Always fly in at least a day prior to your cruise!!!

[Janet Foster]

Our cruise to Alaska is on Saturday. We are on our way to the airport. Plane just happens to be delayed 1 1/2 hrs... We might not make our connection. No worries. We have lots of time to get there. ... This is a good lesson to be learned for anyone who is flying to their cruise port!

[Keith1010]

I agree with you 100%.

 

Have a wonderful time in Alaska.

 

Keith

[Janet Foster]

SWA pulled this one out of the bucket and did a plane swap. It works out for us this time. Don't let this happen to you!!!

[isujim]

Have a great cruise Janet!!!

[paul929207]

Our cruise to Alaska is on Saturday. We are on our way to the airport. Plane just happens to be delayed 1 1/2 hrs... We might not make our connection. No worries. We have lots of time to get there. ... This is a good lesson to be learned for anyone who is flying to their cruise port!

In addition to the hassles of missing the ship, there is also the stress when you worry about making it. Flying in early eliminatates this worry

[LarryL]

That's one of the best pieces of advice for a new cruiser. Getting in at least a day early makes so much sense.

 

Have a great cruise. If you get a chance, have dinner at Ivar's on pier 54 downtown. A long standing great place to eat.:p

[sjcruiser]

I agree, it alleviates the stress of missing the ship!!!

[RollTideRollRich]

Which is why I'm getting in 2 days before my cruise! That and I've never been to Barcelona, so I want some tourist time!

[mitsugirly]

There are so many post and so many horror stories about people flying in the same day as the cruise and having a delay causing them to miss their ship. Don't be a statistic...fly in at least a day prior.

[GORDONCHICK]

Which is why I'm getting in 2 days before my cruise! That and I've never been to Barcelona, so I want some tourist time!

 

 

For me, 2 days is a minimum for international flights! Takes me a little to adjust to the jet lag/time zone issues. But it takes me 1-2 weeks to readjust back to the home time zone!

[cruzeluver]

Much thanks to the OP for posting. This cannot be said enough. Every week it seems someone comes to CC looking for reassurance that its ok for them to fly in the same day as departure.

[RYMOMA]

ha

i am driving to my port in november and thinking of going the night before.

in normal driving conditions, going to NY should be less than 4 hrs.

 

but in november??? who knows what mother nature can drop on us..

[Emmaizzy]

We are flying the same day!

 

Why didn't the TA warn us! She booked our flights.

 

And the flight company - BA won't change them.

 

If we miss the ship we will have to fly or drive to Pisa! At least we are very well insured!

[MrsPete]

We're close enough to drive, but still we insist upon arriving a day ahead of time! When we were driving down to Florida for our first cruise, we ran into a traffic jam and literally sat on the interstate for more than two hours (a tractor trailer truck had flipped and burned on the road). People were out of their cars, walking around, talking to one another.

 

We kept saying to each other, "Thank goodness we're not boarding today. Thank goodness we're headed to a hotel tonight, and our biggest problem is that it delays our dinner."

[Christmas cookie]

Made plans to fly into Seattle two days prior to the cruise. Can't wait to see Seattle before boarding the ship for Alaska. Anyone else on the Princess Golden August 6th to the 13th?

[Happy ks]

The question is asked so many times here on CC by first time cruisers and the majority of us always say to fly in the day prior. There are other times when weather conditions exist that 2 days prior is advisable.

 

If you're going international, 2 days is just about a must as you need to acclimate to a different time zone.

 

We like to go a step further and stay over a day or two after the cruise. No rushing off the ship and to the airport if we can help it.

[luv2beachkansascity]

Now I am worried we are scheduled to leave on the day our cruise sails in November and we are flying from Kansas City via Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale . . . Changing it cost a fortune we may try to do stand by the afternoon before and get in the evening prior to our ship sailing.

 

Yikes wish I would have seen this thread much sooner or thought of it - I figured we would be good if we land around 11:30am on sail date.

[Jimnbigd]

Also, even if your flight is on time, occasionally airlines lose luggage. (Who knew? :rolleyes:) So if you fly in a day early it gives the airline a day to find your luggage and get it to you before you board the ship. It also gives you time to shop for stuff just in case the airline does not find your luggage.

[Gonzo70]

Now I am worried we are scheduled to leave on the day our cruise sails in November and we are flying from Kansas City via Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale . . . Changing it cost a fortune we may try to do stand by the afternoon before and get in the evening prior to our ship sailing.

 

Yikes wish I would have seen this thread much sooner or thought of it - I figured we would be good if we land around 11:30am on sail date.

 

At least you have a couple things in your favor: November generally does not yet have snow, but also does not have many T-storms - so long flight delays are less likely than warmer and colder months. Also you are scheduled to arrive morning, so have some room for delay. The bad thing is that you have a connecting flight, so that doubles your chances of something going wrong. A long delay on either flight puts you in jeopardy. For the future definitely try to arrive at least a day in advance, and if flying day of try your best to avoid connecting flights.

 

I do not think airlines permit people to fly standby the day before, but only day of (and most airlines charge for this now - either a flat fee and/or the difference between the fare you paid and the current fare of the flight you want to change to).

 

At least the odds are in your favor of making it in time, but next time you will be better prepared. :)

[Steviewonder1]

Always fly in the day before the cruise and take in some of the local scenery. We have enjoyed a day early in Seattle (2x) on our Alaska Cruises, Montreal Ca. on our first Canada/New England cruise, and are doing it again this September for our Quebec City cruise. We are flying into Montreal so we can visit that wonderful city again and arriving by car into Quebec City for an extra day there eventhough the ship stays the first day there. This gets rid of anxiety and helps the airline get your lost luggage to you. Some flights are limited in times that you will have to go a day early. Me I don't want to take that chance of missing the ship.

[arewethereyet]

My wife and I sometimes fly in the same day as the cruise. It depends on the port of embarkation and the time of year mostly. Our last cruise was in May. We flew direct from Orlando to LA, arriving about 7 hours before departure. That isn't a problem. We almost always fly direct, or don't go. If we can't get a direct flight to our destination (Orlando to Quebec City for instance), then we build in a day or two on the front end. In any case, I avoid connecting domestic flights like the plague.

 

Bottom line is we consider everything we can in order to make an informed decision. I'm much more concerned about being delayed on the drive from where we live to the Orlando airport, than I am about most flight delays. We frequently drive over the day before and stay close to the airport at a hotel that allows us to leave our car at the hotel. After 23+ years, this plan is still working. :)

[Front Row]

Flying in the same day is not always a disaster. It all depends on your circumstances. We flew in the same day on our last cruise, BUT (big but) we flew non-stop, our flight was only 2.5 hours (LAX to YVR), we had a 7 hour cushion, many flights after ours out of LAX that could could have got us there in time and travel insurance. We were comfortable with our decision and it worked out fine.

 

Now our Caribbean cruise we had to fly cross country and change planes in Atlanta, that trip we flew in the day before. Our Tahiti trip was the day before as well.

[panoramaofthepast]

We flew into Barcelona a day early to meet up with relatives from England. The next day Atlanta shut down due to weather and at least 30 people missed the ship because of it. Now we always go in a day early, just in case. We just budget in the night or two at the hotel.

[Turtle_lover]

Ater reading all the posts here I am very glad that we booked our airfare the day before the cruise (even though its only a 9 hour drive away). We also booked the earliest flight available. We are cruising in March, and in our state ANY type of weather can happen, from 60 to a chilly 25 and ice. If worse came to worse and airlines started to cancel we could always drive :D

[janina]

We've arrived a day late due to airplane maintenances problems. Good thing we were flying in 3 days prior to our cruise. International we always fly a few days early, even with insurance, we wouldn't want to miss our cruise.