Flying in the day of the cruise

[gailellen12]

I know it is better to fly in a day ahead, but I don’t have that flexibility. I need to give an exam and then home and to the airport, arriving on the day of my cruise. I would love to hear from people who have do this often and Unfortunately  I have no choice this time. The only positive is I booked my flight with my cruise line so help will be at hand

[George C]

While I never would do that now , we did it often in the past , booking with the cruise line is the smart way to go.

[Shmoo here]

9 minutes ago, gailellen12 said:

I know it is better to fly in a day ahead, but I don’t have that flexibility. I need to give an exam and then home and to the airport, arriving on the day of my cruise. I would love to hear from people who have do this often and Unfortunately  I have no choice this time. The only positive is I booked my flight with my cruise line so help will be at hand

We've flown in the day of our cruise 5 times. We've arrived in plenty of time every time.  We've always booked through the cruise line in those cases.

 

The best you can do is try to fly out of your home airport as soon as you can, allowing as much buffer time on the other end.  Direct flights are best, if possible.  Also, it's a good idea to make sure there are options (any more flights) if you should miss that first flight.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Shmoo here

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

We've flown in the day of our cruise 5 times. We've arrived in plenty of time every time.  We've always booked through the cruise line in those cases.

 

The best you can do is try to fly out of your home airport as soon as you can, allowing as much buffer time on the other end.  Direct flights are best, if possible.  Also, it's a good idea to make sure there are options (any more flights) if you should miss that first flight.

All of the above + 🤞.

[Charles4515]

There were at least two threads posted on CC from members who flew in the day of and missed their sailing because of canceled flights.  

[CruiserBruce]

What the OP hasn't mentioned is that their flight is an international, overnight flight. Kind of important details..

[Ferry_Watcher]

1 hour ago, gailellen12 said:

I need to give an exam and then home and to the airport, arriving on the day of my cruise.

 

Is this what you have to do the morning of the cruise???

 

 

17 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

What the OP hasn't mentioned is that their flight is an international, overnight flight. Kind of important details..

 

Geography is important here as well.

[mom says]

2 hours ago, gailellen12 said:

The only positive is I booked my flight with my cruise line so help will be at hand

If your flight is a transatlantic,  just what kind of help do you think you'll get? How many flights from your airport to Barcelona leave the same day, but after your booked flight is due to leave? And arrive in time to make embarkation. Do you think they would hold the ship for one late passenger? It's remotely possible they would allow a downline embarkation, but with Covid restrictions this may not be possible.

I can't imagine how stressful this kind of plan would be. I hope you can find a supply teacher to fill in that last work day, so you can arrive a day early.

[Hlitner]

We figure the OP has lots of concerns which is why they even started this thread.  What should be said is that flying in the day of the cruise is fine until it isn't! Many have never had a problem...but many have missed their cruises because the airlines do what airlines do.  Just as an example, on Saturday we returned home from our winter in Puerto Vallarta.   Our AA flight out of PV was 3 hours late due to a mechanical problem earlier in the day (at another airport).  We missed our connection in DFW by a few minutes (this was on Saturday).  We had allowed 4 hours for that connection and still missed it because of our late flight.  The earliest AA could get us to our booked destination was on Tuesday (tomorrow) because of all flights being fully booked.  We finally convinced them to fly us to Cleveland this morning (we got the last two seats on that flight) where we rented a car for the 5 hour drive home!

 

Now, to be honest, for 14 or the past 16 years our airlines (Delta and AA) have gotten us home on the right day (although often late).  But besides this year when it took us 57 hours to get home on what was to be an 8 hour trip....we have also been stuck in Atlanta (while making a connection for 3 days due to a couple of inches snow at ATL (that airport has problems handling snow and freezing weather).

 

So my message to the OP is that you do what you must do and hope for the best.  Your best bet on flying in on the day of a cruise is to get the earliest flight (preferably the first flight of the day for that aircraft) and a non-stop routing.  And that is no guarantee if there are weather issues, mechanical issues, crew issues (this has been a very common problem in the past 6 months), etc.

 

I will admit that we have flown in on the day of a cruise (once in about the last 50+ cruises) for a cruise that was departing from Copenhagen.  However we knew that the first port (the day after embarkation) was in Arhus which is a place we could have easily caught up to the ship.  Because we had that Plan B and felt our major risk would be only miss one day on a long cruise we took our chances.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, gailellen12 said:

....The only positive is I booked my flight with my cruise line so help will be at hand

Read your Cruise-line’s Ticket Contract and T&Cs. 
Most cruise lines act solely as a Travel Agent when it comes to air tix. They sell them and assist with bookings and tix changes. But, rebooking price differences, penalties etc. are all governed by the air carrier and are your responsibility. And not unlike ship excursions, there really is no guarantee that a ship will wait for you at the embarkation port or time due to a late, cancelled or otherwise interrupted/delayed air arrival.

[evandbob]

Added to the list of items that can delay or cancel a flight now are unruly or drunk passengers who won't wear a mask onboard the plane.

 

I think the mask requirement has been extended to mid April, but after that, you may still have unruly or inebriated flyers that can disrupt a plane's schedule.

Edited March 15, 2022 by evandbob

[navybankerteacher]

People should make their choices - take the risk or not. What is kind of silly is saying “flying in the day before isn’t an option”.  Unless someone is forced to take a cruise, everything they plan in connection with the cruise IS a part of the option.

 

I hope OP makes the cruise without too much stress - but it is a matter of wanting to have the cake and eat it too.

Edited March 15, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[Joebucks]

Expected to come in and hear all of the reasons why it is "impossible" why it can't happen. Can only travel on these, specific dates, and that's it. Wasn't disappointed.

 

It's possible to fly in that day. Anything is possible. It's not a good idea though. Especially in today's world. The first thing that comes to mind is the amount of flights that are getting rescheduled. Staffing is a nightmare everywhere. It is also causing cancellations and whatnot.

[Pudgesmom]

Make a plan for what you will do if you miss the sailing.

1. Will you create a vacation in your embarkation city?

 

2. Will you go back home immediately? Are your air tickets exchangeable? Is there a penalty for changing, or will you choose to wait to use your original return?

 

3. Will you attempt to catch up to the ship at its first stop? You will need airfare, hotel reservations for at least one night and additional funds for that day or days. 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Expected to come in and hear all of the reasons why it is "impossible" why it can't happen. Can only travel on these, specific dates, and that's it. Wasn't disappointed.

 

It's possible to fly in that day. Anything is possible. It's not a good idea though. Especially in today's world. The first thing that comes to mind is the amount of flights that are getting rescheduled. Staffing is a nightmare everywhere. It is also causing cancellations and whatnot.

Please identify who said it was "impossible". I can't find any. What is commonly said is that it is risky.

[Zach1213]

13 hours ago, gailellen12 said:

The only positive is I booked my flight with my cruise line so help will be at hand

 

Maybe. Maybe not. Flights are now going out as full as they used to, so there's no guarantee there will be seats available on other flights. Cruise lines can't just create new flights or new seats. Not saying the airline will either, but a common misconception of the cruise line air is that they'll "definitely get you there"...but that's not always true. 

 

13 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

What the OP hasn't mentioned is that their flight is an international, overnight flight. Kind of important details..

 

 

 

2 hours ago, evandbob said:

Added to the list of items that can delay or cancel a flight now are unruly or drunk passengers who won't wear a mask onboard the plane.

 

I think the mask requirement has been extended to mid April, but after that, you may still have unruly or inebriated flyers that can disrupt a plane's schedule.

 

I mean, to be fair, the chances of that are extremely small. I've flown 100,00 to 200,000 BIS miles each year for the last 15 and have never once had that happen. Can it happen? Sure, but "drunk passenger" isn't something I worry about too often. 

 

That being said, you just need to sit at the airport bar closest to a Qantas flight to see how drunk some folks get before a longhaul flight 😉

[Nebr.cruiser]

For the first time in many, many years, we are flying in the day of the cruise, using cruise line air.  Are we a little apprehensive?  Yes, but for this cruise it just made more sense.  Normally we wouldn't consider it and in fact from Omaha it is often impossible.  So we will see!

 

[George C]

Hope everyone flying day of the cruise have insurance that will pay if they miss the cruise.

[leaveitallbehind]

I know all of the debates and criticisms regarding day of flights - this has been discussed ad nauseum on these boards over the years.  And I'm not challenging any of that now.  But there are circumstances when day before flights are not possible leaving day of flights as the only alternative.

 

In our early years of cruising, primarily with our family with both of us working and children in school, day before - and even night before - flights were frequently  not feasible.  This also would entail a hotel for 5.  So many of these cruises were accomplished with day of flights.  We were fortunate, I guess, in that in our 30 years of cruising - many with day of flights - we never missed or were late for arrival for any of our cruises.  Back in the day with multiple carriers, non stop flights, and little flight restrictions involving our routes this was not typically a problem for us from our departure airport.  In fact it seemed rather typical based on the number of fellow cruisers we would see on our flights.

 

That all being said, given all of the circumstances of the recent years, day of flights take on a whole new set of risks and situations that make that choice much less secure than it once was.  And fortunately our travel options now allow us the flexibility of day before travel - and the option of driving if desired - to avoid the concerns of day of travel.  So clearly in todays' circumstances in particular, I would always recommend day before flight travel v day of. 

 

But I also am objective enough to realize that for some there are still circumstances that would prevent that, so I would at least suggest booking air travel through the cruise line as a way to help mitigate any day of concerns.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Expected to come in and hear all of the reasons why it is "impossible" why it can't happen. Can only travel on these, specific dates, and that's it. Wasn't disappointed.

 

It's possible to fly in that day. Anything is possible. It's not a good idea though. Especially in today's world. The first thing that comes to mind is the amount of flights that are getting rescheduled. Staffing is a nightmare everywhere. It is also causing cancellations and whatnot.

Add to this the reality that, should there be a cancelled flight on your itinerary, priority for rebooking will always be given to the airline’s FFs first. Also important is choosing connection airports that are hubs for your airline and it’s consortium partners (providing more options in case you need ticket reassignment when all goes FUBAR).

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Hope everyone flying day of the cruise have insurance that will pay if they miss the cruise.

 

And if you're leaning on this, that your insurance would actually cover it.

[SmoothFlying]

In a 'perfect' world, I'd rather fly in on the day of. But, those days were over sixty, seventy years ago when people wore their 'Sunday best' and thought it was a REAL experience and were thrilled about flying. Now, today you can have a cascade of problems arise, either in the air or on the ground. You have little old ladies knocking flight attendants teeth out, nuts trying to force either their way into the cockpit OR force open the escape door exit (which, I've heard can't be done we HOPE). Add the possibility of either aircraft problems which can cause cancelled flights or bad weather enroute to your cruise destination or some joker decides to call in a prank bomb threat and you MIGHT be delayed. But it's a rare occasion when any of these incidents COULD happen. But, just know there's always a chance. As the old saying goes, 'You pays your money, ya takes your chances'.

 

Actually, I think the odds are IN your favor flying in the day of. Good luck !

Mac

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Maybe. Maybe not. Flights are now going out as full as they used to, so there's no guarantee there will be seats available on other flights. Cruise lines can't just create new flights or new seats. Not saying the airline will either, but a common misconception of the cruise line air is that they'll "definitely get you there"...but that's not always true. 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean, to be fair, the chances of that are extremely small. I've flown 100,00 to 200,000 BIS miles each year for the last 15 and have never once had that happen. Can it happen? Sure, but "drunk passenger" isn't something I worry about too often. 

 

That being said, you just need to sit at the airport bar closest to a Qantas flight to see how drunk some folks get before a longhaul flight 😉

 

I was delayed 4 hours the crew noticed a sick passenger. she told them she had not been feeling well when she boarded but had to go. No way they were going to travel with her on a transatlantic flight. So they went back to the gate, had to find her luggage as they can't take luggage without the passenger onboard.  They also had to refuel the plane. 

 

My last international flight which was to Iceland was canceled because of a mechanical problem. No other flights, had to go the next day. 

 

My neice was delayed a day in 2018 in DC on the way to Europe because of fire in the airport control tower.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Charles4515

[leaveitallbehind]

6 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

In a 'perfect' world, I'd rather fly in on the day of. But, those days were over sixty, seventy years ago when people wore their 'Sunday best' and thought it was a REAL experience and were thrilled about flying. Now, today you can have a cascade of problems arise, either in the air or on the ground. You have little old ladies knocking flight attendants teeth out, nuts trying to force either their way into the cockpit OR force open the escape door exit (which, I've heard can't be done we HOPE). Add the possibility of either aircraft problems which can cause cancelled flights or bad weather enroute to your cruise destination or some joker decides to call in a prank bomb threat and you MIGHT be delayed. But it's a rare occasion when any of these incidents COULD happen. But, just know there's always a chance. As the old saying goes, 'You pays your money, ya takes your chances'.

 

Actually, I think the odds are IN your favor flying in the day of. Good luck !

Mac

Really???  So your advice is......drive?  Sounds like flying would be a nightmare regardless of day of or day before!

Edited March 15, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I was delayed 4 hours the crew noticed a sick passenger. she told them she had not been feeling well when she boarded but had to go. No way they were going to travel with her on a transatlantic flight. So they went back to the gate, had to find her luggage as they can't take luggage without the passenger onboard.  They also had to refuel the plane. 

 

My last international flight which was to Iceland was canceled because of a mechanical problem. No other flights, had to go the next day. 

Once was booked on a flight from Albany NY to SFO via Dulles in DC. Plane had a fly tire. Six hour delay since tire and mechanic had to come from DC.