Rephrase my previous question.

[Myfma]

Hi, we are first time cruisers booked on Silver Muse, Seward to Alaska May 2024. We have opted for the door to door fares. However looking at flights from Melbourne, Australia to Anchorage it seems that regardless of the airline it’s going to be a flight of at least  24 hours maybe longer with 3 stops. Most flights land in Anchorage between midnight and 3:30 am on the day we will be boarding the cruise. This is going to leave us feeling very jet lagged. Has anyone booked door to door with silver seas previously and found that there is some flexibility in perhaps arriving 2 days prior to the cruise and paying the additional night accommodation? Or if the flights offered do t work for us can we be refunded the difference between port to port and door to door? 

[rojaan19]

We are long time SS cruisers  also  from Australia,   and we always do  our own  air fares/flights  and arrive at the port a day or 2 before boarding.  We NEVER arrive in a port the day of or the day  before boarding  !!   With the way flights are cancelled/rescheduled these days -  we always allow a day  or two  before boarding a cruise  to  get over the flights to  get there !

[seaver]

In addition to what rojaan19 said, you could also pay a fee to SS ($150) and they will change your flights to arrive early.

[drron29]

Also we do book door to door and never take the air so get that taken off the cruise cost.

For our March 24 cruise we got $US1200 ( $A1800) refund for the economy airfares Brisbane to Bali and Tokyo to Brisbane. We bought a business class airfare for $A1235 to Bali and awards Tokyo to Singapore and on to Brisbane. Total taxes ~ $A300 and we fly business class but the leg from Singapore to Sydney is in First class. Now of course you have to have the points to do that.

[Gourmet Gal]

I would suggest doing some research to request SS Air to book your ideal flights first and if they cannot accommodate then book on your own if it works with your budget.  SS may charge diversion fees for certain flights and advance arrival.

[saminina]

Please let us know how this works out for you.   Current booking is not humane.

[alithecat]

Yes. You can definitely ask to arrive 2 days early and pay the deviation fee of $150 plus the extra night in the hotel. We always do this. Note that if you don't book the extra hotel night(s) thru Silversea, you will lose the transfer from airport to hotel.

[FlyerTalker]

9 hours ago, Myfma said:

Hi, we are first time cruisers booked on Silver Muse, Seward to Alaska May 2024. We have opted for the door to door fares. However looking at flights from Melbourne, Australia to Anchorage it seems that regardless of the airline it’s going to be a flight of at least  24 hours maybe longer with 3 stops.

 

Not seeing where it is "regardless".  How about this itinerary:  MEL-LAX-SEA-ANC.  Or you could fly MEL-TYO-SEA-ANC.  Or MEL-ICN-SEA-ANC.

 

 

9 hours ago, Myfma said:

Most flights land in Anchorage between midnight and 3:30 am on the day we will be boarding the cruise.

 

Not true.

 

Flights arrive into ANC throughout the day.  Yes, there is a heavy departure bank at midnight and for the next hour or two, but that's leaving ANC.  Alaska Airlines has about 17 flights a day between SEA and ANC, and you can fly those most any time of the day.

 

Of course, actually posting what you have been offered would help in this discussion.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by FlyerTalker

[Bellanina]

We opted for door to door for upcoming cruise, then deviated when we found better flight options. We also opted out of pre and post hotels. Our  TA advised this negates our transports from airport to ship and reverse, but that we still qualify for private transfers from home to airport and airport home. I believe we will not be compensated for those fees for transport from hotels to ship and reverse, so I'm not sure if there is still an advantage for us to book door to door- anyone?

[Host Jazzbeau]

34 minutes ago, Bellanina said:

We opted for door to door for upcoming cruise, then deviated when we found better flight options. We also opted out of pre and post hotels. Our  TA advised this negates our transports from airport to ship and reverse, but that we still qualify for private transfers from home to airport and airport home. I believe we will not be compensated for those fees for transport from hotels to ship and reverse, so I'm not sure if there is still an advantage for us to book door to door- anyone?

You sound like where I was with my upcoming NZ/OZ cruise (living on the US East Coast).  I jumped on the Qantas business sale and switched Silversea to P2P which saved a huge amount compared to D2D w/o Air.  [And I got another 10% off by paying in full, which was an easy choice because with P2P you hit 100% penalty phase very early anyway.]

[bitob]

We don't live as far away as you but we have decided to do our own first class air because SS not offering it.  All the flights get in at an ungodly hour.  We booked 2 nights at the hotel through SS  - paying for the extra night.  As long as book the hotel through them you will get picked up at the airport.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by bitob

[carefreecruise]

2 hours ago, bitob said:

We don't live as far away as you but we have decided to do our own first class air because SS not offering it.  All the flights get in at an ungodly hour.  We booked 2 nights at the hotel through SS  - paying for the extra night.  As long as book the hotel through them you will get picked up at the airport.

 

 

Only thing I would double check is getting picked up at the airport when you don't use Silversky. If you use the Silversea hotel you will get a bus ride from the hotel to the ship and a bus ride from the ship to the hotel if one is provided post cruise. 

[bitob]

3 minutes ago, carefreecruise said:

Only thing I would double check is getting picked up at the airport when you don't use Silversky. If you use the Silversea hotel you will get a bus ride from the hotel to the ship and a bus ride from the ship to the hotel if one is provided post cruise. 

My TA checked on it -- if I book the hotel through Silversea i get airport pickup.  I am purchasing transfers to ship and back separately.

 

Interestingly when they quoted the pp amount for the hotel I laughed so hard as it seemed to be ridiculous price gouging.  Then when I checked on line it was only 100 more than I could have paid if I booked myself.  Worth it for the airport pickup in the middle of the night.

Edited June 25, 2023 by bitob

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, bitob said:

We don't live as far away as you but we have decided to do our own first class air because SS not offering it.  All the flights get in at an ungodly hour.

 

Not sure just where you are headed, but if it is Anchorage, you could easily fly on AS from TUS with a single stop in Seattle, arriving in ANC before 5pm.

 

 

[bitob]

4 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Not sure just where you are headed, but if it is Anchorage, you could easily fly on AS from TUS with a single stop in Seattle, arriving in ANC before 5pm.

 

 

I will likely fly nonstop from Phoenix to Anchorage on Alaska

Flight gets in 11:45 pm

Cannot book yet.

 

I will check 1 stop flights from Tucson.  Tradeoff for us.  Non stop vs no drive to Phoenix.  Going to phx for departure no big deal.  Facing the hour and half drive back to Tucson when we come home is never fun.

Edited June 25, 2023 by bitob

[Myfma]

4 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Not seeing where it is "regardless".  How about this itinerary:  MEL-LAX-SEA-ANC.  Or you could fly MEL-TYO-SEA-ANC.  Or MEL-ICN-SEA-ANC.

 

 

 

Not true.

 

Flights arrive into ANC throughout the day.  Yes, there is a heavy departure bank at midnight and for the next hour or two, but that's leaving ANC.  Alaska Airlines has about 17 flights a day between SEA and ANC, and you can fly those most any time of the day.

 

Of course, actually posting what you have been offered would help in this discussion.

 

 

Yes, true there are all sorts of options but it’s still going to be about 29 hours with stop overs as Melbourne is about a 15 hour flight from LAX

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Myfma said:

Yes, true there are all sorts of options but it’s still going to be about 29 hours with stop overs as Melbourne is about a 15 hour flight from LAX

 

Anywhere in Australia is a long flight to almost anywhere outside of Oz and NZ.  Fact of life.  And geography.

 

So perhaps it's not the three stops you averred before.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, bitob said:

I will likely fly nonstop from Phoenix to Anchorage on Alaska

Flight gets in 11:45 pm

Cannot book yet.

 

I will check 1 stop flights from Tucson.  Tradeoff for us.  Non stop vs no drive to Phoenix.  Going to phx for departure no big deal.  Facing the hour and half drive back to Tucson when we come home is never fun.

 

Add in that you would be arriving ANC in the late afternoon or early evening.  No midnight arrival.  Big plus in my book.

 

Interestingly, the great circle distance from TUS to ANC is only about 3 miles shorter than having a stop in SEA.  So it is most assuredly "on the way".

 

Simple rule of thumb for everyone -- the higher you prioritize flying non-stop, the more you limit your options.

 

 

 

[bitob]

25 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Add in that you would be arriving ANC in the late afternoon or early evening.  No midnight arrival.  Big plus in my book.

 

Interestingly, the great circle distance from TUS to ANC is only about 3 miles shorter than having a stop in SEA.  So it is most assuredly "on the way".

 

Simple rule of thumb for everyone -- the higher you prioritize flying non-stop, the more you limit your options.

 

 

 

Can’t disagree. When you live in tucson non stop is rarely an option. Lax. Las Vegas. Denver. 
 

we ship our luggage to pre cruise hotel so connections don’t bother us. 

[les37b]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Anywhere in Australia is a long flight to almost anywhere outside of Oz and NZ.  Fact of life.  And geography.

 

So perhaps it's not the three stops you averred before.

 

 

On our Muse cruise last month, Aussie guests had been given by Silver Air, Anchorage > Portland > LA > Singapore > Sydney

 

They weren’t too happy about that

 

BTW… you probably remember my concerns re connection times in Seattle. Our flight had a scheduled 2h40m connection and friends we met, had 1h10m …. Both made it with plenty to spare. No bag collection or extra security / passport control to go through…. But no passport stamp either.10 mins from getting off plane to arriving at next gate. Most impressed.