Flying into Barcelona day of departure - is this risky

[Captain Pugwash]

Our First cruise in Mediterranean next year - ship departs  Barcelona at 6pm then sailing to Mallorca for first stop. I’ve booked flights to arrive at 10.30am the morning of the departure.

What is the latest time you can board the ship?

Are we leaving it too tight (perhaps fly in the previous day)?

any advice appreciated.

 

[Xtentions]

It is always advisable to fly into your departure port at least a day early.  In your case I would want to try to be in at least two days before departure.  With the way flights have been for the last year or so you never know what will happen.

[Ray]

39 minutes ago, Captain Pugwash said:

Our First cruise in Mediterranean next year - ship departs  Barcelona at 6pm then sailing to Mallorca for first stop. I’ve booked flights to arrive at 10.30am the morning of the departure.

What is the latest time you can board the ship?

Are we leaving it too tight (perhaps fly in the previous day)?

any advice appreciated.

 

Where is it you are flying from? 

If it's US and your flight gets cancelled next flight may not be for hours which would leave it really tight! 

[DoomSlayer]

The further you have to travel, the more risk you have of missing the boat. You mitigate that risk by leaving early, allowing for a decent buffer time in case your flight is delayed. Also, flying to Europe from the states is not like flying domestically. Planes leave the US in the evening time, and if there is a delay or cancellation because of weather or mechanical issues, it is not uncommon to find yourself flying the next day instead of the same day. Also, you are going to be tired when you get there. Having an evening to rest will allow you to enjoy your time onboard day 1 instead of being worn out and tired. 

[SweetPea]

Yes! It's totally risky. When we flew into Barcelona, they lost our bags. We flew in the day before thankfully (in hindsight we should have flown in a few days before to enjoy the city). Our bags didn't show until 1am, the morning of cruise departure. 

A few years ago, we flew in to Copenhagen and learned our lesson and flew in 3 days before the cruise. There were about 125-150 people on our cruise who were scheduled to fly in the day before and nearly didn't make the cruise because their flight on Norwegian Air was over 24 hours late. And that was a direct flight. Fortunately the ship waited for them because our next port stop was close.

 

 

 

[FionaMG]

My mantra is at least one day early for domestic (US) or intra-European flights, preferably two if time allows.

And at least two days ahead for intercontinental flights, preferably three if time allows.

[smokeybandit]

I wouldn't trust a day-of arrival at all, especially if you're flying from the USA.

[KristiZ]

Once upon a time I flew to Barcelona for a cruise. Supposed to land at 1130a on the day of departure. Ship was leaving at 5p. Plane was 2 hours late landing in Barcelona. We were literally the last ones on board, at 445p, when everyone was doing the muster drill. They all stared at us as we boarded, and the ship actually left 20 minutes late because of us. 
 

Don’t do it. 

[Traveling Mike]

Never fly in the day of your cruise.  Even when I drive to the ship, I give myself an extra 5 hours in case something happens.  For Barcelona, I would go in 2 or 3 days early and enjoy the town.    I stayed at the Hotel Exe Ramblas Boqueria and loved the hotel and location.  Spend your first day doing the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus.

[Traveler]

As everyone said here it might be too risky to fly the same day.

Even if your flight land on time you might have some issues. Last time we landed at Barcelona it took us 1 hour just to pass passport control.

So if you calculate the time :

10:30 landing , 10:50 disembark from the plane 11:00 arriving passport control, 12:00 collect luggage,13:00 you will be at port , that is if everything works fine ...

 

[Borroloola]

We used to fly in for our cruises on embarkation day for years. Then things in the flight industry changed and flights were either cancelled or rescheduled in considerable numbers. To keep this short - alone last year we would have missed three of our cruises due to flight complications. 
 

So nowadays we would never book a flight that’s scheduled to arrive less than two days before embarkation. This will spare you a lot of stressful moments before your cruise. If it’s possible to reschedule your booked flights you should consider doing so. 

[tjcruisers]

I've always go in the at least the day before and stay withing 30 minutes of the terminal. Having said that I have kicked myself for not going in a few days earlier to explore the port 

[Zacharius]

15 hours ago, Captain Pugwash said:

Are we leaving it too tight (perhaps fly in the previous day)?

Yes

15 hours ago, Ray said:

Where is it you are flying from? 

If it's US and your flight gets cancelled next flight may not be for hours which would leave it really tight! 

Keep in mind that you get rec-accommodated on the "next available flight", not necessarily the "next flight". Big difference. And if it's from the US to Europe, during high season, when flights are often full...well, "next available flight" is highly unlikely to be the "next flight". 

[teddy]

We’re flying to Europe in October 2023….BOS-JFK-Lisbon-Venice. 
 

We’ve already received four alerts of changes to the schedule.  We expect more.  We’re currently flying in three days early for this reason.  If it continues to look dicey, we’ll go four days early. 
 

I wouldn’t trust flying down the east coast of the US the day of a cruise nowadays.  

[FloatyBoaty]

The one time I flew in day of cruise last year I did first flight of day and first class so that I'd have "priority" if anything happened - but still spent weeks before stressing about it. Not worth it even though nothing went wrong that time.

We flew In 4 days early to Barcelona last summer and enjoyed exploring the city - even in the unusual heat! We stayed over one additional night at the end of the cruise so that we wouldn't stress about missing the daily non-stop to O'Hare - and were so glad we did. There were people, crew included, on our flight that had been trying to get out of Barcelona for 2 days due to weather, equipment problems etc. They were thankful to sit anywhere at all just to be on the way home. You just can't plan on easy travel any more - when it happens, it's a bonus! 

[bobroo]

Complete foolishness!!!!

 

Why on earth would anyone sell a 100% awesome city like Barcelona short?

[Bruin Steve]

ABSOLUTELY fly in at least a day early.

I always remember back to a cruise my parents took in the Baltic out of Southampton.  They wanted to fly in the day of the cruise and I told them NO.  I made the booking for them...for two days ahead.  We weren't able to get them a nonstop...so they had to fly LAX to Heathrow via Chicago.  As it turned out, their LAX-Chicago flight was delayed...causing them to miss the connection.  They ended up having to spend a night in Chicago.  If they had booked same day, they would have missed the cruise.  As it were, having the one day at least afforded them time for my mom to visit her cousin in London and to get down to the port.  

I NEVER fly in the day of a cruise.  So many things can go wrong--delayed flights, missed connections, misplaced luggage...and just the general stress of not knowing if you are going t make it on time.  And, especially nowadays--the airlines are worse than ever interms of canceling and rescheduling flights.

Add to this that Barcelona is simply a fantastic city to visit...even if just to hang out...I have been there many times  (somewhere in the 12-15 visits range) and I still love to go back any time.  We were there in August--before and after a Vision of the Seas cruise (2 nights prior, 3 nights after)...We don't needto revisit the usual tourist sites--but we always find new and interesting things to do.  This last time, we used one day to take a 12+ hour day tour through a local company to visit Andorra and other towns in the Pyrenees. 

We are returning in April for a Symphony of the Seas cruise...and...this time, even though we will only be flying in from Lisbon (where we end a Celebrity Infinity cruise and spending 3 nights post-cruise there), we are still getting in 24 hours in advance.  We plan on just lounging around town, eating at familiar restaurants, strolling Las Ramblas,etc.  AND, we are spending an additional night in Barcelona at the end of the cruise--no reason to hurry home.

My recommendation is to find a hotel in the immediate vicinity of the Placa Catalunya--absolute best location in Barcelona.  These next two stays-for us- will be at the H10 Catalunya Plaza...a beautiful little boutique hotel that is part of a bigger chain...RIGHT ON the Placa Catalunya. Same place we stayed the last two visits.   We have also stayed at the 1898--great hotel on Las Ramblas about a block south of the Placa...Pricy, but I highly recommend...and at the Hotel Continental--on Las Ramblas just south of the Placa--a great budget alternative with balconies overlooking Las Ramblas.  This area has lots of restaurants and puts you close to most attractions.  You can catch the very inexpensive Aerobus from the Airport to the Placa...and taxis from this area to the port are very inexpensive.  Good luck and have fun.

 

 

[Fairlynew]

As a novice cruiser, my family flew into London and arrived about 7 am the day of our cruise from Southampton.  We did use Air to Sea, so had some protection.  Due to different vacation schedules, this was the ONLY thing that would work to allow everyone in our family to go.  We had a connecting flight from JFK out of Charlotte.  This was thunderstorm season in the south, so it was risky.  Our flight from Charlotte was delayed but we did make the flight to London.  We reserved a driver to take us to the port (it was the least expensive way to get 6 people from the airport to the port in a timely manner.  We actually arrived and got checked in for the cruise prior to boarding.  I would not recommend this, though, nor would I do it again.

Last spring, we were sailing out of Civitavecchia and wanted to spend some time in Venice.  We were booked from Charlotte to Madrid to Venice.  Our flight to Madrid was delayed several hours and we missed our flight to Venice.  We were supposed to arrive in Venice at 10 am, but ended up getting there at 7 pm.  We missed a lot of time in Venice, but it was not a disaster since the cruise did not leave for several days.  We were meeting the rest of our party late in the afternoon the next day in Rome, so we had about half a day in Venice-not nearly enough.  

[Maggie M]

I also would not risk missing your cruise by flying in the day of, evening if it is scheduled to arrive early in the morning. Too many things can go wrong and you can't predict the weather or a mechanical issue with the plane. Missed connections, cancelled flights, lost luggage - just a few of the things that could go wrong. Try to be there at least 1 day before to avoid starting your vacation off on a stressful note. That wouldn't be fun at all. Best of luck to you guys - I hope it goes smoothly!

[Pattycruise]

Flying in the same day is great.....if all goes correctly, but not so great if it does not!  If you have available time and funds I recommend flying in ealrier, see some sights and reduce risk of missing your cruise.

 

[Ray]

5 hours ago, Zacharius said:

Yes

Keep in mind that you get rec-accommodated on the "next available flight", not necessarily the "next flight". Big difference. And if it's from the US to Europe, during high season, when flights are often full...well, "next available flight" is highly unlikely to be the "next flight". 

Yeah i know that! I just kept my reply short as i didn't want to write a long story when simply saying " next flight would leave it tight " should be enough to ring alarm bells in OG posters head in relation to the fact they may not get or there may not be a next flight until a period of time after original which would result in missing cruise.

[DunkelBierJay]

If I was flying or taking the train from Madrid or Paris...maybe...If I was flying from anywhere else...if it's the US, I would plan on two days before and enjoy a little more tapas

[ChessE4]

On 1/2/2023 at 5:47 PM, Captain Pugwash said:

Our First cruise in Mediterranean next year - ship departs  Barcelona at 6pm then sailing to Mallorca for first stop. I’ve booked flights to arrive at 10.30am the morning of the departure.

What is the latest time you can board the ship?

Are we leaving it too tight (perhaps fly in the previous day)?

any advice appreciated.

 

Others have reported on the wisdom of traveling early.  We sailed this October out of Barcelona, and our plane was late leaving Newark, so we were a little late getting to Barcelona, but not by much.  As noted, immigration took about an hour.  Let me put in a plug for Hotel Colon, right next to the Catedral.  We spent two nights there before the cruise and wish we had stayed a third. Easy to take a cab from there to the port.  Have a great cruise!   

P.S. We did arrive in Barcelona and cruise the same day in the summer of 2011, and we boarded around 2 PM after all was said and done.  Again, I don't recommend it, and I won't do it again.

[barjpoe]

We like to fly in 2 days prior to get adjusted to the time change (jet lag).

[She Sails Away]

It only takes one storm or sudden mechanical problem and you could easily find yourself spending the nigjt in the airport!

[Ampurp85]

I would never fly internationally the day of.

I often cut it close domestically but if the flight will be more than 5hrs, it has to be at least a day early.

When I do international flights, I always do an evening flight, which often works out to making it seem like I flew in days or more. This also helps with jetlag and time zone adjustments.

[rjweber3]

Domestic flights in the US have been so unpredictable that flying into the port a day early is wise.

We are flying to Amsterdam this May for a cruise. Our flights have been modified several times in the last six months. I had to rebook because the layover in Atlanta was only 39 minutes after the changes. We plan to depart on the 10th, arriving on the 11th for a 14th sail away. And that seems like just about right for that routing. Any less time would be too stressful for us.