Flying in to ANC day of cruise – good or bad idea?

[orchid72]

Hi,

 

Just wanted to get your opinion/guidance on whether we should fly in on the day of our cruise or not.

 

My husband and I will be doing a SB Alaskan cruise to Vancouver at the end of August.

 

We will be booking our direct flight from YVR to ANC with Air Canada, which will get us to ANC by 1345 hrs. We intend on taking the Princess transfer to Whittier (I could get it cheaper somewhere else but I think I am safer to go with Princess - feel free to correct me if I am wrong).

 

Our ship is scheduled to leave at 2100 hrs. The shuttle ride is about 1.5-2 hrs long. Therefore, I think the way the flight is scheduled should give us plenty of time to get to the ship.

 

I also thought about flying in the day before the cruise and booking a hotel but I’ve already seen Anchorage and I do not feel that the extra $200 for accommodations is worth it. However, I also have to think about the risk of flying in on the day of the cruise.

As you can see, I am sooooooo confused so I really need your help. :confused:

 

My questions:

• What was your experience with flying in on the day of your SB Alaskan cruise?
  
• Do you think we have enough time to get to the ship and allow for flight delays/other problems?
  
• Would you be able to recommend a hotel in Anchorage that is relatively cheap? The cheapest one I could find was the Best Western for $179 (plus taxes).

Thanks very much in advance for all your help!

[inkmahm]

I would never plan to arrive on the day of the cruise for ANY cruise I take. I always arrive at least the day before. You just don't know about airline problems.

[consorzio]

I was just about to post a thread asking the same question -- plus a few additional ones.

 

I looked on both HAL and Princess' web site trying to find out how much time to allow pre and post cruise for airline flights but could not find anything.

 

My questions are:

 

- if your cruise starts in Seward or Whittier, how much time is recommended to allow to get to the ship from the airport?

 

-if your cruise ends in Seward or Whittier, same question. I noticed that some cruises arrive back to Seward and Whittier at around 7 a.m., some at 12:30 a.m. For these late night arrivals, can you get off the ship immediately, and if so, can you get a shuttle to the airport?

 

We have 7 days for our cruise including air travel time. I think we could get in and out of Seattle no problem but were wondering if there was any way we could swing a north or southbound trip.

 

Thanks for the advice!

[NancyIL]

Even though you're coming from Vancouver and don't have as far to fly as many people, I would still arrive at least 1 day before the ship sails, if not earlier. Yes, hotels in Anchorage are expensive - but how often do you go to Alaska?

[gambit57]

I actually have no problems flying in the day of the cruise. My family and I have always done it that way. You can mitigate flight delays and things like that with a few basic steps.

 

While arriving at 1:45 sounds ok, I'm a little leery cuz of some unanswered questions. You say the ship isn't scheduled to leave until 9pm. Well, does that mean you can board up until 8:30pm or so? Or do they close up (do to security or whatever) at 4pm, or some earlier time? You might want to confirm from Princess when the latest they allow you to board. You're also open to possible airline delays cuz you're not taking one of the first flights out. Plus, while it says 1.5 hrs to 2 hours from ANC to Whittier/Seward, I'd budget an extra half hour to an hour for the shuttle in case of weird tunnel delays. I've seen the buses and stuff backed up. Pretty scary if you're trying to make a certain time.

 

Consorzio: 7 days is fine. I did it last year. Flew from SFO. Friend who went with us came from LAX (I've also done LAX with my parents and I'm positive we did a same day flight cuz we've never booked a hotel room before). You just might have to take a red eye on the Anchorage trip back. Just figure out which end of the trip is the tightest on time. Say the cruise leaves on a Sat and you work Friday? Then start in Vancouver/Seattle cuz it's a relatively short hop from Phoenix. Plenty of time to do a same day flight. Then, if you leave some time Sat from Anchorage, you'll be back some time Sunday at the latest. Possibly even late Sat. nite if you can find a flight offering that (we took a cheap flight back, which left late Sat. nite).

[NancyIL]

I was just about to post a thread asking the same question -- plus a few additional ones.

 

I looked on both HAL and Princess' web site trying to find out how much time to allow pre and post cruise for airline flights but could not find anything.

 

My questions are:

 

- if your cruise starts in Seward or Whittier, how much time is recommended to allow to get to the ship from the airport?[

 

-if your cruise ends in Seward or Whittier, same question. I noticed that some cruises arrive back to Seward and Whittier at around 7 a.m., some at 12:30 a.m. For these late night arrivals, can you get off the ship immediately, and if so, can you get a shuttle to the airport?

 

We have 7 days for our cruise including air travel time. I think we could get in and out of Seattle no problem but were wondering if there was any way we could swing a north or southbound trip.

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

1. Don't arrive the same day the ship sails!

 

2. You can't leave Whittier before 6:00 a.m. when the tunnel opens. Again - don't be in a hurry to get off the ship and go home. You've traveled all the way to Alaska, so try to spend at least a day or two there before returning home.

 

3. Cruises last 7 nights/8 days. If you really only have 7 days total -that's not long enough for any Alaska cruise.

[brainerdgal]

We're doing a Southbound to Vancouver at the end of August as well!

 

This will be a first for us, but what I've read on these boards is that the trip from Anchorage to Seward is 2-3 hours if you just drive, but if you drive and enjoy the beautiful scenery it could take about 5 hours.

 

I wouldn't risk flying in the same day as the cruise no matter what airline, what cruise departure time, or how long of a flight. There is just too much uncertainty with flying nowdays to make it worth taking the chance. Part of the fun of a cruise for me is getting to the ship without stress! A flight delay of just an hour or so could make getting to the ship on time a challenge.

 

Motels in Anchorage are expensive, but we look on it as part of the cruise. We're staying at Homewood Suites, which has gotten positive comments on this board.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!!

[Nancyquilts]

Even taking a ship from L.A. or San Diego, about a one hour flight from SFO, we always go the day before. I consider it insurance that we'll get to the ship in time. Nancy

[orchid72]

Thanks very much for your responses. You've given me a lot to think about.

 

I was told by Princess that the gates will be closing 2 hours before departure, which means we have to get there before 7.

 

There is only 1 direct flight that will get us from YVR to ANC, and that is the AC flight that arrives at 1345 hrs, so we can't take an earlier flight even if we wanted to. The way I see it, is that if everything goes well, we probably will not get to Whittier 'til 4 or 4:30. I think that is cutting it too close because it does not leave too much room for error.

 

I guess we'll be flying in the day before, and I will just have to suck up the costs! (kinda hard considering this will be our 2nd trip to Alaska this year)

 

Thanks again everyone for all your help.:)

 

 

Consorzio – we did the NB trip last year on the Diamond Princess. We got to Whittier at about 1AM or so, and we were one of the first people off the ship at about 6:00 am so we could catch a 10 AM flight (I think). I now wish we did not fly out the same day because it was such a hassle. Since we booked with Princess Air, we ended up with a flight to YVR via SEA. To top it off, both legs of our flight were delayed. Didn’t get back home ‘til 8PM. Turned out to be a VERY long day and a complete waste of our time. It was not an ideal way of ending a relaxing 7-day cruise. :(

 

It would have been more relaxing if we had stayed in Alaska for at least 1 day before flying out. In fact, come to think of it, a few years ago, we were the last ones off the ship on another NB cruise possibly because we weren't rushing to get anywhere. We rented a car and explored Denali, Fairbanks, and Anchorage for a few days before flying home. It worked out well because we did not feel rushed off the ship and we did not feel stressed out about catching our flight back home. So I totally agree with what NancyIL said about spending a couple of days exploring Alaska before you go home.

[Harley3801]

.

 

Given all the airline problems experienced recently, I wouldn't wait until the day of the cruise to fly in . . . .:eek:

[NancyIL]

.

 

Given all the airline problems experienced recently, I wouldn't wait until the day of the cruise to fly in . . . .:eek:

 

I've wondered how many people whose flights on MD-80 aircraft the past 3 days were flying somewhere to go on a cruise?

[CAN'T W8 2 CRUZ]

Hi,

 

Just wanted to get your opinion/guidance on whether we should fly in on the day of our cruise or not.

 

My husband and I will be doing a SB Alaskan cruise to Vancouver at the end of August.

 

We will be booking our direct flight from YVR to ANC with Air Canada, which will get us to ANC by 1345 hrs. We intend on taking the Princess transfer to Whittier (I could get it cheaper somewhere else but I think I am safer to go with Princess - feel free to correct me if I am wrong).

 

Our ship is scheduled to leave at 2100 hrs. The shuttle ride is about 1.5-2 hrs long. Therefore, I think the way the flight is scheduled should give us plenty of time to get to the ship.

 

I also thought about flying in the day before the cruise and booking a hotel but I’ve already seen Anchorage and I do not feel that the extra $200 for accommodations is worth it. However, I also have to think about the risk of flying in on the day of the cruise.

As you can see, I am sooooooo confused so I really need your help. :confused:

 

My questions:

• What was your experience with flying in on the day of your SB Alaskan cruise?
  
• Do you think we have enough time to get to the ship and allow for flight delays/other problems?
  
• Would you be able to recommend a hotel in Anchorage that is relatively cheap? The cheapest one I could find was the Best Western for $179 (plus taxes).

Thanks very much in advance for all your help!

 

We've booked the same flight (arrive in ANC at 1:45 from Vancouver) with Air Canada and Princess transfers for SB in May. Since Princess set this up for us, one would hope that they would allow sufficient time to board. Hope this helps.

[vbmom87]

I've wondered how many people whose flights on MD-80 aircraft the past 3 days were flying somewhere to go on a cruise?

 

Exactly, you never know what will happen. In winter you can have snow storms. In summer you can have thunderstorms. As witnessed this week, you can have airline problems. I wasn't even comfortable flying in the day before. We decided to fly in two days early and will do some sightseeing if we do get in as scheduled. This is too important of a trip for me to take chances.

[Budget Queen]

We've booked the same flight (arrive in ANC at 1:45 from Vancouver) with Air Canada and Princess transfers for SB in May. Since Princess set this up for us' date=' one would hope that they would allow sufficient time to board. Hope this helps.[/quote']

 

You need to be well aware that Princess is ONLY a booking agent and not responsible for this flight. They will fly you to your next PORT, where ever that is SEVERAL days later. People can and do miss ships with cruiseair.

[Greenwhite]

As you can tell, people have different experiences--and therefore different opinions. Our opinion is that we will never, ever, fly into the departure port the day of the cruise. And, unfortunately, given the sorry state of the airline industry, flying in one day in advance might not work either.