Flying in a day early...

[ErieCruiser08]

After reading on these boards, we decided to fly into Vancouver the day before our ship embarks--just in case. We are flying from Cleveland. We already made the final payment with our TA--who said it is unnecessary to fly in the day prior to our cruise. We asked her about that at least 3 times. Lots of people on cruise critic recommend otherwise. Flying in a day before sailing, coming from the east coast, is a better idea--right??:confused:

 

So, I want to call Celebrity myself and book an extra night prior to sailing, which means (I believe) I will have to pay air deviation of $50 per person. Thats fine, but what I am concerned about is whether or not I should have our TA change this for us. I would rather just make this change myself by calling Celebrity--anyone ever do that? And what was your experience? Our TA has been very difficult to work with for this trip and makes me very uncomfortable. Also, she has given us some wrong information that I later found the real answers for myself. Since our final payment has been made--does that mean we are done working with her, other than when she receives our cruise documents?

 

Thanks in advance!

[vickykay]

I would definitely fly in a day early (we always do) - why stress out about possibly missing connections, etc. The first cruise we took we flew the day of the cruise - from upstate NY to Fl during the winter - luckily we had good weather and made our connections, but you never know. However, we were exhausted by the time we boarded the ship and that evening. Flying the day before allows us to 1- not miss the cruise due to missing connections,

2- arriving at the ship well rested and in time to board for lunch and then explore the ship.

 

Have a great cruise!

[ErieCruiser08]

I would definitely fly in a day early (we always do) - why stress out about possibly missing connections, etc. The first cruise we took we flew the day of the cruise - from upstate NY to Fl during the winter - luckily we had good weather and made our connections, but you never know. However, we were exhausted by the time we boarded the ship and that evening. Flying the day before allows us to 1- not miss the cruise due to missing connections,

2- arriving at the ship well rested and in time to board for lunch and then explore the ship.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Thanks for the advice! Do you think its ok for me to just call Celebrity myself, without the help of our travel agent?

[nps001]

Take a look at my review that I did this week, and you will most certainly want to fly in a day early.

 

Because of schedules, we were not able to, and our luggage was lost for one day. It got to us at night on the first port.

 

Also, I am not certain, but I believe if you book with a TA, X wont do anything with your booking. It must be done by your TA.

[ErieCruiser08]

I just got off the phone with Celebrity and the guy said I have to go through our TA, since we booked through her. For some odd reason, our TA has such an attitude with us, so I am sure she will act like we are bugging her when we tell her we want to fly out a day prior. Oh well--I know next time to use a different travel agent. We learn through our experiences. :rolleyes:

[TC Cruiser]

Have you seen how well the airlines have been doing lately with getting passengers to their destinations on time? One day early may be just barely enough! :eek:

[Indiana Jones]

I just got off the phone with Celebrity and the guy said I have to go through our TA, since we booked through her. For some odd reason, our TA has such an attitude with us, so I am sure she will act like we are bugging her when we tell her we want to fly out a day prior. Oh well--I know next time to use a different travel agent. We learn through our experiences. :rolleyes:

She/He needs to become your ex-TA. Who is the customer here ?

Ask your TA if they will guarantee no problems/delays if you fly out the day of your cruise, and reimburse you for any financial loss.

[ErieCruiser08]

She/He needs to become your ex-TA. Who is the customer here ?

Ask your TA if they will guarantee no problems/delays if you fly out the day of your cruise, and reimburse you for any financial loss.

 

Thats a great idea! I think I will say just that to her: Will you reimburse us if we miss our cruise or are late?

 

If she says yes, then we will fly out the day of the cruise. Otherwise, I guess she'll be making a phone call to Celebrity and getting us on a flight one day prior. It's our money anyways. I think she just has an 'i don't care' attitude and is lazy. Grrr. :(

[caazcruzin]

Your TA is supposed to be working FOR you, not AGAINST you. You are in charge of your vacation; the day before makes so much sense as everyone has said. Good luck.

[JLC@SD]

I just got off the phone with Celebrity and the guy said I have to go through our TA, since we booked through her. For some odd reason, our TA has such an attitude with us, so I am sure she will act like we are bugging her when we tell her we want to fly out a day prior. Oh well--I know next time to use a different travel agent. We learn through our experiences. :rolleyes:

 

Sounds like you have discouvered the real problem....your TA does want to be bothered with your request.......time to get a new TA for your next trip if she still continues with her attitude......;)

 

........and I also recommend arriving a day early.

[esther e]

We live about 5 hours from Ft. Lauderdale and Miami and drive to the piers. We always go a day early because you never know what can happen on I-95 or the Pike. It's not worth the stress and hassle. So therefore, my advice would be to go early -- especially Vancouver which is a gorgeous city with so much to see and do. Enjoy!

[GaryfmCol]

especially Vancouver which is a gorgeous city with so much to see and do. Enjoy!

 

Yes..but, a word of caution.

Sadly, we stumbled into the wrong part of

Vancouver looking for Gaslight Square (I think it was).

What we found was un-believable..we found the druggie street,

and, my DW was very upset with the people that approached us.

She was convinced we were being targeted.

(We even saw one addict licking the sidewalk to get up all of

her dope, she appearently spilled.)

Lucky for us, we grabbed a cab at an intersection.

Even the driver said he saw the panic on my wifes face

trying to get out of there. :mad:

 

Vancouver is a wonderful city, but, it has its areas too.

[ErieCruiser08]

I appreciate everyone's input. It really makes sense to us to fly in a day prior to departure. I have no idea why our TA wouldn't have suggested that. She even disagreed with us when we asked her about it--several times.

 

Its a good thing I know about cruise critic. There are so many things I have learned about cruising. I need all you nice people to help me with my questions, since my TA is clueless and careless.

 

Thanks everyone~ Amy:)

[greatam]

 

So, I want to call Celebrity myself and book an extra night prior to sailing, which means (I believe) I will have to pay air deviation of $50 per person. !

 

PLEASE be aware that there may be more charges than just the air deviation fee. There may be an upcharge to the actual air fare, there MAY NOT be any tickets available for the date and time you choose and if your air has already been ticketed (NOT just booked) you MAY have to pay a change fee. Since the TA is uncooperative/clueless, make yourself aware that the air could cost you an arm and a leg to get deviation after final payment.

 

Please read through the first part of this thread BEFORE you call the TA to find out EXACTLY how cruise air and air deviation works.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322

[Schplinky]

Fly in early. There are tons of flights to Vancouver and you should be able to get one. If you don't, you also risk the treasure that is Vancouver, since you'll be spending the day getting there and transferring to the ship otherwise. Also, this would give you time to recoup lost luggage (this has happened to us twice now).

[TRadle]

Travel agents do not get paid by for making air arrangements. Most will charge a booking fee for this service. Why not book the flight yourself? There should be no problem adding the new flight information to your travel insurance.

[Schplinky]

Travel agents do not get paid by for making air arrangements. Most will charge a booking fee for this service. Why not book the flight yourself? There should be no problem adding the new flight information to your travel insurance.

 

That's a good point.

[psblin99]

I maintain a thread here in Port Canaveral and one of the pieces of advice I always give is to go a day early for all the reasons already stated. Its stressfull enough just getting to your destination, why add to it.

 

I also recommend not booking the flight home for the same reason. Have a great trip.

 

Preston

[greatam]

Travel agents do not get paid by for making air arrangements. Most will charge a booking fee for this service. Why not book the flight yourself? There should be no problem adding the new flight information to your travel insurance.

 

OP has already booked AND paid for X cruise air. And has a clueless/uncooperative TA. Kind of stuck with what the OP got.

[Schplinky]

True bu cruise ir is cancel-able until final payment, which won't have happened yet.

 

I do not agree with not flying home the day the cruise ends. It's very predictable and as long as you stick with the line's policy (usually noon), you're fine. I think that last day already has such a "party's over" feeling that to prolong it is not great.

[ErieCruiser08]

We have made final payment with TA--we are still over 60 days til our cruise departs. I figured easily we are looking at an additional $400-$500 to fly in a day early, with hotel and air deviation fee. Quite a large chuck of money--however--I feel it will be worth it. I'm making my darling husband call the TA this time. We already know how she reacts to me, maybe she'll be nicer to him, hehe;-)

 

I don't see what the big deal will be to fly in a day early, as far as adding that on to our package. If we pay the air deviation fee, is that considered using Custom Air? And will we be able to request to have a certain time frame (ex: morning, afternoon flight)? It'd be ideal for us to have a late morning flight so we can make our 2-hr drive to the airport and still arrive in Vancouver by early evening. I guess we will find out when we have yet another 'pleasant' encounter with our TA. :eek:

[TRadle]

It is sad that you don't have a great relationship with your TA. I couldn't imagine not enjoying the planning of the trip with mine. It really adds to the enjoyment when you have a great person who really knows the industry helping make your vacation perfect. Never use this person again!:eek:

[psblin99]

True bu cruise ir is cancel-able until final payment, which won't have happened yet.

 

I do not agree with not flying home the day the cruise ends. It's very predictable and as long as you stick with the line's policy (usually noon), you're fine. I think that last day already has such a "party's over" feeling that to prolong it is not great.

 

I just reread my post and see I left something out. I too want to get home. What I meant to say is not to book the flight too early so you dont stress over making it if getting off the ship takes longer than expected.

 

Preston