Are We Crazy - Same Day Seattle Arrival

For a variety of work-related reasons, we cannot fly in the day before a Seattle cruise on Celebrity.

We booked a flight that should arrive in Seattle at 10:40 AM. Our cruise is scheduled to sail at 5:00 PM (with an all aboard around 3:00 or so).

Are we nuts? Anyone accomplished this and can calm my nerves?

Thanks!

Where are you flying from and do you have to take any connecting flights to get to Seattle?

Forgive me, but if you have already booked this flight, you are committed, right? What difference would it make for others to reply here? Honestly, I'm not trying to be mean or sarcastic... personally, I would never do this, no way, no how. That is cutting it way too close. Sorry, just not sure what you want. :confused:

Can you take a red-eye, at least?

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For a variety of work-related reasons, we cannot fly in the day before a Seattle cruise on Celebrity.

 

We booked a flight that should arrive in Seattle at 10:40 AM. Our cruise is scheduled to sail at 5:00 PM (with an all aboard around 3:00 or so).

 

Are we nuts? Anyone accomplished this and can calm my nerves?

 

Thanks!

I originally did what you did. Then I was scared and changed my flight to the day before and booked a hotel. However, a penalty of $238 per ticket I had to pay:( Is there an earlier flight you can take to arrive a few hours earlier? If you booked flight w NCL and have insurance you would be covered. I booked mine separate thats why i changed it. Good luck. You will prob be okay, I was just scared

I originally did what you did. Then I was scared and changed my flight to the day before and booked a hotel. However, a penalty of $238 per ticket I had to pay:( Is there an earlier flight you can take to arrive a few hours earlier? If you booked flight w NCL and have insurance you would be covered. I booked mine separate thats why i changed it. Good luck. You will prob be okay, I was just scared

They will not be able to catch up with the ship because of PVSA. (Assuming this is an Alaskan cruise.)

If you miss the ship you cannot get onboard anywhere in Alaska.

Check your insurance policy. At times they will not cover certain travel arrangements.

We are flying direct from Atlanta. We're using miles, so can fairly easily change or cancel.

There is no earlier flight, and there is no overnight option.

Yes, this is an Alaska cruise. Hoping to get any guidance from anyone who may have done we are planning, either successfully or not.

Our only other option would be to cancel the cruise and try to go another time.

They will not be able to catch up with the ship because of PVSA. (Assuming this is an Alaskan cruise.)

 

If you miss the ship you cannot get onboard anywhere in Alaska.

Check your insurance policy. At times they will not cover certain travel arrangements.

I was talking about $ reimbursement not catching the ship. However, you are correct. You really cannot go by success rate because anything can happen. I can say I did it and all ok and you can go and have a delay for numerous reasons. All I can say is the month you are going can increase or decrease odds such as hurricane season, lighting, wind storms. Even if they hold flight for suspicious reasons now a days. If you can make any arrangement at all to go the day before thats really to be safe. If not, if you dont loose any money I would change the day if you can. When are you going? Did you pay for anything yet?

We are flying direct from Atlanta. We're using miles, so can fairly easily change or cancel.

 

Direct or non-stop? There is a significant difference.

And I would not be really comfortable with arriving the day of.

I don't know why everyone is being so negative.

Even assuming a complete lock out at 3 PM (for a 5 PM sailing?) you have a 4+ hour cushion (more like 6 hours actually). Taxi from the airport to the pier is 30-45 minutes. Allow another 20-30 minutes to get bags and your plane can be 3+ hours late without causing a problem for you.

With a direct flight and good spring/summer weather the odds of that kind of delay are extremely low :). Obviously it is less stressful to fly in the day before but there is no reason to stress out over this itinerary.

Enjoy your trip!

I would have a issue with jet lag and adjustment to the Pacific time zone. I would fly in 2 days early.

I don't know why everyone is being so negative.

 

Even assuming a complete lock out at 3 PM (for a 5 PM sailing?) you have a 4+ hour cushion (more like 6 hours actually). Taxi from the airport to the pier is 30-45 minutes. Allow another 20-30 minutes to get bags and your plane can be 3+ hours late without causing a problem for you.

 

With a direct flight and good spring/summer weather the odds of that kind of delay are extremely low :). Obviously it is less stressful to fly in the day before but there is no reason to stress out over this itinerary.

 

Enjoy your trip!

Totally agree. I orig was coming in like 6 hrs b4 flight and changed it to day b4. Figured spending about $4K was not worth the risk arriving the same day. Thats all. Not being negative, just would be worried the entire time.

Totally agree. I orig was coming in like 6 hrs b4 flight and changed it to day b4. Figured spending about $4K was not worth the risk arriving the same day. Thats all. Not being negative, just would be worried the entire time.

Kindof ironic given your screen name.;):D

I'm assuming the OP is on Delta 2368, scheduled (in May at least) to land at 10:35 AM.

Over the past 7 days the average arrival time has been 10:42, with the latest arrival time just under an hour late, i.e. 11:34. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL2368/history/20140405/1215Z/KATL/KSEA

Even with the 11:34 late arrival and 90 min. for bag claim and a taxi to the cruise terminal, you'd still be on board by 1:30 or so. Yes, it's a little tight, and yes, of course things can go totally fubar, but it's not a last-minute sprint sort of scenario.

If you buy trip insurance, see if it has a "flat tire" provision for late arrival.

I'd also phone Celebrity and find out if they'd let you board at Ketchikan if you agreed to pay the $300 pp PVSA penalty.

I don't know why everyone is being so negative.

 

Even assuming a complete lock out at 3 PM (for a 5 PM sailing?) you have a 4+ hour cushion (more like 6 hours actually). Taxi from the airport to the pier is 30-45 minutes. Allow another 20-30 minutes to get bags and your plane can be 3+ hours late without causing a problem for you.

 

With a direct flight and good spring/summer weather the odds of that kind of delay are extremely low :). Obviously it is less stressful to fly in the day before but there is no reason to stress out over this itinerary.

 

Enjoy your trip!

Robbie, the reason why many of us would not do this is because of the PVSA that Sadie (below) refers to. If you miss getting onboard -- because your flight gets delayed; because your flight gets slightly delayed, but there's also problems getting from SeaTac to Seattle because of traffic problems; weather troubles that do pop up either in Atlanta (and they do get hurricanes in that area), between Atlanta/Seattle, or in Seattle -- you won't be allowed to fly on to Ketchikan and board there. It will be considered a violation of the PVSA. Victoria is an acceptable Canadian stop for a RT from Seattle, but not for a Ketchikan-Seattle cruise.

They will not be able to catch up with the ship because of PVSA. (Assuming this is an Alaskan cruise.)

 

If you miss the ship you cannot get onboard anywhere in Alaska.

Check your insurance policy. At times they will not cover certain travel arrangements.

We took the train up from Southern California to Seattle for our Alaskan cruise about ten years ago. But our scheduled arrival was Friday night and our cruise was on Sunday. We wouldn't have even try to get in Saturday night after a long train trip as one doesn't know if there would be any problems with the train (we actually did have a major plumbing problem on the train which made things uncomfortable, but still got into Seattle only four hours late...but a couple of days later, there was a fire in Oregon that damaged heavily one of the tunnels the Coast Starlight goes through, and train passengers had to get off the train on one side and take a 9 hour bus detour to get on the other side and get back on the train).

Kindof ironic given your screen name.;):D

LOL, I gamble only with good odds haha. $4,000 vs reschedule. Hmmm...I'd gamble and say hmmmm....I fold...another hand dealt to me is better lol

Hoping to get any guidance from anyone who may have done we are planning, either successfully or not....

Again, sorry if you think I am being negative, but it really doesn't matter what others do or have done. It just doesn't. There are factors beyond your control at play here. Any number of things could happen: bad weather in either city or en route, mechanical delay, aircraft personnel delay, baggage handler situation, security breach, customs delay or problem, traffic jam... etc. etc.

And now that you know you cannot even catch up with the ship, there's no way I'd take the chance if it was me. Sorry.

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Direct or non-stop? There is a significant difference.

 

And I would not be really comfortable with arriving the day of.

Maybe you missed the, "We're flying DIRECT from Atlanta" part.

Maybe you missed the, "We're flying DIRECT from Atlanta" part.

Since your flight is direct, what month are you traveling and what intermediate airport(s) does the flight land at? This may add more risk compared to a non-stop flight...for example if the stop is in ORD or DFW during summer thunderstorm season, or SFO with fog and the runway construction.

What's the flight number? I see Delta 2368 arriving at 10:40 but it's a non-stop. If that's the flight, be aware that "direct" is different from "nonstop"

Thanks for the responses. Yes, it is a non-stop flight. We're scheduled for August. There are no intermediary airports

I'm the one pressing for flying in the day before and changing our arrangements. My husband is pressing for taking the risk.

I think I will price out the cost of good trip insurance versus readjusting our flight time, adding a hotel stay, and the change in cruise dates.

He's all about the bottom line.

If I can't get him to change his mind, I'll just have a very stressful day ahead of me.

Since your flight is direct, what month are you traveling and what intermediate airport(s) does the flight land at? This may add more risk compared to a non-stop flight...for example if the stop is in ORD or DFW during summer thunderstorm season, or SFO with fog and the runway construction.

 

What's the flight number? I see Delta 2368 arriving at 10:40 but it's a non-stop. If that's the flight, be aware that "direct" is different from "nonstop"

Thank you kenish....;):D

Thanks for the responses. Yes, it is a non-stop flight. We're scheduled for August. There are no intermediary airports

 

I'm the one pressing for flying in the day before and changing our arrangements. My husband is pressing for taking the risk.

 

I think I will price out the cost of good trip insurance versus readjusting our flight time, adding a hotel stay, and the change in cruise dates.

 

He's all about the bottom line.

 

If I can't get him to change his mind, I'll just have a very stressful day ahead of me.

If thats the prob, just simply tell him the flight is cheaper the day before even if its not lol. Just make sure you get the bill. Search for a cheap hotel w free breakfast. Say the word free and he will like that. Dont stress going the same day. Thats all you will think about instead of looking forward to the cruise. Thats just my opinion :D

Go the day before if at all possible. Everyone is mentioning the delays, timing, and policies. Lets not forget cancelations!! Flights from Atlanta to Seattle are not plentiful. It would be just your luck. Go early and relax and enjoy your cruise.

Will trip insurance cover a missed cruise because of a late flight? Need to find out BEFORE you book anything.

Will trip insurance cover a missed cruise because of a late flight? Need to find out BEFORE you book anything.

As far as I know, if u buy ins w NCL u had to book the flight and cruise with them or they only cover the cruise. If you book the flight and cruise with them, the flight must be within a reasonable time of ship departure. I think the flight must be scheduled to land giving at least 6 hours before ship leaves. Then its covered.

Some credit cards give you insurance if you pay for the cruise and flight w the same credit card but its also with a time criteria.