Airline schedule change

[soloseniortraveler]

Hi,

 

I am scheduled to sail on the Maasdam out of Sydney on October 21. The ship returns to Sydney at 7 AM on November 22. Holland America advises passengers to book departing flights no earlier than 12:15 PM. I booked a 12:30 flight, but my airline just had a schedule change to 11:50 AM and there are no later direct flights available. Do any of you have a sense as to whether I can make an 11:50 AM international flight? Thank you!

[kazu]

Hi,

 

I am scheduled to sail on the Maasdam out of Sydney on October 21. The ship returns to Sydney at 7 AM on November 22. Holland America advises passengers to book departing flights no earlier than 12:15 PM. I booked a 12:30 flight, but my airline just had a schedule change to 11:50 AM and there are no later direct flights available. Do any of you have a sense as to whether I can make an 11:50 AM international flight? Thank you!

 

 

I am usually "Miss Cautious" on flights. Always go later than what HAL recommends. But, your time is not far off.

 

What time do you arrive?

 

I would google to see how busy Sydney airport is, how long passport control is, security, etc.

 

Also, you could post this on the ports boards and they may be able to help too.

 

I would guesstimate you would be ok (and we have been at that airport) but I think it's wise to get the full scoop.

 

Will your airline let you change the booking to leave the next day? That would be ideal and let you enjoy Sydney for a bit. It's a beautiful spot :)

[VennDiagram]

I would ask the folks on the Australia and New Zealanders Cruisers' board

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=712

 

Someone there will likely be able to describe pretty accurately how well things move, or don't, at the airport.

[soloseniortraveler]

Thank you for your reply!

 

The airline indicated that they will rebook me if I do not make the flight. I know the trip to the airport shouldn't take more than about 45 minutes, but I don't know exactly when I can disembark after a 7 AM arrival.

[soloseniortraveler]

I would ask the folks on the Australia and New Zealanders Cruisers' board

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=712

 

Someone there will likely be able to describe pretty accurately how well things move, or don't, at the airport.

 

Thank you very much!

[RuthC]

I know the trip to the airport shouldn't take more than about 45 minutes, but I don't know exactly when I can disembark after a 7 AM arrival.

The rule of thumb for HAL is a 7:00 AM arrival lets the self-disembark passengers start off at about 7:30. After that, it's based on airline departure time, which generally starts about 7:45-8:00 AM. By 8:30 many people are off the ship, and most by a little after 9:00 AM.

You can use that as a guide in your planning. Good luck.

I, like kazu, am a nervous Nellie about making my flight, so I would wait for the flight the next day.

[soloseniortraveler]

Thank you so much for the helpful information!

[RMLincoln]

I wouldn't do it, I'd go out another day.

I flew out of Sydney recently, less than a month ago (was there for a very short trip for a funeral). SYD recommends that international passengers arrive a minimum of 3 hours before flight time. That means you would have to arrive 8:50am or earlier.

 

The SYD international terminal is huge and it was very, very busy when I arrived there at 6:30am. I had no issues, was there 3.5 hrs ahead of time and only had 45 minutes before boarding time. I check in at so many places I lost count of them. I walked forever to gate 83, through what seemed like an endless maze of high-end shopping malls. There were signs in the terminal similar to what's on highways.... how many minutes to such and such gates. I asked for direction twice. I feel like I'm a pretty savvy traveler, so I really didn't have any problems but being by myself I had to stay very focused and careful to not get lost or side-tracked.

 

If you have a 45 minutes taxi/shuttle ride to the airport that means you must be in the taxi and rolling at 8:05. So it's doable if you are able to do self-disembarkation and manage all your luggage yourself, leave the ship at 7:30, go through any immigration and or passport control at the cruise terminal (find out from others what that's like), then get your ride to the airport. But there really isn't any contingency.

 

There are so many places where even a short delay could stress you that I wouldn't want to do it, but that's me. It's great that the airline will rebook you if you miss the flight.... but for when? I think i"d stay in Sydney, it's an amazing city to visit!! I'd want to stay for as many days as possible there and fly out when I have a better possibility of arriving at the airport earlier rather than later. JMO. m--

[soloseniortraveler]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I appreciate it.