Flying in the day of the cruise

[cruisebunnies]

This is a cautionary tale from a friend just off a cruise.Two couples flew in to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise.Another couple decided to fly in the day of the cruise from Buffalo NY.The flight was cancelled due to a winter storm.

After much calling and anxiety a flight was located coming from Toronto ON. About 100 miles from Buffalo where the couple were stranded they had to drive in a blizzard to get to the Toronto airport .

The plane from Toronto was delayed two hours.They arrived in Fort Lauderdale and had to bribe the cab driver to break the speed limit and got to the ship with 5 minutes to spare,they were the last people to board.

The moral of the story"Do NOT fly in the day the cruise departs for ANY reason!":cool:

[SMSACE6]

AMEN!

 

Especially when travelling from "up here" ! LOL.

 

I dont normally cruise or even travel this time of year, but when I do, which is late April, May, June or Sept, Oct or November, I always, and I mean always...fly in a day before and now even try to come in two days early. The day or two before cruise gives me peace of mind, and adds to the vacation!:)

[All-ready2cruise]

Very good advice and good reminder too. I fly from 1 of 4 airports in my area and will always fly in the day or maybe even 2 prior to a cruise.

 

cruisebunnies, were your friends part of the group on a Sunwing flight which ended up being flown down to Jamaica due to missing the ship? I guess SW has good deals but hardly worth it to me if it means I miss even 1 day of my cruise.

[jdvmd]

I hear ya! But sometimes people cannot take off because of work etc.

[Paddy41]

This is a cautionary tale from a friend just off a cruise.Two couples flew in to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise.Another couple decided to fly in the day of the cruise from Buffalo NY.The flight was cancelled due to a winter storm.

After much calling and anxiety a flight was located coming from Toronto ON. About 100 miles from Buffalo where the couple were stranded they had to drive in a blizzard to get to the Toronto airport .

The plane from Toronto was delayed two hours.They arrived in Fort Lauderdale and had to bribe the cab driver to break the speed limit and got to the ship with 5 minutes to spare,they were the last people to board.

The moral of the story"Do NOT fly in the day the cruise departs for ANY reason!":cool:

 

 

I was very lucky the one time I booked air for the day of the cruise.but I took that as my lesson. The airport we were flying out of was fine but a snow storm hit just south of NYC and all airports just south were closed. We were just SO lucky that NY was still open.

 

Another lesson those people learned was how expensive it is to fly out of Toronto. I bet they paid at least double for their flight.

[gerelmx]

Always take the necessary precautions, we like to fly 1 or 2 days before and stay at a hotel near the port and preferably overlooking the cruise ships. It's part of the vacation, you spend a fortune on the cruise and haggle a hotel night.

[fredflint]

To be honest the storm may have come up suddenly but they should have kept better track of the weather and adjusted the flight. I have flown in twice the day of the cruise both times arriving very early (9AM) the day of the cruise with several later options and no worries about snow.

[BirdTravels]

Totally agree. Weather can be problematic year around (winter storms, hurricanes, tornados, thunderstorms) on either end of your trip to the port.

[gmbhardy]

AMEN!

 

Especially when travelling from "up here" ! LOL.

 

I dont normally cruise or even travel this time of year, but when I do, which is late April, May, June or Sept, Oct or November, I always, and I mean always...fly in a day before and now even try to come in two days early. The day or two before cruise gives me peace of mind, and adds to the vacation!:)

I'd rather cruise in the winter rather than hurricane season.

[Minoushka]

This is a cautionary tale from a friend just off a cruise.Two couples flew in to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise.Another couple decided to fly in the day of the cruise from Buffalo NY.The flight was cancelled due to a winter storm.

After much calling and anxiety a flight was located coming from Toronto ON. About 100 miles from Buffalo where the couple were stranded they had to drive in a blizzard to get to the Toronto airport .

The plane from Toronto was delayed two hours.They arrived in Fort Lauderdale and had to bribe the cab driver to break the speed limit and got to the ship with 5 minutes to spare,they were the last people to board.

The moral of the story"Do NOT fly in the day the cruise departs for ANY reason!":cool:[/quo

 

 

We missed our ship spent 24 hours at the airport needed to be flown in to Cozumel ...meet the ship there ..it was a nightmare

[TNcruising02]

I will never fly in the day of a cruise. If I can't fly out on Friday for a Saturday cruise, I will cruise from Sunday to Sunday. On my last cruise, we were very close to missing it even though we were flying in the day before the cruise. Flight delays caused us to miss our connecting flight and I had to rebook on a different airline to get to the port city in time. Our original airline could not get us there until an hour after the ship was due to sail THE NEXT DAY.

 

Even without bad weather, flights get delayed or cancelled all of the time. Anyone who flies frequently knows this. If someone wants to gamble with their cruise, more power to them. I plan cruises at least 6 months ahead of time and put in a lot of effort to choosing excursions, hotels, transportation, etc. I also book my vacation time well in advance. Missing my cruise would be a huge deal and not something I would gamble on with the hopes that a same day flight will make it.

[SMSACE6]

I'd rather cruise in the winter rather than hurricane season.

 

yes for sure...hurricane season can be difficult, especially in some years, like this past one. I would love to travel in winter season, but cannot do it, because I need to be here to shovel my parents lane, deck, look after dog and pick up mail etc for them.

 

back in the day when they were still cruising, about 10 years ago, they were booked to leave here. Ottawa, Canada on a flight to Newark, with connection to Fort Lauderdale, two days before their cruise from Port Everglade. Long story, short...they made it to Newark, but a noreaster had blown in..and then they spent the next 24hrs, shuttling back and forth to LGA, back to EWR, and finally could not get a flight to Ft Lauderdale, Miami, or anywhere in the vicinity....then they were faced with the daunting task of trying to get a flight back to Ottawa...They were gone a total of 4 days, missed the cruise, took two weeks to get their luggage back, and three nights in hotels in the New York area. So while getting away at winter time is really a luxury for us, it can also be a trial.

 

Happy to say, that Mom and Dad had travel insurance, and recovered a lot of their cost, though not all of it, which goes with the territory. I never travel without added insurance either. But winter travel for me is out, for reasons stated above.

 

Bottom line...always have travel insurance....regardless of time of year...we never know what can happen to impact our plans.

Edited February 4, 2018 by SMSACE6

[Gopher1934]

We live in Minneapolis Minnesota have been on 37 cruises often we fly overnight day of the cruise

arrive Fort Lauderdale around 5am day of the cruise. never been a problem. We did it 2 weeks ago going to do it again in two weeks..

By flying in night before cruise it gives us options if we had to get a early am flight because of a problem. as far as weather we get plenty of snow and cold but they do forecast for that and can change flight if needed. We also have come in many times the day before and rented a room for $200 per night.

[SMSACE6]

and that is a great option for people living in the United States, or near a border to a fairly big US airport. But for us up here in Canada, it is not a viable option. Hopefully some day we will also get enough airline competition here to be able to do that.

[insighttoronto]

One thing to consider is how many times flights per day an airline has to the embarkation city. I will book with an airline which has multiple flights per day vs an airline which only has one flight per day. I always arrive at least a day before, but if there is a mechanical issue with a plane, then I hope it would be easier to transfer to a later flight with the same airline.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

We've been on 13 cruises and always fly in the day of the cruise. We purchase travel insurance that covers the cost of changing flights or flying us to the first cruise stop. I know it would be a pain but not in the wallet. Take the cost of a hotel room over thirteen cruise and that adds up. We take our chances but are covered if we are late due to weather.

[titangas]

Great advice for retired people those with loads of vacation time and one on not so tight a budget.

 

In reality that is not most people though.

If you think about the tens of thousands of people who cruise every single week - I would be quite certain that the number who miss cruises due to flights are well below 0.01%.

 

You can reduce your risk even further. Take direct flights if possible. Fly reliable airlines with multiple flights in the same day. Avoid traveling in months through cities/to destinations prone to more severe weather.

 

I have flown in on day fo cruise on several occassions, I have also flown in early on several occassions. For example on 2 cruises from Tampa and 3 from Port Canaveral , took an early morning Southwest flight knowing full well there were options if need be to get there. While on my first Med cruise we flew in to Barcelond 2 days before, this summer we are flying in to Rome 4 days before.

[ColeThornton]

Great advice for retired people those with loads of vacation time and one on not so tight a budget.

 

In reality that is not most people though.

If you think about the tens of thousands of people who cruise every single week - I would be quite certain that the number who miss cruises due to flights are well below 0.01%.

 

You can reduce your risk even further. Take direct flights if possible. Fly reliable airlines with multiple flights in the same day. Avoid traveling in months through cities/to destinations prone to more severe weather.

 

I have flown in on day fo cruise on several occassions, I have also flown in early on several occassions. For example on 2 cruises from Tampa and 3 from Port Canaveral , took an early morning Southwest flight knowing full well there were options if need be to get there. While on my first Med cruise we flew in to Barcelond 2 days before, this summer we are flying in to Rome 4 days before.

 

Apologies for the nitpicking but I believe you mean "non-stop" flights instead of "direct". Direct flights can make stops.

[cb at sea]

The weather in YOUR city is not the only thing that can delay flights....if your plane is coming from elsewhere, and the weather or mechanical issues cause delays there...you're out of luck.

[titangas]

Apologies for the nitpicking but I believe you mean "non-stop" flights instead of "direct". Direct flights can make stops.

 

Even a direct flight minimizes risk.

No chance of missing a connection, or connecting flight not arriving due to weather, mechanical issues etc.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Friends and I were booked on a flight out of Boston to Tampa, with a connecting flight At JFK. Our connecting flight was canceled due to lack of crew. Thankfully our cruise was the next day, because the only flight to Tampa got us in after 11pm.

 

There were no issues with weather, only crew scheduling. .

[cruisegal40]

We were flying AA and had a mechanical problem. We were flying in a day ahead. Well, after many many delays. We left Boston at 3:00. Landed in NYC. Left NYC at 10:00 and got to Miami. Did not get into the hotel room until 2:00 a.m. Other people on our flight out of Boston had to be flown to the their next port as there was no way they were making their cruise the next day. Nightmare.

[Keith1010]

I am retired now but even when I worked we always flew in at least one or more days before the cruise.

 

Things happen and often they are things that are not even weather related.

 

Keith

[broberts]

We've been on 13 cruises and always fly in the day of the cruise. We purchase travel insurance that covers the cost of changing flights or flying us to the first cruise stop. I know it would be a pain but not in the wallet. Take the cost of a hotel room over thirteen cruise and that adds up. We take our chances but are covered if we are late due to weather.

 

I guess its personal preference. I prefer to spend a bit more and start my cruise unstressed. I really do not like the stress of flying in same day.

 

Based on reports found on these forums, missing a departure often means missing three or four days of a cruise.

[Keith1010]

The issue even with insurance is if the delay causes you to miss the ship you may not be able to get on or you may miss several days and if this is your one cruise for the year you've lost out on part or the entire cruise.

 

Keith