First time cruiser

[zao71]

My boyfriend and I are sailing out of Miami to go on a Carnival cruise in about a month and we purchased plain tickets to fly into Miami the day OF the cruise sail date. We arrive several hours before the sailing time, but I was wondering if anyone has had problems with same day flights as sail dates. ie changes in schedule/timesetc.

Please reply...I am stressing out after reading these boards. It seems a lot of people fly out the day or night before their sail date.:confused::confused::confused:

[KenMo]

Do you have non-stop flights?? If so, I wouldn't stress too much. Many, many people fly in day of.

 

As long as you're at the port 1 hour before the ship departs, you'll be okay.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Oh, and welcome to CruiseCritic!!

[rigldbrg]

My boyfriend and I are sailing out of Miami to go on a Carnival cruise in about a month and we purchased plain tickets to fly into Miami the day OF the cruise sail date. We arrive several hours before the sailing time, but I was wondering if anyone has had problems with same day flights as sail dates. ie changes in schedule/timesetc.

Please reply...I am stressing out after reading these boards. It seems a lot of people fly out the day or night before their sail date.:confused::confused::confused:

 

To a certain extent this is a personal preference. Some people have no problem flying in or driving to port the same day, and dealing with the obvious risk that they may miss the ship. Last month my wife and I were flying to NY and severe storms were blowing through Detroit. Our flight was delayed for 6 hours, and I was sitting next to a couple on their honeymoon who were trying to make a connecting flight to San Jaun. It was clear they were not going to make it and thus were going to miss catching their ship. All I could think about was "that's why we fly in early."

 

The chances are that you and your boyfriend will be perfectly ok with your flight, but it would not hurt to investigate options to move your flight to an earler departure. Have you purchased trip insurance? If not, you may want to investigate purchasing a policy that covers situations where you miss the ship and need transportation to the next port to meet the ship. In any case, do your best to give yourself piece of mind, but don't let this scare you to the point that you worry too much about "what ifs."

[WendyCn]

I agree that it is a personal preference, but we always have chosen to fly in the day before. There are no direct flights for us and too many reasons to miss our connection.

[firefly333]

You do realize you have to board no later than 90 minutes before you sail. If you get to the ship one hour before it sails and you are denied boarding ....

 

.... you said you will arrive only several hours before the ship sails ... what if the taxi runs into traffic making the screaming trip to the port. 3 hours before a ship sails is cutting it way to close. You need to board 2 hours before if you dont have your fun pass filled out per Carnival ...

 

That gives you one hour to get off the plane, grab your luggage and grab a taxi to the port and board?? Think one hour sounds like enough in a big city like Miami?

[firefly333]

Do you have non-stop flights?? If so, I wouldn't stress too much. Many, many people fly in day of.

 

As long as you're at the port 1 hour before the ship departs, you'll be okay.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Oh, and welcome to CruiseCritic!!

 

You must not be aware of the new coast guard rules, if OP arrives one hour before she will be denied boarding, because they would have to hold the whole ship up.

 

90 minutes before is required, one hour is coast guard rules, so that gives Carnival 30 minutes to get those late folks checked in. ... otherwise the ship cant sail.

[Bela]

It is certainly safer to fly in the day before. Plus the port is often a great sightseeing town in it's own right.

 

I consider several things when making the decision. Time of year (typical weather delays)and familiarity with port/city are thoughts, but the biggies are how much earlier will I be there before sailing and flight connections. To offer other suggestions, where are you flying from?

The farther away fron home I'm flying the more likely there is to be delays. I'll be flying into NY a day early in Sept and next year for our Alaska cruise, definitely.

 

I usually fly Southwest from Nashville whenever possible. Almost always on time for my history. My brother flies from Texas often and uses American. Always delayed at one point or another in the roundtrip. Destination doesn't matter in his case.

[WildcatCruiser99]

My husband and I always fly the day of the cruise and (knock knock on wood) has never had a problem. We always get the first flight out of NY. So if anything does happen, we have enough time to correct it. I believe the key is the first flight or we have been just lucky so far.

 

Good Luck and don't stress out

[cb at sea]

since you are flying in with PLENTY of time on the day of departure, and weather (most likely) won't be a factor, I wouldn't stress too much about it! If you were flying in during winter, when ice/snow could cause delays, then I'd worry.

We've done it both ways---on the day of, and a day prior. If I had my choice, a day before allows you to relax and get the vacation started, but if you can't, you can't! All will be ok! If you don't have some sort of travel insurance, you may want some, but do NOT stress! You'll ruin your 1st day of the cruise by getting yourself all bent out of shape!

[nbsjcruiser]

My boyfriend and I are sailing out of Miami to go on a Carnival cruise in about a month and we purchased plain tickets to fly into Miami the day OF the cruise sail date. We arrive several hours before the sailing time, but I was wondering if anyone has had problems with same day flights as sail dates. ie changes in schedule/timesetc.

Please reply...I am stressing out after reading these boards. It seems a lot of people fly out the day or night before their sail date.:confused::confused::confused:

 

Next month weather should be fine so I think you'll be ok. Hey, don't forget that the day you arrive IS your first day of the cruise. Get there as early as you can and begin enjoying your first cruise.