They Missed the Cruise!!!

[cruisekwazee]

I had this happen to me on my first cruise as well except it was Princess and they took really good care of us as well. It was our cruise to Alaska and they put us up the night in Seattle and flew us to Ketchikan where we met the ship the next day. Was a very interesting trip to say the least. I will never fly in the day of the cruise again!!

[Lady Anna Lee]

I just booked on the Carnival Dream, Phoned them directly and was told my flight would be $800, and I might find a better price if I do it myself. Looks like I can save almost $300 if I book my own:D,And I find that the cruise flights are usually awful long days and YES I'm heading down early, infact, really early, try a week, going to do the DisneyWorld thing. I missed a cruise once when the plane broke down, it was a 2 hr flight that took 12 hrs, just missed the ship.... VERY stressful day sitting in the airport waiting:mad:. Booked the whole thing through RCCL, they ended up flying us to Cabo and putting us up in a very nice all-inclusive, but never again will I fly in on the day of a cruise.

[bfkkbc]

Not true. You can request a deviation and pay for it, or book with someone else.

 

Why would you want to pay for a deviation when it is proboably cheaper just book on your own anyway????

[AFsouth]

Why would you want to pay for a deviation when it is proboably cheaper just book on your own anyway????

Agree 100%. I've always booked my own flights and each one have been far cheaper than the cruiseline. for our next cruise (May 09) the airfare thru CCL was $463pp. I booked a flight (day before cruise) for $322 r/t for two!:D

[jetskier]

Wow what a story! Seems like it would have been cheaper for Carnival to hire a boat from port to take them to the ship! How far away could the ship get if they were only 15 minutes behind?? They do it in Mexico all the time -- I wonder if it could be done from the original embarkation point.

 

Homeland Security requires a manifest be submitted 60 minutes PRIOR to sailaway. Once submitted, they cannot add to the manifest. So even though the ship is sitting there, you will not be allowed to board it if you are not checked in prior to the submission.

 

If they hold off on the submission because a group is late, then the ship cannot sail until one hour after the submission so the list can be vetted.

 

Dave

[Ship Addict]

Homeland Security requires a manifest be submitted 60 minutes PRIOR to sailaway. Once submitted, they cannot add to the manifest. So even though the ship is sitting there, you will not be allowed to board it if you are not checked in prior to the submission.

 

If they hold off on the submission because a group is late, then the ship cannot sail until one hour after the submission so the list can be vetted.

 

Dave

 

ahh this explains it Dave. Thanks. I was under the impression that the manifest had to be provided upon RETURN of the ship, not departure, so I was thinking maybe they could check in at the terminal as you usually would and then a boat might be able to take you to the ship. Please forgive my naive little mind!! :D

[Vanessa L]

Why would you want to pay for a deviation when it is proboably cheaper just book on your own anyway????

 

And, as this and other posts point out, they will not hold the ship for you just because you booked air through them. IMHO, it is a lose-lose situation to book air through the cruiselines. It is cheaper and you can get the route and times you want if you book your own air. Win-win.

[KingofSomewhereHot]

The idea of missing the cruise because of plane delays SCARES ME! Every cruise I have been on I have driven to the port except for the one coming up for my honeymoon. Our plane tickets were a gift from our families and since they were a surprise they booked us on the earliest flight the day of our cruise. I am extremely nervous about it. If we miss the ship we are out of a honeymoon completely. We are not the type of people who can afford to just grab a last second plane ticket to a caribbean island. We have insurance but it just wouldn't be the same. I'm 23 days away and my stomach is already in knots thinking about missing the cruise because of a delayed flight...it just may be my worst fear!

[happy cruzer]

Did the group book insurance thru Carnival?? Maybe that is why they got taken care of?

 

Anyway I don't think it is a good idea to rely on the kindness of the air line or the cruise line to compensate for weather delays. If a plane has mechanical problems the air line is on the hook to help you out, I think the poster who shared the RCCL story was really mostly helped by the air line because of mechanical problems. As even with insurance you have to dig into the details, some policies won't cover weather delays and other policies the delay has to be of long enought period to be covered.

 

And like one poster said travellers have been delayed for many days before because of weather, strikes, uprising, etc.

 

There is no guarantee. Just make the best plan you can and be prepared if something changes. The more options you have the better. I go early and look for routes that have several carriers and flights available. Good luck all!

[jetexpress]

your friends name wasn't ms. Tori was it? :confused:

 

hahahahaha

[jetexpress]

The idea of missing the cruise because of plane delays SCARES ME! Every cruise I have been on I have driven to the port except for the one coming up for my honeymoon. Our plane tickets were a gift from our families and since they were a surprise they booked us on the earliest flight the day of our cruise. I am extremely nervous about it. If we miss the ship we are out of a honeymoon completely. We are not the type of people who can afford to just grab a last second plane ticket to a caribbean island. We have insurance but it just wouldn't be the same. I'm 23 days away and my stomach is already in knots thinking about missing the cruise because of a delayed flight...it just may be my worst fear!

 

I would get some insurance ASAP! Wherre are you flying to/from? Airline? Itinerary? Sorry, just curious about possible delays, etc. Still though, find some insurance. A small price to pay for having a worry-free honeymoon. No way to start your new life together.

[KingofSomewhereHot]

I would get some insurance ASAP! Wherre are you flying to/from? Airline? Itinerary? Sorry, just curious about possible delays, etc. Still though, find some insurance. A small price to pay for having a worry-free honeymoon. No way to start your new life together.

 

We have insurance(always get it, never needed it). I just haven't looked over the fine details as of yet. The idea of missing the boat even with insurance scares me a good bit.

[MrPete]

We missed our cruise once as well, and Carnival stepped up to the plate and let us sail the following month. Insurance paid for everything else.

[bleuiz]

We always come in the day before and then when we get to the hotel I look at my husband and tell him if I had to walk with my suitcase I could still make the ship in time.:D I could just see myself walking to the port of Miami across the bridge lugging my bags:eek:

 

On our two Florida cruises, we came in early by a few days to visit with my parents, who drove us to the ship, and then picked us up....then back to NY....

Recently, we've been cruising out of NY....

[Princess246]

On our two Florida cruises, we came in early by a few days to visit with my parents, who drove us to the ship, and then picked us up....then back to NY....

Recently, we've been cruising out of NY....

 

Have you ever sailed from NY during the Fall?

[bleuiz]

Have you ever sailed from NY during the Fall?

 

Not yet.....school is in session in the fall....

[FlaKrznNubie]

The idea of missing the cruise because of plane delays SCARES ME! Every cruise I have been on I have driven to the port except for the one coming up for my honeymoon. Our plane tickets were a gift from our families and since they were a surprise they booked us on the earliest flight the day of our cruise. I am extremely nervous about it. If we miss the ship we are out of a honeymoon completely. We are not the type of people who can afford to just grab a last second plane ticket to a caribbean island. We have insurance but it just wouldn't be the same. I'm 23 days away and my stomach is already in knots thinking about missing the cruise because of a delayed flight...it just may be my worst fear!

 

Seems like you have it covered: first flight of the day (suggests multiple flights if there is a problem, later part of April probably have no weather delays, and insurance.

 

A vacation is all about fun..since you have cruised before, relax and don't allow your stomach to knot up. Enjoy your honeymoon.

[tnt091605]

Since we had to book the day of the cruise or not go (It is a charter cruise) we bought insurance and booked the flight first thing in the morning. There are 3 flights that can still get us to our connection. Then 2 flights from our connection that will get us to our port in time. Just hope all goes well. I just hate flying in the day of the cruise!

[jetskier]

ahh this explains it Dave. Thanks. I was under the impression that the manifest had to be provided upon RETURN of the ship, not departure, so I was thinking maybe they could check in at the terminal as you usually would and then a boat might be able to take you to the ship. Please forgive my naive little mind!! :D

 

Another manifest has to be submitted prior to the ship returning to the US. I am not sure what the time frame is for its submission.

Dave

[lgerrish]

Homeland Security requires a manifest be submitted 60 minutes PRIOR to sailaway. Once submitted, they cannot add to the manifest. So even though the ship is sitting there, you will not be allowed to board it if you are not checked in prior to the submission.

 

If they hold off on the submission because a group is late, then the ship cannot sail until one hour after the submission so the list can be vetted.

 

Dave

 

This scares the heck out of me!!!! We booked our airfare with Carnival the day of...I know...bad idea...it's just how it worked out...but my concern is the flights that Carnival gave us have us arriving in FLL at 2:24 pm with a cruise ship departure time of 4:00 pm - I don't think this was a wise choice for flights! So I'm crossing my fingers and our flights are right on schedule and we are at the port by 3 or so and the ship leaves late!!!!! Worst case scenario...bus us to Key West, our first port!