Flying the day of Cruise..

[pascalspal]

Personal experience.. We have almost missed a cruise by flying down the night before. We got there about two hours before boarding closed, but my dad who had to take a different flight was the very last person they let on the boat. He almost missed the cut off and after that cruise we never ever fly down the day of the cruise. After that expereince, we prefer not being stressed about what ifs and schedule changes for such an expensive vacation!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Some cruisers have the stomach for it, but I do not. Day before minimum. Traveling in the winter months, I may add an extra day. I am stressed enough and the idea of vacation is to relax=no added stress getting to vacation. Another thing we try to do is fly direct/non-stop as early in the day as we can. Eliminates the dreaded connecting flight and if we leave late will we make our connection. Flying early in the day-if we miss connection, chances of getting on another flight is better. Then there are things you just can't control- mechanical failures and mandatory crew rest (if the flight the night before was late). All that is a balancing act with time off from work and vacation finances, but less stress getting to our cruise always makes me happier. I would be pretty upset if I missed the boat.

 

[Dug720]

And regardless, KEEP AN EYE ON THE FLIGHTS FOR CHANGES!!!! In theory you should be getting an email, but it may be too late to do anything about it.

I'm flying home in August, and in spite of airlines claiming they are adding flights, American has eliminated all but 2 non-stop flights from the three NYC airports to Nashville. First, my 6-something AM flight got changed to a Noon-something flight. Then I happened to look early this morning and saw that THAT non-stop had been eliminated and I was moved to a 4:55PM flight - the first non-stop to Nashville of the day with the second being at 7-something PM!! There were plenty of connecting flights from the three airports - not sure why they didn't change me to a connection down to begin with as they had no issue changing my flight back to a connecting. So I spent 2 hours holding to speak with someone to change to a connecting flight. It's super early, but it was the only option with a connection time I was comfortable with that doesn't cost me an entire day with my parents!

So even if you're flying the day before, keep an eye on those times - but ESPECIALLY if you're going to be daring enough to try flying in the morning of, watch that flight like a HAWK and be prepared that you might have to change to a day-before flight if they eliminate the flights that would get you in on time.

 

[jomik1]

We have a cruise scheduled for June 2022 and we are planning on flying in the day before and staying at the Hyatt at MCO. We do this for peace of mind. This will be our fourth cruise, and I always feel better knowing we are there the day before.

 

[LostParrot]

Went on my first cruise in 2019. Flew in a week early and visited the parks and explored Florida a bit. We did book the flight home for the same day ship returned. I would at least go the day before.

 

[JWG]

I have two flights booked through Delta for upcoming trips over the next 4 months. For the last 6 weeks my schedule has been changed EVERY Saturday. Some minor time changes, some more significant aircraft changes, and some actual route changes (a dropped direct requiring connection and a dropped leg requiring a different layover).

I previously posted about how to protect yourself, but the volatility in air travel right now and me having had to re work a couple of trips more than once the past several weeks, makes me say give yourself some wiggle room.

 

[RedHead0186]

Never would I do this. Last week the weather was perfect when I left. Ended up with an 8 hr delay at DFW. If I had been cruising, the ship would have sailed without me.

That's a bummer, I've similar happen to me as well. A lot of times, even if the weather near you is good, if another area of the country is having weather (especially where a larger airport is located), it can have ripple effects. If Chicago is having weather that's delaying/cancelling flights, that's going to be felt around the country since those planes in Chicago can't get to the other airports where they're needed.

 

[ChicosWife]

I always look at it like this. Is it worth it possibly risk any possible flight or travel delays, re-routed luggage, etc.? Nope. I would rather fly in, at least a day early, pay for the hotel and rest assured that I have some wiggle room, just in case I need it, keeping in mind that the ship will sail with or without you on it. Not a risk, I'm willing to take.