Oceania arranged flight experience

[osandomir]

Thank you all.

I hope we’re good with our BA flight for now.

[clo]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

My luck flying to LHR is the flights seem to be later  than the scheduled time

 

And I've read that LHR can be a nightmare.

[osandomir]

32 minutes ago, clo said:

And I've read that LHR can be a nightmare.

 

Have you just read things? We’ve been to LHR many times, so we know it can be busy. Everything can happen when you travel. I hope we’ll manage though.

[clo]

1 hour ago, osandomir said:

 

Have you just read things? We’ve been to LHR many times, so we know it can be busy. Everything can happen when you travel. I hope we’ll manage though.

I'm on an airline(s) site also and they all hate LHR.  We've only connected through LGW recently.

[Jay23]

How interesting that everyone hates L Heathrow.   We hate L Gatwick. It is a maze.  You have to walk miles to and from the gates and you seem to be going round and round.  Heathrow is more compact, I guess.  Never so much walking.  What is it people don't like about LHR?    I am just interested.    J

[ORV]

No worse than ORD or ATL. ORD is one of my least favorite airports

[Hawaiidan]

I give up......simple question which seems to have eluded  folks....  on just flight  details you got from O.  Pretty  straight foward.,  .   Just Flights times  carrier and connections  from the west coast.......

[Paulchili]

6 hours ago, Jay23 said:

What is it people don't like about LHR?    

Many terminals with wide separation - have to switch terminals when connecting to BA with second security clearance.

LONG lines everywhere whether you are arriving or leaving. GE (Global Entry) helps us on arrival to US but of no help at LHR.

Very strict security.

That said, any large hub is a disaster since 9/11.

[Cruise Junky]

9 hours ago, Jay23 said:

How interesting that everyone hates L Heathrow.   We hate L Gatwick. It is a maze.  You have to walk miles to and from the gates and you seem to be going round and round.  Heathrow is more compact, I guess.  Never so much walking.  What is it people don't like about LHR?    I am just interested.    J

Absolutely nothing compact about Heathrow. It’s massive with 5 terminals. I like it as an airport, but connecting...eek! Allow a lot of hours. 

[Mura]

Our last time at LHR  was in July 2016.  W e were departing from the "new" terminal for our flight home.  Terminal 5.  My diary says we had a long walk to the train to the gates, and then another long walk to the gate itself.

 

We were both using canes.  No help was offered ... We've had many long hikes in large airports, of course, but this one seemed to be the worst.

 

Mura

 

 

[Paulchili]

6 hours ago, Mura said:

My diary says we had a long walk to the train to the gates, and then another long walk to the gate itself.

I know exactly what you mean.

We had a similar experience when connecting there BA flight to BA flight. I literally ran ahead as M couldn’t go fast enough just to get to the plane and hold it if necessary. It was pretty stressful.

[tvmovielover]

We know do not fly in on embarkation day, but we were lucky on all 3 of our included O air plans so this is for those who may not have the luxury of leaving earlier.   If we go earlier or stay later, we make our own arrangements.

 

First was Papeete-Papeete: Nonstop MCO to LAX then LAX to Papeete with enough layover for a good meal in the airport.  Return went through DFW,  almost always easy to make quick connections  with the sky way. 

 

Second was MCO to Chicago to Denmark then Sweden to Denmark to Chicago to MCO.  This was not the best but when weather was not a problem, it worked well (short passport line for passengers in transit with only carry-on on return made short transit time in Chicago doable).  On embarkation day, storms in Chicago closed airport and we sat in St Louis over 2 hours waiting for window.  Our 4 hour wait evaporated and we got  there in the middle of boarding only to sit on the plane for another storm to pass.  Lesson:  Try to avoid Chicago when it is rainy-possibly worth a deviation though summer storms can wreck the schedule anywhere-someone told us they are big on shutting down.

 

Third was MCO to Gatwick the BCN to MCO.  I forgot what the return route was originally but the transit time was too short and our TA asked for a different return (I do not know why but we did not have to pay).  We were routed through Toronto on Air Canada Rouge (hated by many).  We had purchased the inexpensive Premium economy upgrade for this trip.  A good thing because PE on Canada Rouge is apparently as good as regular economy is bad.  But the best part was that it is still an international flight from Toronto so we had PE to MCO too.

 

We were lucky on all 3 cruises but still, take the chance if you must.  Do take  PE upgrade if it is a good deal.  Avoid Chicago.  I do not like either Gatwick or LHR but Gatwick has other problems.  It can take a very long time to get into London unless you take the train and taxi within the city.  The one time we used O's pickup was Gatwick and the pickup was 2 hours late because of traffic (saved a wait in the cold in Southhampton but still) and then we had to walk about 10 minutes with the driver to get to the parking.

 

[Jay23]

Thanks to everyone for replying to my rather naive question.   Obviously I see London Heathrow from the point of view of a UK resident.   We can fly in and out of the same terminal and having to travel between terminals happens very rarely for us.  

 

For us the "nightmare" airport is Miami with very long lines at immigration.   SF was not so bad.  We have not flown into any other airports in recent years.        I do appreciate all the input and it has given me some insight of what it is like to arrive in London as a foreigner.    J

[sunlover12]

I prefer to avoid LHR if we can.  It's a hodgepodge of a mess between gates and the distance you may have to walk is crazy.  We arrived LHR on United and connected to SAS which is a United partner and is supposedly in the same terminal.  We did have a lot of connection time thank goodness. We didn't have to go through immigration but we did pass through security although it was not a long line. We went to the United Club from our United arrival gate, which is a walk of approximately 20 minutes and we were not walking slowly.  Nowhere in the US that I know of would you have that long of a walk to get to your airline's club. Then for some reason, LHR doesn't show what gate the flights are departing from until 45-50 minutes before departure.  We knew it was going to be a long walk so we asked at the United Club before it appeared on the board.  It was a 20-25 minute walk, using 2 different elevators and down some long corridors. All within the same terminal. I would suggest at least 2 hours minimum connection time through LHR.

 

Chicago O'Hare is our hub airport and I agree that it can get very congested if there is any weather issue. We fly United and it's easy connecting to the gates. It's never more than a 5 minute walk to the United Club because there are 4 at O'Hare. We have Global Entry and when we arrived at O'Hare a couple of months ago, it was 5 minutes getting through immigration.  Couldn't have been easier.

[Hawaiidan]

17 hours ago, Mura said:

Our last time at LHR  was in July 2016.  W e were departing from the "new" terminal for our flight home.  Terminal 5.  My diary says we had a long walk to the train to the gates, and then another long walk to the gate itself.

 

We were both using canes.  No help was offered ... We've had many long hikes in large airports, of course, but this one seemed to be the worst.

 

Mura

 

 

Do they offer Wheel Chair assist in LHR  for changing  flights

[Mura]

3 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Do they offer Wheel Chair assist in LHR  for changing  flights

I imagine they do but we hadn't thought to request assistance (and we were boarding, not connecting with another flight).  We just didn't anticipate SUCH a very long walk as we encountered.  Fortunately we had enough time and didn't have to rush.
 

[Hawaiidan]

8 minutes ago, Mura said:

I imagine they do but we hadn't thought to request assistance (and we were boarding, not connecting with another flight).  We just didn't anticipate SUCH a very long walk as we encountered.  Fortunately we had enough time and didn't have to rush.
 

 

8 minutes ago, Mura said:

I imagine they do but we hadn't thought to request assistance (and we were boarding, not connecting with another flight).  We just didn't anticipate SUCH a very long walk as we encountered.  Fortunately we had enough time and didn't have to rush.
 

Thanks..... Like  FRA "Z" concourse....  the A concourse was in Hungary....     I miss the UAL electric  cars in LAX/DIA

 

[Lady Meer]

2 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Do they offer Wheel Chair assist in LHR  for changing  flights

 

Yes.

[Traveling Fools]

On 8/15/2019 at 1:52 PM, Hawaiidan said:

To all who have taken the " included air"  with and without  using the premium economy option,    What was your experience if you were flying from the west coast  SFO/SAN/LAX?  without custom routing fees.

To Europe   ROME, Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam.   :    Departure time,   Carrier,  #connections, layover time, Arrival .        Also the same for  Miami, NY, Montreal    domestic

Curious as to what the offer or have had  in the past  if any can remember flight details      

 

 Thanks 

 

Although I no longer live on the West Coast, here is the flight itinerary "O" proposed for our coming October cruise from Barcelona to Venice. 

 

Sunday, Oct 27:Depart Orlando on Delta 2634

[Traveling Fools]

On 8/15/2019 at 1:52 PM, Hawaiidan said:

To all who have taken the " included air"  with and without  using the premium economy option,    What was your experience if you were flying from the west coast  SFO/SAN/LAX?  without custom routing fees.

To Europe   ROME, Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam.   :    Departure time,   Carrier,  #connections, layover time, Arrival .        Also the same for  Miami, NY, Montreal    domestic

Curious as to what the offer or have had  in the past  if any can remember flight details      

 

 Thanks 

 

Although I no longer live on the West Coast, here is the flight itinerary "O" proposed for our coming October cruise from Barcelona to Venice. 

 

Sunday, Oct 27:    3:37 P.M. Depart Orlando on Delta 2634 to JFK arriving at 6:30 P.M.

                                8:30 P.M. Depart JFK on Delta 0476 to Barcelona

 

Monday, Oct 28:   8:40 A.M. Arrive Barcelona

                                11:00 A.M. Board the Nautica

 

Wed, Nov 6:           8:00 A.M. Arrive at Venice aboard the Nautica.  Remain onboard overnight.

 

Thur, Nov 7:            6:30 A.M. Depart Venice on Delta 9352 to Amsterdam arriving at 9:10 A.M.

                                  2:50 P.M. Depart Amsterdam on Delta 0411 arriving at Orlando at 7:00 P.M.

 

Because we do not live within a short drive of "O"'s gateway airports we would have to drive at least 3 hours from home to Orlando and the same on our return.

 

Having done copious amounts of research on relative flights from Jacksonville, Savannah, Orlando, and Miami, I learned the following:

 

•  Modifying "O"'s itinerary would cost $175 PP more PLUS any cost difference in airfare PP.
• Flights from Savannah were not conducive to our needs.
• Business Class upgrades from Orlando cost more than we are willing to pay ($4,700 PP upward after applying "O"'s air credit.) 
•  In addition to an $800 air credit PP, Economy tickets from Jacksonville would cost between $237 and $501 extra PP.  Business class tickets cost more than we are willing to pay.
•  Cost of R/T Economy from Miami range from $776 PP upward.($24 PP less than "O"'s air credit).
•  Cost of R/T Business PP from Miami ranged from $2,000 upward PP after applying "O"'s air credit. 

 

We declined "O"s itinerary and opted to fly business out of Miami on Turkish Air.  We are traveling on dates of our choosing and laying over for four nights in Istanbul on the return leg.  Lodging for two of those nights we be picked up by Turkish Air.  While Miami is a longer drive from home than Orlando, we will get a bigger bang for our buck.

 

Again, I realize this falls outside of your stated parameters, but think it is good to know information for others.  

[Paulchili]

8 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

We declined "O"s itinerary and opted to fly business out of Miami on Turkish Air. 

Good choice - you will be pleasantly surprised by Turkish airlines business (rated the best European airline for 10 years running). 🙂

Layover in Istanbul is a nice bonus.

[Mura]

Yes, we always have enjoyed our time in Istanbul ... except I'm not enthusiastic about supporting the government at this point...  But if I were on a cruise that ended there today I wouldn't cut my nose off my face to avoid staying there!  It's a wonderful city.

 

Mura

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

8 minutes ago, Mura said:

Yes, we always have enjoyed our time in Istanbul ... except I'm not enthusiastic about supporting the government at this point...  But if I were on a cruise that ended there today I wouldn't cut my nose off my face to avoid staying there!  It's a wonderful city.

 

Mura

 

Hi Mura!

I agree with you! We chose Turkish Air and did  business class on a cruise we did with 

HAL and I have to say  it was wonderful.

I too don’t like supporting the government 

and we were there on HAL when they had the coup ( hope I spelled that right) LOL

we we’re onboard and saw a lot going on on the bridge when we sailed away🙄

Denise😊

[clo]

On 9/5/2019 at 10:00 AM, Traveling Fools said:

8:40 A.M. Arrive Barcelona

                                11:00 A.M. Board the Nautica

Does anyone know if that's the standard - to arrive the same day and that close to boarding.?  We didn't take the air because we had a specific route we want AND we're waitlisted for business.  Our O rep flat out said that if want Business O's deal wouldn't be as good.

[clo]

On 9/5/2019 at 10:10 AM, Paulchili said:

Good choice - you will be pleasantly surprised by Turkish airlines business (rated the best European airline for 10 years running). 🙂

Layover in Istanbul is a nice bonus.

Absolutely adored the city and the entire country.  And Turkish Airlines lounge in the old airport was AMAZING!  Totally incredible.  We weren't really entitled to it but I begged, wheedled and cajoled and we got in 🙂