Would you book this flight?

[belle907]

Have you checked flights from the other airports in the area to see if they offer better flight times that you would feel comfortable with? It seems to me that if you are asking for opinions on the flight that gets in at 12:30 then you are uncomfortable booking it. Shop around the different airports and different airlines for a better time.

[hubofhockey]

Cruise departs at 4pm. Direct flight (nonstop) from Washington DC to Tampa arriving at 12:38pm? Cruise is in May so no chace of snow/ice storm. Would you book it or is it too close a call?

 

I've booked flights that time of year that have scheduled to arrive around noon. If you see bad weather coming during the week, pay the airline the extra to change to a Saturday flight. I'm flying in the day before this time around. But that has nothing to do with any fear of missing the ship.

[lovecruzing]

Like a lot of people have said, for peace of mind, I would not do it. Coming back from our last cruise we were delayed for 5 hours at Newark airport because of high winds. Anything can happen. I always travel the day before just to make absolutely sure I am in the city the ship is leaving from.

 

Bevie

[JLC@SD]

Cruise departs at 4pm. Direct flight (nonstop) from Washington DC to Tampa arriving at 12:38pm? Cruise is in May so no chace of snow/ice storm. Would you book it or is it too close a call?

 

I would not chance it......too much of a possibility for the flight to be late.........missing luggage........or traffic on the way to the ship.

 

We flew into FFL four times..........once had to divert due to weather.......and another time they could not unload luggage due to lightning near the airport........we waited 3 hours to get our luggage.......and all flights were delayed.

 

We always fly in the day before.

[Chexmix]

:eek: We have a flight from Raleigh, NC to Fort Lauderdale that leaves at 10:00AM and arrives at 12:30PM on the day of the cruise. After reading this thread, I am tempted to make a change and arrive a day early. Our cruise is March 23, '08. My wife is more worried than I am. I am more of an optimist.

 

 

Tripdaddy - I think you should change your flight if possible. The day you are flying is Easter Sunday. Lots of people either going home or trying to get to family. Airports will be crowded and I'm sure there will be delays.

 

To the original poster - I had one experience where I flew in the same day. Luckily, I had puchased air through carnival. They did hold the ship for us. We boarded at 4:10 pm. Everyone else was doing the muster drill. We were supposed to arrive by 1:00 pm but due to mechanical delays we were late. Just my opinion. Also about the kids - do you have a friend they could spend the night with if you left a day early. Then the grandparents could pick them up from them.

[AandBmom]

I just checked quick with Southwest airlines and they have a few direct flights each day in May for $54 per way. Have you checked these out?

[Handsome58]

You leave no wiggle time for the unforseen to happen........we always fly in the day before......but 2 times we flew in the day of but left out of BWI on a 7 am flight.........last year we flew in 2 days early but our flight leaving from National was delayed like 2 to 3 hours....................it is not worth it to sweat your arrival time.......just fly out early the morning of your cruise...do not cut it close.....you may land in time but what if an accident has the highway closed etc......you just never know.........

[RoadTripFanatic]

yeah, sure..... ;)

 

My wife and I thought the same.....heavy rains, fog......missed the first night of the cruise and it cost an extra 500$.:eek:

 

I wouldn't do it.

 

LOL! You got a good deal! We missed our connecting flight because of fog! (I will never do a connecting flight again on the day of a cruise) and it cost us $1500 plus a hotel room! We had to fly home from Memphis and then deal w/ all of the stuff. NWA messed up our tickets and so DH had to run to the airport at 6am the next morning to correct our tickets. He couldn't purchase our txs because it was less than 3 hrs before an international flight and he did not have our passports. I called from home and lucked into getting a hold of someone at Continental. (Hurricanes were blowing FL apart at the moment. Our cruise left out of Houston) I booked three txs to Cancun and booked our hotel on line too for that night. OH and to top it off the day we missed the cruise they lost our luggage!! We had to go back to the airport again that night to pick it up. They couldn't guarantee it would be delivered to our house by 9a.

 

As for flying the day of the cruise if I have a non-stop flight I will do it. I will never do a connecting flight the day of a cruise. To many variables there and an expensive lesson learned. I think your 1p time is a little close. They are now saying that all Carnival passengers have to be on board 90 min. before the cruise. (New Port regulations requiring the cruise lines to give some group..coast guard? a manifest of everyone on the ship.) I would recommend taking the earlier flight. Even if it is a little delayed you will still get there earlier than the other flight. Good Luck!

[slotaddict]

As long as the flight is non stop, I would do it and I have done it. Realizing that there is first time for everything, I would still do it. My budget or work schedule does not allow fllying in the day before.

Go for it.!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wennfred]

Cruise departs at 4pm. Direct flight (nonstop) from Washington DC to Tampa arriving at 12:38pm? Cruise is in May so no chace of snow/ice storm. Would you book it or is it too close a call?

 

 

Would I book this flight? Heck no, I'm the type that flys in a day ahead of time... just because its May doesn't mean that there won't be a Terrorist alert, Airplane Maintenance problem, Flight Delay, Overbooking, Flight Cancellations etc.

 

 

You are cutting it too close.

 

 

 

Fred

[krmckee]

I just checked quick with Southwest airlines and they have a few direct flights each day in May for $54 per way. Have you checked these out?

 

Thanks, I did but it only gave me one direct flight that gets me in at 2:40pm - too late.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice.

[Wennfred]

Read this Thread, came in this morning:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=720199

 

 

Fred

[krmckee]

Personally I would be a wreck with worry but that is my nature. If you decide to go for it just buy insurance that will cover the delay if there is one. It would be worth the little extra to have piece of mind. Have fun on your cruise!!!!!

 

Thanks everyone who responded to this thread. We booked the flight and added the trip insurance for peace of mind. With work schedules and leaving kids with grandparents, we just couldn't fly in the day before. Wish us luck! Can't wait for our cruise!!!!

[gill_boo]

So for all my past cruises I have flown in on the day off and not had to think. Now for my next I am most likely flying in the day before. What time can you logically get on the ship? What time should you head for Port Canaveral to get on at a decent time?

[boxer_mommy]

We took my parents on a cruise with us a few years ago. We flew down a day early (thank goodness we did!). We picked a mid-day flight so we got to Orlando around 5 PM. Well, guess what happened? My father's luggage didn't make the flight! :eek: Luckily for us, it did arrive around 11 PM. It would have been a terrible cruise if he didn't have his clothes.

 

We just returned last Saturday from a cruise. We flew down to FLL a day early (as we always do). I was smart and picked the earliest flight on JetBlue out of Dulles. We had a major mechanical problem with our plane and sat at the terminal for over an hour. It was awful, but I was okay about it because I knew I had the entire day and night to get to FLL.

 

We have always flown down a day early. Someone is bound to forget something and we have to always run out and buy it. Last cruise, stepson forgot his underwear. DH had to run to Wal-Mart. This cruise, stepson didn't pack any of his khakis and dress shirts for dinner. Again, had to run out and buy him clothes. Geesh! It's definitely worth the extra money for a hotel and peace of mind. IMHO.

 

Best of luck to you!

[cruiseaddict05]

[quote name='krmckee']Thanks everyone who responded to this thread. We booked the flight and added the trip insurance for peace of mind. With work schedules and leaving kids with grandparents, we just couldn't fly in the day before. Wish us luck! Can't wait for our cruise!!!![/quote]

We are sailing end of August and got really good airfare and booked it for the day of as well. We arrive in FLL at noon and sail at 4 our or Miami. I did the same thing asking for some advice for some peace of mind and that did not come with it:rolleyes: We are sticking with our flight based on $100 pp to change (plus hotel) and a few well wishers! ( I am hoping more people post negative experiences than better ones!)

Good Luck! And enjoy your flawless trip!:p