Flying In on embarkation day

[Cruiseallday1]

Flying In On Embarkation Day

Ok so this is my first time going on a cruise. Me and my friend are going on a cruise together leaving at 3pm, So Royal Caribbean wants us on the cruise at 1:30/2pm. However due to her schedule it's impossible to leave a day early. So my plan was to fly in MSY airport at 10:14 am? I am going to Erato Street Terminal. Do you think this is too close, this is also the only flight Air2Sea shows. Not sure if this matters but we would be flying JetBlue. Also does anybody Know of a cheap way to get from the airport to the terminal? Our plan was to take a lyft.

[mom says]

Depending on when and where you are flying from, flying in on embarkation day always carries the risk of missing the ship if anything goes awry. The risk increases if your flight requires a connection. If you can't fly out the evening before, then try to catch the earliest flight possible, and have a plan B in case your flight is delayed or cancelled. According to Google maps it's about a 20 min drive to the cruise terminal , so if you arrive on time you'll be ok. Lyft or Uber would likely be the cheapest option.

[zqvol]

While not advised on these boards many people fly in the morning of the cruise. if your flight is on time making the ship should not be an issue, in fact you will likely be at the terminal by noon. Use either Lyft, Uber, or a cab. They will all get you there quickly the only real difference would be the price.

[cb at sea]

RCI doesn't care when you get there....if your ship leaves at 4pm, you must be onboard by 2:30pm...90 mins. prior to scheduled sail away.  

Taking the earliest flight the "day of" will work, unless there is a disruption in the flight schedules...which can happen if there is a problem anywhere.

Not everyone can leave the day prior...so make sure you have insurance on your trip, just in case!  Then go, and have fun!

 

[CoolNickname]

19 hours ago, Cruiseallday1 said:

Flying In On Embarkation Day

Ok so this is my first time going on a cruise. Me and my friend are going on a cruise together leaving at 3pm, So Royal Caribbean wants us on the cruise at 1:30/2pm. However due to her schedule it's impossible to leave a day early. So my plan was to fly in MSY airport at 10:14 am? I am going to Erato Street Terminal. Do you think this is too close, this is also the only flight Air2Sea shows. Not sure if this matters but we would be flying JetBlue. Also does anybody Know of a cheap way to get from the airport to the terminal? Our plan was to take a lyft.

 

Where is this cruise? If it is out of a US port the time to board probably isn't 3 pm. That's probably when the ship leaves. At US ports the ship probably boards from 10:30 to 2:30. Normally they have muster drill at 3:30 and they start making everyone head that way not long after 3pm. Muster drill is a safety drill everyone on the ship must attend by law. 

 

I have done arrival the day of the cruise one time and it isn't something I care to repeat. Some folks do it regularly. If you are sure this is what you must do I have some advice.

 

There are websites online which can tell you which tail sign a given flight will be on. From this you can find out if the plane will already be at your airport. You do not want to book a flight where the plane has to come from another airport to pick up passengers at your airport as there could more easily be some disruption. For example weather might be fine at your airport, but if it is bad at the previous airport your flight will be delayed. The one time we flew in the day of the cruise we made certain our airplane was one that came in the night before and parked overnight at our local airport.

 

Next, take the earliest flight you possibly can. Our flight was the first flight of the day between here and Miami. That way if your flight is delayed due to something like maintenance issues you may be able to get on the next flight out. Our flight that day was the 4th airplane to take off from our airport and everything up to that point was on time.

 

There were severe storms running from Florida across two states between us and Florida. Our flight went out around to avoid them making our landing late. Instead of having time for a leisurely meal before heading to the port we instead ended up going straight to the port. Luckily we boarded quickly and instead got food on the ship. 

 

The reason I'll never do it again is I was so worried we'd miss our ship I wasn't able to sleep the night before the flight. I normally sleep on flights but with the captain saying weather was going to delay us I just couldn't. Yeah, I get that I couldn't have actually done anything about anything on the flight, and I told myself that over and over. Still no sleep.

 

By the time we boarded the boat I was exhausted. After grabbing a quick bite I wound up wasting most of my first day on the ship sleeping. My sleep schedule was off kilter and I missed an activity I wanted to do because I fell asleep. Thank goodness it wasn't a shore day as I'd never have gotten up early enough. Never again.

[bbwex]

It is always suggested that you go in a day early to avoid any last-minute issues, but sometimes we simply cannot make this happen.  If you are even a couple of hours late arriving in New Orleans, you should be in good shape.  If you arrive on time, you will have tons of time, as you will almost be too early to board.  It will make that day a bit hectic, but then you have the whole cruise to relax and enjoy. 

 

As a note, you can check the on time history of your flight by going to flightaware.com and go to arrivals at your airport, which will be KMSY, then look for your flight by airline and flight number.  You will be able to see the format you need, and then look at the flight, say tomorrow morning, and on the right side it will show you its on time history.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[skrufy]

On 2/17/2020 at 11:07 PM, Cruiseallday1 said:

Flying In On Embarkation Day

Ok so this is my first time going on a cruise. Me and my friend are going on a cruise together leaving at 3pm, So Royal Caribbean wants us on the cruise at 1:30/2pm. However due to her schedule it's impossible to leave a day early. So my plan was to fly in MSY airport at 10:14 am? I am going to Erato Street Terminal. Do you think this is too close, this is also the only flight Air2Sea shows. Not sure if this matters but we would be flying JetBlue. Also does anybody Know of a cheap way to get from the airport to the terminal? Our plan was to take a lyft.

Avoid connecting flights. They are recipes for disaster especially during winter months. A few years ago we flew from Orlando to New Orleans, departed at 830am, landed at 945am, arrived at the port with plenty of time to spare.

[leaveitallbehind]

Note that the OP indicates they are booking the flight through Air2Sea, which means they are booking it through RCI.  As such, RCI will be aware of the flight status and will hold the ship for minor flight delays to assure that they will be able to board in the departures city.  If a more significant delay or cancellation occurs they will arrange and provide transportation to the first / next available port of call for boarding there.

 

While it is always preferable to fly the day before if possible, booking day of through Air2Sea is good as the flights are acknowledged as being those selected by RCI as acceptable to make the departure time as well as carrying the other assurances indicated.

Edited February 21, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[SRF]

Another option is to just several things mentioned.

 

If you have a connection, maybe fly out late the evening before.  Overnight at the connecting airport, then leave the first flight out.

 

Early flights are most always where the plane overnights at that airport.     

 

One issue could be crew rest.  If the flight gets in late, the crew cannot fly unless X hours have passed in rest.  At larger airports, it is not a problem if the plane comes in late the night before, as the crew will probably have come in on a flight that got their earlier.

[cruznjan]

Another option is to use the ship's airport transfer. They know you're on your way, and will wait for you within a reasonable time frame. 

[donaldsc]

On 2/21/2020 at 8:52 AM, leaveitallbehind said:

Note that the OP indicates they are booking the flight through Air2Sea, which means they are booking it through RCI.  As such, RCI will be aware of the flight status and will hold the ship for minor flight delays to assure that they will be able to board in the departures city.  If a more significant delay or cancellation occurs they will arrange and provide transportation to the first / next available port of call for boarding there.

 

While it is always preferable to fly the day before if possible, booking day of through Air2Sea is good as the flights are acknowledged as being those selected by RCI as acceptable to make the departure time as well as carrying the other assurances indicated.

 

This answer is a question.  I assume that the OP is going on  a closed loop Caribbean cruise.  What happens if OP misses his embarkation and the cruise line provides transportation to the next port.  If they do not have passports, will the closed loop rules apply.

 

DON

[broadwaybaby123]

I strongly advise against it.  I had a mid morning flight a few years back and it was due to arrive in Aruba at 2 PM the day of the cruise.  Well, we got delayed: first time because a flight attendant forgot their passport, second time because the pilot forgot their passport, and then we had to wait for the third flight to come in from Turkey (in which the entire crew had their passports).  They did hold the ship for us, as we were supposed to leave at 2PM that day.  We didn't arrive until 4AM the next day.  The crew members on the ship told us that if we didn't arrive by 5AM, we would have had to make our own arrangements to fly into our next port of call (St. Thomas).

 

Flights can be delayed for any reason, do you really want to take that chance?  It's way better to get into the terminal city the day before if you can.  If flying isn't an option, could you potentially drive to the port?

[Cruiseallday1]

Update: I have canceled this sailing due to Coronavirus Concerns. 😔  next time I will make sure if have time do fly a day before