Flight time after the Cruise?

DH and I finally booked our airfare for our upcoming Queensland cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas. The cruise itinerary shows that we are scheduled to dock back in Sydney at 6:30 a.m. Our flight home is at 12:20 pm the same day. Is this going to be a problem? I was filing out the Check in Online info on RCCL's website and got a warning message for this flight time. They 'recommend' flights that are 1 pm and later. It only 40 min. difference but now I'm freaking out!:eek: DH used frequent flyer miles for his ticket and this time was the best option available.

You will be fine for that flight time, assuming you have to be there 1 hour earlier than your flight time at the latest. The only issue would be if the ship was more than 2.5 hours late docking, but I have never known this to happen in Sydney. You can get straight off the ship and either into a taxi or onto the train and straight to the airport. I have been at the airport by 9 am in a taxi after docking at 6.30 and not rushing off, and to central station for a bus at 8.00 am after docking at 6.30 am.

Thank you, thank you, thank you CruisinCat31! I feel so much better. RCCL's online Check In won't let me save my travel info unless I lie and say my departure time is 1 pm. So be it! :D

DH and I finally booked our airfare for our upcoming Queensland cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas. The cruise itinerary shows that we are scheduled to dock back in Sydney at 6:30 a.m. Our flight home is at 12:20 pm the same day. Is this going to be a problem? I was filing out the Check in Online info on RCCL's website and got a warning message for this flight time. They 'recommend' flights that are 1 pm and later. It only 40 min. difference but now I'm freaking out!:eek: DH used frequent flyer miles for his ticket and this time was the best option available.

We had a early domestic flight at 9.00 am and did early walk off and pre booked a town car to pick us up....worked very well.

30 mins from port to airport.

http://www.towncars.com/

What's the rush to leave Sydney, it's a fabulous place. If I were you I'd spend a few days there.

You will be fine for that flight time, assuming you have to be there 1 hour earlier than your flight time at the latest. The only issue would be if the ship was more than 2.5 hours late docking, but I have never known this to happen in Sydney. You can get straight off the ship and either into a taxi or onto the train and straight to the airport. I have been at the airport by 9 am in a taxi after docking at 6.30 and not rushing off, and to central station for a bus at 8.00 am after docking at 6.30 am.

For international flights, check-in time is at least two hours ahead, not one hour. It is reasonable to say that ships USUALLY arrive on time, but a Pacific Pearl cruise we were on in 2012 arrived at 3.30pm (six hours late) because of extremely bad weather. Very unusual, but it has happened.

If everything goes well, the time the OP mentioned is doable, provided they disembark with the first group off the ship. This might mean doing a self-disembark if that is available. I recommend getting a taxi. If you book a car to take you to the airport and they are late arriving, that will cause you delay. A booked car can't drive any faster than a taxi and there are usually plenty of taxis available. If you disembark very early there wouldn't be much of a queue for taxis.

We have always booked our flights home about 1pm and never had a problem. However, if you are flying internationally I would suggest a bit more time up your sleeve.

If you are arriving at Cirular Quay, We have also found that the quickest way to get to the airport is on the train. By the time you line up for taxis and drive through the traffic you can be at the airport on the train, plus it's a cheaper option:p

What's the rush to leave Sydney, it's a fabulous place. If I were you I'd spend a few days there.

I'm way ahead of you, we're spending 5 days in Sydney before the cruise!:D

The OP is from the USA, and all airlines recommended a 3 hour check-in. This is because of tighter security requirements for flying to America. The best thing would be to do self disembarkation. Also another way to get to the airport is by train. A walk to Circular Quay station and then to platform number 2 (I think it is, anyway it is the wharf side of the station) and the indicator board with the aircraft on the board are going via the airport. You will need the International stop.

Three hours prior is for normal economy checkin but if the OP is flying business or has airline status to allow priority checkin then they could checkin much closer to the flight time, say 1.5 hours to be safe but no later than 1 hour.

For international flights, check-in time is at least two hours ahead, not one hour. It is reasonable to say that ships USUALLY arrive on time, but a Pacific Pearl cruise we were on in 2012 arrived at 3.30pm (six hours late) because of extremely bad weather. Very unusual, but it has happened.

 

If everything goes well, the time the OP mentioned is doable, provided they disembark with the first group off the ship. This might mean doing a self-disembark if that is available. I recommend getting a taxi. If you book a car to take you to the airport and they are late arriving, that will cause you delay. A booked car can't drive any faster than a taxi and there are usually plenty of taxis available. If you disembark very early there wouldn't be much of a queue for taxis.

I agree! Its been 2 hours for International flights for quite some time.

You are best to do self assist debark but personally I wouldnt chance a midday international flight directly after a cruise unless I knew the airport like the back of my hand! You will have to do Customs and immigration twice, once at the port then again at the airport!

I am a bit of a panicker though lol, I am cruising out of NOLA in June and could only get a flight to NY at midday after the cruise so I am staying in NOLA an extra night. I have experienced long slow TSA lines in US before!

Our cruise is on Rhapsody and it is our 1st time on RCCL. I was looking for info on self disembark. That is definately what will we do if it is allowed. How difficult is it to take the train with lots of luggage? I'm will to give it a try.

I agree! Its been 2 hours for International flights for quite some time.

 

These days most airlines are recommending 3 hours for economy class international checkins at Sydney airport.

Our cruise is on Rhapsody and it is our 1st time on RCCL. I was looking for info on self disembark. That is definately what will we do if it is allowed. How difficult is it to take the train with lots of luggage? I'm will to give it a try.

How many bags, RumpunchGirl?

The trains in Sydney are two level with stairs up and down from the boarding area. There is a small single-level area, with seating for about 10-12 people plus standing room, at each end of each carriage which is where you board the train. These areas get very full and crowded. There are no luggage storage areas.

A few years ago I did some train travel in Europe pulling a medium wheelie bag plus an overnight bag that sits on top, and a backpack and a handbag slung on my body. Hubby had a similar load. It was just doable then but I doubt I could do it these days.

If you do self embark it should mean you will be able to manage your luggage for the train if that is what you decide to do as you have already "successfully" handled all your luggage getting off the ship. There is an elevator at the train station at the Quay.

There are also a couple more options you could consider though. Just choose the earliest time to debark the ship and make sure you are one of the first off in that group and you should be off easily off by 7:30. The customs process is very quick, just hand them your orange card, you will not even need your passport, and taxi line will not be too long at that time and even allowing an hour to get to the airport (which it won't) you will be at the airport by 9:00am and still have half an hour up your sleeve.

The ship will also have organised transfers to the airport and assuming you tell them what time your flight is you will be put on a coach to get you there in time. They are a "touch" greedy with their pricing ( surprise suprise)but it may give you peace of mind.

A bonus would be if your cruise ends on the weekend as it will only take fifteen / twenty minutes by cab to the airport and looking at the Rhapsody schedule for 2014/15 both the "coastal" cruises arrive back in Sydney on a weekend.

By the way, in the three years I have worked at the OPT for Royal & Celebrity there has never been a ship that arrived late, give or take ten minutes so that should not be a problem.

Well, DH and I each have 2 checKed bags and a carry-on. So, 3 each. No judging please, I have a hard time traveling light!:D

We are flying Delta and have AMEX gold card which gives us priority boarding. I guess if we miss our flight home, we'll just have to stay another day!

These days most airlines are recommending 3 hours for economy class international checkins at Sydney airport.

Not when I flew to the States last year and not when I flew to Singapore last year it was at least 2 hours so it must have changed:)

What size are your checked bags? If they are all quite big, like two medium-big (26" or bigger) wheelie bags each, then I would think twice about taking the train. It's a reasonable walk from the OPT to the station and, as I mentioned before, there isn't any dedicated space for luggage on the trains. I doubt that there will be any luggage trolleys that you can use between the OPT and train so you'd have to wheel or carry all those bags by hand. In your case I would definitely recommend getting a taxi.

Timewise, with priority checkin you should be fine as long as the ship docks on time.

If you do self embark it should mean you will be able to manage your luggage for the train if that is what you decide to do as you have already "successfully" handled all your luggage getting off the ship. There is an elevator at the train station at the Quay.

There are also a couple more options you could consider though. Just choose the earliest time to debark the ship and make sure you are one of the first off in that group and you should be off easily off by 7:30. The customs process is very quick, just hand them your orange card, you will not even need your passport, and taxi line will not be too long at that time and even allowing an hour to get to the airport (which it won't) you will be at the airport by 9:00am and still have half an hour up your sleeve.

The ship will also have organised transfers to the airport and assuming you tell them what time your flight is you will be put on a coach to get you there in time. They are a "touch" greedy with their pricing ( surprise suprise)but it may give you peace of mind.

A bonus would be if your cruise ends on the weekend as it will only take fifteen / twenty minutes by cab to the airport and looking at the Rhapsody schedule for 2014/15 both the "coastal" cruises arrive back in Sydney on a weekend.

By the way, in the three years I have worked at the OPT for Royal & Celebrity there has never been a ship that arrived late, give or take ten minutes so that should not be a problem.

So they wont need their passports at the cruise terminal immigration/Customs even though they are possibly USA citizens and not Australian:confused:

So they wont need their passports at the cruise terminal immigration/Customs even though they are possibly USA citizens and not Australian:confused:

No not for debark ( embark yes for ID purposes) In fact,come to think of it, there will be no customs at all at the pier as it is only a "coastal" cruise.

Not when I flew to the States last year and not when I flew to Singapore last year it was at least 2 hours so it must have changed:)

At one stage the recommendation for Qantas was 3 hours rather than 2, but I just checked their website and it's back to 2 hours again. They changed the customs system a couple of years ago. There used to be two small customs areas, one for each pier, and now there is one big one which seems to be more efficient, so that may be why it's back to 2 hours again.

For priority boarding they recommend 90 minutes, and that's always worked well for us in the past.

I just checked Delta's website. It is recommended to be at the airport 3 hours early for international flights. But, also states that we must check in at least 60 minutes prior to boarding and be at the gate 45 minutes before boarding. Should be an adventure just to get home!

no need to freak out.

choose the earliest disembarkation time offered on the sheet given to you (1-2 days before end of the cruise), and you'll be fine.

I just checked Delta's website. It is recommended to be at the airport 3 hours early for international flights. But, also states that we must check in at least 60 minutes prior to boarding and be at the gate 45 minutes before boarding. Should be an adventure just to get home!

The 45 mins is so you have enough time to go through the security scanners then immigration and check in is said to usually close around 60 mins although this does not apply to First Class and Business passengers. even economy can still check in latter than 60 mins on most airlines though but you, sometimes need the 45 mins to get from check in to your gate.

My theory ...If everybody on a flight all got to the airport three hours before the flight it would probably take an hour to check everyone in, so the person at the end of the queue would only need to be there two hours before anyway and apart from maybe missing out on a window seat there would be no problem.