Flying in on sailing day

[JstLv2Crz]

Please inform us how you know that their plane will not be delayed?

As I said, we usually fly the redeye (12:00am) ship leaves at 5:00pm. I think this gives us enough time should there be a small problem. If there was a really big problem we could have missed the boat. We never have had any problems.

[wrp96]

As I said, we usually fly the redeye (12:00am) ship leaves at 5:00pm. I think this gives us enough time should there be a small problem. If there was a really big problem we could have missed the boat. We never have had any problems.

 

 

I believe what he is saying is just because YOU'VE never had a problem, does not mean that you can promise the OP that they won't have a problem, especially with all the issues the airlines have had in the last year.

 

I can tell you I have not had a flight in the last year without a schedule change. I've had to overnight more than once at DFW, IAH, Cincinati, Atlanta, and other airports due to flights being cancelled due to thunderstorms. I've had mechanical issues delay and cancel flights. I've been called at midnight and told my early morning flight the next morning was cancelled and that the earliest they could get me to my destination was 8pm the next evening - more than 12 hours after my scheduled arrival.

 

And the last time I flew into MIA it took 2 hours for my luggage to arrive. If that happened to the OP with a 12:30 landing (assuming it was on time), he would be looking at 2:30 before he left the airport. With the new boarding rules which require you to be checked in and onboard the ship no later than 1.5 hours before departure, that's not a lot of leeway.

[RetireeWannabee]

You'll be fine. I've left the day of on all 5 of my cruises and never had any problems. All my cruises have beeen in May...if they were in the winter months or during hurricane season I may have considered leaving the day befoe. You should be on your ship in plenty of time before departure. when is your cruise?

In May 02 we were coming from Indy, only, the plane coming to Indy for us was stuck in Cinci rain storms. We did not make sailaway and caught up with the ship next day in Nassau. First cruise, hard lesson learned.

 

Weather happens any time of year.

[greeneng]

We flew in the night before. My luggage did not.

 

We stayed in the Holiday Inn, Port of Miami, so I went across to the Bayside Mall and bought necessary clothes.

 

The luggage arrived at the Holiday Inn about 4:30 AM.

 

Had we flown in on the day of embarkation I would have not had luggage for the week, or time to buy some essentials. It would have been the same clothes for the week.

 

How many other people have been bumped (denied boarding to a flight) in the last year?

 

Just some more reasons to go early.

 

Jim

[paggerscorvette]

In May 02 we were coming from Indy, only, the plane coming to Indy for us was stuck in Cinci rain storms. We did not make sailaway and caught up with the ship next day in Nassau. First cruise, hard lesson learned.

 

Weather happens any time of year.

 

We were flying from Billings to Cincy last May. Our flight was delayed 5 1/2 hours because our pilot had food poisoning. There was no one to fly the plane for several hours. We were stuck in Billings:eek: . I would never fly in the day of my cruise. Go a day early and relax (one additional day of vacation)

[scopewest]

I have to agree, if you can fly the day ahead, do so. We flew from Phoenix to San Diego same day. One hour flight. We get to the airport to find the airport in a ground stop due to fog. Nothing leaving, nothing being allowed to land. Over the loudspeaker we heard "flight blahblah is now landing in Tucson, Albuquerque, somewhere else."

 

Who would have thought Phoenix would be fogged in????? From that point on, we arrive the day ahead.

[donaldsc]

What time of the year are you going and where are you flying from Also, if you r flight gets cancelled, are there alternative flights available? This would affect the answers that we give you. For example, if you are coming from Chicago in December, no way. From Atlanta in August, maybe.

 

DON

[John Cuttino]

I say go the day of but purchase the transfers. They will get you to the ship and if they have a transfers bus coming, the ship will wait.

We have never had a problem using that strategy. The "worst" would be your luggage would not make it and follow you to next port.

[wrp96]

I say go the day of but purchase the transfers. They will get you to the ship and if they have a transfers bus coming, the ship will wait.

We have never had a problem using that strategy. The "worst" would be your luggage would not make it and follow you to next port.

 

 

Actually purchasing transfers (or cruise air) does not guarantee the ship will wait for you. It is a common myth that they will but there are lots of factors involved with whether or not the ship will wait. It depends on the port, the tide schedules, the itinerary, and varying other factors. There was a post in the last few months, where someone missed a cruise while sitting on a transfer bus from the airport.

[Gregg20]

In May 02 we were coming from Indy, only, the plane coming to Indy for us was stuck in Cinci rain storms. We did not make sailaway and caught up with the ship next day in Nassau. First cruise, hard lesson learned.

 

Weather happens any time of year.

 

Oh I agree although here in the northeast in May it is usually fairly calm. 5 for 5 the day of...not bad. Like I said before...some other time of the year when snow can be a factor or hurricanes down there...I may opt leave earlier.

[lmmn]

Flying in the same day is riskier than ever. The airlines are extremely unreliable right now. One from our group missed the ship on our last cruise because of a delay due to plane mechanical problems. If you have to fly in same day, which I don't recommend, at least make sure you're on a non-stop flight.

[cruiserbryce]

if the flight was non stop I would consider it...otherwise there are just too many variables that are out of your control...I would fly in the night before

[K1200S]

Hickman Ky is not near any major airport which means you either have a fairly long drive to a major airport or you will have at least one connecting flight. My car broke down as we were driving to Miami for my last cruise. Car stayed in West Palm to be repaired while we cruised. Good thing we were driving in the day before. Flying or driving I would opt for getting to Miami the day before.

[It'sRC4ME]

Actually purchasing transfers (or cruise air) does not guarantee the ship will wait for you. It is a common myth that they will but there are lots of factors involved with whether or not the ship will wait. It depends on the port, the tide schedules, the itinerary, and varying other factors. There was a post in the last few months, where someone missed a cruise while sitting on a transfer bus from the airport.

 

I think that with transfers you at least have an RC person in the airport who is expecting you, and can get in touch with the terminal and tell them you're on your way when you come running down the concourse from your delayed flight.

 

I don't fly in day-of, but if you must, take an early morning non-stop flight on an airline that has lots of later flights to your destination. I still remember how nerve racking it was to fly from DCA through Charlotte to Miami on embarkation day with a scheduled 1:00 PM arrival - we must have been crazy.

[Host Kewlguy]

We are cruising on the Majesty of the Sea and our departure time is at 5:00 and we have a flight scheduled to arrive in Miami at 12:30. Do yall think we will be ok with this or is is too late for sure.

 

You'll be fine. We always book the earliest flight possible and arrive the same day as the cruise and have never had a problem. The exception to this would be a transatlantic cruise when we always fly in a day early.

[vickiw0318]

I had to fly in "day of" for my Liberty cruise. DD's school schedule didn't afford us the luxury of going a day early. I booked the earliest of many non-stop flights from DFW to MIA to hedge my bet (as someone suggested above). We can have REALLY BAD thunderstorms here this time of year. We didn't have any problems, but I admit I was very glad to be in Miami. I have flown in day of several times, but I sure don't like to do it anymore.

[coolnrj]

As a former airline employee, I wouldn't advise it, especially flying to miami. I've seen passengers leave - attempt rather- on the same day of their cruise departure and actually miss their cruise. The next you know it's delayed 30 mins for a "mechanical problem", then it's 1 hour, then 3 hours delayed. Keep in mind if it's eventually cancelled and the next flight is fully booked, you'll be on "stand-by". Your calling the cruise line to let them know your flight is delayed but they can't assist you. The cruise line is under no obligation to wait and hold up the other cruisers. I strongly advise you to fly in the day before and spend the nite, be at the port of miami for like 11:00 and get on the ship and relax!!! Just a thought.

[boonert]

Last August I needed to fly to Miami for business. My flight out of Philadelphia was scheduled to take off at 9:30 AM and arrive in Miami at 12:30 PM. Sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane was a group of 20 people who were leaving on a cruise out of Miami that evening. They all had garment bags...they were going to a wedding on the ship. The bride and groom were among this group of passangers.

 

The plane we were supposed to fly on was delayed because of weather. It was sunny and warm in Philly but there was bad weather where the plane was taking off from. The plane finally showed up 2 hours late but had mechanical issues that had to be addressed. That took an hour. The flight crew knew that there were a bunch of people who had a deadline to make it to their cruise so when the plane was fixed they got everyone on the plane in a matter of a few minutes. We thought we were going to take off but then one of the passengers was sick. They wanted to get the passenger off the plane but they refused to go. It took the medical people 30 minutes to convince this woman to get off the plane. (She was having a diabetic episode....sweaty, light-headed, etc.)

 

When we pushed back from the gate the pilot came on and said he would do everything he could to get us in the air and to Miami as fast as possible. The cruise people were told that if there were no other delays it was possible they could still make their cruise....without their luggage. The plan was for the people to go directly to the ship without waiting for their bags-the airline had called ahead and made arrangements for transportation- and that when the luggage came off it would be sent to the first port of call. So, of course we weren't given clearance to take off for 20 minutes. And when we landed in Miami there was a problem with the gate so we had to sit out on the ramp for 15 minutes. Long story short- everyone missed the boat.

 

I told my wife that when we finally go on a cruise I'm leaving the morning before. I'm not taking any chances. We've booked our first cruise for this October and we're flying out the morning before. Hopefully the 33 hour cushion I've allowed ourselves will be enough.

[juniorsmom]

Absolutely arrive the day before. We were 4 hours late leaving on our last cruise (thank goodness it was the day before). Friends of ours missed their cruise alltogether due to weather.

[luvscruising2007]

When we went on our Alaska cruise we flew in the day of and I was a total wreck until we landed safely in VanCouver. I swore we would always go in a day early after that. Ironically upon returning from Alaska we had to stop in Minneapolis to change planes. Our plane was delayed until the next day because of weather in Baltimore, actually the whole east coast. Other than being very uncomfortable in airport all night, it didn't bother me. Our vacation had an extra day.

Take a flight in the next day if at all possible.

[Slowboat2]

On our first cruise we flew the same day from Boston to San Juan, we had a 5 1/2 hour cushion between landing and sailaway. Due to a lot of small problems we ended up with a 50 minute cushion. NEVER WILL FLY IN SAME DAY AGAIN. TALK ABOUT STRESSFUL.

[Homeschoolmom69]

Another vote for flying in a day early. Even if the weather is fine, there is always the chance of mechanical problems. We we flying to Jamaica this past March, and had to make an unscheduled stop at the Miami airport to replace a part on the plane. We ended up arriving in Jamaica almost two hours late. We were flying to an AI, so it wasn't a huge deal, but if we had been trying to make a cruise, I would have been panicking! :eek:

[FlyingPhotog]

Please inform us how you know that their plane will not be delayed?

 

I work for an airline, and I wouldn't even risk flying in the same day. Why start off your cruise with hours of stress?

[AllieInMD]

BINGO - we leave at 5pm on Thursday - our flight takes off around 8am Wednesday. If absolutely necessary, we could drive from DC to Ft. Lauderdale to make the ship.

 

 

Last August I needed to fly to Miami for business. My flight out of Philadelphia was scheduled to take off at 9:30 AM and arrive in Miami at 12:30 PM. Sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane was a group of 20 people who were leaving on a cruise out of Miami that evening. They all had garment bags...they were going to a wedding on the ship. The bride and groom were among this group of passangers.

 

The plane we were supposed to fly on was delayed because of weather. It was sunny and warm in Philly but there was bad weather where the plane was taking off from. The plane finally showed up 2 hours late but had mechanical issues that had to be addressed. That took an hour. The flight crew knew that there were a bunch of people who had a deadline to make it to their cruise so when the plane was fixed they got everyone on the plane in a matter of a few minutes. We thought we were going to take off but then one of the passengers was sick. They wanted to get the passenger off the plane but they refused to go. It took the medical people 30 minutes to convince this woman to get off the plane. (She was having a diabetic episode....sweaty, light-headed, etc.)

 

When we pushed back from the gate the pilot came on and said he would do everything he could to get us in the air and to Miami as fast as possible. The cruise people were told that if there were no other delays it was possible they could still make their cruise....without their luggage. The plan was for the people to go directly to the ship without waiting for their bags-the airline had called ahead and made arrangements for transportation- and that when the luggage came off it would be sent to the first port of call. So, of course we weren't given clearance to take off for 20 minutes. And when we landed in Miami there was a problem with the gate so we had to sit out on the ramp for 15 minutes. Long story short- everyone missed the boat.

 

I told my wife that when we finally go on a cruise I'm leaving the morning before. I'm not taking any chances. We've booked our first cruise for this October and we're flying out the morning before. Hopefully the 33 hour cushion I've allowed ourselves will be enough.

[It'sRC4ME]

BINGO - we leave at 5pm on Thursday - our flight takes off around 8am Wednesday. If absolutely necessary, we could drive from DC to Ft. Lauderdale to make the ship.

 

We also try to leave more than 24 hours leeway so we can drive if absolutely necessary. I also make sure the car that will fit all the luggage is fully gassed up and has had an oil change. Never had to do it, but we want to be prepared.