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Fly in the day of the cruise?

CRUISING71

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oregand

oregand

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I suppose it depends where you are flying from, are there other flights out of the airport to FLL that morning so if something goes wrong with your flight. In other words have you a plan B?

 

We are flying Dublin to Barcelona the morning of our cruise but we did the fly/cruise package so it's all down to RC.

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Trainman-2

Trainman-2

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iagree.gif

 

Lots of people fly in the day of the cruise with no problems at all. And we never hear of their stories of success.

 

But some people post spectacular stories of weather and equipment problems and swear that they will never do it again.

 

 

Do you feel lucky?

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notsomadhatter

notsomadhatter

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Things I would normally consider for this scenario:

 

-Where are you flying from? How long is the flight, when is the next one out if you get trapped at your departure airport?

-What time of year (hurricane season? summer thunderstorms? snow? ice? wind?)

-Is it a non-stop flight? It's riskier if you have to make a connection.

-How will you arrange to get to the port from the airport? Check the timing and costs. Make sure you have an easy way to get there.

-What happens if you make it but some or all of your luggage doesn't? (See previously noted connections.) Cross pack and make sure essentials are in your carry ons.

-Do you have trip insurance? What will it cover in case of any of these issues?

-Does your family sleep well on airplanes? Are they prone to motion sickness? Will you all be a cranky mess the first day of your cruise? Is that worth it?

 

I understand vacation time is limited but if it were me typically I'd be willing to cut off a few extra hours the day before, get in late, but get decent sleep. I'd also be willing to spend a little extra on hotel to have less chance of stress.

 

We talked about all of these things for our upcoming cruise out of San Juan.

 

Good luck!

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varoo

varoo

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Things I would normally consider for this scenario:

 

-Where are you flying from? How long is the flight, when is the next one out if you get trapped at your departure airport?

-What time of year (hurricane season? summer thunderstorms? snow? ice? wind?)

-Is it a non-stop flight? It's riskier if you have to make a connection.

-How will you arrange to get to the port from the airport? Check the timing and costs. Make sure you have an easy way to get there.

-What happens if you make it but some or all of your luggage doesn't? (See previously noted connections.) Cross pack and make sure essentials are in your carry ons.

-Do you have trip insurance? What will it cover in case of any of these issues?

-Does your family sleep well on airplanes? Are they prone to motion sickness? Will you all be a cranky mess the first day of your cruise? Is that worth it?

All of the above, but in addition:

 

What alternate routing options are available as backup for getting to your destination if the next scheduled flight out won't work for you (full, or delayed, or cancelled)?

- for example, flights to MIA or PBI as well as FLL

 

And --

 

What are your options for catching up with the ship downline if you should miss it at the embarkation port?

 

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notsomadhatter

notsomadhatter

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You know I've never understood alternatives.

 

Say there is one. If you don't also book it the alternative will likely be sold out.

 

Keith

 

That depends on a ton of factors. If my mother in law was flying out of her tiny airport in Idaho in December, she'd be completely and utterly out of luck.

 

If we were flying out of Orlando with our usual airline with club membership in the middle of the summer when there are sometimes 10 or 12 flights to a given destination a day... more likely to have something "work out".

 

It seems like a comprehensive enough list that I would never be willing to risk it, even out of an airport with plenty of traffic. The stress would not be a relaxing way to start my vacation, even if nothing went wrong. Not everyone holds my opinion. :)

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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With all due respect the problem is that if you fly in the day of the cruise you no longer have those 10 to 12 flights you mentioned. Why? Because some have already left by the time you need them. And others leave too late. The reality is most flights are not only sold out but oversold.

 

We do agree. Don't fly in the day of the cruise. Too much risk.

 

Keith

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notsomadhatter

notsomadhatter

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With all due respect the problem is that if you fly in the day of the cruise you no longer have those 10 to 12 flights you mentioned. Why? Because some have already left by the time you need them. And others leave too late. The reality is most flights are not only sold out but oversold.

 

We do agree. Don't fly in the day of the cruise. Too much risk.

 

Keith

 

You are correct, that it becomes at best, improbable. My only point is that maybe not impossible.

 

We do agree!

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Tapi Great Review Rare

Tapi

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14 family members (including me) cruised last week. 4 missed their connection and were rerouted to New York City, spent an extra night there, to then catch a connection flight on a different airline the next morning. In the meantime, we made it on our original nonstop flight (albeit one hour late) only to get there and learn that our big bag didn't make it. Thankfully, we had flown in the day before and had enough time to run to the local Target and buy new clothes.

 

Had all of us flown in on the day of the cruise, our group of 14 family members would've been reduced to 10, and out of those 10, 4 would've not had any clothes to wear on the cruise. :eek:

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varoo

varoo

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You know I've never understood alternatives.

 

Say there is one. If you don't also book it the alternative will likely be sold out.

That looks like the type of statement made by someone who either does not fly very much, or else has someone else make your travel arrangements for you.

 

The obvious, direct flights are the ones that sell out, not the obscure round-about ones.

 

Just one example, when Chicago ORD shuts down for weather and they cancel all the flights to the New York airports, all the later backup flights from ORD to the New York area fill up. So knowing that, I re-routed via Nashville.

Not many people consider flying from Chicago to New York by way of Nashville.

 

Another example, another time when flights from DFW to MIA were backed up and oversold, and the obvious alternate flights were sold out as well, I flew DFW to TPA and then TPA to MIA.

I figured worst case, even if I could not get a flight from TPA to MIA, I could rent a car and drive there in about 5 hours if necessary.

 

If leaving from a small airport that does not have many flights out, such as one of the smaller cities in Texas, sometimes it can be worth renting a car to drive to a major hub, such as DFW, just to get a flight out.

 

In this age of the internet, alternative ways of getting from point A to point B can be found if you are willing to take the trouble to hunt for them yourself and do some creative re-routing.

 

If you simply ask the agents to re-schedule you, they will usually only look at the most obvious choices, tell you the flights are full, hand you a distressed passenger voucher and re-book you for a day or two later.

 

But if you are flying to catch a cruise and want to avoid the stress and hassle, of course the obvious answer is the usual one, to leave a day or two early. :D

 

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yolanda1

yolanda1

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For me, it would depend on where we were flying to/from, and the length of the flight.

 

When we cruise with RCI in Europe, and they have organised the flights as part of the package, we always fly in on the morning of the flight and our transfers from airport etc have all been taken care of by RCI. We have had no problems whatsoever, and my understanding is that as RCI have booked the flights, they will make the necessary arrangements to get us to the ship as soon as possible in the event of a delay. However, if it was a long haul flight, or involved connections, or if we had to arrange our own transfers, I may not be quite so relaxed about doing this.

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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This comes up very often on the cruise air board.

 

But let's get very specific.

 

You book the cruise through Choice Air.

 

It's a seven day cruise.

 

You miss the ship.

 

Next day is a sea day.

 

They get you to the next port of call.

 

You've already missed part of the cruise.

 

And often I read that the flights were not optimal unless you pay more to request specific ones.

 

I think it is a big mistake to fly in the day of the cruise and I have traveled a great deal on air that I have seen peoples vacation plans ruined. To me, there is much more downside and choice air cannot make up for the disappointment in my humble opinion.

 

Keith

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pfm18

pfm18

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The same thing can happen. You can miss the ship and they are not responsible for that.

 

Keith

 

Not true. If you book the RC fly/cruise option, as long as you present yourself on time at the airport, it's the same as booking a ship excursion, the ship will wait for you, and if this isn't possible they will pay to fly you in to the next port.

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

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Not true. If you book the RC fly/cruise option, as long as you present yourself on time at the airport, it's the same as booking a ship excursion, the ship will wait for you, and if this isn't possible they will pay to fly you in to the next port.

 

Let me try again.

 

If you are the only person or one of a few the ship will not wait for you.

 

If you now don't get there until day three because the next day is a sea day then you have already missed part of your vacation. So it doesn't matter that they paid you, you are missing out on the cruise and likely very aggravated at yourself for not taking the advice of others and flown in early. :)

 

Keith

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gw2fll

gw2fll

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Understand the vacation time challenge, but have you checked for an evening flight into FLL after work the night before? That would at least get you in FLL and allow extra time should delays occur.

 

Also, if you can't fly in the evening before, try to get the earliest flight possible. You might want to check the schedule for later flights to give you an idea of opportunities the airline has to fix a luggage mishap. Said another way, are there sufficient flights in prior to cruise departure to get your luggage to you before the ship leaves if a bag is late arriving? If not, as another poster mentioned cross pack between suitcases which will at least give each traveler clothes should something happen.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

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Clarea

Clarea

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Not true. If you book the RC fly/cruise option, as long as you present yourself on time at the airport, it's the same as booking a ship excursion, the ship will wait for you, and if this isn't possible they will pay to fly you in to the next port.

Keith is correct, the ship will not wait for you. The best they will do is get you to the next port of call.

 

I would only fly in on the day of the cruise if there was no other alternative. In that case I'd only do it if it was a single non-stop flight.

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FLACRUISER99

FLACRUISER99

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Yes there is a risk flying in the day of the cruise. However the folks on Cruisecritic exaggerate it. It all depends on your comfort level as a large percentage of folks do it without a problem on the majority of cruises.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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