Questions - One Way Flight from London to States?

[M&M cruiseaholics]

We are on our first Transatlantic cruise in May 2022.  Need one way flight from London to the States.  What is the earliest flight time we should take from London with ship debarking in Southampton?  What transfer options do we have from Southampton to London?  How many hours in advance of flight should we arrive at airport?  How many months in advance is a good time to purchase flights?

 

Thank you for your help.

[FreestyleNovice]

Best is to post this at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

 

It's barely NCL related and the (local) board members there will help you out, even with the latest local detours, road constructions or tips and tricks. 

[BirdTravels]

The trip to Heathrow is about an hour and a half. Add 30 min on either side to get on the bus and to your checkin counter. 
 

Your airline will tell you their check in requirements, but it is usually 2 hours prior to flight. Add an hour for waiting in line for check in, security, immigrations and customs. 
 

Add an hour for contingency and shopping in the duty free area. 
 

We just book the cruise line transfers. 

[M&M cruiseaholics]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have just moved the topic.

 

The NCL connection - Does NCL offer transfers to London as I do not see it offered on MY NCL excursions?  What time do the transfers leave the port if they are available?

[ColeThornton]

23 minutes ago, M&M cruiseaholics said:

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have just moved the topic.

 

The NCL connection - Does NCL offer transfers to London as I do not see it offered on MY NCL excursions?  What time do the transfers leave the port if they are available?

 

 

Normally, they do.   In this link below they normally have a whole list of the ports that have airport transportation and the cost.  That info isn't there at the moment.  I guess with all the pandemics stuff that is to be determined at this juncture.

 

https://www.ncl.com/getting-to-the-pier/transfers-and-car-services

[tallnthensome]

Try the cruise air forum for flight questions …..

[KeithJenner]

One way transatlantic flights are an issue, as they tend to be very expensive (usually costing similar to a return). There are a few options:

 

Book through the cruise line - One way flights don't have a supplement when booked through NCL, so in a situation like this it could outweigh the downsides of booking through them.

 

Us miles - If you have airline miles then this is an ideal opportunity to use them. There is usually good availability between the UK and US and (at least on moles airlines) there is no one way supplement. This is what I do with transatlantics.

 

Low cost airlines - Covid has probably done for this, but people could often get good one way rates through some smaller airlines like Norwegian. I don't think that Norwegian fly to the US now, and other options may be restricted.

 

If it was me I'd use miles or failing that book through NCL.

[FreestyleNovice]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

One way transatlantic flights are an issue, as they tend to be very expensive (usually costing similar to a return).

 

Or book a return flight with a flight connecting to another transatlantic crossing in fall/spring. 

[KeithJenner]

33 minutes ago, FreestyleNovice said:

 

Or book a return flight with a flight connecting to another transatlantic crossing in fall/spring. 

That sounds like a plan. 🙂

[julig22]

You can book a transfer through NCL - just have to call them.  Per older NCL info, they say to allow 6hrs to Heathrow, 6.5 to Gatwick.  Used to be $65, expect that it's more now.

In the past, they've always had a couple of post-cruise excursions that might stop at Stonehenge, tour London, etc. then go on to the airport or drop you at a central London hotel.  The excursion info would tell you what time to book your flights.

Booking your airfare through NCL is also an option - currently, fares are half price, and yes, you can do a one-way if you don't need an outgoing flight.  But you get what you get - no choices on your flights.  From what I've been told, if you book a post-cruise excursion before your tickets are issued, they will try to get you on a later flight so you can use the excursion to get to the airport.

[gtaylor]

13 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

One way transatlantic flights are an issue, as they tend to be very expensive (usually costing similar to a return). There are a few options:

 

Book through the cruise line - One way flights don't have a supplement when booked through NCL, so in a situation like this it could outweigh the downsides of booking through them.

 

Us miles - If you have airline miles then this is an ideal opportunity to use them. There is usually good availability between the UK and US and (at least on moles airlines) there is no one way supplement. This is what I do with transatlantics.

 

Low cost airlines - Covid has probably done for this, but people could often get good one way rates through some smaller airlines like Norwegian. I don't think that Norwegian fly to the US now, and other options may be restricted.

 

If it was me I'd use miles or failing that book through NCL.

What are ' moles airlines'?

 

gary

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, gtaylor said:

What are ' moles airlines'?

 

gary

Autocorrect - should be most airlines.

 

🙂

[DCGuy64]

8 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Autocorrect - should be most airlines.

 

🙂

Must be a UK thing - "most" occurs far more often than "moles" in American English so the auto-correct has some interesting settings, LOL. 😄

[KeithJenner]

23 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Must be a UK thing - "most" occurs far more often than "moles" in American English so the auto-correct has some interesting settings, LOL. 😄

I will have spelt it incorrectly, and autocorrect picked Moles. I'm rubbish when typing on the phone.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, KeithJenner said:

I will have spelt it incorrectly, and autocorrect picked Moles. I'm rubbish when typing on the phone.

Don't you realize once it goes on the internet, it stays there forever?? 😉

Only kidding, of course, it's not a big deal. We all make mistakes. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's a spelling issue or something else. For all I know, a "mole" airline might be a subsidiary of a major airline. 🙂

Anyway, have a nice day!

 

[Sailing12Away]

Whatever time you think you need for Heathrow - double it. It's a huge airport and a long walk to the gates.

 

Bonus tip though - stop at the duty free shop near the liquor. They give out free tastings if you're unsure about bringing something home. We tasted 3 different peaty scotch's the last time we were there and had a nice toasty feeling as we made our way to the gate once announced. Bottles were waiting for us there by the time we arrived at the cabin door.