Flight question

[hansi]

First, I would be researching on the Cruise Air board, located here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

 

The Mods might even move it there.

 

There aren't any "direct" (do you mean "non-stop"?) flights from London to Ft Lauderdale. So you would have to connect somewhere. There are, however, non-stop flights to Miami, which would leave you with a shuttle to Ft Lauderdale. Those are discussed extensively on the Florida Departures board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

 

Personally, I would take the non-stop to Miami.

 

There is a direct flight from Gatwick to FLL but not sure of the schedules.

Each time we have booked a Caribbean cruise we have flown to Miami and Princess have overnighted us in Miami before transfer the next day. Much better to travel direct, less chance of your baggage going astray.

[brian1]

I would just ask for the direct flight to Miami and don't offer any more money.

 

Remember you are doing a B2B and that should give you some leverage.

 

If all else fails, although Princess UK won't normally talk to clients who book through agents try phoning Southampton and asking for Jordan Brewer. If anyone can sort it, he can.

Hi Corfe,Jordan is the guy we deal with,he has helped us no end in various matters.I have is direct line number if required but I wont put on here,PM me Sue if you want it,cheers,Brian.

[hansi]

Definitely agree. If you want help with this ask Jordan. He handles all our bookings and is super efficient.

[Jellifer]

Hi Suzez,

 

I've cruised from FL a couple of times and would definitely recommend getting a direct flight - it's worth paying more for in my opinion. I've done Virgin & American Airlines LHR - MIA so far, trying out BA in December. Not having to worry about missing a connecting flight, having to change terminals or luggage getting lost makes flying direct a lot less stressful to me. The first time we flew into MIA the queues at immigration were crazy, took us almost 3hrs to get through. Last time I followed the signs for people with ESTAs which took you to the self service machines and I was through in 10 mins.

 

Last time I flew Air Canada was for my cousin's wedding last summer. Flights were fine but on the way home the internal flight was cancelled and I missed my flight back to London.

 

Hopefully your TA will be able to make changes that you're happy with and I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise

[brian1]

Definitely agree. If you want help with this ask Jordan. He handles all our bookings and is super efficient.

Blimey another happy customer,he must be superman,cheers,Brian.

[Suzez]

Hi Corfe,Jordan is the guy we deal with,he has helped us no end in various matters.I have is direct line number if required but I wont put on here,PM me Sue if you want it,cheers,Brian.

 

Thank you but how do I message you? :)

Edited June 2, 2016 by Suzez

[Suzez]

I have 3 concerns with the Canadian flights, one is loosing our bags and 2 is missing a connection, maybe due to weather. 3 being the fact that it will be a long day.

 

I've made a note and may contact Princess direct and see what they say about changing to a direct flight. There are several B/A and American Airline flights on that Saturday. I don't think Princess have booked anything direct as yet. I was told to wait until July.

 

As we have booked 2 cruises, I hope it's not going to cost me anything to change.

[brian1]

Thank you but how do I message you? :)

Hi,Ithink you have to accept me as a friend so ive requested it on your profile.Ithink thats right.Anyone can correct me if im wrong,cheers,Brian.

[brian1]

His number is 08433742238 x2565

Edited June 4, 2016 by brian1
changed my mind posting email address

[brian1]

His number is 08433742238 x2565

Hi Sue,the pm system is disabled.I posted my email but then thought it was a bit dodgy,so Im sure Jordan wont mind,ive posted his number in previous post,cheers,Brian.

[Suzez]

Hi Sue,the pm system is disabled.I posted my email but then thought it was a bit dodgy,so Im sure Jordan wont mind,ive posted his number in previous post,cheers,Brian.

 

Thanks Brian. We have had details of direct flight to Miami through but we are still waiting on the return flight from Barcelona. Then we can book a return which should come up cheaper.

[Suzez]

Just a quick update. We now have our direct flights booked to Miami, with American Airlines. :) Our agent sorted it all out for us :)

 

Thank you everyone for your help and information.

[BigGuy25]

We returned from a Ft. Lauderdale to London trans-Atlantic cruise last month flying from Heathrow to Miami on a British Airways flight. The flight, meals and service were top notch. About a nine hour flight. But, as others have said, immigration at MIA took way too long. Then about a 30-40 minute car service ride to Ft. Lauderdale hotel.

Edited June 11, 2016 by BigGuy25

[Suzez]

We returned from a Ft. Lauderdale to London trans-Atlantic cruise last month flying from Heathrow to Miami on a British Airways flight. The flight, meals and service were top notch. About a nine hour flight. But, as others have said, immigration at MIA took way too long. Then about a 30-40 minute car service ride to Ft. Lauderdale hotel.

 

Immigration took how long? I have read there is a fast way through if you have a printed off etsa, or something of this nature.

 

Anyone know how long we might expect to be in Miami customs?

[hartleykg]

Immigration took how long? I have read there is a fast way through if you have a printed off etsa, or something of this nature.

 

Anyone know how long we might expect to be in Miami customs?

Our experience is between 2-3 hours. They now have express machines to take your fingerprints and eye scan. If you pass this, say 2 hours. If you fail, and this occurs if you haven't visited the States in the last few years, you then have to go into the Customs Hall for manual check. Expect at least another hour. We passed, went to our hotel, ordered a meal in the restaurant. Service was slow, but we had finished our meal by the time the 'fails' made it to check in at the hotel.

Hope it is better than this, but .....

[Suzez]

Our experience is between 2-3 hours. They now have express machines to take your fingerprints and eye scan. If you pass this, say 2 hours. If you fail, and this occurs if you haven't visited the States in the last few years, you then have to go into the Customs Hall for manual check. Expect at least another hour. We passed, went to our hotel, ordered a meal in the restaurant. Service was slow, but we had finished our meal by the time the 'fails' made it to check in at the hotel.

Hope it is better than this, but .....

 

Never been to the US before, this was one of the reasons....so it's best to just 'join the queue' and grin and bare it then?

[wowzz]

Never been to the US before, this was one of the reasons....so it's best to just 'join the queue' and grin and bare it then?

 

To be fair, Miami is infamous for the length of time it takes to clear immigration, plus the attitude of many of the airport employees is also not that great.

However, I would not let Miami put you off visiting the US, or indeed taking a cruise from Florida. Just fly into a different airport (we like Tampa) and drive over to Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Alternatively fly into a more 'user friendly' airport (Charlotte?) and then fly down from there.

[hartleykg]

Just be prepared to wait and don't let it spoil your holiday

[BigGuy25]

Immigration took how long? I have read there is a fast way through if you have a printed off etsa, or something of this nature.

 

Anyone know how long we might expect to be in Miami customs?

 

We did use the fast ETSA automated kiosks. That went quickly. Then we were surprised that we needed to queue up in long lines to turn in the sheets produced by the kiosk. On top of that, my DW was one of the folks who had a "X" on her form and, because of that, we needed to get into another queue for those folks that took way too long. And, we never knew what caused the "X!" When we finally got to the head of the line they just looked at our forms and passports and let us right through. Both the unfriendly staff as well as the immigration officials didn't seem to be in any hurry to help move the lines along efficiently. I'd say it took us as bit under 2 hours from the time we got off the plane until we finally got to our luggage spinning on the carousel. The automated kiosks didn't seem to speed up the immigration process at all. Or, if it did, I can't imagine how long it would have taken without them!!!

[caribill]

The automated kiosks didn't seem to speed up the immigration process at all. Or, if it did, I can't imagine how long it would have taken without them!!!

 

I like the automated kiosks because they do not require the same level of information that the formerly used paper forms require.

 

For example, the paper form asks you to detail the purchases made overseas and the costs and then the total of all those entries. The kiosk simply asks if you are within the allowed $$$ limit with no details required.

[Corfe Mixture]

Just a quick update. We now have our direct flights booked to Miami, with American Airlines. :) Our agent sorted it all out for us :)

 

Thank you everyone for your help and information.

 

Well done Sue,

 

You'll enjoy American, it is a good airline. Don't worry about Miami airport too much. Yes immigration staff can appear very intimidating and the delays can be very bad, but as a general rule early evening arrivals are not so bad as there tend to be Caribbean and South American flights arriving at that time.

 

One point to note is that, even though you are flying with an American Airlines flight code, you can still register to have the frequent flyer benefits allocated to a BA Executive club account meaning BA Tier points and Avios (both variable with class of travel).

 

Glad everything got sorted.

 

CM

[BigGuy25]

I like the automated kiosks because they do not require the same level of information that the formerly used paper forms require.

 

You're correct ... the automated kiosks asked fewer questions. But, that didn't really matter because we had already filled out the "old' customs form (that we didn't need) on the plane. The old paper form really doesn't take long to fill out ... just name and address, where you were plus your passport number. Then you just check the boxes and say you didn't spend over the max. I'd gladly still do that if the long lines that come with the automated process remain!

Edited June 13, 2016 by BigGuy25

[Suzez]

Just be prepared to wait and don't let it spoil your holiday ��

 

We won't :) I don't mind standing for a while after a long flight. We only go to a hotel afterwards to sleep, then 'bring on the cruise' :)

[Suzez]

Well done Sue,

 

You'll enjoy American, it is a good airline. Don't worry about Miami airport too much. Yes immigration staff can appear very intimidating and the delays can be very bad, but as a general rule early evening arrivals are not so bad as there tend to be Caribbean and South American flights arriving at that time.

 

One point to note is that, even though you are flying with an American Airlines flight code, you can still register to have the frequent flyer benefits allocated to a BA Executive club account meaning BA Tier points and Avios (both variable with class of travel).

 

Glad everything got sorted.

 

CM

 

Thank you CM, I think we have made the right choice, time will tell. We had unsociable staff in St Petersburg, they didn't look too friendly either. I guess it's not the best job in the world. At least we are going on a cruise :)

 

We have already added our BA executive club members numbers to our bookings :) Hopefully the waiting queues in Miami won't be so bad. We land at 4.55pm

[Suzez]

You're correct ... the automated kiosks asked fewer questions. But, that didn't really matter because we had already filled out the "old' customs form (that we didn't need) on the plane. The old paper form really doesn't take long to fill out ... just name and address, where you were plus your passport number. Then you just check the boxes and say you didn't spend over the max. I'd gladly still do that if the long lines that come with the automated process remain!

 

I'll have to get a better update nearer the time, not sure what to do for the best really. I am not the most patient of people, how many actual queueing areas might we expect to be in? or is it just one?