Delayed boarding

Hello, I have a cruise Costa Magica departing from Guadeloupe at 11 pm. Boarding time is up to 8 pm. I have a flight arriving to Guadeloupe at 6.40 pm. If my flight will be delayed is it opportunity to go to the ship after 8 pm? For example at 9 pm?

Thank you for the answer.

If 8:00 pm is is the final boarding time, you are cutting it a bit fine if the plane is on time, collecting your luggage, going through immigration and getting to the ship.

For such questions I personally go straight to Costa or my TA, people here on this forum can give a multitude of answers, but only Costa can give you the definate answer.

A suggestion, monitor your flights arrival time in Guadaloupe for say a month before you depart. This will give you an idea about the average arrival time. If you don't want to check daily, you can use the history function in https://www.flightradar24.com.

Please do inform Costa of your expected flight arrival times and get answer before going, also check 'Next port' times just in case you need to get to next port.

Island hopping is quite easy by ferry or plane.

On the plus side Guadeloupe Airport has always been quick for luggage/transfers every time we have boarded from there, but make sure any transfers to ship are booked & confirmed before you go.

Wow, thight flight schedule!

I would definitely contact Costa on this matter, get a written answer from them to avoid discussions later.

Getting to next port can be expensive, isn't day after Guadeloupe a sea day and after that Santo Domingo D.R.?

The person who devised that schedule is nuts. One hour and 20mins to get from plane to ship! That said the airport to the dock is only about 5kms so travel time from one to the other is not where you will lose time. But what if the aircraft goes tech or weather delays take off or landing or worse still forces a diversion!

The only thing you have not stated is that perhaps you have a fly-cruise package with Costa, if this is the case, then you will be fine as this is Costa's doing and if they get you into a mess, the must get you of the mess.

By all means plead your case to Costa but they are not exactly known for their empathy of for following through on promises. Get any advisory in writing from them and even then, that may not be enough. You could easily get a 'no problem Ma'am, you can board anytime up to 2200' and then when you get to the dock, the person there has another story and their apology is that person one ill informed you and a shoulder shrug!

Having said that, the Magica picks up at other ports along the route so there will be persons transiting Guadeloupe and their all aboard time will presumably be 2230. It would be a very harsh person that would deny you boarding at 2100 / 2200 considering the gangway is open for another 1-1,5 hours - that said, I would never put myself in that position.

Tomvet is being kind when he says this is "nuts" if it's not a Costa transfer. I do the reverse regularly, to the Mediterranean, I wouldn't touch this with a ten-foot pole.

2000 boarding sounds like muster drill at 2030. I'm not sure if SOLAS rules have actually changed or it's still legal within 24 hours of sailing.

1840 arrival sounds like TX from ORY, not an island-hopper, so there's the 5 hour time change also to consider, as well as all the other factors.

If EVERYTHING goes exactly right then there's no point in worrying. Otherwise, I'd recommend having at least 10,000 euros available on your credit card.

Thank you for your answers. I will go from NY. In statistic this flight is quite often delayed for about 30 min, max 1.5 hours. I couldn't imagine that I'm at the port gate at 9 pm and they say I couldn't board. Why? Call center says I must board before 8 pm but I'm not sure it is true. I will try to contact somebody in ship and ask. Do you know any contact way to somebody on Costa Magica, guest or staff?

Even if the ship is till in the port, it could be that you would not be allowedto embark, as before the ship sails the ships's manifest/ passenger list has to be presented and cleared by customs /immigrations.

The last phone & fax numbers for Costa Magica are:

COSTA MAGICA Phone:+870 764029390 Fax: +870 764029391

Thank you for your answers. I will go from NY. In statistic this flight is quite often delayed for about 30 min, max 1.5 hours. I couldn't imagine that I'm at the port gate at 9 pm and they say I couldn't board. Why? Call center says I must board before 8 pm but I'm not sure it is true. I will try to contact somebody in ship and ask. Do you know any contact way to somebody on Costa Magica, guest or staff?

Because everyone else is onboard, the ship's manifest has been finalised and submitted to the authorities with you marked as a 'no show' and the person responsible for immigration related activities finished for the evening and is not contactable.

If the person at the dock says 'sorry ma'am, your late, too bad!'. What can you do, who are you going to call? It may be harsh and you may ask why would he be so unhelpful - simples, because he can! He has is work done, you were wrong, why should be put himself to the trouble? Lets just hope, he does have a grain of empathy however, that is a scarce trait amongst Costa staff - the most empathy I have ever got is a shoulder shrug! Then again, I have never arrived late for a ship!

Costa can be very rigid in these sort of things!

I have to say your attitude is a tad 'Gung Ho' and good for you, because that is what may get you through this successfully. As I say, I would never put myself in that position! At a minimum, I would have timed my arrival in PTP sometime the day before and stayed in a nice place and have a leisurely morning prior to embarkation rather than a sleepless night before my flight wondering if the plane would be ok, hoping the weather would be ok, and then sitting on the plane in dread it would be diverted etc etc. Am I a pessimist? or a realist?

The manifest is a big issue with US Customs in the US, not sure about Guadeloupe. If you are on a Costa transfer you've checked in, sort of, and they can put your name on the manifest hoping nothing goes wrong. I have seen late passengers boarded in Ft Lauderdale, from a Costa transfer bus. They then went immediately to safety briefing.

I suggest the important question, which doesn't apply to in-transit passengers, is whether muster drill is required before sailing and when.

Calling the ship, you might get an answer to a non-controversial question like "What time is muster drill for English-speaking passengers? Is there a makeup drill if I miss that one?"