flying in day of cruise or day before???

[WisconsinDisneyGirl]

There is a Midwest flight (non-stop) that arrives at 11am Sunday. Will that be enough time to get to the ship or should I take the flight the day before?

 

[Empire Day]

Day before for sure there is a thread below talking al about it
Edited to add link to threadhttp://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=533205

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Absolutely fly in the day before. Look down the lists of posts and read...."Our Horror Story".....We ALWAYS do.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by WisconsinDisneyGirl
There is a Midwest flight (non-stop) that arrives at 11am Sunday. Will that be enough time to get to the ship or should I take the flight the day before?

Unless you are piloting your own plane be safe and go the day before. Stay at an airport hotel, take a Disney transport (or whatever pleases you) to the port the next day...No muss, no fuss....No delayed flights and no missed cruises...!

 

[CAMICKEY]

IMHO - Fly in the day before. No "last minute" headaches and a chance to really begin your relaxation even before the cruise starts. - Mike

 

[walczak4]

WisconsinDisneyGirl,

We have taken that same Midwest flight from Milwaukee & let me tell you, it makes for one hectic day. Your first day of the cruise should be relaxing, not chaotic! We are cruising again 02/26/05 & plan on flying in the day before. The only bummer is that for the flight to Orlando, Midwest uses there "Saver Service" which means it is not the typical 2 accross leather seating.

Tracey

 

[mickeyboat]

I am one of the "horror stories." Please fly in the day before.

Denae

 

[makaylee]

Definitly fly in the day before! You never know, there can be weather delays, mechanical delays....anything. It is much less stressful to fly in the day before!

 

[ErinColette]

Quick question, do cruise insurance plans include coverage for flights delayed by weather?

-Erin

 

[WisconsinDisneyGirl]

okay...you talked me into it.................

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by ErinColette
Quick question, do cruise insurance plans include coverage for flights delayed by weather?

-Erin

It depends on many factors. The insurance carrier you choose, whether you booked your own flights or they were booked by the cruise line. Basically if you book your own flights, regardless of most travel insurance policies, you're up the creek. If your air was booked by the cruiseline, they are responsible to get you to the next port of call, but I don't think insurance would help much there either. If you're unable to get to the next port of call, then I'm not sure. To be safe, fly in the night before, we flew in the morning of on our first DCL cruise and while everything worked, I didn't like having to get up at 3AM to catch a 6:30AM flight out. We all were exhausted that first day and basically spent the entire afternoon sleeping!! We almost missed the lifeboat drill!! For our Western cruise in November, we're flying in on Friday and staying at the Hyatt.

 

[clh2]

Wis.Dis.Girl....

I would definitely fly in the day before. For several reasons:

1. That is a holiday weekend.
2. It takes a long time to get from the plane to the luggage area, plus, if the flight is full, it will take all the luggage a long time to get unloaded onto the carousal (bad spelling there). We took ME back in October. It took us at least an hour to get from the plane until we got our luggage.
3. Regardless of your transportation method, it will take about an hour to get to the port. Add more time if you are renting a car. A limo or towncar is probably your best bet to save time.
4. By the time you get to the ship, it will probably be well after 1:00. All the other cruisers will have taken all the good ressies for Palo and the Spa by the time you get there.

The best scenario is you won't have any travel delays. The worst case is you'll be worried about it until you step foot on the ship.

IMHO, it is definitely worth the extra money for a hotel on Saturday night to get in earlier. There are too many reasons I have been delayed on trips. On a ME flight, we were delayed one time flying out of MKE for 2 hours because a storm was passing through the area, and couldn't take off. On other airline, I was delayed for about 3 hours, because there was no crew to fly the plane due to other weather delays in the country.

 

[inkkognito]

While I am happy to say that in 36 cruises, I have never experienced a significant delay on the way to FL (the other way has been another story!), I still say NIGHT BEFORE!! NIGHT BEFORE!! We live in Chicago, where the weather can be unpredictable, and ever since 9/11 I worry about security scares that can delay things. We get a hotel near the airport via Priceline for around $28 (if you use them, only bid the highest price level). We had a nice dinner and a good night's sleep before our cruise. We use Happy Limo, but if you are using DCL transportation, you can take the hotel shuttle back to the airport.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[prymsu]

we always fly in a day before the cruise, especially since coming from the midwest, and enjoying cruises during the winter.

I would just be a nervous wreck if i waited to fly the day of, and then if there would be a delay, it would be a possibility to miss the ship. Just not worth the stress to me.

 

[want2go2disney]

Fly in the day/night before! Less stress. We stayed at the AmeriSuites in the Orlando Airport area (free breakfast buffet) and then got the free transportation from the hotel back to the Airport for the Disney Transfer. Totally stress free for this mom of 3~!

Also, my mom was sailing on a different cruise line and the transfer bus BROKE DOWN on the way to the Port.

You just never know what is going to happen along the way.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We will always fly in (and have always flown in) the night before. You NEVER know what could happen -- even aside from possible weather problems in the winter. No way...I'd end up hospitalized with stress if we flew in the day of!

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Originally posted by crsndsny
I'd end up hospitalized with stress if we flew in the day of!

ROFL

 

[IrishCowboy]

We always fly in the day before the cruise. Too many things can go wrong to cause your flights to be cancelled or delayed.

 

[natdencro]

While waiting for our flight home, we saw a Disney Cruise Line Rep waiting for guests at the Arrival gate: it was 5.20pm! The ship sails at 5.00pm! ALWAYS arrive the day before your cruise!Nat

 

[NYGiantsRule!]

We fly in the night before. On our first cruise we had arranged to fly in the night before and our flight was cancelled. I was on the phone at 2AM calling different airlines to get on a flight. We were able to get on another airline (scheduled airline would not give us our luggage back, so we had to find it when we arrived). We arrived on the ship during the lifeboat drill. I never want to go through that stress again.