First Time Cruiser - Flight Question

[LuckyMe17]

Hi, So we are going on our first cruise at the end of May :) We are going on the Carnival Magic leaving on Saturday May 27th out of Port Canaveral. We will be flying in from Birmingham, AL - NON STOP flight on Southwest Airlines. They have a flight that leaves at 7:30 am (Birmingham) and lands at 10:00 am (Orlando). I realize it takes about an hour to get to the port from the airport. I would really like to take this flight the day of the cruise if everyone thinks this is doable??? Our ship leaves at 4:00 pm and I was told we must be on board by 2:30.... Any thoughts??? Would you do this? Also what company would you choose for the shuttle to the Port? Thank you for your help :D:D:D

[Clarea]

I would avoid flying in the day of the cruise if at all possible.

 

However, I realize sometimes there is no other choice. In that case, I'd fly non-stop, earliest flight of the day, and have private transportation arranged so there is no waiting for shuttles. We've had very good luck with Executive VIP Transportation.

[AEckhardt]

I HAVE done this before, but it's risky.. flight delays can happen for numerous reasons, and I wouldn't chance it again. The time I did do it, I flew direct and left at 5am. My next cruise, I'm

Flying in the day before so I have plenty of cushion and can relax and not stress about times. If possible, that's definitely the better option.

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

If you can, fly in the day before.

All too often we have had to deal with cancelled flights as well as delayed flights.

[packer99]

I would be too nervous, even a direct flight. Stranger things can happen.

[FredT]

So... Planes are REALLY reliable right? And your weather in May is pretty benign right? But where is your plane coming from BEFORE Birmingham ? Maybe NYC with its horrible delays? Or the midwest with it's unpredictable weather?

 

At WORST, I'd get a late evening flight the night before (After work??) and stay at one of the hotels at the Orlando airport. Cost you about $100.00 which is cheap insurance in my mind!

[zqvol]

Time wise it can easily be done without any problem. Having said that if for some reason the flight is canceled, you are out of luck unless Southwest has another flight leaving no later than 10 that morning. I don't worry so much about weather delays in the morning in the late spring, but those could impact things. Getting luggage in Orlando is a bit slow, but you should be out of the airport by noon.

 

People talk about canceled flights, weather delays, etc. In the past 30 years I don't think I have had more than one flight canceled, and morning weather delays have been few and far between.

 

I do suggest arranging a private car to take you to the port.

Edited January 3, 2017 by zqvol

[trish1c]

As others have said, flying in the day before is preferable.

 

If you can't do that, the absolute earliest direct flight on the day of is required.

 

If nothing goes wrong, arriving at 10 a.m. you should be OK, but Murphy's Law came into being for good reasons.

 

You also know not to book a flight home before 1 p.m., right?

 

Best of luck.

[BigDaddyCVO]

It's doable, but nothing I would do. Put me in the group who prefers to fly-in the day before (or even late night before) to minimize the impact of weather or other delays.

 

In addition to using a shuttle or limo, you may consider renting a car. A lot of CC'ers do one-way rentals between MCO and PC and vice versa. However renting a car day-of with your timeline would almost certainly add time to a relatively tight schedule.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Alternative plan: keep an eye on the weather forecasts. Check your airline to see if there is any indication of flight delays anyplace east of the Mississippi. If there is any hint of trouble, load up the car and start driving. About a 9 hour drive, if you leave by 10:30 or 11:00pm the day before you should have no problem making it on time.

 

 

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[Ddmc]

I wouldn't be comfortable flying the same day. Too many things that can go wrong, even with the best airlines. Fly or drive the day before, have a casual dinner and a good nights sleep and go to the port on your own terms. On our Miami last trip, we woke up and had breakfast and did a load of laundry so that we had everything washed and ready for the cruise. It's a lot of money to throw away if you miss the boat.

 

 

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[crystalspin]

We have flown in on the day of cruise three times, plus driving two hours from Orange County to San Diego once: Vancouver (smooth!), Fort Lauderdale (problem was we got there TOO early and went mad walking around the airport for hours!), and Santiago Chile where the port itself is over an hour away and where the cruiseline was providing the bus-transit.

 

WELL, our nice early plane from LAX was delayed and then delayed some more. Then they gave us meal tickets and told us to come back in 90 minutes! At this point I called HAL and found out the latest shuttle time. I also had researched a company in Santiago who would (for a price) drive us to the first port through the hinterlands of Chile, which would have been an acceptable adventure! Well, the plane was finally fixed or a substitute found, and we JUST caught the last shuttle bus before sailing!

 

That experience broke us of the habit of flying in on same day.

 

Note: we travel with carry-on only, so no time spent waiting for baggage carousels (unless of course we are forced to gate check). Also note -- there is no one to drive you to the first island on a Caribbean cruise as a Plan B.

 

I see your CC ID is Lucky, but you're banking on a lot...

[Quilting_Cruiser]

As others have said, it's best to fly in at least one day before. We had a really short flight for our second cruise and should have arrived in the departure city by 9:30 a.m. After multiple delays due to mechanical issues, we finally arrived an hour before sail away and took a crazy cab ride to the port. They basically rolled up the gangway behind us. Way too close and we've never flown in day of again! If at possible, start your vacation a day early!

[SPacificbound]

I would never take that chance, too many things can go wrong.