Anyone ever missed a ship ??

[BJDownUnder]

Anyone out there that has ever missed embarkment, and thus had to travel to the next port of call to join the ship? any stories?

[The Mexillents]

Yes, A group that I was with missed the ship in Feb 05. Large snow storm in Detroit delayed us and we didn't arrive in our departure port, New Orleans, until 11:30pm the ship left at 5pm. We booked our own room but the airline did put the others from our ship in another hotel. There were about 30 people on out plane going on this ship. we had to meet the ship in Cozumel two day later because the ship was at sea the first day. At the airport in Detroit in all of the ciaos we walk away from the tons of people missing flights and connection to a lone agent and while being super nice to her and being patient she booked us to Cozumel at no extra cost to the six of us. Others were charged $1100 each to get to Cozumel. We spent a whonderful day in New Orleans pre Katrina. The next day we flew to Cozumel but no one a RCCL could tell us what dock the ship was at. We finally made it but the ship's crew had now idea that we were coming after infoming the RCCL and the ship that we would meet the ship in Cozumel. The crew was left are bags on the dock fighting over who was going to bring them to our cabins. Overall we made it and had a great time on the cruise but was very upset with RCCL. We are avid Celebrity Cruisers and didn't expect this from RCCL. We never received a response from them. That was the last and most likely the last RCCL cruise. The moral of the stroy is to always be as nice to gate agents during a streesful time they can do alot for you without costing you more money. That's my story I hope it helps others the next time they miss the ship.

[drfun48]

Yes, A group that I was with missed the ship in Feb 05. Large snow storm in Detroit delayed us and we didn't arrive in our departure port, New Orleans, until 11:30pm the ship left at 5pm. We booked our own room but the airline did put the others from our ship in another hotel. There were about 30 people on out plane going on this ship. we had to meet the ship in Cozumel two day later because the ship was at sea the first day. At the airport in Detroit in all of the ciaos we walk away from the tons of people missing flights and connection to a lone agent and while being super nice to her and being patient she booked us to Cozumel at no extra cost to the six of us. Others were charged $1100 each to get to Cozumel. We spent a whonderful day in New Orleans pre Katrina. The next day we flew to Cozumel but no one a RCCL could tell us what dock the ship was at. We finally made it but the ship's crew had now idea that we were coming after infoming the RCCL and the ship that we would meet the ship in Cozumel. The crew was left are bags on the dock fighting over who was going to bring them to our cabins. Overall we made it and had a great time on the cruise but was very upset with RCCL. We are avid Celebrity Cruisers and didn't expect this from RCCL. We never received a response from them. That was the last and most likely the last RCCL cruise. The moral of the stroy is to always be as nice to gate agents during a streesful time they can do alot for you without costing you more money. That's my story I hope it helps others the next time they miss the ship.

A good reason to leave a day early when departing from a cold weather area in winter. I always leave from New Jersey the day before ,relax and get to the ship early. If there is a storm the airlines will have a day to work with and will try their best to help you.

[psynurse]

Hi Dr: Fellow NewJerseyite here. Hope we didnt make a mistake as plane arrives in SJ at 1:30pm and ship sails at 10:oopm same day. We live 30 minutes from you. Are you going on 12/29/08 cruise? On Galaxy to Southern Carib.

[drfun48]

Hi Dr: Fellow NewJerseyite here. Hope we didnt make a mistake as plane arrives in SJ at 1:30pm and ship sails at 10:oopm same day. We live 30 minutes from you. Are you going on 12/29/08 cruise? On Galaxy to Southern Carib.

 

No.We're on the Dec 28 Solstice out of Florida,but we're going down on Saturday afternoon the 27th.

You have plenty of time barring a blizzard.

Once we we're going to Florida for a Christmas cruise and a snow storm in Chicago delayed our plane into Newark. Departure was 4 pm,and the ship waited till almost 6pm for about twenty of us booked through Celebrity air...we we're very apprehensive and since then I always leave the day before.

The gangway was already up when we arrived and we had to hop across into a cargo entry point...quite different than the usual champagne welcome.

[GTJ]

We were booked on a Carnival vessel making a 5-day journey from New Orleans to Cozumel, Progreso, and return. Prior to the cruise we had been traveling overland throughout Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. At the time of the vessel's departure we were in San Ignacio, Belize and therefore "missed" embarkation. The following day we traveled on Línea Dorada (a Guatemalan bus line) from San Ignacio to Chetumal, Mexico, changing there to ADO (a Mexican bus line) to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. After spending the night in Playa del Carmen, we used the Ultramar ferry over to Cozumel, and walked over to the nearby cruise ship pier. After determining that our vessel was docked at the more distant pier, we took a short taxi ride to that pier, and joined the cruise at its first port of call.

 

All of our travel went perfectly, including the "missed" embarkation. We then had a most pleasant 3-night cruise from Mexico back to the United States, and the following morning we boarded the train going back home.

[hancock]

My son and daughter had a cruise booked on RCCL for March of 07. I made sure they had travel insurance and were to fly out the day before the cruise. DH and I were cruising on X when they were due to sail. Long Island was hit with an ice storm the morning they were due to fly down to FL. They sat on the plane for 4 hours before going home. They returned to the the airport the next morning in hope of getting down to Tampa for the cruise. They again sat on a plane for hours. Eventually, they just went back home, heartbroken. Could they have met the ship at the first port?...possibly. It was Grand Cayman which is notorious for closing because of rough waters. If they had flown there they might have still missed the ship. They were also unsure what the insurance would do for them . They are not knowledgeable travelers. I wasn't around to help. The insurance covered the cost of the cruise and the airline gave them vouchers for another flight in the future.

 

Sometimes, even flying down the day before isn't enough.

 

Hancock

[Longboysfan]

Hi Dr: Fellow NewJerseyite here. Hope we didnt make a mistake as plane arrives in SJ at 1:30pm and ship sails at 10:oopm same day. We live 30 minutes from you. Are you going on 12/29/08 cruise? On Galaxy to Southern Carib.

 

Usually the bad flight delay weather does not hit Jersey till February and early March.

On that note we have never been delayed out of Newark to any destination.

[Texed]

No.We're on the Dec 28 Solstice out of Florida.

 

Why don't you join our roll call? :)

[drfun48]

Usually the bad flight delay weather does not hit Jersey till February and early March.

On that note we have never been delayed out of Newark to any destination.

 

Consider yourself extremely fortunate.

I have been delayed out of Newark on numerous occasions,delays ranging from one to six hours.There were high wind problems in April,violent thunderstorms in August,fog in the fall,a snowstorm in Chicago in December which kept the flight from getting TO Newark.

I've also experienced over the years flight delays and cancellations due to job actions on the part of air traffic controllers ,baggage handlers and shortages of flight crews and attendants at holiday times.( Be really careful traveling on New Year's Day as partying flight attendants frequently call in "sick" causing the cancellation of many flights. Jan 1,2006 I was delayed in Florida eight hours then rerouted to LaGuardia for that reason.)

I've also sat on the runway in the plane for four hours during a mechanical problem.

Perhaps I'm just unlucky in this regard.But I always suggest giving yourself an extra day if possible when going on a cruise.

[lynncarol]

We missed Celebrity's departure from Dover England on our Baltic cruise one year ago when bad weather kept us from flying into Philly in time for our flight to England. Ironically, although we had booked our air through Celebrity, we were told it was the airline's fault and as such, the airline needed to get us to the next port of call in Oslo. It was a big mess as Celebrity had only authorized 2 legs of the journey and now we needed three. We felt that at the least, Celebrity should have someone designated to assist travelers who, through no fault of their own, missed the ship, but this was not the case. Finally, US Air managed to get us to Oslo where Celebrity paid for our accommodations until we caught up with the ship.

[GaryfmCol]

We flew to Amsterdam Holland from DEN

for a 9 day British Isles cruise. The ship left

Amsterdam on time. The 2nd day was a Sea Day.

The 3d day, we anchored in Edinburgh Scotland.

We were on the first shuttle ashore, in the rain, I might add.

When we got to the pier, there were 50 people with luggage,

waiting for our shuttle BACK to the ship. (All wet too :mad: )

I asked one of the crewmen,"Where'd they come from?"

I was told all of them missed their flight to Amsterdam.

 

We would NEVER go on a cruise without

going a minimum of a day early.

(For this cruise starting in Amsterdam, we went 5 days early.

A wonderful country to visit and, we stayed in B&B's.)

[Sky Sweet]

Usually the bad flight delay weather does not hit Jersey till February and early March.

On that note we have never been delayed out of Newark to any destination.

 

Hi longboysfan :)

 

You are very lucky because our delayed flight from JFK to Barcelona in June for our Mediterranean Cruise was canceled at 2:00 AM, after spending four hours on the tarmac, because of thunderstorms in the NY/NJ area.

 

Fortunately, we had planned to arrive in Barcelona a day early and were able to rebook the non stop flight for the following night, so we just went straight from the airport to the cruise terminal instead of a hotel in Barcelona as originally planned.

 

There were quite a few people on our canceled flight, though, who were not able to get on the flight we had rebooked and had to catch up with the ship in Villafranche (Nice).

[new salt]

I have only one cruise under my belt (three more booked!) but a lifetime in aviation. I believe that another aviation professional on this board would echo the following sentiment; do everything you can to arrive a day pre-cruise, particularly if flying long haul. My second piece of advice is do not use European low cost carriers, particularly Ryanair, to position for either a cruise or a connecting flight home. If anything goes wrong you will get the level of sympathy generally reserved for a swatted mosquito and a similar level of help. It could cost you a small fortune to salvage either the remnants of your holiday or your flight home. If you are spending so much on a vacation and travelling so far, why not aim to arrive a day or so before sailing, book a through flight, get over your jetlag, taste the wine, sniff the air, unwind and sail relaxed at a cost of what? A couple of hundred dollars extra?

 

Wishing you fair winds and smooth sailing

 

New Salt

[gfkcruiser]

We missed embarkation of our first cruise in Feb 2001 when our Delta flight was canceled on a beautiful Feb day because Delta said the plane that was sitting at the gate was broken. After the last plane departed and rerouting as many passengers as they could, Delta canceled the flight. (It was presidents weekend holiday.) Since Carnival had booked the flight they sent us to Atlanta that night and onto San Juan the next morning and caught the ship on Monday night - two days later. We had the company of a lot of families with us. The hotel and transport to the pier by taxi was paid by Delta. We did have insurance but could not recoup for lost vacation due mechanical failure of the plane - clearly stated exclusion in the travelguard policy. We did get reimbursed for some meals. However, we put up a big stink when we came back and received fair remuneration from Delta and Carnival in credits which we used the next year.

[GaryfmCol]

I have only one cruise under my belt (three more booked!) but a lifetime in aviation. I believe that another aviation professional on this board would echo the following sentiment; do everything you can to arrive a day pre-cruise, particularly if flying long haul. My second piece of advice is do not use European low cost carriers, particularly Ryanair, to position for either a cruise or a connecting flight home. If anything goes wrong you will get the level of sympathy generally reserved for a swatted mosquito and a similar level of help. It could cost you a small fortune to salvage either the remnants of your holiday or your flight home. If you are spending so much on a vacation and travelling so far, why not aim to arrive a day or so before sailing, book a through flight, get over your jetlag, taste the wine, sniff the air, unwind and sail relaxed at a cost of what? A couple of hundred dollars extra?

 

Wishing you fair winds and smooth sailing

 

New Salt

 

Yep..

You got it.

Go a day early and, do exactly as you indicated.

That is CHEAP insurance and, peace of mind...

just NOT to have to worry IF you'll make it on time. ;)

 

I spent over 40 years BORING holes in the skies.

And, sitting in BORING hotels. :rolleyes: