Fly in day of cruise?

[muggo11]

Doing it for the first time ever next wednesday. Have 6 am flight from SF to Seattle. 4 pm sailing so a6 hour window. A tad nervous but work is work. And i do not have a choice.

 

 

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[don't-use-real-name]

I worked behind the Ticket Counter of a major airline for quite a number of years and the sob stories and crap that was given to fellow agents and myself was just unprintable !

 

Your flight cancels it is my fault personally !

Your flight is delayed because of mechanical weather*** crew or whatever it is my fault personally !

You did not plan for these unforeseen events it is my fault personally !

 

Well I take these complaints personally because of the customer not accepting any personal responsibility for his own travel plans !

 

People people get real the airlines are not going to babysit you all the way to the port to see that you get on your ship timely !

Give yourself and the airline or travel means some leeway to work things out to get to you destination and ship with time to spare !

 

*** WEATHER is the biggest factor especially for travel from anywhere north of the frost line (which is 49 of the 50 states). And weather just does not happen

for a few hours and minutes it can go on for days - PLAN CAREFULLY ! PLAN VERY CAREFULLY unless of course you like to gamble with your travel !

You like to gamble then take out that insurance and don't be cheap !

When the chips are down and the odds stacked against you - Good Luck getting to your ship on time !

Notably some posters have escaped by the skin of their teeth and somehow avoided getting a stroke or heartattack playing a death defying act of leaping to the gangplank as the ship leaves it berth !

Some like to cut it close but traveling this way on the 'Wild Side' is ridiculous !

 

Cruises are supposed to the epitome of relaxing and not a care in the world so why would you want to make such a magnificent mess of BAD PLANNING to miss the boat ?

Being fashionably late for your cruise will not pass muster either !

 

OK so I am way out of line and off the mark - go ahead and make those plans - you have been warned !

Sympathy NOT FORTH COMING !

[ClarkBHM]

Jan. 17th we will be doing our second cruise. Last time we flew in a day early. This time in researching flights my best bet would be a flight that does not even land in FLL until 8:10 PM on the 16th.

 

There is a flight on the 17th that arrives at 10:10 am and I think that should allow plenty of time to get to the port in Miami. It would save me a little over $50.00 for the flight plus hotel fees.

 

I am a little worried about flying out of Pittsburgh in mid Jan., but really, how many flights are actually cancelled?

 

I guess I am looking for comments, does anybody fly in the day of their cruise, am I being stupid here?

 

While PIT is generally able to handle the snow, we could easily have a snowstorm that delays your flight just long enough to miss your cruise. Or the incoming flight is delayed at a different airport even though skies in Pittsburgh are clear. Or there's an accident on the parkway. You just never know.

 

We're flying out of Pittsburgh the same weekend as you, on the 17th for a cruise that leaves on the 18th. That way, if our flight on the 17th is messed up or delayed, we still have a chance to rebook for the morning of the 18th.

 

One additional story, several years ago, we flew non-stop from PIT to San Juan on the same day as our cruise. We landed in San Juan, but somehow my suitcase didn't. Fortunately, St. Thomas was our first stop the next day and the airline forwarded my bag to there and delivered it to the ship. Had I flown in the previous day, I would have been able to collect my suitcase prior to boarding, rather than waiting for the first stop. Given that you're likely sailing on the Getaway (based on a Miami cruise on the 17th), your first stop won't be until Saint Martin on your fourth day. That's quite a long time to be without luggage.

[janpo]

We fly out of Pittsburgh a lot. In fact, we're getting ready to fly out of Pittsburgh again this coming Friday for our cruise on Saturday. Husband wanted to fly out the day of....he lost..i won. Makes no sense to add unneeded stress for your vacation.

 

We are also going on another cruise either next January or February. We will book it once we sail this cruise. We will probably again fly out of Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

 

Remember last winter???? Remember how bad the entire winter was? The temps, the snow???? We had above average everything last winter.

 

No way am i chancing my cruise for a hotel stay and $50. We got a very reasonable stay at Courtyard by Mariott for this week.

Edited September 6, 2014 by janpo

[cruisecritiquer]

There are all kinds of things that can happen. The first cruise we ever went on...the airlines inadvertently short checked our luggage in Orlando (our connection) instead of checking it through to Miami. I called and called and called and called Orlando and they kept promising to put our luggage on the next flight but as of the next day (our embarkation day) it still wasn't in Miami. I went to the airport and just begged and begged someone to find out what was going on. Just as we were about to leave at 1:15 to head to the Port (without our luggage)...I saw them bring it to the luggage kiosk...one piece of our luggage after the other. I've never been so thankful to see luggage in all my days. We were so stressed out you should have seen our embarkation photo. We looked like a bunch of frazzled lost souls...hair everywhere...disheveled....dazed..... If we would have flown in the day of...that wouldn't have provided enough time to locate our missing luggage. It's just little unplanned things like that which have convinced me that flying in the day before is the way to go. It's not that this happens all the time - its' the fact that anything can happen and it's just not worth the stress it causes in my opinion.

Edited September 6, 2014 by cruisecritiquer

[lisakoivu]

On our first cruise, we flew in the day of... it was delayed. When the NCL rep met us at the airport, she said, "you don't even have time to get your luggage, go now or you'll miss the ship." Cabbie drove like crazy and the check in people were literally screaming, "Run, run" as we boarded. We had no clothes for two days. I was AMAZED, our luggage actually caught up with us in Cozumel. We had not booked flights through NCL, so I thought they went above and beyond in making sure we both got on the ship and connected with our luggage. Because of that event, which was OUR fault, I can forgive a LOT of NCL gaffes...

 

Another year, we booked a late flight the night before. We drove from our home in Ontario to Detroit to get it only to be told it had been completely cancelled, no explanation why, and we had been bumped to 8 am the next day (day of cruise). Well... that was still plenty of time, provided something ELSE didn't happen, so it was nerve wracking. Also, we chose to stay at the Detroit hotel airport, so we could be on standby if something should happen, which cost us about $200.

 

Moral of the story - flying out the day of is throwing good money after bad. For our Christmas cruise this year, we will arrive in NYC the day before at 7:30 AM, because we had a choice of flights leaving Ontario at 6 am or 4:30 pm, and I didn't even want to book the 4:30 for fear it would be bumped to the next day - figured if I booked the 6 am, I'd have the 4:30 as a bump cushion, if you will.

 

Scarred for life? You bet! Fly out the day before!!!!

Edited September 6, 2014 by lisakoivu

[KweezyCruiser]

The one time I flew in the day of a cruise, we went carry on only. At least I knew we wouldn't have to add the wait time at the luggage carousel or, worse, cruising with no luggage at all.

[cruisecritiquer]

On our first cruise, we flew in the day of... it was delayed. When the NCL rep met us at the airport, she said, "you don't even have time to get your luggage, go now or you'll miss the ship." Cabbie drove like crazy and the check in people were literally screaming, "Run, run" as we boarded. We had no clothes for two days. I was AMAZED, our luggage actually caught up with us in Cozumel. We had not booked flights through NCL, so I thought they went above and beyond in making sure we both got on the ship and connected with our luggage. Because of that event, which was OUR fault, I can forgive a LOT of NCL gaffes...

 

Another year, we booked a late flight the night before. We drove from our home in Ontario to Detroit to get it only to be told it had been completely cancelled, no explanation why, and we had been bumped to 8 am the next day (day of cruise). Well... that was still plenty of time, provided something ELSE didn't happen, so it was nerve wracking. Also, we chose to stay at the Detroit hotel airport, so we could be on standby if something should happen, which cost us about $200.

 

Moral of the story - flying out the day of is throwing good money after bad. For our Christmas cruise this year, we will arrive in NYC the day before at 7:30 AM, because we had a choice of flights leaving Ontario at 6 am or 4:30 pm, and I didn't even want to book the 4:30 for fear it would be bumped to the next day - figured if I booked the 6 am, I'd have the 4:30 as a bump cushion, if you will.

 

Scarred for life? You bet! Fly out the day before!!!!

 

Same here...even when flying out the day before, I try not to book the last flights of the day. One time we were flying back from New Orleans on a 6AM flight (cancelled) and the last flight that day was 5:30PM...we still didn't make it on a plane until the next day. :rolleyes:

[brookie848]

I have lived in Albany for seven years and fly home to Pittsburgh about three times a year on Southwest. In seven years, I have had a flight cancelled three times. That is actually a high percentage.

 

Like others have mentioned, you not only have to worry about the weather in Pittsburgh, you also have to worry about the weather where the plane you are supposed to be on is coming from. My guess is at Pittsburgh, probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the flights are coming from either Baltimore (hello...Nor'easters!) or Chicago, since those are hubs for SWA. Baltimore may only be four hours away by car, but the weather can be drastically different.

 

De-icing a plane can add an extra 30 minutes on to your trip. That added to any other weather delays can put you in a precarious position. Plus, not all airports are as efficient with luggage at PIT is. There may end up being quite a wait for that if you plan on checking bags.

[perkydebrajean]

We flew in the day before our cruise. On the way to the airport I got a phone call from the Airlines that our flight had been overbooked. We ended up taking a later flight out, at least they bumped us up to first class if we were willing to go later.

 

The last time my daughter flew from TN to TX we got a call on the way to the airport that her flight had been cancelled due to weather and that she would be rebooked on a different flight. Weather was as sunny as could be on our end but the originating flight was where the bad weather was. She ended up having to fly out 6 hours later than originally booked.

[crystalaziza]

Soooooooooo many things can happen and I'm sure that by the time you get to my post you would have already had your mind made up. Bad decision. Here's my dilemma a few years back, was to fly out of Syracuse, NY to Charleston, SC on a Friday for a Sunday sailing. Well got to Syracuse (by the way, this was in February) my flight was on schedule (yahoo) but my connecting flight in Washington had been cancelled due to them having bad weather, so now my only choice was to drive to Ithaca, NY get a hotel for the night & fly from there to SC on Saturday, which would still get us there a day early. Why was this so bad? Well we made our cruise which was fantastic on the Majesty, but lost money paid for a hotel for 1 of the 2 nights (no 24 hour notice) and the same for my rental car pre-paid, and the added cost of the Ithaca hotel, and this all happened on a 2 day early arrival. How many flights are actually cancelled you ask. Mine was but it worked out for us due to allowing enough time for such things, yours on the other hand would be a huge problem & a lot of running around & added expenses trying to get to who knows where if it were a problem with your flight. If it's expense you are worried about, just book a cheap hotel and fly in the day before and relax. Flying in on the same day as sailing would 100% drain me and I would be way too tired to enjoy all that there was to be enjoyed on a cruise & believe me, if I'm on a cruise I want to enjoy every second. I'd hate to see you learn the hard way. Good Luck to you and happy sailing if you make the ship on time!

[DirtyDawg]

Doing it for the first time ever next wednesday. Have 6 am flight from SF to Seattle. 4 pm sailing so a6 hour window. A tad nervous but work is work. And i do not have a choice.

 

 

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We're doing the same day flight thing later this month too. Just couldn't be helped. Late work commitment on the Saturday night so it's an early morning Sunday flight from Toronto to Vancouver for a Sunday afternoon departure. We should arrive in Vancouver by 10 am so we have some buffer for a slight delay. ;)

 

OP do you have a back up plan if you miss the sailing? Can you catch up to the ship at the first port? If you can, compare the cost of getting to that first port vs. flying in the night before.

[Loving My Life]

"I am a little worried about flying out of Pittsburgh in mid Jan., but really, how many flights are actually cancelled?"

 

This January (2014), our family (including 3 young boys) had planned 3 days in Orlando (Universal) before a 5 night cruise. Our flight was *supposed to* leave Boston Friday afternoon and land by 7pm in FL. Our cruise left on Monday. A massive Nor'Easter cancelled our flight on Friday, so they rescheduled us for the next day. That flight was also cancelled due to continued snow. They rescheduled us for Sunday at noon. Arrived at the airport at 10am, just as they announced that due to FAA regulations, the pilots were not able to fly at noon due to a lack of sleep. Then our plane was late arriving in Boston. By 1am on Monday morning, after sitting at the airport for over 14 hours (with the kids), they found a crew and plane so we took off. Ours was the only flight that got out. Jet Blue cancelled the rest of the fights on Monday. We were lucky to get out at all! We landed at 4am, checked into our hotel at 5am, slept for 4 hours, then made our way to the port for our cruise.

 

We were stressed, exhausted, and frustrated when we finally got on the ship. From now on, we will always fly in 2+ days early, especially in the winter months. For our upcoming cruise to Europe, we are flying in 4 days early, just in case something happens with our connecting flight in Dublin, missing luggage, etc. Also gives us time to explore Barcelona.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Loving My Life

[silkhair1]

We usually fly the day before, but this cruise we are driving in. Hopefully the weather is good from Chicago to Miami. We did 2 cruises where we fly in the day of our cruise and we were so tired, it was not fun. Now with the winter we never risk it. Just not worth the risk.

[BiXLL]

I guess not doing this has a "slight" edge! LOL

[wrp96]

I guess not doing this has a "slight" edge! LOL

 

Yep, look at it this way, if you fly in a day in advance, and everything goes right (which it will a majority of the time, people only talk about the stories because nobody wants to hear about the flight where you left and arrived on time, got all your bags quickly, etc), then you've got an extra day in warm weather vs. cold Pittsburgh.:)

 

If you fly in a day in advance, and anything goes wrong, you've got extra time to work yourself out of the mess. Your question was about cancelled flights, but flying in day of all you need is a delay, a lost bag, etc. Coming in a day ahead, if a bag goes missing, you have time to go shopping for new clothes. Flight delayed/cancelled - you have time to be rerouted on other flights. Heck, I've seen people resort to renting a car and driving all the way to Florida - but that only works if you were flying out enough ahead of time.

 

To add to the above stories, on a cruise last year, a few people on our roll call were flying from Atlanta to Tampa morning of cruise. So flight time of only an hour, arrival scheduled by 10am (sound familiar?). It was April so winter weather not a problem (although thunderstorms could've been but those are typically later in the day). However, their airline's computer system went down - no flights could depart, because computers were down no way to reroute on other airlines. Only reason they made the cruise was because boarding/departure of our cruise was delayed due to an incident at the pier.

[mpk218]

No no no .... Plus adding that one extra day allows you to board the ship all fresh and ready to go , not looking for a nap on day 1 . ;)

 

Flying out of Pitt in January for a same day into MIA ..... Heads or Tails ?

[SeagoingMom]

I might fly in day-of. From Las Vegas to Los Angeles. On a Tuesday. In July. At 6 AM.

 

That would be about it.

Well said! :) But I still wouldn't do it! :eek:

 

However, we did once drive in from my in-laws' house in Jacksonville to Jaxport on the same day... :p

[SeagoingMom]

Yep, look at it this way, if you fly in a day in advance, and everything goes right (which it will a majority of the time, people only talk about the stories because nobody wants to hear about the flight where you left and arrived on time, got all your bags quickly, etc), then you've got an extra day in warm weather vs. cold Pittsburgh.:)

 

If you fly in a day in advance, and anything goes wrong, you've got extra time to work yourself out of the mess. Your question was about cancelled flights, but flying in day of all you need is a delay, a lost bag, etc. Coming in a day ahead, if a bag goes missing, you have time to go shopping for new clothes. Flight delayed/cancelled - you have time to be rerouted on other flights. Heck, I've seen people resort to renting a car and driving all the way to Florida - but that only works if you were flying out enough ahead of time.

 

To add to the above stories, on a cruise last year, a few people on our roll call were flying from Atlanta to Tampa morning of cruise. So flight time of only an hour, arrival scheduled by 10am (sound familiar?). It was April so winter weather not a problem (although thunderstorms could've been but those are typically later in the day). However, their airline's computer system went down - no flights could depart, because computers were down no way to reroute on other airlines. Only reason they made the cruise was because boarding/departure of our cruise was delayed due to an incident at the pier.

 

Sounds exactly like my sister's cross-country experience mentioned above! Let's all sing a chorus of, "Cruise angels are watchin' over me..." :rolleyes:

[Valen9]

There is a flight on the 17th that arrives at 10:10 am and I think that should allow plenty of time to get to the port in Miami. It would save me a little over $50.00 for the flight plus hotel fees.

 

I am a little worried about flying out of Pittsburgh in mid Jan., but really, how many flights are actually cancelled?

 

I often fly in the day of my cruise, making a calculation just like this. You are taking a chance -- but I'd say that it's not much of a gamble considering the short flying time. You can even come in up to 4 hours late without a real worry of missing the ship.

 

But if I were you -- I'd probably fly in the day before if I could fit that in to my schedule. $50 just doesn't seem like enough savings (to me) to be worth the chance of having a blizzard come by at the wrong time.

[SMerritt]

I'm torn on this one simply because I have a flight scheduled from the west coast leaving at 8 PM with a layover in Denver and arriving in FTL at 5:30 AM. 10-1/2 hours feels like enough of a cushion but now I am worried.

 

We fly out of SFO but ONLY Non-Stop....we have flown many "red-eyes" into MIA

 

What time of year are you planning to fly with a layover in Denver? - in the winter you can be delayed days, not hours

 

As for the OP - We have mainly heard about cruisers from the NE missing or almost missing their cruise due to bad winter weather. If you can, fly out a day early......

[chloemonkey]

Jan. 17th we will be doing our second cruise. Last time we flew in a day early. This time in researching flights my best bet would be a flight that does not even land in FLL until 8:10 PM on the 16th.

 

There is a flight on the 17th that arrives at 10:10 am and I think that should allow plenty of time to get to the port in Miami. It would save me a little over $50.00 for the flight plus hotel fees.

 

I am a little worried about flying out of Pittsburgh in mid Jan., but really, how many flights are actually cancelled?

 

I guess I am looking for comments, does anybody fly in the day of their cruise, am I being stupid here?

 

 

I would NOT usually do it for $50 and have always chosen to fly in the day before....BUT will be flying in this October same day....situations sometimes call for it as we have property and inlaws in Corpus Christi that we will handle for a few days before our Houston departure. Also though.....we chose 6:00 am flights out of Corpus into Houston ( there are two additional flights later in the day that would work in a pinch) and also have the luxury of also just renting a car and high tailing it by car!

 

Again....IF I did not have the Corpus issue to deal with....I too would be flying into Houston the day before, staying in a great hotel.....and then taking private transportation to the port of sail day!

 

Will let you know how OUR decision works out! Fingers crossed....but then we also can afford to fly into the first port....NOT that I would want to go that route! But worst case scenario....

[chloemonkey]

I would NOT usually do it for $50 and have always chosen to fly in the day before....BUT will be flying in this October same day....situations sometimes call for it as we have property and inlaws in Corpus Christi that we will handle for a few days before our Houston departure. Also though.....we chose 6:00 am flights out of Corpus into Houston ( there are two additional flights later in the day that would work in a pinch) and also have the luxury of also just renting a car and high tailing it by car!

 

Again....IF I did not have the Corpus issue to deal with....I too would be flying into Houston the day before, staying in a great hotel.....and then taking private transportation to the port of sail day!

 

Will let you know how OUR decision works out! Fingers crossed....but then we also can afford to fly into the first port....NOT that I would want to go that route! But worst case scenario....

 

ONE MORE THING THAT I FORGOT! If you go on most airline sites, there is a place to click on flight history ( times delayed, cancelled, on time, etc) so you might want to check this out too before you make final plans.

[Annmeat]

WOW!!! Appearantly a bad idea!

Yuppers! I haven't read all the way thru, but unless you live in a different Pennsylvania...and you live in the cold part- than I do- January sucks! You will miss your ship. Period. I will wager your fare on it right now. ( my CAS friends have turned me into quite a gambler) flying out of Pittsburgh on a winter long weekend..remember, Monday is a holiday- you have weather, extra travelers -

Weather, ice, weather...

Ugh"

[Annmeat]

I might fly in day-of. From Las Vegas to Los Angeles. On a Tuesday. In July. At 6 AM.

 

That would be about it.

 

Yup