Airport at 3:00, sail at 5:00?

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2B@C

Guest
We just received our Cruise Docs (June 8th, Grand Princess), including flight reservations and transfers, all arranged by Princess. I'm a first time cruiser, second time for my wife (first on Princess). Coming from Arizona, the earliest we can reach Ft. Lauderdale (flying on Sunday) is shortly after 3:00pm, which seems to us to be cutting it close. If we had made our own arrangements we would have definitely flown in Saturday night. But after a short layover in Dallas, we will be arriving in Florida at 3:04 pm on Sunday, which apparently is OK with Princess. I'm curious to know what experiences other people have had arriving so close to embarkation. Does the pier get pretty crazy the closer you get to sailing? We have the late traditional seating for dinner, so hopefully we'll have time to get our luggage and get situated before the action begins (I must admit though, I was looking forward to boarding somewhere around noon and having all afternoon to get oriented, but oh well).

Our real concern of course is flight delays or lost luggage. I know it doesn't happen every time, (and I'm really not as worried about it as this might make it seem) but it's a lot more common than we all might wish. Since the travel was all arranged through Princess directly, they should be motivated to do whatever they can to overcome any hiccups or headaches, right? I understand the transfer from airport to pier is relatively quick, so a slight delay shouldn't be too costly, but what if something does come up? Would they delay embarkation (I'm sure we're not the only people in this situation, I don't imagine they'd wait for just two people)? The first two days of the cruise are sea days, so it's not like they're racing the clock or anything, but does the ship actually leave the pier at 5:00?

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
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ljeanbrown

Guest
Normally yes the ship does sail on time at 5 pm. Sometimes they have been known to wait for passengers due to certain conditions, such as weather etc. As you are booked through them I'm sure they will rush you to the ship on time :lol You should be fine. We have found it much more relaxing to book our own air and fly in the day before. We pay much less for the air by booking it ourselves and we get to pick the time. Plus staying the night before gives us a chance to unwind and get into vacation mode. Then the next morning we are at the ship around 10:30 or so and are on board exploring the ship by 11:30. Just a thought for your next cruise. I'm sure you will want to take another! We will be on the Grand on May 18th, we will keep it ship shape for you! Hope you have a great cruise, enjoy :thumb




Laurie :wave
 
R

richman855

Guest
My wife and I will be on this cruise with you! We are flying in Saturday so I will make sure they save a drink for you!!

I hate to cut it close myself. This is the first time we have flown in a day early though. I thought it might be nice to start relaxed instead of the usual stress from starting at the airport in the wee hours of the morning and racing to get to the dock.
 
D

DJA

Guest
Unless you have a major airline delay you should have no problem, the port is a very short hop from the airport... 5-10 minutes. They will normally hold the ship if a fair number of their pre-arranged passengers are late (and sometimes even just a couple), especially if it has no impact on the sailing schedule or the slot getting out of Port Everglades. If you're coming in from Dallas, there's a good chance that Princess is collecting a number of your fellow passgers there, so chances are it won't be just the two of you coming in on that flight to FLL. As for the pier, unless there are a lot of people on the transfer that you come in on, it actually becomes much less crowded that late. If you really want to save yourself some time and aggravation; grab your bags, skip the transfer, and catch a cab over there.

We're on that sailing as well... enjoy !
 
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PeabodyNVL

Guest
If this were a direct flight, I might not worry, but connections are so iffy and everything is so close. How close is your connection? If your first flight is late arriving, is there a chance you will miss your connecting flight? And the chance of lost luggage is also so much greater if there are any connections. These are the questions you need to think anbout.

If you are uncomfortable, you ought to see if Princess will change the flights for you.

Pea
 
2

2B@C

Guest
We already talked to our TA about switching the tickets. She told us that normally you could request an air 'deviation' for a $50 service charge plus any difference in air fare (which we probably would have done), but you can only do that either at booking or at least 45 days prior to sailing. Of course, when we booked the cruise they told us they wouldn't have any info on air travel until about 30 days before sailing, so we never even thought about it until we got the cruise docs. Well, live and learn, I guess. She did reassure us that since Princess handled the arrangements they will do whatever they can to make sure we get there.
 
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BP

Guest
Just think of the applause you will get from the other passengers when you arrive at the pier at 515PM . They will hold the ship for you. Good luck
 
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stargazerm31

Guest
They will wait if you are close since you are with them for air and transfers. I was on the Summit and they waited on a couple of different flights. We left 45 minutes late but it didn't matter. As long as your plane is on time and you get your luggage, you are only 10 minutes to the pier so you should make it, but things have to go perfect or very close to it.

Too close for me...

Have a great time.
 
M

MyNextCruiseIsNotSoonEnough

Guest
The pier is so close, and at that time of day, most everyone else will be on board. Unless something very unexpected happens, you should be fine.
 
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