Flying in the day of your cruise--too risky?

[TandLMommy28]

There is a nonstop flight I can take at 6:30am that would have us at MCO by 8:45am. We've taken it multiple times with no issue. Last time we took it, we had already dropped our bags in our room at AoA and were IN Animal Kingdom by 11am.

Of course, we didn't NEED to be in Animal Kingdom by 11am which is probably why everything went so smoothly. If we had an ADR or something, I'm sure things would have gone terribly wrong.

Is it too risky to fly out the day of the cruise if the scheduled landing time is 8:45am and there is no layover to possibly mess things up?

I'm just playing with options. I'm not really big into the idea of cruising but I'm doing it for my hubby. We were talking about spending a couple days at WDW before the cruise but I have to be honest. I LOVE WDW and I'm not really excited to cruise (but hubby really wants to so I'm trying to be a good sport). I think having to leave WDW to get on the ship might really put me in a crappy mood. I might be better off getting right on the ship and then going to WDW after so I have something to look forward to when I "survive" the cruise. (I know that's a bad attitude and I'm really trying to get "on board" haha).

 

[Jestocost]

Many people do it but I personally will always fly in the night before unless there is some reason we absolutely can't do that. If your flight is delayed or canceled and you miss the boat, you may wind up missing entire cruise and will at least miss a day or more. And catching up with the ship at a later port (assuming it's even possible) will be expensive unless you have trip insurance to cover it.

FWIW, we find the cruise much more relaxing than WDW and prefer to do the parks before cruising.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Layovers aren't the only thing that would delay your arrival. Where are you flying from? What time of year are you flying? Weather and mechanical issues can always come into play. I get not wanting to leave WDW early, though that's what we usually do before a cruise out of PC. I would strongly suggest flying in the night before and perhaps staying at the airport Hyatt, thus insuring you get there in time and don't have the drama of leaving WDW before your cruise. You can take DCL transportation to the port and then to the resort after your cruise.

 

[TandLMommy28]

My issue is the day before the cruise is 9/11 and I'm totally freaked about flying on that day. Even if it's probably no big deal. It's my first time vacationing without my kids and I'm already anxious enough about leaving them, adding that date into it makes it worse. So it's either two days before or the day of... and two days before means being away from the kids two days longer which is going to be hard on both me and the person watching them!

 

[TandLMommy28]

Layovers aren't the only thing that would delay your arrival. Where are you flying from? What time of year are you flying? Weather and mechanical issues can always come into play. I get not wanting to leave WDW early, though that's what we usually do before a cruise out of PC. I would strongly suggest flying in the night before and perhaps staying at the airport Hyatt, thus insuring you get there in time and don't have the drama of leaving WDW before your cruise. You can take DCL transportation to the port and then to the resort after your cruise.

September out of Indianapolis. Typically the plane we take when we do this flight is already there and ready because it flew in the night before. I know that "typically" means nothing when you are flying, though.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I've done it before, taken a 7:00am flight that landed at MCO just before 9:00am. But there are risks. Do you want to take the risk that something could happen that would delay your flight and cause you to miss the cruise?

I definitely would not try to fly in the morning of during the winter months. And even in other seasons, things can cause flights to be delayed. There have been times when airline computers have gone down causing mass flight cancellations, air traffic issues (e.g. the fire in Chicago that grounded flights for a good portion of the US), or a storm in one area of the country that ends up backing up flights in multiple cities. For our cruise last June, we were flying in the night before and were delayed to the point where I was starting to worry whether or not we'd be able to get to Orlando. It started with a delay because our plane was late getting in from the prior city, but then Orlando experienced a massive lightening storm that temporarily closed the airport so even though our plane was available to board, they wouldn't board us. MCO was backed up with a huge number of flights. We were delayed 4 hours, and were lucky because our flight crew was fresh. If they'd been towards the end of their allowed flight time, our flight might have been delayed further because they would have had to get a new flight crew for us. It made me very glad I hadn't decided to fly in the morning of, and made me reconsider even taking an evening flight in the future since flights are more likely to be delayed the later in the day.

 

[TandLMommy28]

I And even in other seasons, things can cause flights to be delayed. There have been times when airline computers have gone down causing mass flight cancellations, air traffic issues (e.g. the fire in Chicago that grounded flights for a good portion of the US),.

I flew the day of the fire in Chicago. What a mess! So yeah, I guess I have bad flight luck and it's something to factor in, hahaha!

 

[wcw57]

read your subject title.

the answer is : YES

 

[dclpluto]

Layovers aren't the only thing that would delay your arrival. Where are you flying from? What time of year are you flying? Weather and mechanical issues can always come into play. I get not wanting to leave WDW early, though that's what we usually do before a cruise out of PC. I would strongly suggest flying in the night before and perhaps staying at the airport Hyatt, thus insuring you get there in time and don't have the drama of leaving WDW before your cruise. You can take DCL transportation to the port and then to the resort after your cruise.

What drama?

 

[dclpluto]

Another thing is your bags. Even on non stop flights they can get lost in the system.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We are going on our first cruise next year. Flying from West Coast so definitely flying in day before and staying at Orlando Hotel at airport. Even if we were flying from West Coast, I would still fly the day before. Too much can happen.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I flew the day of the fire in Chicago. What a mess! So yeah, I guess I have bad flight luck and it's something to factor in, hahaha!

Yes, bad flight luck should definitely be factored in. Having bad flight luck in the past has definitely raised my anxiety level over having bad flight luck in the future. And do you really want to start your vacation stressed about getting there?

 

[Tama-chan]

I would not do it....as I am so scared to miss the embarkation. I had a flight going to Tokyo and we had to do emergency landing in San Francisco due to mechanical problem. We were told that we can leave the same day but ended up staying there over night...
If you gonna do the same day flight, check flights from your origin city and make sure there are other flights available you can take in case of cancellation/delay.

 

[MUN]

I think having to leave WDW to get on the ship might really put me in a crappy mood. I might be better off getting right on the ship and then going to WDW after so I have something to look forward to when I "survive" the cruise.

DCL cruises don't suck.

To answer your question, plenty of people fly in the day of the cruise without incident. We have always arrived a day or two early. This year we visited Universal Stuidos for 4 nights before our cruise. I love the parks (WDW & US) but I was thrilled to leave US to board the ship.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

We always air in a day or even 2 early. There is just to many things that can go wrong:

1, weather...
2. delays in you getting to the home airport.........weather, traffic, car problems etc.
3. Delays of the flight...mechanical, traffic, weather during the flight.
4. Your flight diverted, due to problems at other airports.
5. Problems with your rental.
6. traffic and construction on the road to the port!

Granted these thing really happen, However they do happen

A few months ago there was some guy in San Diego, who did something to close the airport and all inbound flights were diverted to other airports and a some people missed the Wonder.

Just food for thought!


AKK

 

[bumbershoot]

What drama?

Did you read her description of how she feels about leaving WDW for a cruise she doesn't want to go on? That drama.

OP, do you have passports and trip instance to go you to the ship if you miss embarkation? Are you taking Disney transfers?

Non stop short morning flight in September (though that is hurricane season) when the aircraft has been there all night is just about the only way I could ever think about flying on embarkation day. With passports and insurance of course.

I rarely remember people's posts but yours is striking a chord. Any chance you could just bring the kids? This seems to be really stressful for you. I've taken DLR trips solo and will be at WDW solo in feb, but I couldn't cruise without DS. Well unless DS were at home with DH, which is how I've done the park trips. That's why your anxiety is just singing out to me, because I want you to bring the kidlets because I would.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I usually avoid it. Our first cruise, the flight left BWI at 7am arriving in MCO at 9am. PLENTY of time for a cruise. Or so I thought. There was equipment trouble. They had to deboard the entire plane. We arrived at MCO around 12:30. Still plenty of time - but tighter than I liked.

I have seen plenty of horror stories about people missing cruises.

THAT SAID... we sail on 12/11 and for the first time in like forever we are flying in day of at a 7am flight to 9am flight. What are the chances lightening strikes twice?

However for our SWDaS, we are taking no chances. Flying in 2 days prior and staying at the world.

 

[hubbard53]

i'm willing to accept a lot of risk in various aspects of life; however, I never risk flying in the same day of embarkation. Air travel is WAY too unpredictable. . .

 

[RAD]

IMHO WAY too many things could happen from weather, to mechanical, to something happening at a flight control center via the route, to take a chance on nothing happening. Go in the day before and just stay at a hotel/motel near the airport.

 

[elphie101]

The absence of a layover doesn't mean there won't be a delay though, there's a myriad of other things that could happen - the pilots are required to have a certain amount of time to rest in between groups of flights. What if the night before's flight lands late and that delays your flight because of the crew's mandated rest time? I know it sounds far fetched, and is definitely less likely than a mechanical issue/weather delay/change in flight route, but it's not entirely impossible. As the daughter of an airport employee, I have heard plenty of stories about flight delays - even a foggy day could push you back.

I wouldn't risk it, no. Maybe if you had DCL transfers like PPs mentioned, but knowing all that COULD happen I don't think it's worth the risk.