Disembarkation in Athens

[cjwags]

We will be flying home from Athens after our Vista cruise in July.  We are in a concierge verandah and are planning on doing O Air.  What is the earliest departing flight that would be a reasonable choice? Disembarkation is listed at 8:00 am.  We are trying to have a game plan if the air from Oceania ends up not being a good choice, and we have to do our own air.   We will be doing custom air with deviation fee as we plan to fly in a week before the cruise. Thanks in advance!

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, cjwags said:

We will be flying home from Athens after our Vista cruise in July.  We are in a concierge verandah and are planning on doing O Air.  What is the earliest departing flight that would be a reasonable choice? Disembarkation is listed at 8:00 am.  We are trying to have a game plan if the air from Oceania ends up not being a good choice, and we have to do our own air.   We will be doing custom air with deviation fee as we plan to fly in a week before the cruise. Thanks in advance!

I would say  anything after 12 noon would probably be fine

 

find the flights that work for you  & submit those to O  & see if they can get them without an upcharge

You can go back & forth until you get the flights that work for you 

 

Then once they are agreed upon you pay the non refundable deviation fee

 If you cruise in in July I would start the process now   the longer you wait the best  flights are gone

JMO

[terrydtx]

We will be disembarking in September in Athens and we have a noon flight to Santorini. We have 4 in our group and have hired a private transport to the airport for the 4 of us in a mini van for 109 Euros total. We are using Welcome Pickups. It is 40-60 minutes to the airport from the ship depending on traffic. Keep in mind that most of the good connecting flights back to the states leave before 11am. The airport is located pretty far outside of the city too.

 

Here is a link to the transport:

Welcome - Making travel easy, friendly, personal (welcomepickups.com)

Edited February 22, 2023 by terrydtx

[godfreyb]

From our experience in Athens last summer, they will throw you off the ship pretty quickly - 8 a.m.!

[cjwags]

Thanks to all of you for your help.  Will look into the transport.  

 

I agree, it feels like we are waiting too long to book air, but my TA insisted on waiting.  Emailed them last night and said it was time!

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, cjwags said:

Thanks to all of you for your help.  Will look into the transport.  

 

I agree, it feels like we are waiting too long to book air, but my TA insisted on waiting.  Emailed them last night and said it was time!

if you are going to pay the deviation fee  to go in earlier or stay longer you can start the process for the air at 270 days   out .you are late to the party 😉

Maybe your TA is not used to Oceania  & their ways ??

 

[alainciao]

Does anyone know if Oceania and Regent share the same air department?  BTW, Regent has just advised that they are not trying for air at 270 days, now 210.  Makes sense since the airlines are making so many changes nowadays.

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, alainciao said:

Does anyone know if Oceania and Regent share the same air department?  BTW, Regent has just advised that they are not trying for air at 270 days, now 210.  Makes sense since the airlines are making so many changes nowadays.

I wouldn't be surprised since they are both part of NCL holdings. I would think NCL use them as well.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, alainciao said:

Does anyone know if Oceania and Regent share the same air department?  BTW, Regent has just advised that they are not trying for air at 270 days, now 210.  Makes sense since the airlines are making so many changes nowadays.

Probably

still 7 mths in advance but yes airlines are not back to normal either

[pinotlover]

When PCH was acquired by NCL one of the first combination of services was the air department.

[cjwags]

Our TA is very familiar with O, so we are surprised about her advice to wait. She did mention that with the current state of airfare and airlines, she has had better luck not booking so early due to changes and cancellations. I have NEVER waited this long to book air.  Glad I asked all the experts here.  I have reached out to her and am waiting to hear back.  If I don't hear from her in the next day or two, I will reach out to O directly, I guess.  Thanks!

 

[terrydtx]

9 hours ago, cjwags said:

Our TA is very familiar with O, so we are surprised about her advice to wait. She did mention that with the current state of airfare and airlines, she has had better luck not booking so early due to changes and cancellations. I have NEVER waited this long to book air.  Glad I asked all the experts here.  I have reached out to her and am waiting to hear back.  If I don't hear from her in the next day or two, I will reach out to O directly, I guess.  Thanks!

 

Waiting makes no sense at all. We have a cruise from Amsterdam to Athens in September and we booked our business class airfare last November. We booked at more than we wanted to pay, but since then prices have only gone up and BC today on the same flights is $3000 more than we booked back in November.

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Waiting makes no sense at all. We have a cruise from Amsterdam to Athens in September and we booked our business class airfare last November. We booked at more than we wanted to pay, but since then prices have only gone up and BC today on the same flights is $3000 more than we booked back in November.

Did you book through Oceania??

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Did you book through Oceania??

No, that was for a Celebrity cruise, and we booked with Celebrity air. Prices have continually gone up since last November both with cruise line and with booking directly. From all the issues I have seen on CC, I would never book BC with Oceania. I like having control over my flights, seats and airlines, which it doesn't seem you get with Oceania's air. We have a South America cruise booked with O in 2025 and I can already see that prices are going to be high to fly.

Edited February 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

No, that was for a Celebrity cruise, and we booked with Celebrity air.

Thanks

I would never book BIZ with O  either  😉

 But the discussion was about booking  with O   & paying the deviation  fee

 

[terrydtx]

15 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Thanks

I would never book BIZ with O  either  😉

 But the discussion was about booking  with O   & paying the deviation  fee

 

Agreed, but the discussion was also about waiting until 6 months out to book with O for air, which IMO is just ridiculous. I was trying to point out we got better deals and flights on our air in November than we could have gotten currently, almost 6 months out from our September cruise.

Edited February 24, 2023 by terrydtx

[LHT28]

36 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Agreed, but the discussion was also about waiting until 6 months out to book with O for air, which IMO is just ridiculous. I was trying to point out we got better deals and flights on our air in November than we could have gotten currently, almost 6 months out from our September cruise.

Yes  we do the math  & see what works for us

DIY or book through O  ...

[alainciao]

On 2/24/2023 at 12:23 PM, LHT28 said:

Thanks

I would never book BIZ with O  either  😉

 But the discussion was about booking  with O   & paying the deviation  fee

 

We have Singapore to Barcelona in April 2024 on Riviera.  I used to always book our own air and we mostly cruise Regent and Seabourn but have 62 days on O.  We're returning to O after 9 years! For the itinerary.  I used Regent air for our Barcelona to London cruise this May because air is so unpredictable nowadays and R was able to get us great flights, nonstop both ways for only $1,000 in total added cost.  My previous question about O and R being the same air department was asked because I was wondering if O has as good a shot at BC as R.  As noted by many, air is extremely expensive compared to the past.  Ironically, I put in a dummy booking (too far out for real quote) for BC air on google flights and got an excellent price with Turkish air which we have flown and found excellent.  Anyway, I ramble.  Why don't you and Terry book bizair with O?  Oh, BTW, we can't fly long flights without BC.  Thanks.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, alainciao said:

 Anyway, I ramble.  Why don't you and Terry book bizair with O?  Oh, BTW, we can't fly long flights without BC.  Thanks.

Because even if  O & R shared the air dept  they do not share pricing

O BIZ air  pre covid  was  more than what I could book myself

Maybe different these days  ??

I know Paulchili (RIP)  liked Turkish  air  when they used  them

 

Good luck

[alainciao]

Interesting.  I need to ask my very knowledgeable TA about this. Thanks.

[Polos12]

On 2/25/2023 at 2:19 PM, LHT28 said:

Because even if  O & R shared the air dept  they do not share pricing

O BIZ air  pre covid  was  more than what I could book myself

Maybe different these days  ??

I know Paulchili (RIP)  liked Turkish  air  when they used  them

 

Good luck

Hi LHT80, May I ask for some advice for saving on flights (max 2 stops of 2-3 hrs layover) route from YUL, YYZ, or  YOW to ATH. I find AC is pretty expensive but Swiss Air is bit cheaper, however return flight to Toronto departs at 5:30AM ie We will have to chcek in hotel again for a night and wake up early to arrive at airport at 2AM. Europ Med Cruise (Jade) booked for May23. Any pointers are appreciated here or PM please. Thanks

Edited February 26, 2023 by Polos12

[LHT28]

18 minutes ago, Polos12 said:

Hi LHT80, May I ask for some advice for saving on flights (max 2 stops of 2-3 hrs layover) route from YUL, YYZ, or  YOW to ATH. I find AC is pretty expensive but Swiss Air is bit cheaper, however return flight to Toronto departs at 5:30AM ie We will have to chcek in hotel again for a night and wake up early to arrive at airport at 2AM. Europ Med Cruise (Jade) booked for May23. Any pointers are appreciated here or PM please. Thanks

I usually check

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Then check the airline site  for the one I like

I prefer non stops  so I would  fly from YYZ if that is close to you  

I am not seeing 5 am flights  but  that would not be my choice   not a morning person & no way I am getting up in the middle of the night to get to the airport  😉

We flew SAS years  ago & they were fine

depends on what you want connections or non stop

I will pay  extra for non stops   but that is me

 

[ChadnKate]

Book your own flights and Oceania will give you a reduction in the cruise fare. Maybe 500 to 1,000 per pax depending on where but you get total control. Arrive at least a day early and stay at least a day at the end, then getting to the airport early opens up flights for you, particularly west to east. There are usually things to do and see in the first and last ports where O will not have optional excursions.  

[Psoque]

On 2/21/2023 at 10:30 PM, LHT28 said:

I would say  anything after 12 noon would probably be fine

 

find the flights that work for you  & submit those to O  & see if they can get them without an upcharge

You can go back & forth until you get the flights that work for you 

 

Then once they are agreed upon you pay the non refundable deviation fee

 If you cruise in in July I would start the process now   the longer you wait the best  flights are gone

JMO

I’m sure you were aware of it, but Athens is not on the water.  The cruise ship terminal is in Piraeus, which is about an hour drive from Athens International Airport.

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, Psoque said:

I’m sure you were aware of it, but Athens is not on the water.  The cruise ship terminal is in Piraeus, which is about an hour drive from Athens International Airport.

I am sure you are aware that disembarking the ship will be  prior to 9 am  usually they start  by 8 am... book a flight accordingly 

but as I said  after noon probably would  be fine   NOON would be pushing it

depends on your comfort level