Airline changed our flight time AGAIN..now what do I do about hotel etc...

[lsmac]

American changed our flight times to not arriving until after 5:30 pm. We are currently renting an Avis car and staying at the Radisson. BUT, this is what I am thinking...we don't get in until about quarter to six, get luggage, rental car and drive to Radisson, about an hour and a half worth of stuff...right? Well that puts us to the Radisson about 7:30pm!
Well these are the other options I am thinking about and want everyone's input on this!
A). stay at an airport hotel (like the Hyatt or Amerisuites NW), then have Tiffany towncar or Happy Limo take us to port on Sat. (we are already signed up to take DCL transfers back the following Sat.)

B). Stay at the Radisson, but have a town car service take us there on Friday then take their shuttle to the port.

C). Stay at an airport hotel and just add on another leg of DCL bus transfers.

D). Leave it as is and quit obsessing!

I just hate to pay $50 for a rental car that we will only have less then 17 hours! Plus having to drive all the way to the Radisson at night no less! I know hubby doesn't mind, but I am usually exhausted after all those lovely plane rides all day.

Thanks!
Lisa

 

[AnnMorin]

We are at the amersuites NW I wish now that we had taken the radisson though (wanna switch) I think it would be nice to be so close in the night before.

 

[kasar]

We are flying in the night before our cruise and staying at the Hyatt at the airport. I was planning on going down to the airport in the morning and hopping on the DCL busses with our luggage. Has anyone tried this? It seems like it would be a smooth transition, but everything does until you actually do it! Thanks for any input!

 

[Michelle]

Lisa, I think I would stay at an airport hotel that night (we like the Hyatt IN the airport but there are less expensive options) and then take a town car to the port the next day. It will be more expensive than your rental car, though, the rental car is the least expensive way to go.

Good luck deciding!

 

[outahere]

We didn't stay at the Hyatt, but did drive to the airport and catch the DCL shuttle to the port. Piece of cake...... we just walked up to a DCL representative who showed us to the check in for the shuttle, loaded our luggage on the bus and off we went.

I've heard that, if you stay at the Hyatt, you can leave your luggage outside your door in the morning, they pick it up and take it to the port. Then you meet a DCL rep in the lobby and off you go.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

I vote for Option D.

 

[lsmac]

Ann: At least at the Amerisuites you get a free breakfast buffet!

kasar: Yep! Staying at the Hyatt and jumping on the DCL bus the next morning is relatively seamless. We did this the last time when we opted to have Disney book air etc.

Outahere: If you stay at the Hyatt you put your luggage out by 8:30am and DCL will pick it up! Piece of cake! We didn't see our luggage until we got on the ship!

Michelle: You are on our cruise...are you staying at the Hyatt before, or somewhere else? How are you getting to port?

Dave: Are you voting for option D in direct opposition to your website? Seems to me you recommend that if you arrive later than dinner time to stay near the airport? hmmmm.

Thanks again everyone...I still haven't decided though.

Lisa

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by lsmac

Dave: Are you voting for option D in direct opposition to your website? Seems to me you recommend that if you arrive later than dinner time to stay near the airport?

LOL, Ismac. I guess I tend to eat rather late. A 7:30 arrival at the Radisson is still before dinner for me.

 

[Michelle]

Lisa, we get in about 6:00 and are renting a car from AVIS and are staying at the Swan, actually, I have friends in town who will be there. That's only about a 20-minute drive from the airport so that won't be a problem for us.

Good luck deciding!

 

[mcnuss]

I'd stick with your original plan. 5:30 to arrive at the airport is not that late, and you will be happier to be right at the port in the am.

You can also think about it 2 other ways:

1. Since I notice you are from CO, then your bodies are going to think it's only 3:30 when you land, right? (Not sure which time zone you're exactly on...)

2. If your flight had just arrived late, you would not have sweated this and would have just rolled with the punches and kept your original plan.

 

[lsmac]

Michelle: Guess we may see you at the Avis counter then!

Dave: I see your point! We are early eaters and most people look at us strange. LOL

mcnuss: We are on Mountain time so are 2 hours behind Florida (I think). So you are probably right, we will get there and still be raring to go! Not to mention that every time I get to sea level or out of the high altitude I feel more energetic! I agree that I would rather be closer to the port in the morning, so will endure the extra "travel time" on Friday night.

I am just not a good traveler...except on the ship! I was definately one of those kids that whined "are we there yet?" Even in our motorhome, I HATE the traveling part, but have a great time once we get to our destination. Ah well...thanks for all the help!

Lisa

 

[AnnMorin]

how is it you heard that your flight times changed anyhow? I keep checking southwest's web site and ours is still the same. you are flying American right?

 

[mcnuss]

but most of the "majors" will call you when there is a flight change. I've been contacted 3 times for this trip. Twice bc the times changed (by maybe 10 minutes!) and once bc the flight number changed. This is why it is so critical that the airline has your phone number.

FYI -- American and United have really nice paging services where you can go online and sign up to get messaged with changes, confirmations, etc. For instance, I flew United last week, and they sent me a text message to my cell phone 2 hours before flight time to confirm the on-time departure and to inform me of the gate. LOVE THAT!

 

[lsmac]

Ann, Yep, we are flying American (unfortunately). I had a free ticket I needed to use. Like Mcnuss said, they have a link on their web that allows me to recieve up to date info on flight times. I also have a number to call that is for AAdvantage members that will let me talk with a person. It is very frustrating and I wish I would have foregone the free ticket and booked with Frontier. Would have had a straight through flight, been at Concourse A at DIA (otherwise you have to ride trains forever), and not had to deal with all the changes. Ahhhh...live and learn!

Lisa

 

[lruggiero]

Lisa,

I'm with Dave, stop stressing. This is vacation. Always stay with your original plans because it is my experience that when you change, something always goes wrong. I think you are better off being closer to port. You don't need to stay at the airport, it's not like you're arriving at 3am.

Enjoy

 

[lsmac]

lruggiero: Thanks, I think we are going with plan "D". To stay with the original plan. DH nixed any further stressing!LOL

Lisa

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Just a suggestion. You might want to check on different flights. Most airlines charge you a fee to change flights but if they make a change most will let you change you flight or even cancel all togeather. I had booked 4 tickets for our October cruise almost one year in advance with frequent flyer miles. About a month before our trip the time of our flight changed only about 15 minutes. I found 4 tickets from Omaha to Orlando for a total of 550.00 for this amount I thought I would keep my FF miles. I called American and told them I was unhappy with my new flight time and they refunded my miles.

 

[lsmac]

Wow, they refunded them? But that was using all miles? We are using a free certificate used from cashing in bonus points from a visa (grin) and paid for the rest. I would much rather go with Frontier who has straight through flights, but wasn't sure if American would reimburse these? Did you call AAdvantage then?

Lisa

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Yes it was using all FF miles and I did call the AAdvantage number. I think you should try it. Tell them that you booked the flight based on the times it was scheduled and the new flight time does not work for you.

 

[lsmac]

Mike, I will give them a call. It is worth a shot anyhow. Of course the only bad thing is, Frontier is not as comfortable as American. The planes are bigger and aisles bigger on American...but then I won't have to have a layover in St. Louis either!
Thank you for the info!
Lisa