When flying in a day early wasn't enough... Almost.

[Mary Ellen1]

Hi.  I've been meaning to post this for awhile.  Ever since it happened, in fact (last August).  Even though it's last year's info, it's still worth knowing.

 

My sister (and 36!! other family members) were joining us for a cruise last August.  10 of us were taking a Princess 4-day land tour, prior to the 7-day cruise.  Being "wicked smaht," (as they say in Boston), we made travel arrangements to arrive in Fairbanks (starting point for the cruise-tour) one day early.  The tour started on Sunday morning, with Saturday as the arrival day.  We flew in on Friday.  Or tried to...

 

My sis & her party of four were flying Boston/Minneapolis/Fairbanks, on Princess EZAir.  Things went bad when there were thunderstorms in BOS that delayed their departure.  Things went from bad to WORSE when there were thunderstorm delays in Minneapolis as well.  They missed their connecting flight, and were re-routed to Seattle. 

 

Then:

• They slept on the floor in Seattle (2am arrival; 7am-ish flight the next morning -- no time to get to a hotel)
• They were put on an early flight from Seattle (airport #3) to Anchorage (airport #4)
• Then another flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks (airport #5).
• THEY MADE IT TO FAIRBANKS!!!!  By 11am or so  local time (2pm Boston time).  Amazingly, their luggage made it onto the same flight.
• Me, the lovely sister (and my hero husband), met them at the airport in our rental car, and provided "taxi service" to the Princess lodge.  Which took two trips because the rental car was small (and we unexpectedly had all their luggage, despite being told it hadn't made the flight).  I had asked the Princess lodge to please have rooms ready early for my sis & the others -- they obliged.  
• All four of the hardy travelers slept the afternoon away (in comfy hotel beds), then joined us for dinner that night.  The land tour was fantastic, and the cruise was even better!  

 

The original plan involved 2 flights, 3 airports and 18 hours of travel.  What actually happened involved 4 flights, 5 airports and 30 hours of travel.   No amount of planning can account for weather situations like this, but a well-packed carry-on bag is something to keep in mind as you're planning your trip.  Good luck, intrepid Alaska travelers!

 

😎

[LessWorkMoreTravel]

Oh my, this scares me.  Our cruise leaves on a Saturday evening from Whittier.  We are flying from Baltimore on Friday night, with a scheduled arrival at 11:30 pm in Anchorage (Friday).  There is only a 55 minute layover in Portland, OR before the flight to Anchorage.  If we miss that connection, we are screwed because there aren't many flights Friday night or Saturday morning from PDX to ANC.  I think we would have to get to Seattle for the best hope to make it to ANC in time.  Also, I didn't even know about EZ Air when I booked so I made our flight arrangements myself through Alaska Airlines.  I've thought about changing to a Thursday flight, but now the change fees make that a really expensive proposition.

[er345]

Thanks for sharing.  After reading about the recent travelers having such a hard time getting into Florida last weekend it just reinforces the wisdom of leaving yourself plenty of extra time pre-cruise.

 

On our very first cruise we were delayed and while we did arrive in Miami the afternoon before embarking, none of our luggage made it.  We stayed in the airport until about 1:00am awaiting the promised luggage, which was still not there.  So we checked into our hotel and went back to the airport the next morning and luckily our luggage arrived before noon.  But we realized how close we were to buying everything in Miami before boarding.

 

Now I am very conscientious about packing my carry on.  And even on the way home.  We have also been stuck overnight at a connecting airport on our trip back home. 

 

We we are cruising out of Seattle this time so it’s less stressful, but I’m also worried about our short layovers in MN.

[kctwinmommy]

Flying can be so stressful for sure! Glad to hear they made it and it all worked out. I only had 1 disaster of a flight (knock on wood!). And it taught me to be a better packer! We were flying Chicago to Norfolk for my brother's Navy retirement. My husband and I were booked on a flight with my parents and niece (who had their own booking). Well, major storms in Chicago bumped everything! And it's one of those flights where it starts out east, comes to Chicago, then goes back & forth like 2-3 times/day. So once the flight was cancelled, it pushed everything!

 

We finally got on a flight going into somewhere else, like 3 hours away, where we rented a car and drove to Norfolk, but without luggage! That's why I realized that especially for short trips (this one was like 3 days), to just do a carry on. I have no idea why we checked our luggage to be honest. So we had to get some money from the airline to pay for clothes, and it was for a retirement ceremony. I was able to find something, but my husband is on the shorter side, so he can't usually find decent pants in his size. He just wore shorts. We flew in on Thursday and our luggage got to the hotel on Saturday at midnight, we flew back out on Sunday at like 9 a.m.!

 

My parents never even got on another flight. They were able to get their luggage back around 10 p.m. and rented a car to drive all the way to Norfolk overnight! It was truly a trip that we all will never forget! LOL! And thankfully, the Navy was good about pushing back his retirement ceremony! Thankfully, we haven't had any flights like that again!!

[Coral]

I am glad you posted. I always fly in advance and often 2-3 days in advance. Last year I flew into London 3 days early for a cruise.

Last summer, I missed half the flights I was scheduled on.

[K_e_short]

Seems to be a problem when there isn't a direct flight. 

My husband gets beyond stressed when we have connecting flights and demands at least 3 hours between flights (making for a long day).

We're cruising out of Vancouver and luckily we able to get a direct flight from Ottawa.

I guess the annoyance is that airlines don't have direct flights to ports. You would think with the number of passengers on each of the cruise ships leaving every day there would be a market for direct flights.

With that said our flight home from our cruise is Anchorage - Vancouver - Toronto - Ottawa - 17 hour trip.

[Coral]

I don't have direct flights anyway except to a few airline hubs (Chicago, Minneapolis and Denver).

 

I think your husband is wise.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Coral

[thegoaliegirl]

On 4/25/2019 at 6:20 AM, LessWorkMoreTravel said:

Oh my, this scares me.  Our cruise leaves on a Saturday evening from Whittier.  We are flying from Baltimore on Friday night, with a scheduled arrival at 11:30 pm in Anchorage (Friday).  There is only a 55 minute layover in Portland, OR before the flight to Anchorage.  If we miss that connection, we are screwed because there aren't many flights Friday night or Saturday morning from PDX to ANC.  I think we would have to get to Seattle for the best hope to make it to ANC in time.  Also, I didn't even know about EZ Air when I booked so I made our flight arrangements myself through Alaska Airlines.  I've thought about changing to a Thursday flight, but now the change fees make that a really expensive proposition.

 

To help put your mind at ease a little bit, Portland, OR is a VERY small airport, which always helps with a tight connection. I love flying in/through there as it is so easy to navigate. Plus, there are lots of flights between Portland and Seattle (and worst case scenario, it is about a 2 1/2-3 hour drive, if you don't hit much traffic). I love Alaska Airlines. I wouldn't stress over your flights.