Ever missed the Ship because of flight???

[RetireeWannabee]

Yes, it has happened to me. It was May. Rain in Cincinnati delayed the plane that would come get us to go to Miami.

 

Don't risk it. At least we had bought air thru the cruiseline so they got us to first port with no money from us. But trust me, you don't want that situation. Don't risk it.

[sjcruiser]

A day or two in advance, especially during winter months.

[Gonzo70]

Last November we had "choice air" meaning they would have to get us to the next port,

 

Not sure where you got that information, but it is not correct. While they say they will "help" you if your flight is canceled/delayed they say any additional expenses are on you and they warn that the tickets they use tend to be highly restrictive and can't be endorsed to another airline or used to be rerouted (i.e. they are consolidator class tickets). They may give you advice on another flight you could take to meet the ship at the next port (assuming a PVSA violation would not occur), but you would have to buy the new tickets out-of-pocket.

[funat55]

We always fly in the day before. And, call me crazy, but even though we are a one hour drive from Los Angeles, we drove in the day before and stayed at a nice hotel the night before our Mexican Riviera cruise. We had a wonderful relaxing evening and a nice dinner and got our vacation started one day early.

[rummenroman]

We have to fly from KC to LAX in January with a stop in Denver.

 

Denver. January. No way on earth are we chancing that one to a same day flight. Out the day before and spend an evening in San Pedro.

 

Just seems to me that flying to the port city on the same day is just begging for a Murphy Visit.

 

What Denver in January never gets 3+ feet of snow that shuts the airport down for days at a time :rolleyes::eek:

 

I have a nonstop from Denver to LAX, and flying in a day before. I refuse to spend my first cruise day worrying about anything other than getting to the pier to be the first aboard!

[Stags14]

If you were flying from an airport that had a steady stream of flights to your destination (say Newark or LaGuardia to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami) I would say go ahead and chance it if your husband insists. But how many flights are there from Buffalo to Baltimore?

 

Gosh how I wish that were true. Have you ever been weather delayed at JFK? It's ugly. And it's not likely you'll make the ship on time. You may get on a later flight... but you'll probably miss the boat.

 

If possible, getting down there the day before is a good idea. Last year I flew down for our cruise in March 2 days before (pricing w/ hotel and next day airfair made sense to go down 2 days prior). We had a pretty large weather system coming through (we had 20 minutes to get airborne - flight from hell for most pax on the plane)... our friends were leaving the following day which was 1 day before the cruise. They were flying out of JFK... not only did they not get down there a day before, but they couldn't get on a flight the next day either - the had to meet the boat in Jamaica on Wednesday!!!

[sergeant655]

i usually fly down a day or two before to acount for cancellations or flight delays like Weather, ATC, crew shortage or late, mechanical or the new form of delay i have experienced.

 

Baggage Delay:

 

With the Airlines charging for checked luggage, passengers are bringing bigger and more carry on bags so the overhead bins are all full halfway through boarding and then the airline has to start gate checking the rest of the bags for free which i also feel is not fair for people that have paid to check bags. I have almost missed a connection because of baggage delay, Only made it because it was delayed as well and the airline had decided to hold it for us since there was a fair number of people connecting. TSA and tAirlines can stop this delay be enforcing the carry on policy at checkin and security

[rummenroman]

TSA and tAirlines can stop this delay be enforcing the carry on policy at checkin and security

 

The problem with that, it's not a TSA issue. Why would they enforce a policy that they don't have. That would be like the porter at the pier scanning your bags for naughty room stuff before they let it go to the ship....that just doesn't make sense in my opinion!

[zaffydad]

The biggest issue here isn't actually the BUF-BWI leg, which in March can be bad enough. The bigger issue is this: in most cases (first flight of the day being the exception) your flight has to come from somewhere else. How's their weather? If it's Southwest airlines, which is one of the cheapest ways to get between BUF and BWI, consider that your flight might be coming from California or Las Vegas, where the weather might be fine... or it might be coming from Denver or Chicago, where the weather in March is every bit as dicey as Buffalo or Baltimore. The chance for delay or cancellation is huge.

 

It's a gamble... are you willing to risk the odds and pay the price if you're wrong? That's the question only you can answer.

 

I love Southwest's fares, but...

The past 3 summers ( not winter!) my niece has flown from Hartford to Balimore to visit. It is a 50 minute hop.

 

First year...flight cancelled after a 5 hour delay

2nd year...came in 4 hours late

this year...WOW! she was only 3 hours delayed!

 

Baltimore had some NASTY weather last year, right thru mid March...we just are not as "used " to it down here!

I would not risk it...

[linkerbink]

We always fly in the day before. And, call me crazy, but even though we are a one hour drive from Los Angeles, we drove in the day before and stayed at a nice hotel the night before our Mexican Riviera cruise. We had a wonderful relaxing evening and a nice dinner and got our vacation started one day early.

 

My sister and I did the same in April. We live about 90 minutes from the port in Bayonne, NJ but we left the night before and stayed in a hotel near the port. I-78 can be a nightmare: a truck accident just a few weeks ago tied up the interstate for much of the day. Had that happened the morning of our cruise, we could easily have missed the ship.

[swissmiss]

Wow, I loved all the answers, thanks.... it just reinforced what I know to be true, and what we will do. (ha ha ha).

 

Last January, I went on a cruise with my sister and daughter, and we were flying from Pearson in Toronto. It snowed all the way to the airport, we were 1 1/2 hrs. in de-icing, and when we took off, there was one runway open with just tracks down it. We later found out, we were the last flight to get out that day. I said to myself at the time, NEVER AGAIN.

 

So now, I just have to find a hotel in Baltimore for our pre-cruise.

[Lynnees]

We always fly from Buffalo. Tell your hubby you need to fly in the day prior. It's taking too much of a chance to fly in the day of from there.

 

I've seen snow storm in BUF while nothing on our side of the border.

 

Also, there are not that many flights to change to should you run into a problem of any kind - mechanical or plane not arriving from another airport on time. Anything.

 

BUF is a beautiful little airport that is badly under utilized and as such does not have many options of your plane is delayed.

[cgrout78]

We are in MN and learned our lesson on our honeymoon when we missed the first 2 days of our cruise due to flight delays.

 

Had to de-ice the plane leaving fargo...so missed our connection out of mpls..rerouted through dallas...yeah...bad day all around. So we hung out in Mexico for 2 days waiting for the boat to catch up to us! Funny story now, but we were in TEARS at the time.

 

I'll never chance same day again!!

[jeanscruise]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

 

We always fly in at least one day in advance, and I think it is well worth the extra cost. I hope you can convince your husband. Mine is thrifty and stubborn :D, but even he sees the advantages of flying in early. Have a great cruise!

[welshrich]

O dear, this is worrying me now, we have travelled the days before sailing on each of our 3 previous cruises, however, we are sailing Adventure OTS in november and due to work committments can only fly from Bristol (UK) to Malaga on the day of the cruise, we land at 10am and the ship departs at 5pm, I will have EVERYTHING crossed until I walk up that gangplank! Happy Cruising Everyone.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

:D :D :D :D

 

But these Wrona Moments DO make for some great stories, don't they? ;)

 

 

They are some of the best threads on CC!!!

Buy hey....yours are a very close second if not tied with Wrona! :D

 

***

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

 

 

Buffalo + March = DISASTER! :eek:

 

Husband is wrong ---wife is right = argument at airport - priceless! :D

 

There have been so many stories here about missing the ship due to missing their flight. Anything can go wrong, weather, mechanical or just being delayed could cause you to miss the ship.

 

I hope you can get your DH to fly into post the day before! :)

 

***

[bigque]

We fly in the day before! Paying for a Hotel overnight at the port is a whole lot cheaper than having to fly somewhere to catch up with the ship, which would be something we could not afford after already paying for the tickets to get to the port.

[SevenSeas1492]

Things never in your wildest dreams can happen. Several years ago, we were flying from Charlottesville, VA to NY on a beautiful summer morning. First, the plane had mechanical difficulties, and another had to be flown in. Delay #1. Then, hours later when we did get on the plane, we were told we would have to make a stop in Philadelphia to change planes. Off the plane, and after a short time, loaded onto another. After a long wait, the unbelievable happened--the truck fueling the plane ran out of gas and was blocking the plane from taking off! Delay #2. To make a long story short, a flight that SHOULD have arrived in NY at 2 p.m. arrived there around 7 p.m. Luckily, we were not going on a cruise this trip. The unexpected CAN happen, and this has taught us to never fly in for a cruise the same day it departs. Just my 2 cents.

[Queen of Oakville]

I think your biggest opportunity for delay - crossing the border. You never know what kind of delays you might encounter. I would cross at Fort Erie ...once you clear customs you have about a 15 minute drive to the airport. No tolls either! IF we have a super early flight and are travelling with the kids, we will pick up an airport hotel near BUF, but when doing that ... I'd almost rather fly down the night before to florida and spend the night in a warm climate eliminating all chances for delays.

 

I've done several winter flights from BUF - never had a problem. SW is known as the on-time airline for a reason, BUT with a winter flight, you never know when a snowtorm is going to hit.

 

I live in Oakville, so we are usually a 45 to 60 minute drive from Erie (depends who is driving!). Last week, we were caught off guard by all the construction which really slowed us down and set us back by 30 minutes. Fortunately, there was only a 2 car wait at Erie (though this was at 5:45 in the morning). Overall, Erie has the fewest delays.

[Lynnees]

I think your biggest opportunity for delay - crossing the border. You never know what kind of delays you might encounter. I would cross at Fort Erie ...once you clear customs you have about a 15 minute drive to the airport. No tolls either! IF we have a super early flight and are travelling with the kids, we will pick up an airport hotel near BUF, but when doing that ... I'd almost rather fly down the night before to florida and spend the night in a warm climate eliminating all chances for delays.

 

I've done several winter flights from BUF - never had a problem. SW is known as the on-time airline for a reason, BUT with a winter flight, you never know when a snowtorm is going to hit.

 

I live in Oakville, so we are usually a 45 to 60 minute drive from Erie (depends who is driving!). Last week, we were caught off guard by all the construction which really slowed us down and set us back by 30 minutes. Fortunately, there was only a 2 car wait at Erie (though this was at 5:45 in the morning). Overall, Erie has the fewest delays.

 

I have to disagree with the bridge choice. The Rainbow bridge in the falls is usually quicker as there are no trucks allowed. At the same time, you will have to pay tolls on the U.S.

 

We live in Niagara so cross quite frequently. Have never had to wait more than 10 minutes at the Rainbow.

[Queen of Oakville]

I have to disagree with the bridge choice. The Rainbow bridge in the falls is usually quicker as there are no trucks allowed. At the same time, you will have to pay tolls on the U.S.

 

We live in Niagara so cross quite frequently. Have never had to wait more than 10 minutes at the Rainbow.

 

 

We've never crossed Rainbow, so I can't comment on that. How long of a drive is it to the airport?

 

At Erie, they have separate crossings for cars and trucks. On the car side, I've NEVER had more than 4 cars in front of me REGARDLESS of day or time.

 

My worst crossing ever was at Lewiston on Canada Day. After the "point of no return" we waited 5 hours to cross.

[Lynnees]

We've never crossed Rainbow, so I can't comment on that. How long of a drive is it to the airport?

 

At Erie, they have separate crossings for cars and trucks. On the car side, I've NEVER had more than 4 cars in front of me REGARDLESS of day or time.

 

My worst crossing ever was at Lewiston on Canada Day. After the "point of no return" we waited 5 hours to cross.

 

Lewiston is terrible. I hate it. At the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, you still have to wait behind trucks until you are on the other side. That can take a long time before they veer of to the right.

 

Rainbow Bridge is right in Niagara Falls. It's maybe 1/2 hour at best from there. Just 2 tolls that have to be paid.

 

At the Peace Bridge we've been held up for a couple of hours especially if people are coming from the casino.:p

 

Any crossing before 7 AM is going to be pretty good. Very seldom do you get held up. We usually book our flights out between 6 - 9 am so we are over before the rush really gets going, but if it is a long weekend - look out - the only one you're going to get across quickly is the Rainbow.

[debandbill]

Heck folks...I live approximately three hours from any of the Florida ports and I still go a day early most of the time. I just always envision some type of major disaster on the interstate that would keep us from being at the port on time.

 

Cruises are supposed to be stress free...why fly in the day of unless you just have to??

 

Deb

[Ontherocks47]

We are cruising out of Baltimore in March, and I think we should fly down the day before, in case we run into bad weather..... but Hubby says the same day is fine. We are flying out of Buffalo, which can be bad.

 

I had flight problems on the return from a cruise out of NYC once, due to weather all flights were very delayed, and lots of cancellations. We were booked on a noon flight then offered to be rebooked on a 7pm flight and that wasn't even a guarantee, we were standby. Since we live in the DC area and a 5 hour drive we rented a car and drove home. The one way rental wasn't that expensive, $300 or so and split 4 ways. The airline refunded our "non-fundable" return portion of our tickets.

 

But weather issues aside, yes flying in one day early is a good rule of thumb in general for any cruise. However, there's other factors that might make it better to fly in 2 or 3 days early. If you're flying a heavily traveled route with frequent flights, take NY-DC for example flights leave about every 1/2 hour alternately between several airlines, and its a 35 min flight. With that you could probably fly same day, again weather issues aside. Then you also have as I mentioned above, renting a car as a back up or Amtrak. But if you're flying to Europe, those flights are mostly all redeyes leaving in the evening arriving the following morning. So if you should miss your transatlantic flight you will be delayed 24 hours at least, not just a 1/2 hour or 2-3 hours like you would getting NY from DC. Just another factor to consider other than just 1 day early.