Flying from Newark, N.J. to Orlando, Fl same day as cruise

[Jeanne55555]

Hi, I would appreciate it if someone can advise me. We are flying on 5/2/10 from Newark Int. to Orlando, Fl (& Port Canaveral) the same day as our cruise departure. I booked everything through American Express travel. Last night I checked our flight info on my own on Continental's website and saw that they changed our returning flight on 5/9/10 to almost 3 hrs. later. I am so nervous that they might change our departure flight to Port Canaveral also before we leave. I never knew that an airline can change passengers flights themselves. I called them and they said "it is the same flight-just a later time that's how they can do it". I'm panicking! This is our first cruise and I am sorry that I didn't book our flight the night before our cruise and stay overnight in Fl. (like my husband wanted to). He will kill me if anything goes wrong. Please help. LOL Sorry this is sooooo long!

[Langley Cruisers]

I am so nervous that they might change our departure flight to Port Canaveral also before we leave.

 

You are nervous about something that hasn't happened? :(

 

What time does your flight arrive? Can you change to the day before (an obvious question, but it will buy you some peace of mind since you are so stressed over this).

 

Why don't you include him in the decision making instead of taking all this on yourself? Is American Express Travel an actual travel agency? (sorry for my ignorance) Can they do it?

[Smithkids5521]

Is it too late to cancel your flight and book new ones? Maybe you can get a flight for the night before and find a hotel nearby...

 

Instead of leaving from Newark, you can check out flights from JFK maybe...

 

I'd say if it won't cost you too much in cancellation fees, you should look into other flights. No sense worrying yourself about those details- just fly in the night before and get a great night's sleep before you go enjoy yourself on your cruise...;)

 

Take care,

Diana :)

[Jeanne55555]

I can't change the flight without paying a penalty of $180. each for 5 of us-that's the problem. Like I said, I didn't know that an airline can change your flight time on their own.

[Jeanne55555]

Hi, I booked everything through American Express Travel. No-it is not a regular travel agency. I called the A.E. # on my card and spoke to someone in their travel dept. If you book a cruise throgh them from now through Dec. 31, 2010 they give you a 7 day complimentary trip to Cobo San Luca, Mexico. You have to book it through them (not just use your A.E. card through some other agency). Anyway, as I just explained to someone else who replied to my post-it will cost us $180 each (for 5 of us) to change the flight to go the night before!

[Langley Cruisers]

...Like I said, I didn't know that an airline can change your flight time on their own.

 

Yes, an airline can do that. It happens frequently when we fly Air Canada; they send an e-mail to us notifying us of the revised schedule. They can do what they want, I'm afraid.

 

OK, so given the cost involved, now you have no alternative but to try and not worry about this. IF something happens, then you can consider changing but until then, it's really beyond your control, right? Try and relax.

[uppitycats]

yes, airlines can do that, and can even cancel flights, change routes, etc. Indeed, flying in the day before gives you the flexibility to deal with that with less stress.

 

When does your flight arrive, and your cruise leave? Maybe folks can give you some idea of how to navigate through the airport quickly, and get to your ship on time, if we knew that.

[boulders]

Generally, if the airlines changes the flight time to something that is unworkable with my schedule, I simply call and get them to reschedule or cancel (without penalty). Just tell them you want to cancel because of the schedule change.

[diane.in.ny]

As boulders said, just call the airline. Explain that the new schedule won't work for you (and why) and ask to be rescheduled

[silentbob007]

If that arriving flight is changed to something "too late" (ie, after noon), then the airlines through your travel agent should be able to rebook you for no charge (then you might go day before). No sense stresssing about it now ... just keep watching it.

[6rugrats]

I can't change the flight without paying a penalty of $180. each for 5 of us-that's the problem. Like I said, I didn't know that an airline can change your flight time on their own.

 

Amex Travel is a real travel agency.

 

Yes, airlines change schedules all the time. They can change your seats, change equipment, and they can even deny you boarding on your flight, if it is overbooked. When you purchased your ticket, you entered into a contract with the airline. The terms of this contract can be found on each airline's webpage. It's called the Contract of Carriage. Basically, the airline's only responsibility is to get you from point A to point B as soon as they can. Unfortunately, if there are problems, you could miss your cruise.

 

First, if your return time is not acceptable to you, your TA needs to call CO. A change time of three hours will usually allow you to change to a different flight (if one is available) without paying the change penalty.

 

Next, keep a close eye on your flights. I'd check them daily. If a schedule change occurs on your outbound flight that will cause you to miss your cruise, your TA needs to immediately call CO.

 

Please don't ever fly in the day of the cruise again. You never know what will happen, and it's not just problems with schedule changes. It's not worth the worry and stress. Good luck.

[cb at sea]

If an airline changes your flight times by more than 90 mins., you can cancel with no penalty and rebook....

Orlando is about 1 hour from the port....and that doesn't include the time it takes to get off the plane and get your luggage.

[janetz]

Hi, I would appreciate it if someone can advise me. We are flying on 5/2/10 from Newark Int. to Orlando, Fl (& Port Canaveral) the same day as our cruise departure. I booked everything through American Express travel. Last night I checked our flight info on my own on Continental's website and saw that they changed our returning flight on 5/9/10 to almost 3 hrs. later. I am so nervous that they might change our departure flight to Port Canaveral also before we leave. I never knew that an airline can change passengers flights themselves. I called them and they said "it is the same flight-just a later time that's how they can do it". I'm panicking! This is our first cruise and I am sorry that I didn't book our flight the night before our cruise and stay overnight in Fl. (like my husband wanted to). He will kill me if anything goes wrong. Please help. LOL Sorry this is sooooo long!

 

 

Change to a flight going down the day before. The airlines are to unreliable these days to fly in the day of the cruise. I would never take a chance flying in the day of. ;)

[FritzG]

Airlines often change flight times as the seasons change and for other reasons. Our flight to FLL changed by 15 min. since we booked it. We booked directly with the airline, and they sent us an email. They probably informed your TA.

This is just another reason that flying in a day early is the best idea. It beats spending the first day of your vacation all stressed out.

[6rugrats]

If an airline changes your flight times by more than 90 mins., you can cancel with no penalty and rebook....

Orlando is about 1 hour from the port....and that doesn't include the time it takes to get off the plane and get your luggage.

 

This 90 minute rule does not apply to all airlines. You would have to read CO's Contract of Carriage to find out how many minutes your flight has to change before you can request a change without charge. Each airline makes their own rules.

[luvscruising2007]

Did you book insurance for your trip? You might want to look into that

before something happens.

[xxoocruiser]

As previously stated, Airlines can change times of flight and even cancel flights as their demand for that market changes. This is a very common practice. As advised by other's you need to contact Amercian Express and yes they are real travel agency as well as a credit card company.

 

If you do not have travel insurance and have no plans on purchasing it, than you need to weigh the cost of paying the change fees vs what you have to loose in possibly missing the cruise. It should also be noted when ever this has happened to me , I just bypass the TA and call the airlines directly and ask to speak to a supervisor. Advsing them that the tickets were originally booked to meet a specific time schedule and the change by the airlines does not work with schedule as originally planned . I've always gotten them to cancel penalty fees but you may have to pay a the difference in fares if the new flight is higher. Note you will not be refunded any money if the fares have dropped.

[greatam]

Just a couple of suggestions IF they change your outbound flight by more than a couple of hours.

 

There are three flights on CO that work with your cruise. 6:45, 7:45 and 11:15AM. The 6:45 and 11:15 flights are fairly well sold out. I certainly hope you are on the earliest flights (6:45 or 7:45) and not the 11:15. Your TA did you a large disservice if they booked you on the 11:15. NOT a lot of wiggle room if things go bottoms up.

 

1. IF your flight changes by the "required" amount of time, ask to be moved to the 8PM flight (#1692) the night before. That flight has pretty good availability as of today. No change fees and you will be much relieved.

 

2. IF you are on the later flight, you may want to try to fly standby on the earlier flights. I would do this even if I had to split up the family-something like 2 on one flight, maybe t3 on another.

 

3. IF you are on the later flight and there are problems, PLEASE be prepared with alternative airlines that you can fly on. Instead of waiting in line, you need to be on the phone with CO reservations WHILE you are in line. You are fighting for the few seats available and if you just wait in line, you are subject to not finding any flights available, especially for 5 people, because those in front of you got the seats.

 

When you get someone on the phone, say something like this: "please rebook me on flight XXX, YYY or ZZZ". This is where the research comes in-US/United are all part of the same airline alliance. It makes it a lot easier on the agents if YOU have alternatives available. Sometimes they only look at their own airline and don't even think of the alternatives.

 

However, for this particular trip, there are NO flights that I can find that will arrive at or about the same time as the 11:15 CO flight that don't leave BEFORE the CO flight. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

I hope you are not on the 11:15AM flight. If you are, I would certainly try the standby route. Just too many things can happen which would make you miss your cruise. Good luck.

[greatam]

Did you book insurance for your trip? You might want to look into that

before something happens.

 

Most travel insurance policies now have a 5-6 hour delayed flight provision. The OP's flight arrives about 1:30PM. The flight would have to arrive after 7:30PM for most travel insurance policies to kick in under the delayed flight provision. There are quite a few flights arriving on various airlines between 4-7:30-too late for the cruise, too early for the travel insurance to kick in under the delayed flight provisions.

 

Please take the delay provisions into consideration when booking flights for time specific arrivals.

[sunlover5]

Definitely keep watching the outbound flight. CO is pretty good at changing a flight for you if they change times. They have done it for us numerous times with no penalties.

Once we were flying to Puerto Vallarta and our flight to Houston was changed and we were never going to make the connection. They let us fly to Houston the night before, we got a hotel and made our plane easily the next morning. Maybe you will be lucky and they will change your time, so then you can change to the day before with no penalty!!;)

[lovemylab]

Generally, if the airlines changes the flight time to something that is unworkable with my schedule, I simply call and get them to reschedule or cancel (without penalty). Just tell them you want to cancel because of the schedule change.

 

I would also recommend doing this. Continental changed my flights for my November cruise - I was able to get rescheduled to something that worked better for my schedule without any penalties.

[luvs2travl]

Ditto to what all the other posters have said. I sincerely hope your flight will go off without a hitch and you will be on board enjoying the wonderful "cruise life" as you should be.

 

Lesson for next time: fly in a day ahead of time, please! One night in a hotel will alleviate all the worry & aggravation you are going through now. We learned that lesson the hard way many years ago. Our flight was grounded due to mechanical problems and we missed the first two days of our cruise very first cruise. :(

 

Being in port a day or two early will also be an asset to you should your luggage be lost or delayed - unfortunately, a problem that is increasing as airlines scramble to do more with less.......

 

We've been flying into our embarkation port anywhere from 1 to 3 days early ever since that first fiasco and find the peace of mind of "being there" well outweighs the cost of a hotel room.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful trip with no problems! :D

[Jeanne55555]

Thank you so much for the great tips and effort on your part. You seem to have a lot of knowledge about this situation. (Are you a travel agent or just an experienced traveler)? I appreciate all the advice you gave me. Thanks again!

[Jeanne55555]

Hi, I would appreciate it if someone can advise me. We are flying on 5/2/10 from Newark Int. to Orlando, Fl (& Port Canaveral) the same day as our cruise departure. I booked everything through American Express travel. Last night I checked our flight info on my own on Continental's website and saw that they changed our returning flight on 5/9/10 to almost 3 hrs. later. I am so nervous that they might change our departure flight to Port Canaveral also before we leave. I never knew that an airline can change passengers flights themselves. I called them and they said "it is the same flight-just a later time that's how they can do it". I'm panicking! This is our first cruise and I am sorry that I didn't book our flight the night before our cruise and stay overnight in Fl. (like my husband wanted to). He will kill me if anything goes wrong. Please help. LOL Sorry this is sooooo long!

 

Update on Sunday. Just wanted to thank all of you for your excellent advice regarding this situation-it is very much appreciated!