Tips on getting to the ship and not missing it

[dsaurus]

There have been many horror stories about cruisers missing out on their trip because they got to the port too late and weren't able to board. No matter how punctual you are, sometimes things come up (weather, traffic, mechanical difficulties etc.) that are not in your control. Since a friend had this problem recently, I thought I'd post this to help new cruisers.

 

1. Find out what time boarding closes on your cruise and plan enough time to get there. Boarding closes earlier than the "set sail" time. There are Government laws that the cruiselines have to follow about when to cease boarding.

 

2. If you are driving to your nearby port, make sure you leave enough time to account for flat tires, etc. If you are driving to the port and it is not nearby, consider driving a day early and grabbing a hotel near the port. You also get the added advantage of having a "buffer" day to relax and recuperate from being up until 4:30 am "finishing" your packing even though you vowed that THIS time you would NOT leave it to the last minute. You can really take advantage of your first day on the ship by being well rested.

 

3. If you are flying to your port city, try to do everything in your power to fly in the day before the cruise. Flights can get delayed and cancelled sometimes, especially in the winter months.

 

4. In many cases (not all-be sure to check) it is less expensive to book a flight yourself plus pay for a hotel the night before than to buy the flight from the cruiseline, especially domestically. Some hotels near the ports offer free airport and/or port shuttles, so be sure to ask.

 

5. If there's no way you can fly in the day before, consider purchasing the air from the cruiseline, especially if you are flying internationally. It is usually (not always-be sure to check) more expensive, but besides the flight you are buying the cruiseline's guarantee to get you on the ship. Even if something happens due to the airline and you miss the ship, the cruiseline will find some way for you to meet the ship.

 

6. When flying, try to choose early morning flights. If your flight is delayed, you still get there that day. If your flight is cancelled there are more flights throughout the day for the airline to try to rebook you on so that you can still fly the same day.

 

7. When flying, try to choose direct flights. If none are available from your airport, you may want to consider driving to the closest airport that offers a direct flight to your port city. Doing this reduces your chance of luggage loss/delay, and also eliminates the possibility of being stranded at a connecting airport that is both not near your home and also not near your destination. If you have to choose a flight with a connection, try to choose one with a connection that is as close to your port city as possible. This way in a pinch you might still be able to rent a car from there and drive to the port.

 

8. Research back-up plans to meet the ship at it's first stop in case you do end up missing it. (Flights, trains, busses, rental cars, etc.)

 

9. Even if the ship does not require it b/c it is a "closed loop" cruise, if you are leaving the country obtain and bring your passport. There are different laws for leaving and re-entering the country by air, land and sea, and if for some reason you miss the ship and need to fly or drive to or from one of the destinations of your cruise you WILL need it. It's just $100 if you've never had one before and is good for 10 years. It's even less to renew it.

 

10. In your carry on always pack at least: a casual outfit, a change of socks and underwear, a bathing suit, an outfit that is nice enough to wear in the main dining room and a change of shoes. Even though they are getting better, sometimes airline baggage handlers accidentally misdirect your checked luggage to far away places. In case they can't locate it and get it to you before the ship leaves, at least you have a few things to wear. Plus if you get on the ship early and have your carry on with you, you can access your bathing suit right away and start working on your tan!

 

Most of this is common sense, but I hope this helps you in your planning. Happy sailing!

[lady_cruiser]

You put a lot of work into this. Thank you. We always follow suggestion #2 about driving in a day or two ahead of time.

[sten28]

Thanks for that really helpful.

We traveling down 2 nights early so I don't stress about it ( and of couse see a little of Fl Lauderdale as its our first time there.

When do we actually get the information on actual boarding times ( we not going til nxt summer but I like to plan ahead lol )

[laurakdy]

Lots off good advice there...We decided to do the same; re flights...

 

Initially we had booked the whole package with costa and it turned out not only were they not direct flights, we didnt get into FLL until 5pm on the day we cruised...I thought with the ship departing at 9pm, 5 was cutting it a bit fine...

 

Did a bit of research, contacted costa to see if we could do cruise only and the upshhot is, we're flying into miami the day before, driving up to FLL for a nights hotel stay, all fresh for the next day to board the ship..wey hey:D

 

Did work out a bit dearer but its well worth it, although I am guessing there will be plenty others who are still using the same said flights...Would be nice to hear from them and see how they feel about the times etc...

I fully understand people not being able to change for allsorts of reasons...

[amylee1178]

Thanks for that really helpful.

We traveling down 2 nights early so I don't stress about it ( and of couse see a little of Fl Lauderdale as its our first time there.

When do we actually get the information on actual boarding times ( we not going til nxt summer but I like to plan ahead lol )

 

You should have that info now. Generally speaking, boarding is allowed up until an hour and a half before "sail away" time posted. For Port Everglades, the official "posted" boarding time is 12:30.

[andiloveu]

Everyone gave great advice. Mine would be to take a moment. Take one moment in your trip away from running here or there and remember that moment. I have a few that I will never forget. One was looking out at the sunset on the top deck. I will always remember that sunset and being with my husband. I might not remember everything we did on that vacation but that one moment is etched in my memory. Have a great time!!

[dsaurus]

"Initially we had booked the whole package with costa and it turned out not only were they not direct flights, we didnt get into FLL until 5pm on the day we cruised...I thought with the ship departing at 9pm, 5 was cutting it a bit fine..."

 

 

Wow, I've done a lot of reading since I posted this and I didn't realize that in a lot of cases the cruiselines didn't book the most direct and convenient flights for the people who bought airfare through them. Remember too that you are paying for that first day on the ship. The lunch buffet is usually open pretty early and so is the pool area, as well as everything else that is usually open when the ship is in port. You just can't get into the staterooms until a certain time (my last cruise it was 1:30) because they are being cleaned from the previous guests.

[goatgoat]

Thanks for that really helpful.

We traveling down 2 nights early so I don't stress about it ( and of couse see a little of Fl Lauderdale as its our first time there.

When do we actually get the information on actual boarding times ( we not going til nxt summer but I like to plan ahead lol )

 

Great move! You can buy a day pass on the water taxis and see the sights from the water, get off and on to shop, dine or go to the beach and really relax.

 

I love FFL and the pier is very convenient. We sailed from there in May for the first time in a number of years. We took a taxi to the pier about 11:00AM and were on the ship before noon.

[blueapsara]

I was on my first cruise in the Mediterranean a couple of months ago. The posted sail away time on embarkation day was 6pm. I got to the port just shy of 4pm, and was very surprised to see the early edition of the daily newsletter stating that sail away was 5:30pm. I did make the muster drill, but missed the photographer who took the embarkation pictures by minutes. :(

 

I had even double checked twice earlier that day to make sure it was a 6pm departure. Once online around noon, and then again around 1:30ish with the Celebrity rep in the lobby of my hotel. No mention of a earlier departure time at all.

 

Was this normal?

 

I understand if everyone was already on board and the captain decided to set sail sooner. But to do that on embarkation day? It was printed on the daily so they must've known about this early on. Celebrity didn't send me a notification, so how was I (or anyone else) to know we were leaving a half hour early???

 

Could someone please enlighten me? :confused: Thanks.

 

p.s. I will be sure to get to the port a lot earlier from now on...

[dsaurus]

Wow! I've never heard that before. I hope you had a good trip anyway!

[laurakdy]

Wow, I've done a lot of reading since I posted this and I didn't realize that in a lot of cases the cruiselines didn't book the most direct and convenient flights for the people who bought airfare through them. Remember too that you are paying for that first day on the ship. The lunch buffet is usually open pretty early and so is the pool area, as well as everything else that is usually open when the ship is in port. You just can't get into the staterooms until a certain time (my last cruise it was 1:30) because they are being cleaned from the previous guests.

 

I did the same, did a lot of research and really thought it was ridiculous that they didnt get us in until 5pm, when embarking at 9...Ive been chatting with someone on another board whom I think was going on the same flights as us and according to him not only have the original flights been changed twice, they dont get into FLL intil 7pm!!:confused:

 

Now I got my tickets the other day and it said everyone had to be on 2 hours beforehand!! By my reckoning he wont make it!!

[blueapsara]

Wow! I've never heard that before. I hope you had a good trip anyway!

 

It was an eye-opener for sure. Cruising was quite a shock to someone who is more used to going with the flow when travelling, instead of sticking to a schedule.

[dsaurus]

Yeah, when it comes to cruises, the ship doesn't wait for you. When boarding closes it's over and when it leaves it's gone. I feel bad for those people who are getting in at 7:00 for a 9:00 set sail time. Boarding is going to close earlier than 9, and who knows if the plane is even going to land on time.

[harryfat1]

On the TLC, they aired this week a travel special on Oasis of the Seas and what work it involves in getting 6,000+ people on and off every week. During that one cruise, two separate families were not allowed to board due to documentation issues (one has different name and another brought along an expired passport) as well as few near disasters.

 

Take home lesson is no matter how much planning you do, if you can’t get on the ship when it sails for whatever reason, you are done.

 

Believe they are having re-runs the rest of the week on this. Catch it if you can.

[dsaurus]

Ok, thanks. I'll look for that show. I would love to see more on the Oasis anyway. But remember, if you miss the ship, you aren't necessarily "done". It won't be cheap, but as I stated in my original post, you could try to meet the ship at it's next location so it's not a total loss...as long as you have an actual (non-expired) passport to fly between countries. :)

[harryfat1]

Ok, thanks. I'll look for that show. I would love to see more on the Oasis anyway. But remember, if you miss the ship, you aren't necessarily "done". It won't be cheap, but as I stated in my original post, you could try to meet the ship at it's next location so it's not a total loss...as long as you have an actual (non-expired) passport to fly between countries. :)

 

Yes and no on joining the ship later on if you miss it. Sometimes you can't do it.

 

Saw a post last year on the Alaska board in my preparation for our Alaska cruise on a family sailing out of Vancouver doing the round trip 7 night cruise to Alaska. Due to Delta airline delay, they missed the ship leaving Vancouver.

 

So what, no biggie, you say, just fly to the next port. Ha, not so fast.

 

Due to the very antiquated maritime law that forbids foreign registered vessels (effectively all the cruise ships are foreign registered except for one NCL ship sailing in Hawaii) in taking US passengers from one US port to another. Since that cruise all Alaska ports (exception of Vancouver), they are not allow to join the ship on any ports as there are no foreign ports in the interim. Real sad story as they had the many family members on that cruise and entire vacation went up in smoke.

 

Thus check your itinerary to be sure you can join the cruise after it sails. For sailings like the one way transatlantic sailing, your next stop is your final stop, there’s no point in joining the ship at the next port.

[dsaurus]

Learning new things is exactly why I come to Cruise Critic. Thanks, Harry. I feel bad for those people. If they didn't book their airfare through the cruiseline I suspect that they didn't get any money refunded either. Real bad scenario. Unfortunately that is the risk you take when flying to your port on the day of the cruise instead of beforehand. In a perfect world, every flight would be on time every day, but as we all know that's not the case. I wrote my original post in the hopes that it can help people not to end up in that situation. I hope it does.

[Twickenham]

Very good, sound advice. Sometimes common sense bears repeating.

 

However, allow me to comment on a couple of points:

 

5. If there's no way you can fly in the day before, consider purchasing the air from the cruiseline, especially if you are flying internationally. It is usually (not always-be sure to check) more expensive, but besides the flight you are buying the cruiseline's guarantee to get you on the ship. Even if something happens due to the airline and you miss the ship, the cruiseline will find some way for you to meet the ship.

 

Unfortunately, this is not true. The cruise line might help you get to the ship, or to the next port, but if you read their contract carefully, they are not required to do so.

 

7. When flying, try to choose direct flights.

 

Careful: in airline lingo, there's a difference between 'direct' and 'non-stop'. While a non-stop flight is just that, a 'direct' flight means you are under the same flight number for your entire journey, but does not preclude stops along the way. A perfect example is Qantas flight 108 between New York and Sydney. While it is sold as a direct flight - one flight number - you not only have a stop in LAX, but also a plane change.

 

9. Even if the ship does not require it b/c it is a "closed loop" cruise, if you are leaving the country obtain and bring your passport.

 

Cannot agree with you more. A passport is the best investment you'll make.

 

Wow, I've done a lot of reading since I posted this and I didn't realize that in a lot of cases the cruiselines didn't book the most direct and convenient flights for the people who bought airfare through them.

 

There's an excellent sticky on the Cruise Air board here that explains cruise air. Often, you are purchasing highly-restrictive, consolidator tickets. Really good read, and I urge anyone considering purchasing air thru their airline to read it carefully.

[dsaurus]

Sorry, I meant non-stop. Too bad I can't edit my original post.

[Sqwii]

I didn't realize that boarding time and sail away time were different!

I'm glad we decided to drive down a day ahead! You learn something new everyday.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Do not rent a car at MIA, to explore miami for the first time before boarding the ship. We very nearly missed boarding for getting turned around trying to make our way back to the airport. Thank goodness there was a bus nearly empty, waiting to whisk us to the port.

 

If you need to fly to your departure port, the day of your cruise should be about gathering your luggage and making your way on to the ship in a leisurely way, after a decent night's rest. Ideally around lunch & hours before sailaway. You will start your cruise vacation relaxed & able to enjoy the moment, instead of in a white knuckle panic hoping you make the next traffic light.

[dsaurus]

I didn't realize that boarding time and sail away time were different!

 

I'm glad we decided to drive down a day ahead! You learn something new everyday.

 

 

Yeah, that's one of the reasons why people miss ships. The cruiselines really should make that a bit clearer, especially for people that are flying the day of the cruise. I'm glad to hear you are going the day before. Again, remember you can usually board the ship a lot earlier than sail away time. It depends on what time the ship comes in the day you are leaving. The last cruise I took the ship docked at about 7am, and I got to the terminal about 11:15am. I was already on the ship having lunch at the buffet by 11:45. We couldn't get into the cabins until 1:30 b/c they were still cleaning them, but it gave us time to explore the ship including going to the dining room and seeing where(and how big) our table was. We were also one of the first people on line to book excursions as well. I hope you have a great trip!

[stacis64]

I wish I'd found this site sooner. I would have flown in to San Juan a day early. Arrive at 2:15 and the ship leaves at 8:00. Hopefully no delays!

[Jimnbigd]

It's not a bad idea to book the return flight a day after the cruise. On my last cruise (Voyager of the Seas, March, 2010), the ship did not dock until 2:30pm because of fog. There were lots of worried passengers. Our group -- not worried at all because the return flight was not until the next day. There is often plenty to do in the port city, so enjoy it.

[slydplumber]

Great thought. This is my first cruise, and I am very guilty of "plan-a-mania".....

thank you