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

[waterbug123]

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.

 

While I understand why people fly the same day, it's a little inaccurate to say they have "no choice."  Everything in life is a choice, and if time off work is restricted then that person actively CHOOSES to book a cruise that requires them to fly in the same day.  They could just as easily choose a shorter cruise, or a Sun-Sun cruise (if they work M-F), or to forego something else to save an extra vacation day, or a different type of vacation, etc.  etc.  There is always a choice.  😉

 

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. 

 

The majority of the time the majority of the people will have no issue flying in the same day.  But when there IS an issue, it can easily become a huge one.  Only takes once.....

 

On 10/19/2019 at 10:08 PM, 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).

 

I agree it's unusual that 3 different events occurred to create separate delays, but it isn't that uncommon to have at least 2 things happen.  I've had multiple flights in which there were at least 2 issues.   First a mechanical issue and by the time it's fixed the departure slot has been lost so now there's an ATC delay.  Or a weather delay and when the weather finally clears the crew has timed out. 

 

On 10/21/2019 at 9:31 PM, shofer said:

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. 

 

This is always my fear, so every time we travel we do a passport/phone/wallet check a zillion times.  Before we leave the house we both check for those 3 things on our person.  Before we leave the car or Uber at the airport we check again.  I check before I board, and again before I deplane, etc. etc.  No matter how careful you are, you never know when a wallet will fall out of a pocket, or a phone will slide out when a purse tips over or whatever. 

Edited October 23, 2019 by waterbug123

[Judyrem]

20 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

 

 

 

This is always my fear, so every time we travel we do a passport/phone/wallet check a zillion times.  Before we leave the house we both check for those 3 things on our person.  Before we leave the car or Uber at the airport we check again.  I check before I board, and again before I deplane, etc. etc.  No matter how careful you are, you never know when a wallet will fall out of a pocket, or a phone will slide out when a purse tips over or whatever. 

Ah the dreaded passport(phone/wallet too) nightmare I have once a week!  I have this terrible fear of traveling and forgetting my passport, makes me a nervous wreck!

[Paulette3028]

People seem to forget that NOT everyone has the luxury of being able to fly into a port the day before.  There are work issues (depending upon your job); there are limits to vacation time available and having to allocate another day off to 'vacation time' can't be done.

 

There are tons 'horror' stories and for everyone of them, there are those people that have had NO problems flying in the same day.  We had a cruise heading out of San Juan for the Southern Caribbean....flew in early that morning.  ALL went well.  

 

Just sharing.

 

 

 

 

[CaribbeanCrush]

26 minutes ago, Judyrem said:

Ah the dreaded passport(phone/wallet too) nightmare I have once a week!  I have this terrible fear of traveling and forgetting my passport, makes me a nervous wreck!

 

I usually have this dream days before the cruise, which causes me to check and recheck for them an unhealthy number of times while packing and leaving for the airport! 😂

[Judyrem]

12 minutes ago, CaribbeanCrush said:

 

I usually have this dream days before the cruise, which causes me to check and recheck for them an unhealthy number of times while packing and leaving for the airport! 😂

I think I have a bit of Obsessive/compulsive issues with regards to essential travel doc/phones, etc.

[SRF]

3 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

I agree it's unusual that 3 different events occurred to create separate delays, but it isn't that uncommon to have at least 2 things happen.  I've had multiple flights in which there were at least 2 issues.   First a mechanical issue and by the time it's fixed the departure slot has been lost so now there's an ATC delay.  Or a weather delay and when the weather finally clears the crew has timed out. 

 

Yes, it happens.

 

I was going to Brussels.  Easy, BWI - JFK - BRU.  Left on time from the date at BWI, then sat for a ground hold.  Initially for 20 minutes, but ended up to be 50 minutes.  Oh, connection in JFK was 1 hour. 🙂   Then a longish routing, and keeping the speed down, about 12 of us missed the flight to Brussels.  Rebooked on KLM, JFK - AMS - BRU.  Got to AMS, found the flight to BRU has left almost 2 hours earlier and we missed it.  This was not long after the Brussels airport bombing, so no more flight and scheduled changed on the fly.  So take the train.  No problem, except the express trains were not running due to track maintenance.  So had to change trains.  Then the train broke.  Had to switch to a local train, then back to another train.

 

End result, instead of being in my hotel at 9AM to enjoy a day in Brussels.  I got to my hotel about 9PM.

 

Same trip, my flight out of Africa was delayed 23 hours due to two crew members becoming injured.  They had to fly in replacements.  THEN, the flight was delayed another 3 hours due to a mechanical issue.

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

I agree it's unusual that 3 different events occurred to create separate delays, but it isn't that uncommon to have at least 2 things happen.  I've had multiple flights in which there were at least 2 issues.   First a mechanical issue and by the time it's fixed the departure slot has been lost so now there's an ATC delay.  Or a weather delay and when the weather finally clears the crew has timed out. 

 

I took a evening direct flight from New York to Houston. Departed 10 minutes early as we had everyone on board. The Doppler radar on the plane malfunctioned and as it was raining in Houston, we have to land  New Orleans to get it fixed. Never got off the plane and it was fixed after about 2 hours. But in the meantime, the storms over Houston intensified with tornado warnings so we were diverted to San Antonio where we spent another 2 hours waiting out the storms. Again, never got off the plane. 

 

Long story short, the 3 1/2 hour flight took 8+ hours due to 2 different issues. Worse yet, we were flying into Hobby which pretty much shuts down at 1:00 am. We got to the car rental counter at exactly 1:00 am as they guy was standing in the doorway, waiting to close.

 

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, Paulette3028 said:

There are tons 'horror' stories and for everyone of them, there are those people that have had NO problems flying in the same day.  We had a cruise heading out of San Juan for the Southern Caribbean....flew in early that morning.  ALL went well.  

 

Just sharing.

 

I agree. I'm sure that the vast majority of the people that fly in the same day have no issues.  And in your case, it's probably a short, direct flight from Florida to San Juan and I'm guessing the ship has a night time departure? My cruise departed SJ at 9:00 pm.

 

Even though airlines tell us to get to the airport 2 hours before flight time, once I've arrived at the airport less then 40 minutes before flight time and have been sitting at the gate 20 minutes later. But I was lucky and would never recommend it.

[Paulette3028]

4 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

I agree. I'm sure that the vast majority of the people that fly in the same day have no issues.  And in your case, it's probably a short, direct flight from Florida to San Juan and I'm guessing the ship has a night time departure? My cruise departed SJ at 9:00 pm.

 

Even though airlines tell us to get to the airport 2 hours before flight time, once I've arrived at the airport less then 40 minutes before flight time and have been sitting at the gate 20 minutes later. But I was lucky and would never recommend it.

Yes, we had an 8pm departure time from San Juan and we took a 6:30am flight out of Miami.  But we could not leave the day before....at that time, we had to account for every vacation/personal day off we took to stretch them as far as we could....that was the reality.  Friends of our flew down to join us from NJ, taking the first flight out that morning as well straight to SJ...real lives and situations of real people.  People do what they have to do....not everyone has the luxury of flying in the day before.  

 

You may not 'recommend it' but people talk about those that do as if they are 'crazy'....they have their reasons for doing it....and it could be 'adding more cost' to the vacation, hotel stay for the overnight etc.   I never make a judgement as to why someone does what they do....but people have valid reasons for their actions.

 

[Cruise a holic]

Yes, some people do not have the ability to leave a day earlier due to work or other responsibilities.  Since I am from a big city with many airports within a 50 mile radius- I would suggest if a red eye flight is available the night before the cruise- grab it if you can- and go after work. If not, most of the time the flights are on time and shouldn't hamper your cruise.

 

Good luck to all.

[OSUZorba]

On my 4 of my last 5 round trips to Orlando I've had at least one leg cancelled. Only one for active weather, which was in the connecting city. The 5th flight I changed my flight due hurricane Dorian that ended not hitting.

 

Somewhere around 3% of flights are cancelled and another 10% are significantly delayed. Further another 2% of luggage doesn't get to it's destination when the passenger does. Not worth taking a ~15% chance of missing my cruise to save a night in a hotel.

 

I pretty much always do Sunday cruises so I don't have to take an extra vacation day. And lately I've been sailing out of Galveston so I can just skip the flight (~9 hr drive).

Edited October 24, 2019 by OSUZorba

[brillohead]

I think this pic speaks for many of us in this thread....

 

[BensonFan711]

I've never had a cruise flight get so much as a delay.....BUT, I've been on plenty of other flights where there were delays or cancellations.  Air travel can be fickle.  At an absolute minimum, I leave the day before the cruise, on the first flight out.  That gives me a full 24 hours to screw around with airlines if I need to before we really run into problems.  It's well worth the cost of the hotel room, just for the piece of mind.

 

The superstitious part of me is also convince that the ONE time I think I know better and try to save costs on that hotel room is the time it will all fall apart.

 

The ONLY city I travel to for a day of cruise is Boston....and only because that's a 30 minute cab ride from my house.  An hour with traffic.

[actuarian]

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.

It is still very risky to fly in the day of the cruise.  You may be able to slightly reduce that risk by booking flights through the cruise line, since the cruise line will take some responsibility if you miss the cruise due to a flight that it arranged.  However, cruise lines will not always offer day of the cruise flights.

 

IMHO, it is better to take a shorter cruise that to fly in the day of the cruise.  Royal Caribbean offers 5-night and 6-night cruises that often appeal to people who have difficulty getting the time off that is needed for a standard 7-night cruise.  They also offer many 7-night cruises with Sunday departures so people can fly in on Saturdays (but then they risk delays on the return that could cause them to miss work on the following Monday).  For people who really need to minimize the time off from work, the Mariner and the Navigator of the Seas both do 3-night weekend cruises and while a little older, those are both recently updated "amped" ships.

[varganator]

DW and I had a flight to MIA when the snow hit Virginia. We left a day earlier (2 days before cruise) and got to watch Jim Cantore on Virginia Beach's Beach (where we live) in shorts at a bar in Little Havana. 

 

We would have never made it out if it wasn't for leaving early. ORF airport was shut down for 2 days. We wouldn't have even seen the boat sail away. 

[Baron Barracuda]

1 hour ago, actuarian said:

It is still very risky to fly in the day of the cruise.  You may be able to slightly reduce that risk by booking flights through the cruise line, since the cruise line will take some responsibility if you miss the cruise due to a flight that it arranged.  However, cruise lines will not always offer day of the cruise flights.

 

IMHO, it is better to take a shorter cruise that to fly in the day of the cruise.  Royal Caribbean offers 5-night and 6-night cruises that often appeal to people who have difficulty getting the time off that is needed for a standard 7-night cruise.  They also offer many 7-night cruises with Sunday departures so people can fly in on Saturdays (but then they risk delays on the return that could cause them to miss work on the following Monday).  For people who really need to minimize the time off from work, the Mariner and the Navigator of the Seas both do 3-night weekend cruises and while a little older, those are both recently updated "amped" ships.

 

Hear what you're saying, but when you're still sitting in airport after ship has sailed it's small comfort that cruise line will try to re-book flight so you can catch up a couple of days later 

 

Wouldn't personally consider shorter cruise.  Spending two days traveling and under 7 at sea just doesn't appeal to me.  On 3 night sailings airfare may exceed cost of cruise.  

Edited October 24, 2019 by Baron Barracuda

[actuarian]

21 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

 

 

Wouldn't personally consider shorter cruise.  Spending two days traveling and under 7 at sea just doesn't appeal to me. 

IMHO, that all depends on the available things to do near the departure port.  Before we retired and moved to Florida, my wife and I took many 4-night cruises because we happen to be "mouse-lovers" and could spend 3 nights at Walt Disney World prior to the cruises.  In those days, most of our cruises were actually on Disney out of Port Canaveral and they would put the whole package together.  More recently, we cruise on Royal Caribbean because Disney Cruise Line has gotten much more expensive and, now that we are retired, DCL no longer fits our budget.  Nevertheless, if we had to fly to get to Florida, we would still take 4-night cruises out of Port Canaveral (on the Mariner), precede all of our cruises with stays at the house of the mouse and not have to worry about airline delays.  Of course, that doesn't work unless you enjoy Disney or have children / grandchildren who enjoy Disney.

[StolidCruiser]

On ‎10‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 7:49 AM, waterbug123 said:

 

 

The majority of the time the majority of the people will have no issue flying in the same day.  But when there IS an issue, it can easily become a huge one.  Only takes once.....

 

 

That's why I never travel anywhere without an affordable and comprehensive travel insurance policy in place.  So far, that "once" hasn't happened when headed for a cruise (but has on other business/pleasure trips)... but if/when it does, the only thing huge might be the disappointment (as opposed to the financial loss).

 

As I originally said, planning for travel appropriately considering all circumstances is an individual responsibility and there is no "one size fits all" answer.  Based on your responses, I know you understand this quite well and sharing your perspective should help many better "destress" about avoiding travel pitfalls.

[SRF]

Another one happened today.  Not for a cruise.

 

But my boss and his wife were driving to the airport (he was flying out, she was taking car home).

 

They got hit head on by a drunk driver.  Car is totaled.  She was transported, but it seems no issues.  He claims no issues, but did not get checked out.

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

Another one happened today.  Not for a cruise.

 

But my boss and his wife were driving to the airport (he was flying out, she was taking car home).

 

They got hit head on by a drunk driver.  Car is totaled.  She was transported, but it seems no issues.  He claims no issues, but did not get checked out.

 

😞  Glad to hear that boss and wife escaped injury.

 

A similar incident happened to me returning from vacation.  I was about 90 miles from home, going about 60 mph when a deer decided to jump the guard rail.  Totaled my 2 year old car.  

[Baron Barracuda]

4 hours ago, SRF said:

Another one happened today.  Not for a cruise.

 

But my boss and his wife were driving to the airport (he was flying out, she was taking car home).

 

They got hit head on by a drunk driver.  Car is totaled.  She was transported, but it seems no issues.  He claims no issues, but did not get checked out.

Glad they seem ok but would still encourage him to get checked out.  Way back in my young and foolish days was involved in a couple of crashes.  With adrenaline pumping felt fine at time.  Next day could barely get out of bed.  Neck and back extremely stiff and sore.   fortunately no lasting effect.

[pink845]

The way we see it, we have paid good money for the cruise.  We want to relax.   Part of the cost of doing business as the saying goes is one has to spend at least one night prior to the cruise in a hotel.   No matter how many times a person has flown in the day of the cruise successfully, mark my words, that person will eventually get caught.  

[SRF]

On 10/26/2019 at 7:00 PM, Another_Critic said:

 

😞  Glad to hear that boss and wife escaped injury.

 

A similar incident happened to me returning from vacation.  I was about 90 miles from home, going about 60 mph when a deer decided to jump the guard rail.  Totaled my 2 year old car.  

 

My boss has hit, or actually been hit, by 4 or 5 deer.  Most are into the side of the car/truck.

 

 

[SRF]

On 10/26/2019 at 10:08 PM, Baron Barracuda said:

Glad they seem ok but would still encourage him to get checked out.  Way back in my young and foolish days was involved in a couple of crashes.  With adrenaline pumping felt fine at time.  Next day could barely get out of bed.  Neck and back extremely stiff and sore.   fortunately no lasting effect.

 

Oh, I tried.  But he is stubborn.  And not only that, he was headed to a long international flight, which was postponed to later that evening.

 

He could be in BIG pain and anguish.

 

And I WILL tell him, I told him so. 😄

 

[vacationlover_mn]

On 10/26/2019 at 12:33 PM, SRF said:

 

But my boss and his wife were driving to the airport (he was flying out, she was taking car home).

 

They got hit head on by a drunk driver.  Car is totaled.  She was transported, but it seems no issues.  He claims no issues, but did not get checked out.

Oh no!  Glad they are ok!!!