If you fly in on the day the ship leaves....

[Dizzneefan]

how "close" do you cut it?  We have a cruise out of New York that leaves at 4:00.  We can get a flight that arrives at LaGuardia at 12:30.  We are considering the Carnival transfers to/from the ship but wonder if this time table would work.  

[Tapi]

Last time I flew to NYC (for work) last week,  my airplane landed at 12:45pm. I made it to my hotel in Manhattan right before 3:00pm, and that was with private chauffeured transportation and no stopping at baggage claim. Hopefully that will put things into perspective for you. 

 

Keep in mind that both LGA and JFK are undergoing A LOT of construction for the foreseeable for future. It’s a massive plan. LGA is building brand new terminals and JFK has one of its main runways closed for construction. This is causing a lot of congestion, not only in the air but also near the airports. Last month (on another trip), we waited over two hours just for takeoff because they were down to one runway on a perfect weather day. Last week, both JFK and LGA were issuing 5 hour hold for inbound airplanes. Hopefully that puts things into perspective even more.

 

Lastly, traffic can be horrific specially near the airport. Lots of detours and closed ramps due to the ongoing construction.

 

In my humble opinion, any flight coming in on the day of departure out of NYC is cutting it too close. That place is another world.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Tapi

[VentureMan_2000]

Well... the ship leaves at 4:00.  Carnival states, "All guests must be on board by the Final Boarding time printed on the boarding pass or they will not be permitted to sail."

So, providing your flight is not delayed, you should have 2.5 hours or so.

[buckeyefrank]

Not a chance I would do that!!!    I wouldn't do it at any port, much less NYC.  LaGuardia to the port terminal is (guessing) at least 30 minutes without traffic.  Fly in the day before and save yourself the headache.  You're asking to miss the ship.

[Dizzneefan]

Three replies and I'm  convinced already!  Going up the day before!

[BallFour4]

We did. Cruised to Canada from Boston a few years back and flew direct from here in Houston. We did pay for the Carnival transfers and I am glad we did. They held the embarkation crew for all of us on the bus. We had time to drop our carry-on luggage in the cabin and were late to muster.
 I made the decision to not fly in the day before as rooms in the Boston harbor area were $400 a night. Being cheap made my wife not a happy cruiser. It cost me good wine that night at dinner to right that wrong.
 .

[jbethel11]

Flying in the day before, to New York, into LaGuardia, but NEW YORK! I live in New York, and wouldn't leave the house later than 11:00am!

[Lottacruises]

......fly in very early. 

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, Dizzneefan said:

how "close" do you cut it?  We have a cruise out of New York that leaves at 4:00.  We can get a flight that arrives at LaGuardia at 12:30.  We are considering the Carnival transfers to/from the ship but wonder if this time table would work.  

If you are using Carnival transfers, they will tell you when the last shuttle runs.  If you miss that shuttle, you are in trouble.  They will not wait for you.  

If you are on that shuttle when it leaves the airport, you are fine.  

[sunonfire]

2 hours ago, Dizzneefan said:

Three replies and I'm  convinced already!  Going up the day before!

I’m glad you changed. This story will confirm your good decision.

 

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/08/08/gridlock-chaos-laguardia-airport/

[nwcruiselover]

4 hours ago, Dizzneefan said:

Three replies and I'm  convinced already!  Going up the day before!

A wise decision!  

[ober134]

We flew into LGA in June for a NYC weekend. Took an hour just to get an Uber, and another hour in traffic to Manhattan. Was at least two and half hrs from the time we landed (no checked luggage) until we arrived at hotel. Traffic terrible. Construction terrible. Glad you decided to go early.

[bplazo]

No way would I do it.  Almost every flight I have been on in the last few years have had delays.  I had my daughter's friend miss the first 2 days of a cruise because of a mechanical problem and they flew him out to cozumel to meet us.  Have travel insurance.

 

[xraymomma]

We did that several years ago, but we booked a flight that landed at 930am. Even with Carnival transfers, it was almost 2pm before we arrived at the port. No way I’d risk a flight that lands at 1230. Going in the night before will cost more, but you’ll be so much more relaxed. 

[Shaded Lady]

Dizzneefan- I think you're being smart flying the day before... not to mention you now start your vacation a day early in the city that never sleeps! You can do all kinds of things in one afternoon/evening there!

 

Personally unless I lived within 2 hours drive of the cruise port I would never leave the day of the cruise, never mind flying! I'm petrified of all the things that could go wrong! I know, I'm paranoid, but that's me!

[bbtbear]

I'm glad you changed your mind. I live in NJ and visit NYC with some frequency and would add to everything that has already been said about New York traffic that moving around in NYC on a deadline is absolutely exhausting and totally stressful. Even if you got to the port on time, you'd be ragged with worry about it. You're much better off flying in early.

 

[SNJCruisers]

11 hours ago, Dizzneefan said:

Three replies and I'm  convinced already!  Going up the day before!

Check out the East Coast Departures section of the board and they can make recommendations regarding hotels depending upon which airport you fly into.

[beshears]

I am only speaking for "myself," with all the cruises (15) I have done down through the years.  I know many people go in the day before, but I have never done this, and have never missed (leaving KC, MO) the ship, because I was late getting there.  The ONLY reason I missed the ship was because we were "stranded" at the KC, MO (MCI) airport.  That is why I never cruise in January or February, and wait until the latter part of March is over, because of the weather.  I will say, when I book a flight, I get a very "early" flight.  This way, I know what time I'm coming in, and how long it will take for transportation to get me to the ship as well.

[RWolver672]

1 hour ago, beshears said:

I am only speaking for "myself," with all the cruises (15) I have done down through the years.  I know many people go in the day before, but I have never done this, and have never missed (leaving KC, MO) the ship, because I was late getting there.  The ONLY reason I missed the ship was because we were "stranded" at the KC, MO (MCI) airport.  That is why I never cruise in January or February, and wait until the latter part of March is over, because of the weather.  I will say, when I book a flight, I get a very "early" flight.  This way, I know what time I'm coming in, and how long it will take for transportation to get me to the ship as well.

 

Things have changed in the airline industry the past few years.  Now just about every plane is overbooked.  Flights are delayed for maintenance issues, lack of crew etc.  United seems to be the worst.  Coming home from our last cruise, our flight out of Chicago was late getting in.  We raced to the next gate only to find that our next flight was delayed by one hour because of lack of aircraft.  One plane landed and they had to give it to another flight that was already three hours late.  Another plane landed and they gave it to us but unfortunately, the crew already had too many hours and we had to wait another two hours for a new crew.  Instead of getting home at 9 PM, we landed at midnight.

 

As an example of how things in the airline industry have changed, the first time I came home from boot camp in 1968, I flew from Chicago to Saginaw on a United 727 and I was the only one in coach.  The stewardess sat next to me on the flight.  It was a red eye at O'Dark Thirty in the morning.  Times sure have changed.

[jimbri]

14 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

Flying in the day before, to New York, into LaGuardia, but NEW YORK! I live in New York, and wouldn't leave the house later than 11:00am!

I live in NY also.  We take a 25 minute Metro North ride then a 10 minute cab crosstown.  So 35 - 45 minute travel time and we leave before 11 AM also!  Trains break down, gridlock happens.  Glad you are coming in the day before.  Enjoy!