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

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

We almost missed embarkation on a Dream cruise once because of a non-weather related travel delay. We had planned to arrive the day before, and even so we barely made it. We had travel insurance but the anxiety was intense; I was beside myself, Mr. MacSpiff was losing it, the Young MacSpiffs were in tears... after that I wouldn't even think about trying to arrive the day of.

 

[SL6827]

I am no longer even thinking about such. What I am wondering now is if there will be any chance of us getting our room early on that day. May or may not. Would just request the first available. But we will fly in on the earliest flights available as they are cheaper in price or miles.

 

[FightingIrishman]

My colleague had a Philly flight out at 9 AM for Orlando to catch the Fantasy with his wife and two kids. The short story is they got on the last Disney bus out of MCO and got on the ship as the last guests.

There are way too many anecdotal stories out there about misses and near misses flying in the same day.

I guess it depends on how much you like to gamble.

 

[rescuetink]

So does anyone have a recommendation for hotels in the area that won;t cost as much as the cruse, but are clean and worth it? I see there's some that offer parking for the week included!!

 

[spiders]

So does anyone have a recommendation for hotels in the area that won;t cost as much as the cruse, but are clean and worth it? I see there's some that offer parking for the week included!!

We tried Days Inn because I was going to be cheap. What a mistake that was. We checked in, went to dinner and I booked another room at Hampton Inn. We left dinner, got our stuff and moved. We ended up paying for both rooms.

 

[rescuetink]

We tried Days Inn because I was going to be cheap. What a mistake that was. We checked in, went to dinner and I booked another room at Hampton Inn. We left dinner, got our stuff and moved. We ended up paying for both rooms.

Sorry you had a bad experience, thanks for sharing it so we don;t suffer through the same experience!!

Do they offer a shuttle to the port?

 

[jlwhitney]

From ATL to Orlando? I'd do it. Delta probably has a flight every hour

this is what I was going to say.

 

[Elvis Glazier]

Sometimes it's not just you that needs to get on the boat on time.

Three Disney cruises ago one family in our substantial 28 person crew flew in the day of the cruise and had no problem making it to Canaveral on time.

Now their luggage is another story....

When they showed up for our fancy sit down dinner in tshirts and flip flops one had to inquire about their casual attire. This was a lesson in the art of packing your carry-on strategically.

Fortunately, because they booked their entire trip (flights included) Disney made sure to have their luggage waiting for them in Nassau.

It really comes down to how much risk you're willing to take and in some cases you may not have a choice because of work commitments.

I would say that I f you are planning to fly the day of perhaps use Disney to book all your travel.

 

[Katie Little]

I would say is consider the risk vrs reward. Is missing your cruise worth the money you'll save on the hotel? How comfortable are you taking that risk and how confident are you that your flight will not be delayed and that there won't be a car accident or road work on the way to the port that backs up traffic.

 

[HuskyGal]

We don’t fly same day because I’ve had our flight canceled at our home airport due to snow in the past.

 

[ahain]

It's amazing to me that OP asked the question at all since there have been so many threads on the same thing and the responses are always the same as well.

 

[ludari]

Early on when I started cruising I had flown in three times on the same day of my cruise, however I did take make sure I took a direct flight; only had carry-on luggage; took the first flight out that morning and confirmed they where multiple airlines flying to my departure location that would get me there in time if my flight was canceled. For the past eight or nine years I no longer do that and prefer to arrive at least two if not a week prior to my cruise to enjoy the sites.

 

[DisTXMom]

My sister missed her cruise because their day of flight was cancelled. There were other flights, but those were full. Based on her experience, I would not fly in the day of a cruise.

 

[MomOTwins]

It's amazing to me that OP asked the question at all since there have been so many threads on the same thing and the responses are always the same as well.

I don't think so. For one thing, the search function on this site is not the greatest. For another thing, every situation is a bit different, and I've given different responses to this kind of question based on the time of year (and thus, likelihood of weather delays), possibility of driving down, flight arrival times, frequency of alternate flights etc.

 

[Karin1984]

It's amazing to me that OP asked the question at all since there have been so many threads on the same thing and the responses are always the same as well.

I don't agree that it is the same question. The OP plans to fly in Spring from an airport 1.5 hours from the departure port, where there are many direct flights in the morning made my answer different than when someone has to fly from the other side of the world with a transfer in Winter.

Also experiences from people here can change over time, for better or for worse.

 

[DVC_HK]

Not sure if it's been said but keep in mind one thunderstorm and you're grounded for awhile. I've had a 5 hour delay flying from Orlando to Atlanta before thanks to storms

 

[MomOTwins]

Not sure if it's been said but keep in mind one thunderstorm and you're grounded for awhile. I've had a 5 hour delay flying from Orlando to Atlanta before thanks to storms

True, but much more common in the afternoon than early morning, when OP plans to fly in.