Plane Arriving too Late??

[DEERINH2O]

I hope you make it! I will keep my fingers crossed! Have a great cruise! try not to stress :D

 

Kathy

[Tbay-eh]

I hope they come back on and tell us what happens.......did they change their flights?????? Did they make it to the ship on time??????? Were there any delays with the flights??????

 

It's like a cliffhanger..........let us know.........:D

 

I ditto this - please let us know

[Fazzdaan]

Flights at the end of the day tend to have a higher chance of being delayed since delays tend to accumulate as the day goes on. Morning flights have the highest on-time percentage and it gets worse from there.

 

An earlier flight would be much safer.

[salty dingo]

We had terrible....unexpected weather today here in Indy.

Yeah, I read an article about that storm... the pressure was so low it was about the same as Hurricane Katrina when it hit NOLA. That surely would affect flights in the area.

[CruisinManiac]

Clemons1

So I called Carnival and was told that as long as we are there by 9pm we will be good to get on board. And after talking to the airline I have decided the best thing to do is to fly on standby. so we will be getting to the airport very early and just waiting to see if two other seats are available for an earlier flight. So that puts my mind a little at ease. And with a lot of prayer and probably fasting I think this is going to be a Fantastic cruise.

 

She works, but I am sure she will be back online today. You will have to wait until 11/7 to hear if she made the ship. :D

[BallFour4]

I fly once a week for my career and have sat in airports for the past two months with delays.

 

It can be sunny and smell like roses where you are, but the aircraft might be in a weather delay leaving the city prior to yours for departure. Your stuck...

 

Find out the path of the flight before it arrives at your departure city, if it's a major hub then check the on time rating.

 

Just my opinion.

 

 

.

[CruisinManiac]

I feel for the OP. :( Given the OP's young age, inexperience with cruising, plus not finding these board earlier...It really is a tough decision on deciding when to fly in, when you fly the day of a cruise. ;)

 

If the OP and husband had taken an earlier flight that got them into Charleston, say 2:00 PM, what would they have done with their luggage until they could board the ship? :rolleyes: Hopefully the timing will work out just right for them. :)

[papilliontraveler]

I feel for the OP. :( Given the OP's young age, inexperience with cruising, plus not finding these board earlier...It really is a tough decision on deciding when to fly in, when you fly the day of a cruise. ;)

 

If the OP and husband had taken an earlier flight that got them into Charleston, say 2:00 PM, what would they have done with their luggage until they could board the ship? :rolleyes: Hopefully the timing will work out just right for them. :)

 

Well, on the flip side, they will have gained some valuable experience for their next cruise.

[luvpug]

One option the OP should consider is flying "standby" for an earlier flight the day of the cruise. Some airlines charge a token fee ($50-100) if there are empty seats. You will need to hang out at the airport to see if there is any empty space, but you may get lucky and arrive earlier. Call your TA or the airline directly to find out the policy.

[All4fun&fun4all]

Yes this is actually our first cruise but as Previously Stated we thought we had until very close to sail time to actually board. Just a mistake.

Checking the shuttle time is a good idea Thank you I will do that.

 

We made this same mistake with our first cruise. We thought it was like a hotel where "check in" began at 4pm when in fact that was our sailaway time. We were LAST to board. Almost missed it! :eek:

 

CHS is a very very small airport and about 25 mins to the port. Maybe you will luck out and get a crazy cabbie! Walk outside the airport and you will see the little out-building where the cabs/shuttles are at. We flew home from Tucson 2 weeks ago and there were two shuttles waiting for anyone to use but they are metered just like a cab. This was around 9:30pm

[jennmaybe]

This is a question that you should have come out here on CC and asked much, much, sooner. Sounds like you're a first time cruiser....

 

I would never cut it that close. In fact, many cruisers arrive the day before to avoid any delays that could arise the day of the cruise.

 

My personal opinion, I would change my flight. I'd rather pay a little to change my flight than to risk missing the boat:)

[janetlm]

I have planned same day flights 3 times out of 6. Two were fine, short direct flights in good weather. One was a nightmare... 1 cancelled flight in the early morning and everything was backed up. I missed not one but 2 connecting flights that would have had me there in lots of time. I arrived at the Los Angeles Port 10 minutes prior to the sail time (2007) and made the cruise. I may have been the last one on board.

 

I have done one same day flight since (Detroit - New York) in the spring. I worried about it till I landed at LaGuardia. The worry is not worth it.

 

Flying in a day early (when it is at all possible) priceless....

[treasure4two]

One option the OP should consider is flying "standby" for an earlier flight the day of the cruise. Some airlines charge a token fee ($50-100) if there are empty seats. You will need to hang out at the airport to see if there is any empty space, but you may get lucky and arrive earlier. Call your TA or the airline directly to find out the policy.

 

I think this is your best idea without it being more costly. I was a flight attendant for 27 years and I would say you have a 50% chance, at least, of not making it. I also live in Charlotte and connecting flight make it worse. Get out to the first airport early in the day and smile real sweet and be real nice(which I think you already are :D) and hopefully you will get there early/on time. Good luck! and let us know how it went.

[Clemons1]

Hi from the OP. First off can I just say that I have never been on message boards that offered more support and helpful advice without making me feel like an idiot so seriously thank you all very much for your concern and hoping for our well being!! :)

So after being on the phone with the airline,expedia and carnival we are going to spend the night in Louisville the night before and get there at thee crack of dawn to get on standby for an earlier flight. Changing the tickets was going to end up costing us about as much as our cruise and we just can't. I am daily checking the seating arrangments on the airline to see how many seats are available on each. So a 5am flight is in our future. And hey if we get in charleston 6 hours before we can board the ship I have heard it is a Beautiful city and we can just be tourist with all our luggage in tow :)

In addition carnival told me that as long as we are there by 9pm we should be just fine to get on board. So that probably bought us another half hour. :) I'm a believer in prayer so I believe everything is going to work out just fine.

[Tbay-eh]

Hi from the OP. First off can I just say that I have never been on message boards that offered more support and helpful advice without making me feel like an idiot so seriously thank you all very much for your concern and hoping for our well being!! :)

So after being on the phone with the airline,expedia and carnival we are going to spend the night in Louisville the night before and get there at thee crack of dawn to get on standby for an earlier flight. Changing the tickets was going to end up costing us about as much as our cruise and we just can't. I am daily checking the seating arrangments on the airline to see how many seats are available on each. So a 5am flight is in our future. And hey if we get in charleston 6 hours before we can board the ship I have heard it is a Beautiful city and we can just be tourist with all our luggage in tow :)

In addition carnival told me that as long as we are there by 9pm we should be just fine to get on board. So that probably bought us another half hour. :) I'm a believer in prayer so I believe everything is going to work out just fine.

 

Thank you so much for coming back on and keeping us up dated. We truyly were concerned for you and now I can sleep knowing that you are addressing this. Not that I am really losing sleep over it but I been there done it and I lost and just didn't want you to experience the same thing. Glad that you are working on it. Please keep us informed as to what ends up happening. Good luck and glad we (as a group) could help you. That is what we are here for. Now when someone needs advice down the line you can speak from experience.

[CruisinManiac]

[quote name='Clemons1']Hi from the OP. First off can I just say that I have never been on message boards that offered more support and helpful advice without making me feel like an idiot so seriously thank you all very much for your concern and hoping for our well being!! :)
So after being on the phone with the airline,expedia and carnival we are going to spend the night in Louisville the night before and get there at thee crack of dawn to get on standby for an earlier flight. Changing the tickets was going to end up costing us about as much as our cruise and we just can't. I am daily checking the seating arrangments on the airline to see how many seats are available on each. So a 5am flight is in our future. And hey if we get in charleston 6 hours before we can board the ship I have heard it is a Beautiful city and we can just be tourist with all our luggage in tow :)
In addition carnival told me that as long as we are there by 9pm we should be just fine to get on board. So that probably bought us another half hour. :) I'm a believer in prayer so I believe everything is going to work out just fine.[/QUOTE]

Just said a prayer for you! :)

OK, have you got passports? If it's a birth certificate, needs to be official, not a hospital copy.

Keep all important papers and meds with you, not in your checked luggage.

[Clemons1]

oh yes of course we have all of that ready. Boarding passes, passports, IDS. I:) Thanks.

[CruisinManiac]

[quote name='Clemons1']oh yes of course we have all of that ready. Boarding passes, passports, IDS. I:) Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Oh good! Glad you have passports. Much easier to travel with. ;)

[jdawsonrn]

So glad to hear about your new plans. Saying a prayer for you!!! Safe travels :D Only a few more days. Whoo Hoo!!!!!

[Shake-n-Bake]

Glad to hear everything is going to be alright. Hope to see you both on the ship Monday.:D

[rkbeaux08]

[quote name='CruisinManiac']Remember, they may still be boarding up until 10:00. It just depends on whether they get all passengers on at an earlier time. Did you read the Norfolk Snafu thread? They boarded until way past their embarkation time because there were still many passengers that had been waiting to check-in. ;)[/quote]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#ff8c00]You have to deceide to do want to take that chance.......[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[flalady29]

[quote name='salty dingo']Yeah, I read an article about that storm... the pressure was so low it was about the same as Hurricane Katrina when it hit NOLA. That surely would affect flights in the area.[/QUOTE]

The pressure may have been the same but the winds was no where near a cat 5 hurricane which Katrina was when she hit land in NOLA. Wind gusts were very strong up to 60-70 mph and with the tornados that spun off the storm I feel and pray for all that are in the path of this very wide storm.

OP I have just said a prayer for you and your husband for next week i'm sure you will make it to the ship and have a wonderful cruise enjoy it and I can't wait to read your review of your 1st cruise :-)