Would this be possible or am I taking my chances?

[papaflamingo]

I, too, am a pilot for a major airlines. We always go early. We drive to Fl. for cruises. Last cruise we went to Valdosta to pick up our son and daughter-in-law. There was a major accident on i-75 that shut down the freeway for 6 hrs. Fortunately we heard about it in time to go around it. We were also a day early.

I can tell you many stories about flight delays with cruise passengers on board. These things do happen.

Having said that, the Red-eye from the west coast is probably one of the safer flights. I have flown many and we are rarely cancelled or late. The weather in SFO and MIA/FLL is usually not a problem, and inbound flights that return as the red-eye are usually there for a couple hours. But it can happen.

Personally, I like being at the port city a day early to "start the party." One idea, you can rent a car at the airport for drop off at the cruise port with no drop off fee. We often stay at the Boca Raton Embassy suites for $89 per night. A rental car is only about $40 per day. Gives you lots of options as to where to stay.

But if you decide to do the red-eye, you'll likely be fine.... tired and exhausted... but fine. I would consider cruise insurance though.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[nbsjcruiser]

Sunrise Inn and Apartments, Ft Lauderdale... Sunriseinn (dot) com is their web site. I would call them to make arrangements. They are really nice.... Not the Ritz... but a nice, clean, convenient older hotel. With coffee and muffins for breakfast. My bill for one night Nov 30 was $66.20 for two double beds... AC worked great... Pizza place across the street had excellent food! Please note... it is more expensive during the "season" (Dec 20 through April 14) Hope this helps!

 

Thanks - looks like a good spot. I bookmarked the site for future reference.

[sjb317]

I agree with Desertbelle, I think if you polled all of the passengers on a cruise ship, you would find a large number of them come in on the day of the cruise.

 

There are no guarantees you'll get there on time even if you fly in the day before. If someone had been flying out from Indianapolis on a Sunday a few weeks ago for a Monday cruise, they probably would not have gotten out until Tuesday as flights started being cancelled Sunday afternoon. If you feel comfortable with your flight plans, then do it.

 

Sherri:)

[danny8826]

Thank you so much everyone for your help inputs and comments.

 

The cruise starts on 4/20.

I did purchase the red eye flight that leaves on 4/19, but I canceled it.

After reading all the comments, it makes a lot of sense and I begin to worry.

 

I did rebook and also book a hotel near the port.

[SPacificbound]

As an Arline Pilot, and knowing everything that can delay or cancel a flight, I would never take a flight arriving on the same day, even if it's at 7:00am.

 

The one thing that you may also consider is that with a red-eye, by the time you board the ship, you'll be exhausted with jet lag, crossing time zones, and very little sleep. You will have saved money by not getting a hotel, but you will have missed out on the first day of your cruise.

 

Completely off topic but I love your dog's picture!! :D

[lrn2cruise]

We are taking a red eye to Galveston in Nov using same thought process as you. If you are landing early enough you should be fine. We are getting in at 6:45am and booked ground transportation through RCI so I'm feeling confident. Plus we booked our air travel through Choice Air so any flight problems will be put into their hands.

 

 

Smart plan. You will do great especially since you are doing it all through RCCL

 

My guess is once you get in you transportation to Galveston, you have about a 45 minute/hour trip from Hobby/Bush to Galveston. You will be there in time to board in great time.

 

I bet you will be exhausted by the end of that 1st day

[travelplus]

I think there are some people who think that paying an additional $100 or so for hotel and extra for food will save them a bit but with the stress of missing a cruise. My mentality is that you have paid a lot of money for a cruise so why not arrive a few days before the cruise leaves if your schedule works out.

 

On our first cruise from San Juan-Barcelona my Father booked the cruise with air arriving San Juan on the same day and he had me leaving Barcelona the same day. Well I was so tired because of a red-eye flight stopover in Miami and then a flight to San Juan plus transfer to the ship. On the return I felt like I was rushing to the airport with an early flight and an early docking time.

 

For our cruise this past April I told my Father let me do the bookings. I thought ahead last December when I was coming home from Albuquerque New Mexico to give up my seat due to the weather delays back East. They needed my seat. So fine I got $700 in credits just for giving up my seat.

 

I was able to book us two tickets on Southwest to New Orleans for just the taxes. Plus I found the Crown Plaza 4 Star Hotel on Hotwire. We were close to the cruise port and on boarding day I felt so relaxed as I had acclimated to the time difference.

 

For our upcoming cruise I again worked out the details. I found us a flight that would arrive at 7:00 AM 5 days before our cruise leaves with enough time to get acclimated and see Sao Paulo. We have one night in Santos again to save on any stressful issues that may arise. Since check in opens around 11:00 I can sleep in until 9:00 AM have breakfast and go to the ship by taxi just 4 miles away.

 

Being 4 miles away from your ship is less stressful than being 1,000 miles away stuck on a delayed flight.

 

Then with 5 days post cruise in Barcelona we can tour and not have to rush back to the airport. Last year we spent a week in Rome and enjoyed it. Again no rush in getting to the airport.

Edited January 22, 2014 by travelplus

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Thank you so much everyone for your help inputs and comments.

 

The cruise starts on 4/20.

I did purchase the red eye flight that leaves on 4/19, but I canceled it.

After reading all the comments, it makes a lot of sense and I begin to worry.

 

I did rebook and also book a hotel near the port.

 

 

Smart choice! Now you can relax and enjoy your vacation.

 

***

[danny8826]

Thank you again everyone for sharing your experiences and inputs.

You guys are AWESOME!!! :)

[Desertbelle]

Thank you so much everyone for your help inputs and comments.

 

The cruise starts on 4/20.

I did purchase the red eye flight that leaves on 4/19, but I canceled it.

After reading all the comments, it makes a lot of sense and I begin to worry.

 

I did rebook and also book a hotel near the port.

Smart choice.....plus you get an extra day of vacation, how cool is that??? :D

[krev]

As an Arline Pilot, and knowing everything that can delay or cancel a flight, I would never take a flight arriving on the same day, even if it's at 7:00am.

 

The one thing that you may also consider is that with a red-eye, by the time you board the ship, you'll be exhausted with jet lag, crossing time zones, and very little sleep. You will have saved money by not getting a hotel, but you will have missed out on the first day of your cruise.

 

My husband is also an airline pilot and we would never fly in on the same day. Planes break, weather happens. Please just don't be the people getting mad at the airline when things don't go your way. Remember the six P's! (Proper planning!)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[krev]

Thank you so much everyone for your help inputs and comments.

 

The cruise starts on 4/20.

I did purchase the red eye flight that leaves on 4/19, but I canceled it.

After reading all the comments, it makes a lot of sense and I begin to worry.

 

I did rebook and also book a hotel near the port.

 

Good call

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app