First Cruise (Kind of) Alone

[stleda124]

I am an adult now. And by that I mean this is the first vacation that I have now booked by myself. Normally my parents handled all that stuff. (Oh the good old days...and they paid too!) Anyway, I am going on a cruise with my brother April 17th. My work schedule is hectic and I can not leave the day before until the night time. Being a penny pincher and always looking for a deal, I couldn't justify spending money unnecessarily on a hotel. I am flying in that morning via Southwest and will arrive in Baltimore at 9:50 am. The ship is to set sail at 4pm so I have to be there by 2pm. The airport is a 20 minute taxi ride. I am now a little stressed after reading that this is not a good idea. Should I switch it to the night before and bite the bullet or will I be okay?

 

 

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[Keith1010]

If we all knew how it would turn out we could say precisely what to do.

 

I think it is unwise to fly in the day of the cruise. Too many things can go wrong.

 

Yes, I would recommend flying in the day before and with Southwest you can at least apply the money from the flight you already have booked to the new flight.

 

That is what I would do.

 

Keith

[jennybenny]

Traveling for work I have found that SWA flights are often cancelled. The first morning flight is rarely cancelled, but I have had a couple of situations when it's happened.

If you want to be stress free, change your flight and fly the day before. If you fly out the evening before and you miss your flight they will put you on first morning flight. However, if the delay is weather related, they will not pay for your hotel. Only if it is mechanical.

 

Best bet, go a day early and don't miss your cruise.

Good luck

[marco]

How is your brother getting to the ship? Can you go with him? If you are from CT, I'd just get up early the morning of the sailing and drive and park.

[MicCanberra]

I would fly in the night before to avoid the stress but everyone has differing levels of what they consider risk or not.

[Scrapnana]

Is your flight non-stop? I would worry just a little less if it is.

 

True story why I always fly in early...

Last year I had two flights that were delayed by hours because of bad weather. I was flying from Richmond, VA to Fort Lauderdale changing planes in Atlanta. My Richmond flight was delayed about four and a half hours due to fog. I was supposed to arrive in FLL at 1:30 - I got there at 6. Luckily I came in the day before because one suitcase missed the connection in Atlanta and arrived at my hotel at 1:30 in the morning.

 

Flying home from that same cruise (Seattle to Richmond) my flight was delayed just over an hour causing me to miss the last connecting flight in DC and had to spend the night in a hotel.

[Piggeldy]

In fall, we will fly in for a TA on the day of departure. It's a group/package deal... flights, transfer and cruise. We arrive at the airport at 9.45 am, the bus needs 1.20 hrs to port, departure is at 4 pm. If it wasn't a group booking and if I wasn't 99.9% certain that they will wait for the group if there is a delay I would never have booked this.

 

To minimise delays we are flying direct from an airport 200 miles away. We could fly from our usual local airport but they didn't offer direct flights. Plane leaves at 9 am, we could make it by train but we will spent the night at the airport.

 

Yes, I am a worrywart. Last cruise was one overnight stay at the departure airport (7 am flight), one overnight stay at the departure port. But I always figure that missing the cruise will cost me more than one night for a hotel somewhere on the way.

 

We nearly missed our last mini cruise because the train was delayed by 2 1/2 hours... the whole train ride usually only takes 3 1/2, it's a direct train connection and we have done the same trip sixteen times over the last ten years. It always worked out beautifully. Thankfully they let us check in and board 10 minutes before departure (they usually close 45 minutes earlier). Sometimes you need to love the EU / Schengen area. However, had we missed the ship, we would have been out 64 Euros for the mini cruise and 58 Euros for the train. Not hundreds of Euros for a real vacation.

[MicCanberra]

I think you are playing it safe by doing the group fly/cruise booking. It is sensible to cover yourself by either arriving early or going with a group where the ship will wait for you.

[runawaysoul]

That's how I always do it. I've never had a problem. SWA is my favorite airline. I sincerely doubt they are canceled "often" as a previous poster mentioned. I've never been canceled, nor have I been late on SWA. I've flown across the country to board a cruise same day. Never been late, never missed a cruise.

 

I am an adult now. And by that I mean this is the first vacation that I have now booked by myself. Normally my parents handled all that stuff. (Oh the good old days...and they paid too!) Anyway, I am going on a cruise with my brother April 17th. My work schedule is hectic and I can not leave the day before until the night time. Being a penny pincher and always looking for a deal, I couldn't justify spending money unnecessarily on a hotel. I am flying in that morning via Southwest and will arrive in Baltimore at 9:50 am. The ship is to set sail at 4pm so I have to be there by 2pm. The airport is a 20 minute taxi ride. I am now a little stressed after reading that this is not a good idea. Should I switch it to the night before and bite the bullet or will I be okay?

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO -- I would not want to be stressed as to whether or not I would make the cruise.

We always fly to the embarkation ports early.

If you can arrange a flight the evening before -- go for it.

[cb at sea]

Assuming your flights aren't delayed or cancelled for weather or other issues...you'll be fine.

Not EVERYONE can leave the day prior! Personally, we've done it both ways....you should be just fine.

[stleda124]

My brother is driving down the night before with my parents but I can't go with them based on the time they are leaving. I also can not drive as I have a demo for work and as my only vehicle and cannot take the vehicle for 11 days in another state. This is making me nervous. I thought I would be in perfect shape for the cruise.

 

 

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[runawaysoul]

I think you should be fine, really. I was in the same boat as you. 4 of my 6 cruises were paid for by parents. Now that I'm adult and pay for my own, I understand your nervousness. I also don't have the luxury of taking extra time off just for the flight. Once you get used to it, the nervousness goes away.

[JustAllie]

If you fly in late the night before, there is a Microtel near BWI airport that's cheap and I'm sure would be fine for a quick night's sleep. Or search on Hotels.com for the nearest hotels to BWI and pick another. The hotels right near the airport usually have a shuttle so that you won't need a cab to get to your hotel -- but you will need to arrange something to get to the port the next day.

[stleda124]

After much reading I think I am going to stick with my plan. Worst case they cancel, there are 2 more flights that would both get me there on time (just cutting it close).

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[MJSailors]

Something to keep in mind - traffic from BWI to the Baltimore port area can be busy, with possible delays en route, especially in the morning.

I would take the evening SWA flight,get to a hotel have a cocktail and some dinner and relax.

Why start a vacation in a stressful mode?

The suggestion to drive from CT to Baltimore on the day of the cruise is something that I would not suggest.

My DH and I have driven I 95 from NY to FL for several years.

Trust me, that drive through NY and NJ is anything but relaxing. Plus, get caught in one traffic delay and you may not arrive in Baltimore in time to board the ship.

Hope you enjoy your vacation - bon voyage!

[Karysa]

I am an adult now. And by that I mean this is the first vacation that I have now booked by myself. Normally my parents handled all that stuff. (Oh the good old days...and they paid too!) Anyway, I am going on a cruise with my brother April 17th. My work schedule is hectic and I can not leave the day before until the night time. Being a penny pincher and always looking for a deal, I couldn't justify spending money unnecessarily on a hotel. I am flying in that morning via Southwest and will arrive in Baltimore at 9:50 am. The ship is to set sail at 4pm so I have to be there by 2pm. The airport is a 20 minute taxi ride. I am now a little stressed after reading that this is not a good idea. Should I switch it to the night before and bite the bullet or will I be okay?

 

 

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More than likely you will be just fine. We are flying in to Rome and set to arrive at 8:30 am and have an hour taxi ride to the port. We are flying direct and weather wise Mid May tends to be good, we have booked at a hub and have booked a direct flight. That's the absolute earliest we could fly in and we expect all to be fine. If not well then the real adventure begins. :) On the way back we thought that the 11:20 was pushing it so we booked a hotel in Rome and will fly out the next day. We have the time then so we thought that we would enjoy Rome for the day. :)

[jennybenny]

stleda124, sorry kind of misread your first post.

 

I see now that you are just going to risk it. That's an OK strategy too, as long as you are not a worry wart, like me. :)

 

The good news is there are two more flights that will get you there on time, right?

 

Good luck and hope you make it on time to the cruise!! I'm thinking positive thoughts for you.

:)

[stleda124]

I am a huge worrier but in this case I think I have to chance it. Can't complain too much. For my job I get a free car but can't take it on trips like this one. The other flights will get me there but one will be super close 1:30 arrival for a 4pm departure

 

 

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[LakeSideKen]

If you "have to chance it," so be it. But be aware there is a possible hole in your back-up flights plan. If your booked SW flight is seriously delayed or cancelled, yes, you can STANDBY for the later SW flights, but if those later SW flights are fully booked you won't get on, i.e., SW will not displace any ticketed passenger on the later flights to make room for a STANDBY.

[MicCanberra]

I still think it is better to fly in the night before unless you have the safe guard of being on the group / cruise package flights.:D

[Bound4Bermuda]

I'm also arriving day of (NJ to Barcelona, arriving 9:05 a.m.) and, like you, started to panic when I read countless posts about how you'd be crazy not to fly in advance. So I searched for threads about people ACTUALLY missing the ship from a flight issue, and I couldn't find a single one. Lots of "and I was afraid I'd miss it" posts, but they all made it. If you're on a direct flight in a month that weather typically wouldn't be an issue and you're arriving several hours in advance and especially if you booked the air with the cruise (such as the Air2Sea guarantee), I can't imagine you'd have a problem that would cause you to miss the ship.

 

 

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[stleda124]

I am not booked through air2sea. If that was the case id be less stressed. I wish.

 

 

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[marshhawk]

I read on CC to get into port a day early, and I am the kind that stresses, so far that has worked for me.

 

We cruised for our honey moon, and our best friends cruised with us. For a wedding gift, they bought our air fare. I suggested that when he book the airfare, he book a night before. He thought I was being a worry wart. The hubbies had booked a scuba excursion for Cozumel.

 

We flew in one day early, as I requested, and the gentleman who paid for the air, one of the ones about to learn to scuba, forgot his bathing suit. His wife had forgotten her medications. So that afternoon, she ended up on the phone with her doc getting prescriptions filled out of state, and that night we ended up in a mall trying to find a suit for the hubby. *he was over 350 lbs and hard to find a suit for). He has lost over 120 pounds by the way, but he now books his flights the day before a cruise.

 

If you cut it too close, you don't allow for what may happen in real life.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[Karysa]

I am not booked through air2sea. If that was the case id be less stressed. I wish.

 

 

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Is there a way to find out if your cruise ship / line has booked someone on your flight? If you find out that they have this should give you some peace of mind that the cruise line also thinks that this flight would give someone ample time to make the ship.