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Post-Cruise Sydney Flight Departure Time Changed From 12:20 to 11:20


diane.in.ny
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I just got an email about this change.

 

We dock at 7 am after a circumnavigation cruise.

 

Will we be able to make this flight?

 

We are using cruise line air which has earliest departure time at noon. And I just went to my cruise line reservation and the old time is still on the reservation. Guess they haven't gotten the word yet.

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Will we be able to make this flight?
Maybe. Predictions are very difficult, particularly about the future. You could book a late afternoon flight and still miss it if the ship arrives 12 hours late.

 

If your cruise line's air travel will not book a flight that is before the line's recommended earliest time, then I'd expect the line to rebook you onto another flight which is not too early.

 

But if you're trying to work it out for yourself, you may want to consider the variables of where your ship will dock, whether your cruise line offers unassisted early disembarkation, where your flight is going, and which airline is involved. At the moment, all we can do is guess.

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Maybe. Predictions are very difficult, particularly about the future. You could book a late afternoon flight and still miss it if the ship arrives 12 hours late.

 

If your cruise line's air travel will not book a flight that is before the line's recommended earliest time, then I'd expect the line to rebook you onto another flight which is not too early.

 

But if you're trying to work it out for yourself, you may want to consider the variables of where your ship will dock, whether your cruise line offers unassisted early disembarkation, where your flight is going, and which airline is involved. At the moment, all we can do is guess.

 

The first situation you mentioned I'm not worried about because we have insurance but I know it wouldn't work if we chanced a flight before cruise recommended time.

 

We are on Princess using EZAir. Going to call EZAir to find out what my options are.

 

The big issue is that current price for our itinerary and class of service is DOUBLE what we currently have.

 

And, yes, we could do early walk off if it came to that.

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Sorry, but isn't the whole point of booking this kind of arrangement to ensure a time appropriate flight pre/post cruise?

If either of your modes of transport, either the cruise line or the airline changes their itinerary, you, the customer, should be reacommodated automatically

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I agree that 11:20 is very doubtful, even with an early walk-off.

 

I called Princess. The person I spoke with was very nice and put me on hold to check things out.

 

She said she needed to speak with a manager and none are in today. She will get back to me tomorrow or Tuesday, as soon as she can see what can be worked out.

 

And, unfortunately, the airline we are flying (Delta) has no later flights that day.

 

So will just try to be patient and see what can be done.

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Does it have to be Delta? Or is that simply what you were given when you first booked?

 

No. Doesn't have to be Delta. It is just that Delta had the best fare and connections.

 

I'm open to just about anything. We have to make 2 connections (LAX and MSP) on Delta so anything that will give us only two connections and the same price I'm OK with.

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No. Doesn't have to be Delta. It is just that Delta had the best fare and connections.

 

I'm open to just about anything. We have to make 2 connections (LAX and MSP) on Delta so anything that will give us only two connections and the same price I'm OK with.

I suppose your ticket hasn't yet been issued? If it hasn't been, then there's probably more chance of being able to find an alternative airline combination that works for you. If for some reason you remain stuck with DL, then it looks like it might be possible to fly via Brisbane from which there's an evening Virgin Australia flight to LAX that carries a DL code. But (depending on where you're actually trying to get to), there may be alternative or better options. Talking to the cruise line will be the best thing to do, given where you're starting from.
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I wouldn’t have booked 12:20 to begin with. But hey I’m pretty cautious.

 

Let’s look at it this way

 

12:20 they want you at the airport at least 2 hours prior for international flights (some lines say 3)

 

So that’s 10:20

 

It’s at least half an hour to the airport depending on time of day, means of transport etc and not factoring in waiting time for taxi or next train.

 

So about 9:50

 

Collect luggage, customs etc, could be quick, could be half an hour (unlikely to be more than that)

 

Back to 9:30

 

1/2 hour to walk off and find luggage

 

Now at 9:00

 

 

But now bring all those times back one hour

 

So provided you are on time, get clearance and walk off among the first group as I said doable, but one slip up and what then???

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We are not disagreeing with anyone...specially not with CruiserBruce who we've gotten a number of good advice from...we are genuinely grateful.

 

That said, we've made two 11:30 flights from Sydney to LAX...without any problems. Perhaps we were lucky.

 

We self-disembarked around 7am, and it took us approximately 10 minutes to walk from the ship, through the gangway, through customs, and out of the OPT (Overseas Passenger Terminal). There were numerous employees pointing where to go...it was well organized and easy.

 

Once outside the OPT, it was about another 10 minute (flat) walk to Circular Quay train station. (Note: We had our Opal Cards previously purchased during our first stop in Sydney...so we didn't have to spend time getting tickets for the train.) We "tapped" on, walked through the turnstiles, and walked upstairs. There's an elevator if you need to use it.

 

There are trains going to the airport every 10 minutes. It takes less than 30 minutes to get to the airport. Please note that there are separate stops for domestic and international airports. Both times, we actually got to the airport way too early that it gave my wonderful wife a chance to shop at the massive duty-free shops. :D

 

Happy Sailing and Safe Travels!

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I wouldn’t have booked 12:20 to begin with. But hey I’m pretty cautious.

 

Let’s look at it this way

 

12:20 they want you at the airport at least 2 hours prior for international flights (some lines say 3)

 

So that’s 10:20

 

It’s at least half an hour to the airport depending on time of day, means of transport etc and not factoring in waiting time for taxi or next train.

 

So about 9:50

 

Collect luggage, customs etc, could be quick, could be half an hour (unlikely to be more than that)

 

Back to 9:30

 

1/2 hour to walk off and find luggage

 

Now at 9:00

 

 

But now bring all those times back one hour

 

So provided you are on time, get clearance and walk off among the first group as I said doable, but one slip up and what then???

 

Exactly!

 

Princess guideline was noon for the flight out of Sydney. Would I have liked something later? Yes, but Delta had WAY the best price and connections (flying to the east coast - not a major airport).

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We are not disagreeing with anyone...specially not with CruiserBruce who we've gotten a number of good advice from...we are genuinely grateful.

 

That said, we've made two 11:30 flights from Sydney to LAX...without any problems. Perhaps we were lucky.

 

We self-disembarked around 7am, and it took us approximately 10 minutes to walk from the ship, through the gangway, through customs, and out of the OPT (Overseas Passenger Terminal). There were numerous employees pointing where to go...it was well organized and easy.

 

Once outside the OPT, it was about another 10 minute (flat) walk to Circular Quay train station. (Note: We had our Opal Cards previously purchased during our first stop in Sydney...so we didn't have to spend time getting tickets for the train.) We "tapped" on, walked through the turnstiles, and walked upstairs. There's an elevator if you need to use it.

 

There are trains going to the airport every 10 minutes. It takes less than 30 minutes to get to the airport. Please note that there are separate stops for domestic and international airports. Both times, we actually got to the airport way too early that it gave my wonderful wife a chance to shop at the massive duty-free shops. :D

 

Happy Sailing and Safe Travels!

 

Thanks for the encouragement but we are docking at White Bay. And based on the old flight times, actually have Princess xfers booked.

 

Looks like we'll have to wait a day or two to see how this shakes out and what alternatives are proposed.

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Thanks for the encouragement but we are docking at White Bay. And based on the old flight times, actually have Princess xfers booked.

 

Looks like we'll have to wait a day or two to see how this shakes out and what alternatives are proposed.

 

 

What day of the week. And I guess time of year.

 

It CAN make a huge difference to traffic conditions to the Airport.

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Hello,

 

With EZAir anytime I called the Princess rep would give you a different answer so just call back until you get a satisfaction change.

 

Sydney international airport for Delta is very slow, we got there nearly 3 hours ahead but nearly missed the flight.

 

Good luck.

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Hello,

 

With EZAir anytime I called the Princess rep would give you a different answer so just call back until you get a satisfaction change.

 

Sydney international airport for Delta is very slow, we got there nearly 3 hours ahead but nearly missed the flight.

 

Good luck.

 

So far I have no answer. Will have to wait a day or two for that.

 

And thank you for your information about Delta out of SYD. I do believe, also, that 11:20 is too early.

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We just returned from a circumnavigation of NZ with Princess. Our ship was 6 hours late docking in Sydney at the end of the cruise because we had to alter our course to avoid a major storm. Many passengers were extremely inconvenienced and upset by the large fees they had to pay to change their flights. We will never again book an outgoing flight until the evening on the day of disembarkation.

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We just returned from a circumnavigation of NZ with Princess. Our ship was 6 hours late docking in Sydney at the end of the cruise because we had to alter our course to avoid a major storm. Many passengers were extremely inconvenienced and upset by the large fees they had to pay to change their flights. We will never again book an outgoing flight until the evening on the day of disembarkation.

 

OMG! Where was the storm?

 

With the help of an agent at EZAir, we are now flying out the next day. And we are keeping our airfare, thank goodness. It now costs more to fly main cabin than we are paying for premium economy.

 

So need a hotel room for the night but worth it not to have to rebook (for PE) at literally double our booked fare.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Princess is nothing if not inconsistent. They just booked us a flight departing Sydney at 11:20.. They also offered a flight with a 1:23 layover in Vancouver on the way to Sydney. We chose the 4:23 layover instead.. lol

 

 

What airline are you on? And what time is your ship docking?

 

Does the ez air website still say later?

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What airline are you on? And what time is your ship docking?

 

Does the ez air website still say later?

For now we're flying Air Canada. Seattle - Vancouver - Sydney. Return trip is the same in reverse.

 

Majestic Princess docks at 6:00 on a Tuesday morning.

 

This was booked through EZair so I guess they figure it can be done. Although I do question their wisdom offering a 1:23 connection time in Vancouver.

 

All that being said.. I will try to change my flights when Virgin Australia flights become available and connect through LAX instead of Vancouver.

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For now we're flying Air Canada. Seattle - Vancouver - Sydney. Return trip is the same in reverse.

 

Majestic Princess docks at 6:00 on a Tuesday morning.

 

This was booked through EZair so I guess they figure it can be done. Although I do question their wisdom offering a 1:23 connection time in Vancouver.

 

All that being said.. I will try to change my flights when Virgin Australia flights become available and connect through LAX instead of Vancouver.

 

Your 6 am docking explains why the 11:20 flight is OK for you.

 

We have 7 am docking. That's why the guidelines say noon, whereas yours, I suspect say 11 am

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Your 6 am docking explains why the 11:20 flight is OK for you.

 

We have 7 am docking. That's why the guidelines say noon, whereas yours, I suspect say 11 am

Sorry, Now I see what you mean.. Yes, our return window says 11:00. Thanks for the info..
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