What do we do now?....... return flights depart late at night from EZE

[usavvy2]

What to do, what to do:

 

We’re traveling on X’s Journey from Buenos Aires in 2008. Journey returns back to BA port on February 9 at 7am; however, all flights on all airlines returning to Newark don’t depart BA (EZE) until late in the evening on the 9th, arriving back to Newark mid-morning on the 10th.

 

Typically debarkation day is a long day – up early and off the ship by 9am – the thought of waiting until 9pm for a flight back to the states is almost unbearable. Besides gaining access to the private club lounge of our airline of choice for the entire day, or making hotel reservations to stay an extra day in BA and then requesting a late check-out at a local hotel the next day, what other options are there? (I don’t want to take the yellow fever vaccination to marathon to Igazu Falls so that option’s off the table.)

 

What would you do if you were us……………….… and you were seniors? All ideas are appreciated.

[dabear]

take a private all day tour. We're going to have the same issue when we take the Journey 2/2708 which ends in San Paulo. All flights also are at night. We had the same issue in Lima and Tahiti. Either tour or get a day room at a hotel.

[BIG DAVE]

Keep in mind that you will need 3 hours at airport. It can be a real mess.:mad:

[ocngypz]

Did you do your air with Celebrity.. or on your own?

[Jim_Iain]

One thing that I have done before was book an airport hotel with shuttle service asking for an Early check in. Have a shower - take a swim - take a nap and then take a free shuttle to the airport.

 

Cheaper than an excursion and much more relaxing.

[Captain Cosmo]

Hi - we did this route this past December. Take the all-day shore excursion that gives you a tour of Buenos Aires and then takes you to a BBQ and Guacho show at a private ranch outside Buenos Aires, and finally ends at the airport. This takes up most of the day, the food is great, and they send your luggage ahead to the airport. Also, be advised that the Buenos Aires airport is one of the worst airports in terms of lines, duplicate security screening, and general chaos, and the air conditioning system is not up to the task of cooling the place when its that full of people. It took us 2.5 hours to get to our gate - long lines for check-ins as everyone from the cruise is pretty much flying back at the same time, then another line to pay your departure tax, then another line for security, and then when you reach your gate, if you're flying back on a US airline you will be forced out of the gate area and re-screened, as the US airlines apparently (and justifiably so) have no confidence in the airport security staff. The US airline staff there is made up of locals who do not understand the US security regulations, so they proceeded to throw away ALL liquids - even water bought from a vendor that is less than 20 feet from the gate entrance. SO, take a day tour and relax so you'll be ready for the ordeal at EZE.

[usavvy2]

Did you do your air with Celebrity.. or on your own?

 

we're holding air with X but plan to book our own and drop X's (even though we're entitled to free deviations) because we can save about $350pp rt. I've been looking at air on ALL the major U.S. carriers (CO, DL, US, UA, AA) and they ALL depart late in the evening as red-eye flights. The only difference is where their U.S. point of entry lies.

[usavvy2]

Hi - we did this route this past December. Take the all-day shore excursion that gives you a tour of Buenos Aires and then takes you to a BBQ and Guacho show at a private ranch outside Buenos Aires, and finally ends at the airport. This takes up most of the day, the food is great, and they send your luggage ahead to the airport. Also, be advised that the Buenos Aires airport is one of the worst airports in terms of lines, duplicate security screening, and general chaos, and the air conditioning system is not up to the task of cooling the place when its that full of people. It took us 2.5 hours to get to our gate - long lines for check-ins as everyone from the cruise is pretty much flying back at the same time, then another line to pay your departure tax, then another line for security, and then when you reach your gate, if you're flying back on a US airline you will be forced out of the gate area and re-screened, as the US airlines apparently (and justifiably so) have no confidence in the airport security staff. The US airline staff there is made up of locals who do not understand the US security regulations, so they proceeded to throw away ALL liquids - even water bought from a vendor that is less than 20 feet from the gate entrance. SO, take a day tour and relax so you'll be ready for the ordeal at EZE.

 

any idea if there's a "special"/elite line for airline elite passengers (We hold silver medallion status with Delta and plan on traveling on DL). In the past - in the USA - there's sometimes a "bypass" or short-cut line for medallion and 1st class pax that avoids some of the wait. My plan was to arrive at the airport 3.5 hours in advance of the flight. That all-day tour may be just up our alley even though we've toured the city before. Thanks for the tip. I think I'll plan on booking our return on the day the ship arrives back in port with the thought we'll take an all day tour but if that sounds to repetitive to what we've already done, I'll have a back-up plan to book a hotel for the evening prior (using hotel points) and request a late check out so we can get in our room when we arrive ~9am and check out ~4pm that same day.

 

thanks for your insight.

[anniecat]

even arriving in EZE isn't.....BTW when we arrived we noticed that departing passengers pay a fee...I think it was $17. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, full of surprises and great food, wine and nice people. We took a all day tour arranged thru our TA...great service and cheap. Be sure to arrive early for EZE flights. You might try LAN Air...a Chilean AIrline...great service from LA to Lima, Peru to Santiago, then on to BA. I believe the reverse is the same although they may have flights to the east coast more direct. When we were flight arranging...all flights were at night to the North American area...why ????

[Nonna and Papa]

If you do a city tour, be sure to take a tour that includes Recoleta Cemetery, if you haven't done it before. The monuments are absolutely unlike anything we have ever seen before or since.

 

Also, bring a puzzle book or a good novel to the airport with you. Flights departing EZE are very often delayed. Our flight was due to leave at 7:30 pm (I think), but we never even boarded until 9:30 or 10 pm.

 

Good Luck and have a wonderful trip,

 

Mary

[Captain Cosmo]

USAVVY2 - It was so crowded inside EZE that I couldn't tell if there was an elite line or not - I would recommend checking with the airlines directly. Enjoy your cruise!