Why you need to travel to foreign ports at least one day ahead!

[rdsqrl]

I always fly in early and allow plenty of extra time for connections and weather. It's possible I carry this too far . . .: Last year I flew to Rome three days early plus I allowed myself a 5-hour connecting time in Philadelphia between my domestic flight and my international PHL-FCO leg. In my defense, it was winter. And USAir. Given those two shaky variables, I felt five hours in the USAir lounge was a small price to pay for peace of mind. And while PHL is a nasty little airport, dirty, hot, and with no decent food options, the USAir club has million-dollar runway views. And a bar.

[Putterdude]

My personal rule of thumb....and I know that not every can do this but:

 

If I have to drive more than 4 hours to the port or if I have to fly to the port, I will arrive the day before the cruise.

[beg3yrs]

We're arriving two days early for our cruise on the Ruby out of Quebec City - and the Ruby doesn't even depart for a day after that.

 

To add even more insurance for the next cruise, the Ruby finishes that voyage in FLL and we effectively arrive a day early for our voyage on the Royal. It turns out that might be an extra good thing as the Regal will be in port the same day for its official naming ceremony.

[bearette]

We flew to Barcelona the same day with 8am arrival for 4:30 all aboard. (From LA with a stop in Philly)

Not totally crazy I had a four hour layover, but we were traveling with our twin toddlers. I had insurance because if I got stuck somewhere I just needed a place to stay with the kids.

We used that" extra time" to see the sights after our arrival in Barcelona. My mom told me I was nuts for planning it that way. We boarded the port shuttle at 4pm and all was well. They were having the muster AS we boarded.

Got stuck in San Antonio once on the tarmac because of rain on the way to Houston. I thought my mom was going to pop a gasket.We were supposed to arrive around 10am and we arrived at 5 pm, departure time. Luckily there were a lot of us and we didn't end up Ieaving until 10pm.

 

I try to do the day before a cruise all the time, but when it doesn't work I prepare for the worst.

 

 

 

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