Flying in day of cruise again !!!

No flaming please...Just asking for any experiences.

We shall fly in a couple of days prior to a cruise we are considering. Daughter and son in law can fly in the day before but Son and wife would not get into FLL until 11.31am for a 4pm departure on the day of the cruise. They would clear immigration during the layover in New York. They are teachers so it is impossible to get there any earlier.

Due to work commitments, this is the only Princess Caribbean cruise we can all fit in, flying from UK.

We have flown into Dubai on the day of a Royal Caribbean cruise as part of a fly / cruise package and all went well. Recently I have read horror stories so am a little concerned.

If you've tried it, were you successful ? It's May, by the way if that makes any difference, hopefully no snow !

No flaming please...Just asking for any experiences.

 

We shall fly in a couple of days prior to a cruise we are considering. Daughter and son in law can fly in the day before but Son and wife would not get into FLL until 11.31am for a 4pm departure on the day of the cruise. They would clear immigration during the layover in New York. They are teachers so it is impossible to get there any earlier.

 

Due to work commitments, this is the only Princess Caribbean cruise we can all fit in, flying from UK.

 

We have flown into Dubai on the day of a Royal Caribbean cruise as part of a fly / cruise package and all went well. Recently I have read horror stories so am a little concerned.

 

If you've tried it, were you successful ? It's May, by the way if that makes any difference, hopefully no snow !

If cutting it is that close use Princess EZ Air.

There are unforeseen delays even on good weather days especially in NY

Howard

If cutting it is that close use Princess EZ Air.

 

There are unforeseen delays even on good weather days especially in NY

 

 

 

Howard

I agree. Or at least a 3rd party travel insurance.

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Assuming that they really arrive at 11:30, they'll have plenty of time to get to the ship. On the other hand, I sure don't recommend arriving the day of the cruise, especially international.

My daughter lived in London, so I've done a bunch of Heathrow to US flights. JFK is THE WORST. We reached the point where we would avoid Delta just to avoid JFK. We found it much easier to go thru Dulles or Charlotte, but I don't know if those flights would work for you. It was American thru Charlotte and I believe United thru Dulles.

Anything can happen on any flight to cause a delay. Our worst experience at JFK was when we were placed on 3 different planes before the captain canceled the flight. The first time, we flew for 45 minutes toward our ultimate destination when he announced a warning light required them to return to JFK. He said he believed it was a light problem rather than a problem with the aircraft and we shouldn't worry but there would be emergency equipment on the runway. We were transferred to another plane and there was something wrong with that one. And then we were put on a third plane which had a fuel leak. They tried to say it could be fixed, but the captain said that he wasn't taking that flight until he had a plane which had been totally inspected and cleared. We were offered a choice of the same flight the next day or transfer to LaGuardia for a flight the next day. We took LaGuardia!

Yes, I've flown in on a same day flight. The stress alone is a good reason to avoid doing this. My suggestions would be that you book it thru EZ Air and that you purchase travel insurance. If they miss the ship for any reason, they can at least be sent to the next port that will permit them to rejoin the cruise.

My other question is whether there is a later flight from JFK to FLL that would allow them to make it to the ship....just in case things don't clear at JFK as easily as you'd like. I'm not suggesting that they DO anything, but it is helpful to know that there is another potential flight just in case...... And please tell me that they have no mobility impairment or need for HA assist. That's another JFK horror story!

I've done it many times - all of them with successfully reaching the ship in plenty of time. I'd rather not do it this way, but with DH's work restrictions, we have to sometimes.

What I do is minimize my chances of not making it by having a good Plan B and Plan C in case something goes wrong. In addition, I also buy insurance and use EZ Air if possible but being from the UK, I think both of those options are already worked into your total price.

They should be fine, just have back-up plans prepared. Know what their next flight options are for their originating flight and their connection flight. If they can't make the ship, have alternative flights to the ship's next destination figured out. Good luck and have a great cruise!

What time of year is the cruise?

We usually fly in the day of the cruise, however, we fly out of Atlanta. Usually the first flight of the day. There are flights every hour going to FLL, Miami, or even Orlando. When all else fails we could drive if necessary.

Anytime during the winter is iffy when flying from the north. Any weather could delay the flight and connections.

I hope everything goes well for you.

we did a Baltic cruise this summer and flew in the day of the cruise. We scheduled a Princess transfer to take us from the airport just in case.

When we got to Copenhagen (where we were boarding) the customs guy at the airport said, hey more cruisers! There were tons of us and we all made it

Have your son and his wife call in sick. ;)

Are they staying the previous night in NY then taking an early flight to FLL? I wasn’t aware you could leave the UK to arrive in the US early in the morning.

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I imagine the last transfer available from the cruise line to the ship is around 11ish????.

Yes, I am one who almost always flys in the day of the cruise or land tour...I have done it so many times in the last 20 years from SNA or LAX to Europe,South America, NYC & FL I have lost count. Some have been non stop flights others have not ....We have been delayed several times...one time had to return to the gate twice, always am amazed how on those long haul flights lost time is easily made up(at least going east) and with no delay, arrival time is often way ahead of schedule.

As others say doing EZ air and a ship transfer if possible would certainly make you feel better. But they are the travelers.

I would not worry about immigration in at JFK, savvy travelers always make their connection and the airlines know what they are doing with immigration & their connection times.

I always smile when people seemed so adamant on CC about not flying in the same day......well, what do the cruise lines do? fly pax in the same day...so the odds are pretty good, aren't they? otherwise they would not do it.

I am sure all will work out.....

I've done it many times - all of them with successfully reaching the ship in plenty of time. I'd rather not do it this way, but with DH's work restrictions, we have to sometimes.

What I do is minimize my chances of not making it by having a good Plan B and Plan C in case something goes wrong. In addition, I also buy insurance and use EZ Air if possible but being from the UK, I think both of those options are already worked into your total price.

They should be fine, just have back-up plans prepared. Know what their next flight options are for their originating flight and their connection flight. If they can't make the ship, have alternative flights to the ship's next destination figured out. Good luck and have a great cruise!

I so agree with your A&B plan ..depends on where I am going...but on a last minute cruise out of Venice a few years ago we went LAX to Atlanta to Paris to Venice.......I certainly looked at other flights in case we missed our connections,However, I appreciate now with smart phones how you can receive an alert with reschedules,when they know you might not make it...Having 2 kids that went to school in NYC and one who lived in London ...I've done a lot of cross country and pond flights in the last 10 years from my preferred airport SNA,(Orange County Ca) so have had a lot of connecting flights. The stories to tell.........but seldom have missed flights........ have run across many airports and pleaded with airport personal, where there is a will there is a way.....even not speaking the local language.....when you look desperate people seem to respond.....

I've been on quite a few cruises, maybe 16 or so. For the majority of those, we flew in the day of the cruise. Arrived late morning, boarded the ship in the afternoon. Then we ran into the one time it almost all fell apart. We were running around LAX trying to get standby on another flight since ours was going to be four hours late, late enough to miss the cruise. The people who had used PrincessAir were definitely more relaxed than we were. We got another flight and made the cruise, but it was close. After that we started flying in the day before, especially if we had to go overseas, just for our own peace of mind. That being said, we never had the same problem again. So I think most of the time, it is a safe thing to do. Definitely use the Princess EZ Air. You should be safe with that.

Believe is our not our first cruise with Princess in '98 to Alaska we booked air with the cruise line, back when there were no choices.....u took what u got...our flight from LAX to Anchorage on Alaska airlines had a mechanical problem.....when we finally arrived in Alaska, Princess was waiting for us at the airport...and zoomed us and another couple to the Dawn..as we rushed on board who should be their to greet us but the Captain saying they were waiting for us....... things have sure changed...:D I am sure we would have been left today the ship departure was 1.5 hour later, than planned....just for 2 couples.....

It is not an issue of "flaming." If somebody cuts it that close they need to have a little luck. Late flights are very common and those folks will have little time to spare. As far as third party insurance, nearly all the trip insurance policies specify (in the fine print) a minimum time between scheduled flight arrival and required time to be at the port. In many cases it is 6 hours (or more). They should look for insurance that will allow the 4 1/2 hours. Using Ez Air might be helpful, but even that will not guarantee they make the ship on time....although it will help getting to the next port.

Hank

I just find that the stress level isn't worth it. If I fly in on the day of a cruise, I have to be up well before dawn because my level B airport doesn't have direct flights to anywhere except places like Atlanta and Cincinnati which are airline hubs. To get anywhere in Florida, I have to do a connecting flight...which means anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on the layover and that my first flight will leave between 6 and 7 am. I get to the airport and hope that the cruise line didn't mess up on the accessible transportation (Princess gets it right!) Bottom line, by the time I get to the ship, I will have been up since 4am and likely didn't sleep well the night before meaning that I'm boarding the ship tired and stressed out.

I find it much more pleasant to fly in the day before and spend the night in a hotel near either the airport or cruise terminal....have a leisurely breakfast and check out of the hotel by the standard check out time. I will be at the cruise terminal earlier than I would have with the same day flight, and typically will not be exhausted and grumpy.

The reality is they may make it but they might not.

Let's say it all goes well.

They get their luggage at around 12:15 PM and are off to the port and check in by 12:45.

With a 4:00 PM departure they have to be on board by 2:30 PM.

But let's say the flight is delayed due to weather in the UK, or weather in New York City or mechanical issues or so many other issues. Since they are stopping in New York and changing planes that adds more risk.

The reality is they might make it but it is possible that they miss it.

If this was me I would take another look at this to see if they can fly in the day before because of the risk involved.

I have been on way too many flights over the years with delays of a couple of hours and worse yet cancellations.

They don't have the couple of hours because of the boarding requirements.

Keith

I flew in day-of for my last two cruises, and will for my next one, just because of flight schedules. Every time I do it I get stressed out and swear I won't do it again. The last two times it went absolutely fine, and fingers crossed it will the third- but I always get a very early flight that gets me in hours before I need to. That way I have time for a plan B.

However, they have all been short haul flights and doing it long haul would make it very very nervous indeed. Especially as they only have an hour or two wiggle room and they have a connection.

I'm assuming they can't book the BA direct flight from LGW to FLL that goes at 9am as they can't go until after work the day before? So they have an evening flight that connects in JFK sometime in the night/early morning? Ugh sounds tiring and stressful, not much chance to sleep.

But then again, if it's impossible to do it any other way then I'd take that risk.

If the flights are included as part of the “package” as we’ve always had when booking Princess cruises in the UK that require a flight, should the worst happen and you miss the flight, it’s up to Princess to get you to the next port (part of the UKs T&Cs). So it’s advisable for them to take contact numbers etc just in case.

I sincerely hope that your family make the flights with the least amount of stress and that you have a wonderful family cruise.

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Can they possibly just do carry on? Maybe all the rest of you could take some of their things so it would be possible. That would save them a few minutes & they wouldn't have to worry about luggage getting lost or delayed.

We have been on 37 cruises gone in day before on about 1/2 of them and the other 1/2 day of.

We live in Minnesota take a midnight flight arrive in Florida about 5am and wait about 3 hours then go to the port.

I prefer traveling day of the cruise. we are able to have enough time to get a early am flight if we had too.

Next cruise will be this next Sunday.

If cutting it is that close use Princess EZ Air.

 

 

I second this ...and purchase travel insurance as well. That way, Princess or the insurance, if they delayed enough to miss the ship, will get them to the next port of call.

BTW, the FLL airport is very close to Port Everglades, so the only delays that they might experience are with the flight itself.

I won't do the day of without EZ-Air. Taking a last minute flight or charter boat to the next port could cost as much as the cruise itself.

We have had delays coming in the day before and have just barely made it onto the ship in time the next day. You just never know when the lights will go out in Atlanta or a huge storm will move up the east coast.

As noted, luggage can also be an issue. You may make it but your bags don't leaving you to enjoy the cruise in your one and only T-Shirt and jeans. We take one carry on and check luggage if flying the day of. Everyone puts a few items in the carry on just in case your bag doesn't make it.