Flying Same Day as Departure?

[nevis92]

Originally Posted by nevis92

Flying from Columbus with a connection in Cinncinnati and arriving West Palm Beach at 11:15 the day of our CB cruise. Renting a car at West Palm Beach, an hour drive down I-95, and dropping off at one of the off-airport agencies near the port. We are NOT checking bags so that should help. Did I mention that we'll have our two children with us?

 

There are so many things that could go wrong, I'm just asking for trouble.

 

Can't wait to see the updates on how this one goes!!:eek:

Here's the update you couldn't wait to see:

 

Our flight through Cincinnati was easy and we landed in West Palm Beach 20 minutes early. We reserved an economy car from Budget and they had none left so they upgraded us to an SUV. They have a program where if you drive less than 75 miles, you only pay a flat fee of $10.50 and you don't need to fuel-up before returning the vehicle. Worked great for us as we drove a total of 56 miles. We drove to Ft. Lauderdale, spent some time shopping at a few stores near the port, dropped our car off at Budget Quay Plaza, and were in line to check-in at 1:30pm.

 

Yes, we took a HUGE risk but were very fortunate to have EVERYTHING go our way. If we were cruising just one week prior, we would have missed the cruise because a snowstorm closed the airport in Columbus.

 

We are now docked at Crown Bay in St. Thomas. ROUGH SEAS this whole cruise!!

[NYHartChapp]

Save yourself the worry and arrive a day early. Just got off the Caribbean Princess and she was late in leaving on Sunday due to many delayed pax from storm in midwest. Even so, about 250 didn't make it and many boarded in St. Maarten.

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

We have learned almost the hard way... For us it's worth the extra $$ to stay in a 3* hotel for one nite to have the peace of mind that we will be on the ship on time. Last Nov we flew the day of to SanJuan - we had a snowstorm coming in and while we were early enough to get out of Boston we met several people who came from NY and actually just made the cut off at 10:00 pm after 5 hour delays - and there were people who met us at the next port - two days later!

 

Moral of the story is: do what you need to do for peace of mind - no sense getting stressed right before your cruise! One nite in a "less expensive" motel is worth it!

[PescadoAmarillo]

Here's the update you couldn't wait to see:

 

Our flight through Cincinnati was easy and we landed in West Palm Beach 20 minutes early. We reserved an economy car from Budget and they had none left so they upgraded us to an SUV. They have a program where if you drive less than 75 miles, you only pay a flat fee of $10.50 and you don't need to fuel-up before returning the vehicle. Worked great for us as we drove a total of 56 miles. We drove to Ft. Lauderdale, spent some time shopping at a few stores near the port, dropped our car off at Budget Quay Plaza, and were in line to check-in at 1:30pm.

What great news!!! Thanks for updating us, and enjoy your cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

That worked out well. :)

[Rockwife]

Our flight was delayed six hours for our cruise last week and we didn't land until 4:10pm. It was a combination of weather (snow in ATL following a day of 70 degree weather) and two different mechanical problems. Luckily, we flew in the day before and didn't miss the boat!

 

Flying just isn't like it used to be. With the extra security measures, extreme weather conditions, overbooked flights, etc., there are simply too many variables and potential problems. To me, vacation is a time to escape from worry and not compound it.

 

Happy travels!

[jff50]

We always fly in the day before. However, if it is the first flight out of Newark in the morning (i.e. the plane doesn't have to fly into Newark that day) and is a direct flight--it seems that there is less that can go wrong. I'd worry a lot more if there were connections to deal with--either the plane getting into Newark or making a connection between Newark and FLL.

 

Also, my experience is that you can almost always board the ship starting well before 1 PM (more like about 11 - 11:30) in FLL.

[shashi883]

My husband and I took a March 1st cruise out of San Juan on the Crown. We were scheduled to fly out early that morning and arrive at noon. Two days before our trip my husband checked the weater and a storm was coming our way. We changed our flight to the next morning and started our vacation a day early. I will never fly on the same day again. You never know what can happen with the weather or your luggage. Also, you are so much more relaxed on your first day of the cruise.

[ktmac]

Thanks everyone, for your responses. I think in the future we will always go a day early. As it turns out, we had to cancel this cruise due to my bf's mother falling very ill. Princess was so kind to help us out in the situation (plus the cruise was overbooked). Think we're switching to a 9 night from NY - no flights necessary!!!

 

But I agree-I think flying in the day before is always a good bet. I'm a worrier and wouldn't be able to properly anticipate the vacation with that weighing on my mind. Our friends are still going on that cruise...same flight. I pray all goes smoothly for them.