Miss Ship

[kinggartk]

Do you mean it would be illegal for them to board in Tampa if that was the first stop? The reason I say this is I was on the Rhapsody out of Galveston and our first stop was Key West - a US city.

 

I may be wrong, but I beleive the Jones act refers to "Between USA Main land ports" only. Since Key West is not on the "Main Land", they are not breaking any laws.

[cruisecastle]

I just spoke to a Carnival rep who scared the B-Jesus out of me. Being a newbie, this is not something you want to hear. She was telling me that people miss the boat due to the airline. Then she told me it is $97 per person (3 for me) to stay in a hotel the night before. I don't have any extra money to spend. What are the chances of missing the boat coming in on the same day? Help:(

 

Always fly in the day before. Always!

[Guest nhrich]

The cruise lines can sail from one American port to another, nothing illegal about it. What they can't do is pick up passengers at the the 2nd American port if there is not a foreign port in between.

 

They can sail to another American port, but there must be a stop at a distant foreign port to do so. A Mexican or Canadian port wouldn't count, but some place like Aruba would.

 

Rich, ACC

Carefree Vacations

[ADB]

They waited for us in Vancover, we got to the cruise term. at 4:00, we were the last ones to board the ship....they said they were waiting on us and that they knew when we would arrive because they were in contact with the airlines the whole time......

[nimbex1970]

you just can't plan for bad weather,like in winter. Late April a few years ago, thunderstorms closed atlanta airport, thousands missed connections and few were left to be rebooked. THEN we had to make an emergency landing due to illness of a passenger. You can't plan for either.

 

Sorry, don't want to stress you but it can and does happen. Plus, I'm a bit concerned over the $100 cash concern. you need the availability of funds in case you have something go wrong on the islands. Being that cash tight can leave you in a real mess.

 

Ex. when we missed our flights because of the above instance, there were over 10 of us that purchased new tickets out of pocket and had to file insurance claims later.. so not trying to be a doomsayer but you'll need a cash reserve for "just in case".

 

hope this is helpful, not meant to cause more worry, just have experience doing it the hard way. Insurance and plastic saved us this trip, especially because our luggage didn't make our last minute transfer:rolleyes:

[big_duck]

It is the Passanger Services Act, not the Jones Act.

 

In the case used as an example above, the OP of that thread made the decision to not continue to the next port because it was only a 4 day cruise it had nothing to do with what Carnival and their insurance would or would not cover.

 

The quoted $97 PP by Carnival more then likely includes transfers from the airport to the hotel to the ship.

[Jacky4]

If you are cruising out of FL there are thousands of hotels that are so cheap. Do your research on the internet and you can find hotels for less than $50 per night. Nothing fancy but good enough for one night. I go to the major websites and when I find a cheap hotel I don't look at how many stars it's rated. I look to see if there are any customer reviews. I have found 2 star hotels have good reveiws.

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

This is incorrect for some reason (but I am not sure why)...Carnival used to have an itin out of here (Tampa) that went to grand cayman, Cozumel...New Orleans and then back to Tampa. They let off and on pax in both Tampa and NOLA. So Tampa was the first stop out of NOLA. That was only about 3 years ago. They booked that ship out of both ports. I think it was the Celebration if I remember correctly.

 

 

No it is correct, what is happening is the NOLA people start and end in NOLA and the Tampa,start and end in Tampa.So both are going to 2 foreign ports.

[cruisecruisecruise1234567]

If you booked air & transport with the cruise line they WILL wait for you if something happens. Hopefully you bought the travel Ins. & that would payoff if you were delayed for a number of reasons. I highly recommend the Ins.

 

 

Where did you get the info?:rolleyes: Please tell us where it is written.

 

So if you are from Maine and a snow storm prevents you from landing into JFK until 3 hours later causing you to miss your connection,but you get another 5 hours later and then you get into Florida at midnight and finally to the ship at 3am, you expect it to wait?

[julieanne]

Do you mean it would be illegal for them to board in Tampa if that was the first stop? The reason I say this is I was on the Rhapsody out of Galveston and our first stop was Key West - a US city.

Yes, they can board in Tampa. They cannot sail from Galveston and debark in Tampa. The Jones act (or Passengers services act) states that passengers cannot sail or fly on a foreign flagged vessel for transportation between U.S. ports. They must stop at a foreign port first. This would not stop passengers from embarking for the first time from other U.S. ports. We also had passengers embarking in Key West on our Splendour cruise from Galveston and we had people who debarked in Cadiz, Spain, not our last stop, Barcelona.

OP, why not look for a "red-eye" flight? You may be tired the next day from the overnight flight, but it would solve the problem! ;)

[mrdood]

Did the OP ever say where they are connecting from/to???

 

Day of flying is NOT that dangerous depending upon where you are flying from and to. If it is a relatively short flight served by a lot of carriers then your risks can be managed, you are still subject to a major fluke.

 

Just fly early in the A.M., have a list of other carriers and available flights printed out from one of the major travel sites, be prepared to unload your own cash for an emergency flight and deal with reimbursement/insurance when you get back.

 

Good luck!

[123KIA456]

Hello:

 

My husband and I have been on 9 Cruises, 8 times on Carnival. We've only flown in early once. 7 of the Cruises we booked our own Airline tickets, seating, transfers, travel insurance, etc. I guess you could call us

blessed because we've NEVER missed or came close to missing our ship.

 

One thing we always do is take an early flight out the day we sail.

We're usually at the Airport on or around 6am for our flight and

most times sit at the Airport and watch the guest come in from Cruises

as we wait to board the bus to the port.

 

We've Cruised out of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, San Juan, PR, & Los Angelos, CA to name a few.

 

If you can't get a hotel room the day before the ship, at least fly out

as early as you can on the day. Don't stress yourself about it.

 

Happy Sailing.

[7SEASSISTER]

If that is the case, they Carnival has to fly them to the next port and put them up in a hotel with food.. That is if air and tran. were thru Carnival. That is why they wait for you, it will cost them to leave without you..

 

The only thing that gets u to the next port is insurance.

[momofzeke]

My first cruise, I was flying from Reno to LAX ~ a quick 1 1/2 hour flight. My son was flying from San Francisco to LAX for the same cruise. LAX was fogged in and no planes were being allowed to land. The fog finally cleared and we made it in time to get to our ship, but I was sweating bullets for a while.

 

I will always fly in the day before my cruise now.

[mrdood]

The only thing that gets u to the next port is insurance.

 

...the only thing that gets you to the next port is money!!! Insurance will not front you the money, you file a claim for it after you are home...

[7SEASSISTER]

...the only thing that gets you to the next port is money!!! Insurance will not front you the money, you file a claim for it after you are home...

 

you are absolutely correct, but at least I get it back instead of being up the ____creek without a paddle.

[Cruise, J.D.]

Why start your vacation stressed? Just fly/drive to the embarkation port the day before.

[cruisinbuddy]

I just spoke to a Carnival rep who scared the B-Jesus out of me. Being a newbie, this is not something you want to hear. She was telling me that people miss the boat due to the airline. Then she told me it is $97 per person (3 for me) to stay in a hotel the night before. I don't have any extra money to spend. What are the chances of missing the boat coming in on the same day? Help:(

 

This is what I did for my last cruise. I went to google earth, found the port, and then I clicked on the accomodations and it showed me the hotels in the area. I wrote down the names and searched them out and got the best deal I could for flying in the day before, $148.00.

Ahhhh computers can be a very good tool. I booked my cruise with a ta and booked my own airfare and hotel and saved a ton o $$$.

By the way, what's a B-Jesus :D ?

[skyscanr]

If that is the case, they Carnival has to fly them to the next port and put them up in a hotel with food.. That is if air and tran. were thru Carnival. That is why they wait for you, it will cost them to leave without you..

 

 

Yes but if you do not have the passport you can not fly to the next port that is outside the country. There was a post on that she and hubbie had thier BC's but no passport so no flight

[captainmayi]

We are going on the Spirit to Alaska in August. We decided to let carnival take care of our air and transfers. Now I'm concerned after reading that people have missed the ship due to flying in the same day. Are we able to fly in the day before even if carnival is taking care of our air?

[Janespup]

You live in NYC. There are so many airports (3 major and another 3-4 minor hubs) in your area that you should be able to catch an early flight to get you to the port with several hours to spare. You could also get the trip insurance, just in case, if you are traveling during hurricane or winter storm season.

[jpmaximus]

I think you can fly in the day of the cruise as long as the arrival time is reasonable. If the ship leaves at 4pm i wouldnt have a flight arrive at 1:30-2pm. Try and get a flight that lands in the morning that way if you are delayed you will still have time to make it. Secondly get the insurance!

[Tucker in Texas]

If you arrange for your own air to go in a day early, it will probably be cheaper than the cruise line's air and will cover most of your hotel room and other expenses. You also get to "pick your poison" which is good because the cruise lines sometimes have very innovative itineraries to get you there. If the airlines tell them that an hour to change planes in Chicago is a legal time frame, then they will book you on the plane (and keep in mind, their goal is to get you to Miami as cheaply as possible and if it requires plane changes, long layovers, not their problem as long as it schedued to get you with a scheduled arrival time in Miami at 3:00 p.m. the day of departure. Any delays enroute, you are dead meat! They will assist you in getting you to the first port but you have missed one sea day at best. Face it, McDonald's is not so bad for eating because "good times are a-coming." Hotels have free continental breakfasts. The exception to this might be flights to Puerto Rico for departures. The cruiseline fare may be cheaper. But then the ships there usually don't leave until late evening so you do have "wiggle room" for delays.

 

If you live in an area with snow, etc., it would be suicide not to go in a day early during the winter. On a February cruise last year out of Ft. Lauderdale we were going in a day early, Houston to Ft. Lauderdale. We were delayed by thunderstorms in Ft. Lauderdale by about three or four hours because the airport was closed down. I can tell you, a mighty yell went up when the cruise passengers scheduled for that day to leave saw the ships still in port at 5:00 p.m. when we landed, They did delay a couple of hours for them because so many were involved. However, on the return flight home, there was a massive snow storm in the NE and people were there three days trying to get out. The ships all left on time because they knew it would be 24 hours plus before those people flying from the NE would get in. So those coming in were out of luck. I had friends scheduled for a cruise to Alaska last June flying from Houston. The airport was fogged in, their flight delayed enough to miss their connection into Anchorage to board the ship on time. They ended up missing the entire cruise because it coudn't be worked out that they could catch up with the ship in a timely manner. So bad weather is not just limited to cold weather areas in the winter.

 

What we do is find an el cheapo hotel room near the airport--usually $100. We take the free shuttle to the hotel. Then we take the shuttle back to the airport where fixed rate cabs to the port are around $25 for as many people and luggage as you can get into it. From the hotel, it is on the meter. If you pick a hotel that does not have a restaurant on site, the hotel shuttle is usually happy to take you to a nearby Outback Steak House and a lot of times you can get a recommendation at the desk of a non-chain restaurant which is a good one. While you can roll the dice and go with Priceline and get a four star hotel for $100, you have cab fare to take in consideration to the hotel and then again to port.

 

Another advantage of going in early is that if your luggage does not arrive with you, you have time for it to catch up with you. On our last Alaskan cruise, this happened. We explained the situation of meeting a ship the next day. When the luggage came in on a later flight, they sent it out immediately to our hotel in a cab rather than wait for their contracted driver who would take late luggage to many different places when they had a "load" to delivery. A hint, though, is to pack each suitcase with half and half of each person's clothing and hand carry 24 hours worth. So if one does go astray, you can limp along with the suitcase that doesn't until it catches up with you. Just make sure your clothes are coordinated in each suitcase. It isn't going to help if you have nothing but striped shirts and plaid slacks/shorts in the one that does accompany you or your nice dress in one and shoes to match in the other (lol).

 

We arrive at the ship at 11:30 the next day, rested, relaxed and stress free. Trust me, it is worth every dime that it adds to your budget.

 

Tucker in Texas

[PINEVIEW01]

If that is the case, they Carnival has to fly them to the next port and put them up in a hotel with food.. That is if air and tran. were thru Carnival. That is why they wait for you, it will cost them to leave without you..

The case is true. We all followed her through the whole process and no Carnival didn't put them up with or without food. There have been many cases here thru the years of this very thing.:rolleyes:

[PINEVIEW01]

This is incorrect for some reason (but I am not sure why)...Carnival used to have an itin out of here (Tampa) that went to grand cayman, Cozumel...New Orleans and then back to Tampa. They let off and on pax in both Tampa and NOLA. So Tampa was the first stop out of NOLA. That was only about 3 years ago. They booked that ship out of both ports. I think it was the Celebration if I remember correctly.

Did that one! On the Inspiration!