flying in day of cruise

[sammiedawg]

LOL...we are on Insignia next week. Flying in early evening two days before, so this time not staying the night in DTW.

 

Since Lyn has made her decision, I’ll do some thread drift and ask (I did already get ideas on the Eastern Departures Board)... where would you have an Italian dinner midtown (we’re near 45th west - Cassa Hotel) on a Sunday late? It’s an 41st anniversary. Butter is in the hotel, but looking at the menu...don’t know.

 

Becco on 46th street, very popular with theatre goers. We were there years ago. It is decent, not great. Still in business, which says a lot.

[sammiedawg]

Lyn, tell your husband to give NYC another chance. It is a great city and has been on a big upswing for a long time. It is my favorite place in the world to sail in or out of. Fly in the day before and stay in Manhattan for a change of pace.

If you must fly in the day of, insist on a very early morning, nonstop flight. Then taxi or Uber to the port. You should be OK.

[Paulchili]

Lyn, tell your husband to give NYC another chance. It is a great city and has been on a big upswing for a long time. It is my favorite place in the world to sail in or out of. Fly in the day before and stay in Manhattan for a change of pace.

If you must fly in the day of, insist on a very early morning, nonstop flight. Then taxi or Uber to the port. You should be OK.

 

As someone who spent a whole decade in NYC I agree with you. At the same time I know that it is a love it or hate it kind of thing - not much in the middle :)

[MisterBill99]

Becco on 46th street, very popular with theatre goers. We were there years ago. It is decent, not great. Still in business, which says a lot.

We ate there years ago. I thought it was good but my wife hated it for some reason. She still remembers that she hated it so we've never been back. They're still in business because the food is good and it's a great value (unlimited servings of 3 pastas).

 

But it's much further west than they will be. Carmine's is closer as is the place I mentioned on 5th Avenue.

 

We did eat at a very nice (and reasonably priced) French place on 9th Avenue and 44th Street a couple of weeks ago -- Marseilles. We really enjoyed it.

 

Not sure how this has gotten so off-topic.

[LHT28]

Lyn, tell your husband to give NYC another chance. It is a great city and has been on a big upswing for a long time. It is my favorite place in the world to sail in or out of. Fly in the day before and stay in Manhattan for a change of pace.

If you must fly in the day of, insist on a very early morning, nonstop flight. Then taxi or Uber to the port. You should be OK.

I am sure it will work out ok

 

as i said unless they close the airports we should be fine

 

 

we try to avoid big cities since living outside of Toronto for many years it is just hard to get used to all the hub bub now

 

I am old & cranky & DH is worse :halo:

[LHT28]

It’s an 41st anniversary.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

 

Enjoy the cruise

 

 

Lyn

[Paulchili]

 

I am old & cranky & DH is worse :halo:

 

Lyn,

I know better - you are nothing like that.

At least you weren’t when we cruised together - maybe a little older (as we all are). :D

[LHT28]

lyn,

i know better - you are nothing like that.

At least you weren’t when we cruised together - maybe a little older (as we all are). :d

lol

[m1k2s3]

We fly out of Toronto too as we live in a small town, about 1 1/2 hour drive to the airport. The fact that we have to drive through Toronto to get to the airport, there can be traffic/accidents delays and in April you can get any kind of weather. I’ve missed a flight because of a freak snow storm and once there was a mechanical problem that meant a 3 hour delay.

 

I’m a bit of a worrier so I don’t take any chances now - we always fly in atleast the day before

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[LHT28]

well aware of the Toronto traffic

 

yes the 401 is a nightmare at the best of times

 

took us 2 hrs in light rain for what is usually a 1 hr trip good thing we left a lot earlier than we needed

 

 

 

for a morning flight we stay at the airport hotel so a quick trip to the terminal in the morning

[drwong]

This might be a good time to take a look at your travel insurance policy to see what kind of trip delay coverage it provides. And make sure you bring a copy in your carry-on, because it usually provides toll-free numbers to call for assistance, and you'll have the terms and conditions in black-and-white just in case the call center tries to give you the old runaround! :-)

[MisterBill99]

This might be a good time to take a look at your travel insurance policy to see what kind of trip delay coverage it provides. And make sure you bring a copy in your carry-on, because it usually provides toll-free numbers to call for assistance, and you'll have the terms and conditions in black-and-white just in case the call center tries to give you the old runaround! :-)

That's a good point. I seem to recall that the Nationwide Cruise insurance did not cover missing the cruise as a result of flight delays due to weather or equipment (I forget which). I recall reading that someone missed their 3 or 4 night cruise and they could not catch up at another port so they missed their cruise and insurance did not cover it.

[LHT28]

This might be a good time to take a look at your travel insurance policy to see what kind of trip delay coverage it provides. And make sure you bring a copy in your carry-on, because it usually provides toll-free numbers to call for assistance, and you'll have the terms and conditions in black-and-white just in case the call center tries to give you the old runaround! :-)

DUH

Who doesn't carry their Travel insurance with them

Mine is already packed

[Go-Bucks!]

After getting to the ship just 30 minutes before sailaway on my 3rd cruise, I learned a life lesson on flying in the same day!

 

Doesn't matter that the odds are that all will be fine, crap can happen out of the blue. I wouldn't chance it and not sure why others would. ;)

[flygirl1420]

Another vote for don't chance flying in same day......I'm a retired AC Flight attendant, now working part-time greeting Alaska cruise passengers arriving in Vancouver.....EVERY single day of embarkation, there are guests that do not make the cruise due to delayed flights..many times these guests are arriving from Seattle, LAX etc....also, no one has mentioned the delayed and lost baggage issue.......EVERY cruise has at least one or two guests that arrive day of cruise with missing luggage.....If you are going to arrive day of cruise, at the very least have one or two days worth of clothes in your carry on......just my humble opinion...:)

[StanandJim]

.If you are going to arrive day of cruise, at the very least have one or two days worth of clothes in your carry on...

+1 I also double wrap the delicate electronics in my carry on, in spare, clean undergarments, these have saved my.......er...... bacon on more than one occasion, and on both sides of the equation. :halo:

[pinotlover]

Purely anecdotal, but on my last five (5) trips to Europe to catch a cruise, if I had flown in the day of the cruise, I would have missed the ship twice. Once for mechanical problems once because of weather. A thunderstorm shut down ORD for over three hours which resulted in our incoming connection arrived after our international flight departure! That meant we missed the last nonstop to our destination. That meant we had to find a new routing with a connection. Nothing worked!

 

Even from Toronto, or any City, beware rose cheap fares in airlines that only have one flight per day or a couple per week to your destination! This is especially the case with airlines not in large alliances.

[Hawaiidan]

Worth considering, that flying in the day before is good, it only is great for domestic flights that do not involve 4-5-6-7-8-9 hour time zone changes

I fly in from the PST to Europe 2 days early minimum just to have one day to sleep and diminish jet lag.

 

Otherwise, you start you cruise still whacked, even if you fly Business or First.. Time is a great ally or it can be an enemy. Dont fly in early and pack every hour before the cruise with stuff to see and do less is in the long run more..

[buggins0402]

On the other hand, we once experienced a total airport shut down on the day we were to fly home from a trip many years ago on NWA. A huge winter storm affected air travel from Chicago to mid Atlantic. People coming in to fly out late the next day had their seats after our home airport reopened to receive flights. But we were stuck for three days before they worked us into some open seats.

 

I guess what I am saying is if the event that causes major havoc (weather, computer systems) is on your flight day, the next day people may happily fly to their destination, while you are still sitting in the airport waiting for them to work you in. So yes, flying in early can help mitigate risk, but not eliminate it and in rare circumstances you end up losing.

[drwong]

DUH

Who doesn't carry their Travel insurance with them

Mine is already packed

 

You'd think, right? But I've encountered passengers who tried to be too clever for their own good and avoid carrying the extra weight by accessing it online, or took a snapshot of it on their smartphone. Internet connections aren't always guaranteed overseas, and have you ever watched someone trying to read a 16-page legal document via a 2"x3" window while they're on the phone with their insurance company? :')

 

And MisterBill raises a good point - read the coverage carefully to look for any exclusions. If you haven't already bought a policy, compare before you do - using a broker if necessary. And for some odd reason, the policy is cheaper if you buy it within 15 days of booking your cruise!

[LHT28]

OMG

 

What a bunch of doom & gloom people :eek:

What about all those other people that use Oceania air & fly in the same day as the cruise & make it

 

My goodness some fly to Europe to board the same day

 

Yes bad things can happen you can hit by a car walking on your street does that mean you should never walk on the street :rolleyes:

 

if we miss the ship too bad for us it is a risk we are willing to take

 

Thanks for all your chicken little stories

 

 

 

DONE NOW

[Wendy The Wanderer]

OK I know this is against my better judgement but just want to ask if anyone has had any issues in the past

 

We will be flying from YYZ to NYC next spring 1.30 hr flight time

 

Was thinking of just going in the same day but after reading this thread I am reconsidering

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2664024

 

 

Unless they shut the airports down I think we could do same day flight

 

comments ??

 

PS DH does not care for NYC sorry

we are in a small town & not fond of the rat race now

 

Too bad, we love NYC. If you're in a small town, how are you getting to Pearson? Is this on the same day too?

 

In the spring, I wouldn't sweat it, assuming you don't have a lot of travel to get to Pearson. Let's face it, there are lots of flights to NYC from Toronto every day. In the winter it would be a different story, obviously.

[MisterBill99]

And MisterBill raises a good point - read the coverage carefully to look for any exclusions. If you haven't already bought a policy, compare before you do - using a broker if necessary. And for some odd reason, the policy is cheaper if you buy it within 15 days of booking your cruise!

I haven't noticed that, but you do get extra coverage like pre-existing coverage if you book early.

 

I recommend talking to either tripinsurancestore.com (especially Steve) and insuremytrip,com when booking since they know this stuff inside out.

[martincath]

OMG

 

What a bunch of doom & gloom people :eek:

What about all those other people that use Oceania air & fly in the same day as the cruise & make it

 

My goodness some fly to Europe to board the same day

 

Yes bad things can happen you can hit by a car walking on your street does that mean you should never walk on the street :rolleyes:

 

if we miss the ship too bad for us it is a risk we are willing to take

 

Thanks for all your chicken little stories

 

DONE NOW

I'm sure that the stats are in your favour of an on-time-enough flight to meet the ship, so you shouldn't worry too much about it - but you did ask for "is this a good idea?" opinions, and you've been on the boards more than long enough to know how many folks here are 'fly in at least the day before' types;-)

 

FWIW, our only flight from YYZ to NYC for a spring cruise we were totally snowed in - as in, could not even tell which big lump of snow in the hotel car park was our car snowed in! I recalled it being in the spot at the end of the row, so dug out that car first - only to find that someone had parked outside the lines in the roadway! So that person got a free start on their digging out courtesy of me. It took a total of over an hour to dig out the car, then two more to dig back into our own driveway when we got home again.

 

Fortunately the storm hit while we were cruising, so it only delayed us on the way home - and our flights were actually all on time as the storm had passed over a couple of days before. Checking the news though, havoc was certainly played with flights all over the region during the storm, many cancellations and extreme delays. Given how often Toronto gets a big dump of snow in April, you do have some extra risk taking a same-day flight, but as long as you've booked enough of a buffer that your insurance will pay out then I wouldn't worry about it any more.

 

Maybe if you do get unlucky you'll get the silver lining of being stuck in New York and can give it another chance;-)

[MisterBill99]

OMG

 

What a bunch of doom & gloom people :eek:

What about all those other people that use Oceania air & fly in the same day as the cruise & make it

Well, in the case of the woman who missed her cruise on Friday, she's killing time before joining her cruise tomorrow in Halifax.

 

Of course if you use Oceania's air and want to fly in a day early to play it safe it's going to cost you a deviation fee unless you're high up in their club.

 

One thing I don't think I have seen mentioned here is that what you do may also depend on your itinerary. For this particular cruise, missing the ship means missing half the cruise. I almost missed a cruise many years ago on Celebrity out of San Juan using cruise air, they had booked us on a connecting flight thru Miami with a 30% on-time rating. Naturally it ran late due to equipment problems (with the jet bridge!) and we ended up being the last ones to board and were eating dinner when the ship sailed at 10pm. On that cruise, the first stop was the following day in Tortola, so missing the ship wouldn't have been a disaster.