200 passengers missed their Freedom cruise yesterday

[bolivar5599]

My DW and I have been EXTREMELY fortunate in that our only serious delay was on a homebound flight. We were in Fort Lauderdale and pooped. Southwest's previous flight to ours had an encounter with a goose and it was sucked into the engine. Well......that causes the plane to be taken in for a complete inspect of the engine so being the nice guys they are they took our plane and gave it to them....so far so good. The weather in Florida (especially in July) was not cooperating and they had a Tornado Warning for the area AND lightning so they could not even load luggage in our replacement plane.

 

6 hours later we were boarding our flight - no worse for the wear but, I would NEVER travel without insurance. Ours is $108 for the next Glory cruise in May and it is very comforting to know that if something happens, we are not going to have to eat it. One grand might not be a lot for some of you to absorb but, we have to budget carefully for each trip and that amount is just not in the budget. For the comfort and ease of mind I will always have insurance.

[Gecko7]

This story should be a poster board for all travel insurance providers. Untill i read this post I didn't think much about needing it, but if you are investing 1500-2000 hard earned dollars $100 seems reasonable as protection.

 

Gecko7:)

[kinggartk]

Read what I wrote again. "I cannot recall a single instant where anyone under these circumstances, (flying in same day from a cold weather city in winter) has advised flying in the day of a cruise." Now if someone asks "will a flight arriving at 12:38 pm at MIA be early enough to make it to the Port of Miami in time to board a fun ship." Answering "you should be ok" is not offering any advice, it's a matter of fact. And winter isn't an issue with flying same day if you are flying from the south or southwest. If I were answering, I would add that flying in the day before is advisable. But I would never substitute my opinion for a factual answer.

 

Lets look at the converse of this situation. Questions about booking return flights are as common here. If someone asks "We will be returning on the Freedom, Is a 10:30 am flight from MIA too early?" Using the less stressed logic of so many here the only allowable answer would be "Book a flight the next day, or after 6:00 pm at the earliest. The ship could be delayed due to weather, or a medical emergency or a mechanical problem, you just never know. Why ruin the last day of your cruise stressing about whether you will arrive in time to make your flight". But this doesn't really answer the question being asked. A full answer would say that if the ship arrives on time and is cleared quickly, you do self debarkation and the roads are clear, you have a chance of making that flight but often it would be missed etc. It would be better to book an afternoon flight if possible, but if you book the early flight make sure you have a backup plan. That isn't an endorsement, it's an opinion based in experience. They are two very different things and should be read in that light.

 

I am not saying it was good advice, but I have seen folks post on this forum that Flying in on the day of the cruise should be OK...Unfortunately with the thousands of folks who post on this forum everyday, you are going to get some Bad Advice.

[yst347]

Does Atlanta fall into the category of southern airports where winter isn't an issue? If it is, I have some horror stories to tell you flying through there during the winter. 1 inch of snow there will literally halt the airport just as much as 1 foot of snow in Boston. I'm trying to think of other major airports farther south than Atlanta that would make your statement accurate...

 

I would include Atlanta and here is why. While Hartsfield like all airports has suffered delays and closures due to weather; unlike Cleveland or Chicago or even Boston, the chances of finding the place closed due to snow are probably no greater than the chances of a serious auto accident driving to the airport, or being struck by lightning for that matter. Unlike Boston though, Atlanta's southern location makes it possible for an Atlanta resident leaving early enough to actually drive to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Port Canaveral or Jax on day of sailing and make the ship.

[powoct95]

can't imagine missing a vacation i looked forward to for so long! I feel really bad for them.

[cruisinjerseygirl]

I must say that we prefer to fly in the day of...we are in NJ and florida is anywhere from an hour and a half o 2 and a half hours away by plane and we always catch a flight around 6am usually no later than that...this gives us plenty of room for problems we think...as for insurance this is an argument that I have with people all of the time...they always think that they don't need it! It's really not worth the issues...so you spend a few extra bucks and get insurance..at least your butt is covered in the event of a problem!

[hubofhockey]

I must say that we prefer to fly in the day of...we are in NJ and florida is anywhere from an hour and a half o 2 and a half hours away by plane and we always catch a flight around 6am usually no later than that...this gives us plenty of room for problems we think...as for insurance this is an argument that I have with people all of the time...they always think that they don't need it! It's really not worth the issues...so you spend a few extra bucks and get insurance..at least your butt is covered in the event of a problem!

 

I agree that your strategy works because you if your flight is scheduled to arrive at 11 am, you still have 4 hours + in case something goes wrong. My big problem with 6 am flights is having to wake up before 4 am. I really think you "lose" that day. Between transporting luggage, waiting in line at the cruiseport and settling in, you're dead by dinner time.

 

As for insurance, if I'm going in a day early, I'm not taking it. I saw a quote from insuremytrip*dot*com at $126 for $5,000 trip for my family of four. It's not a bad price and I would take it if I were flying in the day of but the risk is too low for me if I'm flying in the day before in late Spring.

[RoadTripFanatic]

Actually, even if they get off work at 8 pm, there are red-eye flights that they can take.

 

We drive to the port from home the morning of, but my DH still takes off the day before so we can get last minute things done.

 

However, i do feel sorry for them. Missing two whole nights on their wonderful cruise. I would screem if I had to miss a night or two.

 

I do agree with travel insurance. Even living where we do. Mainly because you never know what the weather will do, if someone will get sick, if there will be a death in the family, etc.

 

So Travel Insurance - a must..

Coming in a day early - recommend

If you can't then Good Luck.

 

We decided that if we do go from Tampa, or Miami, we will go the night before. We are about 500 miles from Miami. ;)

 

 

 

JUST an FYI....red eyes are not available in all cities! The latest flight out in our city is around 8p.m. We have no red eyes out of here!

[fedextina]

I live in the Cleveland area (North Canton) and this storm was unbeliveable - we got about 20 inches in less than 2 days.. There were hearbreaking stories on the news of people missing their cruises and vacations. We took our first cruise last month and flew in a day early. We did this soley on the advise of CC !!

 

Thanks again CC ;)

[RNCindy]

We live in Houston so we are flying to Miami the morning of our cruise. We leave at 7:30, arriving at 10:30 am, we are the first flight out that morning and it's a non-stop flight. HOWEVER, my parents are flying out of NW Arkansas a day early because they have a one-stop flight, move a little slower since Dad uses a cane and there is always the chance for a spring snow there. I also start watching the 10 day forecast at Weather dot com and if I saw that there was a chance for some really bad weather, I would be on the phone with the airlines, changing our flights. Fortunately, the weather looks great for this weekend. Everyone has their preference, but if I lived north of Dallas and were flying during the winter, I'd fly in the day before.

[msu11y28]

I've only done one cruise but we didn't get the travel insurance. We were flying out NY to FL in December, due to get in around 11 am the morning the ship would depart. A few days before the weather reports started coming in that a huge storm would be coming the night before we were to fly out. We were able to change our flight to the day before, but the money we thought we were "saving" by not purchasing travel insurance ended up getting spent on a hotel anyway.

 

Even if we had done the insurance, I still would have taken the earlier flight, but it just would have been nice to have the peace of mind "just in case." From the moment I saw the first bad weather on Monday or Tuesday of that week, until the moment I put my feet on Florida soil, I was in a complete PANIC.

[jimm]

We were on the Freedom which arrived in Miami on March 8th. We live in Cleveland. We were unable to get a flight home due to the airport in Cleveland being closed. Lesson learned, buy trip insurance or fly in a day early AND out a day later. Hotels in the Miami area were sold out and many people were unable to get a flight to Cleveland until tomorrow (Tuesday). Fortunately we found a flight to get us to Memphis on Saturday and then from Memphis to Cleveland late Sunday night. Oh, and we were delayed getting off the ship. Customs computers went down. We didnt disembark until 10:00 a.m. Saw plenty of people waiting to get onto the ship. Im sure they weren't able to embark until late that day. Lots of people still on the ship when we disembarked @ 10:00 a.m.

[deborahjo]

I must say here that I do feel sorry for your friends but I am a true believer in flying in the day before. After our last cruise screw up alot of things have changed in our minds.

 

1. We left Dever at 7:20am and got into Dallas at 10:45 am with a 1hour and 20 minute lay over. Well 3 and a half hours later we were just getting ready to leave. Had to wait for our pilot to arrive. We did not get into Ft. Lauderdale til after 7pm instead of 4 pm. Did not get to our hotel til 8:30pm. Missed all the pre-cruise parties because were so tired.

 

2. Trusted the hotel for a pizza place. At about 4:30 in the morning my husband woke up sicker than a dog. If I may be so inpolite here-coming from both ends. We walked over to the grocery store next to the hotel and got the pink stuff. It was 48 hours before he felt normal again. Food poisioning to us.

 

We did fly in the day before thank goodness but no insurance for the trip.

 

Today we will still fly in the day before and have already bought trip insurance for both of our cruises next year. For us it is Peace of Mind both ways...

[marktac]

Are you kidding ? We live in Casselberry and it's only 250 miles to Miami.

 

 

I live in Brandon, and it sure feels like 500 miles after you've driven through downwtown Miami to the port!

[halos]

There is an added benefit to flying into port early and that's the fact that you get to unwind prior to getting on the ship. It makes a HUGE difference in your vacation. By the time you board, you are already way into vacation mode. :)

For me, the stress of flying in the day of a cruise would KILL the whole first day on the ship. To me, that's $$$ lost.

[Papasaurus]

Tapi has a good point. We are booked on a cruise in October and have already bought the insurance. I was only $144.00. Pretty cheap considering the investment for the cruise, air fare and hotel. Don't risk your investment to save a few dollars.

[iluvdoxies]

I live in Brandon, and it sure feels like 500 miles after you've driven through downwtown Miami to the port!

 

Gee thanks for the good news, was already dreading the drive. Maybe on a Sat, it wont be so bad.

[RD64]

I was one of the 200 although i have heard estimates that varied from 185-200. Lesson learned...do not book air with Carnival .

 

My original flight from Toronto was to connect in Chicago with just a half hour connection time. The morning of the flight I arrived early and got my flight changed to an earlier departure. However it left 1.5 hours late due to "Crew Rest". We would have still made the connection to Miami, but we waited 1.5 hours on the ground for a gate to open.

 

As soon as we got off the plane, American booked us on the next flight to miami, and a flight the next morning (Sunday) to San Juan. We were lucky as there were few seats to either Miami or San Juan. SJ was especially busy as they were having elections on Sunday and everyone was flying home.

 

The plane arrived in Miami just in time to watch the ship sail down the channel. By this time i had met a girl from Toronto who had missed the Jewel of the Seas, so we decided to combine forces like an episode of the Amazing Race.

 

In Miami we phoned the respective hotline numbers which was useless - it is "Not Our Fault" is all we heard. So making the best of a bad situation, we went up to the American airlines counter to arrange a hotel room. As the agent was printing a voucher, she said that two seats had just popped up on the next flight to San juan, and did we want to take them. of course we did.

 

In San Juan, American put us up at the Caribe Hilton for two nights - an absolutely beautiful hotel. in addition we got taxi and meal vouchers. We were extremely fortunate in that although we missed the first two days, we did have a mini vacation. We fared much better than most who did not get down until Sunday night or Monday afternoon. At the pier i spoke to two girls whose original plan was to fly out of Buffalo on Friday - due to the storm they spent THREE nights at the Buffalo airport.

 

The airlines might not be responsible for the weather, but if it is their responsible they certainly step up to the plate - I can only speak for American - I heard some horror stories about other airlines. By Sunday night in San Juan it was a common site to see people paying with the all to familiar vouchers. I cannot fault American's treatment - they did their best. Also, it was much easier to find one or two seats - many family groups that were travelling in fours and fives simply could not be accomodated on the limited flights and seats available.

 

Due to work I cannot fly down the day before - but next year iIwill fly direct - on an early flight or not at all. No connections for me. As an aside, I had travel insurance but did require it. Those people that did have insurance were forced to pay upfront for all of their expenses and then submit receipts. One family i spoke with dealt with the insurance company first instead ogf the airline, and they were out of pocket thousands of dollars before the ship even left.

 

Had it been a weather related reason, I doubt that American would have been so accomodating - but it ccertainly was an adventure.

[marktac]

we are purchasing insurance but won't your regular health insurance cover anything if you were to get sick or anything on the boat? I know that won't cover flights, luggage but we have the insurance to cover that stuff.. just a question i'm curious about as to if reg insurance you have through your employer or whatever would cover medical stuff on board or if you had to get evacuted or put in the hospital. stupid question i'm sure but just curious

 

Many US health insurance policies won't cover you out of the US and Canada. Gotta read the fine print and verify what you have.

[qprrules]

RD64 - glad to hear things worked out - somewhat I guess - for you:cool:

[GB Chicago]

Not by choice but by flight availability we are leaving tomorrow (Thursday) for our Saturday morning Freedom cruise. Just got a weather alert that we are expecting half a foot of snow Thursday night into Friday in Chicago. For those that aren't in the know, that will bring O'Hare to it's knees if this really happens.

We also ended up building another day at the end this time due to flight issues.

[vacruizer]

There is an added benefit to flying into port early and that's the fact that you get to unwind prior to getting on the ship. It makes a HUGE difference in your vacation. By the time you board, you are already way into vacation mode. :)

For me, the stress of flying in the day of a cruise would KILL the whole first day on the ship. To me, that's $$$ lost.

 

That stress does kill your first day. First cruise we flew in the day of - the TA booked us cruise air and we didn't know better. It went fine but there was always the "what if?" in the back of my head.

 

Last cruise we booked our own air flying out after work (6pm) the day before. 3 days of east coast rain cause major delays, cancellations, and overbookings - so we ended up having to fly the day of again since they couldn't get us out that night. Our morning flight was delayed by 15 minutes and we only had a 35 minute connection time anyway - at 7:30am I was running across the Charlotte airport to make our connection. It's no way to start a vacation!!! Luckily we made it - 15 minutes more and we'd have been done - all later flights were booked up and they almost hadn't even gotten us on the ones we did end up taking.

 

Both trips we have been exhausted by dinner time. We did have travel insurance and it was at least some consolation while I was standing at the airport in tears the night before that I would not be out big$$$. They even reimbursed us our Friday night hotel in FLL that charged us anyway because we didn't find out our flight was delayed until after their cancellation deadline.

 

We have early morning flights the day before this time - crossing my fingers for much less stress!!!

 

Our 2 day Norfolk CTN was the best for travel to the ship - we drove the night before, parked the car a mom's, and had her shuttle us to the port in the morning! :D Just wish for more ships from there...