Can you fly in DAY OF?

[Davis2010]

Our TA has had our cruise and flights booked since August. We are flying to Seattle the day of our cruise embarkation. It has us arriving at the air port around 11:15AM and embarkation is from 1:00-3:00pm. That seems like sufficient time to me. We live in Florida and have always drove to our cruises on the day of, even the ones that were 4-5 hours away. I understand with flying (our first time) there are a lot more factors.

 

Ultimately, will we be ok?

[Ms BumbleBee]

I just changed my flights to be the day before flying in from Charlotte.  I would hate if there was a flight delay to miss embarkation - more so as like you - we are on the other coast. I would check with your TA on it.

[mskaufman]

It would be too close for me.  Obviously, if the times work as advertised, things will be fine. Being risk averse I would worry about the flight being an hour late + 15 minutes to get off the plane + 20 minutes to get luggage.  Now its ten to one and just heading to the port.  While it will probably work, it is too close to me.  

 

That said, I have flown to Miami day of the cruise and driven four hours to NY day of the cruise. However, I used a flight that had a 9am at the airport and a 5pm departure.

 

Good luck 

[VermeulT]

I would be concerned.  You have a connection so that doubles your chances for issues... mechanical, weather, computer issues, etc.  One cruise our flight had a medical emergency and was diverted to another airport...  Thing is - you don't know what could go wrong... and is the risk of things going wrong the way you want to start your vacation?  I saw from another post that you're first time flyers.

I'd ask your TA to rebook to the day before.  Seattle is beautiful.  Why not build in the cushion for anything happening?

 

If you can't - it should be ok. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

Please consider flying in the day before.

[Davis2010]

18 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

I would be concerned.  You have a connection so that doubles your chances for issues... mechanical, weather, computer issues, etc.  One cruise our flight had a medical emergency and was diverted to another airport...  Thing is - you don't know what could go wrong... and is the risk of things going wrong the way you want to start your vacation?  I saw from another post that you're first time flyers.

I'd ask your TA to rebook to the day before.  Seattle is beautiful.  Why not build in the cushion for anything happening?

 

If you can't - it should be ok. 

One of the main reasons we didn't/couldn't book a day earlier was because we could not get off for that particular day and for some reason the flights were more and hotel, etc made us out of budget.

[Davis2010]

43 minutes ago, Ms BumbleBee said:

I just changed my flights to be the day before flying in from Charlotte.  I would hate if there was a flight delay to miss embarkation - more so as like you - we are on the other coast. I would check with your TA on it.

We considered the day before, but neither of us could get off of work for that Friday.

[VermeulT]

Could you fly late in the day after work? 

 

I don't believe you've mentioned when you are going.  I'm not a TA but if you would like some help looking if there are options to help avoid any stress - please let me know... vacation at trudyginsburg dot com

[Davis2010]

Just now, VermeulT said:

Could you fly late in the day after work? 

 

I don't believe you've mentioned when you are going.  I'm not a TA but if you would like some help looking if there are options to help avoid any stress - please let me know... vacation at trudyginsburg dot com

Our cruise is 5/9-5/16/2020. We leave JAX 5/9 @ 6AM and arrive at SEA @ 11:15AM with a stop in DFW in between. We can't leave late after work on Friday due to our small children and not having anyone to help until Saturday.

[SRQbeachgirl]

There is no way I would cut things that close, but if you absolutely can't fly in the day before then please, please get travel insurance (if you haven't already). That way, worst case scenario you will be covered if you have to arrange alternate transportation to catch up with your ship in the first port.

[Davis2010]

2 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

There is no way I would cut things that close, but if you absolutely can't fly in the day before then please, please get travel insurance (if you haven't already). That way, worst case scenario you will be covered if you have to arrange alternate transportation to catch up with your ship in the first port.

We do have travel insurance.

[VermeulT]

There IS a Delta flight that could get you in 45 min earlier, but it's quite a bit more expensive vs your flight.

Since your cruise is in May and you most likely haven't made final payment - would you consider a cruise that leaves on 5/10 instead?  there's a HAL and Norwegian that leaves Sun.  The NCL has the same ports as the one you're on.... something to perhaps consider.

 

[Davis2010]

Just now, VermeulT said:

There IS a Delta flight that could get you in 45 min earlier, but it's quite a bit more expensive vs your flight.

Since your cruise is in May and you most likely haven't made final payment - would you consider a cruise that leaves on 5/10 instead?  there's a HAL and Norwegian that leaves Sun.  The NCL has the same ports as the one you're on.... something to perhaps consider.

We have paid for the trip in full and would lose our $500 OBC if we switched.

[Coral]

Wow - I would never do it.

 

Is it a direct flight?

Edited January 7, 2020 by Coral

[Davis2010]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

Wow - I would never do it.

May I ask why? This is a first for me. Living in Florida we've always been within a 5 hour driving distance of our cruises. My TA booked everything and assures me we will be fine.

[CruiserBruce]

17 minutes ago, Coral said:

Wow - I would never do it.

 

Is it a direct flight?

The OP mentioned earlier a connection at DFW.

[CruiserBruce]

18 minutes ago, Davis2010 said:

May I ask why? This is a first for me. Living in Florida we've always been within a 5 hour driving distance of our cruises. My TA booked everything and assures me we will be fine.

What does your TA lose if you miss your ship? Nothing. Fly in the day before. Yes, you could make it, and everything could be OK. But have you heard of any flights that are delayed by hours for weather, mechanical, or other reasons?  Obviously you have doubts, or you wouldn't be asking this question. By the way, Seattle is not in Alaska.

[Davis2010]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

What does your TA lose if you miss your ship? Nothing. Fly in the day before. Yes, you could make it, and everything could be OK. But have you heard of any flights that are delayed by hours for weather, mechanical, or other reasons?  By the way, Seattle is not in Alaska.

We can't get the day before off. I appreciate your input but feel it was typed ill-mannered. I hope it wasn't and I apologize if that's the case. I have never flown, so this is all new for me, hence all of the questions. I went off of the encouragement of our TA that was recommended to us. It's all I had to go on when we booked. If I had known what I have read recently then, I would have tried to find a different cruise or flight option. Thank you again for you input. I realize Seattle is not Alaska.....

[DougH]

If everything goes well you will be OK but the slighest delay along the way will cause real problems. I'm assuming from Seattle you are heading to Alaska with a first port of Ketchikan. If you miss the ship for any reason you will not be able to join the ship as you would be then traveling from one US port (ketchikan) to a final destination in Seattle. This is not allowed by US law so you would potentially miss your entire cruise. I would suggest flying in a day early and taking another vacation day, and finding someone to watch the kids one more night

[CynCyn]

I don’t know how much you fly through DFW, but a drop of rain snarls travel for hours.  I’d try to leave the night before and even sleep at the DFW Hyatt.  Whatever you do, don’t leave the secured area at DFW!

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, Davis2010 said:

May I ask why? This is a first for me. Living in Florida we've always been within a 5 hour driving distance of our cruises. My TA booked everything and assures me we will be fine.

 

Where did you come up w that TA.  Make sure that you never ever use him again and make sure that you tell all of your friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. not to use him.  In fact, try to get him fired from whatever agency he works for.  I totally agree with all the dire scenarios that the rest of the people who have posted before me.  BTW - what is your layover time in DFW.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

There is no way I would cut things that close, but if you absolutely can't fly in the day before then please, please get travel insurance (if you haven't already). That way, worst case scenario you will be covered if you have to arrange alternate transportation to catch up with your ship in the first port.

 

Would travel insurance even cover missing a cruise because of these flight arrangements?

 

DON

[Coral]

8 hours ago, Davis2010 said:

May I ask why? This is a first for me. Living in Florida we've always been within a 5 hour driving distance of our cruises. My TA booked everything and assures me we will be fine.

Because so much can delay planes. Weather in Boston can affect your flight. I have gone to the airport with a connection in Chicago and there were storms in both Chicago and Houston and all flights with that airline had delays. I have also had to sit on a runway for hours due to not having any gates because of a back log. Oh, there can be computer problems, plane problems, flight crew issues that can cause a delay with a plane leaving on time. Plus a million other things. I missed half my flights 2 summers ago due to issues.

[Ms BumbleBee]

7 hours ago, DougH said:

If everything goes well you will be OK but the slighest delay along the way will cause real problems. I'm assuming from Seattle you are heading to Alaska with a first port of Ketchikan. If you miss the ship for any reason you will not be able to join the ship as you would be then traveling from one US port (ketchikan) to a final destination in Seattle. This is not allowed by US law so you would potentially miss your entire cruise. I would suggest flying in a day early and taking another vacation day, and finding someone to watch the kids one more night

 

And this is exactly why I changed my flights (I had free air from NCL) to the day before. Because there are so many things that can happen out of my control.  I only fly to a cruise the same day if it is close enough that I can get in the car and drive (which basically means I pretty much fly the day before.  

[Ms BumbleBee]

9 hours ago, Davis2010 said:

We can't get the day before off. I appreciate your input but feel it was typed ill-mannered. I hope it wasn't and I apologize if that's the case. I have never flown, so this is all new for me, hence all of the questions. I went off of the encouragement of our TA that was recommended to us. It's all I had to go on when we booked. If I had known what I have read recently then, I would have tried to find a different cruise or flight option. Thank you again for you input. I realize Seattle is not Alaska.....

No it was honest feedback.  Every person here has told you that they would be uncomfortable with that timeframe.  I would never do a multiple leg trip the day of a cruise because you could get stuck in DFW and miss your cruise.

 

With every response you have indicated why this is the ONLY option for you - you indicated you have never flown before so every person who has responded has flown and cruised and everyone is saying that is way too close for comfort.  If your TA did not explain all of this to you then they did you a disservice or you put them into a corner and this was the only choice.

 

To recap

 

For most experienced travelers (air travelers) they have indicated this is not a flight we would take.  You have indicated that this is your only choice and you are unwilling to make any changes so at this point I would just hope for the best and buy a travel guide for Seattle as a back up vacation.