Who has ever missed the ship??

[FierceAXBoi]

Well heres my dilema............I am flying from FL to NY in September to catch the Spirit. I however dont want to fly in the day before and pay NYC hotel prices.......I am sure NCL flys its guest the same day to NYC.......So what could go wrong???

[NJBear]

Well heres my dilema............I am flying from FL to NY in September to catch the Spirit. I however dont want to fly in the day before and pay NYC hotel prices.......I am sure NCL flys its guest the same day to NYC.......So what could go wrong???

 

Most likely nothing will go wrong..but what CAN go wrong??? hmmmmmmmmmmm here are a few of my flight delays / mishaps over the years.

 

1.) Engine trouble and no replacement plane

 

2.) delays for a gazillion reasons..storms, security,mechanical problems,pilot was drunk

 

3.) Flight cancelled completely (no reasons given)

 

4.) and then there was the time we sideswiped another plane taxiing out to the runway..we left a piece of our wing in the other plane's tail...that was TWO flights out of commission

[shoreguy]

Lots can go wrong including a hurricane in FL. :eek:

 

If you are going to fly in the same day make sure you get the first flight of the day out. Least chance of delay and there should be a later flight that could get you to the ship.

 

The only time I fly in the same day is with cruiseline air. At least they know I am late and may hold the ship a little while.

 

Buy insurance - it is expensive to get to the first port if you are delayed.

[RetireeWannabee]

It was our first cruise, for our 10th anniversary.

 

The plane coming to get us was delayed, setting off a chain of events that remains as my worst vacation day ever.

 

Standing in airport lines most of the day (yes, STANDING), working with Delta and Royal Carribean. Flights, lots of flights, then a late night ride in a limo to a hotel, arriving at midnight with no luggage, and only a toiletry bag from the airline. Up early the next morning, a tiny commuter plane over the sea, getting us to Nassau, not really knowing if our luggage was coming with us or not.

 

NEVER AGAIN.

 

I grew up watching Love Boat and didn't get to experience the sailaway. This time, I GET MY SAILAWAY!!

[capeboy96]

My recommendation would be to fly in a day early and then get a hotel somewhere close to the airport on Priceline. Sailing out of Bayonne I got there the night before and had an awesome hotel room waiting for me at the Marriott that I had snagged for around $60. Have also been able to find similar deals out by JFK. Whenever I go into the city for a weekend I always stay outside the city and take a train or commuter rail in. Less convenient but I am not spending $200-300 for a hotel room each night.

 

Have had to many near misses with hurricanes to play around with a Sept. departure. Sailed on Carnival Triumph during Floyd and about 1/3 of the ship missed embarkation. Probably would have cost more for them to fly up and meet us in Canada than the whole cruise had cost.

[MidtheNight]

Not us but someone I know "missed the boat". They were flying (arranged for by the cruiseline) and of course weather delays and a mechanical issue pushed them to be two hours late to the port. Cruiseline (not NCL) put them up in a hotel and got them a flight the next day. Now they vow to never again fly the same day as the ship departs. Yes, $$ in NYC can be quite pricey but have you tried any of the bid for hotel sights (Priceline) or discount sights (Hotwire)? You might be surprised how much you can save as along as you don't care that you are exactly right across from the port.

[Harleycat]

Well heres my dilema............I am flying from FL to NY in September to catch the Spirit. I however dont want to fly in the day before and pay NYC hotel prices.......I am sure NCL flys its guest the same day to NYC.......So what could go wrong???

 

Tons could go wrong..what airport are you flying into? LaGuardia or Kennedy? The airports here get shut down a lot due to weather.

 

I live in the area. If you do some searches and find some reasonable hotels, I'll let you know whether they are in a good area or not. Don't go for the cheapest price, you may end up in a "less than desirable" area.

 

If you let me know when you are sailing, I may be able to find you a reasonable hotel.

[pzler147]

I agree that it would be safer to fly in the day before. It is possible to find a hotel in NYC in a decent neighborhood for about $130 +tax without using priceline or hotwire. I have recently done this. You might try going to http://www.tripadvisor.com which is a travel site like this one but NOT for cruise info. They have forums where you can talk to people in ny an dget advice.

Even the NCL hotel offered (one of them) is only $149 which is not horrible.

[Theresa522]

Most likely nothing will go wrong..but what CAN go wrong??? hmmmmmmmmmmm here are a few of my flight delays / mishaps over the years.

 

1.) Engine trouble and no replacement plane

 

2.) delays for a gazillion reasons..storms, security,mechanical problems,pilot was drunk

 

3.) Flight cancelled completely (no reasons given)

 

4.) and then there was the time we sideswiped another plane taxiing out to the runway..we left a piece of our wing in the other plane's tail...that was TWO flights out of commission

 

Holy crap!!! I give you credit for even getting back on a plane..:eek: It sounds like you and flying don't get along. :o

[Barb Nahoumi]

In 1999, we were booked on a Carnival cruise out of Miami. We booked through the cruiseline, which schedualed us on an early morning flight the same day.

 

When we confirmed the flight a few days before, all was fine. We were told that the flight was cancelled at the airport. Fortunately. we booked our air through carnival, so they had to get us on another flight. We did arrive in time for our cruise, but it was a hassle.

 

From that time on, we flew in to the port one day ahead. Leave nothing to chance.

 

Barb

[bakechef]

imagine the excitement of a 10 day cruise, then imagine being told that your plane would be turning around and returning home, and most airports on the east coast would be shut down because of a freak snow storm, in april! We returned home sick that we would not make our cruise, the next day, we would fly out to meet the ship at its first port, as I was handing the boarding pass to the attendant, we find out that our connecting airport, in boston, would be shut down because of wind shear. We missed the cruise all together, didn't have insurance, but Princess was kind enough to give us full credit for a future cruise, because of this freak weather incident, because many were affected. We decided that we still needed some sun, so flew to florida, the next day $800 each coach, it was cold and rainy every day, for 6 days only about 50-60 degrees, and it was spring break, and the place was a mad house, I developed strep throat that took a full month and three antibiotics, to finally shake, the doctor said in all his years, he had never seen a worse case of strep.

 

THIS WAS THE ONLY TIME WE DIDN'T FLY DOWN THE DAY BEFORE! All of this could have been avoided by flying down the day before. I am leaving from a port that is 4 hrs drive from my house, I am still driving down the night before. Don't expect all cruise lines to be as kind as princess was in giving credit, especially if you buy your own airfare (which is usually much better than what the cuise line provides). Also, you will arrive at the ship fresh and relaxed ready to vacation, the second you board the ship

 

good luck

[kimdave68]

About ten minutes after disembarkation. Happens on every cruise. :D

[Leona1]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=391074

 

Check out this site about an almost missed ship, many many stories on it.

 

Leona

[CruisinMK]

I love this discussion topic, it is almost as much as the one about the worst misbehaving passengers.

 

One day I will miss my cruise departure and it won't be so much fun to read. :)