Flight Question

[Autism Mom]

I am pretty new to these boards, but was hoping you all could give me some advice. We have our 3rd cruise booked in January, and want to fly from Cincinnati area to Orlando. We drove past two times. My question is, have any of you flown in early same day? Or is this too risky?

Thanks!

 

[englanddg]

I am pretty new to these boards, but was hoping you all could give me some advice. We have our 3rd cruise booked in January, and want to fly from Cincinnati area to Orlando. We drove past two times. My question is, have any of you flown in early same day? Or is this too risky?

Thanks!

Too risky.

Fly in the night before, even if you just crash at a hotel airport.

 

[Flight]

Too risky.

Agree. But let me use stronger language: You have to be out of your mind to fly in the same day.

There. Enjoy the entire experience by flying in early the day before.

 

[Weedy]

Also it's exhausting to fly in the same day. You will need to book an early am flight to get to Orlando on time. You will need to get to the airport at least 1 hour before your flight. So you will need to leave your house 4 or 5am?? Get up at 3am.
You will be too exhausted to enjoy the 1st day of your cruise.

 

[dcassetta]

Lots of people do fly in the same day as the cruise, but I would be more hesitant to do that during the winter as weather would be more unpredictable. The Hyatt is right there in the hotel itself, and there are a number of other less expensive choices that have a shuttle to and from the airport right in the area.

 

[EskiLvr]

Agreeing with all of the other comments - *Too Risky*. Storms in the Midwest/Ohio Valley can come out of nowhere - I'd definitely plan to arrive a day early. We flew in March, and even made sure to schedule a morning departure, just so there would be more available flight slots for us to rebook and still make the ship if there were complications...

 

[thumpie's mom]

Agree with the others, fly in the day before. It truly does make the trip less stressful and gives you a chance to rest before the cruise. The Hyatt at MCO is really nice...you just pick up your luggage, walk over to the front desk and check in. The next morning DCL will pick up your luggage and deliver it to your cabin. The buses are down in the Magical Express area to take you to the ship. Have a great cruise!

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

Another agreement on too risky. We're flying in from New England in February and we're going in the night before and staying at the Hyatt in MCO. Just don't want to risk it.

 

[ktate82]

We have flown in the day of and not had any issues, but we also did it in Sept when the chance of a snowstorm isn't as likely. At that time of year, I would be uncomfortable flying in the day of. If you have any delays, you could likely miss the boat. My thought when we traveled in the winter was that if flight got delayed, canceled or whatever, we could drive it and still make it.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Agree. But let me use stronger language: You have to be out of your mind to fly in the same day.

There. Enjoy the entire experience by flying in early the day before.

I think it is extreme to say "out of your mind." I have flown in twice on the morning of a cruise, and while I would advise against doing it most of the time, I wasn't out of my mind. It didn't work to fly in the day before with work the one time, and the other time we got married the day before and didn't want to wait a whole week for our honeymoon.

In both cases, we purchased travel insurance that would cover delays or missed cruise due to flight issues, purchased the earliest possible flight times, and made peace with the possibility of having an issue. We had no problems.

So OP, if you can fly in the day before, definitely do it because it will bring peace of mind. But if you can't, purchase trip insurance and be willing to miss your cruise if something happens.

 

[saraheli]

I am pretty new to these boards, but was hoping you all could give me some advice. We have our 3rd cruise booked in January, and want to fly from Cincinnati area to Orlando. We drove past two times. My question is, have any of you flown in early same day? Or is this too risky?

Thanks!

I looked at it this way, it wasn't worth the worrying that something might go wrong to fly in the morning of. So much easier to fly in night before stay at Hyatt MCO and just wake up, hit starbucks in the airport terminal, and be on our way.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We are going on our first Disney Cruise in 2016. Flying from West Coast, no flights get there in time the day of cruise so we're staying at the hotel at MCO airport the day before. Even if it wasn't the timing of flights and flying from West Coast, I'd probably stay at the hotel anyway. I have just flown from coast to coast in June and it was a bit of a nightmare. At one point our flight was delayed indefinitely. I wouldn't chance it.

 

[ChicosWife]

I am pretty new to these boards, but was hoping you all could give me some advice. We have our 3rd cruise booked in January, and want to fly from Cincinnati area to Orlando. We drove past two times. My question is, have any of you flown in early same day? Or is this too risky?

Thanks!

I agree with everyone. We, too are flying/cruising in January and I am flying in the day before and am still worried that we may get delayed. Given the unpredictability of the weather, it's better to be safe and fly in, at least, the night before. IMHO

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Don't take the chance. In 2011, if we had not given ourselves a two-day buffer to get to the ship, we would have missed it. Our plane had to make an unplanned stop and we were stuck in Canada for a full 24 hours. You just never know!

 

[Four Swampers]

If you are going on a hotel vacation, say WDW, and you arrive a day late, you lose a day of vacation. That is a little disappointing, but you get over it and enjoy the rest of the week.


If you are going on a cruise and you arrive one minute after the ship has left port: you are out of luck. There really is no rejoining the ship anymore. Your vacation has sailed away, taking with it all the money that you spent for food, lodging, and entertainment.


Flying in the night before adds $100 in food and hotel costs. Not only does it provide a stress-free environment, it gives you time to explore your port city or play in a hotel pool or check out the beach. This is vacation insurance that pays off more often than vacation insurance, and it even provides a little fun time.

 

[Autism Mom]

Thanks everyone. That's really what I was thinking, but wanted to see. I have so many questions now because we are doing a 7 day this time and we are flying, so it seems a little overwhelming!

 

[drclaws]

Over and above unforeseen airline schedule delays is the possibility of a missing piece of luggage. Had to wait a day for my suitcase to follow us to Vancouver after a connection in SF. Arriving the same day and that would have been a major problem.

 

[Weedy]

Also remember even if there is not bad weather where you are there could be bad weather where you plane is coming from. If the plane can't leave its previous destination it can't get to you.

 

[Krikir]

Definitely fly in the day before....that way if there are any delays in regards to weather, there could still be other flights to get you there. You wouldn't have that same freedom if you fly the day of the cruise.

 

[Heidiatmn]

Fly in the night before-I missed a cruise a few years ago because I didn't. I flew out of Minneapolis in November...you'd think we were delayed due to weather right? Nope-proper security paperwork was incomplete by the airline-point being-no matter what airport-fly in the night before-or better yet-morning before and enjoy the extra day of vacation