Freaking out!!

[toots13]

My point was more that they won't do it for individuals and that the ONLY time I've heard it being done was in those situations. Not saying they always do it or that they even do it often, just that it's the only instances I've ever heard of.

 

And, never a problem for us. We have only flown to one cruise and we were in town 5 days before the cruise. We either take the train or drive and always go in a day early except for going out of Baltimore because we're only an hours drive from there.

 

I totally understand. I just didn't want her to miss her cruise bc it's probably rare that they can do that. We now always fly in the day before.

[stephanie1]

Every now and again we hear about some incompetent TA who books

people on a flight that is scheduled to arrive at 2pm for a 4:30 departure.

I really do not believe that these travel agents travel at all because if they

did they would know that "scheduled to arrive by ...." means zero/

 

I could see that if someone booked through RCCL and their flight was

scheduled to arrive by 11am-12noon- it might be ok and if there was a

glitch, RCCL would cover it in some fashion.

 

I personally could not take the pressure of a flight that gets in at 2pm.

That in addition to travelling this time of year when the weather is so

uncertain. If this was me, I would pay the extra fees to get in early.

If not possible, how about a night flight before and stay in a hotel.

May cost you but better than high anxiety and worse yet, miss the flight!

[drider]

Thanks for all the suggestions for a place to stay in Tampa. I loved that many suggested the Holiday Inn. I am very fortunate to have a sister that works for the Holiday Inn as an events sales manager in another state and she was able to hold 3 rooms for us... the GM wanted to find his own place to stay... at a SUPER reasonable rate. More good news when I was talking to the GM yesterday he said he would also pay for all the transportation to the port and back to the airport. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D:D:D

[jtsongas]

I wouldn't count on this. There were over 30 people on our flight booked by Royal Caribbean that got delayed and made it to the port 20 minutes after check in time. They couldn't hold the ship for us even though they hadn't sailed - Homeland Security had cleared the ship and that was that - no more passengers. RC was very apologetic and nice and helpful to everyone though.

 

I always try my best to get to the port city the day before but have always wondered about cases like this. Does RCCL have to then get you to the next port or is that up to you (and the other 30 in your case)? I have often wondered what their true responsibility is in this case. The one time I went to the port (Puerto Rico) on the day of the cruise I was booked with ChoiceAir in hopes they would take care of getting us to the ship. We actually arrived quite a bit later than scheduled and when we got to the port there were like two porters and one person left to check us in but we did get on the ship so I never "tried out" RCCL on their policies. Actually we even missed the muster drill which seems very odd when I think back on it now (this was last year).

[newbiecruiser09]

In the meantime, check out this relatively new thread 'Everything Jewel of the Seas': http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1529339 :)

 

Thanks. I was looking for just tbat type of thing. :)

[KTBLUE]

Rule of thumb, I ALWAYS book my flight to arrive the day before the cruise departure. I would not sleep for WEEKS worrying just as you are about ANY hiccup along the way. If your flight is only booked for 1 or 2 people, you may be able to fly stand-by the day before if there is availability on the flight. Hotwire.com is a great resource to find a hotel in Tampa. Every time I have used them I have been reserved at the Sheraton RiverWalk and they offer a free shuttle to the cruise terminal.

 

Peace of mind will be priceless in this instance...I am sure of it.

[KTBLUE]

Since a TA booked this for you, I would drop the responsibility (and costs involved) on them to fix it.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Thanks for all the suggestions for a place to stay in Tampa. I loved that many suggested the Holiday Inn. I am very fortunate to have a sister that works for the Holiday Inn as an events sales manager in another state and she was able to hold 3 rooms for us... the GM wanted to find his own place to stay... at a SUPER reasonable rate. More good news when I was talking to the GM yesterday he said he would also pay for all the transportation to the port and back to the airport. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D:D:D

 

 

So happy for you! ...... just think......the morning of the cruise, you will wake up in your hotel room, go down for a complimentary breakfast, get your things packed up and head over to the terminal on the free shuttle! . No more worries about getting there on time......you're already there!!!!!! ;)

 

***

[snausman]

Thanks for all the suggestions for a place to stay in Tampa. I loved that many suggested the Holiday Inn. I am very fortunate to have a sister that works for the Holiday Inn as an events sales manager in another state and she was able to hold 3 rooms for us... the GM wanted to find his own place to stay... at a SUPER reasonable rate. More good news when I was talking to the GM yesterday he said he would also pay for all the transportation to the port and back to the airport. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D:D:D

 

So glad that the rooms are now taken care of. Just one more thing to cross off your list.

 

Laura

[BecciBoo]

Just one more reason why Cruise Critic has been invaluable to us and others over the years. So happy to see you have resolved this and will be enjoying yourself on your "free" cruise. But sorry you felt you had to spend so much to prepare for it. Had you come on here sooner, you would've saved a lot in needless expendatures....but all is good now. So just enjoy. You will have everything you need for your next cruise;) Bon Voyage!:D

[nbsjcruiser]

Goodness... sill on pins and needles but I had to laugh at the TA. She said... "That must be a new rule about checking in 90 minutes early. I have never heard about that. On the other hand I did ask the GM of the company if he wanted to fly in the night before and he said no. I also asked him if he wanted to pay the extra 20 each per ticket to get refundable tickets that allow changes for no fees and he also refused those." She also said that no matter what they will get us all on a flight for the night before but they will not get rooms for us. We will have to do that on our own. She said that my DH and I will not have to pay any change fees. I think the TA and the GM will have some discussions about that but it will not be our problem. The seats for the flight they are looking at are filling fast and I wish we would have had an answer for me yesterday. All in all I have a positive feeling things will get worked out but I will not settle down until I get a confirmation with the flight changes.

 

So you get a couple good things out of this. You get your flight a day early and you know what TA NOT to use from now on. Win-win.

[teajak]

See you on the ship.I will be one of the white haired ladies with a walker,LOL.

[starlake]

You can go over to the port between 10 and 11, and normally you can be on board eating your lunch on the ship and enjoying your cruise.

 

Have a great cruise.

[drider]

Just one more reason why Cruise Critic has been invaluable to us and others over the years. So happy to see you have resolved this and will be enjoying yourself on your "free" cruise. But sorry you felt you had to spend so much to prepare for it. Had you come on here sooner, you would've saved a lot in needless expendatures....but all is good now. So just enjoy. You will have everything you need for your next cruise;) Bon Voyage!:D

 

The passport expense would have come sometime for us if we wanted to travel across the border to Juarez since we live in El Paso. We found that if we only had the card we would not be able to fly if something happened. We did not want to risk it because our 5 year old grandson will be staying with a Nanny and not a family member. The clothes... Hubby will use his suit again and it is nice to have it in the closet. We are very simple people... our clothing lifestyle consists of jeans and tshirts... I did get a nice ball gown for free from someone in El Paso and just had to pay for the alterations so that was nice. All in all we made some choices based on our thoughts that this would be the first and only time on a cruise. That may not be the case since our grandson now wants to be like Alvin and The Chipmunks in Chipwrecked :)

[drider]

See you on the ship.I will be one of the white haired ladies with a walker,LOL.

teejak ur hilarious I would love to meet you!! We are going to be in 9572 with late dinner seating. Getting excited again

[BecciBoo]

Yes, the Passports were good to have anyways. And don't worry, this won't be your last cruise! I'm pea green with envy just that I am not going too! Have fun!:D

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

The passport expense would have come sometime for us if we wanted to travel across the border to Juarez since we live in El Paso. We found that if we only had the card we would not be able to fly if something happened. We did not want to risk it because our 5 year old grandson will be staying with a Nanny and not a family member. The clothes... Hubby will use his suit again and it is nice to have it in the closet. We are very simple people... our clothing lifestyle consists of jeans and tshirts... I did get a nice ball gown for free from someone in El Paso and just had to pay for the alterations so that was nice. All in all we made some choices based on our thoughts that this would be the first and only time on a cruise. That may not be the case since our grandson now wants to be like Alvin and The Chipmunks in Chipwrecked :)

 

 

Bravo! Getting your passport was the smart thing to do. You are now free to travel the world, even if it is with Alvin and the Chipmunks!! :D

 

I sure hope you come back and report on your cruise!!!!!

 

***

[toots13]

I always try my best to get to the port city the day before but have always wondered about cases like this. Does RCCL have to then get you to the next port or is that up to you (and the other 30 in your case)? I have often wondered what their true responsibility is in this case. The one time I went to the port (Puerto Rico) on the day of the cruise I was booked with ChoiceAir in hopes they would take care of getting us to the ship. We actually arrived quite a bit later than scheduled and when we got to the port there were like two porters and one person left to check us in but we did get on the ship so I never "tried out" RCCL on their policies. Actually we even missed the muster drill which seems very odd when I think back on it now (this was last year).

 

This was a western Caribbean on Freedom a couple of years ago. The 1st stop was Labadee which they wouldn't fly you to, but they gave the group 3 options: fly to Jamaica then and stay in some hotel that I can't remember but I don't think it was deluxe and meet ship on day 4, Fly to Jamaica on day 4, or rebook trip another time. I'd say about half opted to fly to Jamaica and half to rebook either bc half the cruise was already done or bc they didn't have valid passports to fly there (see passports can become important!).

[barbie5401]

In 2001, while working for American Airlines special services, we were called upon by RCCL to help passengers that were sailing out of Miami that had flight delays. This request was ONLY for passengers that booked with RCCL, while we would help anyone.. the information that was passed on to the captain in regard to holding the departure time was only for inbound passengers that bought RCCL packages. Many times there were delays and cancelations and we work very hard with those passengers to ensure that got on the ship. So with that being said, if we are not buying RCCL's choice air, we fly in the day before and leave the worries at home.

 

To the OP, I am very happy everything worked out for you!

[Rala]

If the TA has booked them through Chicago when they are going from El Paso, Texas to Tampa, Florida, then that TA is even MORE incompetent than appeared in the beginning! :eek:

 

Carol..you are so astute and very funny as well. Good one!!!!:D

 

To the OP...so glad things are looking up for your cruise. Have a wonderful time!!

[alexkrn46]

So happy for the good outcome, do not forget to write a review!

[PH8]

Carol..you are so astute and very funny as well. Good one!!!!:D

 

To the OP...so glad things are looking up for your cruise. Have a wonderful time!!

I saw her comment too,but going thru Chicago to get to TPA wouldnt surprise me in the least...........many flights from and to FL,go thru some really out of the way cities first.:rolleyes:

[critterchick]

Keep all of the paperwork that came with the "winning a free cruise" documents. After sending to the hotel, let them know all copies will be sent to your credit card company disputing the charges if they will ot reconcile.

 

The hotel has nothing to do with the free cruise. That dispute would fail, IMO.

 

OP, glad it's all working out for you - have a wonderful cruise!

[sunnysavannah]

I've been following since the begining and am so happy that it has all worked out! You'll have a blast and it won't be your last!

[BillOh]

I agree. As long as you have to change the flight, go ahead and fly in the day before if possible. I NEVER fly in the day of, too risky!

 

I have done it 3 times, under the right condition it is workable, but flying in the day before is so much more stress free. We usually cruise in May, but our first November cruise we flew in the night before and it was so much easier.

 

To the OP: Good luck, enjoy the cruise.,