Worried about Plane Change in Chicago, in January!

[MunFam]

After hearing your stories, I am worried that I should change our flights again so that we are in Florida 2 days early!

Best case scenario...you have a little pre-vacation to do some relaxing, some shopping and some site seeing. Worst case scenario, you still make it to the ship on time. You are on SWA, so changes are free, I would do the free change now, before everyone is trying to get a free change the week of...if a storm is going to hit. Given, this is all precautionary, BUT I am sure you spent a pretty penny on this cruise, and you are looking forward to it quite a bit. Missing a work meeting, meh, missing a special Disney Cruise might hurt a bit more. What is that saying about "nothing bad ever happens to the people that are prepared?"

 

[bethy]

I would schedule my family to fly in a MINIMUM of 48 hours before the cruise. Preferably 72 hours. There are so many things you don't have control over when travelling - especially that time of year. At best, you get a couple of days to unwind before the cruise - either at the beach or at WDW. At worst you barely make the ship. Even then there would be no guarantees but it increases your chances dramatically of having a good start to your vacation.

 

[MUN]

After hearing your stories, I am worried that I should change our flights again so that we are in Florida 2 days early!

Have you considered driving?

 

[ChicosWife]

Have you considered driving?

Not from California...

 

[MUN]

Not from California...

That would be a long drive. Short of moving to Cocoa Beach, I think you have done everything you can do. You can't mitigate all risk.

 

[gtpoohbear]

Flight delays and cancellations can happen anytime, anywhere. We live in Colorado and visit family in FL every December, so we have no choice but to fly out of Denver every winter. Only once were we significantly delayed (a full 24 hours) - and that was because of a mechanical issue, unrelated to weather. We've had a few shorter weather delays - a couple hours or so.

But the chances of not being able to make your cruise if you fly in the day before are still slim. If by some freak chance, it does happen- that's what trip insurance is for. I know it would be a drag to have to reschedule at the last minute, but it's so unlikely that it isn't worth worrying about ahead of time. And not the end of the world if it does

 

[ChicosWife]

Flight delays and cancellations can happen anytime, anywhere. We live in Colorado and visit family in FL every December, so we have no choice but to fly out of Denver every winter. Only once were we significantly delayed (a full 24 hours) - and that was because of a mechanical issue, unrelated to weather. We've had a few shorter weather delays - a couple hours or so.

But the chances of not being able to make your cruise if you fly in the day before are still slim. If by some freak chance, it does happen- that's what trip insurance is for. I know it would be a drag to have to reschedule at the last minute, but it's so unlikely that it isn't worth worrying about ahead of time. And not the end of the world if it does

I think you are right. I did what I could, flight-wise, to avoid high-risk weather areas, like Chicago. We are flying out the day before, so I think that if there is a delay, it won't be significant enough to cause us to miss the boat the following afternoon.