Whats the latest you would fly in on day of embarkation

[4cats4me]

I've gotta admit: I flew all the way from San Francisco to San Juan Puerto Rico on a red-eye once, with a two hour layover in Chicago and made it just fine.

We landed at 1:00 in the afternoon, but the ship didn't sail until around 10:00 at night. Would never do that again at any rate:eek: wewere new to cruising then and very inexperienced and the cruise line booked our air

 

We've flown numerous times from Northern to Southern CA the same day the ship took off. On those occasions sailed at 4:30 and landed at LAX at 11:00 am

Of course, there are flights going to LAX every hour on the hour, so if we'd missed one flight we could have easily gotten another

 

Also flew on the same day as cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver to catch a ship, but we had a plane delay since we had to turn around and go back and wait for ANOTHER plane to get us.

 

I recommend flying in as early as possible, if possible

[OCruisers]

If possible, it's always best to fly in the day before the cruise.

[Gonzo70]

Not even close to total BS.

 

First the PVSA effectively states:

 

 

Which means that a "stopover" in Ensenada on Hawaii cruises is not allowed, and the cruise either needs to begin or end in a non-US port (or be a "closed loop", which is why those that I am aware of begin or end in Vancouver - not sure any, other than closed loop are going to or from Ensenada anymore). So "avoiding" these ports means that the pax would miss at least a third of the cruise (where would you rejoin the cruise should you find yourself missing departure at the embarkation point).

 

The loophole that cruise lines use are "closed loop" cruises, such that the PVSA states it is "between" ports or places, so as long as the ship begins and ends in the same port/place and visit a foreign port, it is not prohibited. Close the loop and the conditions are met.

 

There are also exceptions, most notably, medical emergencies and disasters.

 

Finally, violation is simply a fine ($300 pp), and the CBP has the authority to waive the fine. Or the cruise line can just pay the fine and optionally choose to charge the pax.

 

"Not going to happen"? Mostly, that is BS, because it does happen and certainly more than the implication, ("never" - though I would point out that it would be at the discretion of the cruise line, as they would have to file the appropriate paperwork and would be responsible for any fines).

 

Dog,

 

You have so many errors it is not even funny; sorry but you do not understand the PVSA well. Hopefully people will not become confused or misled by your erroneous comments.

[phoenix_dream]

On 20+ cruises we have only flown in a day early twice. We have never missed a cruise including in San Juan when we landed 6PM for an 8:30PM departure. You should worry more on what to wear than a once in a million chance of being that late that you'll miss the boat.

J.

 

"Once in a million chance"??!!?? No way. The risk is much higher than that, particularly these days. I don't know about the flights you fly, but those I have been on in the past few years are virtually always full and/or overbooked. That means your chance of getting rebooked in time, if need be, are very, very slim as all the other flights are likely to be also full - and you are competing with all the other folks who are also late - and you had better be a very frequent flyer as they get the priority. This is one reason we no longer book through the cruise line. They always flew us in the same day and we almost missed our cruise a couple of times. Thankfully all we lost was the first afternoon on the ship (which is bad enough).

 

Do most people who fly in the same day make it? I suppose - if 'most' is 80-90%. Would you want to be in the 10% who don't?? Just think how many people taking same day flights have missed their cruises this winter. Hardly one in a million for sure!

 

I have done it. I will never do it again if I have any other option. I can't imagine my husband's ire if we missed our cruise because I couldn't be away from one of my wonderful kids for an additional 12 hours. Yikes!! OP, I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope you don't need it. :D

[ken_ll]

We were on the Constellation Jan 25 - 30/14 when the 2" snow storm hit Atlanta on Jan 29. We boarded the Carnival Victory in Miami on Jan 30. At least 37 passengers missed the ship from Miami. Some, if not all were flying through Atlanta.

 

I spoke with one of passengers who boarded the ship Jan 31 in Key West. He paid a $300 fine/fee (mentioned by 3dog) and at his expense he was shuttled from MIA to Key West. For these people who did meet the ship, 25% of the 4 day cruise was history plus the added costs. Situations like this remind me to fly in 1/2 days earlier.

[CaribbeanBound]

"From X site:

Celebrity's ChoiceAir® program has been enhanced with Premium Benefits that give you everything you want in airfare service: the best value, the assurance that you'll get to your ship, the flexibility to choose your favorite airline and flights, and the security in knowing you have round-the-clock support throughout your travels."

 

It doesn't say "when". It could be a day later.

[jkgourmet]

Quick story: Many years ago, we took Carnival out of San Pedro, Can for a four day cruise. We needed to fly from Phoenix to LA then had cruise transfers.

 

We arranged flights that allowed 6-8 hours arrival prior to embarkation. And the flight is 50 minutes.

 

Unfortunately, somebody breached TSA security at Phoenix airport and they grounded all flights. It took 6-8 hours to get everything resolved.

 

The ONLY reason we made the ship was because Carnival realized how many passengers were affected and delayed departure.

 

From then on, we fly or drive in at least one day before embarkation.

[Cruise a holic]

2nd cruise coming up at the end of the month and we are flying on day of embarkation. We arrive at FLL at 11:50am (it was 10:50am but there was a flight schedule change). Must be on ship by 3:30pm. Am I crazy? I did book through choice air so I'd be able to meet the boat in key west if the worst happens but missing 1 night on a 5 night isn't a great start to a cruise. We're on the earliest Delta flight leaving Memphis with a single stop in Atlanta (1 hr and 13 min layover). I was thinking about changing to a one-way Southwest flight out (arrives FLL 10:25am with 1 stop in Tampa) and keeping the Delta return but I've heard that if you miss one leg of your flight they will cancel the rest of it. Is that true?

So for those of you brave enough to fly on the day of departure... what is the latest you are comfortable with arriving at the airport/ship?

 

Since we live in the NY, and the weather can be an issue, we almost missed our cruise in January due to a snow storm. We were scheduled to fly out a day before, but because of snow storm and the condition of the runways at JFK, our flight was cancelled. We scrambled at 3:00 AM and were able to find a flight out (day before) our cruise from another airport, and another airline from NJ. Many people missed the cruise as they couldn't fly out.

 

 

I would urge you to consider a flight out the day before if at all possible. Even if it is an evening flight. In the event that your flight is delayed or cancelled the same day- you could miss all or part of your cruise. At any time of the year planes cancel flights due to a variety of reasons.

[darbs7]

I am a teacher about 1 hour north of Albany, NY. I cruise every February break and we are docked pay and given warning if we take time before a vacation. I usually book a Sunday to Sunday so I can fly out Friday night or Saturday morning.

 

I didn't this year (Sat to Sat)…I couldn't…I am using Southwest points and last flight to San Juan was at 1:30 on Friday…so I am on the 6am Saturday with a layover in Baltimore…I am VERY nervous, but I have plans A…B…C…

 

plan A….snow on Saturday…drive to Baltimore in a one-way rental to catch connecting flight after work on Friday.

 

plan B….take the dock in pay and naughty letter in file and switch to fly Thursday after work.

 

plan C…drive one-way rental to Florida…catch flight to San Juan…if I leave NY at 2:30 on Friday…be in northern Florida…by noon on Saturday…catch flight..boat leaves San Juan at 10 pm.

 

5 years ago…Friday flight to Orlando through Atlanta…out of Albany(NY) but grounded in Atlanta…told us next flight they could get us on…was TUESDAY (this was Friday night)…one-way rental ($500) to Orlando and no luggage..we made the cruise..with a duffle bag of stuff after stopping at Wal-Mart.

[KKB]

We are flying in the day of departure, and it is our only option. We have flown in twice the day of with no issues, tho both of those were booked through the cruise line.

We arrive at 1:15 & Celebrity says 1PM is as late as we should arrive on the plane, & the ship leaves at 4:30. We connect through Midway (better than OHare...)...but with the weather lately, I am more concerned.

I DID think we could just rent a car to Key West---now I see we cannot. Looking at other options...Insurance FOR SURE.

Sigh...:confused:

I am an optimist--figuring all will be well. BUT I am a realist, so insurance it is.

[wallie5446]

FYI:D

I have commented previous, years flying in the day of.

Here we sit in Dallas today, 18 deg, light snow falling since 6:00 this morning. 25+% in and out bound flight's have been cancelled, at DFW and Love. Quite a few of the cross country flights go thru Dallas, if this was a Sat/Sun we would be in deep do-do:rolleyes: with our form of departure to reach the ship. BUT!

Thousands and thousands of cruise ship pax fly in the day of every week with no problems. Ya roll the dice :rolleyes:

[Gonzo70]

We are flying in the day of departure, and it is our only option. We have flown in twice the day of with no issues, tho both of those were booked through the cruise line.

We arrive at 1:15 & Celebrity says 1PM is as late as we should arrive on the plane, & the ship leaves at 4:30. We connect through Midway (better than OHare...)...but with the weather lately, I am more concerned.

I DID think we could just rent a car to Key West---now I see we cannot. Looking at other options...Insurance FOR SURE.

Sigh...:confused:

I am an optimist--figuring all will be well. BUT I am a realist, so insurance it is.

 

 

Wow, that is REALLY cutting it close. Would be way too risky for me even if a non-stop flight, but you have a connecting flight AND are traveling at a time of year when snow is still in play. If your first leg is delayed and you miss your connection or if your second leg is over an hour delayed you will miss the ship. You need to have completed check in 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure (so 3:00pm in your case) to be permitted to board. That leaves minimal wiggle room for anything other than a short delay.

 

I do not think you will find an insurance policy that will cover missing the ship with such narrow connections; most policies require a delay of at least four hours or six hours (some even longer) before providing any relief - and even then the relief (depending on the policy) may only cover a small amount of expenses you would incur to catch the ship at the next port (and in your scenario it would not even be legal to board at the next port, so insurance may not help much in this situation regardless). Likewise insurance policies (at least ones I have seen) do not reimburse the cost of the cruise if you miss it and do not have adequate wiggle room for delays. Remember that insurance companies are for profit businesses; they do not insure situations where there is a good shot they will have to pay out.

 

Hopefully everything works out, but in the future I would strongly encourage you (and others reading) to not pick such a risky flight.

[Tommy3putts]

We are flying in the day of departure, and it is our only option. We have flown in twice the day of with no issues, tho both of those were booked through the cruise line.

We arrive at 1:15 & Celebrity says 1PM is as late as we should arrive on the plane, & the ship leaves at 4:30. We connect through Midway (better than OHare...)...but with the weather lately, I am more concerned.

I DID think we could just rent a car to Key West---now I see we cannot. Looking at other options...Insurance FOR SURE.

Sigh...:confused:

I am an optimist--figuring all will be well. BUT I am a realist, so insurance it is.

 

 

Egads, I'd be a basket case. Without addressing the cruise boarding issues raised, it doesn't matter which airport it is, I avoid Chicago like the plague this time of year. I travel enough on business and pleasure to know there is a high delay probability rate this time of year in Chicago.

[KKB]

Not ideal, I agree, but our district has been denying days off before breaks (we are going over spring break). If there is any storm potential, I can probably call & get half a day off & go out the night before, if I beg.

Otherwise I guess we would get 5 nights in Fort Lauderdale!

Edited February 6, 2014 by KKB

[keesar]

A problem of travel in the winter during popular weeks is that if there is bad weather, you may not be able to get out for a few days. For instance, we had a storm come through on a Thursday night and the Friday morning flights were cancelled. People were not able to get out until Sunday afternoon due to how booked the airline was.

[KKB]

A problem of travel in the winter during popular weeks is that if there is bad weather, you may not be able to get out for a few days. For instance, we had a storm come through on a Thursday night and the Friday morning flights were cancelled. People were not able to get out until Sunday afternoon due to how booked the airline was.

 

They were scheduled to fly out for a cruise & we were predicted to get a huge storm the day of their departure. I called the airline for them & they rebooked them on an earlier flight (a day or 2 earlier) since there was a "weather alert" for flights that day--NO CHARGE.

 

So if you are worried about getting out due to an oncoming storm, call your airline!

[waterbug123]

plan A….snow on Saturday…drive to Baltimore in a one-way rental to catch connecting flight after work on Friday.

 

plan C…drive one-way rental to Florida…catch flight to San Juan…if I leave NY at 2:30 on Friday…be in northern Florida…by noon on Saturday…catch flight..boat leaves San Juan at 10 pm.

 

I know you are flying Southwest and they have much more lenient cancellation policies so this is directed more at others who might be inclined to try your option A or C, but are flying other airlines:

Generally, if you miss the first leg of your itinerary, the rest of your ticket is cancelled, meaning you'd show up in Baltimore or Florida and not be able to board your remaining flight segments. If you had to do this, you'd need to call the airline and change your ticket to one starting in (in this case) Baltimore or Florida, and that would require paying a change fee and any difference in fare.

 

A problem of travel in the winter during popular weeks is that if there is bad weather, you may not be able to get out for a few days. For instance, we had a storm come through on a Thursday night and the Friday morning flights were cancelled. People were not able to get out until Sunday afternoon due to how booked the airline was.

 

Case in point: Last week I was supposed to fly from CHS to FLL via ATL late afternoon on Wednesday. Delta had issued a flight waiver due to the storm, so theoretically I could have left earlier without having to pay any change fees, but I was not able to get out before the storm due to commitments that kept me in Charleston until Wednesday afternoon. By then, it was too late. All remaining flights that day from CHS to ATL had been cancelled. I was rebooked for Thursday, and then that flight was cancelled and the one or two that flew were full. I was rebooked for Friday and then that flight was cancelled and again- the 2 or 3 possible rebooking options were completely full and I was rebooked for Saturday. Of course, I was supposed to come home on Saturday, so at that point I just cancelled the flight and got the refund thanks to the weather waiver.

[KKB]

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1928178

 

Post #9 a woman says she missed the ship in FLL but embarked at Key West (albeit a few years ago). I have not had a chance to call Celebrity to confirm, but it does seem that it doesn't matter where the passenger embarks, but only the ship's itinerary that needs to follow the regularions.

 

Everything I have read says if you miss the ship it is at your expense to meet us at the next port...no one would be following the regulations if the embark at a foreign port either, yet people do embark in the middle of a cruise.

 

There is some discussion along those lines in posts #10 & 11 above.

 

Either way, we have insurance (and spend 5 days in Fort Lauderdale instead) or rent a car for $100 & drive 4 hours to Key West, enjoy the night life & meet the cruise in the morning.

Edited February 7, 2014 by KKB

[little miss chatterbox]

I've driven from London to Amsterdam on day of departure and if I remember correctly it was a half past four sailing so needed to be on board by 4!!!! We made it with time to spare. Also flown in on the same day too. We are doing that this year too. X:o

[waterbug123]

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1928178

 

Post #9 a woman says she missed the ship in FLL but embarked at Key West (albeit a few years ago). I have not had a chance to call Celebrity to confirm, but it does seem that it doesn't matter where the passenger embarks, but only the ship's itinerary that needs to follow the regularions.

 

Everything I have read says if you miss the ship it is at your expense to meet us at the next port...no one would be following the regulations if the embark at a foreign port either, yet people do embark in the middle of a cruise.

 

As I understand it, meeting the ship mid-cruise at a foreign port is not a violation of the PVSA. In a nutshell, the PVSA says a foreign flagged cruise ship can't be used to transport people from one US port to another US port. So boarding mid-cruise in Key West, or St. Thomas or San Juan for instance, but disembarking at the end of the cruise in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale is a violation. However, embarking mid-cruise in Nassau and then disembarking in Miami would not be, because you are not being transported between 2 different US ports.

[4774Papa]

I notice that a of the posts on this thread appear to state scenarios of people cruising from the Continental USA.

 

We have done three cruises leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and always drive down the night before from South Georgia.

 

Most of our cruises have embarked from overseas locations. I think flying in the same day to an overseas location is very risky, perhaps not as risky flying within CONUS. Still, if the potential for bad weather or other flight cancellation exists, it is clearly more prudent to arrive the day before.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

2nd cruise coming up at the end of the month and we are flying on day of embarkation. We arrive at FLL at 11:50am (it was 10:50am but there was a flight schedule change). Must be on ship by 3:30pm. Am I crazy? I did book through choice air so I'd be able to meet the boat in key west if the worst happens but missing 1 night on a 5 night isn't a great start to a cruise. We're on the earliest Delta flight leaving Memphis with a single stop in Atlanta (1 hr and 13 min layover). I was thinking about changing to a one-way Southwest flight out (arrives FLL 10:25am with 1 stop in Tampa) and keeping the Delta return but I've heard that if you miss one leg of your flight they will cancel the rest of it. Is that true?

So for those of you brave enough to fly on the day of departure... what is the latest you are comfortable with arriving at the airport/ship?

 

 

We flew out of ATL on Delta the day of our cruise in December. I think we arrived at 10:30 or 10:50 am? Maybe it is the same flight time as your original, 10:50. We had no problem making it. We even stopped at Publix and the gas station on the way :) My friend lives in Miami so she offered to pick us up :) I would say we were stepping foot on the ship by 1. I would have to go back and check, but it was easy. The FLL airport is small (at least compared to ATL that I am use to)

[Lastdance]

I've driven from London to Amsterdam on day of departure and if I remember correctly it was a half past four sailing so needed to be on board by 4!!!! We made it with time to spare. Also flown in on the same day too. We are doing that this year too. X:o

 

I bet age might have something to do with your risk-taking! Now that I am a bit older, I like to enjoy the time before and after a cruise, especially in Europe!:D

 

A couple of years ago, my DH and I had a flight after a European cruise at 10:20 in the morning. I made the mistake of siding with those who said we probably wouldn't make it. It was a $500 mistake to book us on a later flight. From now on, I will go with my gut and not do(necessarily)what others' suggest. I now try to enjoy one, two or more days before and after, giving us plenty of time. This is mostly for my DH, as he turns into another person when we travel...:eek: He's on high alert and wants plenty of time!

Edited February 8, 2014 by Lastdance

[webecruzin2]

We always fly in 1 or 2 days early. I'm retired Airline ticket agent and I can't tell you how many times I've seen people in tears over delayed or canceled flights with no chance of making it to the cruise port on time.

Some times a flight was missed because they had a flat tire or other delay getting to the airport.

Anything can happen, I've seen it all in over 20 years, believe me.

Unless you can drive to the port, definitely fly in at least 1 day early.

You'll be rested and stress free when you board and make your way to the buffet with cocktail in hand. ;):D

[Jackytar]

We always fly in 1 or 2 days early.

 

Ditto, webecruzin. Though NYC - Southampton on QM2 will be our first for Herself and I, the fact we have to fly in from the left coast of the Great White North means we're going to be bagged as it is (YYJ-YVR-YYZ-LGA - argh!) So it turns out there's a Comfort Inn about 600m from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal... works for us! We'll get into LGA about noon local which gives us plenty of time to check in, go downtown to see things a bit (first time in NYC for both of us, too), then get a good night's sleep before boarding the next day.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Jackytar