Q – 8-2.22 – We are sailing out of Venice this summer on a Ponant Yacht cruise that visits excellent ports in Italy’s north as well as Sicily. We can’t wait – but you have raised some concerns regarding Venice Airport and lost luggage and delays. I think we can handle all of that, but what happens if our connecting flights on British Airways are canceled and we miss our sailing.? Who is legally responsible? What do we do in terms of contacting the ship etc? Any advice would be appreciated. Our trip is months away, but the more we read your websites the more concerned we become. Our air schedule gives us approximately three hours to get to the ship.
A – This plan is so full of potential issues that we can only imagine that you booked it yourself. First, we want you to change your air and book two nights in Venice before you board your ship. There are now numerous airports in Europe where same-day connections to cruise departures are just not recommended. The worst of these airports for “Day of Sailing” connections are:
- London Heathrow
- Amsterdam
- Frankfurt
- Paris
- Rome
- Madrid
- Venice
Please download the BA App to your phone. That is where you will be notified of flight delays and notifications. You should be able, if necessary, to re-book your ticket using the App.
The entity you always want to be able to contact in the event of air changes is the entity that issued the tickets. If you bought the air directly from BA then they are responsible for making any changes to your routing. If, on the other hand, you purchased the air from Ponant, as the issuing agency, they must make any changes to your flight schedule.