Urgent help needed! Scheduled to leave today...stuck at the tire shop 100 miles from port!

[blueskadoo]

Hi all. My SO is headed out on a cruise today from Port Canaveral, but had the tire light come on and is currently sitting an hour and a half away trying to get it repaired. Is there anything I can do to help him other than pray and find alternate cruises leaving tomorrow on other lines? Any use in calling NCL? If he were to be able to drive on to Miami and depart tomorrow, would that do any good and save us from losing everything? This is karma for not booking the travel protection, I suppose. 

Edited August 20, 2022 by blueskadoo

[ChiefMateJRK]

Put the spare tire on?

[blueskadoo]

1 minute ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Put the spare tire on?

Final boarding is at 4pm. He's doing that now, but it says to only drive 55-60...so what if he's 15 minutes late? Won't that be too bad so sad? That's my worry!

[rrraydon]

1 minute ago, blueskadoo said:

Final boarding is at 4pm. He's doing that now, but it says to only drive 55-60...so what if he's 15 minutes late? Won't that be too bad so sad? That's my worry!

4p is the latest…and even that’s pushing it.

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 minutes ago, blueskadoo said:

Final boarding is at 4pm. He's doing that now, but it says to only drive 55-60...so what if he's 15 minutes late? Won't that be too bad so sad? That's my worry!

In my youth, I could change a tire in less than 15 minutes.  Now, maybe half an hour.  Perhaps he should allow more buffer next time?

 

(disclaimer: I actually did change a tire a few years ago.  I'm really too old for that but a man does what he "has" to do.)

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, blueskadoo said:

Final boarding is at 4pm. He's doing that now, but it says to only drive 55-60...so what if he's 15 minutes late? Won't that be too bad so sad? That's my worry!

Why is he at a "tire shop" if he only need to put on the spare?

[kylenyc]

Ask the shop if you can leave the car there and come back for it after the cruise. Pay them for parking if you must. Take a taxi uber lyft to the port. Good luck.

Edited August 20, 2022 by kylenyc

[blueskadoo]

When the light went on, he happened to exit right at a tire shop (someone upstairs was looking out for him) and he pulled in there. He's got the tire repaired, and he's getting going now. It's going to be a photo finish if he makes it or not, but chalk it up to "lessons learned". He also hit a huge traffic jam in Jacksonville, which ate most of his buffer. 

 

I've started finding him a hotel for the night in PC. Not sure what the outcome will be but goodbye to my fingernails. 

[mjkacmom]

I don’t think the cruise lines are allowing folks to catch up to the ship, and for security reasons I don’t think he can book passage on another ship for tomorrow.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Do people understand the concept of a spare tire any more?  That's a serious question.

[blueskadoo]

So he's en route, and God wiling he will make it. The only real question is...will there be porters, and should he try to use them with his luggage? 

[ColeThornton]

Unfortunate situation but there's a couple of valuable lessons to learn from this.

[Yesimapirate]

14 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do people understand the concept of a spare tire any more?  That's a serious question.

Stupidly, many new cars don't come with them anymore to save weight and improve their mileage rating. It ridiculous 

[GALSews]

13 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do people understand the concept of a spare tire any more?  That's a serious question.

No. A lot of cars do not have spare tires anymore. Just a can of gluey air stuff.

As a former Prius owner (the 2007 battery expired) this is what Toyoata writes now "All Prius vehicles are equipped with low-rolling resistance tires for optimal fuel efficiency. The following grades are equipped with a temporary spare tire: Two, Three, and Three Touring. All other grades are equipped with a tire repair kit. A spare tire kit is available for purchase from your local Toyota dealer."

[ChiefMateJRK]

9 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

Stupidly, many new cars don't come with them anymore to save weight and improve their mileage rating. It ridiculous 

 

8 minutes ago, GALSews said:

No. A lot of cars do not have spare tires anymore. Just a can of gluey air stuff.

As a former Prius owner (the 2007 battery expired) this is what Toyoata writes now "All Prius vehicles are equipped with low-rolling resistance tires for optimal fuel efficiency. The following grades are equipped with a temporary spare tire: Two, Three, and Three Touring. All other grades are equipped with a tire repair kit. A spare tire kit is available for purchase from your local Toyota dealer."

Yes, I am aware of that.  If somebody is stupid enough to buy a car without a spare tire, then they get what they asked for.

[complawyer]

while i feel your pain, and sympathize with  your position, if you know enough to write for answers to cruise critic, hopefully you will note that almost all cruise sites, advise to get into the departing city at least 24 hrs before the ship sails.

 

instead of a flat, what if there had been an accident tying  up the road for hrs. 

 

once i was driving into las vegas from los angeles (usually 5 hr drive) we hit the nevada boarder at about 9:00p.m. and it's about 40 minutes to the strip. there was an overturned suv about 15 miles ahead, and we didnt get to the hotel until after mid-nite. 3+ hrs to travel 40 miles. if youre going to drive, you should anticipate potential problems.

 

im not criticizing, and i hope you make the departure time. but wouldnt it have been worth i t  to spend extra money on a hotel for the night  to avoid problems such as this

[Trimone]

Next time travel the day before like everyone else..

[rrraydon]

Just now, Trimone said:

Next time travel the day before like everyone else..

I never travel the day before if the port is within driving distance.

Edited August 20, 2022 by rrraydon

[Sailing12Away]

Call me crazy... but I would of ditched the car, gotten an Uber, and venmo'd friends money to take care of it for me until I got back.

[complawyer]

rrraydon. to each his own, but maybe you should consider it to avoid situations like bluesskadoo has listed. it only takes 1 time for the drive to go wrong, to screw up your vacation. 

[complawyer]

ok chiefmatejrk, here's one where we will differ.

 

it's not a matter of stupidity, some cars for the past few years do not offer a spare tire. you dont have a choice, and there isnt an option to purchase one.

 

this is mostly true, regardless of make, model, or price.

[Travelling2Some]

Now might be the time to bend a few rules?   Indicator lights can frequently be ignored long enough to get to your destination and I doubt anything terrible will actually happen if you drive a bit over the speed limit.  If all else fails, I agree with the advice to "abandon car" at the shop and call Uber.  BTW, we used to ignore the "check engine" light for YEARS, lol.  Car continued to run just fine just had to finagle the inspections.

[Travelling2Some]

2 minutes ago, complawyer said:

ok chiefmatejrk, here's one where we will differ.

 

it's not a matter of stupidity, some cars for the past few years do not offer a spare tire. you dont have a choice, and there isnt an option to purchase one.

 

this is mostly true, regardless of make, model, or price.

We bought a tire without a spare BUT we bought one immediately.  There is nothing stopping anybody from buying a spare.

[Lightnin42]

What happened? Did he make it?

[Markanddonna]

It's after 4PM now.  Let us know what happened!