12:00pm vs. 2pm flight out of TPA after cruise?

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

We'll be on the NCL Dawn next Feb. and I'm wondering if a noon flight time after the cruise is cutting it close. The ship will be in port at 8am.

 

Thanks

Robin

[FlyerTalker]

What does your cruiseline recommend?

[Keith1010]

Yes, confirm with your cruise line the time but my experience is that a Noon flight out of there will be fine. The airport is about a 15 minute ride by cab.

 

Keith

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

Yes, confirm with your cruise line the time but my experience is that a Noon flight out of there will be fine. The airport is about a 15 minute ride by cab.

 

Keith

 

I've looked through the paperworrk but can't find it.. Does anyone know NCL policy?

[Keith1010]

I've looked through the paperworrk but can't find it.. Does anyone know NCL policy?

 

I would just call the cruise line and normally the can look up for you their recommendation on the earliest flight to reserve for disembarkation from a specific cruise.

 

Keith

[voyager70]

We had an 11:30 AM flight out of TPA & had plenty of time. Having said that, fog can be a problem in Tampa during the winter months. We sailed in January & the weather was clear on the morning we arrived back in port so there were no delays. We didn't have an option for a later flight but if you can do the 2:00 flight I would recommend it just in case.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Last cruise, we had an 11:35 am flt our of Tampa and were at the airport having coffee by 9:30. We did do the self-assist debark and had no problems. I believe that 11:30-12:00 is the recommended norm for flights out of Tampa. At least this is true of Carnival but you may check with your cruiseline.

 

 

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[1stTimeCruiser2008]

NCL recommends 12:30...and since I don't want to be stressed or in a rush I booked the 2:00.

 

Thanks!

 

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2

[Keith1010]

Glad you checked with the cruise line and since they recommended 12:30 PM it is best to go with the 2:00 flight then.

 

Keith

[marco]

Most likely, you'd make the 12 o'clock flight with no problem. However, one time returning to Tampa there was terrible fog in the harbor and the ship docked 2 hrs late. You never know when that might happen. Also, our experience has always been that if you show up at the airport early enough to take an ealier flight, if there are seats on it, they'll put you on it for no additional charge. I'd go with booking the 2Pm flight, if you get to the airport early enough, I'd bet they'd put you on the earlier flight. If not, a 2 hr additional wait isn't too bad. It's not like either a flight at noon or having to wait until 9PM.

[FlyerTalker]

Also, our experience has always been that if you show up at the airport early enough to take an ealier flight, if there are seats on it, they'll put you on it for no additional charge.

Completely depends on the airline involved, and often, the agent working the flights. Southwest specifically discourages this policy with their fare rules and DL officially has Same Day Confirmed changes for a fee for non-elites.

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

Completely depends on the airline involved, and often, the agent working the flights. Southwest specifically discourages this policy with their fare rules and DL officially has Same Day Confirmed changes for a fee for non-elites.

 

I've been charged a fee by Delta in the past. I decided to play it safe and go with the 2:00 flight.

[waterbug123]

I've been charged a fee by Delta in the past. I decided to play it safe and go with the 2:00 flight.

 

It's their policy to charge a fee (except for upper level elites) and they will generally charge the fee even if there are empty seats on the earlier flight one is trying to switch to. However, if the later flight is oversold, you have a better chance of an agent waiving the fee for you.

[marco]

I've been charged a fee by Delta in the past. I decided to play it safe and go with the 2:00 flight.

 

Came home from a business trip yesterday, changed in Cincinnati. My first flight got in early enough for the gate attendant to ASK ME if I wanted to take the earlier next flight rather than wait until the flight I was ticketed for, no fee. It was on Delta, I said "yes". I guess it completely depends on the whim of the gate attendant. Glad you decided on the 2PM flight, just in case, but if all goes without a hitch and you get to the airport in time to take the earlier flight, I'd still ask if you could be put on it (for no additional charge, of course)

[FlyerTalker]

Came home from a business trip yesterday, changed in Cincinnati. My first flight got in early enough for the gate attendant to ASK ME if I wanted to take the earlier next flight rather than wait until the flight I was ticketed for, no fee. It was on Delta, I said "yes". I guess it completely depends on the whim of the gate attendant.

It's quite possible that your flight was overbooked, so they were proactively moving folks rather than going through the volunteer/IDB process. Or there might have been equipment issues that had them trying to move folks out early.

 

Another possibility is that you are an elite, so you could Same Day Confirmed at no charge anyhow, and they were just one step ahead of you. So not quite "whim" would be my guess.

[mitsugirly]

We will be flying in/out of Tampa in December. I have never been to this cruise port or airport. I do know that after cruising out of Miami several times and NOLA, I've always booked a flight that came any time after 12 noon. EVERY time we've got off the ship and made it to the airport with usually about 3-4 hours of wait time. I really hate this...especially with a young child. It's really hard to keep them occupied in the same space for hours on end.

 

So, what I'm wondering is, if the ship makes it to the port at their scheduled time with no delays...if Tampa is a 15 minute ride, what is a good time to actually get off the ship, get past customs, ride to the airport (with delays if needed) and to get checked in for the flight...so that we are not just sitting around waiting forever. I mean I'd much rather be on a cruise ship waiting than in an airport. :D

[monicajay]

Mitsugirly,

 

On March 11th,2012 we got off the NCL Star using the self-disembark process. We are not American so first had to line up with immigration. This was done at the Italian restaurant and we arrived early which was a good thing because a huge line followed us.

 

We cleared immigration and proceeded to the lounge where all those with there own luggage were waiting. We spent at least 45 minutes here but we were close to the front of the line.

 

Once disembarkation started we were off the ship in no time. First in the taxi line we had to wake up the driver who was having a snooze:rolleyes:. Not sure of our actual arrival time at TPA airport but we did not check any luggage, just printed our Southwest boarding passes (checked in already 24hrs in advance), once through security and sipping on a Starbucks at the gate I noticed it was 9h15 AM. Plenty early for our 10h25 AM direct flight to Albany, NY.

 

I gather Tampa can be foggy and things don't always work this well but it was wonderful to be on such an early flight. Important to note that DH and I do not stress about flying and if it hadn't worked out we would have gotten home eventually.