Flight arrival morning of cruise

[DirtyDawg]

4 minutes ago, thenexus2k said:

There is one other thing to consider aside from late flights: late luggage!

 

   In 2017 my wife and I took our 2 older daughters (16 and 18 at the time) on an 8 day southern Caribbean cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale. We had non stop flights from DTW to FLL, early morning the day before the cruise. The flight itself was fine, however we found that our youngest's luggage did not make it.

    The airline eventually found the bag (it somehow ended up in NYC), and got it to us, but it did not get delivered to our hotel until 5 am the next morning (day of the cruise). Everything turned out fine, but if we had flown in the day of the cruise....

 

.... your daughter would have had a great time shopping for new clothes!! 🤩

[thenexus2k]

10 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

.... your daughter would have had a great time shopping for new clothes!! 🤩

 

LOL, fortunately, having gotten in at noon the day before we had time to stop somewhere and buy some clothes JIC. I was the most worried about it. I was up most of the night checking with the front desk every few hours to see if the bag had arrived. (Airline had est 11 PM, then 1AM... bag showed up around 5 AM). Normally I would not be thrilled with my phone ringing at 5AM, but I was thrilled that time as I was able to start relaxing.  :) 

[MWBearFan]

One thing you have in your favor is booking through the cruise line as if something goes wrong they will assist you in getting rerouted and join the ship.  Not a fun scenario but it's better than missing the boat and having your vacation sail away without you.  Coast to coast is a long trek and things can and do go wrong.  Bad thing is that with your work situations that extra day isn't possible.  Flying in the day of would make me nervous, and a flight that long would have you wiped out by the time you got to the ship.  I can't really speak from experience as I've been on one cruise, my wife has been on two.  Our first cruise together was last October (we got lucky and had beautiful weather 90% of our trip) We actually drove 16 hours from Indiana to Orlando and stayed two nights in the Drury Inn near Universal.  Then the morning of drove the 3 1/2 hours from Orlando to port of Miami.  We have another cruise booked but are definitly planning on flying in the day before.  In our case it's a little over a 3 hour flight.  Our choice to drive (and we love road trips) wiped us out by the time we boarded.  Even two nights in Orlando as we spend one day with some friends there.  We were dragging much of our 4 night cruise.  If you can get an evening/night flight that would allow you to arrive the day before that would sure help even if that day is spent crashing/recovering.  Being refreshed as much as possible prior to boarding is ideal.  

[Amyracecar]

My first cruise with NCL we booked a package including flights, which arrived same day. I can't remember if it was directly with the cruise line or with a Travel Agent. 

Our first leg was an internal flight to London, with a two hour wait and then a flight to Barcelona. 

 

The first error happened with the initial check in, but I didn't discover this until later. We arrived at Heathrow and transit passengers needed to go through security again. Unforunately they only had one lane open. No worries I thought, plenty of time. 

Sadly, when we eventually got through to the other side we discovered that we'd only been checked in as far as Heathrow, and we'd missed check in cut off by about 10 minutes. Despite having at least half an hour to get to the nearby gate, they wouldn't let us on the flight because checked passengers had already been communicated to the captain etc. 

 

I literally begged the check in guy but he wouldn't let us on. Watching my flight take off without us is the most depressing sight. I called my insurance company, the cruise company, and neither were particularly helpful. They just said to go to the port and if we missed the cruise to contact them again. We were booked on the next flight, but that arrived with only about an hour until the cruise left. 

 

Second error. Because we'd been checked in halfway, our bags had only been checked in halfway too. Our new flight info appeared to have reached my suitcase, but not my boyfriend's. We wasted additional time at the airport reporting the missing bag, and by the time we left I had no hope that we'd make the cruise, it was well past time. It further didn't help that the taxi driver didn't speak English and we had to go through a lot of actions and drawings to get him to understand where we were going! (We hadn't planned for this as we were supposed to be getting the cruise transfers, normally i'd make sure I had the proper info to hand. It was back before the days of freely available Google translate!) 

 

As we arrived to the port I nearly cried to see that the ship was still there. As the taxi pulled up some staff literally ran/dragged us along security and radio'd the ship. It had just started to pull away, but thankfully we had a nice captain and he agreed to pull back in and let us on board. They put a little plank down from a doorway and we had to scramble up it with our suitcases, not very dignified with loads of people pointing and laughing as they had their sail away party!! By this point I didn't care though, the sense of relief outweighed any shame! 

 

We finally properly checked in at guest services who also gave my boyfriend a few t-shirts and toiletries. They also gave him free laundry for his clothes over the next few days. (The missing suitcase arrived 2 stops later) 

 

And the moral of the story is... Well, I suppose should be don't fly in on the day of a cruise. You'd think that, wouldn't you? I've done it at least 4 times since though! Maybe I like to live life on the edge!  😄 

(Actually, the one more important thing it taught me is that whenever I'm changing planes, cruise or otherwise, to make sure myself and my suitcase are checked into both flights at the first check in desk!) 

 

[bakersdozen12]

18 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

If the experiences of others didn't matter, why did the OP ask the question in the first place?

 

The OP has a choice.  They will make the choice that works for them. Not a fan of fear mongering. Folks drive and fly in the morning of the cruise all the time.

 

It doesn't appear that you understand the point I'm trying to make, so let me try to explain a different way.  To base your decision on other people's experience in this case is pointless.  It doesn't matter if a thousand people flew in the same day and made it.  Those experiences have absolutely nothing at all to do with what the OP's experience will be.  All it takes is a delay or a cancellation to be screwed.  If you fly in the same day you are taking a risk of missing the ship.  Period.  That's what the OP needs to decide on.  If he or she is willing to take the risk.  This needs to be dependent on what their own risk threshold is.  Can they afford to lose all of the money they spent on this cruise?  Can they afford to fly to the first port to catch up with the ship?  Do they even have a passport so that this is a possibility?  Will their "vacation state of mind" and ability to disconnect be negatively affected by the inconvenience of having to make alternate plans to meet up with the ship (i.e. will their vacation experience be "ruined" by the hassles they have to deal with)?  These are the questions that this person needs to be asking him or herself when making the decision.  Not base the decision off of what has happened to other people in the past.

Edited March 21, 2019 by bakersdozen12

[Cruisin sun and fun]

17 hours ago, bingomamma19 said:

We will also be on the Horizon this Saturday :):)

Can't wait. Heading to South Beach in the morning.  By chance are you on the facebook group for this cruise?

[bingomamma19]

Just now, Cruisin sun and fun said:

Can't wait. Heading to South Beach in the morning.  By chance are you on the facebook group for this cruise?

i sure am!!  Linda M

[Cruisin sun and fun]

3 minutes ago, bingomamma19 said:

i sure am!!  Linda M

Jeff W

[mrpayroll]

Past experiences mean nothing for flying day of cruise.

Edited March 21, 2019 by mrpayroll

[mrpayroll]

4 hours ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

It doesn't appear that you understand the point I'm trying to make, so let me try to explain a different way.  To base your decision on other people's experience in this case is pointless.  It doesn't matter if a thousand people flew in the same day and made it.  Those experiences have absolutely nothing at all to do with what the OP's experience will be.  All it takes is a delay or a cancellation to be screwed.  If you fly in the same day you are taking a risk of missing the ship.  Period.  That's what the OP needs to decide on.  If he or she is willing to take the risk.  This needs to be dependent on what their own risk threshold is.  Can they afford to lose all of the money they spent on this cruise?  Can they afford to fly to the first port to catch up with the ship?  Do they even have a passport so that this is a possibility?  Will their "vacation state of mind" and ability to disconnect be negatively affected by the inconvenience of having to make alternate plans to meet up with the ship (i.e. will their vacation experience be "ruined" by the hassles they have to deal with)?  These are the questions that this person needs to be asking him or herself when making the decision.  Not base the decision off of what has happened to other people in the past.

Well said. 

[fdwt994]

5 hours ago, Amyracecar said:

My first cruise with NCL we booked a package including flights, which arrived same day. I can't remember if it was directly with the cruise line or with a Travel Agent. 

Our first leg was an internal flight to London, with a two hour wait and then a flight to Barcelona. 

 

The first error happened with the initial check in, but I didn't discover this until later. We arrived at Heathrow and transit passengers needed to go through security again. Unforunately they only had one lane open. No worries I thought, plenty of time. 

Sadly, when we eventually got through to the other side we discovered that we'd only been checked in as far as Heathrow, and we'd missed check in cut off by about 10 minutes. Despite having at least half an hour to get to the nearby gate, they wouldn't let us on the flight because checked passengers had already been communicated to the captain etc. 

 

I literally begged the check in guy but he wouldn't let us on. Watching my flight take off without us is the most depressing sight. I called my insurance company, the cruise company, and neither were particularly helpful. They just said to go to the port and if we missed the cruise to contact them again. We were booked on the next flight, but that arrived with only about an hour until the cruise left. 

 

Second error. Because we'd been checked in halfway, our bags had only been checked in halfway too. Our new flight info appeared to have reached my suitcase, but not my boyfriend's. We wasted additional time at the airport reporting the missing bag, and by the time we left I had no hope that we'd make the cruise, it was well past time. It further didn't help that the taxi driver didn't speak English and we had to go through a lot of actions and drawings to get him to understand where we were going! (We hadn't planned for this as we were supposed to be getting the cruise transfers, normally i'd make sure I had the proper info to hand. It was back before the days of freely available Google translate!) 

 

As we arrived to the port I nearly cried to see that the ship was still there. As the taxi pulled up some staff literally ran/dragged us along security and radio'd the ship. It had just started to pull away, but thankfully we had a nice captain and he agreed to pull back in and let us on board. They put a little plank down from a doorway and we had to scramble up it with our suitcases, not very dignified with loads of people pointing and laughing as they had their sail away party!! By this point I didn't care though, the sense of relief outweighed any shame! 

 

We finally properly checked in at guest services who also gave my boyfriend a few t-shirts and toiletries. They also gave him free laundry for his clothes over the next few days. (The missing suitcase arrived 2 stops later) 

 

And the moral of the story is... Well, I suppose should be don't fly in on the day of a cruise. You'd think that, wouldn't you? I've done it at least 4 times since though! Maybe I like to live life on the edge!  😄 

(Actually, the one more important thing it taught me is that whenever I'm changing planes, cruise or otherwise, to make sure myself and my suitcase are checked into both flights at the first check in desk!) 

Wow!  What a story.  Glad you made the ship but this only solidifies my choice to NEVER fly in the day of. 

To the OP:  I wish you luck, if you can't fly in the day before, then you can't.  So hopefully the odds are in your favor, you make the ship with plenty of time to spare, and have a great cruise!

 

Quote

 

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by fdwt994

[Steve551]

On 3/20/2019 at 7:33 AM, Mem0ryEat3r said:

Does anyone have any experiences flying in the day of the cruise?

we know most people say to fly in a day earlier, but my wife and i are taking an 8 day Caribbean cruise on the magic and with total travel time we have maxed our vacation days from work and can not, unfortunately fly in the day before. its in october so we have time, flights are booked thru my carnival agent with the fly2fun program. we can change them if need be. 

 

both my wife and i are hoping we can get the extra day and change our flights, but if not, we want to hear some experiences to soothe our fears.  i used to fly a lot when i was in the military and i never had much problems, if any, with delays that were at all significant, but life happens. 

Unless we are cruising from overseas we almost always arrive the morning of the cruise - except NOLA, I like extra time in NOLA. In 2017 we chanced arriving the same day for a cruise out of Rome - all went well but it was a little stressful.  We are going back to Rome in Jan 2020 for a cruise but we will arrive 3 days early this time.

[2wheelin]

9 hours ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

It doesn't appear that you understand the point I'm trying to make, so let me try to explain a different way.  To base your decision on other people's experience in this case is pointless.  It doesn't matter if a thousand people flew in the same day and made it.  Those experiences have absolutely nothing at all to do with what the OP's experience will be.  All it takes is a delay or a cancellation to be screwed.  If you fly in the same day you are taking a risk of missing the ship.  Period.  That's what the OP needs to decide on.  If he or she is willing to take the risk.  This needs to be dependent on what their own risk threshold is.  Can they afford to lose all of the money they spent on this cruise?  Can they afford to fly to the first port to catch up with the ship?  Do they even have a passport so that this is a possibility?  Will their "vacation state of mind" and ability to disconnect be negatively affected by the inconvenience of having to make alternate plans to meet up with the ship (i.e. will their vacation experience be "ruined" by the hassles they have to deal with)?  These are the questions that this person needs to be asking him or herself when making the decision.  Not base the decision off of what has happened to other people in the past.

Other people’s experience IS the point. You can’t say they have absolutely nothing to do with the next persons experience. Sure, you can’t count on the same results but the OP seems to be smart enough to figure that out. If 90% of people are successful with something, it doesn’t mean you will be but it surely increases your odds. They were only asking other peoples experiences, since they are a little restricted in their options. How about giving them a little credit.

[Shaded Lady]

I've been lucky to live within driving distance of a cruise port for the most part over the last 20 years (FL & TX) but my first 2 cruises I flew into the nearest airport morning of the cruise without knowing the risks! Our first cruise was out of Toronto, direct to Orlando. We got a rental car, stopped for lunch and drove across I4 to Pt Canaveral, parked , got onboard at 3 PM with no issue.

 

That same scenario scares the bejesus out of me now! After living in FLA for 15 years the thought of taking I4 ANYWHERE you need to be on time for is scary! Plus we could have had a flat tire or engine trouble... or gotten lost! But God was smiling on us that day and we made it without issue... but I'm so risk-averse when traveling that I'd never do it again!

 

Our second cruise was out of San Juan which leaves late in the day to the risk was minimal and didn't set off my panic meter!

 

If I need to travel to a port more than 4 hours away (flying or driving) I'll always plan for the day before. I'm not saying everyone has to do it, I just know that my poor heart couldn't stand the stress of worrying about it for months before the cruise if we didn't!

[cruizergal70]

18 hours ago, mrpayroll said:

Past experiences mean nothing for flying day of cruise.

By that same token, this would mean that ALL past experiences mean nothing?

 

Whether flying in day of or not? Whether a good ship or not? Whether best time of year to cruise or not? See how that works?

 

I know folks are trying to be helpful, but thousands of people fly and drive in to destination ports the morning of every week.

 

CC wouldn't exist if the past experiences of others didn't matter.

Edited March 22, 2019 by cruizergal70

[DukeASUGirl]

We did it for our first ever cruise as adults (NCL Western Caribbean in 2004) because we really didn't know any better and due to logistics (we took the bar exam, then packed up our apartment for 2 weeks before driving across country to move from Arizona to DC -- we arrived on a Thursday night, quasi-unpacked and relaxed on Friday, and then flew to Houston to leave on our belated honeymoon cruise on Saturday morning -- the ship left that afternoon).

 

In retrospect, it was insanely stressful, but more because of how jammed in we did everything leading up to the cruise, not because of flying in that morning. That part was pretty stress-free, actually. We took a cab to the airport, made our flight with no problem, landed, got our bags and hopped on the shuttle from the airport to the cruise terminal. Sure, we weren't one of the first people on the ship (our preferred boarding location now) and missed the whole "eat lunch on the ship!" thing, but we really didn't even know that was a thing. Sailaway was at 5; I think we were on by 2. We grabbed a snack and ordered drinks and lounged by the pool, after stopping at our room to drop our things because our room was ready by the time we boarded.

 

We've never done that since -- we always fly or drive to port the night before.

Edited March 22, 2019 by DukeASUGirl

[deliver42]

I live in Fl, about 4 hrs from Miami, and drive down the day before and stay at a hotel. Get up morning of cruise relaxed and not tired from the drive. The only 2 ports I drive the same day are Tampa and Port Canaveral. When I lived outside of Florida, flew in the day before.I know you would probably be OK, but it's the probably part that worried me.

[jsglow]

So I find the 'driving early - I might get a flat tire' calculation interesting.  Sure I'd leave extra time.  I might even go the night before, especially if the motel had a 'stay and park'.  But I don't see the 4 hour driving time risk as anything at all compared to a cross country flight with a plane change.

 

That's one thing you Floridians really benefit from.  Appreciate your ability to hop in your car on Saturday morning at 8a and be eating a Guy's burger by noon.  Frankly, it's one reason we never do a cruise fewer than 7 days.  The logistics from the Midwest, while not a nightmare by any stretch, are still challenging none the less.  I can't tell you how stressful it was to get the 'FLIGHT CANCELLED' text last month exactly 30 hours before MarQ started our sailaway party.

[DukeASUGirl]

2 minutes ago, jsglow said:

  I can't tell you how stressful it was to get the 'FLIGHT CANCELLED' text last month exactly 30 hours before MarQ started our sailaway party.

MarQ was our cruise director on the Inspiration in October. My kids LOVED him!

[jsglow]

2 minutes ago, DukeASUGirl said:

MarQ was our cruise director on the Inspiration in October. My kids LOVED him!

 

He's on the Magic now.  Really good guy.

[ZoeyVictoria]

3 hours ago, deliver42 said:

I live in Fl, about 4 hrs from Miami, and drive down the day before and stay at a hotel. Get up morning of cruise relaxed and not tired from the drive. The only 2 ports I drive the same day are Tampa and Port Canaveral. When I lived outside of Florida, flew in the day before.I know you would probably be OK, but it's the probably part that worried me.

 

Last year we drove to Boca Raton for a cruise out of Port Everglades the next day, not worried that our driving day would be the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  GPS said from Orlando to Boca Raton should be 2 hours 50 minutes.  It turned out to be over six hours, as both I95 and the turnpike were parking lots.  We would have missed the ship if we had tried to drive 4.5 hours the morning of the cruise.  Valuable lesson for us - we do not drive anywhere the Sunday after Thanksgiving, no matter how good the deal might be.

Edited March 22, 2019 by ZoeyVictoria

[kliffsgirl]

I am looking for an amazing Carnival PVP if anyone can recommend one.  I have one but do not like her at all. She doesn’t respond to my emails and when I ask her if she got them she will say “I did. You can call”. So if anyone loves their PVP please let me know. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by kliffsgirl
Forgot something

[kliffsgirl]

On 3/20/2019 at 2:17 PM, wemjam said:

I have done 35 cruises.  For the first more than 10 years I cruised I flew in the day of to save money and never had any issues.  Way more hectic and chaotic and you are exhausted by the time you get there.  For the last 5-8 years, we have flown in the night before.  We work the full day usually and then take a 7-8pm flight in from Michigan into Florida and get in 11-1am.   Which means we are dog tired!   But WAY better to come in tired, crash, sleep in have a nice breakfast and head to the port refreshed.

 

Could you go in the day of... absolutely!  Suggest you try to go in the night before even if it is a late, late flight.  Also gives you breathing room in case something goes wrong and you can't get out, you have the next morning to recover and get out on a different flight.  

Can you send me your Carnival PVP’s contact info please and thank you? I have one but do not like her at all. kristi.kassing@yahoo.com

[cruizergal70]

On 3/22/2019 at 12:59 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

 

Last year we drove to Boca Raton for a cruise out of Port Everglades the next day, not worried that our driving day would be the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  GPS said from Orlando to Boca Raton should be 2 hours 50 minutes.  It turned out to be over six hours, as both I95 and the turnpike were parking lots.  We would have missed the ship if we had tried to drive 4.5 hours the morning of the cruise.  Valuable lesson for us - we do not drive anywhere the Sunday after Thanksgiving, no matter how good the deal might be.

Isn't the Sunday after Thanksgiving the most popular travel day? After all, it as after a major holiday.  High traffic was to be expected. That was not an average Sunday.

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 minutes ago, cruizergal70 said:

Isn't the Sunday after Thanksgiving the most popular travel day? After all, it as after a major holiday.  High traffic was to be expected. That was not an average Sunday.

 

I lived in Naples for 17 years and was accustomed to a 90 minute drive across Alligator Alley to get to the ports.  I booked this cruise (which left on Monday) while I still lived in Naples, and just didn’t think about the fact that after I retired and moved to Ocala I would be leaving a day early and spending the night in a hotel closer to the port.  So I learned a painful but valuable lesson that day.