Advice on Merrytime Cruises

[julesthecircusfreak]

Thinking about taking the 5 night merry time Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami on the Magic leaving 12/21. One of the 3 of us will be coming from Chicago and the other two from NYC. We can’t leave before the evening of 12/20. How risky do you think it is to fly out the night before given that the first time you can catch up is day 3? Have others cruised that date on a Saturday before and had issues, particularly due to weather with the holidays?

Same question for the 7 night on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral on the 21st.

Finally, has anyone done either of these cruises in the past and would like to share what they thought? This would be our first Merrytime cruise and also first time in Cozumel/Grand Cayman/Miami! Any advice/thoughts overall, including on port excursions?

 

[dcassetta]

Thinking about taking the 5 night merry time Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami on the Magic leaving 12/21. One of the 3 of us will be coming from Chicago and the other two from NYC. We can’t leave before the evening of 12/20. How risky do you think it is to fly out the night before given that the first time you can catch up is day 3? Have others cruised that date on a Saturday before and had issues, particularly due to weather with the holidays?

Same question for the 7 night on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral on the 21st.

Finally, has anyone done either of these cruises in the past and would like to share what they thought? This would be our first Merrytime cruise and also first time in Cozumel/Grand Cayman/Miami! Any advice/thoughts overall, including on port excursions?

Although there can be weather issues, I would be fine with flying in the evening before. That way, if necessary, you still have the following morning for travel.

I like Merrytime cruises because the ship is pretty and the atrium smells like gingerbread.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Thinking about taking the 5 night merry time Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami on the Magic leaving 12/21. One of the 3 of us will be coming from Chicago and the other two from NYC. We can’t leave before the evening of 12/20. How risky do you think it is to fly out the night before given that the first time you can catch up is day 3? Have others cruised that date on a Saturday before and had issues, particularly due to weather with the holidays?

Same question for the 7 night on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral on the 21st.

Finally, has anyone done either of these cruises in the past and would like to share what they thought? This would be our first Merrytime cruise and also first time in Cozumel/Grand Cayman/Miami! Any advice/thoughts overall, including on port excursions?

We've sailed three winter cruises via DCL, and for two of them we flew in the same morning, and for one we flew in the night before. I've never flown in earlier than a day ahead for any cruise. Granted, we're from Texas where winter weather is not a direct concern in regards to flights.

Which carrier are you flying? If it's one of the legacies (Delta, AA, United), I'd worry less as they have so many planes & partners that they can more easily reroute passengers from a cancelled flight than if you were flying Southwest Airlines, for instance.

When we sailed the Merrytime on the Fantasy, the ship embarked a few hours late. The captain announced that they were waiting for guests whose flights had been delayed due to a winter storm. I don't know if those were guests who had booked flights independently or via DCL, but I thought it was cool that they waited a few extra hours.

In your shoes, with possible cancellations or changes due to weather a concern, I would book the flights via DCL Air. That way, they'll be more likely to wait if there is some kind of flight delay. Nothing's guaranteed, but it adds one more layer of security. DCL Air lets you select your own flights, and the pricing is no higher than when booking independently.

 

[julesthecircusfreak]

We've sailed three winter cruises via DCL, and for two of them we flew in the same morning, and for one we flew in the night before. I've never flown in earlier than a day ahead for any cruise. Granted, we're from Texas where winter weather is not a direct concern in regards to flights.

Which carrier are you flying? If it's one of the legacies (Delta, AA, United), I'd worry less as they have so many planes & partners that they can more easily reroute passengers from a cancelled flight than if you were flying Southwest Airlines, for instance.

When we sailed the Merrytime on the Fantasy, the ship embarked a few hours late. The captain announced that they were waiting for guests whose flights had been delayed due to a winter storm. I don't know if those were guests who had booked flights independently or via DCL, but I thought it was cool that they waited a few extra hours.

In your shoes, with possible cancellations or changes due to weather a concern, I would book the flights via DCL Air. That way, they'll be more likely to wait if there is some kind of flight delay. Nothing's guaranteed, but it adds one more layer of security. DCL Air lets you select your own flights, and the pricing is no higher than when booking independently.

Thanks for the advice! Is DCL air a newer thing? The last time we cruised (last February) I don't think it was on offer. Could you explain more about how this might work? Thanks!

 

[pixiedustedme]

Thanks for the advice! Is DCL air a newer thing? The last time we cruised (last February) I don't think it was on offer. Could you explain more about how this might work? Thanks!

DCL Air has been available for years. The program is different now than it used to be. In the past, they selected your flights & you didn't find out what they were until 30 days before. Now, you get to select the flights at the time of booking. So you'll talk to them about options in regard to itinerary, pricing, and seat preferences. Just call DCL & select the option for "Disney Cruise Line Air". They'll be happy to tell you about it & discuss options even if you don't decide to go with it in the end.

DCL Air only books via American, Delta & United, btw. A nice bonus is that if before the paid in full date, you decide to change your flights or drop them altogether, there is no fee, unlike when booking flights directly with an airline.

 

[OATS09]

Chicago, New York City, winter...

Me personally, I would give this a thumbs down. Flying from San Diego or something would possibly be fine (depending on where that plane is coming from) but flying from Chicago is living on the edge. Do what you're comfortable with but it's not something I would gamble with and take that risk. The probability is low but consequences are high missing half of your cruise (which you would then have to book a last minute flight to get to as well as new lodging and food costs for three days).

 

[hardis5]

I think flying out the evening before risky enough during winter months from a northern origin plus add in the fact you are flying the last day of school for many areas so airports are already going to be jammed with Christmas Break flyers. If any weather even on the eastern seaboard within a day or two prior, you may find your flights cancelled, rescheduled or delayed. IMO I'd fly out with at least one day buffer and not that Friday and that way any major weather event you have time to be rescheduled or can put in place a plan B to get yourself there another means (i.e. driving).

 

[Karin1984]

When you say 'We can’t leave before the evening of 12/20', how set in stone is this? If there is absolutely no way, then you will have to risk it.

There are more reasons why a flight can get cancelled due to defects etc, some reasons you cannot predict. Bad weather in winter in the Northern States is pretty much a given and much more about being lucky how severe the winter weather will be in 2019.
If your appointments earlier in the day are not set in stone, I would make flying to FL your priority and all the other appointments will have to adjust.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

We cruised from Galveston in December 2017 and also flew from Chicago (and drove there from Michigan.) We had a flight that left MDW at about 1:30 PM the day before the cruise. I felt comfortable with that, knowing that if it was cancelled, we could probably have hopped on a later flight that night or in the morning.

Whatever you do, when traveling anywhere form the midwest in winter - buy travel insurance! It's smart to protect your vacation investment. I always buy travel insurance for international trips, cruises, hurricane season, and flying in winter.

 

[mab2012]

Of course there's some risk, but there always is. Earlier the day before would probably be better, but the evening before at least gives you some latitude to adjust if something goes wrong.

I would go ahead and just do whatever I could to mitigate any risk:

• Allow extra time at the airport. It's a busy travel time, and if you miss your flight because you got held up at security, you're going to be bottom of the pile for rescheduling.
• Keep an eye on the forecast. If there's an advisory and there's any possible way you can get out earlier, do it. Obviously this depends on how critical your other plans are, as a PP noted. But if the weather is bad enough, maybe your other plans would be impacted anyway?
• Get trip cancellation / interruption insurance. (I don't always, but in this case it would probably be prudent.)
• Know what your back-up options are.
• Consider booking a more flexible ticket. If your plans change, maybe you can get out on an earlier flight. If there's a disruption out of your control, you may get better service from the airline if you hold a "flex" ticket rather than a bottom-of-the-barrel economy ticket. Sad, but probably true.
• Avoid discount airlines, only because they usually have no excess crew/equipment capacity and are therefore less able to adjust to disruptions quickly.

The good news is that there are probably about a million flights a day out of New York or Chicago to Orlando. Of course they'll probably all be full, or mostly full, but at least the flights exist. If you were flying out of a rural airport that requires two connections to get anywhere, that would be more concerning.

 

[Pens Fan]

As you know, flying from the northern part of the country in the winter can be an adventure. That being said, millions of people do it without incident. If you truly have no choice but to fly out the evening before the cruise, then as others have said - choose your airline wisely. Look to see who has the most options that would still get you to your destination should something go awry. For example, we flew to Orlando last Dec for a WDW trip. Spirit flies daily flights to Orlando from a small, regional airport that is only 10 minutes from our house. Yet, we chose to drive and hour and 15 minutes to Pittsburgh and fly on Southwest, as they had numerous options all day long. Had the Spirit flight been cancelled, we would have been stuck until the next day - at best. With Southwest we had options. Now, as it turned out it was a balmy 50 degree, sunny day when we left, but I had no way of knowing that when I booked the flights in June.

Also - just to agree with other posters - get trip insurance.

Don't stress. The chances of you missing the cruise are very slim. Could it happen? Yes, but it could also happen to any of us. Make the best decisions you can to give your self options and then don't stress about it. Enjoy your vacation!

 

[julesthecircusfreak]

I think flying out the evening before risky enough during winter months from a northern origin plus add in the fact you are flying the last day of school for many areas so airports are already going to be jammed with Christmas Break flyers. If any weather even on the eastern seaboard within a day or two prior, you may find your flights cancelled, rescheduled or delayed. IMO I'd fly out with at least one day buffer and not that Friday and that way any major weather event you have time to be rescheduled or can put in place a plan B to get yourself there another means (i.e. driving).

This is exactly it. One of us will be in medical school (break begins on Saturday) and another one of us is a teacher in NY state and is not allowed to take the day before off. We'd really like to do one of the longer cruises (rather than the same 4 night on the dream we've done many times) but they all seem to depart on the 21st. Trying to fit in one last family vacation before the one in medical school has no time left!