Pride of America Question

[beachnut41955]

We will be on the Pride of America on the March 28, 2009 sailing. Our return flight at the end of the cruise departs Honolulu at 9:55 a.m. Will we have time to get to the airport in plenty of time for this return flight after docking and disembarkation? Thank you for your help.

[rklemay]

I think it is possible for you to make that flight although you may want to consider carrying your luggage off the ship yourself to speed up the process. Since the ship doesn't have to clear customs, the debarkation process is certainly faster than other cruises.

[beachchick]

We will be on the Pride of America on the March 28, 2009 sailing. Our return flight at the end of the cruise departs Honolulu at 9:55 a.m. Will we have time to get to the airport in plenty of time for this return flight after docking and disembarkation? Thank you for your help.

 

No, you really will not have "plenty" of time, but you should be able to make it. You'll need to be ready to get off the ship as soon as pax are allowed to disembark. As rklemay suggests, you need to consider doing the self-disembarkation and not put any of your luggage out the night before. It can take a while to get all the luggage out from the holds--and that is time you do not have to spare in this case. Just remember that you must be able to handle all your luggage yourselves with hundreds of pax getting ready to depart too. It can be pretty crowded, especially the elevators. The good thing is that many pax take advantage of NCL's "leisurely" disembarkation procedure and don't get off the ship until a bit later, so you are likely to have fewer other pax to contend with that early.

 

Saturday morning at HNL will be busy; you need to go through the agricultural inspection before you can even get in line to check in; check in lines can be long; and security lines can be long. Typically, you need to be at the airport 90 minutes to 2 hours before your flight to the mainland. The ship docks early, but I don't believe pax are allowed off until a bit later, maybe 7:30 am at the earliest? If you get off the ship immediately, get a taxi, and get straight to the airport, you should be able to be at the airport by about 8:15 (depending on traffic; fortunately, it's not a weekday so no commute rush). You will not have any time to spare, and things will need to go like clockwork for you.

 

I assume you are planning to take a taxi? I also suggest you consider the curbside check in at the airport. There is a per bag fee (not a tip) for this because the porters handle everything, including printing your boarding passes and taking your checked bags through the ag inspection before taking them through the regular TSA security check. We think it's thoroughly worth the small fee (and we add an extra tip) to have the porters handle our one checked bag each (plus boxes of pineapple usually). Note: If one of you ends up being pre-selected by the computer for more thorough TSA screening, you will not be able to use curbside check in.

 

IMO, you are really pushing your luck, but as long as things go perfectly you should make your flight. Unfortunately, if even the smallest thing slows you down, you may have a problem.

 

I send you my very best "lucky" thoughts and hope you have no trouble at all.

 

beachchick

[DAGVBSB]

The ship docks at 7:00 a.m.

 

Generally, they will begin disembarkation about 30-45 minutes later on NCL-A cruises. Meaning the first people will get off the ship about 7:30-7:45 a.m.

 

The first people off are those that do Express Disembarkation... carry ALL of their own luggage off with no help from crew or ship luggage carts. Sometimes that can be a mess, but generally everyone is off in that group within 30-45 minutes.

 

8:30 at the latest. Go through the terminal, get a cab and head to the airport.....bout 15-20 minutes.

 

Arrive at the airport about 8:55. Go through Agricultural Inspection, check in at airline (bags) and then get through the security checkpoints... all in one hour.

 

To me that is cutting it VERY close. In a perfect disembarkation scenerio, you MIGHT make it. But to have any chance of making it, you will have to do Express Disembarkation.

 

Is the stress worth it?

What if you miss that 9:55 flight?

Is there a later flight that you could take?

[beachnut41955]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Duh...think I had a Senior Moment. When I wrote everything down from the TA I had misunderstood. Our flight is not 9:55 a.m., but 9:55 p.m. We now have more than plenty of time to have a leisurely disembarkation before having to go to the airport. I sure am happy that I had it wrong!!

[DAGVBSB]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Duh...think I had a Senior Moment. When I wrote everything down from the TA I had misunderstood. Our flight is not 9:55 a.m., but 9:55 p.m. We now have more than plenty of time to have a leisurely disembarkation before having to go to the airport. I sure am happy that I had it wrong!!

 

Now that you have a very late flight, you might want to look into a ship sponsored tour the last day. The ship's excursion department offers several tours on disembarkation day that end at the airport.

 

If you are on a ships tour, you will be in a special group to disembark (NCL tours) and then your luggage will be put under your tour bus and travel with you. Then after your tour, they drop you and your luggage off at the airport. No worrying about what to do, whether you will make it back in time and most importantly.... what to do with your luggage!

 

 

If you aren't doing a pre-cruise stay, it is a great way to get a quick tour of Oahu and Honolulu. I highly reccommend that everyone who goes to Hawaii should see Pearl Harbor. It is a very moving experience.