Today a perfect example of why fly in day ahead of cruise

[Bee Guy]

3 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

 

In this case, you should take the very last flight out the day before.

 

 

 

Maine does not offer the options of many large airports.

[Plum Happy]

Just now, Bee Guy said:

 

Maine does not offer the options of many large airports.

 

What about the last flight?  What time does the last flight leave?

[Bee Guy]

5 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

 

What about the last flight?  What time does the last flight leave?

 

I don't know.  It would depend on the airline, and destination.  My point is that Maine's airports are all very small compared to major airports in large cities.   They do not have the traffic to justify multiple flights some airports offer.

[Baron Barracuda]

16 hours ago, lisa6191 said:

OK I get that things can happen, but that first example is an absurd combination of circumstances. I really think a same day nonstop flight under three hours that is supposed to land by around 10 am should be okay 95% of the time. Sucks for the 5%, but it's pretty good odds. I definitely would not do a same day connecting flight though (I actually never do connecting flights unless it is absolutely unavoidable, I am fortunate to live close enough to enough airports that I rarely have to).

 

Actually, his return flight was even worse.  12pm UAL flight from MCO should have had him back to EWR by 3pm.  They boarded 2 hours late due to thunderstorms in DC area then sat on runway for 4 hours.  NY was bright and sunny all day.  Plane then returned to gate where everyone de-planed.  At that point flight crew had exceed their time limit so had to wait hours for another crew.  Didn't get home until 3am.  Told him, I would never, ever fly with him.

[SRF]

On 10/20/2019 at 3:41 AM, ReneeFLL said:

I don't care how intelligently you schedule your itineraries. Things can and do go wrong. Trust me I know. DH is a pilot for AA and I know more than I care to admit. Doesn't mean it will happen to you, but all it takes is the one time. 

 

My condolences to him. 🙂

 

But it is interesting, all the people I know who work for the airlines (mostly pilots) ALL say don't count on being to your destination on time.

 

I had one trip, I ran to catch my early morning flight.  I ended up flying out the same flight THE NEXT DAY.

 

Thunderstorms between DC and ATL plus between NY and Chicago screwed up the entire day.  I got rebooked at least 4 times, and still did not make a single flight that could make any sort of connection.

Edited October 21, 2019 by SRF

[SRF]

On 10/19/2019 at 8:10 AM, Snit13 said:

Happy all worked for you and your luggage arrived when you did.  DH was a maintenance manager for a major airline and it is unbelievable all that can go wrong and delay or cancel flights.  Mother nature, plane parts failure, crew out of time and no crew available to replace and so on.  He once had a plane with a fuel tank issue that kept the plane out of service for a week.  Sort of difficult for any airline to meet schedule with planes out of service.  Enjoy your cruise.

 

My boss just got back.  His flight from Paris started with a maintenance delay.  The FA tried to close on of the bins.  There was a thick luggage tag hanging over the latch. Instead of looking for a problem, she just slammed the door closed several times, and broke the latch.

 

Had to get maintenance to deal with it.

 

THEN, they had missed their take off window, and had to sit another 1.5 hours before they could taxi.

[Zephanor]

I used to fly a lot for work, domestic and international... I always fly in the day before. I understand some can't do this for good reasons but man, it's a risk even if it's a low one. I've had flights canceled due to rain and had to fly out the next day, flights that missed connections due to congested air traffic and had to fly out the next day, etc, wouldn't be cool with a cruise.

 

Yes, it's extra cost for hotel, meals, etc. but I've enjoyed treating it like a date night. And honestly, it's always been a good time with the anticipation of the cruise that starts the next day, like a vacation Christmas Eve! 😉 

[cravingthis]

@sdrocks - so glad it all worked out for you!  What a stressful situation!

 

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by red-dragon

[shofer]

In 2008, we took our kids and their spouses on a cruise.  We flew into FLL a day early remembering too late on the flight that we had forgotten our passports.  Several flights out of O'Hare were cancelled due to a severe snowstorm.  Instead of DH having to fly home and retrieve said passports, our TA went to our house w/a friend who was a locksmith, entered our home (with our permission of course) took the passports off DH's dresser and FedEx'd them to our hotel.  They arrived in time for us to board the bus to the pier. 

[shofer]

43 minutes ago, red-dragon said:

@sdrocks - so glad it all worked out for you!  What a stressful situation!

 

 

It was actually worse!  I gave the edited version.  

 

[HBE4]

On 10/19/2019 at 4:58 PM, StolidCruiser said:

 

30+ cruises.  20+ of them have been same day without a single issue (the others being day before by choice/convenience).

 

I’d say I don’t need your luck but my own ability to intelligently schedule my travel itineraries. 

 

No doubt that your posse the necessary ability to intelligently schedule your travel itinerary.

 

But you should take the luck anyway to make sure there is no mechanical issues with the plane or severe weather.....both which are outside your ability to schedule.

[HBE4]

On 10/19/2019 at 1:45 PM, ChinaShrek said:

 

Many people cannot take that extra day off from work and will have no choice but to fly in the day of the cruise. So, have some compassion when my flight from Maine is delayed or canceled on the day the cruise is departing.

 

Sure, time off is precious and many do not want to "waste" a vacation day just to travel,

 

Not knowing what your work schedule is like but mine is typical M-F. If I did not have enough  vacation days to take Friday off as a travel day, I'd look at Sunday departure cruises and use Sat. as my travel day.

[PTAngel]

I have taken a chance twice & flew in day of cruise.  One from Phila to MIA & one from Balti to FLL.  I was alone the first time & made arrangements for the cruise line to pick me up at the airport.   The second time, a friend was with me & I had reserved a shuttle to the port.  They both worked great. 

 

But I know I run the risk of delays & I would not usually fly day of.   My friend & I usually fly in day before & explore.   We get extra girl time & can take our time getting ready for the cruise the next day.  No rush.

[matj2000]

Probably the majority of passengers arrive the day of the cruise...

 

I have done it before...

[cravingthis]

11 hours ago, shofer said:

It was actually worse!  I gave the edited version.  

 

Hi @shofer, I'm a bit confused.  I quoted @sdrocks.  Are you perhaps travelling with him/her as well?  

[loveheart]

I've done 2 cruises from Barcelona flying from London on the same day with no problems but I was very anxious. 

Next year we are flying in the day before for my own piece of mind.

[shofer]

2 hours ago, red-dragon said:

Hi @shofer, I'm a bit confused.  I quoted @sdrocks.  Are you perhaps travelling with him/her as well?  

I was definitely confused.  Sorry about that.

[CaribbeanCrush]

On 10/18/2019 at 8:09 PM, sdrocks said:

Cruising on Anthem tomorrow for a b2b.  Booked our flight s in July to get specific times & seats.  That plan fell apart at 1 am this morning when Delta begin

texting changes.  After 4 changes finally got a final departure time of 6:15.  After we scrambled to the airport to find seats downgraded and an extra leg

added with no current seat assignments I was in a panic.  (Had totally confirmed the flights 24 hrs before with no problems identified)  The upshot was we

had extra transfers added and didn't get into Newark until 5 pm.  Didn't get out of airport until 5:30.  (Our original time was arrival of 145 which still would be 

late for same day cruise.

So just an example of how flights can go wrong & we don't take the chance of waiting to fly the same day.

We were excited our luggage actually arrived the same time we did.  LOL !

 

 

We always have planned to arrive at our departure port at least a day early. We have never had a issue, but hearing stories like yours reminds us that it is a worthwhile practice. We did have our flight change for our upcoming trip, fortunately we are still months out and we were able to get it resolved. Got better flights than we booked initially!

[Cruiser_1977]

It's a calculated risk. I live within an hour of three major airports. Cruising out of an east coast port, POM and Mobile,  I have had no issues flying the morning of embarkation. However, in January I leave out of the Port of Los Angeles. I have a non-stop flight to LAX and I'm still going a day early. Same with my cruise in Jan 2021, I will fly to San Juan on Friday for a Saturday embarkation.

 

Time of year also played into my decision. January 2019 to Mobile no issue with a 0600 flight. June 2018 to FLL no issues with a 0805 direct flight. September 2019 no issues to MIA with a 0759 direct flight.

 

We each have to do that in which we're comfortable. I will not chastise someone for the choice they make. I truly hope that travelers educate themselves of the risks before purchasing the tickets.

Edited October 22, 2019 by JennyB1977

[CaribbeanCrush]

On 10/19/2019 at 12:02 PM, MalteseMama2 said:

We always fly a day ahead and it has proven to be the correct idea several times. Last Dec it allowed our luggage to catch up with us. I’ve come to enjoy that precruise day.  We get to relax a bit before heading to the ship, we eat dinner at restaurants that are unique to the area and we get to the ship early on embarkation day. 
Once we were notifying an airport authority that our luggage hadn’t arrived and the man asked if we could wait while he assisted his coworker in trying to get a family to the port because their ship was leaving in 1hour. We knew we had plenty of time and said of course we didn’t mind. I don’t know if they made it or not. 

 

So true. I couldn't imagine the stress of flying and getting to the port on time on the same day. I know lots of people do it, but we are like you. We enjoy restaurants, local beaches, we've even gone to watch some sail aways on the day before our cruise.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

On 10/19/2019 at 1:45 PM, ChinaShrek said:

 

Many people cannot take that extra day off from work and will have no choice but to fly in the day of the cruise. So, have some compassion when my flight from Maine is delayed or canceled on the day the cruise is departing.

Sorry, BS.  There's ALWAYS a choice...

 

1) Take a red eye the night before.

2) Save your vacation days so you can use an extra

3) Take a different cruise

4) Leave from a different airport

5) Arrive at a different airport

6) Don't cruise

 

Obviously, feel free to fly in the day of the cruise.  But don't go bitching and moaning if something happens and you miss sailing.  It was your choice to take the chance. 

[Cruise a holic]

This past "spring break" my neice, grand niece and nephew were scheduled to leave from NY to FLL for a cruise.  They were notified the night before that due to a rain storm, no flights would depart the next day!  We all called every airline and tried to get them a flight the next morning from multiple states-  Finally they scheduled a flight from Boston Logan, about 5 hour drive away- they left and my nephew drove in the middle of the night he was exhausted and had to drive in the rain-but  they made the cruise.

 

So no matter what time of year, flights get delayed and or cancelled.  It happened to us also many years ago on an alaska cruise coming home.  Canada had a power failure and since our departure was from Vancouver, we had to take a bus to seattle to get a flight home- of course delays going home isn't as bad as missing your cruise. However we were in a rush as we had a family wedding the next day!  

[Another_Critic]

4 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Obviously, feel free to fly in the day of the cruise.  But don't go bitching and moaning if something happens and you miss sailing.  It was your choice to take the chance. 

 

90% of this thread is about problems flying in the day before.  

 

Based on this thread, people should be flying in at least a week before.  😄

[CaribbeanCrush]

On 10/19/2019 at 3:16 PM, artypharty said:

We did not always fly in the day before but a very close call convinced us otherwise.  We have an hour drive to the airport and if we have an early morning flight, will even get a hotel at the airport the day before the flight.  We almost missed an early flight once because of a traffic accident on the interstate.  There is a lot to be said about peace of mind and the early start to the vacation is never a  bad thing! 😉   

 

I just suggested that idea to my wife. We live 20-25 minutes from the airport, but our flight for our next trip is at 7:20! Might be nice to already be there!

[molsonschooner]

A couple years ago we flew from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale. Weather in Toronto was great. Our flight left right on time(around 9:00 a.m.) As we got close to Fort Lauderdale we started to fly in circles. We did this for quite a while. After a while the Captain made an announcement that due to thunderstorms around Fort Lauderdale we were not safe to land. As we getting low on fuel were going to divert to Orlando. After sitting on the tarmac there for a while we finally took and and were able to land in Fort Lauderdale. We had to find new transportation to get us to our hotel. We finally got to the hotel around 4:00 p.m. If we flew the day of, we would have missed the ship.