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

[Iamaplanner]

Agree. Too risky even with a direct flight. We were once delayed departing (due to weather) and we were a wreck waiting at the gate to finally board. It was the most unpleasant way to start off our much anticipated vacation. In the end, everything worked out but I would never want that anxiety again. We always fly in the day before. (It also helps get us in vacation mode to be down near port and excited to board the ship!).

Please post again after your cruise to let us know if it changed your mind about cruising and preferring WDW!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

it is done all the time but I would not do it without trip insurance.

I'm doing a same day fly in but it lands at 3:30 AM and the ship leaves at 5 PM.

There have been 14 9/11s since 2001. Nothing has happened with airplanes. You may have to decide if you would be more anxious about missing the cruise (I know you do not want to go on the cruise particularly, but you probably don't want to forfeit the cruise fare) or flying on 9/11.

 

[Ariel484]

I'd fly in the day before, just to be safe. We had a direct flight home in August that ended up getting delayed over and over and eventually was canceled - there was heavy rain in Orlando, and when we got switched to a second flight our crew didn't arrive on time...it was a nightmare. We ended up getting a flight out the next day. So if that had happened on our arrival, we would have missed the cruise. You just never know.

We like to fly in the night before, stay a night at the Hyatt MCO and then take Disney transfers to port. Super easy.

My husband didn't think he'd like cruising either and he's hooked. I hope you have a good trip.

 

[princessmommyx3]

I was on the Wonder a few weeks ago. On the 2nd full day of the cruise when we were docked in Cozumel, I was at guest services and there was a family in front of me with all of their luggage. It turns out they had flown the morning of the cruise and experienced a 5 hour flight delay. They missed the ship and had to catch up with it 2 days later in Cozumel.

I wouldn't do it.

 

[Shanti]

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).

We're flying in the morning of our cruise (Miami port) and will be arriving before 9am. I don't think it's risky for us given that it's a 5am direct flight from Texas in December (not storm season here). Even if our flight was 5 hours late, we'd make it to the ship with time to spare. Is there a very slight risk? Yes, but there's also a very slight risk that if we stay overnight the day before, we could get kidnapped by our cab driver on the way to the port & miss the cruise because of that, etc, etc.

Anything can happen in life. I really don't want to pay holiday hotel rates in Miami just to twiddle my thumbs the night before, so the morning of it is. We're arriving very early & not cutting it close, and we have trip insurance.

If your flight is coming from up north in winter, I'd only fly the day before. Also, if our cruise was from Port Canaveral, we'd probably stay at a Disney resort the night before because we like staying there & we can use Magical Express to the resort.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just going to throw my $.02 in here.

Of the 6 cruises we've taken that required us to fly to catch then, only one did we fly in early. All the others we flew in the morning of the cruise. But, we had plan "B"s.

Three of them were from LA to MCO. One was the one we flew in early for (3 days at WDW prior to cruise). The other 2 we took the red eye flight arriving at MCO at 6:30 am. One of those flights was during the time when a lot of planes were being grounded due to maintenace issues. We booked an additional flight departing 2 hours after the first, if that one wound up canceled. We found a cheap fare on that second flight, so it was worth the extra money we paid to be sure we would make it. The other one there were no issues getting there.

Two of our flights were from LA to Vancouver (only a 3 hour flight) and we experienced no problems. Although both of those were arranged through the cruise line (not DCL).

Just want to put it out here that it's not all "doom and gloom" if you fly in the day of the cruise.

 

[MunFam]

Flights can be delayed if a pilot falls ill in addition to weather, mechanical, etc. There have been times that it is perfectly sunny in San Diego and perfectly sunny at my destination but we are delayed because of a storm somewhere else and planes coming in need to land due to fuel shortages, being diverted, etc. You just never, never know. There was a family on our WBPC cruise that almost missed the cruise and they flew in 36 hours or so in advance. They had weather, and then flight delays and I cant even remember what else. They ended up renting a car and driving the rest of the way from some airport that got them kind of close to where we were leaving from. It was hellish for them.

Another thing, as others have mentioned is luggage. Someone just posted about their luggage not making it from the airport to the ship and then DCL/airline not allowing the passengers to connect with it at the first port due to customs regulations. I am a total worry-wart and I would much rather fly on 9/11 than take the risks of a travel delay. (PS...I am a corporate travel director, so I deal with flight delays all day, every day)

 

[MunFam]

Just want to put it out here that it's not all "doom and gloom" if you fly in the day of the cruise.

I agree, but if your personality is one that throws a tantrum because you have to leave WDW to go on DCL, missing the ship would probably be death.

 

[vinotinto]

My preference is to fly the day before. We've had delays due to mechanical issues that have required the airline to switch planes. Or someone getting sick and needing to emergency land to be taken to a hospital (that happened to DH this year). And in the summer-Fall stormy months, lighting storms can cause delays.

However, most of the time, even with unexpected delays we've gotten in within 3-4 hours of the original plan (except twice, in the last 20 years, and one of those was a few days after *the* 9/11 trying to get back home to NYC).

If I were to take the risk, I would do like like in your case - taking a very early, first flight of the day, because that usually does means the plane is already there and the crew is a "new" crew, and less likely to have issues due to other delays happening throughout the day. Also OK if there are other flights that am going to MCO or other FL towns driving distance (Jacksonville, etc.).

 

[Weedy]

Also so if you have to catch an early flight think about the time you will need to get to the airport to catch your flight. A 6:30 flight = an arrival at the airport at 5:30 (at the earliest)= leaving your house at 4:30ish= getting up at 3:30 = a very tired family for the first night of the cruise if not missing it all together.
There is so much to do on the cruise even the first night. If you think you would be in a crappy mood leaving Disney doing all this on the first day of a cruise = a crappy mood for everyone.

 

[apple9117]

The DW and I have been on 4 Disney cruises so far, and we always fly a red eye fight the night before, and land in Orlando the morning of the cruise. We've never had any issues, and our flights always had layovers

 

[princessmommyx3]

If I were to take the risk, I would do like like in your case - taking a very early, first flight of the day, because that usually does means the plane is already there and the crew is a "new" crew, and less likely to have issues due to other delays happening throughout the day.

True that this is probably the least likely scenario to have delays, but it can still happen. I recently booked a 7 am flight and while the plane was there and ready to go, there was a "crew delay" due to sleep requirements (I assume the pilots had gotten in later than scheduled the night before & are required to have a certain number of hours of sleep) that delayed us 3 hours.

Delays can happen at anytime for any reason, so I suggest only flying in the morning of the cruise if you are fully aware of the risks of a delay and ready and willing to deal with the consequences (I.e. Have a plan B in mind).

 

[jerseygal]

Fly in day before absolutely! Relax a little, ease your anxiety...too many "unforseen circumstances could arise on day of cruise"..ENJOY!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Just want to put it out here that it's not all "doom and gloom" if you fly in the day of the cruise.

Stuff happens. It's never all doom and gloom until it happens to you. at the very least, the OP might think about trip insurance.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Stuff happens. It's never all doom and gloom until it happens to you. at the very least, the OP might think about trip insurance.

Agreed. We always have trip insurance.

 

[stitchlovestink]

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).

I'm going to warn you....
I was in a similar situation to you in 2008. DH REALLY REALLY wanted to try cruising. SOOOO....to get him off of my case, I said okay if it is a Disney cruise! He said okay!! YIKES!! My plan backfired! So I had to plan a cruise and I HATE BOATS, THE OCEAN, etc....
Well, I was sick as a dog the first night, but after we got my seasickness under control, I fell in LOVE with it!!! I have been on 7 now! So be prepared to have a major change of heart!! Disney cruises are AMAZING!!!

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We will never fly in the day of our cruise departure date. We always fly in at least one night before our cruise date. While it wasn't for a cruise we have flown before where our plane had to make an emergency landing; for a flight home from another vacation. First they had to see if they could find the part that caused the emergency landing the cockpit window delaminated (cracked during flight), didn't have one near enough, then they had to find another plane, they eventually did but the original crews time was up, so they had to find a new crew, they did. About four-five hours later we were finally boarding the plane to continue our flight home. It was a very long day at the Albuquerque airport. We have also had pickup duty at the airport for others that had been delayed by SEVERAL HOURS, due to weather one time and mechanical another time. Once the flight was due in at 9:30 PM didn't show up until 12:30 AM (for the mechanical problem) and the weather related problem was three hours long. So we always plan (and save money) for an extra day/s of vacation.

 

[redsonja76]

last year I flew in the day of. My daughter and I didn't have any clothes for the first three days of our cruise. It was a freakin nightmare. NEVER EVER AGAIN.

 

[BelleWannabe4]

You can definitely fly in the day of. I fly regularly (think 2-3 times per month most months) and only rarely am delayed more than an hour. If you're concerned about luggage, don't check any and then you don't have to worry. I would pay extra for priority boarding in that scenario. Indy is also by far my favorite airport and so easy to get in/out of. I think any delays should be minimal and there's websites that give you a percentage for the amount of delays that particular route has.

There are always risks. If you feel like you will be too worried about those risks, then its not worth it. But if you need to fly in the day of, it is certainly possible.

Also, should you get delayed, try and get booked on another flight. You normally can't do this at the gate, but if you can find an airline desk and be SUPER nice and SUPER sad, you can get rebooked on another flight or another airline. It doesn't work all the time, but I would say I have a 70% success rate being polite but also firm about what I need.

 

[tvguy]

I don't like doing it but confess I did it for 3 of my 8 cruises. First 5 cruises I flew in the day before, but that was 1980-1988 when cruise lines required you to fly in the day before if you lived more than a 2 hour flight from the port (I live on the West coast and the cruises were out of Miami). Cruise lines used to include the hotel room at no extra charge.