British Isle

[PJCruisers]

We are sailing out of UK this Sept. I am very concerned about flying in the day of embarkation and possibly missing our ship. We made flight arrangements through Princess. So if we miss the ship what is the process to get us to next port and onboard? In all our years of sailing it has never happened but given the current news concerning the airport overloads etc, We are a bit worried.

[Billish]

26 minutes ago, PJCruisers said:

We are sailing out of UK this Sept. I am very concerned about flying in the day of embarkation and possibly missing our ship. We made flight arrangements through Princess. So if we miss the ship what is the process to get us to next port and onboard? In all our years of sailing it has never happened but given the current news concerning the airport overloads etc, We are a bit worried.

Where is the first port of call ? And what is your eta into LHR?

Normally you woukd be put on the next available flight to the first port, but with the current flight chaos, that could be two or three days later. 

 

[toofewcruises]

Can you try to move your flight to the day before your cruise?  It is always iffy to fly in the day of... especially internationally.

[Tedferg]

I would be worried about that, Heathrow very busy and longish trip to Southamton

[Lady Arwen]

Please find a way to fly in a day early.  One of the runways at Heathrow is currently closed because the asphalt is melting in extreme heat!  This has caused considerable chaos at the airport.  No one expected this to happen in the UK!  I would hate for you to lose a day or two  or even three due to unforeseen circumstances.  Hope it all works out for you.

[nini]

Not knowing when you cruise in September, you may be able to change your flights to at least arrive one day ahead. When we flew last May, things were crazy then with delayed flights, etc.

I think the majority of cruisers (us included), make it a practice to arrive at least one day or more before boarding the ship.

[Billish]

1 minute ago, Lady Arwen said:

Please find a way to fly in a day early.  One of the runways at Heathrow is currently closed because the asphalt is melting in extreme heat!  This has caused considerable chaos at the airport.  No one expected this to happen in the UK!  I would hate for you to lose a day or two  or even three due to unforeseen circumstances.  Hope it all works out for you.

To be fair, I doubt that the same 40c heat will still be here in September.

 

16 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I would be worried about that, Heathrow very busy and longish trip to Southamton

Well, depending on the timing and day of the week, about 90 minutes, so not too bad. 

 

18 minutes ago, toofewcruises said:

is always iffy to fly in the day of... especially internationally.

I agree, but this is a flight booked through Princess, and therefore it is possible that the ship will delay departure, depending on the number of pax involved.

[yyjguy]

Even if the flight lands close to on time, the possibility of delays is not over.  4 days ago it took over 1.5 hrs to get through immigration, and then another 30 minutes for the airline to find a crew to unload the luggage. In total 2:20 minutes from my aircraft seat to out the door of the terminal.   I would change and fly in the day before!

[Billish]

2 minutes ago, yyjguy said:

I would change and fly in the day before!

Good advice. The issues at LHR are also being seen at other European airports as well.

[donaldsc]

You have not said how much time you have between when the airplane theoretically lands until the ship depart.  That would help determine how much trouble you are in.  The normal driving time from Heathrow to Southampton is 1 h 30 m assuming no accidents or construction delays and you have to be on board about an hour or so before the ship leaves.  

 

DON

Edited July 19, 2022 by donaldsc

[Lady Arwen]

54 minutes ago, Billish said:

To be fair, I doubt that the same 40c heat will still be here in September.

 

Well, depending on the timing and day of the week, about 90 minutes, so not too bad. 

 

I agree, but this is a flight booked through Princess, and therefore it is possible that the ship will delay departure, depending on the number of pax involved.

Princess will delay departures only if substantive number of passengers involved and if the delay would not impact the arrival at the next port.  I would never count on it happening.  Perhaps the temps will not be as high as today,  but just pointing out that anything can happen to interrupt travel plans.  90 minutes from LHR to Southampton typical on a good day, but always prepare for the unexpected.  In other words, stuff happens…go a day early.

[Billish]

4 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Princess will delay departures only if substantive number of passengers involved and if the delay would not impact the arrival at the next port.  I would never count on it happening.  Perhaps the temps will not be as high as today,  but just pointing out that anything can happen to interrupt travel plans.  90 minutes from LHR to Southampton typical on a good day, but always prepare for the unexpected.  In other words, stuff happens…go a day early.

I'm not disagreeing with you, and I would always fly in at least one day early, especially if it was a TA flight.

I just think we might be frightening the OP a bit ! If they are flying on a direct flight to LHR,  arriving at 7 am, there  is a fair amount of  lee way. 

But, as you pointed out about the high temperatures,  "s**t" hapoens.