Kicking myself - Same day flight

So, I found a really great deal on airfare for a direct flight from Montreal to Barcelona for my September Med cruise. The only catch is, I arrive the day of departure. I booked it hastily because the savings was a difference of $300, but now I'm terrified. I have read many threads about the risks etc. Does anyone have any positive stories of flying in same day? If I were to change the flight, it would be a $300 penalty plus the difference in airfare. Might be worth it for the peace of mind. I'm travelling solo and first time overseas.

Hi,

I don't have a good story to tell about Air Canada Rouge from Toronto to Barcelona. We were six hours late, but we were a couple of days before our cruise. That said, more times than not, things work out. Hopefully, you are arriving in the morning so there is some reserve should the flight be late. Do you have trip insurance? If so, that might help you get to the next port if you are late. Also, catching up with a Med cruise is not desirable, but doable by train.

At this point I know there is a risk but would probably not spend over $600 to change it.

So, I found a really great deal on airfare for a direct flight from Montreal to Barcelona for my September Med cruise. The only catch is, I arrive the day of departure. I booked it hastily because the savings was a difference of $300, but now I'm terrified. I have read many threads about the risks etc. Does anyone have any positive stories of flying in same day? If I were to change the flight, it would be a $300 penalty plus the difference in airfare. Might be worth it for the peace of mind. I'm travelling solo and first time overseas.

We usually fly in a few days before a cruise and spend some time in our departure port. Having said this, we did fly once on the day of cruise embarkation and everything worked out fine. We flew DEN to IAD and then IAD to CPH (we were really taking a risk as we had to change to our international flight in Dulles). We arrived early morning in CPH (think it was about 7 am or so) but I was somewhat stressed until we boarded in IAD.

You are flying direct YUL to BCN so the risk for you is not as great as it was for us.

I assume you arrive BCN early morning? Even considering the scenario above (mskaufman), if your scheduled arrival is early morning and your flight was delayed 6 hours, you could still make it to the cruise terminal in time for embarkation.

I think you will be fine but the unexpected can always occur. For a $600 price differential, I think I would be inclined to take the risk - JMHO.

A nonstop flight arriving early...more than likely you'll be fine...too late to worry over this now and I certainly wouldn't incur the expense to make any changes.

We arrived into BCN at 9:15am day of departure and were on the ship by 11:30am.

There no science in guessing airplane delays. Weather delays are unlikely in September except may be for thunderstorms. That was my case and it was 3 hrs. Also technical problems can happen but then AC is reasonably big to know how to deal with it.

The only facts are in estimating time from landing to ship. Clearing passport control, luggage collection and taxi to port should be between 1 and 2 hrs under normal circumstances. Last time I was in BCN it was day before Catalonia referendum, airport was practically deserted and we were out of there in 20 min.

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Twice I've started a Barcelona cruise after flying from North America on an overnight flight. It adds risk, but I didn't have options at the time, so I went for it and it worked out. There's really no way to predict if it will work out or not. For me, both times went exactly as planned.

Just do some research beforehand and work out how you would get to the next port to catch up with the ship in a worst case scenario. It will reduce the stress slightly if you have your Plan B ready. Rome2rio is a useful website.

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Thank you all for the replies. I guess at this point all I can do is hope for the best and have an alternative plan in place in case of a delay.

Besides research in the event of a delay, I also recommend purchasing a good travel insurance policy.... but what's done is done and plenty of people have flown on the departure day of their cruise and made the ship on time.

Maddle

Besides research in the event of a delay, I also recommend purchasing a good travel insurance policy.... but what's done is done and plenty of people have flown on the departure day of their cruise and made the ship on time.

 

Maddle

A very good point. Should be O.K. but good to have just in case.

So, I found a really great deal on airfare for a direct flight from Montreal to Barcelona for my September Med cruise. The only catch is, I arrive the day of departure. I booked it hastily because the savings was a difference of $300, but now I'm terrified. I have read many threads about the risks etc. Does anyone have any positive stories of flying in same day? If I were to change the flight, it would be a $300 penalty plus the difference in airfare. Might be worth it for the peace of mind. I'm travelling solo and first time overseas.

Just keep calm, have your plans in place in the event of a delay and have enough money on your credit card to be able to catch up with the ship.

It will probably work out but if not treat this as an adventure. Worst things happen when you are travelling.

Think of the positive of being a solo in this situation. You don't have a travel companion to worry about and you have no one else blaming you for not booking the flight the day earlier.

I did a crazy thing back in 2008. The wife didn't want to stay at a Hotel in Rome so we flew into Rome on the day of the cruise. The fight out of Atlanta was fine. We arrived at 11 am and made it to the port by train mid afternoon. Got on the ship at 3:00 pm. Probably will never do that one again but it worked out.

For your backup plan where is your next port stop , if by any chance its Palma there are lots of flights from BCN to Palma so you could catch up to ship the next day , i live in Spain let me know if you need any help .