anyone do a flight from rio?

[beachchairs2]

yes of course...if one wishes to spend 3500pp with a refund of 750 from O...and that is for economy...

[JimandStan]

yes of course...if one wishes to spend 3500pp with a refund of 750 from O...and that is for economy...

 

The Air allowance varies dependent on where the Passenger lives, so the $750 figure is particular to your situation.

Cruise Critic is a wonderful resource, but one of the downsides of asking others for advice is that you get the benefit of THEIR EXPERIENCE.

[beachchairs2]

and I value all the opinions I have received here...do you have one to add?

[ShopperfiendTO]

We did Rio (GIG) to YYZ home from an O cruise a couple of years back and we did the flights on our own because I was nervous of what the included air itinerary would be. It really is a crapshoot what you will be assigned, even if your gateway airport is a primary gateway like YYZ is - learned this with our most recent included air assignment on a Europe cruise.

 

In retrospect, I think that your chances of getting a decent itinerary may increase depending on how far out of the way you are from other passengers on the cruise, and this seems to work in your favour for this routing because Rio is south of YYZ and most of the other cruisers with included air will also be south of YYZ (I am guessing this). Because of this dynamic, it is unlikely that O will assign flights to other non-YYZ passengers that stop in YYZ just to go back south, southwest (e.g., cruisers from Arizona) or southeast (cruisers from Florida) so it's probably going to be an OK itinerary given the likely demand.

 

As for the airport itself, we flew Air Canada and AC flights stopover in Sao Paolo (GRU). Rio airport was fine (our flight left mid-afternoon so we could do a half-day tour) but the connection in GRU was a horrible experience. You basically land and re-check in again, including with your luggage, as if GRU was your starting airport, including another security check-in and passport/customs check. Hopefully it has become more efficient since then.

 

Honestly, at $750 air credit only, unless there is an unprecedented sale you're not going to find a better fare. So price-wise, your options are just accepting the assignment (which as hypothesized above may not be ideal but should be acceptable especially since North America -bound flights are usually later in the day so no having to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to catch a 7:00 a.m. flight like is often the case for Europe return flights) or forking over the deviation fees for your peace of mind.

[beachchairs2]

thank you for your comments...

 

air canada partners with TAP and TAM airlines....a very low budget airline with very old planes...TAP airlines rate number 6 on the accident rating scale....

 

what airlines did you use when you say aircanada?

[no fuss travel]

TAM and there planes are newer for most part.

[JimandStan]

and I value all the opinions I have received here...do you have one to add?

 

Yes, as a matter of fact I do. This whole thread, although interesting on an anecdotal level, is something of a wild goose-chase.

 

Although one might be put on the same Carrier as a previous Passenger who took that same cruise from the same region, there is absolutely no guarantee.

 

Further, if one does not "Deviate", then the Passenger does not learn the details of the Airline Arrangements until after their Final Payment is made to Oceania. By then, it is typically too late to make other Air arrangements.

 

Buying the Deviation is the only way to have any say over which Airlines and/or Flights are chosen.

Edited November 26, 2013 by JimandStan

[beachchairs2]

thanks jim and stan....this makes sense to me...so essentially you have to pay for the deviation whether you want to or not when facing multiple stopovers....a close place like lisbon from toronto can take 24 hours to get there.....and you have no say unless you pay the ransom....

 

I called Oceania and was told that from gateways like toronto O often charters...but again there is no way to know before final payment....she would not tell us what was done this november....

 

in any case, I am now really re thinking this cruise...not sure if being on a heavenly cruise for 16 days is worth the struggle you get at the beginning getting to lisbon and at the end flying out of rio....

[NC&KY]

Further, if one does not "Deviate", then the Passenger does not learn the details of the Airline Arrangements until after their Final Payment is made to Oceania. By then, it is typically too late to make other Air arrangements.

 

Buying the Deviation is the only way to have any say over which Airlines and/or Flights are chosen.

 

Unless you make Final Payment early. Not the best economic choice, but probably less expensive than paying the Deviation?

[LHT28]

Unless you make Final Payment early. Not the best economic choice, but probably less expensive than paying the Deviation?

But you still have no say in the flights you just know what they are earlier & have longer to fret :D

[JimandStan]

thanks jim and stan....this makes sense to me...so essentially you have to pay for the deviation whether you want to or not when facing multiple stopovers....a close place like lisbon from toronto can take 24 hours to get there.....and you have no say unless you pay the ransom....

 

I believe that you are going a little bit far with that Statement.

 

We ALWAYS price our Air privately AND through Oceania; and the Cruise Line usually offers the least expensive reasonable option (given their Airline Contracts at the time) which will get you to the ship in PLENTY OF TIME.

 

We've never been offered a flight with more than one stopover to Europe or a layover of more than 2.75 hours. In fact, on the one occasion where the AIRLINE rescheduled a connecting flight, pushing the layover to more than 4 hours, Oceania re-booked us with no additional charges incurred. :)

Edited November 26, 2013 by JimandStan

[neepawa]

beachchairs2

 

A quick check on the Air Canada website reveals that there are numerous flights from Toronto to Lisbon. The total duration varies from 11 hrs and 35 min via Heathrow, arriving at 10:55 AM; to 12 hrs 55 min via Frankfurt, arriving at 11:20 AM and 12hrs and 15 min via Munich arriving at 1:15 PM.

 

After you have decided the flights you want, have your TA propose the routing and times to Oceania. Oceania may accept this routing and only charge the deviation fee or may charge an additional fee based on any charges from Air Canada. You do not have to accept Oceania’s offer and do not pay anything until you have agreed to the routing and price.

 

We have used Oceania Air to Europe on 2 occasions and got the exact routing that we requested through our TA. By paying the deviation fee, we were able to arrive a day early and return 2 days after the cruise

 

Cheers,

 

Don

[Cancun01]

Beachchairs 2 - we had to cancel our trip after final payment - however in answer to your original question we were scheduled to fly from Rio - Ottawa on December 8, 2013 - the same day as disembarkation (we were in Rio in February so we felt the one overnight on the ship was sufficient). We did not pay for a deviation for the homebound portion and the flights booked for us by Oceania were

Rio - Charlotte, NC US Airways11:55pm - 7:30am

Charlotte - Philly US Airways 9:19am-10:53am

Philly-Ottawa US Airways 3:34-5:07 pm

 

NB US airways fly direct Charlotte-Ottawa

 

Edited November 27, 2013 by Cancun01

[beachchairs2]

yes I have checked and rechecked the flights with air canada...they partner with Tam and Tap airlines....old planes, terrible reviews...

 

so from rio to toronto we are looking probably at 3 stopovers....not something a fearful flier likes to hear...

 

yes jim and stan, I may be making too much of this....and when I heard the O rep say they use charters, depending on how many were going from a particular gateway, I thought that would be great....

 

has anyone here experienced an O chartered plane?

[ShopperfiendTO]

thank you for your comments...

 

air canada partners with TAP and TAM airlines....a very low budget airline with very old planes...TAP airlines rate number 6 on the accident rating scale....

 

what airlines did you use when you say aircanada?

 

We booked with Air Canada and the flights were on a code share with TAM on a TAM plane and crew for the Rio to Sao Paolo segment and then Sao Paolo non-stop to Toronto on Air Canada plane and crew.

 

There was nothing remarkable about the TAM flight (good or bad) so I don't think it should be too much of a concern. Also, it wasn't that long a flight anyway so if it's bad you won't have to endure it for too long.

 

Because you're on Marina (and not an R-class ship), flying for arrival day of is going to be very tight in terms of supply, if one assumes 1/2 to 2/3rds of the other cruisers will be doing that, because Lisbon isn't a major gateway with plenty of flight options available like London, Barcelona, Rome or Istanbul. This means that O will need flights for 600-800+ passengers, most from North America, so a charter might be a possibility. However, the only O charter I've read about is from LA to Papeete. Would YYZ be the natural springboard to Lisbon like LAX is to Papeete?

 

Honestly, if flying and itinerary is a real concern I would recommend that you pay the ransom (because you won't be able to find a similar fare yourself than if you took the air credit and the deviation saving) so that you don't have to keep on worrying about it (unless those flights get affected which can happen, like they did for us on a recent flight :mad: - but we were able to work it out OK). And if you do, you might as well arrive early and depart later so that you actually have time to enjoy the start and end ports (I know you have an overnight in Rio but you probably need more than that to really appreciate it or to do something special, like a side trip to Iguassu Falls and fly to Sao Paolo from there or something like that).

[neepawa]

beachchairs2

 

I don’t know where you are getting you information on TAP air safety. According to the JACDEC Airliner Safety Report released in January 2011, TAP Portugal was rated Western Europe's safest airline and the world's fourth safest airline, only after Qantas, Finnair and Air New Zealand.[3]

 

Our daughter and granddaughter, both experienced travellers, flew from Barcelona to Lisbon and Lisbon to Heathrow on TAP in February. The aircraft were in great shape inside and out and the crew was very professional. While I haven’t flown with TAP, their aircraft looked good from the outside when I was in Lisbon airport in September 2013.

 

As I mentioned at post #37 of this thread, there are many flights from Toronto to Lisbon. Since your main concern appears to be flying on TAP, there are other options to fly with a different Star Alliance Partner. The Air Canada flight that leaves Toronto at 5:25 PM connects with a Lufthansa flight to Lisbon arriving at 11:20 AM.

 

I flew on Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Barcelona and Lisbon to Frankfurt in September. Their aircraft and crews are first class.

 

Cheers,

 

Don

[beachchairs2]

you can check out Tap reviews here...

 

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/tap.htm