Flying in on the day of your cruise, should I consider it?

[OKW Lover]

We also plan on getting to the port the day before. However, if I was just flying ATL>MCO early morning I'd be willing to go that route. There is a very low likelihood of the weather affecting you getting to MCO in time to get to the port.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Delta is evil. I have had disruptions in ATL based on snow in Detroit. I wouldn't do it.

 

[mmmears]

I wouldn't do it. What if the flight was canceled? I think it's really a personal decision, though, and it kind of comes down to how risk averse you are and how willing you are to gamble that you'll get to Orlando in time.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

As long as you can arrange it, I would fly in the night before. You can get a nice hotel near MCO (we have booked the Hampton for this summer for just over $125) and then it is only an hour to port the next day. This takes a lot of the "what if" stress out of the equation. A lot more things can go wrong than just a flight delay. For example, one of our bags got lost on a direct flight to Orlando and, because we had flown in prior to embarkation day, they had time to find it and reunite it with us prior to our cruise.

 

[randumb0]

You should go for it. I just checked Delta's site and they have flights every hour and in some cases every 30 mins. If your 6:30 flight is cancelled they will put you on the 7 am. If the 7 am is full they will put you on the 8.

 

[MomOTwins]

I would be willing to do it, but only because driving is an option if there is a major airport issue (e.g., security incident causing all flights to be grounded all day--happened to me once and not fun).

The concern even then would be what if you are stuck on the plane and they have a delay on tarmac (has happened to me many times, up to 4 hours of sitting and waiting). But that is rare enough I might be willing to chance it.

But I would be stressed and unhappy the entire time. And getting up so early on a long travel day followed by precious ship time that I want to be able to stay up and enjoy in the evening would be deeply unpleasant. So I'd rather just suck up the cost of a night-before hotel.

But if you are (1) a morning person, and (2) not going to be having a panic attack like I would if things get delayed, then I think it is doable.

 

[Lilsia]

We always have to connect flights to get to Orlando, so there is no way that I would risk that. If our initial flight was delayed, there is no guarantee that I would be able to get a connecting flight and be stuck in the connection city. It is better to take a later flight after work and get there the night before, then to risk a flight that morning. On my flight last October, our flight was delayed because of storms at our connecting city. So that caused everyone to miss their connection. I was fortunate that I was able to get a flight rebooked for later in the day. But if I was going on the cruise that day, I would have missed it.

 

[Dug720]

No, no major weather issues in May.

Thunderstorms?

And remember, it is not just weather in Atlanta and Orlando. Weather in any city in the food chain can throw a wrench into things.

And mechanical issues can happen any time.

And the crew is mandated a certain amount of rest so if your crew gets in late, there can be a delay.

Also I’ve had personal experience with Delta canceling flights last minute because they were not full - they combined everyone into a later flight. What if that happens and the later flight is too late to get you to the ship.

Way too many factors can go wrong IMHO.

 

[Lilsia]

Thunderstorms?

And remember, it is not just weather in Atlanta and Orlando. Weather in any city in the food chain can throw a wrench into things.

And mechanical issues can happen any time.

And the crew is mandated a certain amount of rest so if your crew gets in late, there can be a delay.

Also I’ve had personal experience with Delta canceling flights last minute because they were not full - they combined everyone into a later flight. What if that happens and the later flight is too late to get you to the ship.

Way too many factors can go wrong IMHO.

Exactly, people seem to forget that the planes come from somewhere and any number of issues can happen. Not worth the stress.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know that it is not advised to fly in on the day of your cruise, but that thought has entered my mind. If we book a direct flight with Delta from Atlanta to Orlando with a departure time of like 6:30 that morning I think we would still be OK in the event of a delayed flight. What say you?

There are people who wouldn't fly in the day of the cruise on a bet. There are those who will.

A lot of things factor into whether or not we do.

Time of year (is it possible there could be weather delays?)
Time of flights (and arrival time at MCO).
Will you have time for other options if your flight gets cancelled?

 

[SL6827]

We always have to connect flights to get to Orlando, so there is no way that I would risk that. If our initial flight was delayed, there is no guarantee that I would be able to get a connecting flight and be stuck in the connection city. It is better to take a later flight after work and get there the night before, then to risk a flight that morning. On my flight last October, our flight was delayed because of storms at our connecting city. So that caused everyone to miss their connection. I was fortunate that I was able to get a flight rebooked for later in the day. But if I was going on the cruise that day, I would have missed it.

If it were a connecting flight, no way. But it will be direct.

 

[cvjw]

If it were a connecting flight, no way. But it will be direct.

Pretty sure that delta air plane will be flying into Atlanta from somewhere else that morning. That is where you will run into issues if the plane doesn’t make it to Atlanta on time. It will be direct from Atlanta to orlando, but the plane has to be there first

We live in Atlanta, so fly out of hartsfield regularly. Multiple times, we have had long delays before departing. For weather and for mechanical issues. One time, our flight to Jamaica left 4 hours late for repairs. We all had to sit on the plane for that whole time.

 

[spiders]

You can do it and you can drive down if worse comes to worse.

At 6:30 AM, barring a disaster happening the night before where there were tons of diversions, those first flights get out. At 6:30, it's probably an originator (As in, that's the actual first flight of the day for that crew and airplane because it's actually starting in ATL and not coming in from somewhere that morning), your chances are good even during thunderstorm season.

 

[onesam319]

We drive from Ohio on the day before the cruise. I would love to live as close as Atlanta. I wouldn't even think about flying.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I wouldn't do it. In December, we flew MCO to SJU for a cruise (not DCL) and the flight was repeatedly delayed due to a mechanical issue. They finally flew a different plane in from another city to get us to SJU. There were other MCO-SJU flights that day but they were all booked due to the delay and we tried to fly standby on one without success. Our plane finally arrived and we got to SJU 4 hours late. This was the night before our cruise, thank goodness, but all of our pre-cruise plans had to be scrapped.

 

[Dash117]

I’ll go back the last 6 years. Four years straight no problems. Two years ago from Miami to Orlando three hour delay... had to change the battery in the plane! Last year in Charlotte 3 1/2 hrs delay due to weather somewhere else that caused the back up. This March we are on the Magic out of Miami ship leaves the 9th. We will be coming in on the 8th around 5:30 p.m. relaxing at the pool. As long as there is no delays. But if that happened we won’t have to stress on getting on the ship on time. Just remember you have no control on what could happen.

 

[cedricandsophie]

As you Can tell, there are lots of answers, based on the comfort level of the person. I wouldn’t ever do it but I’m the person that gets to the airport very early, I’d rather sit and have a couple cups of coffee than worry about getting there. Also I’ve flown a lot when I was working and there are so many things that can affect a flight. we were at the airport last year, on a flight that got in the day before our cruise and was leaving Early. It would have arrived in Orlando about 10 am if on time. Not a cloud in the sky but it was delayed 5 hours because of mechanical. There were about 10 people who had a cruise, not Disney, that day. there weren’t any seats on any other flights. The cruise participants were yelling and gnashing their teeth, but not much to be done. we finally landed about 3 pm In Orlando. Not sure what happened to them but we headed to the Disney resort and had a late afternoon at pool and a nice dinner. Much better way to start a trip.

 

[Breezy2]

I know that it is not advised to fly in on the day of your cruise, but that thought has entered my mind. If we book a direct flight with Delta from Atlanta to Orlando with a departure time of like 6:30 that morning I think we would still be OK in the event of a delayed flight. What say you?

Nope-definitely not advisable for good reasons. Only a person who has never experienced a delayed or cancelled flight, or, had their luggage LOST on a direct flight would even ask this question. You have zero control over too many variables. Why risk missing the ship or not having your luggage with you. No thank you. I would get there at least a day ahead of time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Nope-definitely not advisable for good reasons. Only a person who has never experienced a delayed or cancelled flight, or, had their luggage LOST on a direct flight would even ask this question. You have zero control over too many variables. Why risk missing the ship or not having your luggage with you. No thank you. I would get there at least a day ahead of time.

Well, I'd probably still board the ship, even if my luggage went missing. I always pack a change of underwear and a shirt in my carry on bag, and I can buy more t-shirts & shorts/pants in ports. Same with deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, whatever else I need.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I know that it is not advised to fly in on the day of your cruise, but that thought has entered my mind. If we book a direct flight with Delta from Atlanta to Orlando with a departure time of like 6:30 that morning I think we would still be OK in the event of a delayed flight. What say you?

Nope, I cannot ever see that happening. The investment of the cruise fare is too great for me to ever risk it. Weather in either city could cause considerable delays, power outages, computer systems going down, security breeches within the terminal, the list goes on and on. Will it probably work out fine? Probably. But, again, I cannot afford to be miss the ship and my stomach could not handle the stress of a possible delay. That is no way to start a vacation!