Airlines Changed Flight Schedules= *&%!!

[keishashadow]

Anyone have this happen to them before:

 

*booked Legend last year for this coming Dec., loved the itinerary, date it left port (sunday), price, transportation/airfare was great @ the time.

 

*now, the 2 carriers we can use have altered their flight schedules:mad: ; resulting in turning a 2 hour direct flight into anywhere from 6 to 8 hours of fun...with all flights arriving very late.

 

Need to decide whether to shift over to the Glory sailing Saturday out of Port Canaveral or just shuddup and bite the bullet...waaaah.:(

 

Itineraries are sim - hate to switch out Grand Cayman for Nassau (yuck).

 

Read other thread wherein many think the Glory is "too big" too.

 

FYI, i called Carnival to see if they could help me with flight connections and was told that they don't offer them from PIT to Tampa (figures).

 

any advice?

[crookedhalo]

Have you tried all the booking engines (kayak, sidestep etc.) to make sure there is no other flight option? Also look into flying into an airport in the area - not a specific one. You may find another flight that will work. Good luck:o

[big_duck]

Tampa right? Try Orlando instead better an hour drive then 5, 6 hours in the airport.

[Tabsmom]

Don't have a whole lot of advice, but I can sure sympathize with you. Our flights have changed 3 times since we booked in March for our 5/19 Triumph sailing.

If it were me, I'd bite the bullet and take the cruise you really want.

[dbcruzin]

I fly PIT to TPA quite a bit and there are always direct flights available. You still have plenty of time.......just keep watching. With that big of a deviation in your original flight, I am guessing you can get refunded from the airline? What dates are you going?

[keishashadow]

Tampa right? Try Orlando instead better an hour drive then 5, 6 hours in the airport.

 

yep, plenty of direct flights to MCO-which is why we're considering Glory, just hate to pay another $300 to rent a car & park it for a week.

 

still digging, haven't found a rental location that offers a shuttle to the pier to drop off & pick up upon return (have been shot down by enterprise (closed on weekend) & alamo/national @ airport...anyone know???

[mzsumthing]

I had a very bad experience with airlines changing schedules on frequent basis two years ago. It was a nighmare....

 

We use to take the earliest flight leaving on the day of the cruise.... however, this one year, the flight was delayed a couple of hours due to weather (after the airline had already adjust departure time three times). Anyway, we did not get into Miami this year until after 3pm. We were cutting it rather close considering we were the only ones in embarkation area.

 

We learned our lesson and my husband insist we depart a day before to avoid the hassle. We get an expensive hotel with free shuttle from to airport and port..... If possible, I would try to locate another flight or possibly negotiate with airline to allow you to fly out the day before since they have adjusted the schedule.

[98Charlie]

Our flights were changed last year making it very risky timewise to make the ship as we had to fly out the day of the cruise. We had booked our flights several months in advance. DH called the airlines, explained the problem and low and behold we were reticketed at no charge to us and were on an even better flight than we had originally planned.

 

Doesn't hurt to call the airline and ask.

 

Dianne

[mzsumthing]

We cruised the Glory last year. Keep in mind it will take approximately 1 hour from Orlando airport to Port Canaveral where the Glory is docked.

 

The Glory is a beautiful ship and we had a wonderful time. However, you will need to arrange shuttle service if you're not going with Carnival.

[keishashadow]

all good advice - thanx.

[vstar1100]

couple of ideas. rent a car 2 times, one to the ship and one back. approx. $100. Try allegiant ailines, they fly to Sanford/Orlando and Clearwater.

[happy cruzin]

yep, plenty of direct flights to MCO-which is why we're considering Glory, just hate to pay another $300 to rent a car & park it for a week.

 

still digging, haven't found a rental location that offers a shuttle to the pier to drop off & pick up upon return (have been shot down by enterprise (closed on weekend) & alamo/national @ airport...anyone know???

 

We used Budget - in February. We flew in to Orlando (from Pittsburgh) and drove to Ft. Lauderdale, dropped the car off and sailed on the Legend. When we got back we picked up a different car and drove back to Orlando. Budget provided shuttle service to and from the port. It certainly worked well for us.

 

I was able to book everything on line and got immediate confirmations.

 

Hopefully they provide a similar service for Tampa. Good luck :)

[dbcruzin]

yep, plenty of direct flights to MCO-which is why we're considering Glory, just hate to pay another $300 to rent a car & park it for a week.

 

still digging, haven't found a rental location that offers a shuttle to the pier to drop off & pick up upon return (have been shot down by enterprise (closed on weekend) & alamo/national @ airport...anyone know???

 

 

If you switched, rent Budget to the port and drop the rental, don't park it. Rent Budget coming back from Canaveral. We do this when going out of there an it usually runs around $40 per rental and they have a shuttle to the port.

 

That said, if you fly into MCO, Port Canaveral is about a 45 mile drive and Tampa is a 90 mile drive. People fly into MCO and get a rental to Tampa too.

[rgreenpc]

yep, plenty of direct flights to MCO-which is why we're considering Glory, just hate to pay another $300 to rent a car & park it for a week.

 

still digging, haven't found a rental location that offers a shuttle to the pier to drop off & pick up upon return (have been shot down by enterprise (closed on weekend) & alamo/national @ airport...anyone know???

 

One-way rentals.... used by us airline pilots all the time when we have to get somewhere and planes aren't flying :)

 

Or you can always hire a car to drive you... not sure what that would cost but I know there are limo/van services at MCO.

[MamaParrotHead]

Booked our airfare back in October for our cruise this April (airport about an hour and a half away, and into FLL instead of MIA). Went to check on the current fare and noticed, when I signed in, the message I got was, "schedule change, please click here to confirm".

 

I called Northwest about it, who said they had entirely eliminated the flight we had booked (1 connection, seats together, getting us home about 8:15 p.m.). The only flights they had to offer as replacements were 2 connections, no seats together and didn't get us back until 11:45 p.m. I told them that wouldn't work for us, and amazingly they offered us full refunds.

 

I was kind of PO'd about it, until I looked and saw that a flight out of our home airport (tiny, municipal one, only AA services) was offering a flight right into MIA for the SAME PRICE. Actually, it was an earlier flight so now we actually get to DO something in Miami, other than check into the hotel and go to bed. :)

 

Anyway, can't hurt to ask for a refund, if you find a carrier that has a flight you're interested in booking and works better for you.

[gtalum]

A couple things to keep in mind:

 

1) Port Canaveral is nearly as far away from the Orlando airport as the Port of Tampa is. So it's no problem to fly into orlando and get to Tampa. Try renting a car to drive from Orlando airport to TPA, and then get a cab to the cruise port. Do the reverse on the return.

 

2) With a deviation this large, the airline should be willing to accomodate any changes you want to make to your schedule at no cost to you. Consider flying in on Saturday instead of Sunday. See what options are available. If they can't give you what you want, find it on another airline and get a refund on your original itinerary.

[silentbob007]

If you do the change, I'd recommend Budget rental to either Tampa or Canaveral ... just not to Miami ... I don't think i'd make that drive again. ;)

[kristen2007]

Since you are leaving on Sunday, why not fly in Saturday? I would think there would be more flights to choose from on Saturday rather than Sunday but I could be wrong. Also I found this CC archive -- she stayed at LaQuinta and had shuttle service to and from the airport and port.

 

 

I had wanted to stay at a pricey Mariott with a view of the port, but it was full, so we stayed at a La Quinta (I think it was less than $80) that was across from an upscale mall by the airport last summer. The room was adequate and clean, and there was a free breakfast in the morning. There was a coffee shop type of restaurant next door (I think it was an International House of Pancakes) that gave hotel guests a 10% discount. We ate dinner there after our flight. The service was good, and the food was adequate.

I reserved a shuttle ride for 5 of us to the port (the two of us and three Cruise Critics that we met through the roll call). It only took about twenty minutes, and cost us about $10 each, including tip. I think they also had a shuttle to the hotel from the airport, but we just grabbed a cab so we didn't have to wait. (We had a bad experience with another hotel's shuttle when we were in Miami, so we didn't want to risk it.) If I'm not mistaken, the hotel also would have taken us to the port for a fee that was roughly equal to what we paid. There is a guy who has written responses on a very long thread that I read before we went. I believe his name was Cracker Ken. Just do a forum search for Tampa hotels and he'll come up. Happy hunting!

 

found this one also....

 

 

We are going on this same cruise. We are staying at the Howard Johnson Tampa Airport /Stadium on N. Dale Mabry. They will pick you up at airport for free and shuttle you to cruise ship for $11pp. Our hotel rate is $80. Hope this helps.

[june2006]

We were booked over 300 days out and I check the flights here and there and one day it went from a direct flight to a 1 stop flight with no call or email from the arilines.

 

I called them as soon as I discovered it. Told them I booked they never call to see if it was ok with me and they needed to fix it. They did, maybe I was a bit nicer than it is reading, and I kept checking and I did ream them a bit for not notifying me as I was cruising that day and could not miss my ship!

 

This year it has happened again but for a flight without cruising involved, called them and they fixed it and again reamed for not notifying me.

 

Sometimes persistance works wonderfully, sometimes not ... you have to try. If you have called already, I don't know ... didn't read the whole thread :o

[NancyIL]

yep, plenty of direct flights to MCO-which is why we're considering Glory, just hate to pay another $300 to rent a car & park it for a week.

 

still digging, haven't found a rental location that offers a shuttle to the pier to drop off & pick up upon return (have been shot down by enterprise (closed on weekend) & alamo/national @ airport...anyone know???

 

In March 2005 I flew to Orlando, spent a few days at WDW, then rented a National car and drove it to Tampa. National does have a location with a shuttle to the port (do a search of their locations). Rather than pay for a weekly rental + parking, I would reserve two one-way rentals, or check prices on multi-city flights (into Orlando and out of Tampa - which is what I did).

 

**Just wanted to add that since this is April and you're cruising in December, airline schedules will continue to change several times before your cruise.

[keishashadow]

thanx again for the info; glad to get some other ideas.

 

*will try Budget & another National location (only tried the airport location-they didn't mention a port one grrr).

 

*i did book the doubletree westshore (offers free parking for cruisers, airport & cruise shuttles, including return trip - seemed like a great offer to me; for little more than $100 night); problem is we won't be able to arrive in Tampa till 6:30 p.m. or so...guess it would work long as i guarantee the room for late arrival.

 

Agree, with airline schedules changing, other than SW, esp. AirTran luvs to tweak their schedule; just need to use reward travel voucher now that the dates have been released before those elusive seats disappear.

[NancyIL]

thanx again for the info; glad to get some other ideas.

 

*will try Budget & another National location (only tried the airport location-they didn't mention a port one grrr).

 

 

I just looked at National's site, and now I think I did drop-off my rental car at the Tampa airport location. There was definitely a shuttle 2 years ago to the cruise port, so I would call the local phone number for that National office: (813)396-4140 ext:LOCAL

 

I was able to take the National shuttle from the ship back to the Tampa airport at no charge when the cruise ended.

[keishashadow]

I just looked at National's site, and now I think I did drop-off my rental car at the Tampa airport location. There was definitely a shuttle 2 years ago to the cruise port, so I would call the local phone number for that National office: (813)396-4140 ext:LOCAL

 

I was able to take the National shuttle from the ship back to the Tampa airport at no charge when the cruise ended.

excellent, will search around & report findings lol.

[crusinmama06]

Have you tried another airport to keep from flying longer? You said PIT right? I am in PA, I fly out of a few different places...PIT, BWI (Baltimore), IAD (Washington Dulles "the cheapest") and Phillie (but you are too far from Phillie if you are flying out of PIT)

 

I use kayak.com to find all of my flights. I hope you can find something to work it out. :)

[crusinmama06]

What week are you going? I just checked (on a whim) Washington Dulles (IAD) to Tampa - United - Direct Flight - $179 Sun - Sat in December

 

They leave all day long starting 8am.

 

How far are you from Dulles? You could drive your own personal car, leave it in the Dulles Parking lot (I've done this MANY times, never any problems)

 

And then not have to rent a rental car