Anyone flying the Sunday after Thanksgiving?

[gailc]

Has anyone flown anywhere the Sunday after Thanksgiving? We are going on a cruise the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2006 with friends. We are flying the day before, but all our friends are flying that Sunday. The cruiseline will be booking their flights. One couple is concerned about flying that day since they have read that's it's the busiest flying day of the year.

 

I'd like to know if anyone has had any problems flying that day. I would also like to know if anyone flying that day this year has any problems.

 

Gail

[wrp96]

If they fly that day expect long lines, overbooked flights, etc. I've flown on the Sunday after Thanksgiving several times. The lines to check in are longer, the lines for security are longer, the flights are crowded if not overbooked, it takes longer to get luggage, delays are common. And all of this is with good weather, if you have bad weather anywhere on that day, multiply all those problems.

 

I think if I was trying to get to a cruise that day, I would fly the day before. There are just too many things that can go wrong traveling day of cruise and then you add in that it is one of the busiest travel days of the year, it will be a mess. It won't be an enjoyable travel experience and they will be really stressed by the time they make it to the ship.

[TexasFyre]

I will be flying that day as well, home from Las Vegas. The lines are going to be horrid! We plan to leave two hours early, before the flight, because of traffic, and the lines. That day is almost as bad as flying out the day after Christmas.

[alexspepaw]

I have flown the Sundy after Thanksgiving every year for 7 years now (Alex is of course 7 years old).

 

Here's how crowded it is...I have volunteered every year and gotten a free ticket for giving up my seat 6 out of 7 years.

 

There is no way I would try and make a cruise on that day.

 

It's not just the crowds, it's also the weather in other cities that can delay your flight even though the weather in your city may be OK.

[greatam]

Tell your friends the SMART day and the CHEAP day to fly is Friday after Thanskgiving. Saturday is not TOO bad, but people are getting wise that Sunday is a zoo and are booking late Saturday afternoon flights instead.

 

Sunday after Thanksgiving is the one day that frequent fliers who do mileage runs book tickets on. Chances of getting a "bump" are about 90%. Miles and vouchers for free tickets (and lots of upgrades for elite fliers). It is a MADE in HEAVEN day for grabbing all the goodies, when you DON'T have to be someplace.

 

If you want to make your cruise, fly Friday when it's cheaper or Saturday, when it isn't quite so crowded. Sunday is a disaster waiting to happen!!!

[gailc]

Thanks for the information.

 

If the cruiseline books their flights, would it get them to the ship if there were long delays in their flights? What I'm trying to ask is if it makes any difference if you book your own flights or have the cruiseline do it if there are delays?

 

Gail

[wrp96]

Thanks for the information.

 

If the cruiseline books their flights, would it get them to the ship if there were long delays in their flights? What I'm trying to ask is if it makes any difference if you book your own flights or have the cruiseline do it if there are delays?

 

Gail

 

There is no guarantee that the cruiseline will help them get to the ship or will hold the ship if their flight is delayed, even if they book cruise air. Now if the cruiseline books their air, the cruiseline will know if they have people coming from a delayed flight and might delay the ship if possible, but only if there are a large number of cruise passengers on the flight and even that is not guaranteed. If they book cruise air and miss the ship, the cruiseline might help them make arrangements to get to the next port, but there is no guarantee they will pay for it.

[alexspepaw]

Hate to berate the point...but I just noticed the OP is in Michigan.

 

There is absolutely no way I would attempt to fly on the Sunday after Thanksgiving if I had to be somewhere - like a cruise! Especially if I was flying from a northern city...advise your friends strongly not to do so.

 

I like to fly that day because I usually get a free ticket or two, and I can be late to work on Monday if need be.

[Bill S]

gailc: I second the advice given above. We flew from NC to Las Vegas last year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving---NEVER AGAIN!

 

We were late leaving GSO due to the Captain having to put on extra fuel due to bad wx in Cincy, thereby necessitating 3 passengers having to get off-no one wanted to volunteer!

 

Both airports we had to transit were jammed packed and we barely made our connection out of Cincy. It is not worth the stress wondering if you will make your ship departure the same day----too many things can go wrong: mechanical problems, weather, overbooking, lost/late luggage, etc. I recommend your friends consider paying a deviation fee if necessary to go a day early.

[zebster15]

Gail,

 

I'm going to guess that your friends are on an early morning flight. While Wen and Sun are the two busiest days of the year (DD is Flying on both of them:eek: ), there is nothing your going to be able to do about it now.

 

Hopefully the AM flights will depart without too much of a delay. If it was a 2pm flight I would be more concerned or like DD's Wen @8pm and Sun at 5pm. She'll never get here and never get home:eek:

 

Have a great cruise

[gailc]

zebster - The flights would be early in the morning. Our cruise is on the Freedom of the Seas next year on Nov. 26, 2006 so we have time to figure it out. There are 4 other couples going with us. We would be flying on the Sat., but so far they are all booked on flights thru the cruiseline on Sun. We are now talking about changing our cruise to Dec. 3, 2006 to avoid the problem. Weather will always be a consideration. I also wish they would all fly on the Sat. before no matter when we decide to go.

 

BillS - We love Las Vegas. We go there 2 times a year.

 

Gail

[wrp96]

Since you are cruising RCI, I can tell you what there policy is in regards to flight delays. They sometimes, but not always, will hold departure by a couple of hours if a large number of cruisers (and it has to be a large number of cruisers) are delayed. If you purchase their CruiseCare package, they will reimburse up to $500 for accomodations, meals, and catch up transportation, otherwise you are responsible. One problem - $500 will probably not even cover a last minute international ticket much less the at least 2 nights of accommodations and meals that will be required if you miss the ship since the first day you could catch up to the ship at is Cozumel on the 2nd full day, and that is even assuming there are seats available on any flights.

 

Being on an early morning flight will help, but if bad weather or mechanical problems occurs you will still be out of luck with no options. Usually if something goes wrong with an early flight, you might be able to make it onto a later flight, but there will not be seats available on flights later that day so that isn't an option.

[wrp96]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10006546/ I just saw this article on MSNBC.com, which relates to making travel easier during the holidays, including Thanksgiving. You might look at this. There are some good hints in the article which apply to any time of year, but some of them are especially appropriate considering your situation.

[gailc]

wrp96 - Thanks for all the information. I will pass it along to our friends. I Emailed our TA & asked about flying that Sun. She didn't think there would be a problem, because we would be flying to our cruise where everyone else would be flying home. Not sure if it's makes sense to me.

 

Gail

[alexspepaw]

wrp96 - I Emailed our TA & asked about flying that Sun. She didn't think there would be a problem, because we would be flying to our cruise where everyone else would be flying home. Not sure if it's makes sense to me.

 

Gail

 

If my travel agent gave me this advice, I would find another TA. Most good TAs will reccommend that you always fly in a day early...and this one is telling you not to worry on the busiest travel day of the year?

 

Oh well...maybe I'll get a free ticket next year because of your friends.

[greatam]

As of 8:00AM, MST, 11-22-06, LaGuardia is backed up 90 minutes, Boston is backed up 30-45 minutes, and Newark is backed up 30 minutes. And IT IS ONLY Tueday before Thanksgiving. They are expecting a large snowstorm in the Northeast, planes are full and IF there are cancellations, there will be hardly any other flights for cancelled passengers to fly on. Could be a VERY long Thanksgiving weekend.

 

Planes are so full, I am having to send specialty freight to Florida via charter. No room to Miami for a 48 pound box of food products.

 

Again, we ALL repeat, DO NOT fly the day after Thanksgiving to board your cruise the same day. You MAY not make it.

[wrp96]

wrp96 - Thanks for all the information. I will pass it along to our friends. I Emailed our TA & asked about flying that Sun. She didn't think there would be a problem, because we would be flying to our cruise where everyone else would be flying home. Not sure if it's makes sense to me.

 

Gail

 

Does your TA not realize that people will be flying back to their homes in Florida that day? People do actually live in Florida, not just travel there for vacation. There will also be people travelling to get to business meetings early Monday morning. On less busy travel days, if there is a problem, you can usually explain to the airline reps that you are trying to get to a cruise and they will do everything they can to accommodate you - but they won't have any options to accommodate you on the Sunday after Thanksgiving even if they wanted to.

[Bill S]

gailc: ask your TA if they have ever flown anywhere on the Sunday after Thanksgiving! I cannot believe she/he actually gave you that response! Per the news today, Tuesday morning, lines are already forming at the airports. Even if it wasn't a holiday weekend, I still wouldn't recommend flying in on the day of embarkation, especially in the winter months.

[gailc]

I will have to agree with what everyone has said so far. I'm hoping our friends will change their minds after watching the weather this Thanksgiving. When I went to bed at midnite last nite, I could see the grass. Woke up to about 1" snow. They've closed part of an X-way because of an accident & cars sliding off the road. This is only the start of the bad weather.

 

The 5 couples are working with 2 different TA's. They both said not to worry. I would also guess they haven't flown the Sun. after Thanksgiving. That's why the message boards are an invaluable source of information!!

 

Gail

[gailc]

Did anyone fly yesterday (Sunday)?

 

Gail

[just4kixx]

We flew yesterday out of Tampa to Philly on Southwest, post Miracle cruise. The flight was delayed by an hour due to prior flight delays (perhaps weather related??? ), but the airport was not overcrowded and there were virtually no lines, except for the our Southwest gates. ;) The aircraft was fully booked, and there was a very obnoxious young female who was with a party of 15 (most of which were in boarding group C) trying to "save 15 seats" a big NO NO on Southwest. She managed to create a scene and bring security on board, but other than that, it was like any other flight... of course that was Tampa (sunny and warm) and Southwest... I don't know how that would compare to other airports and airlines on the Sunday after Thanksgiving! Given the situation, I'd pay to customize my flight and go in a day early, or cancel the air portion of my cruise and make my own arrangements.

 

Good luck to your friend.

A~:)

[greatam]

Did anyone fly yesterday (Sunday)?

 

Gail

 

I have two employees stuck in Denver, one in Kansas City. Flights were delayed and they missed their connections. Flights were full, so they are stuck. I expect them to come wandering in sometime early afternoon.

 

And the worst-my own son booked cruise air-I know, I know-I tried but he said it was "easier". Their cruise-Pride of Aloha-left Honolulu at 8:00PM last night. They are at LAX. Plane was 1 1/2 hours late leaving Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Missed their non-stop out of Chicago to Honolulu. Planes to the West Coast were jammed-no seats on any airline. They finally got on a 3:00PM flight to LAX. They spent last night at an airport hotel. Today, they will board a UA flight direct to Lihue (Kauai). The plane arrives at 4:35PM. Then they have to get in a taxi and find the ship. And who knows where their luggage is? Maybe they will be onboard by 6:00PM. By anyone's calculations, they missed one full day of their cruise. I spoke to NCL myself and their air dept. told me they had over 50 people stuck in the continental US, trying to get to cruises. They were trying to help, and I must say, I was impressed with their help, but the planes were FULL, FULL, FULL.

 

NOT a good idea to travel Sunday after Thanksgiving.

[wrp96]

Didn't fly, but I know our airport was shut down for several hours due to the severe thunderstorms and tornados. Was really glad I wasn't travelling yesterday.

[Andee]

My DS and DDIL flew out of Newark on Wednesday; their flight was delayed for about an hour necause of bad weather where the place was coming from. They said the airport did not seem particualrly crowded.

 

They flew back last night, right on time, and the Milwaukee airport was definitely not crowded--we saw no lines at check-in or security.

[gailc]

Thanks everyone! I checked the flights we would have taken if we were going this past weekend. On Sat. & Sun., they all were delayed for all different reasons. We would have made it to Miami on both days an hour later than scheduled which isn't too bad.

 

I did see that Chicago, Detroit, & NY all had weather delays. Since our friends are letting the cruiseline book their flights, they won't know until about 1 month before the cruise which airline or schedule they will have. I still think 1 couple may fly the day before. Not sure about the others.

 

Gail