If HAL books your air.....

[chiccruiser]

We are leaving from Fairbanks and there are two A.M. flights. One like at 7:30 and one at 9:30. The rest are late P.M. like 7:00 and 8:30.

 

What are the chances that HAL will put us on an early flight? If they put us on a late flight, I'm assuming they will take care of our luggage when we have to check out of the hotel. I sure would hate to lug it around Fairbanks all day...

[jtl513]

I can't answer your question, but if you want to be on the 9:30a flight you can pay $50 pp for a "deviation" and choose both your inbound and outbound flights. It doesn't have to be done at the time of booking, just before HAL picks them for you, usually 2 to 4 weeks before sailing. Just let your TA know.

[InTheWASide]

Just keep in mind deviation is the $50/pp ($75 if int'l) PLUS the difference in the cost of air. The $50/75 is for the customization as it's otherwise a computer generated flight schedule.

 

Well worth it though if you NEED something special...

 

Otherwise just enjoy the extra time in Fairbanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

You may want to request the 9:39 AM flight and pay the air deviation. But ask what the cost of that flight will be -- it may be more than you want to pay.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you do have to take the PM flights, and you didn't mention this, but I am assuming that you are using HAL transportation to get to the airport? If so, HAL won't pick you up and late in the day, about 3 hours before your flight. You can always store your luggage at the hotel before they come to pick you up.

[kryos]

What are the chances that HAL will put us on an early flight? If they put us on a late flight, I'm assuming they will take care of our luggage when we have to check out of the hotel. I sure would hate to lug it around Fairbanks all day...

I would AssuME that if HAL put you on a later flight that they would get you a "day room" at a local hotel. Generally, I believe the cruise lines do that. It can often work out cheaper for them to put you on an evening flight and just pay for the day room. If they do that, then you'll have a place to store your luggage while you tour for a few hours. You'll also have a place to freshen up a bit before heading to the airport.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Jade13]

Pay the $50 air deviation and get exactly what you want assuming the cost is the same aside from the divaition fee. We did this last year to Anchorage so we could get in by 12:00pm vs 3:30 etc.

[Odd Ball]

I would AssuME that if HAL put you on a later flight that they would get you a "day room" at a local hotel. Generally, I believe the cruise lines do that. It can often work out cheaper for them to put you on an evening flight and just pay for the day room. If they do that, then you'll have a place to store your luggage while you tour for a few hours. You'll also have a place to freshen up a bit before heading to the airport.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

I do not believe Hal provides day rooms. At one point they even stopped paying for the hotel if they booked you the day before the cruise even when you didn't request it.

[pms4104]

I'm not entirely sure, but I would guess the cruiseline air is based on contracts negotiated with the airlines. So ... if the airline can fill certain flights with pax paying higher (non-contract) fares, I would guess the contract pax would be directed to the seemingly less desirable flights.

[RustaRoo]

I would guess the contract pax would be directed to the seemingly less desirable flights.

You've got that right. :( I was just advised that my April 24th flight (Calgary to Fort Lauderdale) got changed from a desirable 7:00 am to an undesirable midnight flight.

 

And now to make 'lemonade' out of the dilemma - this means I'll be in FLL early in the afternoon and have booked a beachfront hotel. I plan to pull up a stretch of sand, have a nap and start some early tanning, perhaps with a cocktail at hand:D

[jtl513]

OP: I was thinking about your original question (before I spun it off in the wrong direction with deviations) and I would bet that HAL would put you on the late flight, because they usually try to arrange flights no earlier than about 11:00a.

 

Once we did a HAL post-cruise 1 night stay, and for that they gave us a voucher to be turned over to a taxi driver, at whatever time of day we chose to leave the hotel. But, if you've got to check out of your hotel by 11:00a or so, as KK said, you can probably still leave your luggage there for the afternoon.