Tampa fog in December, flying in same day

We fly into Tampa Dec 29th, arriving at 9:55am. Cruise leaves the same day at 4pm.

I was hesitant to fly in same day, but TA reassured me that if we were delayed leaving Detroit that our flight is early enough that we would have time to make it to the ship. Flight leaves at 7:05am

Now i'm reading about fog in winter.. hate flying to begin with so now have to worry about missing the ship, and also the plane crashing.

I can't change now since it's booked but it this a bad idea? Is it always foggy or just sometimes?

We have stayed in Tampa in December and during our stay last year, it was foggy each morning that we were there. I am not sure if this is common, but I know that we could not see very far from our hotel room window. I would think it may have burned off by 10 a.m. though. I didn't make a note of the time.

I would fly in a day before. In late December there could also be snowstorms, and you could be delayed getting to or leaving Detroit. I would not take the risk of missing the ship. I would check with your airline; frequently you can pay a change fee to change your ticket even if it is non refundable.

Have a great cruise!:)

The smart cruiser ALWAS arrives at least one day early. ;)

The fog issue in Tampa is tha the ship can be delayed arriving in port -- clearance under the bridge and through the channel is tight; if the ship is on time or even delayed by several hours your arriving flight at 9:55 will be fine. I would do homework on options in case weather or mechanical or crew issues delays or cancels your flight :eek: -- when is the next flight to TPA? What about flights to Orlando and a last minute rental car?

If your cruise's return to Tampa is delayed by fog when is your return flight? :confused:

Good luck! :)

We fly into Tampa Dec 29th, arriving at 9:55am. Cruise leaves the same day at 4pm.

 

I was hesitant to fly in same day, but TA reassured me that if we were delayed leaving Detroit that our flight is early enough that we would have time to make it to the ship. Flight leaves at 7:05am

 

Now i'm reading about fog in winter.. hate flying to begin with so now have to worry about missing the ship, and also the plane crashing.

 

I can't change now since it's booked but it this a bad idea? Is it always foggy or just sometimes?

You need to fire your travel agent after you go back and make him and her rebook for you at no extra cost.

Firstly, that isn't an early flight.

If there is snow or ice effecting NYC, Atlanta, Dallas, etc, your flight will be delayed or canceled.

Thirdly, you are flying New Years Weekend to Florida. Is your travel agent insane? You miss your flight or it is cancelled for any reason, you will not get on another flight as they are all full.

I would be back in front of my TA and make them fix this mistake.

No, we do not have fog here every day in December. Our late fall/winters vary just like other places and depending on conditions see more/less fog. The fog typically burns off pretty quickly and would think that it would be gone by the time you are expected to touch down.

Find a new travel agent because she/he is giving you some really bad advice. You are flying a long distance from a cold weather destination. We live in northern Illinois and we wouldn't even think of flying in for a cruise the day before. That's crazy...I would change your flights if you can to fly in the day before. Then find a hotel with a shuttle to the airport

I emailed TA so we'll see. There is another Delta flight the night before at leaving at 8:30. Would be long day for the kids but we'll see what the cost would be to switch.

I asked about this when we booked and she said if it's delayed the planes still take off in the order that they were scheduled (we wouldn't catch the next flight because there are 4 of us and it's the holidays so they'll likely be full).

I guess that works for delays but not a complete cancellation.

Although, lets say we were set to fly in the day before, if that flight got cancelled - there would be no flight that day or the next day anyway (assuming they'd be full)... So either way if the flight was cancelled we would be screwed?

Maybe I don't have enough experience but I didn't think flights were cancelled very often (as opposed to delayed).

If your flight is cancelled they will likely reschedule it because otherwise they need to find seats for 150+ passengers somehow, plus that plane was supposed to go somewhere else after TPA. If you are booked for the day before sailing and the airline reschedules to the day of your sailing you can still catch the ship -- if you are booked the day of sailing and they reschedule for later that day or the following day you will MISS THE SHIP. (note that for a 4:00 PM sailing you usually need to be at the check-in desk by 2:30)

Yes it costs more (hotel, etc.) but the smart cruiser ALWAYS plans to arrive a day early so that when something goes wrong you have some flex in your schedule and will not miss the ship! Good luck! :)

The fog issue in Tampa is tha the ship can be delayed arriving in port -- clearance under the bridge and through the channel is tight

Back in Mar 2005 the start of our cruise out of Tampa aboard Horizon was delayed a day leaving port because of fog. Instead of leaving at 4pm, we left at 9am the following day.

I

Maybe I don't have enough experience but I didn't think flights were cancelled very often (as opposed to delayed).

Say an ice storm hits Atlanta, which is a Delta hub and the busiest airport in the US. It's going to cancel flights all over the US.

Since Delta is a major carrier, by contract, they have to put their passengers on one of the other major air carriers if they have a two hour or more delay.

So someone in Detroit trying to get to Miami on Delta and because all flights stop in Atlanta, they have to be rerouted.

Flights are dependent upon weather all over the place to land and take off on time.

Don't think that just because you've paid for your flight, you are guaranteed a seat. The air carrier can bump you and you have no recourse.

What time does your flight leave Canada? What is the on time record for this flight?

It pays to fly in early for even non-weather reasons. Remember the guy that evaded airport security in Atlanta back in 2001? The security breach all but shut down Hartsfield for four hours, as flights into and out of Atlanta were delayed. We had friends in Philadelphia who missed their connection in Atlanta that day and after a mad scramble, they finally got to the pier in Florida only to see their ship sail away without them!

Say an ice storm hits Atlanta, which is a Delta hub and the busiest airport in the US. It's going to cancel flights all over the US.

 

Since Delta is a major carrier, by contract, they have to put their passengers on one of the other major air carriers if they have a two hour or more delay.

 

So someone in Detroit trying to get to Miami on Delta and because all flights stop in Atlanta, they have to be rerouted.

 

Flights are dependent upon weather all over the place to land and take off on time.

 

Don't think that just because you've paid for your flight, you are guaranteed a seat. The air carrier can bump you and you have no recourse.

 

What time does your flight leave Canada? What is the on time record for this flight?

I didn't know you could check records, but I can't find the flight there (Delta 1447). The return flight DL 1892 has a 90% with average 14 mins late. Shows 0% have been cancelled or diverted. Not sure if that's accurate or takes winter in account.

The flight leaves Detroit at 7:05am. We are driving to Detroit the day before and staying overnight at hotel near airport.

The flight leaves Detroit at 7:05am. We are driving to Detroit the day before and staying overnight at hotel near airport.

http://www.FlightAware.com

You can make sure it gets in on time to the originating airport the night before and that it takes off on time to Detroit that morning.

Say your flight originates in Dallas.

Dallas has a big ice storm and your flight cannot get in to land the night before. It's going to be heavily delayed or cancelled if it cannot get in at all.

Also, the airlines has to dead head crews and if they can't get in or out, they cannot fly more than twelve hours without a twelve hour break. In that case you might have a plane but no crew. The FAA regulates crew hours.

At least with a flight tracker you will know for sure the night before that your flight will or will not make it to Detroit and out of there on time. If that is the case, you can make alternate plans with the airlines and NOT have to do it in the airport the next day with the other 150 pissed off passengers. You'll have at least a twelve hour jump on other people and may be able to drive to an alternate airport.

Since you cannot change your flight, be as prepared as you can.

Find out where your flight originates.

 

www.FlightAware.com

 

 

You can make sure it gets in on time to the originating airport the night before and that it takes off on time to Detroit that morning.

 

Say your flight originates in Dallas.

 

Dallas has a big ice storm and your flight cannot get in to land the night before. It's going to be heavily delayed or cancelled if it cannot get in at all.

 

Also, the airlines has to dead head crews and if they can't get in or out, they cannot fly more than twelve hours without a twelve hour break. In that case you might have a plane but no crew. The FAA regulates crew hours.

 

At least with a flight tracker you will know for sure the night before that your flight will or will not make it to Detroit and out of there on time. If that is the case, you can make alternate plans with the airlines and NOT have to do it in the airport the next day with the other 150 pissed off passengers. You'll have at least a twelve hour jump on other people and may be able to drive to an alternate airport.

 

Since you cannot change your flight, be as prepared as you can.

Thanks for the info. Delta would charge $300 to change. I'll stick with what we've got and hope nothing goes wrong.

At least I know better for next time.

Thanks for the info. Delta would charge $300 to change. I'll stick with what we've got and hope nothing goes wrong.

At least I know better for next time.

It may not be too late to invest in some trip insurance - check with your auto/home policy provider or check one of the many web sites comparing various trip insurance policies (insure my trip dot com is a good one). Good luck! :)

I would get another agent the next time around. The agents advice was terrible fog or no fog.

Keith

I would get another agent the next time around. The agents advice was terrible fog or no fog.

 

Keith

I agree. Time for a new TA.

I bet if you ask the TA if you miss your cruise because of a flight delay will they cover the costs the answer will be NO so the TA "assuring" you means nothing

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From the sound of it, you should start walking to Tampa right now to make sure you get here without having your plans wrected by weather.

I agree that your agent gave you terrible information. There are so many factors that could make your flight late/cancelled as others have posted. With the date being during the holidays only make a problem more likely since flights will be fully booked. Yes, you might make it on time, but do you really want to start your vacation with that much stress and uncertainty?

We're cruising in early January, and we're flying in 2 days early in case there's bad weather or other factors that could cause delays.

I would never leave the same day anymore. To many things can go wrong. With fewer flights going these days it is a huge chance. When we flew to Miami in April, it was because of a snow storm in Chicago the day before that caused the pilots to get into our home airport 2 hours late. That in turn made them have to wait an extra 2 hours for us to take off the next morning, putting us into Houston to late to get our connecting flight. The girl at the desk said she would try to get us a flight that day and I told her I was cruising the next day. We finally got rerouted through Denver that arrived on time in Houston. Luckily we were first in line at the ticket counter. The couple behind us had to book separate planes. I too would fire that TA, they should know better.

Hopefully there were no casualties from today's shooting at LAX Terminal 3.

With the ensuing airport evacuation, terminal lock down, and the ground stop order for arriving planes, anyone needing LAX to get to a cruise ship today could be in trouble. For example, Carnival Inspiration is embarking at Long Beach Pier today.

Update: Sadly a TSA agent was killed which obviously overshadows any flying inconveniences.....

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Los-Angeles-Airport-LAX-Shooting-230220201.html