Thread: Fly in day of cruise or not?

Pete,I know through personal experience that the ship will wait. We missed a flight and immediately called Celebrity notifying them that we would be getting into the airport on a later flight that was scheduled to arrive 1/2 and hour before the ship departed. They said that they would have a van for us at the airport and give them a call the minute we arrived. We did and they rushed us to the ship. We flew through check in (we were expedited) and rushed into the ship's cargo area as they were pulling up the last of the hoses attaching the ship to the shore.

You are right, the secret is communication and letting them know that there is a problem.

We now fly in the day before whenever possible.

It depends on whether it is a direct flight, and the time of year. For us, we are all about relaxing on vacation. When we book a cruise out of Florida, we always fly in the day before, and we relax! I do not like connecting flights when I check bags, and I avoid them at all costs.

When we cruise out of Galveston, we drive down a day early and enjoy the coast for a day. I've never understood why travelers surround their relaxing cruise with stressful travel. I see passengers fighting to get off the ship first so they can rush to the airport and make their 11AM flight. UGHH. I am lucky enough to live by a major airport, and usually have a ton of flights to choose from.

As for a TA, I find you get more personal service from them, although some of the huge on-line agencies are just call centers just like the cruise lines.

We are departing from somewhere different in a months’ time. We have an evening flight from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Time difference to us is plus four hours, Nine hours EST in the States.

The deal includes two nights in a five star hotel in Abu Dhabi and transfers from the airport and to the ship for our cruise back to the UK.

This was booked through an agent.

Sorry Pete; I must have misunderstood you when you told me the price break benefit of hiring an agent last year.

Once I read in my local newspaper's travel section a family didn't get on the ship because of a late flight to the port city. They gave readers the advice to not fly the day of the cruise.

Bet the reporter who answered the question has never been on a cruise or has had very few under their belt.

It is really insurance, Andrea. Some people are willing to risk it, for others the risk is not offset by the increased probability that something might go wrong. When you don't need to use it, it is just an increased expense BUT if you do have to use it, it can be very good.

On our last cruise we flew in a day early. There was also a hurricane sitting right smack in the middle of the Caribbean with projections showing it would be hitting Miami the day of departure. The stress was a lot less knowing we were getting in early and had trip insurance. Also, we knew our flight would get in the day before the hurricane was supposed to hit. We had all the bases covered.

Now, as it turned out, the hurricane died, but it was touch and go (we only had rain for our departure)

I agree with Neal. Some people don't want the hassle or stress of flying in the day of the cruise. As one person said, after all, this is a vacation and relaxation is the key. Some people don't mind flying in the day of the cruise - I'd say we've done it more times than not. If budget is tight, then the extra costs associated with getting a hotel, food, and extra taxi fares may not be affordable.

Lots of things go into making the decision whether to fly in the day before or the day of a cruise. What works in one situation, may not work in another. Everyone is different, so what one person enjoys doing, another may find it stressful.

Pete

Originally Posted by nealberk

Bet the reporter who answered the question has never been on a cruise or has had very few under their belt.

What reporter? It was the editor who published the family's tip for future cruisers along with a vacation picture.

This is what the newspaper does: Bring the travel section to your destination, take a picture of someone holding it, and send it via email to their travel department with a suggestion for all readers, your name, and where you went. The editor chooses out of many pictures it receives about four each week (it is a weekly section). They call it "Hello, Columbus!"

Back to the topic: My feelings stem from a flying nightmare at the Newark Liberty Airport. To make a long story short, we stayed at a Hilton without our luggage after Continental canceled flights so we could not get out on a very wet day and mishandled the bags. After that disaster, I decided anything less than a day early is not good enough because you never know when or if something like that will happen.

Ah missed that. I thought a reporter gathered the information and was making comments on it and giving advice.