First Time Cruisers Disembarkation Day Question

[Crestawave]

Hi Everyone 

Sorry if seems like a daft question but we've never been on a cruise before. 

My wife an I are going with Viking on the Panama canal and Pacific coast trip next January. Our agent has arranged flights with Virgin rather than the British Airways that Viking use, simply because we could get premium economy seats booked there and then.

Transfers are in place for our arrival in Los Angeles to our overnight hotel pre cruise. However what would be the procedure for transferring from the ship to Fort Lauderdale for the flight back to the UK ? Will we be allowed to use the same transfer as those coming back with British Airways, if the flight times are compatible, or will we or Viking arrange a separate transfer?

Once again I'm sorry if this sounds a silly question but we're first timers and want to make sure everything is sorted. 

[leaveitallbehind]

Typically the cruise lines will provide transfers that you can sign up for to the airports that would normally serve that port.  They would likely be generic to the airport and not tied to a specific airline.  The shuttle would then stop at the different airlines departure terminals. 

 

The other option would be Uber, taxi, or other private transporter that you could arrange direct transfer to the airport and airline departure terminal.  There is no one set method - it really is up to you.  But as your travel agent has arranged the departure transfers, they likely can also arrange the return transfers as well.  Maybe contact them with this.

 

If your return port is Fort Lauderdale, the airport is only 2 miles / ten minutes from the port and is very easy for which to arrange transportation.

Edited September 29, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[John Bull]

Like ships' airport transfers elsewhere in the world I think the transfer to Ft Lauderdale will be payable, but is available to anyone on that cruise.

 

But there are a couple of factors.

 

You'll be expected to be out of your cabin by 8 to 8.30am, and off the ship by about 9.30am - so transfer buses are geared to those times.

And altho I can't be sure for Florida, ships' transfer buses aren't usually best value. 

 

Do you know your return flight time? - flights Florida to UK are normally overnight, probably departing about 9 pm - which means spending a long day at the airport. 🙁

The only problem with spending that time downtown (in Miami?) is that you're stuck with your luggage So consider a daytime hotel room (they're available) with a taxi ride at both ends.

Or book a rental car for collection at or near the port & return at the airport - most agencies will have depots at both, and don't charge for a different drop-off point anywhere in Florida. Car rental (use the word "rental", not "hire") is inexpensive and having a car takes care of your luggage & allows you to spend your time doing  a bit of exploring.

If your return flight is one of the few daytime flights, forget everything I've said 🙄

 

Others can suggest alternatives and better detail, but it would help enormously if you can quote your disembarkation port and your flight time

 

Sounds like a great itinerary , breathe in when you go thro the Panama Canal locks 😏

 

JB 🙂

[Szt]

The only silly question is the one you don’t ask. I don’t know Viking. But we have never had the cruise arrange our flights and taking their transfer to the airport has never been an issue. They make drop you at the BA terminal. You usually have to pay for the transfer like a shore excursion. So if they let you sign up for it I can’t see that they would deny you. Maybe different if Viking offers transfers free as part of the cruise price. 

[Szt]

One tip for long airport waits or layovers- lounges. We have American admirals club (I think). We get it just because we have the elite cc. If you fly first or business sometimes that’s all you need. Not all airports have the same ones. There is an American Express lounge, or some airports, like Quito, have a longer for anyone who wants to pay. 
If you have more than a few hours to kill in an airport whatever a day pass may cost, they are worth it. They have quiet sleep areas, free food and drink, a place to leave luggage, WiFi, etc. Some have showers and actual beds. We had a 20 hour layover once in Miami. I slept for a bit in the lounger, picked at the food all day and always had a beverage. I binged an entire season of my favorite Netflix show. The time flew by, I felt rested not stiff for the last leg of our journey. 

[Crestawave]

Thanks for all the advice guys, our flight is at 16.55 so assuming that we'd be checking in a few hours before I don't think we be sitting around too long waiting. I'm sure they'll be plenty going on around us to keep us entertained.

[Dancer Bob]

16.55 is awkward, a long time to be sitting but not really long enough to do anything. Since it's a US port, there will be a push to get you off the ship quickly. Usually there is a ship's transfer which includes a city tour, for late flights such as yours, and may be a cost-effective solution.

[shipgeeks]

Crestawave, Welcome to Cruise Critic and to cruising! Your trip sounds wonderful.

It seems like you've gotten some helpful replies.  It might also be worthwhile to post your question on the Viking Board here, in case someone there might come up with some further ideas.  There are no foolish questions here; questions are what CC is all about!

 

[Host Kat]

16 hours ago, Crestawave said:

Hi Everyone 

Sorry if seems like a daft question but we've never been on a cruise before. 

My wife an I are going with Viking on the Panama canal and Pacific coast trip next January. Our agent has arranged flights with Virgin rather than the British Airways that Viking use, simply because we could get premium economy seats booked there and then.

Transfers are in place for our arrival in Los Angeles to our overnight hotel pre cruise. However what would be the procedure for transferring from the ship to Fort Lauderdale for the flight back to the UK ? Will we be allowed to use the same transfer as those coming back with British Airways, if the flight times are compatible, or will we or Viking arrange a separate transfer?

Once again I'm sorry if this sounds a silly question but we're first timers and want to make sure everything is sorted. 

 

Hello @Crestawave and welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

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[shipboy]

We are on this cruise in March next year, albeit we will be staying on board for the onward cruise to Barcelona. Viking booked us with BA, which we normally use anyway. However BA don’t fly direct to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), instead they fly into Miami (MIA). If your VAA flight is from FLL, then the passengers on a BA flight will be on a bus to MIA. I think that you will have to book your own transfer from the port  in Fort Lauderdale to the airport, but worth asking your agent to speak to Viking. As has been suggested above, it may be easier just getting an Uber.

 

I assume your agent told Viking that you would book your own flights, but for info Viking can also upgrade you to Premium Economy or Business class, albeit with an additional cost. I have found that for booking your own long haul flights to/from the UK, Viking give you a £500 discount on the published airline price. I have also noted that if you upgrade the flights, they will charge you ~£500 less than the advertised flight on the airline’s own website (i.e. they take into account that the original economy flight is included in your overall cruise cost and they use a ~£500 value).

Edited September 30, 2023 by shipboy

[Crestawave]

1 hour ago, shipboy said:

We are on this cruise in March next year, albeit we will be staying on board for the onward cruise to Barcelona. Viking booked us with BA, which we normally use anyway. However BA don’t fly direct to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), instead they fly into Miami (MIA). If your VAA flight is from FLL, then the passengers on a BA flight will be on a bus to MIA. I think that you will have to book your own transfer from the port  in Fort Lauderdale to the airport, but worth asking your agent to speak to Viking. As has been suggested above, it may be easier just getting an Uber.

 

I assume your agent told Viking that you would book your own flights, but for info Viking can also upgrade you to Premium Economy or Business class, albeit with an additional cost. I have found that for booking your own long haul flights to/from the UK, Viking give you a £500 discount on the published airline price. I have also noted that if you upgrade the flights, they will charge you ~£500 less than the advertised flight on the airline’s own website (i.e. they take into account that the original economy flight is included in your overall cruise cost and they use a ~£500 value).

 The main reason for booking our flights with Virgin was that we could select and book our premium economy seats whilst we were at the agents. With BA we'd have wait to a later date to see what would be available apparently .

 

[wine-wine-wine]

 

[Squawkman]

Crestawave -

 

Welcome to Viking. There is a roll call here on Cruise Critic for your cruise. Check it out at:

 

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by Squawkman
Wrong link

[Clay Clayton]

Typically Viking charges $49 per person for the transfer from ship to airport.  At FLL, you should be able to do a taxi, Uber, or Lyft for both of you for $20 or less. Lots of hotels in the area offer free transfers from their property to the hotel, so if you don't want to spend 6-7 hours at the airport, you could taxi/uber/lyft to a hotel, relax and use their facilities and then take the free hotel to the airport. 

[wine-wine-wine]

10 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Typically Viking charges $49 per person for the transfer from ship to airport.  At FLL, you should be able to do a taxi, Uber, or Lyft for both of you for $20 or less. Lots of hotels in the area offer free transfers from their property to the hotel, so if you don't want to spend 6-7 hours at the airport, you could taxi/uber/lyft to a hotel, relax and use their facilities and then take the free hotel to the airport. 

Good point. I am not a fan of FLL. was stuck outside of security for several hours once. Very few facilities in at least that terminal outside of security - a miserable end to a lovely trip. 

[Jim Avery]

I second Clay Claytons suggestion.  FLL airport is very near the cruise port.  A cab/Uber will certainly be less than $49 p/p and will be just your party in the vehicle.  Lots of cabs at every ship berth.

[KBs mum]

Be aware that most of the posters cruise critic are from the US and use Viking air/Viking Air plus which we don't have in the UK. For us they book flights via the airlines they have contracts with in the same way as any TA. Business/first is available if you pay the difference, ticketed immediately. 

You've saved yourself a lot of hassle by using an agent, and using Viking only for the cruise itself. 

We can't book the transfers on their own, they are only included if you booked a flight or extension via Viking. Booking a private transfer is preferable anyway, Viking transfers tend to be at strange times and involve a lot of waiting around. The only thing is to check what time you have to be off the ship, usually it's 9am or thereabouts

Edited September 30, 2023 by KBs mum

[Crestawave]

32 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

I second Clay Claytons suggestion.  FLL airport is very near the cruise port.  A cab/Uber will certainly be less than $49 p/p and will be just your party in the vehicle.  Lots of cabs at every ship berth.

No need to pre book then you'd say just walk off the ship and there should be cabs available. 

[Jim Avery]

1 hour ago, Crestawave said:

No need to pre book then you'd say just walk off the ship and there should be cabs available. 

Yes that’s always been my experience 🍹

[shipboy]

5 hours ago, Crestawave said:

 The main reason for booking our flights with Virgin was that we could select and book our premium economy seats whilst we were at the agents. With BA we'd have wait to a later date to see what would be available apparently .

 

You can do that with BA also. Although you need to pay for seat selection, unless you have executive club status or request assistance

[Crestawave]

1 hour ago, shipboy said:

You can do that with BA also. Although you need to pay for seat selection, unless you have executive club status or request assistance

We've only flown long haul once before which was with Virgin to LA that was when we went to California with Titan. We had economy seats. The service was great but we swore that if we ever went again we would make sure we had 2 premium economy seats, or equivalent,  together guaranteed before we left the agents.

 

[MikeyB]

The Port Everglade website says a taxi from the port to airport is about $20.  A lot for just a couple of miles.

My suggestion- You need to be out of your cabin by 8.  I think you have to be off the ship by 10.

Download the Lyft app (I find it cheaper than Uber).  Take Lyft to the airport.  And then invest in a lounge pass till your flight.

[Jim Avery]

It's all in perspective.  We paid $20 last December for a cab to take us from the Sheraton Old San Juan to our ship across the street......  It was pouring rain and darn well worth it.

[Baron Barracuda]

We've done both cabs and transfers from ship to FLL and definitely prefer cab.  You can remain on ship until they throw you off, plenty of cabs waiting at curb side, price is cheaper than transfer and cabbie will take you directly to your terminal.  Haven't flown from FLL recently but there used to be restrictions on how early they would let you check your luggage.  Below is from the county web site Broward.org.  Might want to check with your airline.

 

At FLL Airport

 

Checking Baggage

 

The earliest some airlines will check baggage is two to three hours before your scheduled departure. You may experience longer than normal check-in lines, especially with morning departures. Contact your airline for check-in times. We encourage you to take advantage of your cruise line's shore excursions and avoid arriving at the airport too early for your flight.

 

Earlier Flights

 

The airlines discourage passengers to “standby" for earlier flights on cruise days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) because flights are booked to capacity. On cruise days, many returning passengers arrive at FLL at 8:30 a.m. for flights scheduled throughout the day. This may result in crowded terminals and limited seating at the airport.

[ericosmith]

Better yet, take Uber.  My experience with cabs in FLL is not good.  For some reason their meters never seem to work and they claim it's a flat rate trip.