May miss the ship - hotel reco's in Cozumel?

[Isakep15]

Depending on where you are located, I would suggest these airports before driving to Philly or DC --

 

Long Island MacArthur

Newark

JFK

Westchester

 

then maybe --

 

Albany

Philly

Hartford

Atlantic City

 

Finally (last resort) --

 

Providence

Boston

BWI

Washington Reagan

Dulles

 

 

Good luck!

[bigcraig]

If you can drive to Washingtion DC, plenty of Friday flights to Maimi.

 

Good luck with your trip.

Yes, we are only a 4 hour drive, IAD or DCA all major carriers to MIA, if you want to leave the car at our house we will get you to the airport to save money on parking.

[Jean1946]

Bigcraig, how nice of you to make such a generous offer to a CC member. There are good people left in this world.

[kmc500]

Ugh … this has been a very rough week. We're in NJ, still without power, and we're supposed to be flying out of Laguardia in NY super-early Saturday morning (Nov 3) to catch the Liberty in Miami that afternoon. But Laguardia is still partially flooded, and I'm not confident that our flight will actually take off. I’m calling Delta daily, but they can’t tell me much. I’ve already tried switching to a Friday flight or a different Saturday flight out of another airport and everything is booked up.

 

I know I am not answering your question, but regarding your flight, sometimes it is not intuitive, but may be worthwhile to go the wrong way to get somewhere in a pinch. Have you looked at Boston? There may be availability, since the airport is fully recovered from the storm.

 

Probably a 6 hour drive the wrong way, but better to me than missing the cruise and flying to Coz. Also, consider FLL in addition to MIA - it is only 30 minutes to the Port of Miami, and has much more availability, particularly out of Boston.

 

Hope everything works out!

 

Kevin C

[debster11]

can you drive to the Miami? or at least maybe an airport a few hours away?

 

I was going to suggest the same thing. I would get in my car and drive rather then fly and pay extra to get to Cozumel. Even like you said, try airports closer to Florida.

[adamt]

Very sorry to hear that you're having to deal with this mess.

 

 

I'll echo what a lot of folks said here. I'd be in the car, RIGHT NOW, heading down to Miami.

 

I would think that air travel is going to be shakey at best up in your area.

 

Good on you, Big!

[crazytrain486]

any chance of flying out of Hartford/Springfield? depending where you are in New Jersey it should only be about 3 hours. We are fine up here. It's worth calling Delta and asking...good luck

[wiskt]

I would consider renting a car and driving down to Miami... Could you get there on time? Then you could turn in your car and still fly back to NY after your cruise.

 

 

You better double check with the airlines regarding your flight back if you go this route. I have a friend that once came out to vacation a few days early and figured he would just cancel his DELTA flight out and use the return flight back as scheduled. When he got to the airport DELTA cancelled his return flight on him because it was a ROUNDTRIP TICKET and since he never made his first leg they cancelled the 2nd. He ended up having to re-book a one-way ticket back and pay the $150 change fee on top of it.

 

You may have an exception due to the storm, but best to check than be surprised with no ticket.

[kmc500]

You may have an exception due to the storm, but best to check than be surprised with no ticket.

 

Good point. How incredible is it that they can cavalierly cancel something that has value because you only want to use part of it? Unbelievable.

 

I once had a hotel cancel the second day of a two day reservation because I missed (and called to cancel) the first day. No room at the inn!

 

The decline in customer service the last ten years has been amazing. Sorry to pontificate, but I remember when you could make five reservations on five separate flights for free, and pick the one you wanted to take and pay when you got to the airport (without ID, TSA, parking hassles) and people could actually see you off and go on the roof to watch your flight take off.

 

Kevin C

[shooky]

I would check with the airline to see if you cant fly from NY if they can set something for you from an other airport. Maybe they have alternative airport for you and maybe at no charge or not to much.

[RuthlessBoss]

You better double check with the airlines regarding your flight back if you go this route. I have a friend that once came out to vacation a few days early and figured he would just cancel his DELTA flight out and use the return flight back as scheduled. When he got to the airport DELTA cancelled his return flight on him because it was a ROUNDTRIP TICKET and since he never made his first leg they cancelled the 2nd. He ended up having to re-book a one-way ticket back and pay the $150 change fee on top of it.

 

You may have an exception due to the storm, but best to check than be surprised with no ticket.

I've had that happen, so it's real. Different circumstance, but happened.

[RuthlessBoss]

Hopefully your flight is one scheduled to go. I hear all airports are open, though with limits. They said they need the planes back and some workers have not been able to get to work. Keep checking, we're rooting for you.

[JediSkipdogg]

Ok...am I the only one who thinks this travel insurance is being unreasonable in making them jump through all these hoops...

 

the OP did the responsible thing and bought travel insurance....

 

they should be able to just cancel and get a refund....

 

 

Depends on how far one is from an airport if it's reasonable or not. For example, I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have 5 airports within a two hour drive. If I was in this situation I would ask my insurance....."What's my plane ticket price limit, I have one I can get at XXXXX Airport, just give me the A-OK and I'll book it."

 

Heck, even if my insurance was willing to pay for the hotel for Coz, I'd ask about just paying for the change in airports. Even then, I thought most airlines were waving the change fees so it should be easy to find somewhere else to fly. The little extra driving will be better in the long run and you may get a better flight, all at no cost to you. Better than missing a day on the boat.

[blondietink]

We just did the drive from Niagara Falls, NY to Miami and back with a mini-van and 4 people (2 drivers). It is doable if you can find the gas and can get on the road. We stop overnight 1/2 way, with a 12-14 hour drive one day and 10-12 hour the next. I do understand with the power problems and gas shortage, it is probably not an option for you at this time.

 

I have heard that Newark and JFK are open. Could you possibly drive to Boston, Philadelphia or DC? Praying you make it to your cruise. We were on the Liberty recently and had a terrific time. You will love it!

[beachbride91011]

What about renting a car to get to Philly, turn in car there, and take your regular flight home.

[RuthlessBoss]

And now, the weather channel says storm trackers have picked up a nor'easter forming in the Atlantic and for now, expecting (or think) it will come to your area. I'm just repeating what they said.

[TriciaEMTB]

Good luck. Hope you guys get to fly out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wendaeh]

OP - have you come back? Did you start driving? Wishing you safe travels..:D

[scuabacruiser]

Atlantic city to Miami is about 1250 miles. If he drove 100 miles the whole way, it would only take 13 hours.

Only if you have an iron bladder and don't need to eat or gas up.:D

[papayagirl]

Thanks all. We kept calling Delta today and 4 seats opened up on a 2pm flight out of Laguardia tomorrow. So we're going to take the day off work and hope that even if the flight doesn't take off, we'll have a good 20 hours to hang out and get another flight.

 

Sadly, my parents were supposed to come with us, and the prospect of having to change to a connecting flight without us there to help them, leave their house without power, and a bunch of other things was too stressful for them, and they chose to cancel and lose 25% of their $. I'm so upset about it, but at least we're going, so cross your fingers that we get there!!

[pjhootch]

Take your kids' pillows and a blanket (especially if they have a special one) to the airport with you. It sounds goofy, but if you have to sit and wait for a plane, they can nap and be settled a bit while you hang out.

[papayagirl]

Oh, and for the record, my parents cancelled yesterday before we switched to the new flight. Didn't want to leave the impression we were ditching them!

[donoiv]

Thanks for the replies. My neighbor last night said he's driven to Miami in under 24 hours, but that was when he was much younger and drove 100+ the whole way. Not sure I could handle being trapped in a minivan for that long with two kids on a regular week, let alone now. We're all pretty much running on fumes. Plus the fact that virtually no gas stations are open because there's no power to pump gas. People are breaking into fights at the stations that have any supply, siphoning what gas they have in their cars to power generators, etc. And roads are closed everywhere in my immediate area due to flooding and downed trees. Getting all the way to Miami might not even be possible.

 

Our insurance will cover the full cost of our trip if the airlines can't fly us out within 24 hours of the scheduled departure time. So if LGA can get us out Sat night instead of morning, we'll miss the ship but won't be able to get our money back. That's why flying into Cozumel is looking like a possibility. (Sounds like Delta will cover one flight change like this at no charge due to the hurricane.)

 

Try other airports in the area...

Newark

JFK

White plains

Newburgh

Providence

Boston

Manchester

Albany

Allentown

Syracuse

... Drive a little to an airport... You should be able to find something... There are a ton of airports I driving distance.

[dragon94]

Thanks all. We kept calling Delta today and 4 seats opened up on a 2pm flight out of Laguardia tomorrow. So we're going to take the day off work and hope that even if the flight doesn't take off, we'll have a good 20 hours to hang out and get another flight.

 

Sadly, my parents were supposed to come with us, and the prospect of having to change to a connecting flight without us there to help them, leave their house without power, and a bunch of other things was too stressful for them, and they chose to cancel and lose 25% of their $. I'm so upset about it, but at least we're going, so cross your fingers that we get there!!

 

Is that 25% from Carnival? I would call Carnival and explain the situation they re in and see if they give them 100% refund. Its worth a try.

Glad to hear you can still go. Hopefully when you return power will be restored and there will be gas. Have a great cruise you deserve it!

[crewsweeper]

OP...hope you make that flight!! Seems like LGA is up and running with mionor delays. I'd get to the airport as early as you can to avoid the crowds and stay on top and be as flexible as you can in getting flights out. Sorry your parents had to cancel. But hope you ahve a good cruise anyway. Liberty is a great ship and a Guy's burger awaiting you! But try the ceviche and oysters in the fish n chips and the breakfast burritos in the Blue Iguana.