AndrewPunch Posted December 20, 2017 Report Share Posted December 20, 2017 Hi Everyone, Thanks for making my first cruise on Royal go well with all the tips and reviews on the board plus the blog post. Just a quick story time. The wife and I flew out of MSP on Friday, Dec 8th, 2017 to Fort lauderdale thru Atlanta. The same day a massive unheard of soul crushing blizzard fell on Atlanta. Our flight to ATL landed 45 mins late but our flight to FLL was a nightmare. We got on the plane at 3pm and then over the next 8 hours got on and off the plane twice, pushed back and then the flight got canceled because the crew timed out. ATL only has 8 deicing trucks and they apparently breakdown easily. MSP has 40 for a comparison. All the flights the next day were past the set sail time so we had to improvise. We stood in line for 2 hours trying to get our checked luggage back and Delta said no go at 1AM. I started the search for a rental car and all the one way, one day rentals were gone and was told there is no way we can rent you a car. Here is the trick: If you reserve a one way car but for a weekly rate it will come up and you can get out of there. It cost more but when in need its totally worth it. Most programs have an early return policy so you will get a little money back. In the end we got a car from Hertz for $360 and drove from 2AM-noon to fort lauderdale without bags. Did a quick Walmart fashion stock up and got on the boat. During the drive down talk to Delta and got our bags rerouted to Jamaica our 4th day stop and we picked them up there and enjoyed the rest of our cruise. So we were the casual people on formal night :) ellcee, RestingBird, craig403 and 15 others 17 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 20, 2017 Report Share Posted December 20, 2017 Wow, all things considered, you managed to get on the cruise (formal clothes or not). That's a great accomplishment. Good tip for the rental car! Rey Santos 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted December 20, 2017 Report Share Posted December 20, 2017 38 minutes ago, AndrewPunch said: So we were the casual people on formal night :) OMG! You sound so calm writing this, I would have been out of my mind! I'm just glad you got your luggage eventually! Thank god it wasn't when the power went out last week, probably no rentals available! So glad you made the best out of what could have been a horrible situation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewPunch Posted December 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2017 Not my first rodeo with travel delays and needing to be somewhere by a specific time but first time it was vacation related and not work related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted December 20, 2017 Report Share Posted December 20, 2017 Awesome that you made the best of a not so great situation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDemuth Posted December 20, 2017 Report Share Posted December 20, 2017 You sir, are the MacGyver of the cruise world. Thank for the car rental tip. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 What an inaugural ! My hat is off to you. Way to improvise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 I'm with @Boston Babe, I would have lost my mind. Well done. Boston Babe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 That's crazy but glad you made it. talk about a stressful experience! And some people only fly in the day OF the cruise.......SMDH Good tip in the rental situation as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBC Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 I love how places like Atlanta get some snow and all hell breaks loose. In Buffalo we call a day like that "damn, I have to wear a coat today". I know they got more than a little, especially for them, but what an unlucky break for you. Flying in a day early and still came so close to missing your cruise. Glad you made it though. I would have gotten the majority of the value out of my drink package on that first day on board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 16 hours ago, DDemuth said: You sir, are the MacGyver of the cruise world. Ditto, awesome story. Like you had to do that before on a business trip, but never on vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UkuleleCruiser Posted December 22, 2017 Report Share Posted December 22, 2017 On 12/20/2017 at 2:55 PM, AndrewPunch said: Hi Everyone, Thanks for making my first cruise on Royal go well with all the tips and reviews on the board plus the blog post. Just a quick story time. The wife and I flew out of MSP on Friday, Dec 8th, 2017 to Fort lauderdale thru Atlanta. The same day a massive unheard of soul crushing blizzard fell on Atlanta. Our flight to ATL landed 45 mins late but our flight to FLL was a nightmare. We got on the plane at 3pm and then over the next 8 hours got on and off the plane twice, pushed back and then the flight got canceled because the crew timed out. ATL only has 8 deicing trucks and they apparently breakdown easily. MSP has 40 for a comparison. All the flights the next day were past the set sail time so we had to improvise. We stood in line for 2 hours trying to get our checked luggage back and Delta said no go at 1AM. I started the search for a rental car and all the one way, one day rentals were gone and was told there is no way we can rent you a car. Here is the trick: If you reserve a one way car but for a weekly rate it will come up and you can get out of there. It cost more but when in need its totally worth it. Most programs have an early return policy so you will get a little money back. In the end we got a car from Hertz for $360 and drove from 2AM-noon to fort lauderdale without bags. Did a quick Walmart fashion stock up and got on the boat. During the drive down talk to Delta and got our bags rerouted to Jamaica our 4th day stop and we picked them up there and enjoyed the rest of our cruise. So we were the casual people on formal night :) Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears Posted December 22, 2017 Report Share Posted December 22, 2017 Great job finding a solution! Love hearing stories like that instead of griping that solves nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citymom92 Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Jeepers I had a mini panic attack just reading this story. Three cheers for you and wife for rolling with all that and making your vacation happen. I hope there were lots of adult drinks when you got on the ship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelyn D Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 I had 4 friends from MSP have a connecting flight in ATL that same day - they missed their cruise. I was panicking while reading your story, but I'm glad it worked out and it looks like you made the best of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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