I need help!! Plane travel for cruise

[flag fan]

If it's a choice of going and not going, I would go. Although there is always the risk of a late flight or delays, the odds are with you. To give you some leeway, I think you should pay for the earlier flight and also consider arranging for a car service, instead of relying on a cab. Those cab lines can be long and slow. After you get to the airport you'll have to wait for your bags and then wait again for a cab, so factor those times into your schedule as well as the length of the drive. I think its easily do-able.

[WCAB]

I suggest you print out all of these and give to your supervisor. As a past supervisor to a pretty big group of personnel, I would have helped make this work out. You can always preface by stating that if not possible, you would certainly understand and work something out. I think you will be surprised at

how your employer will be willing to help out.

[Colo Cruiser]

And from MN it is an even bigger crap shoot!!! :eek:

[arabrab]

OK, it seems to me that the worst case is that you have to join the ship in Aruba, which isn't a terrible thing. (And, that seems fairly unlikely). I second the suggestion of flying nonstop to Miami. Buy good travel insurance with adequate trip cancellation, interruption and delay coverage so that if you need to get to Aruba that you have the coverage. Check out insuremytrip.com. Make sure that your ticket is on a carrier that is covered by the insurance company (some carriers are excluded because they're in precarious financial positions -- like Frontier :mad: ) and make sure that the coverage includes your cruisefare, not just the airline ticket. Note that in most cases you'll need to have enough credit card capacity to pay for the extra expenses yourself and then apply for reimbursement from the insurance company.

 

Pack a light carryon with enough resort clothing (and bathing suits!) to keep you ok for a day or two in case your luggage doesn't make it. Bring PASSPORTS that expire at least six months after your cruise is scheduled to finish.

 

Ideally you'd be able to fly in a day ahead, but honestly, even that doesn't always work.

 

Have a wonderful honeymoon.

[coiran]

You may want to consider booking air through Princess and buying Princess Insurance. If you don't make the ship they will get you to the next port without any cost to you.

Ron

[Spender Nui]

You probably don't want to hear this but you might want to consider something other than a cruise ... or maybe a shorter cruise with a day or 2 on each end. Don't take a chance on a stressful honeymoon. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[98Charlie]

OK, it seems to me that the worst case is that you have to join the ship in Aruba, which isn't a terrible thing. (And, that seems fairly unlikely). I second the suggestion of flying nonstop to Miami. Buy good travel insurance with adequate trip cancellation, interruption and delay coverage so that if you need to get to Aruba that you have the coverage. Check out insuremytrip.com. Make sure that your ticket is on a carrier that is covered by the insurance company (some carriers are excluded because they're in precarious financial positions -- like Frontier :mad: ) and make sure that the coverage includes your cruisefare, not just the airline ticket. Note that in most cases you'll need to have enough credit card capacity to pay for the extra expenses yourself and then apply for reimbursement from the insurance company.

 

Pack a light carryon with enough resort clothing (and bathing suits!) to keep you ok for a day or two in case your luggage doesn't make it. Bring PASSPORTS that expire at least six months after your cruise is scheduled to finish.

 

Ideally you'd be able to fly in a day ahead, but honestly, even that doesn't always work.

 

Have a wonderful honeymoon.

For me, arabrab's advice is right.

 

• Get insurance that will cover the cost of 'catching up'.
  
• Take the direct flight to MIA
  
• Be mentally prepared for the chance of spending 2 extra days in MIA/FLL. Or, if you miss it might mean a night or 2 in Aruba while the ship catches up to you.:p That's not necessarily a bad way to start your honeymoon.
  
• Only you can evaluate the temperment of your supervisor. You are a professional and I would think that your supervisor is one also. However, you are new on the job and I don't know how willing he/she would be to guarantee that you could work an earlier shift 4 months in advance.
  

 

Charlie

[spongerob]

You can also see if there are options for flights that leave later in the day or in the evening. You might arrive in Florida very late but it gives you the option to put in a day's work (yeah, right, you'll be useless anyway :)) and still fly out the day before your cruise.

[silvercruiser]

You'll want to check out how many ships will be in port that day. Sorry, I forget the web site, but I know from experience that when there are around 8 ships there that it can take an hour just to get from the entrance to the port to your ship. It's a madhouse.

Years ago we flew in the same day, but that was before the days of hubs and the nonstop planes actually arrived on time. No way would I do it that way anymore. In fact, with so many flights being cancelled we're going in TWO days ahead of time for a cruise out of Montreal in October. And I choose a connection where there are several flights ou.t In case ours is cancelled there's another one coming up.

Weatherwise, you don't have lots to worry about in October, but once it starts snowing you'd better plan really carefully. Met quite a few people last year on a cruise out of Tampa who started out two days early and still missed the cruise and had to catch up to it later.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

My suggestion would be to look at a 7 day cruise, why book a 10 day if you are going to take the risk of having to get to the second port to catch the ship and therefore have a 8 day cruise either way.

If you booked the 7 day you could enjoy the cruise without all the hassle and stress.

[MoonPet]

Not sure if someone else has mentioned it, but if you can only fly the day of departure, make a real effort to be on one of the earliest flights out that morning. Typically, early morning departures are least likely to be delayed since delays tend to build up as the day goes on.

 

Of course, leaving the house at 4 am always stinks, but you can always nap on the ship, right?