connection

We are flying to Athens in September for our Carnival Vista cruise. Carnival has us booked leaving Charleston and landing in JFK with a 45 minute layover. Will this be enough time to make our flight to Athens? Thanks!

That is a fairly tight, but legal connection. And you just learned a lesson on the disadvantages of booking fares through the cruise line...

I didn't have to pay for it yet so I can still change it. The lady has assured me that it is doable. Should I call back and change it?

I didn't have to pay for it yet so I can still change it. The lady has assured me that it is doable. Should I call back and change it?

It may be doable, but it certainly isn't comfortable - and I would certainly not book such a connection.

Is there any reason why you're not just booking your own airfare?

It was $400 per person cheaper to book it through carnival`s fly to fun program. Seemed like a no brainer to me.

It was $400 per person cheaper to book it through carnival`s fly to fun program. Seemed like a no brainer to me.

As mentioned...a lesson in the downfalls of cruise line airfares. Cheaper, but not always the "best" situation for the buyer. Particularly if something goes wrong.

If you can change it, I would. Shoot for 2 hours layover.

Agree that you want two hours. If your flight leaving CLT is delayed (highly probable lately) you are screwed.

I didn't have to pay for it yet so I can still change it. The lady has assured me that it is doable. Should I call back and change it?

Nobody can promise you it's doable because nobody can predict reality in advance. All it takes is for your flight from Charleston to be delayed long enough to misconnect at JFK or be cancelled altogether. Assuming your flight from JFK departs in late afternoon/evening, I would ask to be placed on an earlier flight from Charleston to JFK giving you a longer connect time. Look up the flights yourself between Charleston and JFK and be armed with that info when you call.

If it was me I wouldn't do it.

Too much risk that you or your luggage or both don't make the connection.

Keith

It was $400 per person cheaper to book it through carnival`s fly to fun program. Seemed like a no brainer to me.

...Except if you are given flight with a tight connection, and miss your flight, and then have to scramble to find another option, and end up missing your ship's departure and have to make your way to the next port of call and miss the first couple of days of your cruise... I'm as cheap as the next person (some would say cheaper :D), but price isn't the only consideration, especially when it comes to airfare.

I didn't have to pay for it yet so I can still change it. The lady has assured me that it is doable. Should I call back and change it?

The only assurance she has is that it meets the legal minimum connecting time. I live near JFK and use it a couple of times a month on average. Would I do that connection? No.

Have they even told you which airlines it is? I'm assuming Delta as it's the only possible way that connection could be legal (but this is Cruise Air crap so who knows)....did you know that Delta use two different terminals at JFK that are connected airside by bus? You could end up having to disembark, wait for a bus, change terminals and get to your new gate in the space of about 30mins.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I will be calling Carnival tonight and be changing. Peace of mind is worth more than a few hundred dollars.

T.did you know that Delta use two different terminals at JFK that are connected airside by bus?

Not only is terminal 2 and 4 connected by bus or Delta calls Jitney, the end of the B concourse has a Jitney to the start of the B concourse. It is a very very long walk from the start of B to the end even with moving sidewalks and dodging the line ups in front of the gate (gate lice).

Any mobility issue unless you request assistance takes time from one end of the concourse to the other.

Your seat on the plane and how long it takes you to deplane all adds up. I wouldn't do it but then I leave out of JFK and don't connect but do have to walk that B concourse and unexpectedly arrive at T2 instead of T4.

FWIW

I didn't have to pay for it yet so I can still change it. The lady has assured me that it is doable. Should I call back and change it?

Doable, yes. Advisable, no. I live in Charleston and i believe there are only 2 daily CHS-JFK flights. Depending on which one you booked you could really be screwed if you have a delay of even a few minutes, especially given the potential for your arrival and departure gates at JFK to be quite a ways from each other. I see you've already decided to call Carnival and change it and that's good.