise.

[wassup4565]

We did it once on our first cruise, and never never again! It snowed but that was not the problem. The problem was a mechanical delay that almost made us miss our connection from Reagan in Washington.

 

We made it by the skin of our teeth, and the only people I felt sorrier for were the couple with two small kids who were running through the airport with us, each with a kid on a hip. We got onto the ship half an hour before they pulled the gangplank up.

Never again. I thought my head would explode.

 

Reschedule your cruise if your schedule can't work the way it is.

[Soloist]

I have always flown in the day of the cruise. Until this upcoming cruise.

But then again Miami is a 2 hour direct flight.

I always looked for the earliest non stop flight from the airport. Just in case.

I try to look for an airline that has more flights going out that day. Just in case.

 

Last cruise was a wake up call for me. Made it in time despite:

 

1. Snow. - just enough to cover the grass and be glad I was leaving town.

2. Mechanical failure of plane.

3. 4 hour delay to replace plane.

4. Baggage claim, had to find bag in an office on other side of a terminal under construction.

 

30 of us unrelated to each other who booked our own flights were all on the same plane going on the same ship.

 

Why was mine the only bag to be put on a flight that arrived 3 hours before us all?

 

Arrived at port while they were closing up shop. No line at all even the photographer on the gangway was putting stuff away. No picture (wouldn't have bought it anyway)

 

So this time I am leaving at 3 in the afternoon and staying in hotel overnight. $50. Includes shuttle from airport and shuttle to cruise port.

 

Now I only have a passport card which is good to cruise but not for international flights.

 

Also have the vacation time to be able to take from work the extra day and not feel it wasted.

 

Who know what the future will bring.

 

BTW: Wassup 4565- your story sounds just like mine last year.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Soloist
question to other poster.

[CarolynK]

Of the 13 cruises we've taken since 1993, for every one of them we flew in the day of, with the exception of one. We decided to fly the night before to be safe, and our flight was cancelled because the airport (MDW) shut down due to fog. We ended up frantically driving to Atlanta (the only flight we could get on short notice) to catch a plane to Orlando to make the cruise. Funny we happened to know a family on board from our town, that had flown in the day of - with no delays.