Experience flying in the day of cruise departure?

[ccsmith312]

We are booking a 3 night cruise on the Dream for this fall. The way my DH's vacation time works out, he will be getting off work the morning of our departure (he is on call overnight at the hospital). We would be departing Birmingham at 10:05 am on cruise departure day for a direct flight arriving at 12:30 at MCO, then on to Port Canaveral via a Disney transfer. We've never flown in the day of a cruise and I'm wondering if anyone else has had this experience? We've cruised quite a bit, so I'm not bothered that we won't be first on the boat. This is an adults only trip as well, we are not bringing the kids, so our travel will be much smoother, meaning, I won't be dragging my three pint size Smiths through the airport.

On the DCL website it recommends booking a flight that arrives before 1:45 to MCO, so we would be well within their guidelines.

If anyone has flown in the day of departure, would you mind sharing your experience? Thanks!

 

[BigredNole]

if there are no delays, then there shouldn't be a problem. However, a 2 hour delay would most likely end your chance of getting on it.

 

[Anisum]

I've done it on multiple occasions. That being said I would never do a flight that lands that late. I use a few rules to determine whether or not I should fly in day of:

1. If I'm flying in the day of the cruise it has to be at a time of year when there won't be snow or any other delays that could cancel all flights out of the airport.
2. It has to be the first flight for that airline and that airline has to have several more flights to Orlando that day. For example one airline I fly with has flights to Orlando every one or two hours. I'll usually take the flight that gets in at 8am so I have at least two if not three other chances of making it. That way if there are mechanical difficulties on the flight I can usually get the next one out.
3. I prefer to do it if the airport has other airlines flying into MCO around the same time because if the worst happens and I have to pay to get down with a different airline I have time to do so.

I've never actually had #3 happen and I've always made it in time but not everyone does. I just find its often cheaper than booking a hotel which is why I'm willing to live dangerously from time to time.

 

[jerseygal]

I personally would never place extra stress on a trip, "just in case" of delays. We have relatives that cruise annually for the last twenty years and always fly in the night or day before to allow for delays. GOOD LUCK!

 

[2forMe]

I would not arrive so late either....is there an earlier flight? I would make sure to have trip cancellation insurance that covers missing the cruise etc.

 

[ludari]

Although I no longer do it I have on a few occasions few in the same day the cruise was sailing, however I made sure that;
1. I caught the first flight out.
2. There where multiple flights leaving that day so if I did miss my flight I would able to catch a subsequent flight that would get me there in time.
3. I had transportation confirmed and ready for my arrival (once it was a cruise line bus and another time I had a taxi).
4. I only had carry-on luggage no checked bags.
5. I had cruise insurance.

Good luck.

 

[Hundredacre]

We usually drive, but I would do it. Of course it is not ideal, but odds are you will be fine. Even if you have a 2 hour delay you will make it. We have arrived at the boat at 4 before and they did not act like we were late or anything. Now there were only employees in the terminal, but no one ever said you are late or hurry. The muster drill was starting as we boarded.

 

[Tequilamamacita]

We have done that twice. We booked through Disney so we felt they knew where we were in case we were late...

 

[Rudisdey]

When possible I advice you to book a flight earlier or a day before. Even when you arrive on time, you still will loose time with waiting for suitcases and travel to the ship. Did DCL informed you about the latest departure of the Disney Transfer?

 

[ccsmith312]

We have done that twice. We booked through Disney so we felt they knew where we were in case we were late...

Hi there, do you mean that you booked the airfare through Disney? We would need to fly Southwest and not sure if Disney uses them or not. If we book our own airfare, I was thinking we would need to book the transport from MCO to Port Canaveral through Disney though, so they would know if we were late.

 

[GeneMachine]

Although I no longer do it I have on a few occasions few in the same day the cruise was sailing, however I made sure that;
1. I caught the first flight out.
2. There where multiple flights leaving that day so if I did miss my flight I would able to catch a subsequent flight that would get me there in time.
3. I had transportation confirmed and ready for my arrival (once it was a cruise line bus and another time I had a taxi).
4. I only had carry-on luggage no checked bags.
5. I had cruise insurance.

Solid reasons, and ones I follow as well. We recently flew in March on the morning of, and I had contingency plans B and C ready to put in place if we missed our first flight: getting on a subsequent flight, or flying to another airport and renting a car to get to the port (or uber, which I guess would be plan C/D).

Have fun!

 

[Flossbolna]

We have done that twice. We booked through Disney so we felt they knew where we were in case we were late...

This might not really help you at all. Another poster recently had the same thought as you and ended up with quite a difficult situation and got very little help from Disney:

Flight Delay and Will Miss Transatlantic Cruise

OP, have a look at this thread as this is what can happen. Most likely everything will work fine, but you have the risk that you miss you cruise. You need to know whether it is worth it for you to have that risk.

 

[Sir William]

I will relate our experience on the one cruise we flew on the day of departure.

We had just pulled away from the gate when we pulled back up to it. Pilot came on and said another flight was missing their co-pilot so ours had been sent to replace him. We were waiting for the late co-pilot who apparently was caught in traffic. After almost an hour an airline rep came onboard and announced that the flight would be cancelled but that we would be placed on flights departing the next day as that day's flights were all overbooked and there were no seats available. Just then a replacement co-pilot (from another flight of course) arrived and we were able to take off about an hour late. We arrived in plenty of time to make the ship, but it was a very stressful hour and we've never flown the day of since, though we have gone down late the night before.

Over the years I've been delayed due to weather, mechanical problems, missing crew, sick crew, crew that didn't have enough hours left on their flight day, passengers who became ill or developed heart or breathing problems, disruptive passengers, a broken gateway, a couple of security shutdowns (the terminals were cleared of passengers and then we all had to go through security screening again), a problem loading luggage on the plane, waiting for a connecting flight, waiting for the my aircraft to arrive from another destination, the smell of smoke on the aircraft, and getting the doors to seal properly. Not to mention being rerouted due to weather, and luggage being delayed or misrouted. From these experiences, I don't trust the airlines to get me to my destination on time, though they usually do.

Could your DH swap his shift with someone else to allow you to have an earlier flight?

 

[shelbell77]

Hi there, do you mean that you booked the airfare through Disney? We would need to fly Southwest and not sure if Disney uses them or not. If we book our own airfare, I was thinking we would need to book the transport from MCO to Port Canaveral through Disney though, so they would know if we were late.

They may know, but they won't do anything about it. As another poster posted the story of a recent TA cruiser who had booked through Disney, he was out of luck.

Can't share my personal experience doing same day as its not something I have ever done - we always fly in at least the day before. I've traveled extensively for work over the years and I know first hand how many things can cause delays.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I would never chance it. Last year we were at the gate waiting for a fight a day before our Disney cruise. Beautiful spring day in Chicago not a cloud in the sky. Flight delayed four hours because of a mechanical issue. About 10 people on the flight were trying to make a carnival cruise. Lots of crying and anxiety because they were not going to be there on time. If we are doing a cruise in the winter I always go in two days ahead to account for weather.

 

[lanejudy]

People fly in the same day all the time and have no issues. Chances are you'll be fine. I'm one of those who would find it too stressful so we always arrive at least a day early. What would worry me most is your husband being on-call until departure morning -- do you have a "plan B" if he gets called to work at 6am for an emergency that he can't easily leave? That will throw the whole plan in the dump. Just make sure you have travel insurance.

I would NOT rely solely on scheduling DCL transfers as your fall-back. If there is any sort of delay, be in direct contact with DCL and keep them updated. I'm not sure how closely the transfer manifests are compared to the check-in/boarding passengers. They'll know you haven't arrived, but I don't believe DCL transfers will necessarily guarantee your arrival at port if the flight is delayed.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[MickeyEarrings]

I wouldn't risk it either. Sure, you live in the south where it's always warm and sunny, but where is your plane coming in from? The weather could be bad there. And I don't know what your husband does at the hospital, but where I work a disaster alert means all-hands-on-deck and no one leaves until it's resolved.

You've gotten great advice from some very seasoned travelers here. I wouldn't risk it without trip insurance either.

 

[kiford]

I would also suggest that you ensure that you have at least a change of clothing (or more) in a carryon just in case your luggage goes astray or doesn't get picked up. The only time the airline mislaid our luggage (came in a later flight) was when we were flying home so I've never had to use it but there's a lot of peace of mind in having an extra pair or two of underwear and socks, a change of shirt and a bathing suit at hand. Since your cruise is so short, if you didn't end up getting your luggage you could make it through the cruise reasonably easily. And definitely insurance. I've been delayed for up to 7 hours in an airport and DH has had flights cancelled on him at last minute - no explanation and no additional flights that day.

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I used to do it. Never occurred to me to fly and pay for hotel the day before the cruise. However, in the recent years, I learned to schedule my WDW days before my cruise instead of post-cruise. Not sure if I'm becoming a scary cat with age or the increase delay in airports/flights, I just no longer feeling comfortable flying the day of. If your husband can switch the day, the best is to fly in a day or 2 before. If not possible, as PP said, buy a good travel policy.

 

[The Sasquatch]

it makes me nervous just thinking about it! Basically the whole ship has boarded by 12:30