First Time Cruisers Disembarkation Day Question

[Crestawave]

Just to clarify,  I've just noticed that I put we was flying home from Fort Lauderdale when it is in fact Miami. I've had a look at a cab comparison site which indicates that Lyft will charge £64 for the Ship to Airport transfer. According to My Viking there's not any optional excursions for the last day. I think we'll see what Viking will charge  for arranging the transfer when we're aboard,  if we can't use their shuttle that is, and if it's not an exorbitant price we might go with that.

We'd much rather have peace of mind, on our first cruise, than worry about saving a few pounds .

 

[Hobson1754]

2 hours ago, Crestawave said:

Just to clarify,  I've just noticed that I put we was flying home from Fort Lauderdale when it is in fact Miami. I've had a look at a cab comparison site which indicates that Lyft will charge £64 for the Ship to Airport transfer. According to My Viking there's not any optional excursions for the last day. I think we'll see what Viking will charge  for arranging the transfer when we're aboard,  if we can't use their shuttle that is, and if it's not an exorbitant price we might go with that.

We'd much rather have peace of mind, on our first cruise, than worry about saving a few pounds .

 

Yes, I thought when reading this thread that Virgin don’t fly into/from Fort Lauderdale but use Miami.  I would look at pre booking a car transfer through a website and securing both the price and the taxi for peace of mind.

[KBs mum]

7 hours ago, Crestawave said:

Just to clarify,  I've just noticed that I put we was flying home from Fort Lauderdale when it is in fact Miami. I've had a look at a cab comparison site which indicates that Lyft will charge £64 for the Ship to Airport transfer. According to My Viking there's not any optional excursions for the last day. I think we'll see what Viking will charge  for arranging the transfer when we're aboard,  if we can't use their shuttle that is, and if it's not an exorbitant price we might go with that.

We'd much rather have peace of mind, on our first cruise, than worry about saving a few pounds .

 

Viking don't usually operate shuttles on the last day, they only do transfers to airport or their extension hotel

[Crestawave]

3 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Viking don't usually operate shuttles on the last day, they only do transfers to airport or their extension hotel

As we're not seasoned long distance holiday makers and this is our first cruise can some explain the difference between a shuttle and a transfer ? Probably another daft question I suppose.

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

33 minutes ago, Crestawave said:

As we're not seasoned long distance holiday makers and this is our first cruise can some explain the difference between a shuttle and a transfer ? Probably another daft question I suppose.

 

Shuttles are transportation to/from the port to a drop off location in the city where you are docked. It’s to accommodate DYI sightseeing. 
Transfers are one way trips to the airport/ship/extension hotel and vice versa.

Edited October 1, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[WanderingBrit]

You may purchase an airport transfer from Viking for $49 per person, even if you don't buy the flight from them, providing you depart on the last day of the cruise. There's a Transfer request form you complete and email to them, then the details will appear on your updated invoice -  I don't know if the form is different for UK passengers than it for US, but attached what we used.

 

We did this for our last Viking cruise, and I felt it was worth the cost. Porters loaded our luggage from the cruise terminal to a bus for us, when we arrived at the airport we waited aboard the bus until all the bags were loaded on luggage carts attended by another porter. We disembarked the bus and the porter pushed our bags to the checkin desk, where they left us - all provided by Viking as part of the transfer.

 

Disclaimer: this was for Bergen, where things are likely more smoothly handled than Miami.

Transfer-Request-Form_2020.pdf

[KBs mum]

On 10/1/2023 at 8:02 PM, Crestawave said:

As we're not seasoned long distance holiday makers and this is our first cruise can some explain the difference between a shuttle and a transfer ? Probably another daft question I suppose.

 

OneSixtyToOne has explained the shuttle/transfer difference, but don't be worried about about daft questions, if you don't know, you don't know. 

Somebody on here will have the answer. 

My advice would be to ask for a kettle in your room and take your own teabags, in a commercially sealed box (we take the twining 50 bag cartons) biggest mugs can be liberated from the world cafe, atrium bar has teapots

[KBs mum]

2 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

You may purchase an airport transfer from Viking for $49 per person, even if you don't buy the flight from them, providing you depart on the last day of the cruise. There's a Transfer request form you complete and email to them, then the details will appear on your updated invoice -  I don't know if the form is different for UK passengers than it for US, but attached what we used.

 

We did this for our last Viking cruise, and I felt it was worth the cost. Porters loaded our luggage from the cruise terminal to a bus for us, when we arrived at the airport we waited aboard the bus until all the bags were loaded on luggage carts attended by another porter. We disembarked the bus and the porter pushed our bags to the checkin desk, where they left us - all provided by Viking as part of the transfer.

 

Disclaimer: this was for Bergen, where things are likely more smoothly handled than Miami.

Transfer-Request-Form_2020.pdf 55.37 kB · 8 downloads

We tried to book transfers and were refused, I've never seen it offered as an option in the UK, but it may be possible once onboard 

[gardening_diva]

I've seen it mentioned on other threads/sites that it is possible to purchase a Viking transfer once you are onboard (if you have independent flight arrangements but are flying the same day and from the same airport as the Viking Air passengers!).

Another alternative would be to ask your TA to book a private transfer for you. That way you get a nice car to yourselves. 🙂