Any southern ON users of ONEXBUS to get to Pearson (or Billy Bishop)?

[rodndonna]

We have a cruise in January booked with NCL air out of Toronto. We normally try to fly from here (London) but not an option when using NCL air.

 

Looking at options other than driving to and parking at Pearson in winter (uuggh) and have come across ONEXBus https://onexbus.com/

 

Prices are very reasonable and quite a but cheaper than our local airport transfer bus company (RobertQ). They seem to have been running for over a year although this was the first time I have tripped on them.  Anyone have any experience using them?

 

[LHT28]

Have not seen them before 

 

We are south of London but a neighbour uses the RobertQ  service  to YYZ

but her DH drives her to the pick up location

 

We are going to park by the airport  as the bus schedule does not work for us

 

Maybe fly from YXU  the day before & stay at a hotel  that would save the drive to YYZ  not any cheaper 

I am dreading the trip  to the airport 

 

[CDNPolar]

My brother lives in the London area and is always interested in alternative ways to get to Pearson.  He has never heard of this but also has never used RobertQ.

 

I played around in this company's site and unless I am mistaken, it seems to only drop at Terminal One?  Am I missing something?  If you are flying a Terminal 3 carrier are you out of luck and have to transfer terminals yourself?

 

If you don't find someone with experience with this company and you don't want to drive yourself, I would go with RobertQ as I know they have been around forever.  I have seen their vans on the 401 for as long as I can remember.

 

I would go with the experienced one.  They may be more expensive for a good reason.

[rodndonna]

44 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

My brother lives in the London area and is always interested in alternative ways to get to Pearson.  He has never heard of this but also has never used RobertQ.

 

I played around in this company's site and unless I am mistaken, it seems to only drop at Terminal One?  Am I missing something?  If you are flying a Terminal 3 carrier are you out of luck and have to transfer terminals yourself?

 

If you don't find someone with experience with this company and you don't want to drive yourself, I would go with RobertQ as I know they have been around forever.  I have seen their vans on the 401 for as long as I can remember.

 

I would go with the experienced one.  They may be more expensive for a good reason.

 

We're not concerned with getting form Terminal 1 to Terminal 3  - but we are actually just heading to the airport to stay the Alt Hotel before our flight in the morning.

 

RobertQ has definitely been around longer, but 3-4 times the cost with less departures. 

 

Minimally, I'll keep poking around on  their facebook/twitter page this fall to make sure they still seem to be operation without complaints. Since we are going in the day before to stay at the Alt, worse case they are unreliable and we have to drive or take RobertQ in the end.

[rodndonna]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Have not seen them before 

 

We are south of London but a neighbour uses the RobertQ  service  to YYZ

but her DH drives her to the pick up location

 

We are going to park by the airport  as the bus schedule does not work for us

 

Maybe fly from YXU  the day before & stay at a hotel  that would save the drive to YYZ  not any cheaper 

I am dreading the trip  to the airport 

 

 

It's actually the coming back from the airpot I dread more in winter - such as a crap shoot as to what weather we come back to  to drive back in. 

 

We are going the day before and staying at the Alt Hotel, so looking at cheap options to Toronto airport. Have looked at Megabus and Via as well, but then by the time you add in the UP and the time not as convenient or cheap as ONEXbus.

 

 

[CDNPolar]

28 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

We're not concerned with getting form Terminal 1 to Terminal 3  - but we are actually just heading to the airport to stay the Alt Hotel before our flight in the morning.

 

RobertQ has definitely been around longer, but 3-4 times the cost with less departures. 

 

Minimally, I'll keep poking around on  their facebook/twitter page this fall to make sure they still seem to be operation without complaints. Since we are going in the day before to stay at the Alt, worse case they are unreliable and we have to drive or take RobertQ in the end.

 

This all makes good sense - especially going the day before.  Going the day before takes the stress our of trying a service that you don't have historical information on.  Regardless, going the day before in winter is advisable from London because you can be in a blizzard there and it is clear here, or the opposite.

 

Have you checked out the 144 Google Reviews?  They are mixed.  I tend to rely more on Google reviews as they are often more realistic.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by CDNPolar

[rodndonna]

54 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

This all makes good sense - especially going the day before.  Going the day before takes the stress our of trying a service that you don't have historical information on.  Regardless, going the day before in winter is advisable from London because you can be in a blizzard there and it is clear here, or the opposite.

 

Have you checked out the 144 Google Reviews?  They are mixed.  I tend to rely more on Google reviews as they are often more realistic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the reminder on google reviews (I use "bing" in an attempt to avoid google typically, so forgot about those reviews). Also will be checking in on any reddit threads (another source I tend to forget about)

 

Edit: This will be our one and last time booking NCL air for cruises in the winter months.... seemed like an acceptable option a year ago when we booked but now not so much....

Edited September 3, 2023 by rodndonna
more info

[CDNPolar]

50 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Thanks for the reminder on google reviews (I use "bing" in an attempt to avoid google typically, so forgot about those reviews). Also will be checking in on any reddit threads (another source I tend to forget about)

 

Edit: This will be our one and last time booking NCL air for cruises in the winter months.... seemed like an acceptable option a year ago when we booked but now not so much....

 

I guess that is one of the limiting factors with some cruise lines and air - what are the gateway cities.

 

What lines will fly you from London?

[rodndonna]

Just now, CDNPolar said:

 

I guess that is one of the limiting factors with some cruise lines and air - what are the gateway cities.

 

What lines will fly you from London?

 

We are pretty much limited to Air Canada these days.. but when booking early (like a year out), the add-on cost from London is pretty low making it well worth it. Also, we have an Aeroplan credit card, so our bags are free with Air Canada.

 

We had "one" cruise (again from San Juan) booked through Celebrity Air last year, and that was with Westjet .. but then Westjet pulled their connector to Toronto so we ended up on AC again.

 

Still hoping Westjet puts a connector to  Toronto back in  their schedule .. so at least we would have "2" options.

 

Other than NCL, the other cruise lines air programs allow connectors from London .. all the Carnival lines (HAL, Princess etc) and Royal Lines (RCL and Celebrity). If I were to book NCL again, I would only do it on non-winter months, or book through an airline (nameless) vacation site so I could incorporate that London connector.

 

We're simple folk and pretty frugal, but that added convenience for us at this point in our lives is well worth it.

[phabric]

Could you book yourself from London to Toronto with Air Canada?

 

My cousin uses RobertQ from London to Toronto.

Edited September 3, 2023 by phabric

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

It's actually the coming back from the airpot I dread more in winter - such as a crap shoot as to what weather we come back to  to drive back in. 

 

We are going the day before and staying at the Alt Hotel, so looking at cheap options to Toronto airport. Have looked at Megabus and Via as well, but then by the time you add in the UP and the time not as convenient or cheap as ONEXbus.

 

 

Yes winter is  a crap shoot 

We lived north of  Toronto & we always stayed at the Alt & used the parking garage   it was pricey but if you can get a deal it was better than  some of the other options for us

We have not travelled  since moving south   but our trip is this month so it should be OK  (no snow)

 

Let us know if you use them  it may be something to look into if we  travel  again 😉

 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

We had "one" cruise (again from San Juan) booked through Celebrity Air last year, and that was with Westjet .. but then Westjet pulled their connector to Toronto so we ended up on AC again.

 

Still hoping Westjet puts a connector to  Toronto back in  their schedule .. so at least we would have "2" options.

 

 

We thought of  just parking at London & taking a separate flight form there to YYZ   staying over   until the next day  

Cheaper parking at London

but then AC  strike issue popped up  our flight is Sept 29th 

so  DH will make the drive to YYZ   & with Porter is saved us some $  so it will pay the parking at the  Garage 

 

Hope you find a solution that works for you

[rodndonna]

5 hours ago, phabric said:

Could you book yourself from London to Toronto with Air Canada?

 

My cousin uses RobertQ from London to Toronto.

 

Normally that is what we do - just one flight from London with a connector in Toronto. We wanted to try NCL (it has been maybe 15 years since we sailed them) and their flight program NCL air with 2nd person free promo was too tempting to pass up for cost savings, but can only fly from Toronto. We don't actually know yet what airline or flight from Toronto they will book us on.

 

Seemed like a good idea to save a few dollars a year ago .. haha.

[rodndonna]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Yes winter is  a crap shoot 

We lived north of  Toronto & we always stayed at the Alt & used the parking garage   it was pricey but if you can get a deal it was better than  some of the other options for us

We have not travelled  since moving south   but our trip is this month so it should be OK  (no snow)

 

Let us know if you use them  it may be something to look into if we  travel  again 😉

 

 

For sure if we use them I will report back here on our experience. They do both Pearson and Billy Bishop, so if it works, would be an easier and cheaper option for getting to Toronto departures. 

[JoyMBee]

I am interested in this service too.  We leave for a cruise in October flying out of Pearson.  We have an evening flight so because the weather should be good we were planning to drive down and park at the airport.  Agree, Robert Q is expensive.  Will let you know if I find out anything or use it.

[smithmlmx]

We live in London and always fly from Detroit. No issues for 15 years. Park at Quikpark. No hang-ups with customs at YYZ. Delta has great flights.

[LHT28]

22 minutes ago, smithmlmx said:

We live in London and always fly from Detroit. No issues for 15 years. Park at Quikpark. No hang-ups with customs at YYZ. Delta has great flights.

Do they have Non stops to Fla?  🤔

[rodndonna]

8 hours ago, smithmlmx said:

We live in London and always fly from Detroit. No issues for 15 years. Park at Quikpark. No hang-ups with customs at YYZ. Delta has great flights.

 

We haven't lived here long enough to remember to think about Detroit as on option. Still prefer flying from London, with a connector but you are right -  Detroit is likely a better option over flying from Toronto for a lot of destinations.

[rodndonna]

10 hours ago, smithmlmx said:

We live in London and always fly from Detroit. No issues for 15 years. Park at Quikpark. No hang-ups with customs at YYZ. Delta has great flights.

 

Do you typically cross the border at Windsor or Sarnia?

[JoyMBee]

10 hours ago, smithmlmx said:

We live in London and always fly from Detroit. No issues for 15 years. Park at Quikpark. No hang-ups with customs at YYZ. Delta has great flights.

We live near the border and prefer to fly from Detroit or even Flint if it's an option.  We cross at Sarnia and never have any problems with parking etc and is so much closer for us than Toronto.  It wasn't an option with this trip.

[smithmlmx]

Cross at Sarnia (Bluewater bridge) Have Nexus  - 5 mins) but even without nexus usually no longer than 30 mins. Sometimes stay at Fairfield Inn the night before.( next to quikpark).They have deals where you can stay and get a few nights free parking included. Quikpark is fenced and secure not like the lots at YYZ. CAA - 10 percent discount if you don't stay at hotel. Delta has great flights to FLL and an 11.10 am flight return. Great for cruising. Pick up duty free on the way down and leave it in car for return

[Dismomx5]

My sister just used Megabus a couple of weeks ago. London to Union Station, free shuttle over to Porter Airlines. https://ca.megabus.com/route-guides/london-to-toronto-bus?gclid=CjwKCAjwo9unBhBTEiwAipC111w7QQz_6GaFZAppBIz5mrDwmM3mbxplcW6yzym4Sb_eQavumfcmPRoCOI8QAvD_BwE

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, Dismomx5 said:

My sister just used Megabus a couple of weeks ago. London to Union Station, free shuttle over to Porter Airlines. https://ca.megabus.com/route-guides/london-to-toronto-bus?gclid=CjwKCAjwo9unBhBTEiwAipC111w7QQz_6GaFZAppBIz5mrDwmM3mbxplcW6yzym4Sb_eQavumfcmPRoCOI8QAvD_BwE

 

Thanks Dismom.

 

So when you say free shuttle to Porter - was she was flying from Billy Bishop? Is there a free shuttle from Union to Billy Bishop?

 

Not an option for this cruise - but a good option for the future as there seem to be a lot of good deals from Billy Bishop.

[Dismomx5]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

Thanks Dismom.

 

So when you say free shuttle to Porter - was she was flying from Billy Bishop? Is there a free shuttle from Union to Billy Bishop?

 

Not an option for this cruise - but a good option for the future as there seem to be a lot of good deals from Billy Bishop.

Yes. The shuttle is actually across the street at the Royal York, if I recall correctly. She flew from Billy Bishop.

[Fred&Lily]

Robert Q is far too expensive and they don't have enough shuttles going to Detroit (DTW) or to Toronto (YYZ) and I did once miss a flight because the Robert Q got stuck on 401 near Waterloo - not their fault. Now I always drive and park at the airport which means Terminal 3 parking at Toronto and Big Blue Deck at Detroit. We've done over 20 cruises and the non-stop flights to all Florida airports from DTW are plentiful and always half the price of Air Canada and WestJet. I watch Spirit schedules from DTW for their $35 midweek flights to Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale just to go and play golf.

On 9/2/2023 at 4:33 PM, rodndonna said:

Looking at options other than driving to and parking at Pearson in winter (uuggh) and have come across ONEXBus https://onexbus.com/

The OneXbus picks up at the Flying J (Highbury and 401) So you still need somebody to drive you there and then pick you up when you get back.

One more: Look at the crazy cheap flights from DTW to MCO and other FL airports on Frontier Airlines!!!