Grand Princess delayed flight

[azbirdmom]

Just out of curiosity, I checked EZAir for a September round trip Alaska cruise from San Francisco. The latest arrival time allowed into SFO is 1:15 PM. Here's hoping all goes well for your brother!

Edited July 19, 2016 by azbirdmom

[COMBOY]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but EZ air wouldn't allow/book an arrival time that's not feasible. I do believe you need to be checked in and on board by 60 minutes if you are registered on-line and 90 min. if you are registering at the pier to complete the paper work. So you have a little over 2 hours to claim your luggage and taxi to the pier. Very tight but doable and you hope & pray there is no heavy traffic or accident. Also SF airport for notorious for flight delays and fog. Would I recommend flying in at 12:47PM on sailing day - nope. But if you do - make sure you have good travel insurance to cover delays.

[BEAV]

Although Grand Princess is scheduled to depart at 4:00pm, what is the official "cut off" time that they can check in at the terminal?

[cherylandtk]

On the trip tomorrow it is 3 pm. Princess says 1 hr before scheduled sailing is the 'last' time to check in on my current paperwork, too. But with Princess transfers, they know you are coming once the airport greeter checks them off on the list. I've seen greeters almost throw people into a cab and say "leave your luggage, we'll forward it, and run when you get to the pier". So as far as that goes it can be just minutes prior to the ship departing. (The oft-mentioned manifest limit is just when Princess has to turn the manifest over; by checking in online you are already ON the manifest, if not actually on the ship.)

 

If the plane is very late brother will be spending the next couple of days learning how his 10 night cruise has just become a 6 night cruise, along with three new hotel nights, a couple of new flights, perhaps a float plane ride into Ketchikan, a new debarkation date, and a new flight home from Victoria instead of SFO. He should get cruise credit or refund for the missed days from Princess, in addition to the hotels, meals and revised airfare costs assuming he also got the insurance.

[DougH]

On a slightly more positive note I've sailed out of SF more than a dozen times and maybe twice have we sailed even close to the scheduled time. Most cases we sailed more than 1-2 hours late. Would I have scheduled a fight time like that, no way. Even when I sail out of West Coast ports (my home is near SF) I fly out the night before. The farther the embarkation port is from home the earlier I fly in. Doesn't seem very logical to me to fly that far and not visit the area before you board the ship.

 

For example I sailed out of Copenhagen recently to the Baltic and left Sunday for a Copenhagen arrival Monday, the ship didn't sail until Thursday. Now I wish I had gone in even another day or two earlier as there was so much to see.

 

It's so much nicer to not have to stress about making the ship and having to worry about any delays. Good luck and hope he enjoys the trip.

[iceleven]

On a slightly more positive note I've sailed out of SF more than a dozen times and maybe twice have we sailed even close to the scheduled time. Most cases we sailed more than 1-2 hours late.

 

I was just about to write the same thing. I've often watched late arrivals out of San Francisco, obviously those who Princess had booked their transportation. My bet is on that they make it. My major concern is the stress that has been put on these elderly people. I hope they never have to deal with this type of situation again. GOOD LUCK!

[BEAV]

It's unfortunate these folks aren't taking the 5:10am flight from TUL that connects through DFW and arrives SFO at either 9:01am, 10:34am or 11:12am.

 

The AA website says you can pay a $75 per person fee to alter your flight time on the day of departure to any available flight.

 

Assuming these folks are on the 7:00am flight from TUL to DFW, there are two other flights from DFW to SFO that they can book onto that arrive SF at 10:34am or 11:12am. Both are listed as available tomorrow. It look like they have a 3 hour layover in DFW as they are currently booked.

 

I would strongly suggest they look into one of the earlier flights from DFW to SFO when they check in at TUL. $75 is a small price to pay for a little more peace of mind!

Edited July 20, 2016 by BEAV

[4x4bob]

For those of you who want or need to book your flight the day of the Cruise here is our adventure that came from doing the same.

 

We booked our flight and trip Insurance through Princess for our 7 day round trip down the Baja coast back to San Pedro, Ca. So, we thought we were covered if a Whoops happened and we missed the ship.

 

So, let me relate our experience with missing the ship and then trying to catch up to it.

 

Well the Whoops happened when the Airlines kept posting a 30 minute delay until the flight was cancelled and we had to rush and Book another flight from Sacramento to LA. By this time we had contacted Princess Hq 3 times to advise that we we being delayed. They stated that they would make a note in our record.

 

We arrived at LA at 5:00 PM and the ship sailed at 4:00 PM. This is when the Gotcha's started to bite us.

 

Since we had our Pass Ports with us, we decide to chase the ship and board it later. Since this was a closed loop cruise we could have left the Pass Ports home. If we had we would have been heading back home at that time.

 

Princess Hq closed at 5:00 PM so we had to deal with a call center in India. They timed out several times and hung up on us causing us to call back.

 

And, standing a busy airport trying to deal with someone on the other side of the World was fun. Finally they reserved two seats for us on an airplane for the next day so we could fly down to Pureto Vallarta to wait for the ship.

 

We then contacted the Airlines Passenger Service desk and requested that we be compt a Hotel room for the night. They sent us to a hotel that was booked. So, back to the airport we went. Was then booked into a second Hotel.

 

We arrived at the second Hotel at 10:00 PM. We ate dinner and then jumped on a computer to try and find a Hotel down in Pureto Vallarta. My wife called both our daughter and her sister to request assistance in searching for a Hotel.

 

We located the Wesson Hotel. However, they would not take a computer reservation for the next day, we had to call on the phone to make the reservation. Lucky that the wife is more talented then me and she is fluent in Spanish so had no trouble with the Hotel Reservation in the middle of the night.

 

We then checked with the airlines to confirm out seat numbers to find out that yes they were reserved, but no they had not been paid for.

 

The next morning at 6:00 AM we contact Princess Hq to request that the plane seats be paid for. While my wife was on the phone with Princess the blue van showed up at the Hotel to transport us to the airport. Lucky I was able to talk the driver into waiting a few minutes.

 

More happened but I have covered the high points to demonstrate that just because we booked with EZ Air Princess and had Trip Insurance it still took some Huffing and Puffing to catch the ship.

 

In November we are once again heading out/down the Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez. And, yes we have reservations the night before at the Crown Plaza Hotel just blocks from the Port. I may be a slow learner, but some of Life's little lesson's I do pay attention to.

 

Bob

[abbydancer2003]

My sister's ex in-laws (MIL and SIL) had booked a Carnival cruise to Mexico. The SIL made it just fine. The MIL was flying from Buffalo to LA via Chicago. She had delays, and couldn't get from Chicago to LA. So, missed the ship. She then flew to the first port, but the ship missed it. So back to Buffalo and her 50 something year old daughter did a Carnival cruise by herself.

[fonekween]

LOL....no way would my brother cough up extra money to change their flight to an earlier one to catch an earlier flight out of Dallas. He's not remotely concerned & is convinced they'll be fine because Princess has assured him they will be, particularly since they booked the flights....even though I suspect he actually chose them. I'm taking them to the airport & with the weather here & Dallas both being sunny tomorrow, I have high hopes for smooth sailing :) I don't consider them to be elderly just because they've been married 50 years....my SIL's parents are in their 90's & have been married for 73, & it is they who are elderly! Y'all have been terrific, I appreciate all of your comments, & I'll keep you updated as the story unfolds tomorrow!

[fonekween]

I do have another question, though. What's up with my brother saying they've always boarded whenever before but this time he says Princess told him they have an assigned boarding time at 2:30 & they can't board before then? They have a mid ship balcony cabin on Deck 12. With that being his understanding it would explain the nearly 11am flight out of Dallas but with their having 7ish Princess cruises under their belts at whatever Princess level that is, I don't get it.

[abbydancer2003]

I do have another question, though. What's up with my brother saying they've always boarded whenever before but this time he says Princess told him they have an assigned boarding time at 2:30 & they can't board before then? They have a mid ship balcony cabin on Deck 12. With that being his understanding it would explain the nearly 11am flight out of Dallas but with their having 7ish Princess cruises under their belts at whatever Princess level that is, I don't get it.

 

If I understand what you're asking - Princess has recommended boarding time based on ship location. If you're Elite or Platinum you get early boarding, but in any case the boarding times are suggestions, and you can board when you get there. (If it's not open yet I think you get assigned to a group having nothing to do with the suggested boarding time).

 

I also think even Elites and Platinums get the "assigned time" even though they can board first.

[IECalCruiser]

I do have another question, though. What's up with my brother saying they've always boarded whenever before but this time he says Princess told him they have an assigned boarding time at 2:30 & they can't board before then? They have a mid ship balcony cabin on Deck 12. With that being his understanding it would explain the nearly 11am flight out of Dallas but with their having 7ish Princess cruises under their belts at whatever Princess level that is, I don't get it.

It is only a recommendation and if you check the fine print it should exempt those with priority boarding; Platinum, Elites and Suites and those needing assistance boarding.

[BEAV]

LOL....no way would my brother cough up extra money to change their flight to an earlier one to catch an earlier flight out of Dallas. He's not remotely concerned & is convinced they'll be fine because Princess has assured him they will be, particularly since they booked the flights....even though I suspect he actually chose them.

 

That's too bad. It seems crazy to be sitting at DFW for 3 hours waiting for your flight to SFO, while in the meantime, two earlier flights going to the same place take off.

 

We all spend our money how and where we wish to. Some people wouldn't bat an eye dropping $75 in a slot machine (and walking away with nothing in return), but to pay $75 to greatly improve your chances of getting to the ship without worries is inconceivable! :rolleyes:

 

99% chance everything will go off without a hitch. It's that darn 1% that has us all concerned!

 

I hope your brother at least appreciates his sister who has gone to great pains to look out after him! ;)

[fonekween]

Good morning! I'm happy to report that all has gone well this morning & it really couldn't have gone any better so far! They left TUL on time & their DFW-SFO flight also left on time & they're in the air. Flight is estimated to arrive at 12:39 vs 12:47.

[dickinson]

Wonderful news!

[BEAV]

Thanks for the updates! ;)

[iceleven]

I'm less than 10 miles west of SFO and a heavy fog has begun rolling in off the ocean Yet SFO shows normal arrival and departure times (no specific flights) so it does seem all will be fine. We're still hoping for a current update right up till they board the ship. :)

[Cinerama]

We have never flown in the day before and been on many cruises with no problems except for one.

 

We had a flight from Hartford, CT, stop in Dallas, then on to Seattle. There was a problem in Dallas (I think it was lightning) with no flights coming in and none going out. We circled around for a while and then we were going to Fort Worth as we were low on fuel. The problem in Dallas cleared up and we landed late of course. Our connecting flight was also delayed so it did not leave without us.

 

We arrived in Seattle late but there was a Princess bus still waiting for us. We were on the ship about 1/2 hour before they left. We were told a couple of problems other passengers had. One large group arrived on a Sunday only to find out the cruise left on Saturday. Another arrived and found out they were booked on a cruise that left 7 days ago.

[fonekween]

As of 12:37pm, their flight has landed & is now at the gate! How 'bout that, 10 minutes early. 2 hours & 45 minutes to go!

[notentirelynormal]

Rapping fingers on table - we're waiting, we're waiting, we're waiting....

[Colo Cruiser]

[fonekween]

TO ALL OF YOU NEGATIVE NELLIES - HA!!!! Not only are they onboard, but they were in their cabin by 2:45! I talked to them an hour ago just as they were heading to muster...gorgeous day & they have a wonderful view of the bridge. I'd attach it here but can't figure out how! THANK YOU to all of you who've shared this saga with me & as amazing as it is, my brother pulled it off without a hitch.....just as he said he would! Who'd have thunk?!

Edited July 20, 2016 by fonekween

[abbydancer2003]

TO ALL OF YOU NEGATIVE NELLIES - HA!!!! Not only are they onboard, but they were in their cabin by 2:45! I talked to them an hour ago just as they were heading to muster...gorgeous day & they have a wonderful view of the bridge. I'd attach it here but can't figure out how! THANK YOU to all of you who've shared this saga with me & as amazing as it is, my brother pulled it off without a hitch.....just as he said he would! Who'd have thunk?!

 

Glad it worked out. SFO is my main airport, and I've sat through many ground hold trying to get home. So happy for him that it didn't happen this time.

[knotgillty]

Your brother didn't pull it off, the airlines did. When you let others control your fate, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. If he did the same process 20 times, there would likely be delays on some of the airlines.

 

Glad it worked out for him this time.