HELP - I think I'm in trouble!!

[Maryintwin]

I had booked a flight on Delta leaving the Fort Lauderdale airport at 11:09 on a Sunday morning after a cruise on the Coral. I just received an email from them informing me that they have changed the aircraft, flight number, and departure time! It is NOW scheduled for 10:25am. I called Delta - they have NO later flights available that day. Am I SOL?????? Is there any way we can make this flight???

[RaMar]

You'll probably make it on time. Just make sure that you are in the first groups to disembark and label your luggage to spot it easily. I find that more time is spent looking for pieces of luggage than anything else. Every bag looks the same to me and the majority of them are either red or black. One thing that we do is that one of us looks for the bags while the other gets a hold of a porter. Good luck!

[bjcanady]

I had booked a flight on Delta leaving the Fort Lauderdale airport at 11:09 on a Sunday morning after a cruise on the Coral. I just received an email from them informing me that they have changed the aircraft, flight number, and departure time! It is NOW scheduled for 10:25am. I called Delta - they have NO later flights available that day. Am I SOL?????? Is there any way we can make this flight???

 

unless the ship is delayed disembarking for some reason u will be ok.....we just did a 10:21 flight out last sat., coming off the Caribbean Princess, no problems but we always get first off and we carry off our luggage.

[cmsauer]

You can do express disembarkment, which means you will be the first group to get off the ship. You must carry your own luggage, so you wont need any tags, nor will you put you luggage out the night before.

We just got off the Grand last week, during the week they sent info out on this arrangement, you will need to sign up.

[TexasMom2]

Can you check in for your flight before you leave the ship? That might save some time.

[jebridan]

Texmom has a good idea. Go online on the ship the night before and checkin and print your boarding cards. Then when you get to the airport, use the checkin out on the sidewalk. I can't remember the exact name for that now lol. Good luck!

[Pam in CA]

IMHO, you have two options:

 

1. stick with the rescheduled air and take a chance (and yes, even though many have made flights leaving before 11AM, it's still a chance); or,

 

2. do some research and find another flight on another carrier that's better for you. Call Delta and tell them that their rescheduled flight isn't acceptable as you're returning from a cruise and ask them to refund your money.

 

I did the latter for our Sapphire cruise last December when Delta changed the returning flight out of LAX from about 12:15PM to 10:30AM. They were very nice and gave me no hassles when I explained that I was returning from a cruise and the rescheduled flight was unmakeable. They refunded my money almost immediately.

[Host CJSKIDS]

IMHO, you have two options:

 

1. stick with the rescheduled air and take a chance (and yes, even though many have made flights leaving before 11AM, it's still a chance); or,

 

2. do some research and find another flight on another carrier that's better for you. Call Delta and tell them that their rescheduled flight isn't acceptable as you're returning from a cruise and ask them to refund your money.

 

I did the latter for our Sapphire cruise last December when Delta changed the returning flight out of LAX from about 12:15PM to 10:30AM. They were very nice and gave me no hassles when I explained that I was returning from a cruise and the rescheduled flight was unmakeable. They refunded my money almost immediately.

 

 

 

Airlines usually won't refund money when the scheduled flight change is only a half hour which this is. The airlines usuallly make acomodations when the change is a few hours which your flight change was. I would give it a try though just in case you get someone who is really nice and willing to bend the rules!

[ssbeagle]

I would also use a taxi to get to the airport and not rely on the ship transfers. The taxi is a lot faster and costs less than the transfers.

[Pam in CA]

Airlines usually won't refund money when the scheduled flight change is only a half hour which this is. The airlines usuallly make acomodations when the change is a few hours which your flight change was. I would give it a try though just in case you get someone who is really nice and willing to bend the rules!

You may be right -- probably are -- but I'd still give it a try. When you're returning from a cruise, you don't have the flexibility sometimes of even 1/2 hour. 10:25AM is awfully early, particularly if disembarkation doesn't start until 9 - 9:30AM and you still have to get to the airport, go through security, etc. That's happened several times to me and I almost always sweat a 11:20AM flight, which I've barely made after a cruise a couple of times.

[Host CJSKIDS]

You may be right -- probably are -- but I'd still give it a try. When you're returning from a cruise, you don't have the flexibility sometimes of even 1/2 hour. 10:25AM is awfully early, particularly if disembarkation doesn't start until 9 - 9:30AM and you still have to get to the airport, go through security, etc. That's happened several times to me and I almost always sweat a 11:20AM flight, which I've barely made after a cruise a couple of times.

 

I agree about sweating it. Last time we cruised on the Golden out of San Juan we had an 11 am flight out on American Airlines. Had to rush and we were one of the first off the ship and to the airport but it was stressful. This time around I didn't pick the 10:50 am flight out when we cruise in November, rather I took an afternoon flight so I didn't have to worry so much.

 

10:25 am is very early, especially since FLL can be a crazy airport. To the OP, I would call Princess and ask them what's the first flight they suggest you take that morning and go from there. Any chance of spending the night in FLL and taking that 10:25 am flight the next am, maybe Delta would go for that if they won't give you your money back.

[nschurr]

I think you should try and make other arrangements or you will worry the whole cruise about your flight.

[Maryintwin]

Thank you all for your advice - while I was reading all your posts I was on the phone with Delta and low and behold I found a sympathetic ear ( and apparently some seats on a "sold-out" flight) .

 

We now fly out of FLL at 12:00 pm - plenty of time. Whew, I can breath easier now!

[Host CJSKIDS]

Thank you all for your advice - while I was reading all your posts I was on the phone with Delta and low and behold I found a sympathetic ear ( and apparently some seats on a "sold-out" flight) .

 

We now fly out of FLL at 12:00 pm - plenty of time. Whew, I can breath easier now!

 

 

Out of curiousity, do you have seat assignments for the 12:00 flight?

[Maryintwin]

yes I do, and believe it not, all 5 of us are together.

[Pam in CA]

Thank you all for your advice - while I was reading all your posts I was on the phone with Delta and low and behold I found a sympathetic ear ( and apparently some seats on a "sold-out" flight) .

 

We now fly out of FLL at 12:00 pm - plenty of time. Whew, I can breath easier now!

Great! Glad it worked out. There's nothing worse than having a great cruise and vacation and getting stressed out before you even leave the ship.

[Dreamer333]

In Sept, I also had my flight switched to 10:25am, which I was very nervous about... however, there were absolutely no problems at all. As a matter of fact, I got to the airport early enough to have breakfast before my flight.

[Host CJSKIDS]

yes I do, and believe it not, all 5 of us are together.

 

 

Great, I'm glad it worked it well for you. My girlfriend is a flight attendant with Delta and I've been flying standby for years and it amazes me when I check my chances how much the flights can get oversold. I'm glad to see that you have seat assingments since you said it was a sold out flight. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[sunflower1972]

Friends of our's just did this same time flight last week-end with Delta.....the worst part was PRINCESS booked the air and had them going this early....they hardly made....mostly because they had the princess transfer as well that made then sit till the bus filled.

SO, you can make it but it is tight.....Do your taxi so your in control of that aspect....FLL is a crazy airport indeed. be the first group off the ship for sure.

 

OK...so ignore all that....I see you got swtiched to later in the morning:)

[Northender]

I am so happy you got the switch. :) A piece of advice, that plane is oversold, so do not delay, get to the airport as early as possible and check in, then the pressure is off. ;)

Delta is going thru some changes, I would leave nothing to chance right now:eek:

 

You will have a great cruise - Enjoy

[JLC@SD]

I am so happy you got the switch. :) A piece of advice, that plane is oversold, so do not delay, get to the airport as early as possible and check in, then the pressure is off. ;)

Delta is going thru some changes, I would leave nothing to chance right now:eek:

 

You will have a great cruise - Enjoy

They are in bankruptcy, so I would not count on them and their schedules. They are fighting with the pilots and their stock is currently 39 cents a share.......so for those reasons we will be booking other airlines for our upcoming cruises.....;)

[palolake]

I know that the OP doesn't have a problem any longer but there is one more thing you can do to get on your way sooner. Grab a porter. He'll bypass the line and get you right into a taxi. And for folks who have a late flight and don't want to lug around your luggage, check in curbside. At the desk they won't let you check your bag until a couple hours before your flight. We always do curbside and they'll take the bags. (It'll cost you in tips though)

[travelgirl87]

Hi folks.

 

I'm glad the original poster was able to find a later flight -- 10:30 would be really tight from the Coral Princess. On our last cruise on the Coral (Panama Canal), the ship didn't even start the deboarding process until somewhere around the 8:15 or 8:30 mark. Assuming the individuals carry all their baggage with them (finding luggage in the terminal building just adds time), that's still a pretty tight timetable for the trip from the terminal to the airport (short trip), checking in for the flight at FLL, and clearing security.

 

Some airlines are better than others. The lines for Airtran in FLL took a full 2 hours to navigate -- we saw many folks with missed flights trying to rebook once through security.

[xbrantarx]

Little known fact about airlines. If they alter your schedule 15 minutes prior or 30 minutes after the original flight time you have a right to pick a new flight. Now if they don't have anything that satisfies your needs or they are sold out of coach, they either must put you in first class if available OR they must book you on another airlines at thier cost. I have a cruise upcoming, and had a similar problem, so i called the airlines and told them what I wanted. These are not specific rules per airlines, they are rules/laws that apply to all flight originating and ending in a US city. I hope this helps.

[TexasMom2]

Little known fact about airlines. If they alter your schedule 15 minutes prior or 30 minutes after the original flight time you have a right to pick a new flight. Now if they don't have anything that satisfies your needs or they are sold out of coach, they either must put you in first class if available OR they must book you on another airlines at thier cost. I have a cruise upcoming, and had a similar problem, so i called the airlines and told them what I wanted. These are not specific rules per airlines, they are rules/laws that apply to all flight originating and ending in a US city. I hope this helps.

 

Wow, that is great to know. Thanks for the tip.