Late boarding

[ak1004]

We have a cruise from Barcelona next November. We are considering flying early and spending few days in Warsaw.

 

The flight from Warsaw to Barcelona on the embarkation day leaves at 9:20am and arrives to Barcelona at 12:35. I believe this leaves us more than enough time to arrive to the port, even if the flight is delayed for couple hours?

 

My concern is what happens if the flight is delayed for 4-5 hours or cancelled? Will O allow us to board the ship the next day in Alicante? Not ideal of course, but as a backup plan?

[basor]

11 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We have a cruise from Barcelona next November. We are considering flying early and spending few days in Warsaw.

 

The flight from Warsaw to Barcelona on the embarkation day leaves at 9:20am and arrives to Barcelona at 12:35. I believe this leaves us more than enough time to arrive to the port, even if the flight is delayed for couple hours?

 

My concern is what happens if the flight is delayed for 4-5 hours or cancelled? Will O allow us to board the ship the next day in Alicante? Not ideal of course, but as a backup plan?

I do not think it is up to O but the local authorities....I personally would not risk it, I would fly to Barcelona the day prior and enjoy that beautiful city and board O the next day stress free.....

[WayneLaR]

Absolutely.  No way i would risk cutting it that close.

[ak1004]

19 minutes ago, basor said:

I do not think it is up to O but the local authorities....I personally would not risk it, I would fly to Barcelona the day prior and enjoy that beautiful city and board O the next day stress free.....

 

Yes, this is an option, but not ideal, since we would have to book 2 hotels etc.

 

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

[davencl]

20 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, this is an option, but not ideal, since we would have to book 2 hotels etc.

 

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

My opinion is it's a risk.   I had a flight from portland to seattle(a 45 minute flight) delayed by 6 hours due to a mechancal failure on the plane.  Although there were other flights to seattle that day they were all booked.  So I would say it depends on how lucky you feel.  I did fly once the day of embarkation.  Had a schedule that didn't allow flying in a day early and really wanted to take this cruise. That was a mexican riviera cruise, flight was from portland to LA.  It worked out fine but would never do it again if possible.  In this case the cruise was "only" a couple thousand dollars and flight $200.  

Edited November 2, 2023 by davencl

[Torquer]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

I can't speak for Europeans, but I think most experienced cruisers have learned not to fly in on embarkation day, period.  As a US citizen, we always fly to the embarkation city at least the day before, for cruises that leave from the US.  It is just too much stress of having to worry about a delayed/cancelled flight. 

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Yes, this is an option, but not ideal, since we would have to book 2 hotels etc.

 

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

About you asking about "cruisers from Europe"...

How is this different from cruisers "from elsewhere" who need to fly a similar number of hours (including driving time or any connections, etc.) to get from home to port?

 

There are many CC members who live in the USA, including us, who would AVOID flying in the same day, even with a relatively short non-stop flight.

 

It's not worth the relatively low risk of missing the ship, and it's certainly not worth the ongoing worry/stress during the planning, when we should be enjoying the acticipation.

 

GC

[ak1004]

13 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

About you asking about "cruisers from Europe"...

How is this different from cruisers "from elsewhere" who need to fly a similar number of hours (including driving time or any connections, etc.) to get from home to port?

 

There are many CC members who live in the USA, including us, who would AVOID flying in the same day, even with a relatively short non-stop flight.

 

It's not worth the relatively low risk of missing the ship, and it's certainly not worth the ongoing worry/stress during the planning, when we should be enjoying the acticipation.

 

GC

 

You are absolutely right, it's not different. I mentioned  "cruisers from Europe" just because this specific cruise leaves from Barcelona, this would be the most relevant experience.

 

For years we used to fly from Toronto to Miami the same day. Leaving around 8am, arriving at 11am.. I mean, what could go wrong? Especially in December.. maybe some "unexpected" snow storm for starters?

 

For years we were lucky. Always made it on time. If you don't know the risk, you don't worry, right? We don't do it anymore. Always a day before.

 

But this makes me re consider flights for another cruise we have that leaves from Montreal next September. It's only an hour flight, domestic, and there are flights every hour. Probably similar to NY to Washington, or LA to San Francisco. What can go wrong? I take a 10am flight, worst case they rebook me for 11am, or 12am, or 1pm etc. 

[GeezerCouple]

18 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

You are absolutely right, it's not different. I mentioned  "cruisers from Europe" just because this specific cruise leaves from Barcelona, this would be the most relevant experience.

 

For years we used to fly from Toronto to Miami the same day. Leaving around 8am, arriving at 11am.. I mean, what could go wrong? Especially in December.. maybe some "unexpected" snow storm for starters?

 

For years we were lucky. Always made it on time. If you don't know the risk, you don't worry, right? We don't do it anymore. Always a day before.

 

But this makes me re consider flights for another cruise we have that leaves from Montreal next September. It's only an hour flight, domestic, and there are flights every hour. Probably similar to NY to Washington, or LA to San Francisco. What can go wrong? I take a 10am flight, worst case they rebook me for 11am, or 12am, or 1pm etc. 

 

"What can go wrong?"

Heh.  (Yes, I know you aren't asking seriously, but for others... 😉 ) 

We wouldn't want to do it then, either, even with a very short flight, not "day of".  And the more expensive the cruise... the more important it is to us... we'd especially avoid that.

 

Thunderstorms come to mind.  They may not clear in time.

And yes, snowstorms!  Now, with these, massive storms are usually (not always!) relatively predictable, even if not the exact degree of severity.   The problem with that late information is that IF one decides it would be prudent to fly a day or two earlier, there may not be seat availability.  And what is left, may not last long as others realize the same thing.

 

When we had cruises departing from cities we hadn't visited, or not very much, we always tried to arrive several days early, and make a sightseeing trip before the cruise.  That also gave us a buffer in case of flight interruptions.  We also tried to do the same *after* a cruise in a new/less visited area, although this wasn't due to fear of missing the cruise.  En route home, there was usually a lot more flexibility in case of travel delays.

 

Chances are good there won't be a problem, but... that ship is leaving with or without us!

 

GC

 

[ak1004]

6 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

"What can go wrong?"

Heh.  (Yes, I know you aren't asking seriously, but for others... 😉 ) 

We wouldn't want to do it then, either, even with a very short flight, not "day of".  And the more expensive the cruise... the more important it is to us... we'd especially avoid that.

 

Thunderstorms come to mind.  They may not clear in time.

And yes, snowstorms!  Now, with these, massive storms are usually (not always!) relatively predictable, even if not the exact degree of severity.   The problem with that late information is that IF one decides it would be prudent to fly a day or two earlier, there may not be seat availability.  And what is left, may not last long as others realize the same thing.

 

When we had cruises departing from cities we hadn't visited, or not very much, we always tried to arrive several days early, and make a sightseeing trip before the cruise.  That also gave us a buffer in case of flight interruptions.  We also tried to do the same *after* a cruise in a new/less visited area, although this wasn't due to fear of missing the cruise.  En route home, there was usually a lot more flexibility in case of travel delays.

 

Chances are good there won't be a problem, but... that ship is leaving with or without us!

 

GC

 

 

Well, for a cruise in September that leaves from Montreal, snowstorms are not really likely. 

 

The reason I'm asking is that we cannot take longer cruises because my wife has a elderly father and she cannot leave him for too long. I convinced her to take this cruise in September which is longer than we usually take, because we will be flying the same day. And we have been in Montreal several times. But now I'm starting to have serious doubts, and I need a case to convince her that it's too much risk..   

[samiam0403]

12 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, this is an option, but not ideal, since we would have to book 2 hotels etc.

 

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

Currently live in Paris - our last cruise that departed from Barcelona, we took a train the day before. 6 hour train ride. Thanks to our pre-scheduled taxi and then an Uber cancelling on us at the last minute, we missed our train by mere minutes. €400 and a 5+ hour wait later, we were on a new train that got us in to Barcelona after 9:00pm (as opposed to arriving at 3:30pm). We're sailing out of Lisbon in 2 weeks, and will be flying in the day prior. There are just too many things that can go wrong - even when you're only a few hours from port. Late/canceled taxis, strikes, weather etc. 

[Vallesan]

15 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, this is an option, but not ideal, since we would have to book 2 hotels etc.

 

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

We live in the UK. Barcelona is only a few hours away with plenty of daily flights but we always fly in a day or two before.

Delays are common but not necessarily a calamity. But I would hate to have a flight cancelled on the day and then have to scramble around looking for another. Who needs that stress when you can travel calmly a day or so before! 
Apart from anything else an extra night or so in a hotel, when you’re spending so much on a cruise, is neither here nor there!

[n2chocola8]

Delays in flights shouldn't be your only concern. Lost luggage is another and it happens more than you think.

[ak1004]

35 minutes ago, n2chocola8 said:

Delays in flights shouldn't be your only concern. Lost luggage is another and it happens more than you think.

 

We started traveling with carry on only.

One less thing to worry about.. Highly recommended. 

[Yesimapirate]

15 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, for a cruise in September that leaves from Montreal, snowstorms are not really likely. 

 

The reason I'm asking is that we cannot take longer cruises because my wife has a elderly father and she cannot leave him for too long. I convinced her to take this cruise in September which is longer than we usually take, because we will be flying the same day. And we have been in Montreal several times. But now I'm starting to have serious doubts, and I need a case to convince her that it's too much risk..   

Snowstorms wouldn't be a worry but unless the plane you're traveling on overnights at Montreal the night before,  your concern is more about where the plane is coming from.

 

September is the high point of hurricane activity.   Even if you're the first flight of the day, if the inbound was canceled you'll face a major delay.  And that delay will cascade and increase throughout the day.

 

You'd likely spend more money getting to the next port than you would on a night in a hotel.   It's fine to do every time until that one time it isn't and you're screwed. 

 

The risk isn't worth it on this one in my opinion. 

[ak1004]

All good points, thanks everyone!!

[rbtan]

I recommend flying in the day before. We do this as it's winter when we cruise & a storm can really mess things up. If you choose to ignore the advice feel free. Just don't expect a lot of sorry to hear that.

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

We sailed out of Barcelona once.  Booked the first flight out of Heathrow, thinking we’d have plenty of time.  Unfortunately, the plane had technical issues, so we sat on the plane while they got an engineer out.  This went on for a couple of hours, then we were told the plane wasn’t fixable, so they’d have to unload all the luggage and get us on another plane.  We ended up getting in to Barcelona about 2.30/3.00pm, right in time to hit the rush hour traffic.  We arrived at the port to find everyone else had boarded, and they were just about to pull up the gangway,

 

We leapt out of the taxi, the shore staff grabbed our cases and told us to run. 

 

First and last time we ever left it until disembarkation day to fly out, even though all the European ports were only a couple of hours flight from London.  

[AMHuntFerry]

On 11/2/2023 at 12:28 PM, ak1004 said:

We have a cruise from Barcelona next November. We are considering flying early and spending few days in Warsaw.

 

The flight from Warsaw to Barcelona on the embarkation day leaves at 9:20am and arrives to Barcelona at 12:35. I believe this leaves us more than enough time to arrive to the port, even if the flight is delayed for couple hours?

 

My concern is what happens if the flight is delayed for 4-5 hours or cancelled? Will O allow us to board the ship the next day in Alicante? Not ideal of course, but as a backup plan?

OK, I'm going to hijak...we just got back from a couple of weeks in Poland and a week in Berlin (Berlin was work). We are completely sold on Poland, although I'm still untwisting my tongue from trying to speak my pathetic few words of Polish. My spouse's new favorite city is Krakow, but I'm going to have to spend some time in Innsbruck before changing my choice of favorite...Krakow is definitely in the running. We only spent time in cities and there is so much more to see. I could have easily spent an entire week in Warsaw alone. If you haven't booked a hotel yet, Hotel Bristol Warsaw was amazing (and historic). Enjoy your trip!