“Hundreds of Southwest flights still delayed or canceled after computer glitch”
– Chicago Tribune, July 21, 2016
“Delta expects ‘large-scale’ flight cancellations worldwide after power outage”
– FoxNews.com, August 8, 2016
In the span of just three weeks, the traveling public has been hit with two major events that have caused huge delays around the country. It’s led to a flurry of flight cancellations, combined with a frantic rescheduling of passenger plans to find alternate transportation or accommodation while waiting for things to get worked out.
While the delays have been heavily reported by the media, one thing that hasn’t been covered much is all those plans that are ruined by a delayed flight.
Take cruising for example.
We’ve always told cruisers that if you are flying to your port city to embark on a cruise, then you should fly in the day before your cruise departs. This is because flight delays can leave you stranded thousands of miles from your cruise ship, without much recourse.
We’ve always considered weather, security lines, and aircraft maintenance as the main reasons for a flight being delayed or cancelled. Now it seems computer malfunctions are also a major reason for concern.
Of course, no matter the reason that your plane is delayed, the cruise ship doesn’t wait. What this means if that you get get held up due to a cancelled flight, there’s a very good chance that you can miss the ship.
How to Avoid a Delayed Flight Ruining Your Cruise
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help avoid this fate. First and foremost, always fly in at least one day early for your cruise. There’s no reason to risk having a delay on the day of your cruise making your miss the ship. As well, it’s simply much less stressful to travel without having the deadline of making the ship.
Second, we’d highly recommend travel insurance if you are taking a flight to your cruise. To us, the added risk of airport delays just tips the scales in favor of some protection.
Say for instance that your flight was delayed and you ended up missing your cruise as a result. Well, instead of being out a bunch of money for alternate travel arrangements and missing the cruise, you’d be covered financially.
Sure it won’t bring your cruise ship back if you miss it, but it will provide some financial protection in the meantime, as well as offering a whole lot of other benefits.
If you’ve never bought travel insurance before, you can visit our page on cruise insurance to get a better idea of what’s covered, how much it costs, and more.
In the meantime, if you are on a flight that is delayed and at risk of missing your ship, it’s best to contact the cruise line as soon as possible. They will be able to help explain your options for a refund or cruise credit (if any).