I’m heading out today on a transatlantic ship that will take me from Lisbon to Canada and Miami via the east coast.
As is customary for transatlantic voyages, we were scheduled to make a stop at the Azores en route. Some passengers flew on the day of the trip (which I normally avoid), and they had arranged to meet the ship in the Azores two days later in case their flight was canceled or delayed. It’s a quick flight within Portugal.
Hurricane Kirk is the issue. It is impossible to stop the winds. Thus, Halifax, six days later, will be our first destination.
On the trip’s Facebook page, two groups have already announced that their flight was canceled and that they would have to meet the ships in the Azores, only to find out that this would not be possible. They are now at a loss on what to do.
@Jordan That’s my opinion: traveling can be severely diminished by jet lag. I recall our first arrival in Hamburg. Our baggage were kept in custody while we were unable to check into our hotel. We had breakfast at a bistro. Then, at a mall table, my partner dozed out.
Very true! I took a similar cruise in 2022; we left from Lisbon and arrived in Tampa three days early to do some sightseeing. After stopping there during a prior transatlantic flight, we were eager to learn more about it!
Maybe if you lived in Seattle and were traveling to Vancouver, but I couldn’t image taking an international flight on embarkation day. In any case, I would still go the night before. What was the purpose? Retaining a small amount of money for lodging? It’s simply absurd. We travel two to three days in advance when we fly across the pond to board a ship.
@Nidal They will either arrive by overnight flight from the US on the day of the event, or by early morning flight from a neighboring location in Europe.
Anywhere in the world, you have to fly two days ahead of time just to be safe. They are to blame for skipping the cruise. After six crossings, Azores was canceled twice.
@Adele In December, I’m starting a day early. Before the overseas portion, there are two stops in Portugal and two in Spain.
They will have skipped all of those ports if my flight is delayed for an extended period of time and I am unable to reach any of them. If so, it will be a disastrous cruise with no ports at all.
@Hudson Maybe this is the same cruise as us. NCL Encore on December 3. I will depart on November 30 and, if all goes well, arrive on December 1. Lots of time to deal with any flight problems.
I’m currently commemorating my 30-year work anniversary on a transatlantic trip. It was just after my last payment was due that my buddies booked the Encore cruise. They took just sixty seconds to embark on that one as well, after I realized that I had just enough vacation time for them both.
Individuals always act in this way! If you must travel abroad, book your flight at least two days in advance. We definitely had it on this TA as well as our last one.
Ironically, my wife and I had a wedding in Nova Scotia this past weekend, so we had to postpone our scheduled trip. The day prior, if not two, we were flying in. It was already unfortunate that one of the ports was shifted from Newfoundland, and it would have been even more unfortunate to miss the Azores.
@Banice You were spared a difficult Lisbon check-in. A wait of two to three hours was experienced by those in line because of computer problems. Additionally, several people had trouble traveling there because of the marathon-related road restrictions. Although I didn’t enjoy walking 1.5 km, a couple who were less mobile hired an Uber and completed the 2 km distance in 45 minutes.
To be honest, I always plan to change continents at least 48 hours in advance. Since most of these planes only operate once a day, you will already be considering your choices for tomorrow when you learn of your travel setback.
For a cruise like that unless they live in or near Portugal I would suggest arriving three days early not two. Weather delays that back up long haul flights like this can result in rebookings one or even two days later.
By booking to arrive on the same day they elected that if anything at all went wrong they would most likely miss part of the cruise. Now several things have gone wrong.
The kicker is even if you have travel insurance if your airline delay isn’t long enough you may not be able claim for the losses from the delay.