Why it's important to arrive atleast a day ahead!

[annahailey]

On our cruise last month, a couple from our table that flew in the same day missed the ship--they met up with it a few days later in St. Thomas. American airlines flew them to San Juan until they could catch up in St. Thomas, but I think they still would have rather had that time on the ship. And another couple at our table barely made it--getting there just in time for muster drill.

 

We flew in the day before and we were on the ship by noon--it was nice to have the whole afternoon to relax and explore and not have to worry about getting there in time.

 

It's not just weather to worry about either. Our flight on the way there was delayed 1 1/2 hours due to maintenance issues. And then our flight on the way home was delayed 21 hours due to maintenance issues again. They had to fly mechanics and parts into FLL from Minneapolis and fix the plane on the tarmac overnight. We were glad that it was our flight home this happened to though because if it happened on the way there, we would have missed the cruise (even flying in a day early!).

[jwlnroe]

I also missed the boat once.. back in 95 on the Imagination. Was my family of 4 and my Aunt, Uncle and 2 cousins. We were flying out of Milwaukee the day of. . stupid and we won't ever do that again.. especially with midwest weather in the winter.. this was november. Our flight was canceled and then we had to wait for another 3-4 hours to get on another flight. . not our scheduled flight to miami but to detriot to try and head away from the storm.. we got on.. then a message to the passengers.. sorry we can't take off because the plane is too heavy. . either passengers or luggage gets off. . LOL well a number of us volunteered to get off and had to wait another hour for a different flight to detroit. . loosing our luggage in the process because it stayed on that last flight. We finally got to detroit and by that time there was no way we would make it to miami intime so they flew us to Tampa. . (thank goodness for travel insurance because the airline covered everything for us) once to tampa we were able to get a few of our bags of luggage late that night.. but not all of it. They put us up in a hotel that night. The next day they flew us to Cancun and we were able to get the rest of our luggage caught up. The airline put us up in a very very nice hotel for the night with food vouchers, etc. . man I would have just stayed in Cancun for the week because it was gorgeous and a blast!! The next morning we got a taxi to Playa del carmen and got on a boat over to Cozumel. . and yes we finally did get on the ship.. missed the first day at sea but the weather was crappy all week, rained, etc. and the last day at sea was terrible. . very windy, etc. . LOL hence why I would have rathered stayed in Cancun. The day we were in Cayman though was very very nice. It was a very nice vacation after all and we even had John Heald as our CD so that made the trip even more enjoyable.. he is just a riot!!

[scopewest]

Back in '97 we actually flew the same day from Phoenix to San Juan. My concern was would we make it for dinner?! We actually got to the dining room 15 minutes after the doors opened. I sit here today and my hands shake, thinking of how close this was (muster drill was after the first seating dinner).

 

So we decided to always fly in a day ahead from now on, except for L.A. and San Diego as they're only an hour flight for us. Then on our last flight to San Diego we were to catch an 11 a.m. flight from Phoenix, airline has flights every hour in case you miss one. No problem? Yeah, except for the first time in the 30 years I've lived here Phoenix was shut down due to fog conditions!!! Luckily our flight took off but in a larger plane to accommodate flights before it that couldn't take off. The people waiting for the flight to Baltimore-Washington were very unhappy campers (9:30 a.m. flight) as they kept being told sorry, delays, your flight isn't alllowed to land, they're down in Tucson, we're trying to get them up here.

 

And maybe some of you might remember the day the temps hit 120 degrees here and all planes were grounded because no one had the correct charts to fly in weather that hot, nobody ever thought it would get that hot!

 

DH said from now on, no matter where we're cruising, we fly in the day ahead!

[Amlee]

When I am looking to book a flight, I always call to see where my plane is originating from. While it might be great weather were I am, there is no telling what it will be where my plane is. This is even more important if I have a connecting flight.

 

My 2nd cruise we flew in the day before. While on paper if we had flown in the day off, we should have been there in time to catch the ship. But because of delays from a plane come from New England we were close to 4 hours late. Which would have put us coming in 2 hours after the ship had sailed.

 

As for no flight crew. A few years ago coming back from Scotland the NorthWest flight I was to take from Detroit to Birmingham didn't have a flight crew assigned to it. The gate agent started boarding us. The first class gets to the plane and it's dark with no crew. They come back out and inform the gate agent that there wasn't a crew on board. She didn't believe them and took off down the ramp. She came back with the oddest look on her face. She picked up the phone and started having a fit on someone. It took them over and hour to find a crew, get them to the airport, through security, and on the plane. It was a mess!!

[NCTribeFan]

I was on the same cruise as the OP.

 

I had always flown the day of the cruise, from Charlotte or Raleigh. No problems.

 

I'd also driven to Port Canaveral twice, spending the night before in north FL and driving the rest of the way in the morning. 2nd time, part of the interstate was closed due to smoke from wildfires and I was in a total panic that I wouldn't get there in time. No problem, thankfully.

 

So I decided that I absolutely HAD to fly to FLL the day before, because everyone here said so!

 

Booked a nonstop flight on a Delta Connection. I have no idea why I chose their last flight of the day (a Sunday) rather than going in mid-afternoon. This flight only goes back and forth between RDU & FLL, so I figured the blizzard in the midwest would have no impact.

 

I had just started check-in at the kiosk when my cell phone range. It was Delta's automated system (all you have to do is sign up for it online - you can receive calls and/or emails to let you know about flight changes). Our 5:05 flight was delayed until 6:35.

 

We finally got to board at about 6:50. If the call had come in 20 minutes earlier, I could've sat at home for that extra hour and a half, rather than in the airport. I only live about 10 minutes from the airport.

 

There are just too many horror stories about flights these days. Although I don't like spending that extra money on a hotel, I certainly wouldn't like it if I missed the ship! Besides, the difference between cruise air (which I'd always done before) and booking on my own was enough to pay for the hotel.

[schndr]

We're doing our first-ever cruise in 12 days. Leaving the day before from PHL, but not until 2PM. There are a couple more flights after ours that day just in case, but I'm already nervous. Watching the long range Accuweather forecast daily, and trying to 'outsmart' the weather is nearly impossible. Didn't think too long about buying cruise insurance flying in the winter. Heck, even other times of the year we've seen disasterous flight delays in Philadelphia. If my wife had the extra time off to take from work, I'd have tried to talk her into going TWO days ahead! :)

[SunniLicious]

I've flown the day of a cruise three times, all three times uneventfully, but all three times via air booked through the cruise line which takes a lot of the stress out.

 

For our cruise that ended yesterday, we booked our own air (saved $550 EACH for the three of us) but bought vacation insurance and flew down the day before. I have to say, it was a lot of fun waking up in the port city and only having a short cab ride between us and the ship.

[Heirloom]

.......provided the flight leaves early AM.

 

Reason? We simply can NOT sleep due to anxiety and excitement about the cruise........especially in a strange bed. We end up laying in hotel bed staring at the ceiling and checking alarm clock ! At home, we do manage to get at least a couple hours sleep.

 

Also, who really wants to haul luggage around from place to place ? That's one reason why we love cruises, going port to port without room change !

 

That's why we buy insurance.......delays can be fixed ! Just our way of doing it.

[Tapi]

.......provided the flight leaves early AM.

 

Reason? We simply can NOT sleep due to anxiety and excitement about the cruise........especially in a strange bed. We end up laying in hotel bed staring at the ceiling and checking alarm clock ! At home, we do manage to get at least a couple hours sleep.

 

Also, who really wants to haul luggage around from place to place ? That's one reason why we love cruises, going port to port without room change !

 

That's why we buy insurance.......delays can be fixed ! Just our way of doing it.

 

Famous last words.

 

Plenty of people fly on the day of departure, but all it takes is one time to get burned before someone realizes how risky it can be.

 

Even the first flight out in the AM can be risky (many checks are performed on the first flight by the crew, and also that's when maintenance issues from the prior day can be discovered). Overnight freezing temperatures during the winter months can create havoc even before the day begins....

 

Insurance can refund the money that you otherwise would've lost, but it will never ever bring back the memories that you might miss out on for cutting it too close...

[bakechef]

I missed a 10 day cruise by trying to fly in the day of! The next day, they were trying to fly us to the first port, and our connection closed down, and since this is Bangor Maine, there aren't many options. We would have been fine flying in the day before, as far as weather goes.

 

My parents came to visit me for christmas, they were 3 hours late getting here because they were waiting for a flight crew, on their way home, their flight was canceled because of no flight crew so had to fly to an alternate airport and take a bus to their hotel at the original airport to make it home, because they knew that a storm the next day would likely leave them stranded.

 

It is so nice relaxing in the port the night before, having a nice dinner, and picking up any last minute items, sleeping in a little, and having the afternoon on THE SHIP!

 

MAC

[bakechef]

I missed a 10 day cruise by trying to fly in the day of! The next day, they were trying to fly us to the first port, and our connection closed down, and since this is Bangor Maine, there aren't many options. We would have been fine flying in the day before, as far as weather goes.

 

My parents came to visit me for christmas, they were 3 hours late getting here because they were waiting for a flight crew, on their way home, their flight was canceled because of no flight crew so had to fly to an alternate airport and take a bus to their hotel at the original airport to make it home, because they knew that a storm the next day would likely leave them stranded.

 

It is so nice relaxing in the port the night before, having a nice dinner, and picking up any last minute items, sleeping in a little, and having the afternoon on THE SHIP!

 

MAC

[bakechef]

ok this board is seriously freakin' out

[Starfire_rules]

On my first cruise, which was in October 2005, I tried to convice my friend that we should fly out the day before but she didn't want to be away from her husband for any longer than she had to. So after leaving Fort Dodge for a 3 and a half hour drive to Omaha then the flights we were so drained. We got on board, went to our room, and then to the muster. After that, we were out. We woke up for our late seating meal and then out again we were. The pure exhastion was enough to suggest a day before flight.

Luckily the friends I am going with this time were in agreement on it. So we leave from DSM (which is only 1 and a half hours away) after spending the night in a hotel and flying in MIA and staying the night there before our cruise. Living in Iowa during winter, it is a definate DUH!!!!

[DelRio]

Several years ago we flew in a day early for a cruise. No bad weather. The flight changes went perfect. We got to the port city early morning. Everything that could happen, happened just perfect.

 

Except one small thing. "ONE OF OUR SUITCASES WAS MISSING"

 

I know a lot of these suitcases look alike. So I had taped the h*** out of ours. Still the thing is just not there. But wait, there is a lone unclaimed suitcase there and it is a dead ringer for ours.

 

You guessed it. Someone had picked up our suitcase. Fortunately the airline was able to trace that someone. Our suitcase was delivered to our room at 3:00AM.

 

Had we flown in the same day, we would have made it on to the cruise ship just fine. But, with only half of our clothes.

[sunnyhunny]

We just got off the Miracle and we were so glad we flew in the day before for our first cruise:

 

On Jan. 1st, we had a 6AM flight to FLL, which was to arrive at Noon. Our 6AM flight was cancelled...in October and we were never notified. On top of that, we called the airline two days before to check our flights and were told everything was good to go. We ended up arriving in FLL at 8PM and would have missed our cruise if we had waited to fly the day of the cruise.

[Brneyznfl]

I always try to fly in the day before even though as much as I've cruised, I've never had a problem..until I flew to San Juan. Left here almost 2 hours late....missed connection in Atlanta. Was able to get on the next flight, arrived in San Juan but my luggage did not. I had nothing useful in my carryon, no change of clothes, toiletries etc. only electronics. After being on the phone with Delta all that afternoon and evening, my luggage was finally delivered to the hotel at midnight. I'm so glad I flew in the day before. If I had not received my luggage, I was seriously thinking about not getting on the ship the next day!

[Tbay-eh]

We always fly in a day early as our weather and weather at connecting flights are totally unreliable. Last year, we flew to Minneapolis, a day early, only to find our 10:30AM flight was cancelled due to storms in Colorado and our flight crew would not be arriving. We beg and pleaded and got on the 1:50PM flight (de-iced 2 times). We were the 2nd to last flight to take off before they closed the airport. They reopened the airport at 2:00PM the next day, around the time our ship took off. Never ever take a same day flight - even if it is direct. the crew may not come in to take that direct flight over. Cindy:cool: :cool: