My Point of View: Don't Miss The Boat!
I always recommend flying in the day before a cruise departs, because flight delays are a normal part of travel and you don’t want to be left behind.
Don't miss the boat.
Over dinner on my recent cruise, I got chatting with a couple who had missed the first week of their trip because they did not arrive in time.
I was on was an 18 night sailing from Oslo, Norway to Southampton, England and many guests had been on the previous sailing that started in Reykjavik, Iceland. Some were continuing to Stockholm, Sweden (nice huh?)
Most flights out of Canada to Europe are overnight and those that arrive in Reykjavik are always due to arrive pretty early. In a perfect world this makes sense. Arrive, take a transfer to the ship, head to the buffet before heading up on deck for sail away waves.
But as we all know travel can be wonky. Most flights have some sort of delay and throw in an airline strike or a sudden flash flood, hail storm or power outage then everything shuts down.
This is what happened to this couple resulting in them not getting on their flight and having to go home, while their travel advisor rebooked their flights and arranged for them to board the ship a week later.
I know travel can cost a lot and you have been saving, sometimes for years, so an extra night or two in Europe is not what you really want to do. However, having a buffer gives you the flexibility and peace of mind to adjust when delays happen.
Many of you who have had me look after your cruise reservations know I refuse to take the booking if you don’t fly in at least a day early. I do always encourage a few days especially when it’s a new and exciting place.
A couple of extra nights in Barcelona or Lisbon would be enjoyable. You have time to get over your jetlag, enjoy some great sights and local foods and then when you board the ship be ready and refreshed. This way you will be awake to take in the disco or karaoke on the first night. Or if you are me the shipboard crooner.
So, when planning your cruise or guided coach tour think about how you can avoid the added stress. Include it in your budget of both finances and time. There is nothing worse than missing your hard-earned holiday when it could have been avoided.