Fly in day before or day of sail?

[cruiselubbers]

I'm flying from Boston to Fort Lauderdale the day of the cruise. I have a 7:40 am flight that will get me in well in advance of the cruise even boarding. My flight gets in at 11:10 am and the ship departs at 4 pm. I feel very safe even if Jet Blue has problems (and they have a couple other flights going out that would get me in on time).

 

I guess I'm the only one who "breaks the rule" about flying in a day before. In any case, I guess a lot depends on where you're flying out of and what time of year you're going. If I saw bad weather coming, I might change my flight a couple days before to get out earlier. But I don't want to spend an extra day at a hotel.

 

 

Well we're trend breakers to here I guess! We'll be flying in that morning! Our flight leaves out of Greensboro at 6:00 with a 30 mins layover in Charlotte with us arriving there in Tampa at 9:26am. I feel pretty confident that I used a good airline, Usairways & good airports! I feel pretty certain that even if there were 2 one hour delays...1 for each flight, we would still be ok! Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so.

 

Be blessed, be a blessing!

[truecruiser]

no sense in risking it if you can swing a one night hotel stay. build the cushion in. you'll be much more relaxed.

[Jayfo]

OK! I'm convinced!

I was really not wanting to stick the kids with Grandma for another night but I guess it would be worth it in the end to leave earlier and come back as happy parents!:rolleyes:

[hubofhockey]

Well we're trend breakers to here I guess! We'll be flying in that morning! Our flight leaves out of Greensboro at 6:00 with a 30 mins layover in Charlotte with us arriving there in Tampa at 9:26am. I feel pretty confident that I used a good airline, Usairways & good airports! I feel pretty certain that even if there were 2 one hour delays...1 for each flight, we would still be ok! Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so.

 

What I don't like about the idea of getting in a day early is moving around all that luggage for two days straight when it's not necessary. You're also at a (airport) hotel and paying and eating hotel food (dinner at the least and breakfast the next day) and then sitting around waiting the next day until the afternoon to get on the ship. To me, it's a waste of a day and a decent amount of money. I just assume save the money and the day before packing the car and double checking everything. Once I'm at the airport, everything's easy. Get the luggage, get a cab, and head to the ship. :cool:

[SouthernCaribbean]

What I don't like about the idea of getting in a day early is moving around all that luggage for two days straight when it's not necessary. You're also at a (airport) hotel and paying and eating hotel food (dinner at the least and breakfast the next day) and then sitting around waiting the next day until the afternoon to get on the ship. To me, it's a waste of a day and a decent amount of money. I just assume save the money and the day before packing the car and double checking everything. Once I'm at the airport, everything's easy. Get the luggage, get a cab, and head to the ship. :cool:

 

Why would you have to be at a airport hotel and forced to eat airport food????:confused: I love to fly in early get a Priceline or Hotwire 3* room for around $60. I have seen so many people upset because they missed the ship or had to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight and by the time they get to the ship they can barely make it through dinner without nodding.

 

But, its a personal choice. Extending a vacation is always a plus to me, It's just part of the vacation.

[hubofhockey]

Why would you have to be at a airport hotel and forced to eat airport food????:confused: I love to fly in early get a Priceline or Hotwire 3* room for around $60. I have seen so many people upset because they missed the ship or had to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight and by the time they get to the ship they can barely make it through dinner without nodding.

 

But, its a personal choice. Extending a vacation is always a plus to me, It's just part of the vacation.

 

Not airport food - hotel food. I assume at $60/day, you're not staying at a nice hotel on the beach. If you have a family of four and are paying for a couple of meals, add in $100. Also add in cab fare to the airport unless you like waiting around for hotel shuttles. Sitting around waiting at a $60 hotel is not my idea of extending my vacation. But to each his own.

[cruiselubbers]

What I don't like about the idea of getting in a day early is moving around all that luggage for two days straight when it's not necessary. You're also at a (airport) hotel and paying and eating hotel food (dinner at the least and breakfast the next day) and then sitting around waiting the next day until the afternoon to get on the ship. To me, it's a waste of a day and a decent amount of money. I just assume save the money and the day before packing the car and double checking everything. Once I'm at the airport, everything's easy. Get the luggage, get a cab, and head to the ship. :cool:

 

 

Ditto my friend! I don't mind spending money but I'd rather spend the money on the cruise itself instead of the extra before stuff! Besides I do have 2 kids, 4 dogs, 1 cat & 4 hermit crabs that I have to have other people take care of while I'm gone! I personally do not like to bother anyone any more then I have too! For a complete schedule of who all has to do ask! By man it's a long read! Just trust me! Planning that is MORE then enough!

 

Plus last time we did a cruise we did a before & after stay and man oh my it did nothing but make things worse having to plan this that & the other & like you said the packing & unpacking! YESH! Not to mention imagine leaving your stuff at the hotel!! I don't think any hotels are going to air your luggage to an island somewhere just cause you forgot them! NOPE your out of luck there I'm afraid!

 

Thanks for making me feel sane!

 

Be blessed! Be a blessing!

[skuttduck]

If you book your flight with Carnival, do they automatically fly in the day before? I'm going to Europe and I figure they'd do an over-night flight.

 

Yes, for Europe they do an overnight flight. That is how they did it for us in 2005, and also how we are booked for May.

[claven]

Isn't a few hundred dollars (on a pre-cruise hotel) worth loosing out on a few thousand for a missing your cruise?

 

Dennis

[KRUISE KING]

I live in San Antonio and cruise out of Galveston alot the drive is about 5 hours (can be done in 4) so I figure if I leave no later than 8am Ill be there on time. I once got caught in a traffic jam about 75 miles out of Galveston. (all I have to say is there is no feeling like the one you get standing on the pier watching your 7 day cruise pull out and your not on it)we made the ship by the skin on my teeth I had to leave my car running at the terminal grab my luggage and run to catch the ship we got on and literally thirty seconds later the ship started moving. my best suggestion to you go in a day early you have more to gain and nothing to loose.

[RNCHHC]

We have done both day before and day of. Never again day of. We booked Celebrity air included, Knoxville to Atlanta to FLL. Delay out of Knoxville, delay in Atlanta made it to FLL luggage no where to be found Celebrity rushed us to the ship luggage to come via taxi. We boarded, 8 minutes later pulled away no luggage. Still had a great cruise. And yes I would rather not spend the money but the extra day of vacation and a lot less stress is worth it to me.

[CorbinCatFan]

Go the day before. Our 2000 Destiny cruise has made us never, ever travel the day of the cruise. We were to fly in early morning and arrive in San Jaun before 3:00 with the sail away in San Juan at 10:00 PM. We had made the same arrangements the year prior without incident.

 

We were to sail on Sunday and spent the night in a Lexington hotel on Saturday. Our problem wasn't weather or mechanical related. We were to fly from Lexington, Ky with connecting flights in Atlanta on to San Juan. We were in the ticket line to check our bags in Lexington when we found that the crew had called in sick (a limited strike). The ticket agents got us tickets from Cincinnati (about an hour north) with a tight connection through Dallas. But we should be in San Juan by 9:00 PM.

 

We got to Cincinnati in time to make our flight to Dallas. Got on board and taxied out to the runway. (We had about 45 minutes to make the connection in Dallas.) We sat at the end of the runway for 30 minutes.

 

Now our connection time was 15 minutes and we had to change terminals in Dallas. I knew that we had missed this flight by now. Once on the ground, we ran though the teminal to the train, made it to the terminal just to find out that we had missed this filght by 10 minutes.

 

Now we went to the ticket counter to make the alternate air arrangements. The best we could do was to fly back to Atlanta to make arragements for the next day.

 

In Alanta, we made arrangements to make a flight to our first port of call (

St. Thomas) before it sailed. We got a motel in Atlanta and made this flight the next morning.

 

We made it to St. Thomas, found our bags, and made our way by taxi to the port. Boarded the ship 30 minutes before the gangway was pulled. Not what we had planned for the first day's shore excurision.

 

We will never book a cruise agian when we have to travel the day of the cruise. We do have to travel to an airport from our home so hotels the day before is not a problem.

[TropicalisRex]

I think for my stress levels, the $79 hotel room sounds like a winner --- and that's precisely what we're doing. We don't need to eat expensive food. (Although food in airports and at the hotel isn't cheap, I know.) But everyone's stories make me think that I would be way too stressed out if I didn't get a hotel night before. :) The last day --- we'll just fly out in the evening.

 

But thanks to everyone for your stories.

[shan9700]

As an airline ticket agent and a season cruiser I always fly out aleast a day earlier. I also live and work in the Chicagoland area and do not take a chance with either weather delays, crew delays or mech. issues. Most of the time you might never have a problem and make your cruise with no problems. There's always the chance you make the flight and your bags misconnect. So take some stress out of your vacation and arrive the day earlier and relax. Have a good night sleep wake up and have breakfest and head to the port!

 

Plus it's really stressful when I have to rebook you when your upset and there are no flights to rebook on to get you to the cruise ternimal in time to catch your cruise. I personallt feel bad because I know what a great time you'd be having on deck with the drink of the day!;)

 

So tip of the day fly in the day before your cruise.

 

Shan9700:)

[gypsyrose]

I usually travel mid April and "shouldn't" have any weather delays (has anyone noticed the weather lately?) But...I like to start my vacation a day early. We try to get there by noon so we have the whole day to spend by the pool or the beach. Very relaxing. Wake up the next morn and look out the window and see our ship waiting on us. We grab a small bite to eat and mess around and go to the pier by 11. Wonderful start to a wonderful cruise.

[OhioJeff]

I think for my stress levels, the $79 hotel room sounds like a winner --- and that's precisely what we're doing. We don't need to eat expensive food. (Although food in airports and at the hotel isn't cheap, I know.) But everyone's stories make me think that I would be way too stressed out if I didn't get a hotel night before. :) The last day --- we'll just fly out in the evening.

 

But thanks to everyone for your stories.

 

I stay in hotels over 60-75 days a year and rarely eat at the hotel, unless someone else is picking up the tab, or its a free breakfast or buffet. Not sure why an earlier poster made it seem like you have to eat in the hotel. Most hotels are in close proximity to restaurants, both fast food and upscale. Or you can just order in...pizza, Chinese...etc.

 

Im arriving in NYC 3 days early and staying a day after, just to enjoy the city.

[zebra36]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

From Bloomberg.com this morning:

Quote:

Travelers yesterday experienced delays of as much as 8 1/2 hours. Airlines canceled about 500 flights at New York's three major airports, LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark International Airport, said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

 

 

This is always a tough decision and everyone must decide their own comfort level but even by leaving a day early is no guarantee as the folks on the "about 500" canceled flights are finding out. The airlines are only responsible for finding you an available seat and do not guarantee a seat on the next flight out.

[claven]

Ok, so your at your airport and your flight JUST listed as delayed/cancelled. They cite weather or mechanical etc...or whatever. (I know it makes a difference, but to keep it simple).

 

Who do you call or what do you do first. I have always tried to get in line first for the gate agent who seems to help, BUT should I call the airline customer service while waiting in line?

 

Dennis

[katt]

Just one more vote for the day before.

 

We always fly or drive in the day before EXCEPT for this last time 4 weeks ago. Since we were just going from Las Vegas to San Diego a whole 56 minutes with flights every hour we decided this once to chance it especially since we both had to work on Thursday and could not leave early.

 

Welllll our 9:20 flight did not leave until after 11 and I was biting my nails. We were fine but... the stress is NOT worth it. I should have known better - of the 8 flights I have been on in the last 4 months 4 were delayed and one was cancelled. Not a good track record.

[IndpdntChik324]

Ok, so your at your airport and your flight JUST listed as delayed/cancelled. They cite weather or mechanical etc...or whatever. (I know it makes a difference, but to keep it simple).

 

Who do you call or what do you do first. I have always tried to get in line first for the gate agent who seems to help, BUT should I call the airline customer service while waiting in line?

 

Call customer service ASAP. Can't hurt. Unfortunately, I was recently in this awful predicament a few months ago when going to visit my husband before he was leaving for Iraq. Flight was indefinitely delayed for high winds, I was guaranteed to miss my connection, and sure to be at least 1 day late to see him. I waited in line for about 4 hours (back of line, of course, and only 2 attendents for 4 flights worth of irate passengers), but was on the phone with customer service the whole time. Took a good 2 hours to get through to customer service, but they had me on the next flight out and had rescheduled my connection for the next morning before I was even half way through the line. However, I couldn't convince anyone at the airline to cover the costs of meals and a hotel room for that night.

 

I understand that there are few things worse than missing a cruise ship, but believe me, the thought of not getting to see your husband before a 15-month tour in Iraq is one of those few things. Luckily his flight to Iraq got postponed a few days and we got 3 days together.

[OhioJeff]

Another bonus of flying in early is the opportunity to take advantage of a free ticket by giving up your seat on an overbooked flight. I have only gotten this about 5-6 times, but its a nice way to start a vacation.

[shan9700]

claven,

 

Definately call the airlines 800 number while your in line waiting for either a gate agent or a ticket agent. With flights being booked so heavy and over sold when flights get cancelled or delayed it's hard to accomadate everyone on the next flight. This could be the difference between making a connection or getting rebook on a later flight. Also make sure they not only rebook you but get you seat assignments for thoughs flights. Another bag thing is alot of people fly out on weekend flights to cruise port. Well alot of airlines have reduced schedules on the weekends or fewer departures frequently.

 

So your best bet is to always fly down the day before a cruise. If you see they are projecting bad weather you might want to call the airline and change your reservation to leave even earlier. If that is possible.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Shan9700:)

[postal]

Fly in the day before. A lot of people have missed their ship because of delayed flights.

 

Good luck

[petro772]

Day before, day before, day before. ;)

[shabcruzn]

My whole family are big cheerleaders for going the day before, especially my sister. Sometimes it is not flights that could kill you, but other crazy things. On our Glory cruise, for example, my sister had left our license AT HOME--no photo ID whatsoever. Panick hit. Now without ID--you do not get on the ship. Thank goodness, we flew down the day before. I suggested to her to get someone back home to ship them overnight--her license arrived 11:55 am the next day--we were on the LIDO by 1:30pm!