Reminder: Get There Early

[Cyberchomp]

I work part-time for a shore services company at San Francisco International Airport. I greet incoming cruise ship passengers who have purchased the airport-to-ship transfer. If you have sailed on the Grand Princess out of S.F. on weekends over the past year, there's a good chance I may have met you at SFO baggage claim.

 

I want to say that it never hurts to get to the embarkation port city a day early. Case in point:

 

Today, I was at United baggage claim to meet seven guests off a flight from Chicago, who were boarding the Grand this afternoon. At the adjacent carousel was a very unhappy couple who was arguing with the baggage staff. They had come in earlier from Chicago but their bags were still at O'Hare...leaving them with possibly facing five nights at sea to Hawaii with just the clothes on their backs. They were elite-status cruisers, but did not have a change of clothes in their carry-on bags.

 

I couldn't say enough about the United baggage manager. She personally offered to drive the couple to the nearby mall so they could get some shopping done. My last view of the couple was seeing them head upstairs to Ticketing to board the next flight back to Chicago. They apparently gave up on the cruise because they just couldn't live without their luggage.

 

This could have been avoided if they had arrived the night before. The next courier flight would have brought their bags in late today, but too late to make the ship.

 

On a busy Sunday, we greet upwards of 200-300 passengers who have flown into SFO from New York, Houston, Washington, Miami and points farther away - all expecting to board the ship that day. I still find this astounding.

 

Cancelled flight. Extremely delayed connection. Weather issues - and SFO has some of the worst weather delays in the U.S. (although the weather here has been gorgeous, lately). One of those, or a combination of them, and you might not make the ship.

 

My wife and I have 25-30 cruises under our belts. Not long ago, we were to fly from San Francisco to San Diego for a cruise. Easy morning flight, right? Our flight was cancelled that day. And then the next one was cancelled, which put us in waitlist hell the remainder of the day. We finally arrived in San Diego around 10:00 that night. But we had come in the night before and had pre-booked a hotel room. We figured dealing with the expense was better than dealing with same-day travel stress-outs.

 

One more thing: our shore services crew has learned that it is extremely difficult to get Southwest Airlines to forward missing bags to the next port of call, if SWA does not fly there...and Southwest does not fly to Hawaii. We have given the airline our company point of contact as well as the Princess agent's name in Honolulu but the bags have sat at SWA baggage claim, not forwarded. Another reason to get here early, to ensure your bags get to the ship the same day as you...

[puppycanducruise]

I totally agree, get to the port a day or so before the cruise. Anyone who has had their luggage or flight delayed knows this.

Another thing that is also important, is to have at least one outfit in your carry-on bag.

Also, cross-pack with your travelling partner (if you are not travelling solo). That is, put one complete outfit of yours in their checked bag and they put an outfit in your bag (packing cubes make this easier). This is beneficial if only one bag goes astray, not all of your checked bags.

[paul929207]

We always fly in at least a day early often more

[gymbomb]

Excellent advice. We always fly in the day before, and I have arrived in Seattle for an Alaska cruise only to find that my suitcase wouldn't arrive until the middle of the night. We were actually there a few days early that trip to spend some time in Seattle first so it was not a big deal at all, but it did remind me of how different the situation would have been if I'd needed to board the ship that day!

[LrgPizza]

Also, cross-pack with your travelling partner (if you are not travelling solo). That is, put one complete outfit of yours in their checked bag and they put an outfit in your bag (packing cubes make this easier). This is beneficial if only one bag goes astray, not all of your checked bags.

Great tip!