Earliest flight out of OSLO

[kruzkid]

we disembark the Vision o/t Seas June 20th 2011, and we are hopping to book a 12:55 PM flight home. Is this possible/safe?

[Globaliser]

Here are some of the usual questions:-

1. At what time is your ship scheduled to dock?
2. When does the cruise line say that disembarkation is likely to start?
3. What is the time which the cruise line says is the earliest you should book a flight for?

[Norwegianlatvian]

Its doable if you disembark before 09.00 the same morning.

 

Take a taxi from the pier to Oslo Central Station, and Flytoget directly to Gardermoen Oslo Airport.

 

Yes, I would say its more than doable. BUT of course a delay may happend, so dont blame me if you dont get your flight!

[kaisatsu]

The ship is scheduled to dock at 7, and from our two experiences, they usually manage to clear customs pretty quickly but not right away.

We've disembarked Vision in Oslo twice (once after a quick 3-night to Hamburg and once after a 7-night Baltics), and both times we've opted to carry our own bags and do early disembarkation. Typically we can be into a taxi by 7:45.

 

In general, I plan to leave for the airport about 3 hours before my flight. That gives me 20 minutes to get to the station by taxi, up to 10 minutes to wait for a Flytoget, and 20 minutes to get to the airport, arriving a little over 2 hours before flight time.

 

The only concern I'd have coming from a cruise is needing to wait for a taxi. Doing early departure, we've never had to wait for a taxi, but the on Oslo-based Vision sailings, the majority of passengers are usually Norwegians, and most will opt for a taxi over a cruise transfer. I don't know how long the waits are leaving the ship later, but during early departure, there are a lot of taxis waiting, but not a huge number. If you choose to disembark later, I would plan to give yourself some extra time in case you need to wait in a taxi queue.

 

Regardless, you definitely need to aim to be at the airport two hours before. I'm not sure where you're flying, but it sounds like you're looking at the US Airways flight to Philadelphia? If you are flying to the US, you may not be able to check in online (you used to be able to, but for the past 6 months I've not been able to check in for US-bound itineraries online or through the self-service check-in kiosks). And the line for US Airways is typically pretty long. From my experiences, the US Airways check-in in Oslo is slightly better than Continental, but it still means waiting in line for around half an hour (Continental typically takes me around 45 minutes). Even for the European carriers, the check-in desks at OSL can be pretty slow, so it's good to have plenty of time. However, once you're checked in, security is relatively quick (15-20 minutes max), and the airport is easy to navigate.

 

If you're leaving the Schengen zone from Oslo (i.e. your first leg is to the US or UK), you'll need to pass through passport control, and at that time of day a line can build up. Especially since that's one of the days Continental flies its 1:05 flight of Oslo (along with its daily 11:25 flight), so you have three US-bound flights clearing passport control in a 1.5-hour window (and there are only two immigration counters).

 

Okay, so that was a whole lot of information to say that "Yes, you should be able to make a 12:55 flight. I would recommend aiming for early departure to give yourself plenty of time, but as long as you're in a taxi leaving the pier by around 9:55, you should be fine."

[kruzkid]

Thanks! Great detail!