objko Posted July 20 #1 Share Posted July 20 Would you book a red-eye to get to your cruise? Given the common cruise logic that says to arrive in embarkation city a day ahead to allow for unexpected flight delays, I’m looking for opinions on two options: 1. Leave San Diego 8:30 am on a Friday, arrive Boston 5pm same day, spend that night in Boston at hotel; board cruise next day on Saturday. Option 1 is safer. 2. Leave San Diego at 10:00pm Friday, arrive Boston 7am next day on Saturday and go directly to port to embark ship. Option 2 is cheaper. Thanks! objko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sunviking90 Posted July 20 #2 Share Posted July 20 (edited) 6 minutes ago, objko said: Would you book a red-eye to get to your cruise? Given the common cruise logic that says to arrive in embarkation city a day ahead to allow for unexpected flight delays, I’m looking for opinions on two options: 1. Leave San Diego 8:30 am on a Friday, arrive Boston 5pm same day, spend that night in Boston at hotel; board cruise next day on Saturday. Option 1 is safer. 2. Leave San Diego at 10:00pm Friday, arrive Boston 7am next day on Saturday and go directly to port to embark ship. Option 2 is cheaper. Thanks! objko Nope. Option 1. Even in domestic business class, I wouldn’t do a red eye. Having said that, it doesn’t bother some people. How long is your cruise? Do you have enough time to “recover” without being groggy for a good part of your cruise? We had relatives some years ago, who flew down to Florida on a red eye, and the next day BIL was so tired, he fell asleep on a lounger in the sun for 6 hours, got a burn and sunstroke and felt poorly for days! An extreme example, and characteristic of him, lol, but still…. Edited July 20 by sunviking90 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LAFFNVEGAS Posted July 20 #3 Share Posted July 20 We have done only 4 Redeyes to get to a cruise. Our very first was our very first cruise flying out of Las Vegas to FLL in March 2002 for Monarch of the Seas, we were so much younger and it went well no problems but we were newbie naive cruisers. The following year in April 2003 we did it again to FLL to cruise on the Zuiderdam, we did it again to cruise on the Maasdam out of Boston and the last was 2014 to fly to Houston for NCL Jewel. We were fortunate all 4 went as planned but to be honest a lot has changed with air travel in the last 10 plus years. It is not nearly as reliable as it once was. We now fly in a day or two ahead of time with the exception of flying to California or Seattle. But we do not do red eyes. I always select a flight that is an originator, I make sure that the airline I am choosing also has at least two more flight leaving that morning that will get me there so I can be on the ship on time (in my case Southwest and or Alaska Air) We also always try to do non stop flights. So with my long explanation I am saying go with option number 1, I would not risk taking a flight that is over 3 hours cross country with the current airline reliability. We did the one time to Boston 19 years ago I definitely would not risk it again. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted July 20 #4 Share Posted July 20 41 minutes ago, objko said: 2. Leave San Diego at 10:00pm Friday, arrive Boston 7am next day on Saturday and go directly to port to embark ship. Option 2 is cheaper. What was said above, but adding that it won't do you any good to "go directly to port to embark", because you won't be embarking at 7 or 8 am. You will be waiting somewhere uncomfortable for about four hours! I know whereof I speak! Fly in AT LEAST the day before. We now do two days before. Nothing is cheaper about a missed cruise ship. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menocchio Posted July 20 #5 Share Posted July 20 The redeye isn't the worst idea since even a delay of several hours would still leave you some time to get to the ship. But if it were cancelled outright, you'll find it difficult to get across the country in the middle of the night. If something goes awry with the morning flight, you have much more time and more flights during the day to try and find something. And you could still take that redeye. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay S Posted July 20 #6 Share Posted July 20 1 hour ago, objko said: Would you book a red-eye to get to your cruise? The peace of mind knowing I will (probably) make the cruise outweighs the cheaper cost for me. I did a red eye once to Brazil to catch a ship and it was awful. We got there, but we were half dead by the time we boarded and lost two days by sleeping and generally feeling grim. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaSea Posted July 20 #7 Share Posted July 20 If it was me, I'd do option 1 and plan to enjoy a great dinner (as a west coaster I'm a fan of Legal Seafood in Boston) and get a good night's sleep before the cruise, in my mind embracing an additional vacation day. Much less stress, priceless. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted July 20 #8 Share Posted July 20 The only way I'd take a red-eye is if it was cheaper and got me in at least 1 or 2 days prior to sailing. These days there are so many cancellations for various reasons, I wouldn't risk flying to arrive on departure day. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tradestock Posted July 20 #9 Share Posted July 20 I have done both, red eye and day before flight. If I am booking a red eye flight, it will be through flight ease and with trip cancellation insurance. Flight ease claims to get you to the next port, if embarkation is missed. The simpleness or complexity of meeting the ship at the first port is unknown because I have never used the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in AZ Posted July 20 #10 Share Posted July 20 I did a red eye last year but it wasn’t by choice. This was during the flood that happened in FLL April 2023. Long story but after many attempts of rescheduling, and this was 2 days pre cruise, I was able to book a red eye to arrive the day before embarkation in Miami. I left my home at 2:00 pm and got to the hotel at about 9:30 am the next day. I was exhausted and had a long nap and missed most of that day. I can’t imagine doing that arriving the day of embarkation. Since then I arrive 2 days early. It was very stressful and not a pleasant way to start a cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray4Fun Posted July 20 #11 Share Posted July 20 Given This weekends drama with flight cancellations. We will now fly not one but two days prior to departure. As a side, Today we were scheduled to be in Boston on the VOV cruise. Last week HAL offered us an opportunity to move today's VOV to next year. Our schedule had us flying from Atlanta to Boston yesterday. That flight, along with all flights to BOS were cancelled until this PM. If we had not made that decision to switch cruises we would have had a major challenge reaching the ship. This is the second time in the last 3 years our flight to a cruise was cancelled the morning of the cruise. I suppose twice bitten now we will fly in two nights earlier for any cruise that we cannot easily drive too. Boston is 16 drive hours away. As for taking a Redeye, if you can get some sleep on board they do work. Have done a few from Vegas, Since we are retired we can swing the extra 24 hours away from home. I get it if you're still working. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted July 20 #12 Share Posted July 20 While Option 2 might save you a few dollars, there are two problems. The first is unavoidable, and that is the disruption to your normal sleep times combined with hanging around for a good number of hours before boarding. I suspect that you'll be at less than your best for the first day or two of your cruise, but only you can decide if saving a few dollars makes it worthwhile. The second relates to the possibility of missing the cruise should your flight be cancelled for any reason. This seems to be happening all too often these days, including as the result of this week's CloudStrike debacle. We simply consider the cost of a hotel and meals as a regular part of our cruise budget. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cccole Posted July 20 #13 Share Posted July 20 (edited) I agree with those that say taking a red eye is o.k. if it gets you to the port city a day or two ahead. Many times the red eye is less expensive so worth the cost of a hotel for a night. We have found the first flights of the day are the most reliable and the last flights of the day are subject to what has happened during the day. I wouldn't chance option #2, but sometimes vacation schedules dictate when we need to travel. If the red eye is a great deal I would leave San Diego on the red eye Thursday and spend Friday enjoying the beautiful city of Boston the day/night before the cruise. Good luck and enjoy your cruise. Cherie Edited July 20 by cccole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellencruise Posted July 21 #14 Share Posted July 21 Always at least one day ahead of embarkation 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdhunter67 Posted July 21 #15 Share Posted July 21 NO! Option 1 at a minimum. With air travel the way it is these days, I might even go 2 days early. A night (or 2) is a cheap price to pay for peace of mind considering the cost of cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isosika Posted July 21 #16 Share Posted July 21 We almost missed a cruise once when our flight was cancelled and we were flying in the day of the cruise. We made it but if things had been delayed another 15 minutes we would have missed it. I'm sure that we were the last to board. Because we were so late, our room steward greeted us stating that she didn't think we would make it. We started flying in a day early after that. Fast forward to seeing massive flight cancellations and/or delays we upped our game. In 2024 we went three days early. It seems that when massive cancellations happen it takes days to get things sorted out. As a backup we planned a roadtrip from Michigan to Ft. Lauderdale to be implemented if the weather looked severe. Our 2025 cruise we are headed to Auckland 4 days early. We don't "need" to go 4 days early. We have been to Auckland before so an early arrival is not necessary for touring. However, it is lengthy flight from Michigan and if it is cancelled and we need to wait for an available flight, we still need a lot of time to arrive in a timely manner. The hotel costs were roughly $800+ but a small price compared to losing a $20K cruise. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted July 21 #17 Share Posted July 21 There are so many things that can go wrong....weather, mechanical issues, no crew, no plane due to connecting flight delays, multiply those risks by 2 if connecting...and of course consider lost luggage and replacing your clothes in the departure city vs on the ship.....etc Fly to the cruise a day early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExArkie Posted July 21 #18 Share Posted July 21 (edited) Personal preference, but I detest domestic red eye flights. I accept the necessity of an overnight flight getting from the US to Europe (mostly accept, that is, I have taken the day time flight from JFK to Heathrow a couple of times), but a four-hour or so flight with a three-hour time change makes it difficult to recover after landing. I will always prefer a morning flight from the west coast to the east coast, regardless of whether I am meeting up with a cruise ship. If you can fall asleep on the plane before it pushes back from the gate and stay asleep until it touches down, maybe the red eye would be survivable. I do not sleep well, if at all, on airplanes even after accumulating more than 3 million flying miles over the past few decades. Edited July 21 by ExArkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir PMP Posted July 21 #19 Share Posted July 21 Simple answer: Boston is a great city to spend a couple of nights with great food. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Hag Posted July 21 #20 Share Posted July 21 We've only done one redeye, and that was way more than enough. Never again. It left us pretty much useless the whole following day. You might fare better than that, but why risk it? Option 1 would be my choice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray4Fun Posted July 21 #21 Share Posted July 21 1 hour ago, isosika said: We almost missed a cruise once when our flight was cancelled and we were flying in the day of the cruise. We made it but if things had been delayed another 15 minutes we would have missed it. I'm sure that we were the last to board. Because we were so late, our room steward greeted us stating that she didn't think we would make it. We started flying in a day early after that. Fast forward to seeing massive flight cancellations and/or delays we upped our game. In 2024 we went three days early. It seems that when massive cancellations happen it takes days to get things sorted out. As a backup we planned a roadtrip from Michigan to Ft. Lauderdale to be implemented if the weather looked severe. Our 2025 cruise we are headed to Auckland 4 days early. We don't "need" to go 4 days early. We have been to Auckland before so an early arrival is not necessary for touring. However, it is lengthy flight from Michigan and if it is cancelled and we need to wait for an available flight, we still need a lot of time to arrive in a timely manner. The hotel costs were roughly $800+ but a small price compared to losing a $20K cruise. Q: 4 Days prior upon landing in NZ? Why I ask is we are doing similar departure port. With it taking 2 calendar days from USA to get to NV I was going to fly out 5 or 6 days prior. Giving us 2 or 3 days in country as backup. Is that sufficient? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted July 21 #22 Share Posted July 21 20 hours ago, objko said: ... Given the common cruise logic that says to arrive in embarkation city a day ahead to allow for unexpected flight delays, ... What options do these choices offer you should you have flight delays? Are there other flights later in the night if you take the red eye? I've been flying more since the end of the pandemic than any time prior to and have learned that flight delays and cancellations are not only common but are to be expected and you should plan for them. On nearly every recent flight I have experienced flight attendants moving passengers who have tight connections to the front of the planes and asking everyone to please remain seated to allow these passengers to disembark and meet their connections. It rarely works. Based on my experience it is common right now for flights to be delayed boarding, for flights to board and delay leaving the gate (more common) and for planes to leave the gate and delay take off (even more common). I've read the risk of delays increase later in the day as disruptions earlier in the day make their way through the day, and while I can see that, I've experienced long delays early in the day also. I now choose all flights differently than in the past. For a cruise I want to fly at least 2, if not 3 days prior to sailing. It's another cost of the cruise. I look for direct flights whenever possible. I look for earlier flights so that I have more options when cancellations occur. If I have stopovers, I now will only book stopovers of 2 ½ hours or more. Airlines still sell connecting flights of an hour or less but I will never buy them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlaMariner Posted July 21 #23 Share Posted July 21 We try very hard to follow the "at least a day before embarkation arrival" rule if flying. Flying is not reliable. The crowd strike issue this weeks is a real live example.....It's not just weather that gums up the works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isosika Posted July 21 #24 Share Posted July 21 1 hour ago, Ray4Fun said: Q: 4 Days prior upon landing in NZ? Why I ask is we are doing similar departure port. With it taking 2 calendar days from USA to get to NV I was going to fly out 5 or 6 days prior. Giving us 2 or 3 days in country as backup. Is that sufficient? We are flying out of Michigan 6 days prior to our cruise. 2 days will be spent getting to NZ, given the crossing of the International Dateline, then 4 days in port. Given that you are allowing 3 days at the port of embarkation, I would find that sufficient, given that there isn't an IT breakdown like we just experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare albingirl Posted July 21 #25 Share Posted July 21 I used to be naive and think all will go well, as far as flying in day of the cruise. Well, we missed a cruise once by minutes. Fog delays, cabin door wouldn't open, and they were waiting an hour for the drink carts to be delivered to the plane. Now, I am naive no longer. If it can get gummed up, it will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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