waterbug123

Ok I have to ask.... why business on the way back instead of the way there? Most people opt for the better seats on the way over to Europe, in order to have the best chance at getting some sleep on the redeye flight. The flight home will be a daytime flight, where sleep is usually less important.

1. There is no way to "make sure" you don't book too soon or wait too late. It's impossible. As others have said, there is no magic time that's best so on some level it's always going to be a guessing game. 2. You say the flights you're interested in fill up pretty quick. How do you know that? Are you searching on Delta and it says "only 5 seats left at this price?" Because very often they will refill that very fare bucket the minute you buy your ticket. It just means that right now in this very moment, that's the number of seats their algorithm says to offer in that particular fare bucket. Are you looking at the seat map and seeing seats blocked off? Not reliable AT ALL. They may show blocked seats simply because those seats aren't available for you, at your particular loyalty level, to select. Doesn't mean they are actually booked. Could be other things but you get the point.

Not on all Oceania ships. We were on Nautica this past July and if I recall correctly there was no craps table. Just blackjack, roulette and I think Texas Hold 'em

Will you get a nonstop flight? Maybe. It all depends on what flights the cruise line can get cheapest from their agreements with airlines, and a nonstop on American may or may not fit that bill. As to whether you should fly in a day ahead, heed the advice on this forum and do it. People miss cruises all the time because they were booked to fly in the same day and had delays or cancellations to their flights. If you're wavering, read on for a little story: This past summer we had a nonstop flight from ATL to VCE for a Med cruise. We were flying in a day ahead. The flight had a mechanical issue. We waited and waited, watching from the window as assorted mechanics looked at the engine. Eventually we were told they were getting a new plane and headed to the new gate. Lo and behold, that one had a mechanical issue too. A minor one, caused by a pax who tried to shove a too-big bag into the overhead and broke it. Ok, just remove the bin door, you say. But by the time someone from maintenance looked at it, the cockpit crew had timed out and the flight was canceled. This was around 11pm give or take, after a delay of many hours. There were no longer any rebooking options to get anyone on a flight to Venice that night. We had built in a day of cushion so we were fine. But when they announced that they had created a new flight that would depart the next day at 5pm, a collective groan went up from the crowd, many of whom apparently had cruises booked that were sailing the very next day, which is akin to flying in the same day for a US-based cruise like you. The next day as we were seated on the plane, we chatted with a couple of ladies across the aisle who had missed their cruise. They had booked air on their own so the cruise line was under no obligation to help them, buy had gone ahead and assisted in arranging a private van to take them from Venice to their first port of call. This was at their own expense, of almost 600euro! And even if they had booked the air through the cruise line and the cruise line thus picked up the tab for the van, they would still have missed the entire first day of the cruise. You booked air through the cruiseline, so the cruise line would be on the hook to TRY (that word, try, is important but I'll get to that in a minute) to get rebooked and to the cruise on time. If that wasn't possible, they'd be on the hook to TRY to get you to the next port and it would be at their expense. But you'd still miss part of your cruise, and what if the next day was a sea day? They aren't going to pay to helicopter you to the ship, so you'd miss 2 days. And you'd be flying to the next port so there's the whole other issue of needing passports. Ok, back to the word TRY. If you read the fine print, you'll see that nowhere does the cruise line GUARANTEE to get you to the ship on time OR even to the next port. It likely says things like "...TRY to do whatever we can..." or "...TRY to do whatever is reasonable..." etc. If a massive ice storm has hit Charlotte and no flights can depart though, the cruise line can't conjure one up out of thin air so you could well be out luck. Save yourself the worry and pay the money to fly in a day ahead!

Two thoughts based on the screen shots you posted: 1. Early-mid March dates to Florida are notoriously higher due to spring break, especially college spring break. 2. When you are searching for 4 tickets, the airline website is going to show you the cheapest fare bucket in which they currently have 4 seats for sale, Ex. Say fare bucket A is cheapest, B is next cheapest and C is the most expensive, and the airline currently is offering 1 seat in fare bucket A, 1 seat in fare bucket B, and 6 seats in fare bucket C. You come along and ask for 4 tickets. It's going to price all 4 in fare bucket C. So you might try searching for just 1 or 2 tickets, then search again for remaining tickets after purchasing the first 1 or 2, because they often replenish those fare buckets immediately after selling out. Seems crazy, but that's how it often works.

We are booked with friends on Xploration in spring 2024. As it's such a small vessel, there are very few reviews and personal accounts from pax who have been on it. Please let me know if you've been on it. I'd love to ask you a few questions. Thanks!

I'm not sure where you're looking to get that information, but Delta uses all 7 concourses at ATL, from T to F. Your particular flight numbers may typically be scheduled at certain concourses/gates, but aircraft can change and gates can change for any number of reasons. So the true worst case scenario is that you have to get from T to F. That said, while ATL is huge it is laid out very efficiently. The plane train runs quickly and frequently, and if your flight lands on time and you aren't stuck in the last row of your inbound flight, a 1:20 connect is very doable.

Same! For us the key is to just power through on arrival without taking a nap. A short nap after a red eye flight usually just makes me feel even more groggy than before the nap. Power through the day, drink a lot of water, and get outside in the sunlight! Then dinner and bed around 9-10pm... At that point I'm good and tired but regardless of the following day's agenda can typically get 8-10 hours of good sleep and be ready to go.

Not to be nit picky, but rather to help other less experienced travelers.... The actual jargon used for these situations matters. In this example, the flight is "marketed by" United because the pax has a UA flight number. But when the OP says "via Air Canada" the actual terminology is "operated by" Air Canada. Yes, it sounds nit picky to say "operated by" rather than "via", but there are times when the specific verbiage matters. There are assorted airline policies that vary according to who the "operating carrier" is, so understanding and using the specific terminology is important. A good example is baggage allowance. It doesn't matter who sold you your ticket or who the marketing carrier is; you are typically bound by the operating carrier's policy, so being familiar with such terminology can help. Note: When you buy your ticket, your itinerary will also indicate who the marketing carrier is. It may be in smaller print but somewhere on the itinerary it will indicate the operating carrier for any flight leg not operated by the marketing carrier.

Be careful with that wording. The way you've worded it makes it sound as though if your 2nd US city DID have facilities for immigration/customs, you could wait and clear customs there, but that's simply not true. Even if you fly ATH-JFK-ATL, US rules are that you still clear immigration/customs at your first entry point, which in this case is JFK, unless as you further mentioned, your trip begins in an international city that has US pre-clearance facilities.

This seems like a good time to bring back this little 3 question decision making matrix I used to post frequently. You ask about gambling to see if the price drops, but people sometimes forget that that gamble is also a gamble that prices will go even higher. So ask yourself this: 1. Am I willing and able to pay even MORE if I wait (gamble) and prices rise? If the answer is no, then in turn ask yourself: 2. Am I willing to cancel the cruise if I wait and prices rise? If no, then you have no choice- buy the tickets now. If yes, then take the gamble and see what happens. If your answer to the first question is no, then ask yourself this question: 3. Am I willing and able to pay the current price? If yes, buy now. If no, cancel the cruise. Note that the question about being "willing and able to pay" doesn't necessarily mean you are happy with the price. It's more about if it comes down to either paying or canceling, are you technically willing and able to pay that price? Some people may grumble, but financially they can afford to suck it up and pay the price. For others, the budget is tight and strict and they literally cannot or will not pay a particular price. No one can accurately predict the future, so ask yourself these questions without framing them in your mind with what you HOPE happens, and look at it as if you had to make the decision and cough up the money today. Hope that helps!

Would EU261 kick in if his flight lands on time and the missed connection is solely due to US customs/immigration and/or security delays?

We just booked Xploration to the Galapagos for 2024. Would love to hear feedback from anyone's who's been on this tiny "ship" before. Anything that surprised you? Hints specific to this boat? Anything you wished you'd packed that you didn't?

We just booked Celebrity Xploration (I think that's what you meant when you typed Explorer) and there is no mention in the literature or on the deck plans of the lab/microscopes. I don't recall seeing it on Xpedition either, which we considered.

Interesting, I'll have to look again for flat bed seat options. We just booked a Galapagos cruise for May '24 and will fly Delta to Quito. When I did a dummy search for this coming May on Delta, just to see the flight itinerary options, all that appeared to come up were narrow body aircraft with domestic first seating arrangements ATL-UIO. (Which is fine, as you've already pointed out, it's not that long of a flight in the grand scheme of things)

I will just add that for any Europe-based cruised, I strongly suggest that you fly in AT LEAST 1 day ahead of time, preferably two, and especially if you have a double connect. We flew to Europe for a cruise this past summer and had planned a night in Venice pre-cruise. The day we left the plane went mechanical, got a new plane, that one went mechanical (technically a pax fault, when they tried to shove an oversize bag in the overhead and broke it) and then crew timed out and the flight was canceled. Delta created a new flight leaving the next day at 5pm. There went our overnight in Venice but at least we still boarded our ship on time the day we arrived in Italy. The night the flight was canceled we got a room at a nearby hotel (yes, Delta reimbursed us fore it) but there was a line of pax at the airport in a tizzy because they were on a cruise that left the very next morning and there were, at that point, no rebooking options to get them there on time.

Thanks, I'm still struggling to get back in the habit of checking in here more frequently. After so much "time off" I keep forgetting, LOL

Oh good! We just got an email with link to video but there was no checkbox to affirm that we watched it. Is it like some other lines now where once onboard you report to muster station to show that you can get there, they check your name off and you’re good to go? Royal does that now and it’s the best change to cruising since I don’t know when!

Good for you if you've gotten an actual credit from Delta for this. Usually they just want to throw you some skymiles for it!

Yes, earbuds are complimentary in Comfort+ on Delta.

As long as everything is booked on one itinerary with Delta/KLM, your luggage should be through checked all the way to your final destination; that will be confirmed when it's tagged at GSP. And as long as you have no mobility issues, 2.5 hours is more than enough time to transit ATL. A "legal" connection there is 35 min for domestic-domestic flights, and due to delays I often end up with less than 30 min and usually still make it (traveling alone, with no carry on luggage but a backpack, and able to walk quickly) So again, barring delays and mobility issues, 2.5 hours is more than enough; you should have plenty of time to make a restroom stop, leisurely make your way to the gate, and even stop and get a snack if you want.

Darn, I hope that doesn't happen because I always enjoy your posts and comments. You are certainly one of the more knowledgeable posters on this forum!

God only knows. I'd come back and try to post and it would tell me to log in but I'd already be logged in. I'd log out and then log in again and it still wouldn't work most of the time. Also couldn't use the quote feature. All in all it was such a pain I just gave up. Thankfully whatever the issue was, it now appears to be fine!

Bruce is correct. What trips people up sometimes is Caribbean cruises that include a stop in St. Thomas, for example. Since that's US, you have to file down to the theater or some other venue to clear immigration early that morning before disembarking, since you are technically re-entering the US after visiting other islands. The other islands, though, don't usually make you clear immigration/customs, as ship passengers visiting for the day are not considered to be "entering" the various countries in the legal sense.

Just wanted to say hello again. I used to be a regular poster on this forum, but stopped posting during the early months of covid when air travel mostly ceased. Tried to come back a few times and could either never log in or I could log in but my replies usually wouldn't show up etc. But it looks like everything is functioning normally for me and I've been able to post and reply again. I don't know what the problem was or why it suddenly wasn't a problem anymore, but I'm glad to be back and able to participate again! Nice to see many familiar user names are still here! For those who are newer, I'm a frequent flyer, mostly familiar with Delta, and some of their Sky Team partners. We returned to cruising this past Jan, flying to Barbados for a cruise in Jan, then another Carib cruise out of Miami last month, and flying next month to Venice for an Oceania cruise. Looking forward to hopefully being a regular poster here again!