Flight to cruise port

[Lorenky]

Hello. We just booked our first cruise which leaves from Ft Lauderdale. We live in California so we have to fly to Ft Lauderdale the day before. No direct flights so we have one connection. Does anyone worry about major flight delays or lost luggage if flying the day before? Is it better to add an extra day at the cruise departure location in case of problems? That is extra time and money though. What do most folks do?   

[klfrodo]

We live north of you in Washington state.

We always fly in a bout 2 days early. 1 reason is to acclimate to the new time zone change. 2nd reason is to relax due to the excitement of travel and then jumping on a ship.

We just consider the extra travel as part of the vacation.

For myself, why worry about what may or may not happen with cancellations or flight delays. Are these potential circumstances under my control? No. Is the possibility a huge potential or a small potential? Are there some things I can do to prepare for the possibility and have potential resolutions on the back burner? Yes

 

[Lorenky]

Thanks, that was my feeling on it, but wasn’t sure if I was perhaps overthinking it.

[janetz]

Being so far away, 2 at least 😊

[lenquixote66]

We had an 8AM flight from NY to Ft.Lauderdale .Due to snow the plane did not leave till 8:30 PM.We missed the last shuttle to the hotel we booked and did not arrive till 1:20 AM.Lesson learned ,give 2 days.

[Flatbush Flyer]

13 minutes ago, Lorenky said:

Hello. We just booked our first cruise which leaves from Ft Lauderdale. We live in California so we have to fly to Ft Lauderdale the day before. No direct flights so we have one connection. Does anyone worry about major flight delays or lost luggage if flying the day before? Is it better to add an extra day at the cruise departure location in case of problems? That is extra time and money though. What do most folks do?   

Don’t be “pennywise and pound foolish” particularly where air connections are involved.

We fly out of SFO and always aim for arrival in an embark city at least two nights prior to the cruise if our destination is intercontinental with a connection (and we aim for connecting layovers in larger hubs that serve our preferred carrier’s (United) Star Alliance members) never less than 3-4 hours (for all of the obvious reasons).

 

Tahat said, on the rare occasions when we’ll cruise from MIA (a city we find to have “no there there”), we’ll only do one night pre-cruise. But, we’d also do our best to book only a non-stop to avoid potential luggage and other connection problems. 

[CruiserBruce]

21 minutes ago, Lorenky said:

Hello. We just booked our first cruise which leaves from Ft Lauderdale. We live in California so we have to fly to Ft Lauderdale the day before. No direct flights so we have one connection. Does anyone worry about major flight delays or lost luggage if flying the day before? Is it better to add an extra day at the cruise departure location in case of problems? That is extra time and money though. What do most folks do?   

If you read around the boards, you will find many extended discussions on the topic, split between those who adamantly insist on flying in the day before, and those who insist it is safe to fly in the day of sailing, where that is possible. Rarely does one seem uncomfortable with flying in the day before. Hmmm...

 

That being said, we almost always flew in the day before sailing when we were working, now as retirees, we typically fly in 2 days in advance, sometimes 3 or 4 when flying internationally.

[George C]

We never fly in 2 days before unless we are doing Europe.

[StollyBolly]

We usually do the day before especially if we are doing our own flights instead of through the cruise line.  I would say it depends on how many flights per day  to a location that gives you “wiggle” room. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

If you read around the boards, you will find many extended discussions on the topic, split between those who adamantly insist on flying in the day before, and those who insist it is safe to fly in the day of sailing, where that is possible. Rarely does one seem uncomfortable with flying in the day before. Hmmm...

 

That being said, we almost always flew in the day before sailing when we were working, now as retirees, we typically fly in 2 days in advance, sometimes 3 or 4 when flying internationally.

Not referring to you or anyone else but, “that was then and this is now.” I am always amused by “same day” flyers who say “if there’s a flight issue, I’ll just take the next plane out.” LOL!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, StollyBolly said:

We usually do the day before especially if we are doing our own flights instead of through the cruise line.  I would say it depends on how many flights per day  to a location that gives you “wiggle” room. 

If you think using a cruise line’s air gets you any guarantees, you may want to read the cruise T&Cs and Ticket Contract.

[mnocket]

In the future you might also look at direct flights into Miami.  The trip to Ft Lauderdale is fairly short and relatively inexpensive.  I often use Uber or Lyft.  I will book a flight into whichever airport offers the best direct schedule - regardless of whether I'm sailing from Ft Lauderdale or Miami. 

[Lorenky]

No, I haven’t booked the flight yet. What is the cost to get from the Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale?

[klfrodo]

9 minutes ago, Lorenky said:

No, I haven’t booked the flight yet. What is the cost to get from the Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale?

That would be something for you to research. We are not familiar with your budget or finances.  I would guess that the window could be anywhere from $25 using the train or mass transit system to $250 for a stretch limo car service. In between you have Taxi's, Uber and Lyft.

[Essiesmom]

11 minutes ago, Lorenky said:

No, I haven’t booked the flight yet. What is the cost to get from the Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale?

We have a board here for that.  It’s called Florida Departures, located under North American Homeports.  EM

[9tee2Sea]

3 hours ago, Lorenky said:

Hello. We just booked our first cruise which leaves from Ft Lauderdale. We live in California so we have to fly to Ft Lauderdale the day before. No direct flights so we have one connection. Does anyone worry about major flight delays or lost luggage if flying the day before? Is it better to add an extra day at the cruise departure location in case of problems? That is extra time and money though. What do most folks do?   

Im pretty sure delta and jet blue fly into Fort Lauderdale ( non-stop).  I even think Alaska air has 1 non-stop to FFL.  Those are red eye , out of LAX.

[mammajamma2013]

We're in New Mexico. We fly in the day before, but always as early as possible. This is for any cruise, leaving from anywhere. We did our first overseas flight for a cruise this past February, still flew in the day before.

[Shmoo here]

4 hours ago, Lorenky said:

Hello. We just booked our first cruise which leaves from Ft Lauderdale. We live in California so we have to fly to Ft Lauderdale the day before. No direct flights so we have one connection. Does anyone worry about major flight delays or lost luggage if flying the day before? Is it better to add an extra day at the cruise departure location in case of problems? That is extra time and money though. What do most folks do?   

We flew from LA to Ft Lauderdale the day before our cruise.  Arrived around 7-8 pm (can't recall, really).  Took taxi to hotel about 3 blocks from port.  Had a late dinner and to bed.  Took hotel shuttle to port the next day.  

 

 

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, 9tee2Sea said:

Im pretty sure delta and jet blue fly into Fort Lauderdale ( non-stop).  I even think Alaska air has 1 non-stop to FFL.  Those are red eye , out of LAX.

 

FLL has Jetblue nonstops San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego (as far as California goes). If OP is in Sacramento, there are SFO-FLL nonstops on Jetblue, United, and (seasonally) Alaska. No OAK or SMF-FLL flights though. 

[rjack22]

Anything can happen.  With flights being booked full it can be difficult to "take a later flight".   In February we had a flight booked leaving Detroit to Ft Lauderdale at 10:00 am.    Know what time we took off?   6:30 pm!    8.5 hours late!    Fortunately we flew the day before the cruise because otherwise we would have missed it.  Finally arrived at our hotel about 10:00 pm and were exhausted.  But we made the cruise.

My problem with flying in more than one night is the cost of the hotels during peak season!    $400 a night or more is awful.

Edited May 9, 2023 by rjack22

[janetz]

Most flights into FLL are cheaper then going into Miami

 

[George C]

5 hours ago, Lorenky said:

No, I haven’t booked the flight yet. What is the cost to get from the Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale?

Taxi or uber is about a hundred

[Lorenky]

I was trying to use American Airlines miles, but if it’s easier and more cost-effective to just fly to Fort Lauderdale, that’s what we’ll do. Thank you so much.

[SPacificbound]

We arrive four days prior to boarding regardless of what port or city. We're retired so we have the time to do that.

[Shmoo here]

31 minutes ago, SPacificbound said:

We arrive four days prior to boarding regardless of what port or city. We're retired so we have the time to do that.

Well, we also have the time to do that, but not the money.  Hotel prices are crazy (from what I've seen) if you try to get one near to the port, or within a decent amount of travel time.