need advice asap - on hold same day flight

[like friends]

we are holding tickets that expire tonight for same day cruise, never did that before, always came in the night before, this leaves at 6:53 am and arrives at 10:48, ship leaves at 4. although it is listed on princess we are not booking with them, if miss the ship it is a 3 day wait until the ship docks, not including the private island (is there a airport there)?

don't know what to do, if the plane is delayed we have some time, it is the first one out in the morning, but left with no choice after this flight.

WHAT TO DO???????:eek:

[cruiseryyc]

What time of year makes a huge impact on answering this question. Personally, I would fly in the day before.

[paul929207]

I would fly in the day before.

[Princess Patches]

It is always so much better and less stressful to fly in the day before if at all possible. Your ship sails at 4 so that means last boarding will be at 3. You are only giving yourself a few hours leeway for anything to go wrong. Delayed flights are not at all unusual these days.

 

You talk about catching up with the ship in 3 days if you miss it, but that is not always possible because you may be in violation of the PVSA and not allowed to board the ship at a subsequent port of call. You have not given any details about which ship, the itinerary, the airports, or time of year you are traveling, so it is hard to be any more specific than this.

[Pam in CA]

What city and port? If it's FLL, you should be OK as long as there aren't any flight delays. Remember, if the ship sails at 4pm, you must be checked in and boarded by 3pm. If you arrive much later than 2:30pm, you could be denied boarding.

 

Something else to consider is that if you don't have a passport and miss the ship, you won't be allowed to fly to the next port (at your own expense) if it's not in the US.

 

If you choose to fly in embarkation day, make sure you have "cancel for any reason" insurance.

[compozer]

We are also from the midwest and always go a day early. Missed the ship back in '80. Don't want to go thru that again. If it is within the next month you may be fine if there is not a delay for some reason. Chicago might be fine but something somewhere else can cause delays in most any airport.

 

We have a friend that was suppose to return today from NYC for the Packer/Bear party but was delayed and now won't get in until 11pm. Not sure what the delay was about.

 

I wouldn't do it without travel insurance.

 

Only you can decide. Good luck and have a fun cruise.

[baggal]

Sometimes you just can't fly in the day before. But if that's the case, you need more leeway than 3.5 hours maximum to make your cruise.

[searoses]

go the day before......we've had flights delayed or cancelled for weather hundreds of miles away any time of yr. even a short hop from portland me to nyc was delayed 6 hrs. in june ....we'd have missed the ship.

[Coral]

There is an airport in Eluthera (sp?) and there are flights from Miami to there. I have seen people board the ship there.

 

I would almost be tempted to book the air through the ship as they have stated they will try to get you to your next port (I know this is not a promise). It would also be included in their travel insurance and cancel for any reason.

 

I would do it if the ship is leaving from FLL. Just make sure you have travel insurance.

[SiBreeze]

we are holding tickets that expire tonight for same day cruise, never did that before, always came in the night before, this leaves at 6:53 am and arrives at 10:48, ship leaves at 4. although it is listed on princess we are not booking with them, if miss the ship it is a 3 day wait until the ship docks, not including the private island (is there a airport there)?

 

don't know what to do, if the plane is delayed we have some time, it is the first one out in the morning, but left with no choice after this flight.

 

WHAT TO DO???????:eek:

 

You don't say what time of year, flying from? to? We always fly the same day and have never had a problem in 22 cruises. Not even a close call. There is no airport on Princess Cay.

[Coral]

There is no airport on Princess Cay.

 

There is an airport on the island:

 

http://www.eleuthera-map.com/travel.php#us_airports_delayed_flights

 

Looks like from Miami, FLL and Nassau. I have seen people catch the ship there (flew down from Miami).

[like friends]

are you saying there is a airport on princess cay?

we are coming from chicago ohare in the middle of november to fll, have up to 3 1/2 for delays. Oh what to do, there is only 1 flight left to get to the port in time that leave at 9 am from another major airline in a different terminal

[sfnew2sail]

Just took an Alaskan cruise this past month. We flew in a day early but about 10 people on our flight missed their cruise which left at 4:30 that day. Our flight was delayed 5 hours in Dallas. We touched down in Vancouver at 4PM. It's not worth the worry. Fly in early!

[rdsqrl]

are you saying there is a airport on princess cay?

we are coming from chicago ohare in the middle of november to fll, have up to 3 1/2 for delays. Oh what to do, there is only 1 flight left to get to the port in time that leave at 9 am from another major airline in a different terminal

I'll tell you what to do -- fly in the day before. Three and a half hours is not what I would call a comfortable cushion for flight delays. Not for a flight coming all the way from Chicago, and not for a flight in November.

 

Yes, there is an airport. Princess Cays is part of the island of Eleuthera, which is part of the Bahamas. There is an airport there, Governor's Harbour, although it is quite a ways from Princess Cays (the island of Eleuthera is some 90 miles long). But seriously, the money and angst of getting from FLL to Princess Cays would be so over-the-top in comparison with just paying more to go the day before and stay overnight in a hotel.

[Nebr.cruiser]

If you possibly can, fly in a day early. You can make the cruise if everything goes as planned--weather, flight delays, mechanical problems, etc., but it will be stressful, as you only have a couple of hours leeway, once you land and get out of the airport.

 

We always try to fly in early, but due to circumstances had to fly into Rome the day of our cruise, arriving about 10 AM., last April. Yes, we made our cruise with no problems at all, but we felt nervous about it the whole trip. I even paid a few extra dollars on our cruise insurance for a good delay section in the policy.

 

I know that there are times when it just doesn't work to fly in early, but you do take your chances.

[NUGal]

Don't take the chance if you can possibly help it.

 

A few years back, we had a red-eye nonstop flight from California to New York for a fall foliage cruise. After mechanical difficulties with two planes from a major airline, and flights from California to Texas to New York, we just barely reached the port in time. And because we were so late and the port was so crowded, the taxi had to let us out three blocks away from the ship to drag our luggage the rest of the way. It was nerve-wracking, and we were exhausted when we finally boarded the ship.

[PunkiC]

We live in Seattle have flown in the same day for cruises embarking from Vancouver, San Francisco or Los Angeles when we knew there were lots of back-up flights that would still get us there on time. On our next two cruises, however, both of which embark in LA, we are going in the night before because there were no back-up flights that would work.

 

For cruises that embark farther from home, we always go in the night before. While most flights depart and arrive on schedule (more or less) we have spent a good many nights stuck in airport hotels in cities we didn't plan to visit due to weather or mechanical issues.

 

Our favorite port, of course, is Seattle since we live less than a mile from the dock, but how many times can one cruise to Alaska? :) We have been five times and we love it enough that we are going to do it again next year with some friends who have never previously cruised or been to Alaska. That should be fun.

[davekathy]

Fly in the day before. Even if you have to pay a few extra dollars, it's worth it. No stress and a great way to start out a great vacation.

[Anniesails]

To me this is a no brainer, fly in the day before. I do believe you answered your own question by how unsure you are to begin with. Is it not possible to get a flight out the day before. We just took the Baltic Cruise a few weeks ago, we flew a red eye out of Newark and had 10hr leeway and we were nervous wrecks we would miss the ship, but circumstances prevented us from leaving a day early. Hope it works out for you and you have a delightful cruise. :o

[Pam in CA]

We live in Seattle have flown in the same day for cruises embarking from Vancouver, San Francisco or Los Angeles when we knew there were lots of back-up flights that would still get us there on time. On our next two cruises, however, both of which embark in LA, we are going in the night before because there were no back-up flights that would work.

I'm flying from LAX to Vancouver in less than two weeks and staying overnight even though I could take the same flight the next day and arrive in Vancouver by mid-day. The stress and anxiety aren't worth it to me because I know that LAX can have a marine layer, fog or whatever and flights can be delayed. Or, the plane could be delayed by weather elsewhere in the country and my flight leave late.

 

When flying out of Chicago, the plane has to land from somewhere else and even if Chicago weather might be great that day, there could be bad weather elsewhere. To me, it's not worth it unless you have no other option.

[pablo222]

There is no airport on Princess Cay.

 

There are actually three airports on Eleuthera.

 

http://www.eleuthera-map.com/travel.htm

[Pam in CA]

There are actually three airports on Eleuthera.

 

http://www.eleuthera-map.com/travel.htm

Of course, you'd need a passport to fly there.

[pablo222]

Of course, you'd need a passport to fly there.

 

Why do you presume that the original poster doesn't have a passport?

[Pam in CA]

Why do you presume that the original poster doesn't have a passport?

Because many Americans don't have a passport and since they can cruise in the Caribbean without one, don't realize they'll need one if they miss the ship for whatever reason or if they have to disembark early to fly home. Just read the myriad of posts and sad situations by people who discover this when it happens to them. They then come onto CC to voice their complaint that Princess wouldn't get them to the next port or refund their money. I've read so many posts about this over the years. :(