Listen to Good Advice

We have always heeded the advice to fly in at least one day before your cruise. This time we scheduled several days of sightseeing in Seattle and Vancouver before our Alaska cruise. We were already to head to the airport this morning when we received a text that our flight was cancelled. We were rescheduled to leave tomorrow instead and will lose our full day of sightseeing in Seattle. Not sure how it will affect our hotel reaservation as we were staying on points.

I cannot imagine if we were supposed to board a ship today, or even tomorrow as our rescheduled flight will not get in until late. The lesson to be learned is unless your schedule will absolutely not permit it, leave a day or two early. Cancellations happen, even in the summer. It's not worth saving on the price of a hotel night.

Even with our cushion of time we have some stress issues as our connection time is very short and we'e concerned about our luggage not making it to the Seattle flight. If it doesn't we may have to reschedule our Amtrak reservation to Vancouver as we won't leave Seattle without luggage in hand.

After all the careful planning things can go south.

We have always heeded the advice to fly in at least one day before your cruise. This time we scheduled several days of sightseeing in Seattle and Vancouver before our Alaska cruise. We were already to head to the airport this morning when we received a text that our flight was cancelled. We were rescheduled to leave tomorrow instead and will lose our full day of sightseeing in Seattle. Not sure how it will affect our hotel reaservation as we were staying on points.

I cannot imagine if we were supposed to board a ship today, or even tomorrow as our rescheduled flight will not get in until late. The lesson to be learned is unless your schedule will absolutely not permit it, leave a day or two early. Cancellations happen, even in the summer. It's not worth saving on the price of a hotel night.

Even with our cushion of time we have some stress issues as our connection time is very short and we'e concerned about our luggage not making it to the Seattle flight. If it doesn't we may have to reschedule our Amtrak reservation to Vancouver as we won't leave Seattle without luggage in hand.

After all the careful planning things can go south.

Hope the rest of your vacation goes smoothly.

So true!! Thanks for the reminder!

Glad you were smart enough to fly early

We have been talking about this very thing in conjunction with our scheduled Alaska cruisetour next year. Although it is probably expensive to spend an extra night in Fairbanks we will probably fly in a day early just to "be sure".

Its is a gamble flying in the same day thats for sure.

Sounds like a good idea. That will give you a little breathing space if your luggage decides to take the "scenic route" to Fairbanks.

I agree. We have had several occasions to be grateful we heeded advice given here on CC, including flying in a day early (had a flight to London cancelled), buy travel insurance (broke my leg on a Mexico cruise) and have your passport even on a closed loop cruise from the US (had to disembark early and fly home from Cabo).

The only time we don't fly in the day before is if there are multiple flights and options should ours get cancelled. We live in Phoenix and will fly to LA the day of the cruise because there are so many flights on so many different airlines between Phoenix and LA. We could even hop in the car and drive over if worse came to worse.

But, I love getting in the day before. Everyone's always in such a great mood that night and it's hassle free the next day.

Great advice. We do this all the time now. We didn't our first cruise, and got there in time, but was anxious about it the entire time. Our next cruise goes out of Buenos Aires, so will fly in a couple of days early, just in case. We have never been in BA so it will be fun to explore if everything goes as planned. If not, we have a cushion. We also booked airlines through Princess for a little extra cushion ... just in case.

Have a great cruise ... and let us know when and if you made it out tomorrow.

Nothing wrong with flying in the same day, IF there are plenty of flights on different airlines, AND if driving is an option. Going cross country or internationally, or an extra expensive cruise, fly in the day before or a few days early.

We have an upcoming cruise out of Lauderdale, and would usually fly in the day of, but we NEED to have Cuban food and therefore need to arrive the day before!

If driving into Ft Lauderdale was an option, I'd just do that. The cruise ship doesn't have the two-bag limit that the airline does. I'd be packing some pesos, haggling with some merchants, and loading my car with a treasure trove on the trip back.

We fly in from Canada and in the winter any number of bad things can happen so we always fly in ahead. Last year we were flying into Lauderdale (the day before) to catch a cruise and we got a text message from the airport (United NEVER contacted us) to say that our connecting flight Winnipeg - Chicago had been cancelled and the airline had put us on the same flight the following day - that would have meant we would get to FLL after the ship left. So I called United and they re-routed us via Denver. It ended up working fine for us but we met another couple at the Winnipeg airport taking the same cruise. They did not get notified and they had to fly to Toronto, then DC, change airports in DC and then catch a flight to FLL where they got in after midnight. They still made the cruise the next day but it was not a relaxing way to start.

Nothing wrong with flying in the same day, IF there are plenty of flights on different airlines, AND if driving is an option.

Tell that to the lady a couple of years ago coming out of Dallas for a cruise to Alaska from Seattle. First flight out of Dallas was cancelled completely. Second flight took off, got a bit away from Dallas and had to turn around and go back for maintenance problems. Finally arrived in Seattle on her third flight out of Dallas. Of course by then her bags were somewhere, but nobody knew where. She made it, barely, to the pier wearing the muumuu she was wearing. Luckily, she had her passport with her and was able to get on the ship. Was the stress worth it to save a few bucks on a hotel room?

Or how about the large group (6 buses full of tourists) who left Vancouver for the normal 2 1/2 hour or so drive to Seattle to go on a cruise scheduled for a 4pm departure? They arrived at the border at 8am and the computers at the border crossing went down and didn't come back up for 4 hours. Four buses made it to the cruise, one was sitting in front of the terminal building and one, having gotten misoriented and was over on the next pier as the ship backed out of the pier.

Was driving a possibility in the first case? No. Were both of these well out of the ordinary? Yes, certainly, but they both could have been non-events had they traveled a day early. They would have then been fully rested and relaxed and on board their cruise ship. The point I'm making here is, Is it really worth it expense-wise or stress-wise to not travel a day in advance and make your vacation as stress-free and enjoyable as possible?

Only thing worse than seeing a passenger arrive late and seeing the disappointment on their faces as they watch their ship leaving the pier or don't see their ship at all is being those passengers! :(:(

Tom

I live 2 hours from the port (San Pedro) and am thinking of driving up a day ahead of time. The traffic around here can be nuts. Not worth the stress. My dog is being boarded with his trainer a day ahead of time so we don't have to worry about him. Seems like a more relaxing way to start vacation.

Thanks, Bruinboy. Will try to post before we cross the border. Right now we're trying to figure out what to do with ourselves for another day. We were so psyched and ready to go. Our bags were so well packed that we don't want to disturb them and no activities seem to appeal to us. I's hard not to look at the clock and think "We should be boarding our second plane by now." Apparently we've been somewhat lucky. The U.S. airways rep told us that several people wouldn't be able to get out of Albany until Sunday.

Most flight get in from SFO after 10pm. Not going to risk it. Biting the bullet and going a day early. Not that many flights to Fairbanks

We had to do a same day flight to Rio for a cruise due to circumstances we couldn't control. We booked EZAir, so we felt confident we would make the port. But it was a grueling, tiresome, boring and miserable nightmare. We got to the airport, caught the bus, stood for hours in line to board the ship, boarded and sailed away, seeing nothing of Rio. I do not recommend flying the day of if it can at all be avoided.

Tell that to the lady a couple of years ago coming out of Dallas for a cruise to Alaska from Seattle. First flight out of Dallas was cancelled completely. Second flight took off, got a bit away from Dallas and had to turn around and go back for maintenance problems. Finally arrived in Seattle on her third flight out of Dallas. Of course by then her bags were somewhere, but nobody knew where. She made it, barely, to the pier wearing the muumuu she was wearing. Luckily, she had her passport with her and was able to get on the ship. Was the stress worth it to save a few bucks on a hotel room?

 

Or how about the large group (6 buses full of tourists) who left Vancouver for the normal 2 1/2 hour or so drive to Seattle to go on a cruise scheduled for a 4pm departure? They arrived at the border at 8am and the computers at the border crossing went down and didn't come back up for 4 hours. Four buses made it to the cruise, one was sitting in front of the terminal building and one, having gotten misoriented and was over on the next pier as the ship backed out of the pier.

 

Was driving a possibility in the first case? No. Were both of these well out of the ordinary? Yes, certainly, but they both could have been non-events had they traveled a day early. They would have then been fully rested and relaxed and on board their cruise ship. The point I'm making here is, Is it really worth it expense-wise or stress-wise to not travel a day in advance and make your vacation as stress-free and enjoyable as possible?

 

Only thing worse than seeing a passenger arrive late and seeing the disappointment on their faces as they watch their ship leaving the pier or don't see their ship at all is being those passengers! :(:(

 

Tom

And just think of the many ways that a flight can get cancelled that some people -- the ones who claim they always fly in the same day -- can happen. Even flying into Los Angeles can be risky if there was a major earthquake that day or there's a storm that hits the midwest big time and flights are being grounded. And yes, I do have it on authority from a pilot's wife (we were next to each other on a flight that was returning to the west coast) that a bad enough quake can close the Southern California quakes until the runways, etc. are inspected.

I think that flying in the same day is a calculated risk, and my willingness to do it depends on the situation and whether or not I have purchased Princess EZ Air with its next port guarantee. Flying to the West Coast, where the time change is on our side, we do it more often than flying east.

Many people think that, if they purchase travel insurance with a trip delay clause, they are covered, but, if they purchased a policy with coverage only after a 6+ hour delay, and they are scheduled to arrive at noon but are delayed until 5pm, missing the ship that sailed at 4pm, then they have no coverage at all. And most coverage for trip delay is fairly abysmal...$150 a day won't go far if you have to purchase air to meet up with the ship.

Flights can also be delayed and you could be too late for embarkation if you choose to fly on the same day. We have no control over fog, volcanic ash, heavy snowfall, cyclones, etc.

We fly a day early even if out embarking port in just an hour's flight away.

Nothing wrong with flying in the same day, IF there are plenty of flights on different airlines, AND if driving is an option. Going cross country or internationally, or an extra expensive cruise, fly in the day before or a few days early.

 

We have an upcoming cruise out of Lauderdale, and would usually fly in the day of, but we NEED to have Cuban food and therefore need to arrive the day before!

Hunky, if you haven't checked out Le Bonne Crepe in FLL (on Las Olas Blvd), do -- that's our go-to place the day before a cruise!

Glad we're within a few hours of our typical ports but don't even like driving to FLL or MIA on the same day as we really have only one southbound highway. Highway shuts down on occasion with bad accidents. Don't like to chance it even driving within the same state except to Tampa which is really close.:)

Glad we're within a few hours of our typical ports but don't even like driving to FLL or MIA on the same day as we really have only one southbound highway. Highway shuts down on occasion with bad accidents. Don't like to chance it even driving within the same state except to Tampa which is really close.:)

A few weeks ago I had to take a person in a wheelchair who was very late (5 minutes before the gangway was pulled) onto the ship. I asked the person why were they so late in arriving, had their flight been delayed and they said that they hadn't flown in. Trying to make conversatioin, I asked where they came from and they replied Tacoma, a city which is 30-45 minutes south of Seattle. I asked them what had caused them to be so late in arriving. They replied "The 405 was backed up!" The 405 is a route that goes around Seattle to the east and which they should never even been anywhere near! So I can understand your reluctance to travel, even locally. You just never know what's going to happen and it's just not worth the stress and frustration.

Tom

And just think of the many ways that a flight can get cancelled that some people -- the ones who claim they always fly in the same day -- can happen. Even flying into Los Angeles can be risky if there was a major earthquake that day or there's a storm that hits the midwest big time and flights are being grounded. And yes' date=' I do have it on authority from a pilot's wife (we were next to each other on a flight that was returning to the west coast)[b'] that a bad enough quake can close the Southern California quakes until the runways, etc. are inspected.[/b]

Yes, that would happen but also the ports would be shut down temporarily for inspection. Do you really think a pier would be more sound than a few square miles of asphalt?

I don't know why people don't consider the port city they are leaving from worthy of exploring and make it part of their vacation? Seattle is a wonderful town with lots of things to do and see. Same with Vancouver, San Francisco, etc.

The only port I would consider, even remotely, to fly in same day would be LA because we can drive there in about 8 hours if our flight was a no go even when there are dozens upon dozens of flights into LA every day. We just get in the day before and enjoy San Pedro or Long Beach for their relaxed atmosphere and good Mexican seafood.

I would absolutely NEVER fly in the same day for anything going east because of the significant time differences.

My husband once had a business trip in Singapore; booked his flight thinking he would get in the following morning BEFORE the date of his meeting. He failed to realize that Singapore already is a FULL day Ahead because of the National Date line. He had to take the flight he booked but ended up having to be at the meeting only a couple hours after he had flown 16 hours. Time zones really do need recognition. That was a lesson never forgotten.