If we miss FLL departure can we board at next port?

[Bently57]

With a polar vortex upon our departure date I am just trying to think ahead. The next port is San Juan Puerto Rico.

We are leaving a full 24 hours (the day before) the ship departs.

 

 

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Edited February 27, 2014 by Bently57

[obnurse]

My first thought is.....I hope you don't miss your ship. This weather has been so crazy, I understand your concern. I'm a little sorry we're not going in 2 days early instead of 1 day early. Do you have insurance? If so, I would contact them and ask or read your contract carefully to see how that situation is handled. My guess is you surely can fly to your first port. The question is, who pays for that. You? :-(

[mahdnc]

apparently you can. We had acquaintances at work that missed Horizon leaving from Port Everglades (this was years ago). They ended up boarding at Key West (next port) on the following day.

 

Hopefully it will not come down to this for you.

[Algebralovr]

I assume you are going to be on the Silluette? If your flight is delayed/canceled due to weather and you miss sail-away due to it, they do have a history of allowing you to fly to San Juan and board there. We'll all keep our fingers crossed that your flight to FLL goes well and your worry is unnecessary.

 

Meanwhile, keep an eye on the weather. I assume your flight is on Saturday for the Sunday sailing. With the weather reports being what they are, can you fly on Friday if the forecast shows the need? Oftentimes the airlines will allow you to change flights to one ahead of the storm at no cost. Watch the airline web site to see if they believe their airport will be impacted. You might also give them a call to ask.

 

If you are unable to fly out on Saturday or early Sunday and will miss sail-away, please call Celebrity Customer service right away so that they can assist you in being allowed to join the ship in San Juan. Also call your travel insurance company to find out about your trip delay rights.

 

Personally, I would try to fly ahead of the storm. I think I would sleep on a bench at the airport or on the beach if I couldn't get a room to avoid missing my cruise.

[Bently57]

We do have insurance.

It is too early for the airline to make a judgment on how the weather will affect the trip and most likely we will be fine, but I am just trying to cover all bases.

 

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Edited February 27, 2014 by Bently57

[Gonzo70]

You should be able to join the cruise in San Juan as they are currently exempt from the PVSA (cabotage law). You would need to call Celebrity in the event you missed the ship and ensure they will be able to arrange for you to board there before you purchase a ticket to San Juan. Check carefully what your travel insurance policy covers; most do not cover all expenses towards catching a cruise in progress - but cover up to a certain amount if one misses the start of the cruise for a covered reason (i.e. possibly $500 or what not - sometimes last minute plane tickets may be many times this). It is always best to gather all pertinent information now while you are calm so that if the worst happens you are prepared and can take action knowing what to expect. Hopefully you make the cruise just fine, but definitely be prepared just in case.

[webteach]

We were flying in day of our cruise on the Century- despite knowing better- and ti was driving me crazy. Southwest hadn't announced anything so I just paid and paid to get peace of mind.

[Eleris]

This happened to us years ago horrible weather predicted correctly and we changed our flights before the airlines made the decision and got there ahead of the storm. It ended up costing us the change fee but I used hotel points and had a great overnight stay with no worries. We would have never made it out if we waited and then we risked waiting too long and not being able to get a flight. I hope this works out for you and your trip goes smoothly. :)

[Bently57]

I just got some reassuring news: The travel insurance company will pay for, AND BOOK a flight to the next port for us if we miss the ship due to a cancelled or delayed flight from our starting point due to weather. I mean, I hope it doesn't come to that, but nice to know that either way...we can be assured we will be on the Silhouette at some point! :)

 

If we could leave earlier, we would...but we have two miniature dachshunds that are like kids to us, and the dog sitter cannot watch them until our original departure date.

 

Thanks so much for your replies.

[Eleris]

I have four Maltese and mine behave like kids so say no more I know how hard it is to schedule. Safe travels and come back and tell us how everything went.:D

[excruiser]

I am glad that the insurance will pay. Last year we had a death in the family (mother in law) and was able to meet the ship after a sea day in Cozumel. Our insurance would only pay if we totally cancelled the trip. They would not reimburse us for the cost of the one way airline ticket to Cozumel.

[BosoxI]

We has a great cruise on the Silhouette February 16, but we flew down two days early to avoid possible bad weather. Getting a hotel room for that first, unplanned night was painful, as most were fully booked for cruises leaving on February 15, but we got a room for $360 or so in a not very nice Marriott. Nevertheless, we were thankful to get it. BTW on February 23 the Delta flights to Atlanta from FLL were so overbooked that some flights showed more than 130 standbys. I have never seen that happen before, and I can't imagine why. Employees, maybe?

[dodger1964]

We has a great cruise on the Silhouette February 16, but we flew down two days early to avoid possible bad weather. Getting a hotel room for that first, unplanned night was painful, as most were fully booked for cruises leaving on February 15, but we got a room for $360 or so in a not very nice Marriott. Nevertheless, we were thankful to get it. BTW on February 23 the Delta flights to Atlanta from FLL were so overbooked that some flights showed more than 130 standbys. I have never seen that happen before, and I can't imagine why. Employees, maybe?

 

One option for anybody that happens to get stuck in ATL is to rent a car and drive to MIA or FLL...its only 10 hours. I just picked a random date and car cost is $150.

 

I know that would be a last resort, but at least it would/could be an option.

[Vectorboy]

Missed the ship a couple of years ago out of FLL.. we could see the ship leaving as we were in the elevator going up to our room :-(

The next day we flew to St. Martin where the ship met us 3 days later. We were out about $1k on the deal but meeting the ship and embarking there was smooth. As you can well imagine, this happens quite often.

[Bently57]

FYI...our flight was indeed delayed by weather by about 5 hours. We were at the airport all day long! However, we did make it in on Saturday, the day before our departure. We just didn't have much time in Fort Lauderdale with our friends, who we were visiting. My advice to anyone out there considering on flights departing the same day the cruise leaves: Don't do it! It's risky enough with a buffer of an entire day! Our flight home was also delayed. Airline departures/arrivals are only guesstimates these days.

 

We had a fantastic cruise and I will write a review. I just posted to the S-1 spreadsheet thread.

[AlbertaCruisers]

I agree that as soon as you have sign of a delay, make sure to get in touch with Celebrity. If you don't and they think you just didn't show up they can give your room away!! If they know you are still coming, they will help you with the process.

[waterbug123]

You should be able to join the cruise in San Juan as they are currently exempt from the PVSA (cabotage law). You would need to call Celebrity in the event you missed the ship and ensure they will be able to arrange for you to board there before you purchase a ticket to San Juan.

 

To elaborate on what Gonzo said, the PVSA generally prohibits one from boarding a cruise ship in 1 US port and disembarking in a different US port. Apparently San Juan is currently exempt from this, but it could be an issue if one hopes to fly to St. Thomas or Key West to board a missed cruise. Boarding may be allowed, but fines may be incurred, and there is never a guarantee that the cruise line will pay them or make the pax pay them. If one bought air through the cruise line, it might increase the chance the the cruise line would absorb any such fines.

 

I just got some reassuring news: The travel insurance company will pay for, AND BOOK a flight to the next port for us if we miss the ship due to a cancelled or delayed flight from our starting point due to weather. I

 

That's great, however not all insurance is the same, so others should not assume their travel insurance will do the same. Frequently even if a new flight is covered, the pax must pay for the flight up front and wait to be reimbursed later by the insurance company.