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A tip from an ex-airline customer service agent


HppyCamper
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I used to work in customer service for one of the "ultra lowfare" airlines. I still remember the call from a father who had missed a Disney cruise. It was a family of six. They had been saving up for years. It was really terrible! I dealt with many customers who had missed their cruise because of a flight glitch. Most of us have heard that is a good idea to fly in the day before a cruise. Yes, this is a great idea, however not always possible.

 

If you must fly in the day of your cruise departure, BE CAREFUL which airline you choose. Some airlines, like Frontier and Sprint are small. They may only have one flight a day to your destination, it might even be one flight a week! This becomes important when your flight is delayed or canceled.

 

All airlines have a "Contract of Carriage." Somewhere within this document it will state that the airline does not guarantee getting you to your destination. This seems outrageous at first, however when you realize the huge amount of things that can impact a flight, of course they cannot give that guarantee.

 

Delays and cancelations are divided into two types, controllable and uncontrollable. Controllable would be any mechanical or crew related delay or in other words, anything the airline has control over. Uncontrollable delays are usally weather but can also be caused by airport construction or backups caused by ATC.

 

For an uncontrollable delay, such as weather, all the airline will offer you is a refund, or to put you on the next flight. If you are flying a legacy line like Delta, the next flight may be in a hour, if you are flying Frontier, it may not be until tomorrow. Your refund may purchase another flight on another airline, but sometimes they are not available and if they are the last minute prices will be high.

 

If you ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BE SOMEWHERE AT A SPECIFIC TIME fly early the day before. If you can't fly the day before, fly a large airline with multiple flights to your destination.

 

May your travels go well!

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Yep. I would never fly in the day of a cruise. Unless the flight is so short that if the flight is delayed or cancelled I could get in a car and drive.

 

I recently met someone when I was flying home from London of a large group that had a delayed flight going to London and missed their connection to catch their cruise that day. They blamed the airline, saying it was the worst. But delays happen. But for catching a cruise you need to give a buffer.

 

You made a good point about small airlines. The thing is sometimes a 24-hour buffer is NOT enough. That is why sometimes it might make more sense to connect (especially on international flights) than fly non-stop.

 

Like you said many airlines might have one or two flights a day from a specific airport or maybe even one or two flights a week. The less flights the greater the chance of missing a ship.

 

For example, for my cruise out of Copenhagen. Yes, you could fly non-stop, on a fairly large airline like SAS but the flight is only 3-times a week. Or fly with a stop in London on American/British Airways that flys from say Miami to London 4 times a day and then connect on an airline that flys to Copenhagen from London 6 times a day.

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Also, some airlines will put you on a different airline's flight if your flight is cancelled. Other airlines do not, such as Jetblue. I found this out when my Jetblue flight was cancelled. I would never fly down the morning of a cruise. I fly at least the day before, for overseas, at least two.

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Just to add to the thread. I also book the longest possible layover on International trips. Example, my next trip, I have 4 1/2 hour layover. I had a choice between that, or 3 1/2, 3, 2 1/4, or 1 1/2. So I have 4 additional flights I can be put on, if I am delayed on the first one. People hate waiting in airports, but the International segment might only be once a day, or maybe 2 times a day. Coming home, I never care, but going, I always play it safe.

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Just to add to the thread. I also book the longest possible layover on International trips. Example, my next trip, I have 4 1/2 hour layover. I had a choice between that, or 3 1/2, 3, 2 1/4, or 1 1/2. So I have 4 additional flights I can be put on, if I am delayed on the first one. People hate waiting in airports, but the International segment might only be once a day, or maybe 2 times a day. Coming home, I never care, but going, I always play it safe.

Maybe I'm missing something, but shouldn't you book the shortest layover? If you miss that, you could catch the next flight.....

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Maybe I'm missing something, but shouldn't you book the shortest layover? If you miss that, you could catch the next flight.....

 

And if the "next flight" is already full, you "could" catch the next next flight. Except you will be in line after the diamond, platinum, gold, silver, etc. medallion flyers who are in the queue ahead of you. And the next next next flight could be in three days. So no. Experienced flyers don't intentionally book the shortest legal layover unless there are extenuating circumstances.

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And if the "next flight" is already full, you "could" catch the next next flight. Except you will be in line after the diamond, platinum, gold, silver, etc. medallion flyers who are in the queue ahead of you. And the next next next flight could be in three days. So no. Experienced flyers don't intentionally book the shortest legal layover unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Yeah I get that. But Havingfun2020 posted that he/she booked the longest layover with the idea that if the flight was missed, there were 4 other flights that he/she could take. My point is that the 4 other flights would have already departed, and maybe he/she meant to say that he/she booked the shortest layover. I don't recommend that, but I was seeking clarification to Havingfun2010's post. Sorry my post seemed to recommend taking the shortest layover, but I didn't mean it that way.

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Also, some airlines will put you on a different airline's flight if your flight is cancelled. Other airlines do not, such as Jetblue. I found this out when my Jetblue flight was cancelled. I would never fly down the morning of a cruise. I fly at least the day before, for overseas, at least two.

 

I suspect this is becoming a rarer practice. I've read plenty of 'late arrival' stories of folks who have missed connections, or had flights cancelled, and the only option is to either accept an alternate flight on that specific carrier or obtain a refund and find a flight on your own - at walk-up pricing that is expensive.

 

In my opinion, planning flight travel requires a lot of 'what if' planning as well. I look at flights that I know will (a) have a good half-dozen or so alternatives that will still get me to my destination on time, and (b) have planned arrivals that will meet the criteria to qualify for the trip delay benefit of my travel insurance.

 

When we travel during the winter months, if a flight from where we live (Northeast) is needed to get us to a cruise embarkation port, I plan the departure a solid 24-48 hours before embarkation. If the weather gets dicey and puts our flights at risk, there is wiggle room to change. Or, worst case, cash in the tickets, rent a car and start driving south.

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Yeah I get that. But Havingfun2020 posted that he/she booked the longest layover with the idea that if the flight was missed, there were 4 other flights that he/she could take. My point is that the 4 other flights would have already departed, and maybe he/she meant to say that he/she booked the shortest layover. I don't recommend that, but I was seeking clarification to Havingfun2010's post. Sorry my post seemed to recommend taking the shortest layover, but I didn't mean it that way.

I'm just guessing here, but I think they meant they booked the longest layover, meaning it in this manner: flying from home airport to Rome, connecting through Delta. The Rome flight departs at 6:00pm, they can depart home airport for the flight to Atlanta on any of these flights: 6:00a-12 noon, 7:30a-1:30p, 9:00a-3:00p, 10:30a-4:30p. Where many travelers would pick the 10:30a departure, and hope for the best, they choose the 6:00a departure, get on to ATL and spend some time hanging out. This way if something happens to the 6:00a flight, they have lots of flight option departing after them that they may can switch to and still get to ATL in time for Rome flight at 6:00pm. Again, I'm just guessing that is what they meant....

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Does booking air through Princess Cruises EZAir alleviate any of this concern? We have always does this, and fortunately, never had a problem. Our first cruise to Alaska our 2nd leg of our flight out of Detroit was delayed due to weather and we became concerned when we realized we would not arrive in Seattle in time for the ship's departure. We arrived an hour late and the ship was waiting for us. There were probably 100+ people on that flight boarding, so maybe that is why they waited. My only issue was the looks from the passengers on-board as we walked in. I understand their frustration as I have since been on there side of the fence.

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Does booking air through Princess Cruises EZAir alleviate any of this concern? We have always does this, and fortunately, never had a problem. Our first cruise to Alaska our 2nd leg of our flight out of Detroit was delayed due to weather and we became concerned when we realized we would not arrive in Seattle in time for the ship's departure. We arrived an hour late and the ship was waiting for us. There were probably 100+ people on that flight boarding, so maybe that is why they waited. My only issue was the looks from the passengers on-board as we walked in. I understand their frustration as I have since been on there side of the fence.

 

EZ Air does alleviate concerns of missing the cruise completely. However, in some cases they may need to get you to the first port they stop at as they will not always wait.

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Does booking air through Princess Cruises EZAir alleviate any of this concern?

 

I think you need to read the fine print for what your chosen "Cruise Air" product covers. The fare rules are very opaque so you've no idea what your actual Cruise Air ticket offers and agents seem more focused on selling you on the marketing spin.

 

There have been recollections of people on here with very restrictive Cruise Air tickets (as they often are...you pay peanuts, you get monkeys) who were unable to rebook when, for example, weather caused their flight to be cancelled. In one case one of the requirements of their ticket was that they couldn't deviate from the specific routing of their ticket...unlike everyone else on their flight. They couldn't make the boat and couldn't re-route to meet the boat, they couldn't purchase new tickets because the weather situation meant there were no seats available at the time they were trying to switch because they were so low down the pecking order with their discount ticket.

 

Many people seem to fall for some false guarantee that you'll make your boat. Yes, if there are a huge group then they might hold the boat for an hour or so, but it's like an aircraft, it can't wait forever for a handful of people.

 

One person saying they had no issues during IRROPS on a Cruise Air ticket doesn't mean you'll be fine. Sometimes with Cruise Air you can end up with a horribly restrictive ticket, other times you won't. The problem is you don't know what you'll end up with.

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I think you need to read the fine print for what your chosen "Cruise Air" product covers. The fare rules are very opaque so you've no idea what your actual Cruise Air ticket offers and agents seem more focused on selling you on the marketing spin.

 

There have been recollections of people on here with very restrictive Cruise Air tickets (as they often are...you pay peanuts, you get monkeys) who were unable to rebook when, for example, weather caused their flight to be cancelled. In one case one of the requirements of their ticket was that they couldn't deviate from the specific routing of their ticket...unlike everyone else on their flight. They couldn't make the boat and couldn't re-route to meet the boat, they couldn't purchase new tickets because the weather situation meant there were no seats available at the time they were trying to switch because they were so low down the pecking order with their discount ticket.

 

Many people seem to fall for some false guarantee that you'll make your boat. Yes, if there are a huge group then they might hold the boat for an hour or so, but it's like an aircraft, it can't wait forever for a handful of people.

 

One person saying they had no issues during IRROPS on a Cruise Air ticket doesn't mean you'll be fine. Sometimes with Cruise Air you can end up with a horribly restrictive ticket, other times you won't. The problem is you don't know what you'll end up with.

 

 

Thanks for your very informative reply. Crossing my fingers it isn't an issue this cruise, but will certainly consider the ramifications in future planning.

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I suspect this is becoming a rarer practice. I've read plenty of 'late arrival' stories of folks who have missed connections, or had flights cancelled, and the only option is to either accept an alternate flight on that specific carrier or obtain a refund and find a flight on your own - at walk-up pricing that is expensive.

 

There are a bunch of different types of agreements in place among different airlines. Delta and Air France-KLM have a joint venture agreement for transatlantic flights- if Delta sells you a ticket, it doesn't matter to their bottom line on which of the three airlines you actually fly. So their computer system makes it easy for them to rebook you onto one of their flights. The major alliance partners also tend to be moderately to very generous with rebooking options on partners during IRROPS because there are clear procedures to get you reticketed in those situations.

 

 

Where it tends to fall apart is with airlines that opt not to play with others (example- Southwest) or with airlines that are in different alliances and otherwise lack partnership agreements. If an American flight is cancelled, it is theoretically possible for the airline to put you on a United flight, IIRC, but success in getting that to happen requires some finessing of the system and is generally restricted to high status passengers or if your flight options would very seriously put you down the IRROPS rabbit hole.

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I'm just guessing here, but I think they meant they booked the longest layover, meaning it in this manner: flying from home airport to Rome, connecting through Delta. The Rome flight departs at 6:00pm, they can depart home airport for the flight to Atlanta on any of these flights: 6:00a-12 noon, 7:30a-1:30p, 9:00a-3:00p, 10:30a-4:30p. Where many travelers would pick the 10:30a departure, and hope for the best, they choose the 6:00a departure, get on to ATL and spend some time hanging out. This way if something happens to the 6:00a flight, they have lots of flight option departing after them that they may can switch to and still get to ATL in time for Rome flight at 6:00pm. Again, I'm just guessing that is what they meant....

 

Yes, tha is exactlyy what I do when traveling international from MN with connection in the US .

Too much can happen weather wise or mechanical on any given day of departure.

I also fly at least two days early into European city before my cruises.

And maybe two days when cruising from the US.

Never the day of the cruise.

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OP , I agree with all your wise information and have over the years generally followed it . *

Until now !

I have booked a Sunwing package which includes air .transfers ,and a 7 day NCL cruise .

It is scheduled to arrive in FLL at 11 AM from Montreal for my cruise leaving from Miami that day.

Nuts ? Perhaps . It goes against every bit of good advice offered here . And yet I am booked . :confused:

The price is good , Sunwing's record is OK and when they missed a cruise last year they flew

everybody to the first port stop and put them in a nice all inclusive . Not perfect but not bad .

 

 

Flames ? I'll start - You're NUTS !

 

* (Hoping your employer doesn't catch wind)

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I'm just guessing here, but I think they meant they booked the longest layover, meaning it in this manner: flying from home airport to Rome, connecting through Delta. The Rome flight departs at 6:00pm, they can depart home airport for the flight to Atlanta on any of these flights: 6:00a-12 noon, 7:30a-1:30p, 9:00a-3:00p, 10:30a-4:30p. Where many travelers would pick the 10:30a departure, and hope for the best, they choose the 6:00a departure, get on to ATL and spend some time hanging out. This way if something happens to the 6:00a flight, they have lots of flight option departing after them that they may can switch to and still get to ATL in time for Rome flight at 6:00pm. Again, I'm just guessing that is what they meant....

This is exactly what I do. There is only one overseas flight. There are lots of commuter flights. I go with an early commuter flight.

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  • 2 weeks later...
OP , I agree with all your wise information and have over the years generally followed it . *

Until now !

I have booked a Sunwing package which includes air .transfers ,and a 7 day NCL cruise .

It is scheduled to arrive in FLL at 11 AM from Montreal for my cruise leaving from Miami that day.

Nuts ? Perhaps . It goes against every bit of good advice offered here . And yet I am booked . :confused:

The price is good , Sunwing's record is OK and when they missed a cruise last year they flew everybody to the first port stop and put them in a nice all inclusive . Not perfect but not bad .

 

 

Flames ? I'll start - You're NUTS !

 

* (Hoping your employer doesn't catch wind)

 

I couldn't possibly comment! :D

(Paying attention to this thread after having just missed connection MIA-LHR-AMS due to delays transferring terminals at Heathrow...)

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