Another reason not to fly in on day of departure (MCO)

[Memepoppy]

Leave on our Dream Cruise on Monday, but the family flew in Saturday as we were coming from 3 different states. Flights were all good as far as being on time and all, but the 2 groups that came in on the late afternoon experienced something that caused me to go what if?.....

Started raining when we arrived and by the time we made it to baggage claim they had called a "Code Red" on the ramp at Orlando. This meant that there was lightning within 3 miles of the airport and they immediately stopped all ramp activities for the safety of the workers, which included unloading bags. Said it could be up to 3 hour or more. We waited about 1 1/2 hours then went to our hotel, having to go back later to meet the rest of party.

What if this was the day of...., who would expect that you could arrive on time but potentially miss your cruise due to something like lightning??? Another reason to arrive at least the day before!

 

[southerngirl528]

Leave on our Dream Cruise on Monday, but the family flew in Saturday as we were coming from 3 different states. Flights were all good as far as being on time and all, but the 2 groups that came in on the late afternoon experienced something that caused me to go what if?.....

Started raining when we arrived and by the time we made it to baggage claim they had called a "Code Red" on the ramp at Orlando. This meant that there was lightning within 3 miles of the airport and they immediately stopped all ramp activities for the safety of the workers, which included unloading bags. Said it could be up to 3 hour or more. We waited about 1 1/2 hours then went to our hotel, having to go back later to meet the rest of party.

What if this was the day of...., who would expect that you could arrive on time but potentially miss your cruise due to something like lightning??? Another reason to arrive at least the day before!

Thanks for sharing this, Memepoppy. It could save someone some grieff down the road. Things can and do happen. As for the lightning thing, I can tell you since Orlando is my home airport, that this is not an uncommon occurrence. I have had flights delayed both going out and coming into MCO because of this very thing. And I have watched my suitcase on the cart on the tarmac in monsoon like rain where it was abandoned by the baggage handlers because of lightning. Please folks, fly in at least the day before your cruise!

 

[lorimay]

My son works at Ft Lauderdale airport and it happens often here as well. He says the passengers get angry when they're told the ramp is closed due to weather They don't realize how dangerous it is for those workers to be out there on the tarmac, they just want their bags.
There are so many things that can go wrong, even driving to the port.
Its worth a night in a hotel for piece of mind.

 

[cyclenut]

Had not considered a delay in baggage claim. There are a whole lot of things that can go wrong when flying. As a fairly frequent traveler, I think I've encountered most of them. I have flown in the day of a cruise and would still consider it, under the right circumstances. I look at the risks and the "plan B" options and then decide. If I can get a non-stop flight with the original arrival time before noon (earlier the better) and there are multiple flights to/from, then it's a risk I'd consider taking. If something goes wrong, be prepared to calmly pursue "plan B". One tip I've given those flying "day of" is to get the first flight out. My experience is those run into problems less often as most airports are shut down at night. It also means you arrive earlier and a baggage claim delay of three hours will still get you on the ship on time.

No way to change the weather, but planning ahead can still allow a stress-free day of cruise travel day.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Wow, a lesson learned without bruises. Your were very fortunate. We experienced a luggage delay, but with a bad outcome. Plane was diverted to San Antonio because of bad weather at DFW. We (and every one that was suppose to land at DFW) were deplaned. None of the luggage was removed from the belly of the plane because there was no place to put it (dozens of planes parked along the ramp). Got another flight out but with only our roll-on luggage. We made the cruise but the luggage was sent back to our home airport. All this traveling ONE DAY before the cruise. We now travel two days ahead of the cruise.

 

[Jennifer777]

Also a good reminder to always pack essentials (medication, money, passports, etc) and a spare change of clothes in your carry-on. If my bags were delayed but I was not, you better believe I'd be getting on that ship with just my carryon and buying clothes and any other necessities on board and in the ports.

 

[mevelandry]

One time we've had a flight that was supposed to arrive in the beginning of the afternoon. It was delayed many times (for mechanical problems) and we ended up arriving at 8:30 PM! I have had a flight the same day as our cruise in the past but I would never do it again.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

And yet another reason why we only pack carry-on luggage!

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Being from the North, I always assumed that leaving in the winter would be the worst time to fly. It usually is a hassle because they have to de-ice the plane before takeoff but you can run into so many issues even flying in July. I had a WDW trip booked (no cruise this time) and arrived at the airport. It was a later flight getting me into MCO around midnight. Well the flight was delayed because of storms in Charlotte. After waiting an hour they actually cancelled the flight and there was no way I would be flying that evening so I had to wait until the next day. The story actually is much longer and depressing but i'll spare everybody lol.

Cliff notes: The next morning the flight was delayed by 5 hours. Once I finally got to the next city that plane had issues and they had to remove everyone from the plane. That flight, too, was cancelled and i had to spend the second night in a hotel on my dime. American Airlines sent me a generic response to my email telling me I should purchase vacation insurance.

Definitely always always always fly in the day before a cruise. I'm just lucky this time around I wasn't actually going on one.

 

[RAD]

And yet another reason why we only pack carry-on luggage!

Try doing that for a 14 night cruise.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Try doing that for a 14 night cruise.

It's doable but you'll be doing a lot of laundry. We met a couple on a B2B on the Wonder (before the new ships came out) who were up to their 13th or 14th day on cruise ships, just going from one to the next. They only had carry ons. They told us that they had found a cruise out of Miami that was leaving the day we returned to port so they booked it and would just drive straight from PC to Miami, board the ship and do laundry as needed.

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

I met someone on our first cruise who had a baggage delay and the bags didn't make it to the ship. She and her family had to wear gift shop clothes the entire cruise

 

[dclpluto]

Try doing that for a 14 night cruise.

That person probably goes on the short 3 and 4 night cruises.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Apparently Rick Steves travels through Europe with only a backpack so I guess anything is possible. I agree with Dynamic duo that it definitely requires a lot of laundry.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

And, we have been on the other side of a weather stop at the end of our cruise at Hobby in Houston (Galveston). Our bags were abandoned on the carts in a huge thunderstorm. When our bags arrived in Phoenix, we discovered they were soaked through. Wet contents would not be a good way to START off a cruise.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Also a good reminder to always pack essentials (medication, money, passports, etc) and a spare change of clothes in your carry-on. If my bags were delayed but I was not, you better believe I'd be getting on that ship with just my carryon and buying clothes and any other necessities on board and in the ports.

Another reason for a travel insurance policy that includes some luggage coverage, so some of these costs can be reimbursed. We have an annual policy that includes coverage for both lost and delayed luggage up to $1000.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

I have to say this all makes me very nervous! We’re flying into MCO in a few weeks for the first time, and all I see are thunderstorms in the forecast. We’re flying in the day before the cruise, but now I’m not only worrying about flight delays, also worried about soaked luggage! I’m thinking I may need to put everything in large ziplocks? We almost never have t-storms where I live so maybe I’m overreacting...

 

[jdb in AZ]

Use Ziplocs if it would make you feel better. soaked luggage can happen anywhere. Mine was soaked at LAX, but the suitcase was plastic-lined, so my stuff was damp, but not destroyed.

 

[SnowWhite2]

We were stuck in the plane, one foot from the bridgeway (or whatever it is called that gets you on/off the plane) waiting for the storm to pass so we and our luggage could exit the plane. It took almost an hour and this was at 11:30 pm when our plane was supposed to land at 5 pm. We were able to get off the plane after 45 minutes but the lightening started again before the baggage handlers were able to set up and the bags took an extra 20 minutes. Our expected 8 pm arrival to WDW ended up being about 3 am.

 

[deedeezee]

Good post! I think it is a good reminder to anyone traveling. Delays for t-storms, delays unloading, etc. Air travel is anything but perfectly predictable.