Flying in the same day of your cruise departure

The question of whether to fly in the day before or same day comes up a lot in cruise planning. Like many people, we always fly in a day or two early. However, if you're like my parents who often fly in the same day (because they don't want to pay for the hotel or don't have or want to take the extra day), the following are my recommendation for flying in same-day. Make sure to do all of the following:

1. Book a direct flight--no connections. Fewer flight segments=lower risk.
2. Take the first flight out in the morning and arrive at the port by no later than noon.
3. Make sure your airline has at least a few other direct flights options for later that same day. They should all be scheduled to arrive in the destination city before mid-afternoon the day of the cruise's departure. This way, if your first flight is delayed or cancelled, you have some chance to rebook or go standby on a later flight.
4. The port is a short distance from the destination airport (say, 30 minutes or less).

Generally, all of the above is possible only if you live near a major airport or hub that is less than 1,000 miles from your destination city/port. We're lucky because, in the Washington DC area, there are TONS of regular and direct flights to the major Florida cruise ports.