Multiple delayed flights serve as a reminder to always arrive early for your cruise, Reddit says
In:One of the worst mistakes new cruisers can make is booking their flights for the day of their cruise's departure.

In a picture-perfect world, that 8:00am flight would depart as scheduled, leaving you with plenty of time to mosey from Fort Lauderdale's airport to Port Everglades. However, the reality of flying is that flights can be unpredictable and chaotic.
One Royal Caribbean cruiser shared their experience of trying to cruise from Fort Lauderdale, only to miss the ship after over 13 hours of delays and giving themself a buffer in case of unforeseen delays and cancellations.
In a post titled "THIS is why you fly in the day before," Reddit user Mamm0nn described the unlucky series of events that caused them to return home earlier than expected.

"On our 3rd flight delay.... total of 5hr 30 minute delay so far.... now getting in at 1AM the date of the cruise," they begin.
The first update to the original post reveals that, after three delays, the original flight was canceled. With no other options, they were going to have to sleep on the airport floor and fly from Chicago to Florida at 5:00am on the morning of departure.
The frustration grew as five delays and two flight cancellations later, they realized they were stuck in Chicago and lost all hope of making their cruise on time.

"UPDATE #2 13 hours at Ohare 5 delays 2 flight cancelations We can't get to Fort Lauderdale out of OHare until tomorrow evening," Mamm0nn continues.
"No cars available to rent to get back to Milwaukee so waiting until 0630 to get a bus back and finish the trip with Uber."
They returned home around 8:00am and slept until noon. However, they didn't stay down in the dumps for too long, as they booked a 4-night cruise out of Los Angeles to achieve the coveted Diamond status before their Greece cruise!
Other users agreed that they always fly to their embarkation port at least one day early

While Charlotte, North Carolina, has multiple daily departures to popular embarkation ports like Miami and Fort Lauderdale, I'd never risk my vacation by flying on the day of my cruise.
Last July, AirHelp released data about the worst airports for flight disruptions. Charlotte ranked #9, with over 25% of flights delayed or canceled. According to AirHelp, the worst airport in the United States is Ronald Reagan National Airport in D.C., where more than 40% of flights are disrupted. As such, it's not uncommon for travelers to face delays, especially during peak travel seasons.
I've been stuck in Charlotte for longer than I'd like to admit. Most recently, I had two flights canceled while trying to get to Tampa for a cruise aboard Margaritaville at Sea's Islander. Thankfully, I was flying into Florida the day before and wasn't too stressed. Though I arrived a few hours later than planned, I wasn't trying to navigate flight disruptions on embarkation day.

It may be easy to catch another flight to your land destination and lose a day of vacation, but cruise ships operate on tight schedules and won't wait for late passengers.
While travel insurance can help recoup some costs, it's stressful and expensive to try and catch the ship in the next port of call, not to mention that you may lose two or three days onboard that won't be refunded by the cruise line.
One day before isn't enough time for many. Comments on Mamm0nn's post reveal that cruisers are giving themselves even more of a buffer than before.

"I used to fly in the day before. Now I fly in 2 days in advance. This is because the airline screwed me and delayed my luggage and it wouldn’t arrive until the following day when I would have already boarded the ship," explained ItsDeCia.
"So when I arrived following my flight, I basically went straight from the airport to the mall to buy a whole new bag and clothes to put in it. Stressful to say the least."
AnonUserAccount added, "Agreed. I’ve been delayed on my last three trips, twice arriving past midnight (technically the day of the cruise) and once arriving at 8am the day of the cruise (flight from Dallas was cancelled, took the 5am flight the day of the cruise)."

"Yeah, I’ve never been one to cut it close. Our next one, we’re going in 3 days early. We look at it as an opportunity to explore a new city, or visit favorite spots in an old one," wrote 410bore.
Delayed flights aren't the only embarkation day risks

Not only is flying expensive, but it's often riskier than driving. That, however, doesn't mean that driving to your cruise ship is predictable and easy.
"I totally agree. I even drive in the day before. I live in San Antonio and have cruised out of Galveston several times. On our honeymoon cruise, we drove 4+ hours the morning...Our luck, a storm came through that morning and it was a torrential downpour almost the entire drive on top of the freeway," explained Constant_Bandicoot21.
"We made it in time however we were frazzled by the time we got on the ship. We said never again."

myfapaccount_istaken wrote, "I lived in Orlando and would go the night before to Port [Canaveral]. 528 get[s] closed to[o] many times where you [couldn't] turn around and go to the coast in time. I'm on the other coast now, and will drive to Tampa (an hour) the night before and always Miami or FLL the night before. Just so much less stress."
Speaking of traffic, ports like Miami have reported massive delays due to the influx of passengers disembarking and embarking at the same time.
For example, if there are seven or more ships in port, cruisers have reported sitting in upwards of 90 minutes of traffic because there's just one road shared by multiple cruise terminals. As such, whether you're flying or driving, it's crucial to budget time into your arrival plan for unforeseen traffic delays.
Read more: Traffic is so bad in Miami that Royal Caribbean is offering free bus transfers