Toronto to Marseille flight advice

[newbycruzer]

We need to be in Marseilles for cruise leaving on Feb 26 leaving at 6pm. The best flight for stops any time is on the 25th leaving at 6:10pm and arriving in Marseilles at 10:15 am on the 26th. It is a 10:05 hr flight. There is a one hour layover at London Heathrow for 1:05 hrs. Is this pushing it?
The only other option for us is to leave on Friday the 24th at  10:05 pm and arrive in Marseilles on the 25th at 11:20 pm. It is a 19:15 hr flight (ugh!) with 2 stops. 5:40 at LHR and 2:20 in MAD. It will likely require an hotel stay late on the 25th. What are o do?  Are the flight situations as precarious in Europe as in North America?  
appreciate any insight 🤗

[the mice]

Sorry, but a1:05 layover in Heathrow is a terrible idea as is arriving the day of your cruise.  Missing that connection means missing the ship. Your outbound flight could be delayed on departure, etc.  

It sounds like you have just now looked for flights so have limited options.  Is there any other airport that you can use for your departure?  Or look for other routes ? 

[the mice]

Also, use Google flights to see more options.  Suggest you use the 24th as your departure date for safety's sake. The price of one night's hotel will be worth it for more peace of mind.  I see a flight on Tap that looks very reasonable. 

 

 

[newbycruzer]

52 minutes ago, the mice said:

Sorry, but a1:05 layover in Heathrow is a terrible idea as is arriving the day of your cruise.  Missing that connection means missing the ship. Your outbound flight could be delayed on departure, etc.  

It sounds like you have just now looked for flights so have limited options.  Is there any other airport that you can use for your departure?  Or look for other routes ? 

Do you think a flight on the 25th that goes thru AMS with a 2:40 layover would be safe?  I am fairly tight on my ability to travel in the 24th and trying to avoid it but if it truly jeopardizes making the cruise I will reconsider

[the mice]

The biggest concern is that you are leaving Toronto in February.  If you have a weather delay, you could be toast.

Obviously a longer layover is always better.  Schipol (Amsterdam) has had their share of problems in the past year, but I have no idea how they are managing now.  

For any  airport, you can Google "minimum connection time at xxx" to see the advice.  

Arriving the day of a cruise overseas is always a big risk.   How will you get to your next port of call if you miss the ship?  Answering that may help you decide.

Edited February 5, 2023 by the mice
typo

[Dancer Bob]

I consider 24th to be the absolute latest to risk. I estimate 25% of my trips, if I were traveling same day as cruise, I would have missed the ship. A T3 to T5 connection in LHR, the MCT is 90 minutes, it took me 87 minutes recently.

KLM YYZ-AMS is pretty reliable but I had a NCE connection cancelled, resulting in a 7-hour layover.

With any of these, you are going to be completely exhausted for your first three days on the ship.

[aungrl]

1 hour ago, newbycruzer said:

Do you think a flight on the 25th that goes thru AMS with a 2:40 layover would be safe?  I am fairly tight on my ability to travel in the 24th and trying to avoid it but if it truly jeopardizes making the cruise I will reconsider

It truly jeopardizes the cruise.  If at all possible, listen to all the good advice you're getting here to fly on the 24th at the very latest.

[newbycruzer]

9 minutes ago, the mice said:

The biggest concern is that you are leaving Toronto in February.  If you have a weather delay, you could be toast.

Obviously a longer layover is always better.  Schipol (Amsterdam) has had their share of problems in the past year, but I have no idea how they are managing now.  

For any  airport, you can Google "minimum connection time at xxx" to see the advice.  

Arriving the day of a cruise overseas is always a big risk.   How will you get to your next port of call if you miss the ship?  Answering that may help you decide.

Thanks for the insight. I think I’ll look at the 24th to leave.  Appreciate it

[Dancer Bob]

Also, have you researched how to get from MRS, which is at Vitrolles, north of Marseille, to the cruise terminal, which isn't at all convenient to SNCF St Charles? Marseilles is one port where I do use the cruise line shuttle to the ship.

[the mice]

You're welcome.   Glad you are reconsidering your day of travel.   The 24th is the latest day of travel.   Even so, hope you have insurance for travel delay/cancellation in case anything goes sideways.

Good luck finding a flight that "fits."  Google Flights should help you find some options.   And use that "minimum connection time" search to understand the details.

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited February 5, 2023 by the mice

[Twickenham]

You could do TAP through LIS on the 24th - a nice 3:25 connection. Otherwise you could look at flying to CDG and taking the train down to Marseille - AF has a non-stop YYZ-CDG.

[Zach1213]

19 hours ago, Twickenham said:

You could do TAP through LIS on the 24th - a nice 3:25 connection. Otherwise you could look at flying to CDG and taking the train down to Marseille - AF has a non-stop YYZ-CDG.

 

I love the train option and always push this. As much as I am an aviation geek (and it's my chosen career, so definitely support flying!), the idea of flying in to CDG and taking a nice train ride through the French countryside to start your vacation sounds lovely to me. I often do this in Germany for work (fly in to Frankfurt and take a train to Hamburg or Bremen, for example), and it's just a nice way to roll. 

[em-sk]

Lisbon airport has some draw backs but, a 3 hour connection there is a much better option than 1 in Heathrow.   

 

What is the next stop for the cruise after Marseille.  You plan be would be to join the rest of the cruise there.

 

The train from Paris is also a nice option.  Both Air Canada and Air France should have flights from Toronto.

[Dancer Bob]

Given the parameters set by the OP and lack of knowledge of their luggage and physical capabilities, (not to mention the current French political situation) I would be wary of recommending the train.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Dancer Bob

[Zach1213]

54 minutes ago, Dancer Bob said:

Given the parameters set by the OP and lack of knowledge of their luggage and physical capabilities, (not to mention the current French political situation) I would be wary of recommending the train.

I am always going to recommend the train. It's up to them to determine if it's the right choice for them, but to me it would be foolish to not mention the train as an option rather than just focusing on the train. That being said, my recommendation of the train was based on the "arrive a day earlier" advice from those before me. 

 

French trains are delayed by strikes some time, sure. So is French air traffic. Hell, in today's case, the schools and power companies are even impacted. But the fact of the matter is, both air and rail travel in France work just fine the vast majority of the time. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Zach1213

[Zach1213]

2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

I am always going to recommend the train. It's up to them to determine if it's the right choice for them, but to me it would be foolish to not mention the train as an option rather than just focusing on the train. 

 

And of course I meant to say "...rather than just focusing on the plane". Oof.