Buffalo Flight to Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale day cruise sets sail risky business?

[Aqua23]

Hello fellow cruisers!!

My family and I are sailing on Oasis of the Seas April 13 2013 :D

We booked a flight for all 8 of us with AirTran, out of Buffalo 6am departure April 13. We have a 2 hour stop over in Atlanta and then we are off to Fort Lauderdale arriving at 12:30pm.

I'm kinda worried we are cutting it close :confused:

Has anyone done this before? Please share your thoughts.

I'm considering changing my flight to the night before.

 

Thank You :)

[Corby114]

I would never fly down on the day of a cruise out of Florida, especially with a connection involved. If you can swing it fly down a day before and arrive at the port refreshed on the day of your cruise. My family and I have never missed a ship on embarkation day but I've read plenty of upsetting incidents regarding other Cruise Critic members since I became a member of Cruise Critic in 2002. Even if you make it to Fort Lauderdale on embarkation day there's a possibility your luggage won't. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the United States.

[smeck]

I wouldn't risk it. One delay and your cruise is in peril. Always risky to fly on day of cruise, especially with an connecting flight.

[yogimax]

Some of us have to fly in the day of the cruise. We have done so in the past to FLL without a problem, However, we have always flown non-stop from LGA.

 

If all goes well, you would be o.k. as there is no problem with a 12:30 arrival and the port is a very short cab ride from the airport.

 

I have no experience on Air Tran, however. Atlanta Airport is busy and ridiculous to change flights in but 2 hours is more than enough time.

 

Use your judgment... what would the additional cost be? Can you afford to fly in the night before and pay for a hotel? Only you can answer these questions.

[jakenashleysmom]

Plus you have to drive down from Toronto? I wouldn't risk it, and I wouldn't want to have such a looooonnnngggg day of travelling. We have done it in the past, but you pretty much waste your whole first night on the ship because you are so tired from getting up at the crack of dawn. Buffalo airport shouldn't be a problem, but Atlanta could be bad. Airtran is now part of Southwest so you should be able to switch your flight with no penalty.

[ctcruiser1721]

I would not trust AirTran with a layover if I had other options. That said, you already have so I wish you much luck.

 

The weather in early April is usually fine, but you never know.

 

We always fly in the day before. The only exception to this was my recent Liberty cruise but we had a direct flight from LGA and were prepared to pay the change fee and fly in ahead if bad weather was predicted.

 

All potential issues aside, I still prefer to fly in the day before as it really does feel like an extra day on the ship to me.

[Aqua23]

Thank you all for your input :D

I'm currently looking into changing my flight to the day before. I don't want to take any chances on anything ruining my vacation.

Could anyone provide me with a reasonably priced hotel?

Thanks again:)

[Bankshot]

Atlanta is the busiest airport in the WORLD and you should NEVER risk ruining your long awaited trip by travelling on the day of departure. Relax, go the day before and treat it like another vacation day. In Ft. Lauderdale we stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Griffin Rd., Dania Beach, which is close to the port and has shuttle service. We have also enjoyed Holiday Inn near this area.

[reney313]

I am one that would never risk it flying in on the day of the cruise. Maybe if I had a direct flight that was the first flight of the morning...but where I live that is impossible as we only have regional jets so we have to go through a main hub first.

 

Aside from the potential for a delay wrecking havoc, I also like to be well rested for the first cruise day. Leaving at 6am in the morning means you are up way earlier to get to the airport, checked in, etc. By the time you board the ship, you're nerves are full from the traveling and ready for a nap. In essence, I personally feel, you miss quite a bit in terms of energy level.

 

If you are able to change flights, I would recommend it. That being said, if everything goes well, you should still make the ship. As others have said, the airport is very close to the ship terminal. I've flown airtran a few times but never connected. 2 hour layover should be fine in case of delays from your home town. However, if your connecting flight is delayed, are there any other flights on airtran that could get you and your family into FLL in time? I think that would be my concern.

[BillsMafiaBabe]

I agree, it can be done but why put yourselves through the stress of flying in with connecting flights on departure day.

 

Dont know if you can switch or not, but Southwest has a Non-stop on the 13th leaving Buffalo at 7:30 into FLL at 10:35 at a very reasonable price ($120) - at least get rid of the connection worries.

 

I'm a big fan of flying in at least one day before, but we tend to cruise in the dead of winter. Good Luck with whatever you decide is best for you. :)

[bouhunter]

You shouldn't have to worry about winter weather delays in April. That said, we ALWAYS fly in the day before a cruse

[Tom47]

Thank you all for your input :D

I'm currently looking into changing my flight to the day before. I don't want to take any chances on anything ruining my vacation.

Could anyone provide me with a reasonably priced hotel?

Thanks again:)

Hi

We like the Hyatt Airport North and use valuetrips.com to book We always fly in a day early. Good luck

Tom

[cruisenfever]

Thank you all for your input :D

I'm currently looking into changing my flight to the day before. I don't want to take any chances on anything ruining my vacation.

Could anyone provide me with a reasonably priced hotel?

Thanks again:)

You may find your answer here in the Florida Departures forum.

[ctcruiser1721]

Embassy Suites on 17th is where I always stay but for my upcoming Allure sailing they were booked so I went with Hyatt Place which I have heard good things about. Many have had good luck with Hotwire and there is an active thread on this subject right now. I'm on my phone or I'd copy the link.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Wow...as others have said I would never fly in day of cruise and absolutely never with a connection...

[JLC@SD]

Hello fellow cruisers!!

My family and I are sailing on Oasis of the Seas April 13 2013 :D

We booked a flight for all 8 of us with AirTran, out of Buffalo 6am departure April 13. We have a 2 hour stop over in Atlanta and then we are off to Fort Lauderdale arriving at 12:30pm.

I'm kinda worried we are cutting it close :confused:

Has anyone done this before? Please share your thoughts.

I'm considering changing my flight to the night before.

 

Thank You :)

The other potential problem flying in the same day is that the 8 of you may make it .......but all 8 of you may not get all of your luggage.

 

One time we flew into FLL and my brother's bag was not on board. Fortunately we arrived a day early and he was able to collect his bag the next day before we cruised.

[ducklite]

You shouldn't have to worry about winter weather delays in April. That said, we ALWAYS fly in the day before a cruse

 

In April you can face fog, wind, and thunderstorm delays, and you can face equipment related delays any time of the year.

[EVALUATOR]

You shouldn't have to worry about winter weather delays in April. That said, we ALWAYS fly in the day before a cruse

 

Sure. 0% chance of snow in Buffalo in April.

[B_Mc]

We made that mistake once.....ended up missing the first 2 days of our cruise and going through a nightmare "catch up". Same destination, same airline, same layover...

 

While I'm still not against flying in the day of a cruise, we stick to direct flights now!

[Corby114]

The Hampton Inn on Sterling Road in Hollywood, Florida is a nice spot for a quick one night pre cruise stay. It's extremely close to the Oakwood Plaza Mall that has a K Mart for any last minute items. There's also a Dave and Busters, Moonlite Diner, Sweet Tomatoes, TGI Friday's, Mc Donald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and the like a short walk away. It's only two miles south of Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood International Airport and only a few hundred feet east of Interstate 95.

[WillWorkForCruise121]

just a quick addition. We have had a couple of bad experiences with Air-tran and being stuck in Atlanta. In fact, there was one time that we were supposed to depart Atlanta at 9:00 AM after arriving from FLL at 7:30 on our way to Pittsburgh. Our flight out of FLL was delayed due to a problem with the pilot's seat, but we were on our way and thought it'd be close but we'd make it. We actually ran made it to the get at about 8:45 and were told they already gave our seats away! We had to watch the plane sit there for another 15 minutes and then depart.

 

We were unable to get stand by on the next three flights they had to Pittsburgh. We spent 0ver 9 hours in Atlanta and since it is Airtran's hub they had a big customer service center that I relentlessly visited angrily each time we were unable to get on a flight out of the airport. A sympathetic customer service person said they oversell the first few flights of the day knowing that they cannot acommodate all passengers, and that if you don't check in early in the day and get a seat assignment, and show up to the gate 20 minutes early, your seat is gone.

 

We wound up not leavng ATL until about 6:30 PM. which was about 9 and 1/2 hours later than we were supposed to I was not happy to say the very least. However if we had missed our departing cruise because of it, I'd be more than just upset.

 

I wouldn't trust airtran to get me anywhere on time routing through the chaos of Atlanta. If you can't fly direct the morning of the cruise I'd fly in the day before. In fact I'd fly in the day before anyway, it's a caution well worth considering.

[jakenashleysmom]

Sure. 0% chance of snow in Buffalo in April.

 

yeah, really! LOL:eek:

[Jim M]

Remember, embarkation day is Day 1. Do you want to take a chance of missing most of Day 1??

[allthatjazz]

I would definetly fly in the day before if its an option for you, I would rather be there early than late. Being from Buffalo it's not our airport you have to worry about, it's Atlanta and especially with 8 people. Good luck:)

[Tim,n,Sue]

Thank you all for your input :D

I'm currently looking into changing my flight to the day before. I don't want to take any chances on anything ruining my vacation.

Could anyone provide me with a reasonably priced hotel?

Thanks again:)

 

We fly out of Buffalo all the time and you are smart to change. The weather in Flo can be a nightmare even though the weather in Toronto is just fine. You can park at BUF airport very inexpensively.