HAL navigator/arrival flights

[newgirlhelpme]

Hi! Going on my first HAL cruise this summer, and I was wondering if anyone has experienced what I am seeing on the navigator app right now? We booked the transfers to the port from Rome and then to the airport from Venice. Got the emails saved and payment went through and everything was confirmed about a month ago. However, on Navigator, when I am looking at “my itinerary” the first transfer from the airport to the ship doesn’t show up on the days schedule. At the bottom, we do see the transfer to the airport on the last days schedule. Is this something I should be concerned about? 
Going off of this, I was wondering if anyone had an input on the situation we have with arrival flights. We did not book with HAL (I know the risks and everything) for the flights. On the itinerary it says we leave Rome at 7 pm. I couldn’t get a straight answer about what time we needed to land in Rome by, and after several phone calls with different answers, it seems like the general consensus from team members was “don’t arrive before 3 pm”. This sounded kind of weird, maybe they meant don’t arrive any later than 3 pm? But they surely said don’t arrive before 3 pm. So, I booked flights with the arrival time of 3:15. After I did that, I found this website and found that we should arrive 4 hours before the departure time. I am worried that we might be arriving too late, by time we clear customs and get our bags. Does anyone have experience that they could share with this? Or any input? 

[VMax1700]

I wouldn't even consider arriving the day of the cruise!

The transfer time from FCO (Rome airport) to Civitavecchia (cruise port) is 60 - 90 minutes depending on traffic.   Getting your bags etc in the airport will take up to 60 minutes.

Where are you flying from?  What passport do you have?  Can  you change your flights? 

I don't believe that any HAL transfer will be available at that time on embarkation day. 

[newgirlhelpme]

3 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

I wouldn't even consider arriving the day of the cruise!

The transfer time from FCO (Rome airport) to Civitavecchia (cruise port) is 60 - 90 minutes depending on traffic.   Getting your bags etc in the airport will take up to 60 minutes.

Where are you flying from?  What passport do you have?  Can  you change your flights? 

I don't believe that any HAL transfer will be available at that time on embarkation day. 

I considered coming the day before, but it’s just so expensive for a hotel and the flight prices are way higher. I am flying from JFK, and I have a US passport. I’m 90% sure my flights I can change for a fee, but I would have to look into that. When I was booking the transfer, and when I did the online check in, they both asked for my arrival flight numbers and times. I feel like if it was really not available they wouldn’t have allowed it or there would have been an error message or something. Maybe not though. I’m planning to get on the phone again with someone to confirm that everything is fine, but I am really hoping that it is 🙃

[FOPMan]

You need to be aboard ship a certain time before departure (1 hour? 30 minutes?)

 

Arriving at the Rome airport  (FCO) with a scheduled arrival of 3:15 on a US passport and needing to clear customs an immigration will likely get you out of the airport at 4:45, maybe a few minutes earlier if you are at the front of the plane. . It’s 90 minutes or so transfer to the port. That’s 6:15 pm.

 

You might want to consider changing your ticket.

[rodndonna]

43 minutes ago, newgirlhelpme said:

Hi! Going on my first HAL cruise this summer, and I was wondering if anyone has experienced what I am seeing on the navigator app right now? We booked the transfers to the port from Rome and then to the airport from Venice. Got the emails saved and payment went through and everything was confirmed about a month ago. However, on Navigator, when I am looking at “my itinerary” the first transfer from the airport to the ship doesn’t show up on the days schedule. At the bottom, we do see the transfer to the airport on the last days schedule. Is this something I should be concerned about? 
Going off of this, I was wondering if anyone had an input on the situation we have with arrival flights. We did not book with HAL (I know the risks and everything) for the flights. On the itinerary it says we leave Rome at 7 pm. I couldn’t get a straight answer about what time we needed to land in Rome by, and after several phone calls with different answers, it seems like the general consensus from team members was “don’t arrive before 3 pm”. This sounded kind of weird, maybe they meant don’t arrive any later than 3 pm? But they surely said don’t arrive before 3 pm. So, I booked flights with the arrival time of 3:15. After I did that, I found this website and found that we should arrive 4 hours before the departure time. I am worried that we might be arriving too late, by time we clear customs and get our bags. Does anyone have experience that they could share with this? Or any input? 

 

As a crazy fly "day-of-er", one guideline is the allowable flight arrival times if booking within HAL Flightease.  I will do a flightease search for my cruise, and take a look at the arrival cutoff time they allow. As an example, if they allow flights arriving as late as 1:00 pm for my cruise, then I would use that as a starting guideline for booking my own flights. 

 

Edit: Also I think they meant "do not arrive later than 3:00" 

Edited June 24, 2023 by rodndonna
more info

[CGinMTL]

If you still arrive day of cruise, I would try to arrive as early as possible ( red eye).

Also, have a plan b for everything 

 

[newgirlhelpme]

20 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

As a crazy fly "day-of-er", one guideline is the allowable flight arrival times if booking within HAL Flightease.  I will do a flightease search for my cruise, and take a look at the arrival cutoff time they allow. As an example, if they allow flights arriving as late as 1:00 pm for my cruise, then I would use that as a starting guideline for booking my own flights. 

 

Edit: Also I think they meant "do not arrive later than 3:00" 

This is seriously so smart!! I just checked, and the latest arrival time is 3 pm that HAL offers. Our is 3:15. Maybe I should pay to get seats toward the front of the plane so we can get off quickly? If i completely cancel the flight, I will only get $20 back. I can reschedule it with the same airline (Norse), but they only do one flight per day so I would have to arrive 24 hours early then pay for a hotel, etc. That was such a good idea thank you for that! 

[erdufylla]

27 minutes ago, newgirlhelpme said:

This is seriously so smart!! I just checked, and the latest arrival time is 3 pm that HAL offers. Our is 3:15. Maybe I should pay to get seats toward the front of the plane so we can get off quickly? If i completely cancel the flight, I will only get $20 back. I can reschedule it with the same airline (Norse), but they only do one flight per day so I would have to arrive 24 hours early then pay for a hotel, etc. That was such a good idea thank you for that! 

Given the options, I think I’d prefer to reschedule to arrive the day before and eat the cost of a hotel for that night, rather than risk any potential delays meaning I’d miss the ship. With your current schedule, any minor delay — a 30-minute flight delay, or slow baggage claim, or being pulled aside for a brief additional screening at customs, etc. — could mean the difference between getting on the ship in time and arriving at the port watching it sail away without you. That kind of stress isn’t how I personally would want to start my vacation. 🙂 

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, newgirlhelpme said:

Does anyone have experience that they could share with this? Or any input? 

Have flown in on day of sailing three times. First was smooth (Vancouver). Second was extremely tedious, as we had to entertain ourselves at the airport for four or five hours (FLL). Third was nerve-racking and there is never going to be a fourth! We were to fly from LAX to Santiago Chile to catch the HAL transfer to Valparaiso port. With plenty of time. Until our flight was delayed. It was delayed so much they gave us meal vouchers. I used the time on my phone, making a backup-plan that involved a third-party shuttle company taking us to the next port south. I also called HAL to determine what time was the last bus to Valparaiso. Which time we JUST made!

 

All of these were pre-pandemic; with the post-COVID flight disruptions, I would definitely move your flight to a day earlier and stayover.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

[Daisyloo]

Change your flight to the day earlier.  So many things can happen to make you miss the ship.  If your flight is delayed, if your flight is cancelled, if there's bad traffic between the airport and Civitavecchia, etc etc.  And you mention the airline you are flying on only has one flight per day.  What are you going to do if that gets cancelled!?  If you were going on a major carrier there is a chance you could move to another flight, but not if you are on the only flight they offer.  

Change to a flight the day earlier, stay at an airport hotel over night, catch the shuttle to the port the next day.  It will cost you more money, but it will buy you more likelihood of making your cruise, and therefore some peace of mind.  That is money well spent. 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

I just looked at Expedia.com for Rome airport hotels. I chose a middle of July date. There were some decent looking rooms for around $120.

[Fouremco]

Before making a final decision, take a look at what you would need to do should you miss embarkation in Rome. Where is the next port on the itinerary? How will you get there? Do you sleep in Rome and travel to the port the next day, or do you travel to the port on the day of your flight and find accommodation there? How much would all of this cost? How do you contact HAL to let them know that you will join them at the next port? You need to have a solid Plan "B" if you will be flying in on the day of your cruise.

[DaveOKC]

21 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Before making a final decision, take a look at what you would need to do should you miss embarkation in Rome. Where is the next port on the itinerary? How will you get there? Do you sleep in Rome and travel to the port the next day, or do you travel to the port on the day of your flight and find accommodation there? How much would all of this cost? How do you contact HAL to let them know that you will join them at the next port? You need to have a solid Plan "B" if you will be flying in on the day of your cruise.

I have seen too many people miss their cruises by flying in the same day that I never attempt it.  And the issue can also be land based, as we once took a bus from Seattle to Vancouver and had to stop on the way to pickup passengers from the previous bus, now broken down, who had passengers trying to make same day cruise.  Not worth the worry and hassle IMO.

[Fouremco]

6 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

I have seen too many people miss their cruises by flying in the same day that I never attempt it.  And the issue can also be land based, as we once took a bus from Seattle to Vancouver and had to stop on the way to pickup passengers from the previous bus, now broken down, who had passengers trying to make same day cruise.  Not worth the worry and hassle IMO.

I couldn't agree more. I've never flown in on the day of the cruise and never will. 

[terrydtx]

On 6/24/2023 at 10:56 AM, newgirlhelpme said:

I considered coming the day before, but it’s just so expensive for a hotel and the flight prices are way higher. I am flying from JFK, and I have a US passport. I’m 90% sure my flights I can change for a fee, but I would have to look into that. When I was booking the transfer, and when I did the online check in, they both asked for my arrival flight numbers and times. I feel like if it was really not available they wouldn’t have allowed it or there would have been an error message or something. Maybe not though. I’m planning to get on the phone again with someone to confirm that everything is fine, but I am really hoping that it is 🙃

I suggest that you check with your airline to see if you can change to a flight that arrives in the morning before 11am. There are many flights to Rome from JFK that get to Rome much earlier. We flew to Rome last year, 3 days early, and it took almost an hour to get our bags and through Italian customs. The drive from the Rome airport to Civi can be an hour or more in traffic. Best case with a 3:15pm arrival is you are at the cruise terminal by a little after 5pm, and you need to be checked in at least an hour before the ship's departure or 6:00pm. For me this is cutting it way too close. Since you booked your own air, the ship will NOT wait for you.

 

If you can fly in the day before the hotels in Civi are not as expensive as in Rome.

[newgirlhelpme]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I suggest that you check with your airline to see if you can change to a flight that arrives in the morning before 11am. There are many flights to Rome from JFK that get to Rome much earlier. We flew to Rome last year, 3 days early, and it took almost an hour to get our bags and through Italian customs. The drive from the Rome airport to Civi can be an hour or more in traffic. Best case with a 3:15pm arrival is you are at the cruise terminal by a little after 5pm, and you need to be checked in at least an hour before the ship's departure or 6:00pm. For me this is cutting it way too close. Since you booked your own air, the ship will NOT wait for you.

 

If you can fly in the day before the hotels in Civi are not as expensive as in Rome.

I’m working with the airline to move my flight. If I was to fly in the day before, do you know if HAL offers transfers usually on just the embarkation day, or would they possibly be able to do a transfer to Civi the day before? I already bought the HAL transfer so I hope I could still use it. 

[terrydtx]

58 minutes ago, newgirlhelpme said:

I’m working with the airline to move my flight. If I was to fly in the day before, do you know if HAL offers transfers usually on just the embarkation day, or would they possibly be able to do a transfer to Civi the day before? I already bought the HAL transfer so I hope I could still use it. 

Your question is better answered by calling HAL once your flights are changed. There are also several very good private transfers companies that do transfers. Depending how many are in your group they are usually cheaper than the cruise line. We used Bob's Limos last year in Rome for our group of 4, they are highly used and recommended by CC members. Rome Limousine Tours | Civitavecchia Shuttle | Rome Limo Transfer (romelimousines.com)

Edited June 26, 2023 by terrydtx

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, newgirlhelpme said:

I’m working with the airline to move my flight. If I was to fly in the day before, do you know if HAL offers transfers usually on just the embarkation day, or would they possibly be able to do a transfer to Civi the day before? I already bought the HAL transfer so I hope I could still use it. 

 

I would think you can cancel your HAL transfer.

[Haljo1935]

On 6/26/2023 at 11:24 AM, rodndonna said:

 

I would think you can cancel your HAL transfer.

Yes you should be able to cancel the HAL transfer (I have canceled) but you need to do before day of, maybe 3 days out, to get a refund.