Starting a vacation early effectively sets the tone for the entire trip ahead. When Christina and I began our cruising adventures, we would arrive in the port city on the morning of the cruise. While that seems efficient, it’s undeniably stressful. In this post, I will share essential tips to ensure you board your ship with a positive mindset, and not be at the end of your rope!
I can see why flying in the morning of a cruise is appealing. The added cost of an overnight stay, needing an extra day off work, and transportation costs all matter. That being said, here are a few more factors to think about:
- Flights can be costly on cruise mornings.
- What happens if your flight is delayed or you miss a connecting flight?
- Traffic to the airport can be unpredictable the morning of the cruise.
- What happens if the airline looses your bags?
- Transportation costs can be higher from the airport if the providers apply surge pricing.
- Do you really want to go through security screening twice in one day? (Airport and Cruise port)
Consider arriving a day before….
Going the day before a cruise costs more, but not by much. Morning flights on cruise day can be pricier or even unavailable. For our upcoming trip to Martinique, we need to arrive two days early!
The benefits of arriving early are greater than the costs. You’ll find better flight choices the day before. Most people aim to fly in on the morning of their cruise.
This is particularly important at busy ports like Miami, where 5-6 cruise ships can leave in a single day. Each ship can hold over 3,500 passengers, many of whom need to fly to the port city.
Those same people will all be clamoring for the same transportation from the airport to the cruise port. This will clog the highways and make traffic another obstacle to overcome.
Simply fly in the day before and enjoy a relaxing evening.
You can find a good hotel at a reasonable price near the port if you do some research. This helps you avoid heavy traffic between the airport and cruise ports. Many hotels also partner with transportation companies to help guests reach the cruise port.
A word of caution around pre-arranged transportation to the cruise port.
These services are nice for most people. They are generally cheaper than individual transportation and they offer that “safety in numbers” feeling you get with group travel. If you are like me, you hate being sandwiched in a transport bus. Just take an uber or taxi. It costs just a little bit more to avoid being jammed into a bus with 20 other people… its an easy choice.
Research your port city….
Between 2023 and 2024 we had some drastically different cruise port experiences. Many of our cruises have left from the port of Miami, which is a great place to spend an evening. One of our best times in Miami was attending a Miami Heat NBA game. I managed to surprise Christina with tickets in a box for less money than regular seats. It was such a good time and added to our trip tremendously!
Another port we have recently used is San Juan Puerto Rico. We had been to the port before on a cruise and really enjoyed the island. We took the opportunity to arrive early and spent a great evening having a relaxing dinner and enjoying our evening.
More on each of those cities in the near future!
Consider staying a day later….
Arriving at the cruise port a day early is vital. It is just as important as staying a day later. This ensures a smooth and stress-free start to your trip home.
Our first stay in a port city after a cruise was in Barcelona, Spain. We adjusted our cruise itinerary to match the Formula One schedule. The ship docked on Saturday, and we attended the race on Sunday. It was one of my most memorable experiences. Christina and I even joined the crowd that rushed the track after Lewis Hamilton’s win!
European cruises don’t have a “Zero Passenger” policy, making itineraries easier to manage. We’ll share more details on this in a later post.
Another great example is when we chose to extend our stay in San Juan, and it was a fantastic decision. After disembarking from the ship around 9-10 AM, we took an Uber to our hotel. They held our bags until check-in, as most hotels do.
In order to not waste the time waiting for our hotel room to open up, we went to Plazas Las Americas. Highly recommended. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and shopped for a bit at their beautiful mall. After lunch we headed back, checked in and hit the beach!
Think outside the box….
At the end of the day do what will make you the most happy in terms of your vacation. Don’t be afraid to step outside of what everyone else is doing because that is where the memories are at. I will never forget what it was like to stand on the start finish line at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with Christina standing beside me. We have shared countless moments like those. They wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t go that little extra mile.
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