Flight ETA cutting it close...

[sail7seas]

You are REALLY scaring me with this!:eek::mad:

 

Unless there are several others (I mean double digits) that are booking for the same airline & the same cruise, Carnival WILL NOT hold the ship!:(

 

 

The question is can & your family afford to fly to the next port?:(

 

 

The other question is Does Everyone in the family have a passport? U.S. Citizens can sail a closed loop cruise with birth certificate and government issued photo ID but Cannot fly internationally without a passport. If you miss the ship, you must have the passports to fly to a foreign port.

 

[Zach1213]

A "direct" flight means that you do not change flight numbers although in certain rare instances, you can change planes. A "non-stop" flight means exactly what it says - you take off at your home airport and leave the plane at your destination without the airplane landing anywhere in between.

 

It's actually not so rare these days. United is probably most guilty of this in my experience. They operate a lot of US to Europe flights via Newark that involve a change of plane and often a big difference in aircraft type - i.e. A320 from CLT-EWR and a B764 from EWR-FRA, all the same flight number.

[sail7seas]

It's actually not so rare these days. United is probably most guilty of this in my experience. They operate a lot of US to Europe flights via Newark that involve a change of plane and often a big difference in aircraft type - i.e. A320 from CLT-EWR and a B764 from EWR-FRA, all the same flight number.

 

Do they make it clear and obvious when selling these flights that there is this stop and plane change or is it something one needs to dig in order to learn? It certainly should be obvious and easy for the customer to have that information.

 

[AKman2495]

I booked a Princess cruise through a TA and had Princess book the air-coming in the day before. I got to chose the flight and the pre-stay hotel.

 

I will sleep comfortably the night before my cruise....

[Mary Ellen]

It's actually not so rare these days. United is probably most guilty of this in my experience. They operate a lot of US to Europe flights via Newark that involve a change of plane and often a big difference in aircraft type - i.e. A320 from CLT-EWR and a B764 from EWR-FRA, all the same flight number.

United did this to us on a flight from Singapore to ORD. We knew this was a 'direct' flight, one stop in Hong Kong, and we were fine with that. There was no notice that we might have to change planes. Even though our flight number was the same, the pilot announced prior to landing at HKG that our plane could be actually going to either SFO or ORD. Either way regulations at HKG required everyone (and all of our carry-on items) had to deplane and go through the lower arrivals level up to the departures area. We did end up reboarding the same plane, but it was still a hassle. The reason we picked that routing was for the convenience of not having to make an extra connection. :rolleyes:

 

Too many times I see people talking about making sure they get a "direct flight" when it is obvious they are wanting a non-stop. There are 'puddle-jumper' flights that hop all over the place. That is a "direct" flight as long as two of the stops are the ones you want.

 

OP - good luck on getting that flight changed. Even though Carnival is responsible to get you to the next port (despite what someone posted above that you'd have to pay), if you don't have passports you could have a major problem.

[trish1c]

I think everybody here has done a wonderful job freaking you out.

Although the majority here on CC fly in the day before & take all sorts of precautions. Thousands of other cruisers fly in the day of & arrive as late as 2:00 pm with all being well. It is possible.

I would check Delta's full schedule for that day & show up at the AP at the crack of dawn trying to fly standby which may not work for a family. I'd still give it a shot. That option saved me once.

Your situation is even more complicated by the fact that you have a distance to travel on the ground. Someone suggested that you do carry on only which may save you some time. However, if it's a Carnival transfer I'm not sure if it will help because others may need to get their luggage.

See if you can find out how many people are expected on your transfer bus.

Make sure you have passports, travel insurance, lots of room on your credit cards & good karma. If you are religious, praying couldn't hurt.

[Mary Ellen]

Make sure you have passports, travel insurance, lots of room on your credit cards & good karma. If you are religious, praying couldn't hurt.

Talk about freaking the OP out. They don't need "lots of room" on their credit cards. Sure, if they had booked the flight themselves that would be needed. However, Carnival booked their air. Carnival is responsible to get them to the next port. Providing they all have passports if flying out of the U.S. to another country.

[Zach1213]

Talk about freaking the OP out. They don't need "lots of room" on their credit cards. Sure, if they had booked the flight themselves that would be needed. However, Carnival booked their air. Carnival is responsible to get them to the next port. Providing they all have passports if flying out of the U.S. to another country.

 

There's really only so much Carnival can do. From their T&C page:

 

"Liability and Relationship with Airlines: If Carnival is unable to arrange for air transportation for any cause beyond Carnival's control, such as airline capacity controls, air transportation arranged is no longer available, or otherwise fails to materialize, Carnival's sole liability will be limited to refunding the air add-on paid or cruise only credit. Carnival acts as an independent travel agent, and it is not affiliated with the airline carriers. Carnival books air as a convenience for the Guests. Carnival assumes no liability for any of the airlines' acts or omissions, including, without limitation, those involving cancellation of flights, schedule changes, re-routings, damage to or delay or loss of baggage, flight delays, equipment failures, accidents, pilot or other staff shortages, overbooking or clerical/system errors. Your rights against the airlines are controlled and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the airline's ticket and tariffs, and any and all applicable laws and regulations."

 

 

Carnival will do their best, but there is no guarantee. They don't have a whole lot of pull at the end of the day, and the tickets they give you may be very restrictive

[sail7seas]

If Carnival cannot/does not get the delayed guests to the first port, the guests will need either transportation back to their homes or hotel rooms and food etc and room on their credit card for same.

 

[navybankerteacher]

I think everybody here has done a wonderful job freaking you out.

Although the majority here on CC fly in the day before & take all sorts of precautions. Thousands of other cruisers fly in the day of & arrive as late as 2:00 pm with all being well. It is possible.

I would check Delta's full schedule for that day & show up at the AP at the crack of dawn trying to fly standby which may not work for a family. I'd still give it a shot. That option saved me once.

Your situation is even more complicated by the fact that you have a distance to travel on the ground. Someone suggested that you do carry on only which may save you some time. However, if it's a Carnival transfer I'm not sure if it will help because others may need to get their luggage.

See if you can find out how many people are expected on your transfer bus.

Make sure you have passports, travel insurance, lots of room on your credit cards & good karma. If you are religious, praying couldn't hurt.

 

Don't you think that suggesting OP should have passports for all (not highly already likely as an experienced booker of a closed loop cruise); citing need for lots of room on credit cards; suggesting early morning "Hail Mary" trip to the airport for whole family seeking standby flight; and closing with suggestion to resort to prayer ---- taken together, does far more "freaking out" than other posters' honest responses to OP's question if he should be worried?

[tinykygal]

I don't recall with whom we booked our flight a few years ago; however, the plane coming to our departure airport was fogged in as well was the entire East Coast.

We had to take another flight and even though RCCL transfer knew our plane was late arriving, they did not wait for us. Their rep told us, "sorry, they just left". We were in NYC, had to take a taxi/van who said he would get us to port. Well, what he did do was continually stop and pick up and drop off passengers along the way.

For the first time in traveling, DH was agitated. I finally spoke up and told the driver that our ship was scheduled to depart in "10 min". I felt bad for a young couple who came from another country to spend 3 days in NYC. They missed 1 day due to flight issues, this 2nd day driving around in our cab. They volunteered to let us get to port. It was similar to "Amazing Race", M & J: You are the last person to arrive.

I don't think we will ever book a flight for the "day of" travel.

Just my opinion.

Good luck.

[sail7seas]

Don't you think that suggesting OP should have passports for all (not highly already likely as an experienced booker of a closed loop cruise); citing need for lots of room on credit cards; suggesting early morning "Hail Mary" trip to the airport for whole family seeking standby flight; and closing with suggestion to resort to prayer ---- taken together, does far more "freaking out" than other posters' honest responses to OP's question if he should be worried?

 

 

I honestly do not see it as inappropriate advise.

 

Of course, we don't all agree but I think those things suggested above as precautions OP should consider as within a realm of 'possibly'.

 

[trudle]

You are REALLY scaring me with this!:eek::mad:

 

Unless there are several others (I mean double digits) that are booking for the same airline & the same cruise, Carnival WILL NOT hold the ship!:(

 

 

The question is can & your family afford to fly to the next port?:(

 

That is cutting it too close for me. I hope you have no troubles getting to your port.

I do remember, once, that a cruise I was on, was waiting for Carnival passengers to arrive. The wait time was 2 hrs but it was a full bus load of people that they were waiting for. Good luck.

[trish1c]

My suggestions were designed as practical things the OP could consider if s/he doesn't want to spend $199 pp to change the flight. At this point telling the OP that s/he should have booked something else isn't really helpful.

I meant what I said: more people then participate on CruiseCritic fly in the day of all the time. It is possible for the OP to make the ship.

As for the other stuff if the family has all of that. . . then hopefully they won't need it. Without it, can you imagine how much worse it's going to be if the cruise line can't get them to their ship? Where will they stay? What will they eat? There has to be a back-up plan: e.g. -- $$$ or room on the credit card just in case. I also suspect if the OP does all of this, then it will all be fine & the family will have a great vacation.

Really, at this point what is the harm in at least trying to fly standby? Seriously, it worked wonders for me several years ago when I stupidly booked a flight to OSJ with a connection the day of my cruise. Even if a parent & one child goes ahead, that's still fewer people they have to possibly fly to meet the ship.

[navybankerteacher]

I honestly do not see it as inappropriate advise.

 

Of course, we don't all agree but I think those things suggested above as precautions OP should consider as within a realm of 'possibly'.

 

 

I agree completely - I was simply questioning the poster's criticism of someone for warning OP of the risk he was taking - referring to such warning as "freaking out" -- and then painting an even starker picture.

 

Yes - OP really does need to rethink - and, if sticking to original plan, possibly hoping for divine intervention.

[micheecruise]

Wow, I should have never started this post!! :eek:

 

We do all have passports, and we'll have plenty of $$ if that becomes necessary.

 

With that being said...what's done is done. The flight is booked, and I'm sure everything will be fine.

 

I am acutally more worried about losing luggage then missing the ship!! :D

[Hlitner]

I think it should be mentioned that the new norm for booking air is to do it online and not through TAs (there are exceptions). This is particularly true for domestic flights. Some airlines such as Southwest (the most popular airline in several polls) do not even accept bookings from TAs and others offer their lowest prices to only those who book direct through the airline's own web site. The reason is simple, the airline does have to pay any commissions if you book direct with them, and there is little labor involved when you do it online. So if I ask a TA to book me a flight from BWI to FLL they are going to probably use USAIR or Delta with possibly a change in planes at ATL or CLT. But I can go on to Southwest's web site and book a non-stop flight in seconds, usually at a lower cost.

 

Regarding the issue of letting Carnival or any cruise line book your air, this can sometimes be a good deal. However, we would never even consider letting a cruise line choose our flights. The cruise lines often have contracts with the airlines to get lower prices, but this can sometimes mean you get the least desirable flight schedule. Missing your ship is not a good think, even if the cruise line will try and help you catch your ship at the next port. Not having your luggage because you get to the port at the last possible minute is also not a good thing. Experienced cruisers know that its always wise to fly-in to a port city at least one day early. This minimizes the risk of missing your cruise, increases the odds that mid-directed luggage will catch-up before you get on your ship, allows you to have a relaxing evening in the port city with the knowledge that you will have no problems getting to your ship on time, lets you be among the earlier folks to board the ship giving you a longer day on the ship plus lunch, etc.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

Wow, I should have never started this post!! :eek:

 

We do all have passports, and we'll have plenty of $$ if that becomes necessary.

 

With that being said...what's done is done. The flight is booked, and I'm sure everything will be fine.

 

I am acutally more worried about losing luggage then missing the ship!! :D

 

I think we all hope you make it with time to spare so you won't even break a sweat. Assuming you do make it, you have gotten some good advice to consider when booking your next cruise.

 

In any event, please come back and share your good news with us.

[sherilyn70]

Wow, I should have never started this post!! :eek:

 

We do all have passports, and we'll have plenty of $$ if that becomes necessary.

 

With that being said...what's done is done. The flight is booked, and I'm sure everything will be fine.

 

I am acutally more worried about losing luggage then missing the ship!! :D

 

I'm sure you'll be fine. :) People overthink things and worry far too much (okay, I'm guilty of that too). The first cruise I didn't know any better and had never had a delayed flight (until the trip going home) so I never gave it a second thought. The second cruise, I still didn't give it much worry since the only delayed flight I ever had was from a freak accident (catering truck hit our plane and put it out of service) and used Carnival's airfare again. We were fine in each case and this was in the middle of winter. After that however I did experience a flight that was so delayed that the airline was going to leave me stranded in Philly (on business) for an entire weekend due to not enough flights to get me home... so I decided it was best to fly in a day prior after that. While carnival (and RCL) says that they will get you to the next port, if there are situations such as fog or thunderstorms that cause all flights to have to rebook it's possible that there will be no flights available to get you on for the rest of your cruise, but I would think that would be fairly uncommon.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise. :)

[jwm51]

Happy trails to you & your family...:p

 

I will be on pins & needles until you get back!:eek:

 

Please let us know how everything went when you get back regardless of the outcome...;)

 

Still scaring the wits out of me!!!:eek::D