Pre-cruise stay

[camper49]

Knowing that any flight can have delays, would you chance flying into Vancover on the day you board ship?

[Coral]

Never.

[Italy52]

Never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CruiserBruce]

You will find very few who, in all seriousness, will recommend flying in the day of a cruise. Unless it is a redeye arriving early...

[zqvol]

Knowing that any flight can have delays, would you chance flying into Vancover on the day you board ship?

 

 

Depends on where you are flying from, and schedule. I would not hesitate to fly from California or the Pacific NW as long as arrival at Vancouver is before 11:00 a.m.

Edited August 17, 2016 by zqvol

[VennDiagram]

No. Especially not from some underserviced area like Maine :eek: $300 or less for a hotel for the night is inexpensive peace of mind.

[spidybabe]

We flew from NYC to Seattle on 8/7/16 to make a same day sailing. We took first flight, and with the time change, we had more than enough time. We landed by 10:30, and on the beautiful Pearl in no time.

Safe sailing

[xlxo]

Knowing that any flight can have delays, would you chance flying into Vancover on the day you board ship?

Thoughts....

-are you flying Delta?

-are you arriving Sunday morning when there's typically special event road closures?

-is this a direct flight? Or are you making multiple connections where you are more likely to lose your luggage or have mechanical issues?

-is the morning welcome lunch important for you?

-do you mind being stuck in another country without a boat or plane? Vancouver is the best port for it!

 

The earlier your arrival.... the more time you are giving yourself for any flight delays....

[andrek]

I would never recommend flying in on the same day for a cruise. It takes only one bad experience to confirm that. Years ago we had an am flight to Acapulco from Los Angeles. It was nonstop and left early in the morning. The flight was delayed the entire day and we finally got to Acapulco at 730 pm with our cruise ship leaving at 8pm. We were two of the lucky ones as we had friends in Acapulco who picked us up and drove like maniacs to the ship. We got to the dock at 7:55 and they let us board. It was an exception but they did it. The rest of the persons from our plane waved to us from the dock as we were leaving port. They had to catch up with us 2 days later. We never go the same day, never!

[martincath]

It's not just the distance/connections/weather etc. problems coming all the way from the East Coast, it's the high probability that if you do miss the ship you cannot join it en route regardless of what insurance you have.

 

Cruises which start in Vancouver and end in a US port are not compliant with PVSA if you don't start here, so you will be forbidden to fly to Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau etc to meet the ship. The only hope you have of meeting the ship is if it visits another Canadian port - very rare - or is an RT Vancouver.

 

Plus unlike many ports, even if there are a chunk of people they know are coming in on a late flight, tidal conditions force vessels to stick to a very tight schedule. If your ship needs to leave by 4pm in order to get through the narrows, they cannot wait any longer for you...

 

Even if you were doing a red-eye I would only consider it a remotely viable option if you flew Air Canada (or code share) via Toronto. This is the combo of airline and airport that would give you the best hope of still arriving on time if you had to be bumped to a later flight - non-Canadian airlines can't fly YYZ-YVR, Westjet have fewer flights than AC, and importantly you get Canadian immigration done before getting on the last leg. On arrival at YVR you would be able to walk right off the plane and head straight for the port rather than queuing up with potentially a thousand other people if a couple of other large planes come in about the same time as yours - a critical time saving if you are running for a ship!

[lag9122]

NO We did a cruise out of san juan and flew in the same day due to the cruise ship leaves at 8:30pm but never in vancouver.

[mskaufman]

Would not do it. Last month we flew to Barcelona two days before our cruise. There were people who were meeting a cruise that afternoon. We were scheduled to arrive at 11 am. We arrived at 3 pm. When the luggage was delayed the cruise line rep told the passengers that they either had to go with her to the ship or wait for their luggage and catch up with the ship the next day.

[WatchHill]

A few years ago, we flew from PVD, via Toronto, to YVR three days pre-cruise and found that stressful. The flight from PVD was uneventful, but once we arrived in Toronto, we had were told to claim the luggage and transport it via their bus system to another terminal. Ugh, it was ticketed through to YVR, but we still had to claim the luggage and assist my Mom who was in a wheel chair through this process. Needless to say, we were going through a secondary security check as the connecting flight was about to close its doors. Our flight arrived in YVR, but our luggage was nowhere to be found. AC's computer system was down, so we waited for the next AC flight to arrive. No luggage.

 

On our AC flight were numerous passengers who were boarding an RCI ship that afternoon, and their luggage was also missing. We were sailing with Celebrity and were at the mercy of the RCI rep who said she had to go to lunch. A very nice HAL rep told us to go to our hotel, and that any late luggage will be taken by van into Vancouver after the last flight of the day; worse case, we had a few days until the cruise.

 

Once at Sutton Place, we let the reception staff know about the missing luggage and they continued to check with AC without success. We picked up a few necessities, had dinner, wandered the area and back to the hotel - still no word as to where our 4 pieces of luggage were. Fast asleep, hoping our just rinsed out clothes dry during the night, came a knock at the door. Midnight! Yes, the luggage arrived and the bell captain said - "Try not to fly through Toronto!"

 

So, word to the wise - cross pack, add a day or two's clothes to your carry-on, and arrive a few days before your cruise.

 

Darcy

[TheCalicoCat]

Nope. My peace of mind is worth more than any potential savings associated with any plan to fly in the same day as my cruise.

 

I've never bought into the rushing & stressed out start to a vacation.

[mskaufman]

A few years ago, we flew from PVD, via Toronto, to YVR three days pre-cruise and found that stressful. The flight from PVD was uneventful, but once we arrived in Toronto, we had were told to claim the luggage and transport it via their bus system to another terminal. Ugh, it was ticketed through to YVR, but we still had to claim the luggage and assist my Mom who was in a wheel chair through this process. Needless to say, we were going through a secondary security check as the connecting flight was about to close its doors. Our flight arrived in YVR, but our luggage was nowhere to be found. AC's computer system was down, so we waited for the next AC flight to arrive. No luggage.

 

On our AC flight were numerous passengers who were boarding an RCI ship that afternoon, and their luggage was also missing. We were sailing with Celebrity and were at the mercy of the RCI rep who said she had to go to lunch. A very nice HAL rep told us to go to our hotel, and that any late luggage will be taken by van into Vancouver after the last flight of the day; worse case, we had a few days until the cruise.

 

Once at Sutton Place, we let the reception staff know about the missing luggage and they continued to check with AC without success. We picked up a few necessities, had dinner, wandered the area and back to the hotel - still no word as to where our 4 pieces of luggage were. Fast asleep, hoping our just rinsed out clothes dry during the night, came a knock at the door. Midnight! Yes, the luggage arrived and the bell captain said - "Try not to fly through Toronto!"

 

So, word to the wise - cross pack, add a day or two's clothes to your carry-on, and arrive a few days before your cruise.

 

Darcy

 

Especially with AC/Toronto. That's where our connection was to Barcelona.

[Helabama]

We always fly in at least a day early. So many things can happen that are totally out of your control. Not worth the stress. We live in South Alabama and we drive to Canaveral and Tampa cruise ports. Even then we go a day early and spend the night in a hotel. Crazy things happen on interstate hwys too. Several years ago a Florida wildfire greatly reduced visibility on I-75 and they closed it. A major accident can close a hwy for several hours. Considering how much is invested in a cruise vacation, it is well worth the cost of a night in a hotel not to worry about the ship leaving without you.

[232271]

another NEVER vote: they lost our luggage a few years back I would have had only the clothes on my back.......but we always fly in at least one day early.

[Chairsin]

Here is the thing about arriving on a flight the day of the cruise -- most often you will make it and be fine. And there on many who will post on this thread and the Cruise Air thread who will post "I did it and we made the ship." This is merely anecdotal and not factual evidence. And if it were me it would not substitute for reassurance that I will always make it. Fact is in this day flights are often late and fly full. This means if your flight is delayed (causing you to miss a connection) or canceled you have to look at the odds you will get another flight that will allow you to make your sailaway. So first -- how many other flights are there that would get you there on time (including the airline you are flying, codeshare partners and others),. And just because there are other flights does not mean there are seats available. If you have "status" with and airline you may move up the priority ladder in terms of being booked on available seats -- if not you may go to the end of the list. And very importantly for Alaska cruises where large family groups often travel together here is an often overlooked fact -- the more people in you travel group the lower your odds of getting rebooked on one of the next flights out. I ran into this sad fact a few years ago when taking family to to WDW. Weather caused our Sunday morning flight to FLL to be canceled. Had it been just my DH and me we could have gotten out late that night (we had high status with the airline). But as there were five of us and the other three had no status the best we could get was Monday at 10PM. So when factoring in that extra day off of work or the cost of a hotel to overnight precruise ask yourself if you want to be lucky or smart.

 

 

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