You’ve booked your cruise, but there is a lot more to plan around it. Assuming you don’t live near a cruise port, you may have to fly to get there.
Flights
Highly recommended (unless your son has a championship hockey game the night you were supposed to fly out): arrive the day before. Let me say it again, arrive the day before! If you don’t make it in time to board the ship, they will leave without you and not even think twice.
Flight delays and cancellations are happening so frequently right now, so flying in a day or more prior will make your vacation less stressful. You can also use this time exploring the cruise port itself.
A few tips: plan to land by early afternoon to give more wiggle room in case of a delay. Avoid tight connections if possible, two hours minimum, and if you do have a tight connection, make sure your layover airport has other flight options in case you miss it. Consider travel insurance too, in case your flight is cancelled and you have to book last minute on another airline. Those last minute fares can get expensive fast.
Should you book air through the cruise line?
Rarely do I recommend booking flights through a cruise line, especially with promos like Norwegian’s “buy one, get one free” airfare. If you go that route, just know they can (and will) give you awful flight times, split up your party if you’re not in the same cabin, and you lose all control over your flights. Need I say more?
Luxury cruise lines like Viking are a different story. Their air program is much more streamlined, and you can upgrade to “Air Plus,” which gives you actual choice in your flights. In that case, bundling can make sense.
Bottom line: do your research and make sure you have a really good reason to let the cruise line handle your flights, because once you hand them the reins, you’re stuck with whatever they decide.
Pre-cruise hotels
Why go early?
- You start your vacation sooner, and you sleep better
- Zero morning of panic about missed connections
- Pro tip: get to the ship’s port city early and start exploring
- Book your hotel independently from the cruise line (or let me handle all the details for you) for the best price and flexibility, then arrange your own transfer
Transfers
Airport to hotel to port. There are several options, and they differ between ports.
- Cruise line transfers: easy but pricier, and can mean buses with large groups
- Private transfers: usually the cheapest option for couples
- Uber, Lyft, or taxi: super flexible
- Rental car: great if you want to explore pre-cruise
- Post tour excursion with airport drop-off: works great if you have a later flight home
One final tip
If you’re flying home the same day your cruise ends, book nothing earlier than 1pm.
Your turn: what part of cruise logistics stresses you out the most? Reach out and let’s plan the whole thing together, flights, hotels, and transfers included.
Want to learn all about cruises and tipping? Check out my blog post on the topic.
P.S. True story: we were supposed to fly in the day before one of our cruises, but my son had a high school hockey championship game that night, so we lived on the edge and flew in the same day instead. United made me check my one and only carry on, then promptly lost it. I landed in Miami, my suitcase landed in Chicago. It showed up just in time, and I have never been so happy to see a piece of luggage in my life. Five days on a cruise without my toiletries and everything else in that bag would have been brutal.