Should we fly the day of or the day before the ship leaves?

We are cruising at the beginning of November. We will be flying from ATL to either FLL or MIA. Our ship leaves at 4PM so we need to be on board by 2:30 at the latest. I found a flight on southwest that leaves the day of departure at 6AM we should land in FLL at 8:05AM. Would y'all risk it or find a flight the day before?

If you look around the board, you will find many discussions on this topic. Some (like us) are always in favor of arriving the day before. Others will adamantly insist flying in the day of your cruise is of little or no worry. Only you can judge if you wish to take that risk.

That being said, you do have a reasonable time cushion if you take the 6am flight.

Will your ship be leaving from FLL or MIA?

Canadian so weather is a factor. Flight with snow can get delayed so always go the day before in winter. just did Alaska out of Vancouver. Flew in day of and took the sky train. was there early. so from ATL you can probably fly day of but I would book early so that if flight is cancelled you could still make it.

We generally leave for a cruise the day before departure. But in March due to heavy snow we left the morning of the cruise (7AM) from JFK and got to MIA in plenty of time. But in the future we still would leave the day before .... fewer worries.

We always arrive at least one day early. A 6:00 AM flight from ATL sounds like you will need to be up about 3:00 AM to get to the airport in time for check-in, TSA, etc. -- not the way I would choose to start a vacation.

I will always fly in the day before a cruise. Direct flights can be delayed or cancelled. If that is the case, you may or may not be able to board another flight that will arrive in time. I've had bad experiences with flight delays and cancelled flights (even direct), so there is no way I would ever risk missing a cruise by flying in the same day. Probably the only way I would ever do it is if I knew I could drive to the port and still make it if my flight was cancelled.

Odds are leaving on a direct early flight will be no problem. My son was booked on a very early direct flight once and it got cancelled the night before. They could not put him on a different flight that would have arrived in Houston in time for his flight out of the country, so my husband had to drive 10 hours overnight. Not fun, but we learned our lesson. If we had been out of driving distance, he would have missed his second flight completely.

Yea, I am also part of the 100% fly in the day before. A 6:00am departure also puts a real damper on the first day of the cruise.

Early November in ATL and MIA/FLL is probably one of the least risky times to fly with weather, but it can be more than weather. My wife was taking a cruise with her family out of Vancouver (before we were married) and was flying MIA-LAX-YVR. Her flight from MIA was delayed 3 hours due to mechanical and then catering issues. She was flying in the day before though. So the airline get her a new flight the next morning and booked a hotel for her. No problem. If that would have been flying in the day of, she would have had to figure out how to meet the ship and her family at the next port in Alaska.

That being said. A 6:00am departure out of ATL to MIA/FLL is probably the least riskiest flight there is.

We always arrive at least one day early. A 6:00 AM flight from ATL sounds like you will need to be up about 3:00 AM to get to the airport in time for check-in, TSA, etc. -- not the way I would choose to start a vacation.

The above would also be our big concern -- having to get up so early to get the the Atlanta airport for a 6:00 AM flight! :eek:

I follow Murphy's Law, that if anything can go wrong it will go wrong eventually. Being a Weather and Oceanographic forecaster I know that Weather can change fast, planes can breakdown, or not show up at all. Have been delayed twice by Planes that couldn't start their engines because of a computer problem that delayed my flight from 3 hours in Honolulu and 13 hours in Spokane. Wish you Good Luck!

Remember, your flight may be departing ATL but only the Good Lord knows where it originated. Does your plane fly from Newark to ATL and then to Florida? There could be weather issues where the plane comes from.

Remember, your flight may be departing ATL but only the Good Lord knows where it originated. Does your plane fly from Newark to ATL and then to Florida? There could be weather issues where the plane comes from.

The good thing about a 6:00am flight. That plane usually comes in the night before. So delays are known well ahead of time if for some reason that plane can't get to ATL by say 5:00am.

Though of course, there are some red-eye arrivals in the morning but typically very few that early for domestic flights.

I don't like stress and always fly the day before my cruise sets sail. I always take an early morning flight to give myself some wiggle room as I sail in March and am flying in from Boston. But that's me, you need to figure out what works best for you.....you probably will be fine with that same day flight, but why not start your vacation a day early, stress free.,.,... have a great cruise.

If you have the time and budget, I'd fly in a day early. Relax in town,have a nice dinner and get a good night sleep. You'll arrive fresh on your boarding day. No fun having to crash early on the first night.

Go the day before and pray that's enough.

We are cruising at the beginning of November. We will be flying from ATL to either FLL or MIA. Our ship leaves at 4PM so we need to be on board by 2:30 at the latest. I found a flight on southwest that leaves the day of departure at 6AM we should land in FLL at 8:05AM. Would y'all risk it or find a flight the day before?

If possible ,2 days before.

Our last cruise out of Fla was leaving on a Monday afternoon . We were traveling with 2 other couples .We were all coming from different areas .We had a flight scheduled to leave 8AM on Sunday. Due to horrible weather conditions the plane did not leave till 8PM . We got off the plane at 11:20 only to find out that the hotel's shuttle bus did not run after 11PM .By the time we arrived at the hotel it was nearly 2 AM.

I don't care if it is Winter, Summer, Fall or Spring. If you are flying I always recommend arriving a day or more before you cruise. Things happen. I have seen most of them causing flights to be delayed or cancelled which could mean you miss the ship. Just a few examples include:

Mechanical Issue

Lack of sufficient flight personnel

Security breach at airport

Security breach on plane

FAA computer issue

Airline computer issue

I would arrive early the day before so you have other options for flights should you encounter issues with your original flight.

Keith

flying out of San Francisco, weather never seems to be a problem, the only advantage of coming a day early, is the chance of having a real deli meal in florida, plus cut down on the stress, and its only MONEY.

flying out of San Francisco, weather never seems to be a problem, the only advantage of coming a day early, is the chance of having a real deli meal in florida, plus cut down on the stress, and its only MONEY.

Other advantage is to increase your odds of not missing the ship if all the other things that are not "weather related" cause you to miss the ship. :cool:

Keith

Always, ALWAYS, fly in at least the day before you board. You will be much more relaxed and ready to begin your cruise. Not to mention the hassle of dealing with a late plane arrival to your port. The cost of a one night hotel stay is so worth it.

I'd go either way. If you can't miss work or you need to be in ATL for some reason, fly day of. Chances of missing your flight are pretty darn small and if you do, well, that's life. If it's only to avoid hotel stay in Florida, then I'd fly the day before. Hotels are cheap. Consider if something happened catastrophic the day before with your flight, you could always drive from ATL overnight and still make the cruise - day of, and you have no options.

Another reason why we fly in at least a day before embarkation is the possibility of lost luggage!

A couple of years ago, we cruised out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. We flew in the day before and arrived at 2pm - but my suitcase didn't make it. It was stuck in Miami where we had a connecting flight from Toronto. I was so stressed. Fortunately, the suitcase arrived at our hotel around 8pm. I was overjoyed! Had we flown in the day of departure, my suitcase likely would not have made it to the ship on time as sail away was at 7pm. I had baggage insurance but running around trying to buy some last minute makeshift outfits wouldn't have been my cup of tea. I'm a bit of a fashionista and pre-plan my cruise vacation outfits very carefully! LOL!

And, as others have stated, weather is only one factor that contributes to airline delays. In April we were delayed in ATL for 5 hours because our crew was short one flight attendant!

In our opinion, flying in the day before is definitely worth it!

And, as others have stated, weather is only one factor that contributes to airline delays. In April we were delayed in ATL for 5 hours because our crew was short one flight attendant!

 

Yes, there may well be other factors. I was returning from Korea on a National Guard charter flight. We landed in Fairbanks for fuel and servicing. After six hours of sitting on the plane, the Chief Steward announced that our flight would be delayed for at least two more hours because it was short 50 of the cartons of milk required by FAA regulations. (IIRC, we had 250 cartons and we only short 50.)

Fortunately, the NG Colonel, Aircraft Commander, knew his job and overruled the chief steward and we departed on time. Funny thing, there wasn't a person under 18 on the aircraft.

I would check with the cruise company and see what they might offer for a flight. I only state that as you might be surprised at the cost but also they guarantee to get you there. I know that things could happen and you don't make the ship on time but my understanding is that its on their dime to get you to the ship at some point.

For the most part, we go out at least 1 day early before cruises for all the reasons that people have stated but because we are so close to Vancouver, we have flown the day of when the cruise was out of Vancouver. Each time, the cost was reasonable when we flew with arrangements from the cruise line and thankfully we got there as expected.

Because Atlanta is so close to Miami or Fort Lauderdale, you might get a reasonable deal from the cruise line and maybe some piece of mind.

The cruise line will not guarantee that you will not miss the ship if the flight is cancelled.

I think you are far better controlling your own destiny by booking the flight yourself.

Keith