fly in the night before or the day of?

[aimb]

It seems like most people fly in the night before the cruise, but we are thinking of flying in the day of. Will we regret this decision? How early would our flight need to arrive in order to get to the port on time? We plan on taking the DCL bus to the port.

Those of you who fly in the night before, is it worth the expense of an extra hotel night? Where is the best/easiest place to stay? Can we still take the DCL bus to the port?

 

[IrishCowboy]

We prefer to fly in the night before departure. It gives us more time to deal with any unplanned travel delays. We also like to board as early as possible and take care of Spa and Palo reservations and register our children for the clubs.

We have stayed in Orlando near the airport and also spent the night in Port Canaveral at the Radisson. If you have a party of 4, it is less expensive to get a rental car.

Have a great cruise!

 

[Dreamer04]

Flying in the night before gives you a cushion of safety. If weather or other problems delay your flight, you won't be worrying about making it!

As far as transportation, you have lots of options. Most hotels in the MCO area have shuttles to and from the airport. So, after staying the night, just grab the shuttle back to MCO and hop on the DCL bus.

Or, skip the bus and arrange for a town car to get you from hotel to port. Depending on how many people you have in your party, it might even be cheaper than the bus!

 

[Dreamer04]

Also-the Hyatt Regency is IN MCO. So it is the easiest by far. Additionally, DCL picks up luggage and/or guests from there!

 

[Hunter'sMama]

We've chosen to fly in the night prior to departure as we are cruising with our 2-year old. We arrive in Orlando just before 8PM and decided the most convenient hotel is the Hyatt in the airport. Hunter will be able to go to bed just after his normal bedtime and we'll be well rested to wake early for the short trip to Port Canaveral the following morning. Our concern about flying in the day of is potential delays. This way, if we're delayed Friday evening, it's not as big of a problem.

Take care,
Sarah

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We always make sure we are there the night before...you never know what could happen with flight delays (weather and technical delays) and I would be a total wreck stressing out about getting to the Port in plenty of time. I like to be one of the first on the ship to make any and all arrangements and begin my vacation as early as possible.

There are plenty of hotels, including the Hyatt at MCO as was already mentioned, that will take you for free to and from the airport in order to catch a DCL bus the morning of your cruise. It is definitely worth getting there the night before.

 

[Dreamer04]

Sarah, I did the same thing last year. We arrived at MCO at 7:45 PM. By the time we walked into our room, it was 10!

Luggage, getting to the hotel and checking in took more time than I "allotted".

Just wanted to give you a heads up.


Ursula

 

[Hunter'sMama]

Ursula,

Are you kidding? I'm so glad you told me this. I may decide to change flight plans for Hunter & I. Ten o'clock is a little too late for him and I don't want a cranky child Saturday morning.

Thanks a lot!
Sarah

 

[markey]

We always fly in on Monday for the Saturday cruise and spend the time either at the parks or at a Florida Beach. Last year Southwest lost 2 pieces of our luggage, and we did not get back until the next morning. Of course the one was mine with all my casual and beach clothing, got a new bathing suit out of that one, and the other had my DH cruise dress clothes. Since we were on the Eastern I don't know when our clothing would have gotten to us, since the first stop was on Tuesday. This is one good reason to fly in early. I have learned my lesson, this year there will not be a separate bag for each person, that way not all the clothes for one person will be lost.

 

[Dreamer04]

Originally posted by Hunter'sMama
Ursula,

Are you kidding? I'm so glad you told me this. I may decide to change flight plans for Hunter & I. Ten o'clock is a little too late for him and I don't want a cranky child Saturday morning.

Thanks a lot!
Sarah

Last year, we didn't want our kids to miss school and flew down about 530 or 6pm. Picture this-DD, 6 could hardly sleep with excitememt Thurs night, spent a day in school where everyone was excited about the upcoming vacation week (President's Week) and then boarded the JetBLue flight w/o having dinner!!!

She had her meltdown at 10PM while I was trying to get her to eat.
Never again!

 

[westjones]

We flew in the 'day of' our cruise the first time, and it was stressful. We had no problems getting to port on time, but we were tired from getting up so early to make our flight, then flying, and then taking the shuttle to port. The first day of our cruise was really not enjoyable because we were so exhausted for the hustle of getting to the ship.

This past year we flew in a few days before, went to the parks and drove ourselves over to the cruise. That was much more relaxing.

It can be done, it will save you a night in a hotel, but it is tiring and possibly stressful to fly in the day of the cruise.

DJ

 

[appink]

In 2002 we flew down the day of. It was not a problem thank goodness. The only problem was we were so tired from getting up early that morning the we did not enjoy the first day as much as we could have.

This time we are flying in on Friday. That way we can relax the day before and head over early Saturday morning.

 

[jrabbit]

Since we come in from the west coast we always arrive the day before.

You can stay in a airport area hotel and they will shuttle you back to the airport the next morning and you can catch the DCL buses there. We've done it - it's no problem.

 

[Skybaby]

Always fly down the night before. Never know what might happen with your flight. Spending $50 for a hotel through priceline.com for that night is worth getting to the port on time!

 

[TheWog]

Here's another for the fly down the day before. So much better with less stress. Good luck.

 

[WDWLVR]

We took 2 cruises in 2003. In Feb. we flew in the day before, had a great time at the Raddison and arrived fresh and rested for our Wonder Cruise.

In May we flew in the same day for our Magic cruise. No problems at all (delays etc.) but by the time we got to the port it was jam packed and since we had been up for so long (got up at 4 for a 6:30 flight) we were tired.

In December we are taking an extra day and flying down the day before!

 

[mickeyboat]

PLEASE FLY DOWN THE NIGHT BEFORE!

We flew down the day of in March. There was fog at our airport the night before and we left 4 hours late. We almost missed our connection and arrived at MCO at 4PM. We barely made the ship -and our luggage did not. We got it when we docked in St. Maarten.

Don't chance it.

Denae

 

[jrabbit]

If you're not convinced about arriving a day early, try this link. Our Horror Story

 

[MariettaC]

Without question, the day before!

 

[Dreamer04]

Last August, another DIS'er planned to fly down early the day before. Very good decision. The Northeast Blackout prevented him from flying. He drove to North Carolina and got a flight from there. I do not recall him mentioning price. Ended up arriving sometime in the wee hours on the day of departure.

Fly down the day before. If you put a dollar figure on aggravation and worry, then the expense of a hotel is worth it!

Ursula