LearningTheRopes Posted July 7, 2004 #1 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I am arriving in Fort Lauderdale to board the Celebrity Cruiseliner, and I think I may have booked the arrival time too late. In trying to save some money, I booked the airfare myself rather than going through the travel agent. Once I booked the airfare, I called the travel agent to get shuttle service through celebrity, and thats when I found out it may not be possible to board the ship in time. I arrive Saturday at 2:50pm and the ship sets sail at 4:30pm. The travel agent said I would need to fly in by 1:00pm to use Celebrity's shuttle service. My options are somewhat limited at this point. I can take a taxi, but I am still worried that I may not arrive by 4:00pm which the ship requires all passengers to board by. Airfare is non refundable :( Has anyone ever "cut is close" to board a ship? Is it too risky to board in time? Any recommendations is certainly appreciated Learning the Ropes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doone Posted July 7, 2004 #2 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I think its way too risky and if you are delayed along the line at all, you will be in trouble. What I would do and what I do do when I book my own air, I always fly in a day ahead. Perhaps you can change the time of your flight to the day before you sail, get a hotel room and start your vacation relaxed, not wondering whether or not you are going to miss the ship or not. Also, you don't need to spend the extra money for the Celebrity shuttle service, just hop into a cab. Everything in Ft. Lauderdale is very close from the airport to the pier to hotels. Shouldn't cost more than $13 or so to go from the airport to the pier. But I still say to fly in a day ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo's Mom Posted July 7, 2004 #3 Share Posted July 7, 2004 LearningtheRopes..... Yeah.... that is too close. If you have any type of delay, you are not going to make it. That is a lot of stress to contend with.....as you are starting your cruise vacation. Ok. Your ticket is nonrefundable. But....I am sure you can pay and have it changed. Yes, it will cost you...but look at how much you have invested in the cruise. Ditto about the shuttle. The cab ride is only a few minutes to the port. I also would recommend arriving the day before. Or....at least, late morning on the day of the cruise. Hey....don't beat yourself up over this. We all live and learn....and sometimes it hurts. Hang in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish1c Posted July 7, 2004 #4 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Learning -- On our last cruise I learned about flying standby. If you didn't book through priceline or some other bidding site, you should be able to do this. There is no charge for standby but there is not guarentee either. First, go to the airline's web page. Now search for all the flights from where you are to where you want to go on the day of your cruise. Find the "best" one or two that leave [i]before[/i] your flight. We started with the earliest possible. Write down that info or print it out. Now call the airline. Tell them what happened -- you didn't know, you're afraid to miss the ship etc. They will be very nice. If they are not, call back 'till you get a nice person on the other end. Ask them what their standby policies are & how crowded the earlier flights are. Then on the day of, get to the AP early enough to make the earliest of the standby flights. When you check in, tell the person at the desk what you want / need. They will direct you to the gate of the earlier flight. Check in with that person too. After they have boarded everybody who is actually ticketed on that flight, if there are any seats left, your name will be called & you can board. We did this & arrived on a non-stop flight rather than one with a long layover 4 hours earlier than scheduled. :D Boy do we love American Airlines. Since you won't know what time you are arriving, skip the cruise line's shuttle service & just take a cab. Don't worry -- every cabbie knows where the pier is. Next time you'll know better. If you can't do any of the above, 1) pray for no problems or delays; 2) pack so lightly that you do not have checked luggage & 3) run don't walk through the AP when you land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LearningTheRopes Posted July 8, 2004 Author #5 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Thanks for all the input. I tend to agree that arriving so close to departure definitely would put a lot of stress on the trip. I just wish I would have realized this sooner, but like Trish1 said, I'll know better next time. The stanbdby option is probably not an option since I booked the flight at the earliest time possible for that Saturday. However, I did call the Southwest representative to find out what options I had. Basically, I was able to move the time to the day before (Friday) without incurring any extra airfare cost. :) So we will be able to relax a little before the cruise without fear of missing the boat. The only negative thing out of my mistake will be the expense of the Hotel. Definitely a learning experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaribbeanCruisesRock Posted July 8, 2004 #6 Share Posted July 8, 2004 [b][color=darkorange]Well, just hope you'll get there.[/color][/b] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doone Posted July 8, 2004 #7 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Learningtheropes, it doesn't have to be an expensive mistake as you may think. I think you did the right thing. There is a board here on hotels, lots of wonderful people to help you out there. There is a web site where you can book the Amerisuites, its [url]www.valuetrips.com[/url] not a bad price. But if you want to be daring, try priceline. Priceline is where you bid on hotel rooms, when your bid is accepted, just be aware you cannot pick your hotel your hotel will be revealed after your bid is accepted. You cannot cancel or change your reservation and your charge card is charged immediately. I did this for the first time last year, and yes, I was leary like you probably are now. What I did was to bid 3* downtown, after many rejections, I finally got my bid accepted at $52 for the Marriott Hotel and Marina. I was happy. Before trying priceline, please read these two web sites first, they are a wealth of information, they are: [url]www.biddingfortravel.com[/url] and [url]www.biddingforfun.com[/url] great web sites. Hope this helps, let us know how you make out with a hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo's Mom Posted July 8, 2004 #8 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Hi Krystle!! :D Learning the Ropes..... So glad to hear that you will not be incurring any additional airline expense. When you arrive the day before....and are able to relax...and start your cruise after a good night sleep.... you will be glad you changed your plans. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieBon Posted July 8, 2004 #9 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Thanks goodness you could change your flight. Now head over to Priceline and find a hotel that's within your price range. Check out [url]www.biddingfortravel.com[/url] before you bid. They have lots of advice on bidding for hotel rooms & show you what people have been paying for different hotels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trouble48746 Posted July 9, 2004 #10 Share Posted July 9, 2004 LearningTheRopes Glad things worked out for you with the airline. We usually stay at the Amerisuites in FLL. It has free shuttle from the airport and also to the cruise port as well as a breakfast buffet. You can usually get a good deal on priceline. I believe they are the only 2 1/2 star in that area, but I could be wrong. Good luck and enjoy your cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted July 9, 2004 #11 Share Posted July 9, 2004 Use the bidding for travel board and look a the hotels near the Airport. We got the wyhndam for 38.00 Arriving the night before is sooo worth the hotel room expense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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