Same-day flight.....?

[SantaFeFan]

I don't live in fear and what is the chances of that happening during the time of his cruise in the US is slim to none. Technology issues is uncontrollable and that can happen the day before he plans to fly in for his cruise it could happen the day of. I have successfully flew in the day of to cruises in Miami and San Juan. No problems. So don't instill your fear onto others. Since your speaking of those chances. There is always a chance yours hip could have mechanical failure but I see you still get on the ship.

 

LOL! I don't live in fear either. But I do I live in reality. If you have never had issues with flight delays or cancellations, bravo for you. But to tell everyone that just because you have never run into problems, they never will, that is the height of irresponsibility. Things can happen, but hopefully with a bit of luck, it won't happen to any of us. But that doesn't negate that there is still a possibility.

 

There is zero harm in telling people that issues can happen. I don't believe in living my life with my head buried in the sand believing that nothing will happen to me. It can. Simple as that. For important travel with an inflexible deadline, like boarding a cruise ship, it doesn't hurt to be safe.

 

BTW: I have had three situations where if I had flown in on the same day, I would have not made it to my cruise. One was due to a broken plane and no replacement available for five hours. I finally made it in on the same day, but it would have been too late to board a cruise ship.

 

Another was a plane coming out of routine maintenance with a missing emergency kit (airlines are not allowed to fly without all the required safety equipment). It took four hours to fly one in from the main hub. That completely messed up our connection big time. With major help from the airline, we made it to our destination on the same day, but that also would have been too late to board a ship.

 

And yet another was a sudden pilot strike against United Airlines 30 years or so ago that began two days before our flight to New York to catch a chartered tour group plane to Egypt. After hours on the phone ((this before the wide use of the internet), we were able to make arrangements with another airline, but my wife and I had to fly on separate planes to get to our destination on time due to the thousands of other United passengers scrambling to find seats. If the strike had happened the day of travel, we very well might not have found another flight in time.

 

Stuff can happen. Best to be safe than sorry. And to advise others to do the same. Nothing to fear but naivety, IMHO.

Note to self: "Do not accept advice from gottaluvcruises12" ;)

.

Edited May 30, 2017 by SantaFeFan

[TNcruising02]

 

Stuff can happen. Best to be safe than sorry. And to advise others to do the same. Nothing to fear but naivety, IMHO.

Note to self: "Do not accept advice from gottaluvcruises12" ;)

.

 

I completely agree with you. My son had his flight cancelled the day before he was to fly to Houston to catch another flight out of the country. They couldn't put him on another flight that would get there in time to catch his connection, so my husband had to drive 9 hours in the middle of the night to get him there. That incident alone is why I will never fly in the day of a cruise.

 

My family has had to spend the night in a city when our first flight was too late to make the connection. The flight landed on time, but sat on the tarmac for an hour and caused us to miss our next flight. Another time we were delayed 8 1/2 hours on a connection and rerouted in the opposite direction. Several other times we missed connecting flights because of delays. There is just no way I will ever risk it. Flight delays happen all of the time. I've had my luggage arrive later than my arrival flight twice.

[navybankerteacher]

I don't live in fear and what is the chances of that happening during the time of his cruise in the US is slim to none. Technology issues is uncontrollable and that can happen the day before he plans to fly in for his cruise it could happen the day of. I have successfully flew in the day of to cruises in Miami and San Juan. No problems. So don't instill your fear onto others. Since your speaking of those chances. There is always a chance yours hip could have mechanical failure but I see you still get on the ship.

 

Chances of weather delays -slim to none, chances of mechanical delays - slim to none, chances of computer delays -slim to none. Chances of a flight, particularly one involving a change, being delayed by five hours - pretty slim; chances of such a flight being delayed four hours - not so slim; chances of such a flight being delayed three hours - still a bit slim; chances of such a flight being delayed two. hours - not so slim; chances of such a flight being delayed one hour - actually pretty fair.

 

It all depends upon how much wiggle room you want to leave yourself. Obviously, only an idiot would book a flight which would get him to the cruise terminal five minutes before boarding cut-off if everything went well.

 

But, having been assured that you shouldn't live in fear by an expert who has been able to fly into Miami and San Juan on the day of a cruise, I am sure you want to rely upon him - rather than upon your own common sense.

[ldubs]

Jargey, I am responding to your original question. We have been on over 20 cruises. For most we used same day travel, or in the case of Europe departures, we used red-eyes arriving that morning. But, I would not do a same day flight like the one you describe with a window of only a few hours. IMO, just cutting it too close.

 

 

Been away from Cruise Critic for a while doing 'non-cruise' vacations. Good to see many of the same names. Some of you must have a million posts by now. :D

[donaldsc]

Considering doing the Conquest from FLL June 12.

Have always flown in day before & wondered about doing it same day next time...

I can get a (Air Canada) flight from my home city to Toronto (yes I'm in Canada,eh) then connect to a A/C non-stop to FLL, that's scheduled to arrive FLL 11:40am. Boat leaves at 4pm.

I know MOST will prob. say "Don't do it!", But would like to hear from some who HAVE done the same-day flights.

If ship sails at 4pm, what's the very latest you can actually board? And, if I do run into delays is there any point in contacting Carnival?

 

You have to be on board at 2:30. That give you a total of 2 hours 50 minutes from when the door at the front of the airplane opens to be on the ship. Not much wiggle room in my opinion. Any glitches anywhere in the system will cause you to miss the ship.

 

You ask if there are people who have taken same day arrival flights have had problems. While nobody recommends it at all, there is a big difference in the chance of you missing the ship between a non-stop flight that arrives at say 9:00 AM and one with a change of plane that arrives at 11:40 AM.

 

DON

[sapper1]

Chances of weather delays -slim to none, chances of mechanical delays - slim to none, chances of computer delays -slim to none. Chances of a flight, particularly one involving a change, being delayed by five hours - pretty slim; chances of such a flight being delayed four hours - not so slim; chances of such a flight being delayed three hours - still a bit slim; chances of such a flight being delayed two. hours - not so slim; chances of such a flight being delayed one hour - actually pretty fair.

 

It all depends upon how much wiggle room you want to leave yourself. Obviously, only an idiot would book a flight which would get him to the cruise terminal five minutes before boarding cut-off if everything went well.

 

But, having been assured that you shouldn't live in fear by an expert who has been able to fly into Miami and San Juan on the day of a cruise, I am sure you want to rely upon him - rather than upon your own common sense.

I totally agree. I don't consider common sense "living in fear". We buy medical and cancellation insurance before a cruise as a matter of common sense and I consider flying in at least one day early as a form of insurance.

At the very least it removes a layer of stress.

[navybankerteacher]

Considering doing the Conquest from FLL June 12.

...

I know MOST will prob. say "Don't do it!", But would like to hear from some who HAVE done the same-day flights.

 

 

...

/quote]

Of course, MOST will say "Don't do it", because most people are smart enough to not try it. Those who report successfully flying in on same day are likely to feel lucky, and perhaps even a bit proud. Those who missed a ship by flying in on the same day might not want to talk about it at all -- I know of people who have missed a ship, as do a number of others on these threads: more than the number who acknowledge their mistakes here, so your sampling request is not very scientific.

[BlueRiband]

What is your tolerance for risk, drama, and financial ability to meet the ship at the next port? And just as important, does you traveling companion have those same thresholds? Some people love drama and consider it a game to see how close they can cut it and/or minimize their pre-cruise costs. Others don't want to spend their travel to the port in a high state of anxiety.

 

Last year I flew to Hamburg and came in at 7:30AM when the ship didn't depart until 5PM the next day. That should have been plenty of time to fly in the same day, right? Yes, but I considered the "ifs". It was the only non-stop to Hamburg and ending up on another flight would mean a connection and arrival after check-in. Then it would mean travel to the next port at my expense. And having paid for the two days that the ship was sailing without me.

[packer99]

Our friends just got off a cruise in San Juan on Saturday. Ended up spending the night in San Juan because of flight delays. Their 1st flight had a delay, got booked to another flight that ended up with mechanical problems so they were stuff until Sunday. Thankfully this was on the back end of their trip, and it was a Sunday. So yes, this could easily happen on your way down.

[Tapi]

...but an early flight in June should be ok.

 

 

Because we all know that mechanical issues, crew legality issues, airport disruptions, runway closures, weather phenomena, and so many other factors, many that don't even have to do with the actual flight, are minimized in June. [emoji23]

 

Seriously, to the OP: I'm an airline pilot, and yes, majority of flights run on time. But after seeing EVERYTHING that can (and does) go wrong on an early morning flight, specially out of a non hub airport with limited resources, I would NEVER take a flight on the same day of the cruise. I've witnessed plenty of crying passengers on same day flight and who missed their cruise after a delay or cancellation.

 

There are no shows on almost every single flight every single day, specially connecting through a busy hub. There are too many reasons to list why someone would miss a flight and that the average person doesn't think about. Don't be that passenger

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited May 30, 2017 by Tapi

[DirtyDawg]

Considering doing the Conquest from FLL June 12.

...

I know MOST will prob. say "Don't do it!", But would like to hear from some who HAVE done the same-day flights.

 

 

...

/quote]

Of course, MOST will say "Don't do it", because most people are smart enough to not try it. Those who report successfully flying in on same day are likely to feel lucky, and perhaps even a bit proud. Those who missed a ship by flying in on the same day might not want to talk about it at all -- I know of people who have missed a ship, as do a number of others on these threads: more than the number who acknowledge their mistakes here, so your sampling request is not very scientific.

 

Sorry, nbt, I've flown in the day of several times and each time I didn't feel lucky or proud. I had a 90% -95% chance of making the cruise on time and I did. Nothing to feel lucky or proud about.

 

For the most part I fly in the evening before to increase my odds of making the ship to closer to 100%, without paying too much for that ‘insurance’, but sometimes that is not doable.

[navybankerteacher]

 

Sorry, nbt, I've flown in the day of several times and each time I didn't feel lucky or proud. I had a 90% -95% chance of making the cruise on time and I did. Nothing to feel lucky or proud about.

...

 

That 90%-95% chance sounds pretty good. Of course that statistic also suggests a 5%-10% chance of NOT making the cruise. For someone who might cruise twenty times in a ten or fifteen year period, that would only mean missing sailing on one or two cruises.

 

It's great to like the odds, but when the cost of losing can be substantial, perhaps a 90% success rate is not as comfortable

[rccampbell]

We have decided, we will never fly in the same day as embarkation. So far one cruise under our belts and on that trip, if we had flown in the day of, we would have missed the ship. Weather had nothing to do with it either.

We boarded our plane out of MSP, and then sat and sat and sat at the gate. Pilot announced over the intercom, "We are sorry folks but we will have to deplane as our current plane is broken." (his exact words). By the time they got us another plane and we were able to board and get underway on our non-stop flight, we had lost a good couple of hours. We were expected to land in FLL at 1:00ish and it was closer to 3:30ish. No way we could have made it through luggage claim and get to the port in time.

I could see maybe doing it for the trip home, but not going.

[SantaFeFan]

 

Sorry, nbt, I've flown in the day of several times and each time I didn't feel lucky or proud. I had a 90% -95% chance of making the cruise on time and I did. Nothing to feel lucky or proud about.

 

For the most part I fly in the evening before to increase my odds of making the ship to closer to 100%, without paying too much for that ‘insurance’, but sometimes that is not doable.

 

So, if you ended up in that 5% or 10% category and did miss your cruise, you wouldn't feel unlucky or humbled? You may not feel lucky when you fly in the same day and make it, but you were. Any time there isn't a 100% certainty that you will succeed, you are being lucky to some degree. It was a gamble, and you won.

 

Using your percentages, if you had flown in the same day for 100 cruises, you would have missed between 5 and 10 of them. For those cruises I agree, you certainly wouldn't be feeling lucky or proud. :cool:

[DirtyDawg]

 

That 90%-95% chance sounds pretty good. Of course that statistic also suggests a 5%-10% chance of NOT making the cruise. For someone who might cruise twenty times in a ten or fifteen year period, that would only mean missing sailing on one or two cruises.

 

It's great to like the odds, but when the cost of losing can be substantial, perhaps a 90% success rate is not as comfortable

 

I totally agree with you. If my loss would be $5,000 (Fare of $2,500 X 2) for example for a cruise it would be worth paying an extra night's hotel and food (say $250) because at 10% odds of missing the cruise, the expected loss per cruise is $500 ($5,000 X.1). (This assumes an entire loss of the $5,000 which may be mitigated by flying to the next port for example.) But would it be worth paying the same $250 to insure a $1,500 cruise when the expected loss is only $150. It might be for some people when you factor in stress etc. But it might not be for other people.

In the end its all about the odds, the expected loss and the price someone is willing to pay to 'insure' against that expected loss.

[navybankerteacher]

 

I totally agree with you. If my loss would be $5,000 (Fare of $2,500 X 2) for example for a cruise it would be worth paying an extra night's hotel and food (say $250) because at 10% odds of missing the cruise, the expected loss per cruise is $500 ($5,000 X.1). (This assumes an entire loss of the $5,000 which may be mitigated by flying to the next port for example.) But would it be worth paying the same $250 to insure a $1,500 cruise when the expected loss is only $150. It might be for some people when you factor in stress etc. But it might not be for other people.

In the end its all about the odds, the expected loss and the price someone is willing to pay to 'insure' against that expected loss.

 

Even given your figures, you try to make something of a case- but for us two the expected loss would certainly exceed $150 by a whole lot: possible hotel stay for at least one and up to three (or more) nights, plus meals and cost of catching up with the cruise. If you are talking about the 10% risk of writing off the cruise - it would be a lot more than 10% of the minimal fare - how about several nights accommodation and/or costs for changing flights.

 

And, if you figure $250 for an advance-planned hotel, how much would you allow for last minute hotels -and meals - for perhaps several nights?

[DirtyDawg]

 

Even given your figures, you try to make something of a case- but for us two the expected loss would certainly exceed $150 by a whole lot: possible hotel stay for at least one and up to three (or more) nights, plus meals and cost of catching up with the cruise. If you are talking about the 10% risk of writing off the cruise - it would be a lot more than 10% of the minimal fare - how about several nights accommodation and/or costs for changing flights.

 

And, if you figure $250 for an advance-planned hotel, how much would you allow for last minute hotels -and meals - for perhaps several nights?

 

Use any numbers that are relevant for you. If the cost of the cruise is $10,000 use that. If your loss would be $10,000 use that. If you have extras that would be lost, add them in. If you would try to mitigate the loss to, say, $5,000 (i.e.you spend a couple of extra nights in the port city and buy a last minute flight to catch up to the cruise) use that. As for the cost of the 'insurance' again use what you feel is appropriate. If that cost is $250 use it. If its $750 use that. You have been a banker and a teacher, you can calculate the numbers for yourself based on the cost of your cruises and the costs you incur to 'insure' you don't miss the ship.

 

Your expected loss might turn out to be $500, $1,000, or $1,500, only you can calculate that. Your cost to insure might be $250, $500, or $1,000, again only you know that. But one thing I do know is your numbers will not be the same as the OP's numbers, who asked the question in the first place. They are on a 5 -night Caribbean cruise on Carnival, possibly in an inside cabin. Most likely, that’s a lot different amount of loss compared to yours or mine, or many other posters on this board.

Edited May 30, 2017 by DirtyDawg

[navybankerteacher]

 

Use any numbers that are relevant for you. If the cost of the cruise is $10,000 use that.

...

Most likely, that’s a lot different amount of loss compared to yours or mine, or many other posters on this board.

 

Even if OP paid just $1500 for his cruise, his loss could be significantly higher: extra hotel stay(s), flight change fees, meals, etc. And, regardless of cruise fare, no thinking person will needlessly risk whatever he paid - to save a (more likely) $125 motel charge.

[NurseDave]

I guess I determine it by the availability of flights. We live near San Francisco, and when we cruise from the east coast, we fly the day before. Our cruise from Los Angeles, we flew the morning of and our cruise from Seattle we'll fly the morning of. There are a lot of options to quickly get from here to those places if something were to go wrong. And it's harder to justify staying overnight for a 90min flight.

[jargey3000]

OP here- OK, OK...I chickened out! Coming in the day before! Only reason I'\d look at coming same-day would be to save a few bucks on hotel, etc.

So.... now that the majority of you have convinced me NOT to.... I'm hoping you'll all take up a little collection...to offset my extra expenses....:)

(BTW...if I told you where my ORIGINATING 5am flight was from, to get TO Toronto to connect...you'd say I was totally nuts to try it!) :)

[Hlitner]

This thread has really given me an education. After nearly fifty years of extensive travel, far more then 100 cruises (and over 1200 days on cruise ships), and numerous airline flights to and from 6 continents...over more then 50 years....this thread has convinced me of the error of my ways. So from now on I will fly into my cruise embarkation ports about 1 hour before the last check-in time. After all, the airlines are wonderful, we have little to fear about being late...and luggage is never delayed. Thanks all for enlightening me :).

 

Hank

P.S. To those 10s of thousands of British Air passengers that recently had their flights canceled and/or delayed....we suggest they read this thread. What happened to you apparently just does not happen. To those hundreds of thousands who have suffered through flight delays and cancellations due to the new pilot rest requirements.....we think you could also gain knowledge from the "experts" in this thread.

[SantaFeFan]

 

Even if OP paid just $1500 for his cruise, his loss could be significantly higher: extra hotel stay(s), flight change fees, meals, etc. And, regardless of cruise fare, no thinking person will needlessly risk whatever he paid - to save a (more likely) $125 motel charge.

 

Agreed. An additional hotel charge and travel expenditures to catch the ship will be a much bigger percent of added cost for a cheap $1,500 cruise for than an expensive $10,000 cruise. I don't see the benefit of risking a $500 to $1,000 additional cost to save a $1,500 cruise. But I can see that happening for a $10,000 cruise. On the other hand, if the entire cruise were lost, losing $1,500 is much less difficult to bear than $10,000 - plus the wasted airfare costs for a missed cruise. Either way, an additional $150 in hotel costs seems to be a wise investment.

 

And, using DirtyDawg's argument that because someone pays for an inside cabin on a 5-day cruise on Carnival, the cost of missing the cruise won't be significant. Considering that airfare cost is also involved, they may be going with a lower priced cruise because that is all they can afford. If that is the case, losing the cost of the cruise AND the wasted airfare could be a very significant hit to their financial situation.

 

EDIT: I see that the OP has gone with common sense rather than with a "nothing bad ever happens" tactic and is flying in the day before. I am relieved for them. Now, they will be able to wake up refreshed in a local hotel, have a leisurely breakfast, catch a cab to the ship and get on board as soon as boarding starts, and begin their cruise adventure stress free, and earlier than they could have by flying in the same day.

 

The OP also asked if there was any reason to contact the cruise line if they were delayed. The short answer is "No". The ship will leave without you, even if you contacted them. If you don't contact them, they will figure it out when boarding ends and you haven't checked in. You won't be the first one to not show up. They are much more familiar with this than any of us ever could be.

 

The only reason you may want to contact the cruise line is to see if they are also running late, possibly giving you a bit more time to get to the terminal. Even then, they may want everyone on board at the scheduled time.

Edited May 30, 2017 by SantaFeFan

[ldubs]

 

While nobody recommends it at all, there is a big difference in the chance of you missing the ship between a non-stop flight that arrives at say 9:00 AM and one with a change of plane that arrives at 11:40 AM.

 

DON

 

Again, I have taken numerous same day and same morning red-eyes and have responded positively in the past to those wanting to do the same. I'm on the west coast. Have done this for departures on both coasts and Europe. So, I am not against same day arrivals. But for your flight, Don hits the nail on the head. Arriving at 11:40 am is a lot different than arriving at 9 am, and is just pushing it a little too far for comfort.

[DirtyDawg]

 

Even if OP paid just $1500 for his cruise, his loss could be significantly higher: extra hotel stay(s), flight change fees, meals, etc. And, regardless of cruise fare, no thinking person will needlessly risk whatever he paid - to save a (more likely) $125 motel charge.

 

If you want to add in the extra losses feel free to do so, but also be realistic about the 'insurance' costs. Those costs could include not only the motel room, but the extra dine-out meal or meals, and possibly lost wages for a day by flying in early. And when you have realistic numbers on both sides do the calculations. Most of the time those numbers will tell you to go early but sometimes they don't. All I'm saying so don't assume that your conclusion, whatever it is, applies to others with greatly different circumstances. Run the numbers!

[navybankerteacher]

 

If you want to add in the extra losses feel free to do so, but also be realistic about the 'insurance' costs. Those costs could include not only the motel room, but the extra dine-out meal or meals, and possibly lost wages for a day by flying in early. And when you have realistic numbers on both sides do the calculations. Most of the time those numbers will tell you to go early but sometimes they don't. All I'm saying so don't assume that your conclusion, whatever it is, applies to others with greatly different circumstances. Run the numbers!

 

It's not just the numbers: the whole point of the exercise is to go on a cruise - and not risk burning vacation time by missing part/all of it.

 

But I will concede your point: you are happy to fly in on day of cruise - and do not even think you are lucky that you apparently can make it with no sweat. My point is that most rational mere mortals who take time to think about things will only very reluctantly plan to take connecting flights scheduled to land within just a few hours before sailaway -.regardless of the cruise fare.