soloseniortraveler Posted September 10, 2017 #1 Share Posted September 10, 2017 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_ll Posted October 8, 2017 #2 Share Posted October 8, 2017 We have a similar flight - 11:20 am December 21 coming off the Solstice in Sydney. We will stay one night in Sydney before flying home. While we could have attempted to fly home the same day, I just don't like getting rushed, it becomes stressful. Having grown up in a port city, fog and sometimes wind take control. If you can, contact the airline and reschedule (at no charge). We just did this with United as a result of schedule changes. Tell the airline the change does not work for you and the cruise line recommends flights no earlier than 12:15 pm. I think 11:50 am same day is too tight. One hick-up, perhaps a Customs/Immigration delay say to 8:30 am before passengers can leave ship, arriving in fog, train/cab/traffic issues and you will be left high and dry.. If you don't change, make sure you have a plan B in place for the international flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted October 9, 2017 #3 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Does your airline require you to be at the terminal 2 or 3 hours prior to the flight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted October 9, 2017 #4 Share Posted October 9, 2017 We have a similar flight - 11:20 am December 21 coming off the Solstice in Sydney. We will stay one night in Sydney before flying home. While we could have attempted to fly home the same day, I just don't like getting rushed, it becomes stressful. Having grown up in a port city, fog and sometimes wind take control. If you can, contact the airline and reschedule (at no charge). We just did this with United as a result of schedule changes. Tell the airline the change does not work for you and the cruise line recommends flights no earlier than 12:15 pm. I think 11:50 am same day is too tight. One hick-up, perhaps a Customs/Immigration delay say to 8:30 am before passengers can leave ship, arriving in fog, train/cab/traffic issues and you will be left high and dry.. If you don't change, make sure you have a plan B in place for the international flight. Good advice. I agree. Your airline should book you on the 11.50 am flight the next day at no charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted October 9, 2017 #5 Share Posted October 9, 2017 In respect of your original question and assuming you have other commitments or prefer not to stay another day, it is possible to reach the airport by the new time. The issue is you're increasing risk in case of delays. Working back, for international, allow 3 hours for check-in, which brings you back to 8:50. It takes about half an hour to get there as your ship is at White Bay so you want to be in a taxi by 8:20. And allow half an hour to get your luggage and through customs, so that's 7:50. So as you see, if everything runs to time that does give you time to get there with a 7 a.m. arrival. But there isn't a lot of contingency so it's not ideal. BTw, those dates are the peak of Summer so there's no chance of fog, nor unlikely to be delays for other weather reasons. But you never know what can happen, which is why contingency is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkat Posted October 9, 2017 #6 Share Posted October 9, 2017 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'm curious how you work this out. We will be sailing out of Sydney next March and our return flight is scheduled for 1pm. The possibility of our flight being rescheduled to an earlier time is a concern. Please post how it all works out for you.. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomfeeder Posted October 9, 2017 #7 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I'm in the same situation--same United flight to SFO, I bet. I'm arriving in Sydney on Celebrity Solstice at 6:30 AM on 12/21. I am planning on taking the train to the airport and feel pretty confident I can make it in time. I hope so, or I may be spending Christmas alone in Sydney as I expect flights will be very fully booked then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted October 10, 2017 #8 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Yes, it's not optimal, but it's /normally/ doable, if you plan for it and things go to plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted October 10, 2017 #9 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I'm curious how you work this out. We will be sailing out of Sydney next March and our return flight is scheduled for 1pm. The possibility of our flight being rescheduled to an earlier time is a concern. Please post how it all works out for you.. Thanks If your cruise line says not to book return flights before 12.15 pm and your flight is 1pm, you are covered if your ship is delayed arriving in Sydney. The problem is when you book a flight earlier than the cruise line advises and there is a delay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkat Posted October 12, 2017 #10 Share Posted October 12, 2017 If your cruise line says not to book return flights before 12.15 pm and your flight is 1pm, you are covered if your ship is delayed arriving in Sydney. The problem is when you book a flight earlier than the cruise line advises and there is a delay. It’s not that I’m concerned about making our flights as they are scheduled now. But the last 2 trips that we’ve had flights, the airline has rescheduled flights that we had booked. Last May, they rescheduled our flights 3-4 times with the last change only giving us 25 minutes to change planes in DFW. Of course, that was no doable so we ended up having to change our flights completely at the last minute. The only seats left on the red eye flights were in the middle seats with none of the 4 of us sitting together. Thankfully at checkin there were seats together that became available. I guess I’m just a little concerned that our flights will be changed again by the airline. I’m sure that it’ll all work out one way or another. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted October 12, 2017 #11 Share Posted October 12, 2017 It’s not that I’m concerned about making our flights as they are scheduled now. But the last 2 trips that we’ve had flights, the airline has rescheduled flights that we had booked. Last May, they rescheduled our flights 3-4 times with the last change only giving us 25 minutes to change planes in DFW. Of course, that was no doable so we ended up having to change our flights completely at the last minute. The only seats left on the red eye flights were in the middle seats with none of the 4 of us sitting together. Thankfully at checkin there were seats together that became available. I guess I’m just a little concerned that our flights will be changed again by the airline. I’m sure that it’ll all work out one way or another. Sent from my iPhone using Forums I guess Anything could happen with airline schedules by March. If the airline brought your flight forward, would they book a flight for you the next day, free of charge, if you are unable to make that flight? I agree that it is no fun missing connecting flights! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly2 Posted October 20, 2017 #12 Share Posted October 20, 2017 We are docking on Solstice Feb. 3 at 6:30 am. Just found out our flight to Cairns was cancelled. What is the earliest domestic flight we can take? Hate to lose a day in port Douglas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted October 20, 2017 #13 Share Posted October 20, 2017 We are docking on Solstice Feb. 3 at 6:30 am. Just found out our flight to Cairns was cancelled. What is the earliest domestic flight we can take? Hate to lose a day in port Douglas. Personally, I'd go for around 11. Some who are more risk averse prefer noon or later, and if you're really keen to push it, you can go for 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly2 Posted October 20, 2017 #14 Share Posted October 20, 2017 (edited) Thanks. Our original flight was 11:45. Now the choice is 9:30 or 1:15 or later. We have the 1:15 on hold. Edited October 20, 2017 by Holly2 Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted October 24, 2017 #15 Share Posted October 24, 2017 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! We are sailing on Radiance of the Seas and are having the same issue. The ship returns on 11/29 at 6:30am. We booked a 12:30pm return flight the same day, and United changed the flight to 11:50am. At this point I would hate to try to change the flight because we are confirmed upgraded to business on our current flight. We will get off the ship as early as possible. Are we better with an uber, taxi or the train on a Wednesday morning? Please report back on which flight you took. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagtail_syd Posted October 31, 2017 #16 Share Posted October 31, 2017 We are sailing on Radiance of the Seas and are having the same issue. The ship returns on 11/29 at 6:30am. We booked a 12:30pm return flight the same day, and United changed the flight to 11:50am. At this point I would hate to try to change the flight because we are confirmed upgraded to business on our current flight. We will get off the ship as early as possible. Are we better with an uber, taxi or the train on a Wednesday morning? Please report back on which flight you took. Best of luck. As long as you can manage the 5-10 minute walk from the terminal to the station I would catch the train - less stress about getting stuck in traffic. To make things easier I would buy Opal cards before you board the cruise so you know you have them ready to go. It will cost $16.81 each to the airport so make sure you load enough credit onto them. You can look up the train timetable here: https://transportnsw.info/#/ Trains to the airport usually go from platform 2 (the water-side) and take around 20 minutes. Head to the ends of the platform to avoid crowds. All going well you should comfortably arrive at the airport within 45 minutes-1 hour of debarking the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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