Flight time after the Cruise?

[fishtaco]

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.

 

Thanks as we are leaving from Sydney to LA in June :)

Edited April 25, 2014 by fishtaco

[Fletch1]

Ships do arrive late into Sydney. We were on the dawn princess coming back from Hawaii in 2010 and had 10 metre seas. We never got in until midday.

[gbenjo]

Ships do arrive late into Sydney. We were on the dawn princess coming back from Hawaii in 2010 and had 10 metre seas. We never got in until midday.

 

Never said that they never arrive late, just saying it is a fairly rare occurrence. Actually, on the last Rhapsody turnaround on Good Friday before going to Hawaii she was running three hours late due to weather/seas but made up the lost time and arrived as scheduled at 6am.

[OzKiwiJJ]

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!

 

With your priority checkin, 1.5-2 hours will be ample. I think you'll have plenty of time.

 

And you'll also have plenty of time to get to your gate unless you go mad in the duty free shops :D

Edited April 25, 2014 by OzKiwiJJ

[mr walker]

The 45 mins is so you have enough time to go through the security scanners then immigration...

 

Last times I flew to USA, there was also a secondary security search of hand luggage at the gate, so my TA has recommended at least 90' for travel to USA. I usually aim for 2 hours before & are usually just a little ealrier than that. Qantas site has 120' recommended and 90' latest for economy, & 90' and 60' for 1st class/business.

 

OP, I think you'll be fine. Select earliest possible disembarkation time, and then jump in a taxi. If it is a weekend day as 'gbenjo' suggests, you'll have time for a 3 course breakfast at the aiport - as if you'll need more food after a cruise :).

 

You will love the Rhapsody and the Qld cruise - it was our 1st ever cruise back in 2011, and we will complete our 8th later this year :D

 

Happy cruising.

[KarateMan]

I personally would never book a flight time that early after a cruise. I am far too organised for that. Too many risks to even contemplate. The ship could arrive late, disembarkation could be delayed, there could be traffic problems getting to the airport.

 

I find it is best to accept problems happen and to plan around them leaving to chance any benefits you gain from being early.

 

When a ship arrives everyone will want to leave at once. Everyone will be bidding for the fist to leave spot. Everyone will have their justified reasons as to why they should be off first. Essentially booking an early flight you are taking gamble.

[goodycruising]

We have taken the train with one regular suitcase and a backpack each, and going from the ship and on the escalator and other mucking around, I found it quite a time consuming exercise. The paved walkway from the ship to the railway station is not very far, but over rough pavers is more difficult than it needs to be. A smoother surface would be a great idea in my opinion! Have several cases and I don't have a good picture of you struggling along. You come out of the other side of the terminal, walk past that white tent about the middle of my picture, and around past the water to the railway station. I haven't gotten off at the other end for the overseas terminal.

 

Nope, I would highly recommend a taxi. They have always seemed to have a pretty quick, good and fair system although we did come out later in the morning. You can do a bit of a look around as you come in for boarding.

 

It is my understanding they like the ships to arrive early before the ferries and other harbour traffic get very busy. We have done 6 cruises which ended into Sydney and always arrived around 6.30 if not a little earlier, but then the ship does need clearance, but I understand people debark starting about 7am.

 

Edited April 25, 2014 by goodycruising

[RumpunchGirl]

Thanks everyone for all your input, advice and suggestions. I find this board very helpful with the planning of our Australian Vacation. We won't be changing our flight time as it is very expensive to do so. But, after reading all these post, I'm not freaking out so much anymore. Can't wait to arrive!:)

[cruisingmum]

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 an 11.30am flight and thought the same as you but we made it with time for a coffee and a look at the shops!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[fishtaco]

I personally would never book a flight time that early after a cruise. I am far too organised for that. Too many risks to even contemplate. The ship could arrive late, disembarkation could be delayed, there could be traffic problems getting to the airport.

 

I find it is best to accept problems happen and to plan around them leaving to chance any benefits you gain from being early.

 

When a ship arrives everyone will want to leave at once. Everyone will be bidding for the fist to leave spot. Everyone will have their justified reasons as to why they should be off first. Essentially booking an early flight you are taking gamble.

 

And the reason the cruise line has "Flagged" the OP,s flight time!:)

 

I doubt The cruise line would ever offer transport to catch a midday flight and for good reasons;)

[fishtaco]

We had an 11.30am flight and thought the same as you but we made it with time for a coffee and a look at the shops!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

was this a domestic flight or an international flight? Big difference in price and travel worry for missed flight domestic V international.

 

There is no way Delta will re seat a missed flight for free because they are code share!

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks everyone for all your input, advice and suggestions. I find this board very helpful with the planning of our Australian Vacation. We won't be changing our flight time as it is very expensive to do so. But, after reading all these post, I'm not freaking out so much anymore. Can't wait to arrive!:)

 

Hope you have a wonderful time, both in Sydney and on your cruise. If you're staying near the OPT before your cruise and want a really nice place to have lunch or dinner I recommend the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar, directly opposite the OPT across Circular Quay (on the way to the Opera House). It has excellent food, although it's a bit pricey, and if you can get a table on the water's edge it's just lovely. We often go there for an early dinner when going to a show at the Opera House.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

:D I cannot get past the 2x suitcases + carryon each for luggage! :o So sorry but I am totally judging you!! :p LOL! What on earth are you bringing?

 

We are travelling for a month including a T.A. 15 nights. Europe (winter) & then USA. We are considering a suitcase between us, but due to loving formal nights (3) have decided a suitcase each! How do people "need" so much gear!? :)

I don't think I own enough "sensible decent" clothes to warrant 2 suitcases!!

 

Ha ha!

 

Btw, if you arrive on a weekend you will fine as! Just catch a cab / book transport, and sit back & relax after your awesome cruise holiday!

Edited April 26, 2014 by Cruise_me_Crazy

[Bodogbodog]

There is no way Delta will re seat a missed flight for free because they are code share!

Are you sure they code share these days. This article suggests they use their own metal on at least one flight from Sydney each day

[OzKiwiJJ]

On our seven week trip to the UK last year we took two medium wheelie bags, plus two overnight bags that slip over the wheelie handles, as checkins, and our carryon luggage included a very large day pack.

 

We spent most of our trip touring by car, with one night stops interspersed with two nights stops every 5th or 6th town so we could do laundry. I prefer to wear natural fabrics like cotton and linen which don't lend themselves to being rinsed out overnight. Although it was summer we expected all weathers so needed to take layers. We were also doing a four night trip on the Royal Scotsman so need to take formal and informal eveningwear. That took up the whole of one of the overnight bags.

 

Since this was a long trip we needed to take extras of medications, toiletries etc, which also took up extra space in our bags.

 

However when we went to India last month for three weeks I had to severely restrict my packing as internal flights in India only allow 15kgs of checked in luggage. I still took the same pants, tshirts, swimwear and shoes, but after some judicious shopping at the post-Christmas sales I managed to put together a very lightweight selection of eveningwear, mostly little colourful silky tops (some are actually beachwear) that can be worn over a basic top. Of course, on this trip I didn't need much in the way of cool weather layers either so that saved some space. I didn't manage to get my suitcase down to 15kgs though :-(.

 

My new wardrobe of eveningwear should come in very useful for cruising, with the addition of a couple of formal outfits.

[fishtaco]

Are you sure they code share these days. This article suggests they use their own metal on at least one flight from Sydney each day

 

Then I stand corrected:)

 

Last time I looked at a Delta flight out of Sydney it was code share but that was some time ago.

[RumpunchGirl]

When I first posted this thread in April, I was a little worried about our flight out of Sydney being to early. Ship is supposed to dock at 6:30 am and our flight time home was at 12:20 pm. Well, as luck would have it, so far our flights have had 5 different changes! One change was just to a different plane but they put my DH and I in seats with someone between us!:eek: We did get that resolved. The most recent change is to our flight out of Sydney to Los Angeles. We now depart at 1:15 pm. We have a bigger cushion of time to disembark and get to the airport. But, our connecting flight in LA was pushed up so we have a shorter layover. Right now we have 2 hrs 46 mins between flights. Delta is possitive we will have enough time to get through customs and on the plane. I still have almost 4 months before this trip and I expect more changes! I guess I'll just roll with it!:D

[OzKiwiJJ]

That's a lot of changes in a couple of months. :eek:

 

I don't think I've ever had anything like that when I've been travelling and we book our Europe trip flights almost a year ahead. We had one change on our last trip to the UK, which freaked me out as I received notification that the flight had been cancelled, but it turned out to be a computer glitch in the end.

 

*mental note - avoid Delta to the US* ;)

[RumpunchGirl]

You should see my paper work just trying to keep track of our flights. I don't know why this keeps happening. One of our travel companions on this trip flies on Delta all the time for work. He's been all over the world and he said this seems to happen frequently with Delta. Hopefully there aren't any more changes.