Flying into departure city question

[HMSDingy]

On another thread many posters stated that EXPERIENCED travelers fly into the port city a day ahead. We've done 3 cruises and have always flown in on the same day and have never had problems getting to the ship on time. I am curious to know of different comments, opinons or experiences.

[twnkltoz]

In today's environment, I think it's foolish not to fly a day ahead. On our cruise a couple weeks ago, our flight there was delayed almost 2 hours and the first leg of our flight back was delayed a little over 2 hours as well, causing us to have to reschedule our connector to the next morning. It's worth it to me to get a hotel the night before and have that cushion of time.

[Dixe Lee]

On most of our previous cruises, including the one to Alaska where we flew all the way from Atlanta to Anchorage, we flew the day of sailing. But, IMHO, all you have to do is check the stats and follow the news to see that the flight delays and cancellations are on track to break records this year, so why risk it?

[cherylandtk]

Its not always an option for many folks, but we always do fly in a day early.

[Wilbo]

On our last cruise, we flew in on departure day. It was a direct flight of 4 hours.

One always worries about things going wrong [Delays].

I find it is less stressful flying in day prior.

[ggprincess2004]

My own little horror story:

We planned our wedding for on board the Grand Princess. We were supposed to be married the first full day of the cruise - the day after sail away. We were flying from Phila to Copenhagen to get aboard the ship. We traveled with my parents and my step son.

We were not experienced cruisers then - we were more comfortable having Princess book the flights for us, etc. When we saw the ticketing, we were not overly concerned, but kind on wondered why we were routed through Dulles rather than an oversea flight right out of Phila. Whatever....

Well, we sat on the ground in Phila on the plane for over 4 hours due to a weather delay -thunderstorms in the middle of July. The flight crew actively lied to us while we were on the ground. Okay, we get to Dulles knowing we have missed our connection, but we were told by the flight attendant that we had been ticketed on a later flight out to Copenhagen. Big lie. We barely caught the last flight out to Europe that night, which would allow us to get to Copenhagen in time - this time via Heathrow. We were extremely well taken care of on the international flight. Very pleasant - and I basically hate flying. Heathrow was another story. Had to switch airlines to catch the connecting fligt. Waited in line over an hour at the counter - practically missed the flight, but we did make it.

Okay - on the ground in Copenhagen about 2 and a half hours before the ship was due to sail. Met at baggage claim by the Princess rep, but not met by any of our luggage. The Princess rep was quite helpful in getting us through the filing of lost luggage claims. We got to the ship via the Princess transfer just before sailing - we were the last little group aboard.

Without our luggage. No wedding dress, no tux, my parents had a tiny little carry-on - DH and I had packed our carryons with a few outfits.

The purser's staff was wonderful to us, our cabin steward couldn't do enough to help, the Captain said he would do whatever we wished in terms of ceremony - as scheduled, later with our wedding clothes, marry on time, take pic later, whatever we wanted.

We didn't get our luggage until the end of the first full port day - more than 48 hours into the cruise.

Now we laugh about this - honest we do. I had a crying fit at Heathrow - exhaustion (28 hours traveling by then) and nerves probably. My step son learned a valuable lesson - never get between a bride and her wedding!:eek:

My parents learned to pack a few changes of clothes in their carryon and schlep a rolling bag through airports. All of learned not to let the cruise line arrange the air, and to fly in a day ahead of time in case of weather delays, and to give our luggage time to find us.

We had a marvelous wedding on board the last sea day of our cruise, the Captain was fantastic, we had our honeymoon first, got married, and the honeymoon was over.:p

So, to avoid all kinds of stress, we just fly in a day or two ahead whenever we can. We buy travel insurance.

If we couldn't fly in a day ahead, would we still book a cruise? Maybe. It would depend on the time of year, whether we could get a very early direct flight, and whether there were at least 3 other directs from the same airport within a few hours that would get us to the ship on time. But, so far, we have always flown in at least a day ahead.

[dlp252]

My fourth cruise is coming up, we're flying down the same day, but we have LOTS of time to work with since it's a short distance (from Northern to Southern California).

 

The very first cruise, we flew in the same day...from California to Florida. It was a very long flight with the layovers, transfers and such, and the whole first day and part of the second of the cruise was spent exhausted.

 

The second cruise was a transatlantic which started in Southhampton...a redeye flight arranged by Princess, and that was HORRIBLE (because it was cramped and I can't sleep on planes, and the flight was SOOO very long, lol)!!! That took about 3 days to catch up from.

 

For our last cruise we decided to try flying in a day early...again our flight was from California to Florida and we decided that really was the way to do it. We were tired when we got in, but we had a night to "sleep" it off and the worry about schedules and such was left behind when we reached our hotel. The day of the cruise was much more relaxed.

 

For our cruise coming up, we decided that we could deal with a same day flight since it's so close...flights can get cancelled and delayed, but we have a lot of time, and there are tons of flights going down there each day. But, any time we fly across the country I think we've decided to go in a day early whenever possible.

[Seal]

We always fly in early--at least one day--unless this is somewhere we want to stay longer

 

I've twice changed the reservations to San Juan--because of my fear of being so stupid as to miss a cruise ship when there is no real reason for that to happen, when that isn't necessary--I'm not the one that makes the reservations--but, I am the one that complains

 

Nancy:D

 

Okay, I'm chicken

[twnkltoz]

My fourth cruise is coming up, we're flying down the same day, but we have LOTS of time to work with since it's a short distance (from Northern to Southern California).

 

Actually, I could understand that. There are so many flights going from here to there, booking a morning flight for an afternoon embarkation is probably safe. We're looking at some of those cheap Mexican cruises that leave from L.A. and we might even drive down...it's only about 6 hours or so.

[dlp252]

Actually, I could understand that. There are so many flights going from here to there, booking a morning flight for an afternoon embarkation is probably safe. We're looking at some of those cheap Mexican cruises that leave from L.A. and we might even drive down...it's only about 6 hours or so.

 

That's exactly what we're doing...Mexican Riviera.

[jbelle]

:( My husband and I just returned from our 1st curise.... we learned the hard way to ALWAYS fly in the day before. There were 42 of us on an AA flight out of Dallas on Aug. 11th due to arrive in Vancouver @ 12:30 in plenty of time. Once we were on board, we were told there were minor mechanical problems, which would be taken care of in about 15mins. To make a long story short, we ended up being delayed by about 3 hrs. Once in the air, however, we were told by the pilot, that all was well.... he had comunicated with the captain of Princess Sapphire and he would wait for us. However, when we got to Vancouver and had our luggage,etc. the Princess people told us that the ship would not wait.... even though it hadn't yet sailed. No time to get us there. We were flown back to Seattle the next day and flown by Alaska Airlines to Ketchikan where we were put on board the next day. We missed the first 2 days of our curise. If we ever get up the nerve to try it again, we definitely will be there the day before we sail. Live and learn.

[PescadoAmarillo]

This is such an individual decision that, despite the excellent information you have/will be given on this thread, you really need to do what's best for you. It really depends on several factors:

 

-Where you fly out of, and the weather considerations for that airport and any airport you might change planes at en route to your cruise port.

-The month of the year.

-The number of other flights either on your booked airline or other airlines that would get you to the ship on time if something happens to your flight. (For international departures, we ALWAYS leave a day or more early).

-Whether you want to do any sightseeing in your departure city.

-What time you want to board the ship. We like boarding early, around 11:30. When we've boarded late (once, just before muster), I felt like we missed out on a bit of the cruise. Especially if making spa appointments and specialty restaurant reservations is important to you, it is smart to board as soon as you can.

-Vacation time available and the cost of a pre-cruise stay.

 

Bottom line for us: Cruise from the east coast, we always leave a day early. Cruise from the west coast, we never leave a day early. Cruise from an international port...we may leave even a week or more ahead of time.

[HMSDingy]

On another thread many posters stated that EXPERIENCED travelers fly into the port city a day ahead. We've done 3 cruises and have always flown in on the same day and have never had problems getting to the ship on time. I am curious to know of different comments, opinons or experiences.

 

 

I should of added that on our next cruise we are flying out of Montreal at 7:45 am nonstop to Ft. Lauderdale. Arrival is for 11:30. Our ship leaves at 5:00. That gives us a little over 5 hours before the ship sets sail. On our first cruise we had almost exactly the same flight times.

[Pia1913]

I should of added that on our next cruise we are flying out of Montreal at 7:45 am nonstop to Ft. Lauderdale. Arrival is for 11:30. Our ship leaves at 5:00. That gives us a little over 5 hours before the ship sets sail. On our first cruise we had almost exactly the same flight times.

 

You have enough time IF: you get out of Montreal on time and there is no weather problem and IF: there is no weather problem in Florida. Too close for me. I would never fly the same day of my cruise.

[Dixe Lee]

Wish you the best of luck. Airline industry is too shaky right now, IMHO, to risk that unless, as some posters mentioned, they are already close to their embarkation port.

[Nancyquilts]

Actually, I could understand that. There are so many flights going from here to there, booking a morning flight for an afternoon embarkation is probably safe. We're looking at some of those cheap Mexican cruises that leave from L.A. and we might even drive down...it's only about 6 hours or so.

 

 

We even "play it safe" when driving to L.A or San Diego and stay overnight in the L.A. area so that we are over the Grapevine pass in case of snow or accidents. Nancy

[Smiles3usa]

I don't think there is an absolute when it comes to travelling for a cruise. While I surely would not want to leave from Buffalo, NY in January for a flight the day of my cruise--going a day early is not to likely to make me feel that much more secure in my reservation either [snow storms easily knock out the airport for a few days]. Travelling in prime summer time makes one much more likely to be met with delays than travelling in off-peak fall times. How much vacation time one has must also be weighed into the equation. Oftentimes, at least for me, it is time away from the offfice, rather than additional cost that is the deciding factor in whether I go a day or two early. Bottom line is folks must do what makes them feel comfortable. No one "should know better" than arriving the day of the cruise; sometimes that is the only option.

[hockeymom97]

It's entirely personal preference - but I definitely believe that flying in the day before has many advantages. But I also realize it's not always possible for many people - whether it's the additional cost or maybe the extra time off work.

We were silly enough to fly in the day of on our last cruise :p We were traveling with a group and 3 of the couples were flying in the day before and trying to convince us to do the same. Since I haven't cruised since I was younger and traveling with my parents, I thought it's no big deal to fly in the day of and I really didn't want to use another vacation day just to get there early. Having traveled a lot on land based vacations, I figured I knew what I was doing and no big deal. I understood that yes, we were flying out of Chicago in the middle of winter, but our ship didn't sail until 11pm, and we were scheduled to arrive in SJU at about 1pm - plenty of time, right?

Luckily nothing went wrong and our flights (one connection in MIA) were on time, but by the time we got through the airport, got our luggage, made it to the ship, embarked, etc., we only had about 45 minutes before dinner once we were on the ship (early seating). Way too much rushing for my tastes! Meanwhile, the other couples who had flown in the day before, had slept in that morning, swam at the hotel pool, boarded the ship at about 11, lounged around the pool, had time to shower and change before dinner and had basically gotten a whole extra day and a half out of their vacation. Not to mention that if something had happened, we may not have made it (more than very possible for the area we live in).

 

So for us, the bottom line is that we will never, ever fly in the same day unless we absolutely have to. And even then, I would consider switching my travel plans if that wasn't possible. I don't want to be rushed the entire first day of my vacation. I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to flying in a day early for our next cruise - IMO it just gets your vacation off to the right start :)

[HMSDingy]

I only paid the taxes on this flight as I have enough Air Miles so the choice was not mine as to what time we fly in. I just booked the earliest flight. Now I'm actually worried that this is not the best thing and I will contact the Air Miles people and see if I can fly in the next day. Which I'm sure they can do it just depends if there is an added cost. I also found a decent hotel close to the Ft. Lauderdale Airport that offers complimentary shuttle to and from the airport as well as Port Everglades (Rodeway Inn). Unfortunately I've already booked the Princess shuttle to and from the airport. I feel kind of sheepish as to not having done my homework properly:o .

[DrivesLikeMario]

It depends on how far away the embarkation port is. For those of us in Southern California, it's very hard to arrive in Florida on embarkation day if we fly the same day. We can take a red-eye flight, but then we arrive in Florida around 6am, with hours to spare and little-to-no sleep the previous night. It's a rough way to start a cruise IMO.

 

Personally, we really prefer to arrive at port the same day we fly, but it's almost always impossible for us to do so.

[hockeymom97]

Well we definitely can't blame you for taking a free flight ;) But if your resources allow it, I would still recommend flying the day before if you can. Try using priceline to find a reasonable hotel rate and check out what the additional cost is to change your flight. It may end up being worth it to you to have a little peace of mind, and if nothing else, an extra day of vacation.

[margord]

On our first cruise we flew from Maryland to PR and got there at 11 p.m. They did hold the ship back in those days but we missed the whole first day on the ship and were exhausted most of the second day. From here on we always go the day ahead.

[vickie_bernie]

I have flown in early every cruise I have ever done, except for one out of San Juan and that was a mistake. Flew red eye there, arrived early and the first two days I spent just trying to recooperate from air travel.

 

Now we always fly in early, at least one day ahead. Next trip out of FLL we are going two days early.

 

This way our vacation starts earlier, and it is so nice to wake up in the morning and know your ship is there and you are just a taxi away.

[vickie_bernie]

sorry double post

[Pia1913]

We're using miles too for our October 4th cruise out of L.A. But even with a 3 hour time change (east coast vs. west), we are still flying in the day before. Don't want to start a 15 day vacation with stress.

 

Pia