Any horror stories of missing the Saturday embarkation time?

[kpgclark]

We're considering taking a flight from Philly which will get us to MCO at 8:30am on Saturday. First of all, I forget what time you can get on the ship. Can someone post the time? Also, I feel a little jittery about flying the day the ship leaves. I'm worried the flight will be delayed and we'll miss the ship. Has this ever happened to anyone?

 

[CruellaDuVille]

NO WAY would I consider that before a paid cruise. I am a frequent flier and let me tell you that it's not just "magic" that happens. You are putting yourself at the airlines mercy. I can give you many different types of examples of things that could happen to you (for instance, a tire part that they have to fly in from a different city 2000 miles away, a flight delayed because of delays somewhere else, a plane that just cancels for no reason except it's not as full as they like (they'll call it "mechanical"), an airport that shuts down because some idiot bolts through security...I could go on forever and all of these things have actually happened to me). Do yourself a favor and give yourself AT LEAST a day lead time to get there, you will save yourself a lot of stress and worry. I didn't even mention Murphy's law.

 

[PiperG]

I agree!

I travel quite a bit and would guess that a delay of some sort happens 40% of the time. Even if its minimal, the stress could ruin the trip, which should be full of anticipation and excitement.

 

[ExecuMom]

We are flying from Philly also. (8/3 Western Cruise). It's our second cruise on the Magic. Both times we are flying in the day of the cruise, via USAIR.

Our flight departs Philly at 7:40 and arrives around 10:00 am. We had no problems previously, as you can board the ship from about 11:30 am to 3:00 pm.

I've been reading this board for months and have not read of someone missing the ship due to flight delays. Of course, there is always a chance, but by-in-large Disney works closely with USAIR (as it's their primary carrier).

Recommend, if you are worried and don't want to do the night before, that you take the very early flight (6:30 am?) and hang out in Orlando until the DCL reps show at the Orlando airport.



Enjoy!!

 

[CruellaDuVille]

Once when I flew to Orlando we were diverted to Tampa due to electrical storms. They BUSSED us to Orlando. (This is nothing new, I've been diverted to Hartford and bussed to Boston too).

Once I left Las Vegas at 6am, due to arrive Oregon 10:30 am. I got here at 3:30am the next day.

These things all happened before Sept. 11th. Since Sept 11th it's worse. My friend had a flight out of San Francisco cancelled because someone found white powder in the lavatory. It turned out to be talcum powder.

If you're making your own flight arrangements Disney doesn't care how you're supposed to get there or what carrier you're on.

OK, I'll shut up now. Hey, I'm a gambler. I just wouldn't put my money on the airlines right now. They'll get you there safe, you just need to be flexible now more than ever. Just my opinion.

 

[atigeg]

Prior to 9/11, we used to fly in the morning of the cruise and had UNCANNY good luck, particularly since many of those flights were in the winter from Chicago. However, we now fly in the night before and get a hotel room via Hotwire or Priceline near MCO. It's worth the extra time and $$ just to be sure.
I do have a horror story, but it was an RCCL cruise and it was our fault, not the airline's. We were flying to Miami on American and had a very early morning flight. Both hubby and I dozed off at the gate and didn't realize that our plane was loaded and leaving until it was literally pulling away from the gate...too late!!! American was great about it, even tho' it was our fault. They actually paid someone to give up their seat on the next flight so we could make it to our cruise.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[imgoingtodisney]

oh my God Barb - I guess after so many cruises maybe you can relax more than others!

We are leaving on a Thurs night and heading a hotel near the airport. Fri morn we fly down early, due to land at 10am. Staying overnight at the port.
We dont cruise until the Sat.
Coming home we have a 6pm flight.

 

[JimB.]

Haven't heard of this at DCL, but then again, I live 1 1/2 drive from Port Canaveral.

On the Magic, I DID meet someone who had this problem with a ship out of Miami. Due to flight problems, they got to the airport 45 minutes AFTER sailing time. They had contacted the Cruise Lines and they said the ship would wait since they were only going over to the Bahamas the first night.

It didn't.

They spent the first 3 days of their cruise in a hotel in Jamaica waiting for the ship to dock.



Being the paranoid kinda' guy I am, I'd fly down the day before and book a hotel room. To me, the Hundred extra bucks I'd spend would be MORE than offset by my increased peace of mind..............

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I felt flying in the day you set sail very stressful-even without worrying about the flight. Having to get up extra early to get to the airport for that early am flight, lugging your carryons, for me keeping track of toddler twins, trecking from plane to bus to port to ship, we were so wiped out we missed the sailaway party and the character breakfast the next morning on our 1st cruise. That was the one thing I said I would never do again-fly in the day you set sail. Our 2nd cruise we stayed at the Port Radisson the night before and I was still not recovered from the hectic flying day and time change. Cruise #3 we stayed at WDW for 5 days then went on to the cruise-now that was the way to do it-the only one stressed that time was our piggybank-LOL!!!

 

[Werner Weiss]

We cruised on the Celebrity Zenith from Ft. Lauderdale on March 13, 1993. Airports throughout much of the Midwest and East were closed by The Storm of the Century! The captain delayed our departure 4 or 5 hours to give passengers a chance to arrive, but finally left with approximately a fourth of the passengers missing. We had flown to Florida two days earlier to take our children to stay with my wife's parents, so we didn't have a problem. But two of our tablemates joined the cruise two days later in Jamaica, with horror stories to tell!

Based on this experience, we flew down to Florida a day early for our Disney Magic cruise a few months ago. It was a great way to start the vacation. We spent the afternoon at the resort pool. We had a good dinner at Bahama Breeze near WDW. And the next morning, we only had to drive to the port and return our Hertz car in Cocoa Beach.

Even if someone could guarantee that our flight wouldn't be cancelled or delayed, I wouldn't want to fly on the morning of the cruise. To take a 7:00 a.m. flight from O'Hare, we would have to leave out house at between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. -- given the need to be at the airport at least 90 minutes before the flight and to make it to the front of the check-in line to check bags at least an hour before the flight. Who wants to be exhausted when you board the ship?

 

[TX Shelly]

I would definitely fly the day before your cruise. For our June1 1st cruise we were scheduled to leave Houston Friday night on US Air at 6:30 pm and get into Orlando at midnight (hubby needed to work that day) with a plane change in Charlotte, NC. Well a 20 min rainstorm in Houston delayed our flight almost an hour, we missed our connection in Charlotte. The attendants on flight said they were going to try and hold the Orlando flight as several people on our plane also were to be on that flight. Didn't happen. It took off 15 min before we landed. Next flight at 7:40 am on Sat but overbooked. US Air could only guarantee 1:40 pm flight getting into Orlando at 3:10 pm. We did not want to take the chance of missing our flight (booked it ourselves) knowing that flights can be delayed, or not on time and the port was 50 min away from Orlando. We rented a car and drove all night to Orlando (8 hours straight starting at midnight). We did not want miss our cruise after you pay out that kind of money. We got to the airport about 8:15 am and waited for our luggage to come in at 9:20 am as they couldn't pull our luggage.

The next time we will leave early in the morning so if this happens again, we have a better chance at getting another flight on the same day. After we got back from our wonderful cruise, I did write to US Air and they were wonderful.

 

[mouseclick1]

We flew in the day of the cruise on our first cruise, and it was very stressful! I worried for weeks(OK,probably more!) before the cruise that there would be some sort of storm that would cancel the flight. We were scheduled to arrive at 10:30 at MCO, and though our flight was not canceled, we didn't arrive until 1:00 due to other delays. We still made it to the ship in time,I think we were on board by 2:30. but I would never do it that way again.

We cruised again this past February and arrived the day before. We spent a wonderful, relaxing day at AKL (no parks), then headed over the the ship in the morning. It was perfect!

 

[BuzzRocks]

We live in Florida (St. Petersburg, about 2 hours from the port) and didn't consider even driving over the morning of the cruise. It's just so much more relaxing getting a hotel room in Cocoa Beach the night before, almost within walking distance of the ship. Anything can happen (car trouble, road closure, etc.), so we didn't risk it. I can't even imagine trusting the airlines the morning of the cruise.

 

[Lizziemom]

I guess I am in the minority here. I never fly the day before. We have never had a problem getting to the ship before it sails.

From Philly, USAir has many flights to MCO all day. Unless you hit a storm day, you should have no problem. We fly from RI, and connect in Philly or Pitt and USAir always gets us thru. I am also a frequent flyer and have not had alot of airline problems before or after 9/11

Lizzie

 

[Gina]

There is just no way in %$@# I would fly in the day of the cruise... on our last trip to Orlando (WDW, not the cruise) in December, we were supposed to leave Houston before 6am. Mechanical problems, and no extra planes, and we didn't leave until nearly 9. Changed planes in Atlanta, more mechanical problems *plus* a missing crew member. They had to put us on a completely different airline, lost my luggage for a day and a half, and we didn't get to MCO until 5pm. We were supposed to be there at 11:20.

You just never know... and like others have said, I wouldn't trust the airlines for anything these days. We're flying in two days ahead of time, next trip in February.

-gina-

 

[pagemaker]

I was really starting to worry. This is our first cruise ever, leaving from JFK direct/non stop to Orlando via Jet Blue early Saturday morning. Arriving the day before is not an option for us, so I was getting a little panicky reading all those posts.

Does anyone have any helpful tips for that morning?

Thank You!
Deb

11/23/02 - Magic 7 Day

 

[Gillian]

If you have no choice then the only thing you can do is relax & not worry!

That said, I wouldn't fly the day of either (given the choice) unless the cruise line arranged the flight for us.

In July of 2000 there was a bad storm that closed airports in the northeast. We had an early afternoon flight from Orlando to Philly that was cancelled, along with all of the other flights (to NJ or PA or anywhere close!). There were 5 of us travelling, and we were not able to get a flight together until 24 hours later!! Because it was a weather delay, the airlines were not required to do anything at all.

The adults missed a day of work, but no harm done otherwise. If we had had plans in philly the next day, we would have rented a car (and been out whatever it cost).

 

[lUVTOGO]

We are also flying out of Atlantic City Airport on the morning of our cruise.( I didn't read these boards then) I am also nervous that the flight will be delayed or something. To change our flight to the night before for 4 people and the hotel cost will be close to 400.00 dollars and I cannot talk my husband into it.

 

[BethC1952]

I can't imagine flying in the same day! Too many chances for all kinds of problems.

That's why we go to WDW for a few days beforehand--and this time afterwards, too! And we're not even flying this time...Grandpa refuses to get on a plane, so we're going Amtrak if they're still in business, Greyhound if they aren't!

Beth

 

[ExecuMom]

WOW. I got so freaked-out reading these posts that I changed my flight plans this morning to come down Friday night from Philly to Orlando. Thank god there were enough seats on the last flight (8:10 pm) for all 9 of us!!

Last time we flew on the day of via USAIR through DCL and didn't have any problems. This time, I booked the fairs on my own because it was alot cheaper (although now that's gone due to the $100 per ticket change fee).

Oh well, it's worth the money not to worry.

Thanks for sharing!!