Missed Cruise Due to Delta Issue?

[Desert Cruizers]

We are 2.5 hours from San Diego or San Pedro and will come in the day before. While it is best to arrive a day or even two depending on your departure City, for many due to work schedules, they are forced to fly in the day of a cruise, so am not one to say a person shouldn't plan a cruise if they are unable to fly in the day before. I have known of several on our cruises that had to work right up to the day before and fly out that evening.

[tlatrice]

The cruise line flies everyone in the day of......and they would not be doing it if the success rate was not high.

 

Very good point!

[goldgirl2]

We always fly two days before. We always cruise in February and we live in Michigan.

A. We seem to always have to de-ice before takeoff

B. Last year we were the last flight out before Detroit airport shut down due to a blizzard.

C. It's usually sub zero temperatures in February - we love the two extra days in sunny Florida [emoji41]

Edited August 9, 2016 by goldgirl2

[DISFANS3]

2 days early for us, don't miss the ship...

[mollyeilis]

 

 

 

I hope Delta compensates any pax that were put out by this delay. I'm sure we will unfortunately hear about interrupted vacation plans.... missing the ship is a huge dissapointment:mad:

 

Hahahahaha!

 

We just got back to town from a dance thing and got caught up in the delta issue.

 

As we checked in online on the 7th we upgraded to First bc DS broke his arm in Friday and he needed extra room to not be bumped.

 

Woke up to the mess. Found that our 6-something pm flight was moved to the 9th 5:45am.

 

Called, for moved to the 5:35 pm on the 8th. Made sure we had First, since, you know, we had paid for it.

 

 

Opened the app and it showed first but no seat assignments.

 

It also showed soon after that it was delayed to 8:45pm.

 

Got to lax at 4:30.

 

A giant mess ensued. Giant. Mess.

 

After quite a lot of difficulty we got our correct seats and finally boarded at around 10, and we are halfway home at 2am.

 

I expect NO compensation.

 

 

If I'd missed a cruise? That's on me. Shoulda gotten in earlier.

 

 

 

 

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[Mark_K]

Expect it or not, Delta is giving $200 in travel vouchers to everyone whose flight was canceled or delayed by more than three hours.

[MommaBear55]

Expect it or not, Delta is giving $200 in travel vouchers to everyone whose flight was canceled or delayed by more than three hours.

 

I think that is a smart move. It will decrease a lot of the ill will. Then again, all that money would have paid for a back up system to prevent this from happening again.

[MommaBear55]

Back when we flew, we only flew in early once. Melodramatic is the fuel that feeds this site. :D

 

It's not melodramatic to fly in early from Maine. Because we are in a small market, anytime there is disruption on the East Coast, Portland is one of the last airports to get back to a regular schedule. The airlines focus on NY, Philly, DC. Also, because we need at least one connection to get to Florida, it is rare to have flights land before 1 pm. We would have missed at least 3 cruises had we flown in the same day. We drive the same day to NY/BY, but drive in the day before to Baltimore as it is a 9 hour drive

[shippmates]

We very rarely fly to our cruises anymore but we are 90 minutes from Baltimore and we drive in the day before. If any accidents happen on I83 or I95 we may not be able to get to the port and miss our ship. Also the hotel we stay is cheaper than parking at the port. Everyone has their own thoughts on this. Just enjoy your cruises and remember "stuff happens"

[msmayor]

I've done both...flown in day early and day of a cruise. Of course I prefer the day before...we usually fly out of the northeast in March, so weather can be a factor.

 

It was on our 'day of' flight...I'd planned the very first departure of the day at 6am to FLL, we expected to be on the ground by 9:00am. It was six degrees that morning, two days after a large snowstorm. Our plane was there, waiting for us, having landed at BWI the night before. Runways and skies clear.

 

But that cold. Jetway was frozen solid in place, four feet away from the door. We had a 90 minute delay while they figured out which gate they could tow the plane to and get us all on board. Happy ending, we landed in FLL at 10:45am and were at the terminal to check in by 11:30. But still, in my mind, too close for comfort.

 

My usual plan is an early flight the day before. If there is a glitch, there's time for a later flight. Or worse...if weather is the issue...time to rent a car and head south, either to a 'clear' airport or all the way to FL.

 

I remember sitting in PHL one Saturday morning in March, perfectly clear day but it was crowded and spring break travelers in abundance. Two Southwest flights had been cancelled for mechanical issues, and there were a LOT of unhappy people who expected to be on their way to Florida. It appeared that Southwest was accommodating, putting them on later flights, but too late to make ships.

[DirtyDawg]

I don't see the point in being so adamant about an issue that you feel is an absolute to you, therefore everyone should feel the same way. Sure, there is risk to traveling the day of a cruise departure. Yet thousands of people do so, and most of the time it works out fine. Occasionally it doesn't. If you understand there is a risk, and you are willing to take that risk, then there is no problem with flying the day of a cruise.

 

I'm all for the idea of planning to arrive a day before. I think it's generally good advice. But those who try to say it is somehow mandatory, or the only way to go, are being a bit melodramatic.

 

Agree 97.5% with your comments (I'd just remove the "a bit";))

[The_Big_M]

When domestic, usually same day.

 

When international, normally at least a day earlier, usually more.

[terry&mike]

DH and I usually arrive 2 days before, sometimes more, on international cruises, for more reasons than just avoiding flight problems.

We tend to book ships that sail out of cities we haven't seen before, or cities we really love, and want to spend some time exploring those cities before boarding. Also, we like to board the ship feeling well rested so that we can start enjoying the cruise experience right away.

Cruises that depart from the US, if we are flying we go day before, if we are driving we head out very early in the morning on day of.

These things are just our preference to be relaxed and rested.

 

We often travel with another couple, and they have a very different strategy. Wherever we are cruising from, they come in the day of. They have had some close encounters and some lively stories of running through airports for connections, scrambling for new flight assignments, and so on, but it is what they like to do; they have yet to miss a trip.

 

We all leave on a tour to China in early November where the tour departs from JFK. They know if they have flight trouble and aren't at JFK to meet the Air China flight they are on their own to get themselves to meet the tour in China. DH and I are going in day before, having a night in NYC; they are coming in day of and hoping for the best.

 

To each his own.

[bigque]

Absolutely plan to arrive a day ahead -- doesn't even have to be the whole day; you could come in late the evening before. But never, never -- unless you're local -- never, never travel "day of". If you don't have time to make it a day ahead, the cruise doesn't fit into your schedule.

 

This is so true. Even driving in it is a good idea to get there the day before and we do be it flying or driving.

 

On the way driving to our Enchantment cruise from North Carolina to Port Canaveral in March 2015 we were about a hour and a half out from Port Canaveral on I-95 when the traffic came to a slow crawl moving along at about 10 miles an hour. It took about 45 minutes to get to the next exit which was only a short distance away and at that exit they detoured everyone off the interstate. I had planned on getting to there and checking into our hotel at about 12:30 or so but we did not get there until almost 5:30 PM. This was the day before the cruise. If it had been the day of the cruise we would have missed the ship. We were looking at the local news later that evening and it turns out that there was a bad overturned bus accident with some college students on I-95 which called for detouring the traffic.

[radmax50]

We always arrive one day early - coming from the colder climates, we are not dressed for Florida weather and flights leave at the crack of dawn. We are unable to enjoy the first day onboard since we have been awake since 3AM. Once we arrive, we enjoy the sunshine, have a nice meal and go to sleep. Boarding a ship dressed for warm weather and feeling totally refreshed is clearly worth the extra time and expense to us.

 

 

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[Desert Cruizers]

Last Oct, we were flying to Newark, pre cruise for a day trip in NYC the day after. When we arrived at LAX, our 9 AM flight was listed at departing at 11 AM due to mechanical issues and another plane was being readied. . Called the daughter right away who was flying out of Denver to let her know our arrival in EWR was now around 7 PM. Living on the West Coast, there is no way we could fly out the day of a cruise unless we did a Red Eye the evening before.

[silentbob007]

Thanks Bob for mentioning this...yes we cruised together long, long time ago on the Mariner out of LA.

 

Oh yes ... I think that was the time I flew in day-of ... and they lost my bag so I went the first few days without much in the way of clothing options. So fly in early, if not for you, but for the people that have to be around you with 3-day worn clothing. :p

[land lover]

DH and I usually arrive 2 days before, sometimes more, on international cruises, for more reasons than just avoiding flight problems.

We tend to book ships that sail out of cities we haven't seen before, or cities we really love, and want to spend some time exploring those cities before boarding. Also, we like to board the ship feeling well rested so that we can start enjoying the cruise experience right away.

Cruises that depart from the US, if we are flying we go day before, if we are driving we head out very early in the morning on day of.

These things are just our preference to be relaxed and rested.

 

We often travel with another couple, and they have a very different strategy. Wherever we are cruising from, they come in the day of. They have had some close encounters and some lively stories of running through airports for connections, scrambling for new flight assignments, and so on, but it is what they like to do; they have yet to miss a trip.

 

We all leave on a tour to China in early November where the tour departs from JFK. They know if they have flight trouble and aren't at JFK to meet the Air China flight they are on their own to get themselves to meet the tour in China. DH and I are going in day before, having a night in NYC; they are coming in day of and hoping for the best.

 

To each his own.

 

 

I have probably flown 20 times to met a cruise. river cruise or tour group in Europe, on a previous post on this thread I mentioned I live in CA and fly red eyes day of.

 

Almost every cruise or escorted trip I have planned more than one person on the ship or joining the tour has an illness or broken bone, from their pre trip...just sayin'.......I want to get to the main event.......We went on a Holyland /Egypt Princess cruise back in 2008, boarded ship in Rome, one woman came on with a broken arm, another man in a wheel chair both had mishaps on their pre-trip and these were just the people I spoke to....I could go on with my stories. But each to his own as you said...and it really does depend on where you fly from and your risk tolerance.

Edited August 9, 2016 by land lover

[troykahack]

Hope there are no major accidents on I95 and no construction. We are on West Coast of FL and prefer to arrive a day early when we drive to So. FL. There have been threads where FL folks missed ship due to accidents and construction on their route. Better safe than sorry in my book.

 

Never had a problem with traffic to FLL but Miami yes. I was born in Miami and had a remote office in Hollywood. I know I95 and Turnpike can get backed up due to an accident. So far, all of our cruises have left on Sat/Sun so weekend traffic wasn't an issue. We use Waze to navigate around traffic and many options to exit and take other roads, local knowledge.

 

We used Waze to avoid DC traffic recently and it also recommended alternate routes. We never stopped once on our weekday excursions around DC and Philly.

[land lover]

Oh yes ... I think that was the time I flew in day-of ... and they lost my bag so I went the first few days without much in the way of clothing options. So fly in early, if not for you, but for the people that have to be around you with 3-day worn clothing. :p

 

Yes I was going to mentioned that but didn't ;);) just teasin' but that does sound familiar, in fact we were sharing a drink with you in the dragons liar...when I think u mentioned that.

 

But see you got to the ship......and now u r going to hear advice from me pack everything in your carry on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Except formal wear.

 

You know I still do that, on any trip longer than a week, as I do not want to waste time shopping for clothes.

 

I came back to Royal after a 5 year hiatus, things have certainly changed, but I did see you were still on the boards with a new tux photo and lots more RCI cruises listed. Enjoy...L:)ri

Edited August 9, 2016 by land lover

[land lover]

Now, we have included driving......I'll fly day of, on my red eye to FL, even doing a stop in IAU,(want to fly out of SNA(orange Co CA) in 3 weeks to board Oasis.

 

BUT, if I was driving more than 3 Hours I would definitely come in the day before or night before.....traffic traffic traffic...We live 45m from San Pedro and we always get an early start.

 

It's interesting how we all have different takes, from our experiences and perspectives.

 

I am surprised at how many people drive long distances to ports, I much rather fly and leave the driving to someone else.

Edited August 9, 2016 by land lover

[OCruisers]

Any updates on how the Delta flights are doing today?

Hoping our friends will make theirs out of Atlanta to London today at 5:30 PM.

Fortunately, they were planning to spend several days in London before their cruise.

[bouhunter]

We always fly two days before. We always cruise in February and we live in Michigan.

A. We seem to always have to de-ice before takeoff

B. Last year we were the last flight out before Detroit airport shut down due to a blizzard.

C. It's usually sub zero temperatures in February - we love the two extra days in sunny Florida [emoji41]

 

Detroit would usually be below freezing in February but not "usually" below zero........

 

We try to schedule a couple days before and after, as you said more days in the warm weather:)

[lilkickgang]

Exactly!!! I'm in Orlando, and the only ports we do same day are TAmpa and Orlando. FLL is four hours away. I NEVER risk it. I would be way too stressed out to fly same day, we've had disasters both times we did so.

 

I hope Delta compensates any pax that were put out by this delay. I'm sure we will unfortunately hear about interrupted vacation plans.... missing the ship is a huge dissapointment:mad:

 

We do the exact same thing, we are in Pinellas across the bay from Tampa. If its Tampa or Port Canaveral we will do same day as we can find back road/ alternative routes if need be. But down to Fort Lauderdale etc its 4 hrs+ for us also and I would be a nervous wreck. We typically leave after rush hour the night before. We may get there late but we can sleep til 9, get up have breakfast and be at the port without any worries.

[marcyjane]

I as well fly in day before. Although it could happen then at least you time to to fly on another airlines and get to the ship. :)