Flight Ease day of sailing

[pmjnh]

It always nerve wracking to fly on the day of sailing, but I am looking at some reasonable fares to SFO and realizing that I can save about $500 on a hotel pre-cruise if I fly in the same day as cruise departure. I would rather spend that money on excursions.

 

Has anyone had experience with same day flying with Flight Ease ? I wonder if anyone has had a flight cancelled by the airline on the day of departure had to rebook same day? Did HAL get you the to ship on time?

 

What has been your experience with day of cruise departure flight?

[SilvertoGold]

We've done this a few times with FlightEase, one stops, west coast to Ft Lauderdale. These were overnights and not exactly wonderful timing, but worked out well.

Smooth, no problems. Everything on time, all ticketing without any changes.

 

People think we're crazy but it works for us.

[lstrong]

Worked great for me in may--San Diego to Seattle so a short, direct flight. Arrived 11:30 am and was on board in an hour

[RuthC]

I would be hesitant, at best, to book a cross-country flight to arrive on the day of sailing. IF (a big IF) I could get a very early non-stop flight---maybe, but still probably not. The only thing going for you in that case would be the 3-hour time difference, since you would be flying west-bound.

But any direct, or especially connecting, flights would add more time between leaving and arriving, and more opportunities for delays with each stop.

 

Beyond concerns about the flight itself, there would be no opportunity to rest up after the flight, and even start to adjust to west coast time. You will be exhausted when you board, but up long before the crack of dawn the first day. You will lose the entire first day just trying to recover.

 

(the voice of experience on this. first Alaska cruise I flew the same day---didn't know any better back then. had a 6:00 AM flight, was in bed before dinner. next morning I was wide awake at 4:00 AM, then spent the first day napping on and off.)

[Click.Write.Post.]

It always nerve wracking to fly on the day of sailing, but I am looking at some reasonable fares to SFO and realizing that I can save about $500 on a hotel pre-cruise if I fly in the same day as cruise departure. I would rather spend that money on excursions.

 

 

 

Has anyone had experience with same day flying with Flight Ease ? I wonder if anyone has had a flight cancelled by the airline on the day of departure had to rebook same day? Did HAL get you the to ship on time?

 

 

 

What has been your experience with day of cruise departure flight?

 

 

 

My in-laws used flight ease to fly from SLC -> PDX -> ANC and then took a bus to Seward the day of their 7-day cruise from Seward to Vancouver; everything worked out for them. It was September and if I recall there were no delays.

 

My husband and I flew SLC -> SEA, non-stop, the morning of our cruise one May and had no problems.

 

Then my husband and I flew SLC -> SAN, a relatively quick flight as long as there are not plane delays due to weather and then planes needing to be de-iced, which happened to us in April of last year. I was so nervous from the moment the first delay was announced, even in the short taxi ride to the pier that seemed to take forever, until our feet were firmly planted on the deck of the Nieuw Amsterdam. If I recall correctly, we only had less then an hour to spare before muster drill and less than two hours to sail away, which was much too close for comfort.

 

We flew in the day before our most recent cruise departed and everything went smoothly and not a worry one.

 

We now plan at least one day before any cruise for travel to the port mainly for piece of mind.

 

We stayed at a nice SFO hotel near the airport post cruise in 2015 for less than $200 a night and we would either walk to the nearest BART station or take the hotel shuttle to the airport BART station to go downtown. Something like that might reduce your pre-cruise hotel expense.

 

Good luck with your travel plans! Planning trips is one of my favorite things to do. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sandyss]

You could fly in the day before your cruise, and stay in a hotel near SFO, around Burlingame, for around $200.

[Scrapnana]

If you are planning on checking luggage be sure to have a couple of changes in your carryon. I had a suitcase miss the connecting flight and it did not arrive at the hotel until after 1 am. Luckily, I had flown in a day early.

[pmjnh]

If you are planning on checking luggage be sure to have a couple of changes in your carryon. I had a suitcase miss the connecting flight and it did not arrive at the hotel until after 1 am. Luckily, I had flown in a day early.

Good point. We do plan on non stop flights , so hopefully that won't happen!

[DaveOKC]

Like most experienced cruisers, we tend to get in a day early. First, I am a "worrier" and detailed planner, so this reduces the stress for me. Second, I feel its like getting an extra day on our cruise, as we are able to board early and are refreshed and ready to "go". The one time I cam in the same day, we were wore out from the travel (not easy from OK) and were too tired to do much the first day.

[POA1]

What are your start point, connections, and times? It might not be a big deal. Or, you could be coming from Portland, Maine and connecting through Minneapolis in January.

[Herfnerd]

Just make sure you plan to give yourself the best opportunity to make the ship.

 

Don't schedule a flight during the winter from a northern clime, before a major holiday, that lands an hour before scheduled ships departure. Hypothetically speaking, that is.......

[JudithLynne]

We booked an Alaska cruise, our 14th, for 2019. We are a one hour non stop flight to SEA. We use Alaska airlines as they have the best on time record. This sounds pretty reliable doesn't it? Well....yesterday our local airport canceled incoming and outgoing flights because of thick smoke from our west coast fires which were interrupting visibility in the flight paths. Flights are also canceled today. I just changed, this morning, my 2019 FE flights to come into SeaTac the day before the cruise. Like you I thought a same day flight would be no problem, but I've learned that anything can interrupt that and it could happen to us.

According to my research, and I may be wrong, FE will attempt to rebook your flights to get you to the port, but does not provide lodging and meals as regular trip insurance will reimburse for that.

Edited August 24, 2018 by JudithLynne

[RocketMan275]

You can still fly in the day before and still use Flight Ease.

[rafinmd]

One of the considerations would be "what can HAL do for me if you miss the ship". It looks like you're looking at an Alaska Round Trip from San Francisco, and the only foreign port is Vancouver and/.or Victoria near the end of the trip. I think that would be the ONLY place you can catch up with the ship if you miss it as any other port would put you in violation of the PVSA. That would make me expecially hesitant.

 

 

Roy

[JudithLynne]

Roy....I thought about that too but wonder if one would be covered because of the port stop in Vancouver at the end of the cruise (?) I really don't know but would like to hear the answer.

 

The thing I like about going in the day before is that it takes a load of worry off during the anticipation time leading up to the cruise.

 

OP....I would suggest you get more info about what FE will or, more importantly, will not do if you miss your departure flight. I would talk with the FE program employees directly.

[retafcruiser]

Roy....I thought about that too but wonder if one would be covered because of the port stop in Vancouver at the end of the cruise (?) I really don't know but would like to hear the answer..

You can't do it because you are going from one US port to another US port. You can only do that if you visit a distant foreign port in between. No Canadian port is a distant port. So your cruise would only be legal for sailing between a Canadian port to a US port....thus Vancouver or Victoria to Seattle or SanFrancisco.

[DaveOKC]

Roy....I thought about that too but wonder if one would be covered because of the port stop in Vancouver at the end of the cruise (?) I really don't know but would like to hear the answer.

 

The thing I like about going in the day before is that it takes a load of worry off during the anticipation time leading up to the cruise.

 

OP....I would suggest you get more info about what FE will or, more importantly, will not do if you miss your departure flight. I would talk with the FE program employees directly.

 

I was under the impression that HAL would pay for your new flight, meals and lodging if you missed your sailing. HOWEVER, I am not certain of this, so I would definitely check with HAL directly.

[pmjnh]

What are your start point, connections, and times? It might not be a big deal. Or, you could be coming from Portland, Maine and connecting through Minneapolis in January.

 

BOS-SFO, non-stop flight, June.

[pmjnh]

I was under the impression that HAL would pay for your new flight, meals and lodging if you missed your sailing. HOWEVER, I am not certain of this, so I would definitely check with HAL directly.

 

Yes, I will definitely get all the "what if" particulars before we change from the flexible plan to the restricted plan.

 

I am curious about the potential fluctuation in pricing if we stay on the flexible plan. Once we lock in, we lock in, but do have trip insurance.

[TAD2005]

I have asked this question before on CC. If you book with Flight Ease, and you miss the ship due to a flight delay not caused by you (missing the flight), HAL will get you to the next port that is reachable by a flight or land transport (bus, taxi, HAL's option). However, if the next port is many days into your cruise, you are on your own to pay the hotel and meals while you are hanging out, waiting for the ship to catch up with you.

For instance, if you miss the ship in FLL, and the next port is HMC, HAL will not transport you to that "boat only" island. You will have to go to the next port, where ever that may be, days later. If you miss the ship in San Diego for a Hawaii cruise, you have 5 days in Hawaii to wait for the ship to arrive. The word I got from other CC members is that HAL does not cover the hotel and meals while you are waiting. That doesn't sound too fair, I hope people who have had this type of problem would let everyone know what really happens.

[ChinaShrek]

Just make sure you plan to give yourself the best opportunity to make the ship.

 

Don't schedule a flight during the winter from a northern clime, before a major holiday, that lands an hour before scheduled ships departure. Hypothetically speaking, that is.......

 

We just had an entire discussion about this. :)

[corkpopr]

:cool:never arrive the same day as a cruise is my general advice. also, don't let a cruiseline book your air.

[Hlitner]

I was under the impression that HAL would pay for your new flight, meals and lodging if you missed your sailing. HOWEVER, I am not certain of this, so I would definitely check with HAL directly.

 

We know of others that share your "impression." And we will ask them, "where did you get this idea?" And of course they have no clue. There is nothing on the Flight Ease site that says they will pay for any expenditures other then to try and get you to the ship at a future port. And some have reported they can be of limited help in securing the flight changes. The one person we know who ran into such a situation called the cruise line and was told that they should first try to work with the airline. Some airlines can actually be quite helpful and generous to those who miss a cruise because of something that went wrong with the airline. But there is never a guarantee...and successfully working with an airline can often take some "travel smarts" which is often helped if you have some status with that airline's frequent flyer club.

 

With over fifty years of extensive travel under our belt we have learned that there is no substitute for carefully considering all options...once things go wrong. Some folks completely lose their cool which makes them more vulnerable to themselves then to any other entity. A few of us will talk here on CC about having a "Plan B" and that is all about thinking ahead and knowing your options. And you need to do some clear thinking even though you may be under a lot of stress.

 

Hank

[corkpopr]

:cool: as always Hank, perfectly stated.

[HAL4NOW]

In April of 2018 my wife and I were scheduled to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Seattle and departing on the same day our flight arrived. Flight Ease had booked the flight with one stop in SFO; San Francisco airport was fogged in and we started hearing announcements about delays. It got to the point where we were quite certain that even if we made the first leg of the flight we would miss the connecting flight to FLL. My wonderful wife was quite worried, but also very level-headed and convinced the Alaska Airlines agent to find us another flight. One concern was that our luggage was already in the belly of the plane heading for SFO. Alaska Airlines was able to get us two seats on an already full non-stop plane to FLL and somebody from Alaska Air was able to find our luggage and transfer it prior to takeoff.

It all worked out, but we will be arriving in port a day early for our next cruise.

Sorry I cannot assist in what HAL or Flight Ease would do. We had the cruise cancellation insurance and would have gotten some compensation for lost luggage and if we had missed the ship we would have missed the first half of the cruise because the first port was Half Moon Cay.