Story As To Why You Don't Fly In On Day Of Cruise

An acquaintance of our family planned to cruise on the recent 7 day Riviera cruise with his wife and two kids. They didn't plan smart and flew in to Miami on the day of the cruise. One flight was cancelled, so the family tried to get on a different airline that would get them to Miami on time. They only had three seats left on the flight, so dad put mom and the two kids on the flight. He called the Oceania Help Line and told them that his flight would not get there on time, so what could he do? They told him to drive to Key West, where he could board the ship, at their first port of call. Whoops, obviously the Help Desk doesn't know about the PVSA, and didn't tell him about the law. So, hubby gets to Miami, rents a car and drives to KW, thinking he can board the ship. Not gonna happen. Captain refuses to let him board, and there was a disagreement between two officers who came off the ship to speak with the dad. One said he'd have to fly to Honduras and then join the ship. The other said if he joined the ship in Honduras, he'd have to leave in Cozumel (no idea why he'd have to leave in Cozumel). He decided to fly to Honduras and finally met his family.

What I don't understand is, why wasn't he given the opportunity to just pay the PVSA fine and board in KW?

I do not see how boarding in KW would be any different than Miami. If the line was at fault the fine is 300$ PP. If I was the guy I would of paid it.

Was he even given the option? It doesn't sound like it. Surely that fine was cheaper than flying to Honduras ...

When we did our first Oceania cruise in 2004 (I've mentioned this before) we were on a B2B: LA to Costa Rica, Costa Rica to Miami through the Canal.

Weather was bad on the east coast the day the second leg boarded and a number of people didn't get there in time. The ones I heard about were on Oceania flights but even so, the ship left without them. That was because the Captain said we'd have lost our slot going through the Canal which probably would have meant a night-time crossing, and so he left on schedule.

I never really heard the final denouement but in checking my diary the first port was to have been San Blas Archipelago which we missed due to weather. That probably wouldn't have mattered to these passengers since I'm pretty sure San Blas didn't have an airport. The next port was Aruba but that was Day 6 of the 15 day cruise ...

So we always go in early, whether we use our own air or Oceania's. Usually we go more than one day before, just so we can visit the departure city. We are making an exception for our October cruise leaving from Barcelona (we only need a one-way fare) because we have been to Barcelona a number of times and wanted to keep our "days away from home" fewer. The cat likes us to be at home to feed him ...

By the way, I just reported this story to my husband and he said, "why didn't the Help Desk tell the Captain why this guy was coming to Key West?" Seems like a good question ...

Mura

I found the PVSA on Wikipedia, but I still don't really understand. Help!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886

I totally agree about the wisdom of going a day early, just in case. But if you want to do it with O's air, I think you'd have to pay for a deviation. Wouldn't you?

If they had flown in the day before they probably would not had a problem

it is worth the price of a hotel

If they had flown in the day before they probably would not had a problem

 

it is worth the price of a hotel

Doesn't Oceania normally have you arrive the day the cruise departs? I am not thinking of the hotel cost, but air deviation for each person. Or are they normally willing to let you arrive early without an additional charge. We thought we had to pay deviation. We did when we flew a day early to Rio.

I found the PVSA on Wikipedia, but I still don't really understand. Help!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886

Coincidentally the same topic on another thread! Here's the reply which I now understand. Thanks, Kamloops50! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49519709&postcount=8

Doesn't Oceania normally have you arrive the day the cruise departs? I am not thinking of the hotel cost, but air deviation for each person. Or are they normally willing to let you arrive early without an additional charge. We thought we had to pay deviation. We did when we flew a day early to Rio.

If you want to fly in a day or more early using O air you pay the deviation fee

currently $175 pp

Maybe someone in the USA can get a cheaper flight on their own & no need to pay the deviation fee & they can take the air credit to offset the cost

Most of the time I pay the deviation fee to get to the port it works out better for us than DIY

YMMV

If you want to fly in a day or more early using O air you pay the deviation fee

currently $175 pp

Maybe someone in the USA can get a cheaper flight on their own & no need to pay the deviation fee & they can take the air credit to offset the cost

 

Most of the time I pay the deviation fee to get to the port it works out better for us than DIY

 

YMMV

Same here - either take the air credit or pay the deviation fee. I don't feel comfortable flying in same day.

But my question is why O doesn't let you simply fly in a day early just to avoid this kind of situation. Of course, you can fly in without a deviation fee if you take their hotel for the night at the departure point. Or at least I have seen this. But too pricey for me!

Thanks.

Frances

Did he use the Oceania air?

Since I have seem some repetitive comments here, I will do the same.

We USUALLY do our own air and come in 2-3 days early and spend the same amount of time in the departure port.

For our June departure on Nautica (CPH to Southampton) we elected to use O's air and paid the deviation to come into CPH one day early and leave from London three days later.

For our October Barcelona-NYC cruise on Sirena we have booked our own air. We will fly in only one day ahead of time because we've been to Barcelona a number of times.

For our April 2017 Miami-Lisbon cruise we will do our own air because we will be saying on in Lisbon at least a week after the cruise ends.

For people who don't have the time to come in early or return late -- like people who are still working! -- I would say that O's air is safest. Yes, on rare occasions there have been problems arriving on the day, even with O's air. But those incidents have been quite rare.

You do need to consider everything before deciding which is the best approach for you.

But in general, I still say: play it safe and come in at least one day in advance. The deviation fee is worth it if you MAKE THE SHIP. And really worth it if you don't ...

Mura

But my question is why O doesn't let you simply fly in a day early just to avoid this kind of situation.

Thanks.

 

Frances

You can fly in early ..you just need to pay the deviation fee

Some people either cannot fly in early or choose not to because they will have to get a hotel, pay the deviation fee or any number of things

You have to do what works best for you

I bet the guy will fly in early next time

If you take the Oceania flight that is due to get you to the departure port the day the ship leaves, are they responsible for you if the flight is cancelled or delayed?

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"If you take the Oceania flight that is due to get you to the departure port the day the ship leaves, are they responsible for you if the flight is cancelled or delayed?"

The answer is, from personal experience, a big NO.

While they are not responsible, O will typically help you get to the ship's next port such as by paying for the additional flight. They do so, but explicitly say they do not have to. Any other incurred expenses, such as food, hotels, etc are your responsibility (covered by insurance, usually).

Specifically, my own experience, when delayed using O's air:

O paid for a connecting flight to the next port

O provided car service from that airport to the hotel as well as the next AM to the ship

O did not pay for any meals or the hotel

In fact, there were 2 separate couples involved in the same predicament. We were picked up together, taken to different hotels, and subsequently taken separately to the ship in the AM.

Wow, I hope Mom and the kids had fun anyway.

Looking back over multiple trips to Europe during the past 25 years, if we had flown in the same day of the cruise, we would have missed the ship about 33% of the time. Weather, mechanical problems, crew problems, etc., but the answer was we got there a lot later, or the next day than planned. We always go in early, and typically stay at least a day afterwards. The extension is particularly nice in that we don't get caught up in all the emotional hassle of the disembarkment process or watch people near fighting over taxi cabs to the airport for a plane that was booked far to early in the morning!

However if O routinely has late people and they routinely cover at least some of the costs, you would think they would offer a travel option for arrival the day before. However, I guess I am being naive - more people will pay the deviation fee or book their pricey per person hotel in order to arrive early enough and without headaches and worries. And likely in spite of anecdotal evidence, it mustn't happen all that frequently.

I will continue to fly in early!

We always take the air credit and DIY the flights. I prefer to be in control and dislike back and forth discussions with a third party.

We've flown in plenty of times the day of because of work ,school and life demands. Work schedules are often inflexible and therefore many families are trying to work a cruise into a short amount of time. I feel terrible for the family involved in this story.

Any cruise where I'm flying into another time zone I always arrive one or two days ahead of time just because of delays, groundings, etc. Our next cruise we live 90 minutes away from port but are coming in a night early. Why? Two words: traffic and bridges. Any of you that have to drive around the bay area on a work day know what I mean ;)

Any cruise where I'm flying into another time zone I always arrive one or two days ahead of time just because of delays, groundings, etc. Our next cruise we live 90 minutes away from port but are coming in a night early. Why? Two words: traffic and bridges. Any of you that have to drive around the bay area on a work day know what I mean ;)

I think a lot of people are missing something here. Most city's that we start in are wonderful places to visit and getting off the plane and getting on the ship does not give us a chance to see them. Start in London and spend no time there, Stockholm and the same. Most of the port city's need a day or two to be seen. Even Miami has a lot to offer for a few days before a cruise.

I think a lot of people pay the deviation fee which is revenue with zero expense so it works well for O.

I think a lot of people are missing something here. Most city's that we start in are wonderful places to visit and getting off the plane and getting on the ship does not give us a chance to see them. Start in London and spend no time there, Stockholm and the same. Most of the port city's need a day or two to be seen. Even Miami has a lot to offer for a few days before a cruise.

Definitely! And we have availed ourselves with pre or post cruise land vacations too. My broader point is that for some getting to port stress free without a tight timeline is important no matter how you get there :o

OTOH,

You can check to see if your A/L has several flights following yours that you could take.

They have to get you there.

Ira

Our usual plan is to spend 2-3 days (more usually 3) in the departure and arrival ports because indeed, they are usually wonderful cities. But that is also why we normally do our own air. The few occasions when we didn't were because we had a weird open-jaw air itinerary that was exceedingly difficult to do on our own (like NY-Miami/Barcelona-NY).

For our Barcelona-NYC cruise in October we are just going to come in the day before because we've been to BCN many times before and we're going to have a month long trip in the summer, so want to keep the days down on that trip.

I have never understood people flying in to a major city, leaving from another major city, and spending no time there. (Before you bust my chops, I realize that people often don't have the extra time, especially if they are still employed.)

But if you can spare the time, it seems to me that most of the departure/end-of-cruise ports are well worth a few days. Sometimes more.

When we did our first Viking cruise in October 2003, the vast majority of passengers (who were far more well traveled than we were, and we'd already traveled a lot) were independents. We ourselves had visited a friend in Denmark, drove down with her through Schlewig-Holstein for a week or so and then transferred to Amsterdam to board the boat. And we stayed on in Basel afterwards ... Yes, we had the time for a long trip. But we certainly were not alone (in terms of passengers on that riverboat trip).

It IS nice to be retired and have more than 2 weeks to do a European (or other) vacation.

Mura