Should I be worried - flying in same day as cruise?

[jlhjlh]

Hello everyone,

I booked a flight & cruise through Princess last March. We will be leaving California very early Sunday morning with one stop over in Atlanta. We are supossed to land in FL around 11:45am Sunday morning. The Caribbean Princess sails around 5:00.

 

After reading some of the posts about leaving a day early, I am getting a bit worried. I am a planner and would have preferred to leave 1-2 days early, but I booked everything through Princess.

 

I know you don't have crystal balls, and the weather can be an issue this time of year. If the weather is NOT an issue, do you think we should be okay?

 

Thanks for your help with this.

JLHJLH

[Jeano222]

Atlanta can be a problem, it is so large and frequently you have to take a train to get to another terminal. If your connection is tight and you have any delay at all, you could run into trouble. Flying the day of a cruise is not too bad if you have first flight of the day and no connection. Coming all the way from California and connecting through Atlanta would be worrisome to me.

[Grandpaul]

Just out of curiosity, is that 11:45 AM arrival time, Eastern time or Pacific time? Considering you will be losing time coming across country and it's about a 5 hour flight you will have to leave around 4 AM in the morning. I believe that's correct.

[qaperson]

Considering it's already booked, what difference does it make if you worry about it? We just had to go thru Atlanta to get to FL (after trying for 2 days unsuccessfully to go thru DFW - it kept closing due to storms). Everything seemed like it would be a piece of cake except the outgoing flight was delayed an hour, which meant we had to make a mad dash from the gate to the train and then to the next gate - which had been moved while we were running I guess! Anyway, we did make it, and with 4 kids, oldest being 7.

 

As long as you can get out of there on time, you should be ok. You're arriving much earlier than you need to so you've got time for delay from Atlanta to FL though given the time of day you're arriving you'll probably be ok - usually the thunderstorms are later if they happen.

[Happy ks]

I can't believe Princess booked you a flight the same day from CA to FLA. I didn't even know that option existed, of course, I have only checked flights from southern CA. Is your flight leaving at midnight Saturday? When we flew to FLL this past May, our choices were the day before, or a red-eye arriving at 6 am. No way did we want to arrive at the airport at such an early hour and have 5 hours to kill before we could board.

 

A morning flight from California could only work if it is a non-stop flight. Or, perhaps you don't get off the plane in Atlanta??? Even then, if you left at 6am, it wouldn't land until almost 3 pm.

[cusyl]

I would recommend flying a day early. I have been stranded for hours in Atlanta...besides, all the airlines are having problems not being on time and losing luggage.

[jlhjlh]

Just to clear up the times, here they are:

 

Leave LAX 12:55 AM Sunday (pacific time)

Arrive Atlanta 8:14 AM (eastern time)

Depart Atlanta 9:35 AM (eastern time)

Arrive FL 11:25 AM (eastern time)

 

It will be a long day for sure. I don't like to fly, so flying at night is better for me. Just a little worried about the times. We missed a whole day in Paris because of weather and missing a connecting flight. This is the main reason I booked everything through Princess, but after reading the posts regarding flights and missing the boat I am getting a bit concerned.

 

I know it's a done deal and it will be what it will be. I just wanted to hear what the experience cruisers thought about it all.

 

Thanks,

jlhjlh

[pnut362]

I wouldn't worry about it. My husband and I went on CB in March of this year and our flight from ATL to FLL was delayed over an hour. We did not get into FLL until almost 3 p.m. and still made it with time to spare...

 

good lucK!

[jerseygirl3]

I think, as long as you haven't made final payment, you can still change the flights you booked with Princess and just do everything one day sooner. I believe they will just charge a $75 pp air deviation fee.

[Grandpaul]

Since the flights are booked thru Princess I wouldn't worry about it. Worst case, if you miss the ship they will fly you ahead to meet the ship. But they would hold the ship for a while. I've seen them do it for just a few passengers.

[janetz]

Just hope for no delays in Atlanta. Our daughter flew into Atlanta last week for a connection. They sat in the terminal for one hour and then in the plane for 2. Waiting for a PILOT! They had no one to fly the plane :mad: and it took 3 hours before they left. (Delta)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:)

[lurkernomore]

Two years ago we flew to Miami from New Hampshire on the day of our cruise which we booked through a TA on Royal Caribbean...everything went awesome. This Christmas we are flying to Puerto Rico for another Christmas cruise. We originally were going to fly in again on the day of the cruise out of Boston, but we didn't want to push our luck twice with New England weather. We went back to the TA and we have a hotel for the night before and they changed our flight. The hotel was very expensive, but now we have a little breathing room. It really is your choice. My theory is the cruise line is going to do everything possible to get you on the ship to start spending money!

[ggprincess2004]

You might be just fine, and that being said, if it is not too late moneywise, and you can find flights the day before at a reasonable rate, that is what I would advise. There are some reasonably priced hotels in FLL that offer free service from the airport to the hotel, and from the hotel to the cruiseport. If you want that info, just ask.

You really will arrive exhausted by the time you get to FLL, but if you get in a day early, at least you will have a day to adjust to the time change.

IF your flights are on time, you will have plenty of time to make that connection in Atlanta. But, you might want to check out the floor plan of the airport ahead of time, and make sure you know what gate you are arriving at, and what gate your flight out of Atlanta departs from so you have a game plan to hit the ground running if it is in a "distant" terminal. Chances are if you are flying the same airline on both legs, you will be going out of the same or an adjacent terminal. They have moving walkways between adjacent terminals.

IF you have flight delays, Princess will not necessarily hold the ship for you - they might hold up for a group of 50 passengers runniing 15 min. late, but not for just a few. Also, if you have trouble with flights/connections, just imagine the problem your luggage will have. IF you keep these flights, I hope you have purchased the Princess travel protection insurance.

If you want to search my prior posts for my own little horror story, have a good chuckle.:)

Whatever you decide, BON VOYAGE!

[CC Help Michell]

Since the flights are booked thru Princess I wouldn't worry about it. Worst case, if you miss the ship they will fly you ahead to meet the ship. But they would hold the ship for a while. I've seen them do it for just a few passengers.

 

Do not count on this! Cruiselines take the position (when the ink meets the check) that when they book air "for you" they are a middle man, like a TA -- that it's ultimately the airlines' responsibility if you are delayed. If an equipment failure delays your flight, you will almost surely be dealing with the airline. If it's weather... I hope you purchased travel insurance. :eek: I had a flight from Atl > Reno in June -- we were delayed SIX HOURS because they had to wait for a flight crew to arrive who weren't over their regulation hours... the originally-scheduled ones timed out due to a weather related delay on their flight into Atlanta. It's all a big puzzle... what affects some flight from LGA > ATL > MIA could affect you even if you aren't heading to/from LGA or MIA and are only in ATL.

 

I'm not trying to be the voice of doom here, truly; I'm mostly a big ol' Pollyanna. The ODDS are in your favor that all will go well, that your bags will make both of your flights with you, and you'll be on the ship raring to go! You stated "it's a done deal and what will be will be." That being said, I'd not worry about it -- you have a good bit of leeway in your schedule. If you are going to worry about it, check out an air deviation for a day in advance, and/or check into flight insurance. I wish I (or several others here) had better news. But airline delays, and lost luggage, have become endemic. The best way to beat worries over that is to be in your port city a day in advance -- second best is travel insurance.

[critterchick]

I think your schedule sucks. I hate night flights - it takes me a couple of days to recover from them - you can't realistically hope to sleep for more than a couple of hours.

 

Absent any weather or mechanical delays I think you'll make the cruise, but will be very groogy (just projecting myself into the picture).

[Happy ks]

OK, I get it. A morning flight to me is anything after 6 am. Your flight is more like a red-eye.

 

You have a 4 hour window for delay, hopefully all goes well with your flight.

[Grandpaul]

If you purchase airfare through the cruise lines and you miss the ship they have a policy called "catch you up" I believe it's called. They will fly you ahead to catch the ship. It is their responsibilty. On one occasion for us they did hold the ship for about 45 minutes and there were 4 of us, so they do hold it sometimes even for a small party. Depends on how much of a time restraint they have in their itinerary for one thing.

[jlhjlh]

Thanks everyone for your input, I really do appreciate hearing from all of you.

Yes, we did purchase travel insurance and since the cruise is two weeks away, it is paid in full.

 

I have my DH working on this today. He is checking out the floor plan of the Atlanta airport so we have an idea of where we are going and calling the airline to see if we can pay some extra and change the flight to a day ahead. I haven't flown in a few years, so I have no idea if this is even realistic.

 

I am mad at myself for not thinking about all of this sooner. Like I said, we haven't flown (the last two cruises we took we drove to the port) for a while and just didn't realize what a mess it would be (other than preparing to get through security without problems).

 

We did call Princess and they said there will probably be quite a few west coast people on the flight who will be cruising and that Princess will get us there. I'm not so sure about that after reading some of the posts. Sure wished I would have read these and done my homework before I booked that package with them.

 

This will be our third Princess cruise and so far we are very happy with their customer service. So we will see...........

 

Thanks again for all of your help.

jlhjlh

[Grandpaul]

They will get you there. Princess is a good cruiseline as you know and you'll have a great crusie.

[greatam]

If you purchase airfare through the cruise lines and you miss the ship they have a policy called "catch you up" I believe it's called. They will fly you ahead to catch the ship. It is their responsibilty.

 

 

 

It is NOT the responsibility of the cruise line to get you to your ship. This is TOTAL FALLACY. They will help (if they can). But a lot of the "cruise air" tickets are consolidator class. They are NON ENDORSABLE to other airlines. What that means to you: You have a cruise air ticket on XXX airline. It is a consolidator class ticket (most are).

 

XXX airline has a problem (doesn't matter what kind) and cannot get you to your destination on time. You CANNOT use your consolidator class ticket to board another airline. Your ticket has NO value to another airline. There is NO tit for tat exchanging tickets as is common on published fare class tickets. So you are essentially STUCK-you must travel on airline XXXX, UNLESS airline XXX pays IN CASH for a ticket on airline YYY. Not likely in today's airline environment, with most airlines in financial trouble.

 

With planes flying full, your chances of making the cruise are diminished by 95%. If you are trying to catch the cruise at other ports in the Caribbean, you may not be able to board due to PSA or lack of flight availability. Some airports are also off limits to cruise pax (Haiti and other "dangerous" airports). You may miss 2/3 or more days of your cruise.

 

Direct off the Princess website:

 

Excursions, Shoreside Services and Other Transportation: All travel facilities, tours, products or services, other than aboard Carrier’s vessels and tenders, provided in connection with, before, after or during Your Cruise, including but not limited to pre and post cruise activities, shore excursions, hotel accommodations, meals, or transportation of any kind by any vessel, vehicle, aircraft or other conveyance, are provided, owned and/or operated by independent contractors whose employees, facilities, conveyances, products and services are not subject to Carrier’s supervision or control.

 

In providing or selling reservations or tickets in connection with any such facilities or services, or by accompanying You during such activities, Carrier does so as a CONVENIENCE to Passengers and shall be entitled to impose a charge and earn a profit from the sale of such excursions, services or transportation, but does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, conveyances or facilities, and accepts NO liability for any loss, delay, damage, injury, death, misrepresentation or disappointment whatsoever resulting there from.

 

Carrier makes NO warranty, either express or implied, regarding the suitability, safety, insurance or other aspects of any such contractors, transportation, tours, services, products or facilities, and Carrier’s liability for non-performance of any independent contractor providing such facilities or services shall be limited to a refund of the amounts received by Carrier on the Passenger's behalf, if any. Any liability for such services will be governed by the terms and conditions of the Passage Contract and the contracts and/or tariffs between You and such service companies." (Emphasis mine)

[JolieMadam]

Anything at all, as we have read here can occur to make you late and you'll not get on board. You need to plan as much as possible for those contingencies. Never, would I fly in to board a cruise on the same day...there have been many times when weather has been involved and we were sweating things even arriving the day before.

[jlhjlh]

Thanks for your post Greatam, but I am going to just relax about this and have a little faith that we will make it.

 

I will learn from this and book our own flight a few days ahead next time. I just thought booking everthing through Princess would make it less stressful.......lesson learned and hopefully we will be on board when the ship leaves the dock.

 

jlhjlh

[iKarenE]

I would definitely fly in the day before and not take any chances. I just had a friend whose Laguardia flight was cancelled to Miami with no other flights available that day. They ended up paying $$$$ to fly to the second stop of the ship (the first was a private island) to meet his friends and family 3 days later. Good thing he had his passport!

[Host Kewlguy]

Hello everyone,

I booked a flight & cruise through Princess last March. We will be leaving California very early Sunday morning with one stop over in Atlanta. We are supossed to land in FL around 11:45am Sunday morning. The Caribbean Princess sails around 5:00.

 

After reading some of the posts about leaving a day early, I am getting a bit worried. I am a planner and would have preferred to leave 1-2 days early, but I booked everything through Princess.

 

I know you don't have crystal balls, and the weather can be an issue this time of year. If the weather is NOT an issue, do you think we should be okay?

 

Thanks for your help with this.

JLHJLH

 

First off, I would never book air through the cruise line for a domestic flight. I can always get a better price myself. We always fly in the same day unless it's an overseas flight. We book the earliest flight possible and haven't missed a cruise yet. Always arrived in plenty of time. People think if they book the air through the cruise line that the ship will wait for them if there are any problems. That's simply not true. The cruise line is responsible for getting you to the ship, but there is no guarantee what day that will be. It could be day two or three of the cruise. We saw this happen on one of our transatlantic cruises last year. Fortunately not to us as we booked our own air.

[RetireeWannabee]

I'll spare you the saga of how mere rain caused us to miss sailaway on our first cruise and just ask "Why risk it?"

 

Weather happens every day. Rain and wind are common occurrences that can cause delay. Trust me, it happened to us. I will never ever fly in same day again. We were lucky to have bought air thru the cruise line so all the extra flights (and there were many), the 3 hour limo ride, hotel without luggage and meals were all on them.