Earliest disembark time for Regent in Tokyo

[Paulbud]

I am booked on the Explorer with an arrival in Tokyo on April 1.  The itinerary shows an arrival time of 8:00 AM.  My flight was changed and now departs from Haneda at 10:30 AM. I would like to disembark as early as possible. Does anyone know how quickly I can get off the ship?

 

 

[GMIAC]

That’s cutting things really close. The ship needs to clear customs. They’ll want everyone off as early as possible to prepare for the next guests, but there’s no telling if there’ll be any unforeseen delays. You’re advised to call Regent, since no one here knows for sure, and certainly can’t guarantee anything. 

[Paulbud]

Thanks GMIAC.  I did call Regent but they weren't helpful, other than telling me to ask after boarding.

[AJCM]

We were in a similar situation in Oct.

 

The advice was it was too tight. We changed our plans and stayed overnight in Tokyo, then caught the Haneda airport bus from Shinjuku next morning; with no stress. We wouldn’t have made it on demarkation day.

[tubeamps]

This past November we disembarked in Tokyo at 8:35 or so. If you get a cab instead of waiting for the provided bus you can make Haneda in 30 minutes.

Your timing is close but if no snafus it’s doable.

[Nachosdelux]

I wold not risk that early of a flight.  Even with no delays, it would be uncomfortably tight, if not impossible.

 

All these things would have to happen without delay:

Ship getting to port

Ship clearing immigration

Getting off ship/getting bags

Getting a taxi & TRAFFIC

Check-in lines

Security lines 

Immigration lines 

 

 Personally, I would look for a flight after noon at the earliest.

Edited February 1 by Nachosdelux

[Paulbud]

Thanks to all of you for the helpful advice.  I can't change to a later flight because I am traveling on an EVA Air award ticket that doesn't allow changes.  Since I don't have a choice, I'll ask to be among the first off and grab a taxi, per tubeamps suggestion. Back in the day when I traveled extensively on business, I liked getting to the airport just in time to be the last person boarding.  I may have a chance to relive the past.  Of course, I can't jog as fast as I used to...

[PaulMCO]

23 minutes ago, Paulbud said:

Thanks to all of you for the helpful advice.  I can't change to a later flight because I am traveling on an EVA Air award ticket that doesn't allow changes.  Since I don't have a choice, I'll ask to be among the first off and grab a taxi, per tubeamps suggestion. Back in the day when I traveled extensively on business, I liked getting to the airport just in time to be the last person boarding.  I may have a chance to relive the past.  Of course, I can't jog as fast as I used to...

Luggage yes or no.  Because checkin with luggage will close first.

If Eva did change the flight, they might give you some consideration to change the next day.

 

See you onboard...

Edited February 1 by PaulMCO

[labonnevie]

In April we disembarked in Yokohama, not Tokyo I know, but it was one of the slowest disembarkations we have ever experienced. Not sure why but it was painstakingly slow. It may have been partly due to Japanese immigration. 

[GMIAC]

2 hours ago, labonnevie said:

In April we disembarked in Yokohama, not Tokyo I know, but it was one of the slowest disembarkations we have ever experienced. Not sure why but it was painstakingly slow. It may have been partly due to Japanese immigration. 

 

www.CruiseTimetables.com shows that particular sailing will disembark at Tokyo, not Yokohama. 

[labonnevie]

2 hours ago, GMIAC said:

 

www.CruiseTimetables.com shows that particular sailing will disembark at Tokyo, not Yokohama. 

I think I said that. 

[papaflamingo]

19 hours ago, Paulbud said:

Since I don't have a choice, I'll ask to be among the first off and grab a taxi,

Just a suggestion.... I'd pre-book a dedicated car so that it is waiting for you when you get off the ship.  Could take time to get a taxi.  It'll be more expensive but cheaper than missing your flight. 

Edited February 2 by papaflamingo

[alexandria]

On 2/1/2024 at 12:33 PM, Paulbud said:

Thanks to all of you for the helpful advice.  I can't change to a later flight because I am traveling on an EVA Air award ticket that doesn't allow changes. 

Are you sure about that?  See paragraph 6 of their policy regarding refunds/changes of award tickets due to EVA schedule changes. 

"6. Award ticket and upgrade with mileages

Please contact EVA reservation and ticketing office:

(1) Refunds: refund service charge will not be imposed.

(2) Changes: reissue fee as well as the expired miles are exempt from collection for one transaction provided the revised itinerary meets the same criteria as the affected ticket."

 

https://www.evaair.com/en-global/customer-services/ticket-changes-refunds-due-to-schedule-changes/

[AJCM]

I suggest you don’t put your luggage out on the last night but disembark with it.

 

In Oct, the luggage was coming out in order of disembarkation time. Ours didn’t arrive in the expected category and we had to wait around for quite a while until they could confirm ours were still in the ship and coming soon.

[Paulbud]

13 hours ago, AJCM said:

I suggest you don’t put your luggage out on the last night but disembark with it.

 

In Oct, the luggage was coming out in order of disembarkation time. Ours didn’t arrive in the expected category and we had to wait around for quite a while until they could confirm ours were still in the ship and coming soon.

AJCM, good suggestion. I'm planning on taking full advantage of the included laundry service on Regent. I will be traveling with just a carry-on bag.

 

On 2/2/2024 at 4:13 PM, alexandria said:

Are you sure about that?  See paragraph 6 of their policy regarding refunds/changes of award tickets due to EVA schedule changes. 

"6. Award ticket and upgrade with mileages

Please contact EVA reservation and ticketing office:

(1) Refunds: refund service charge will not be imposed.

(2) Changes: reissue fee as well as the expired miles are exempt from collection for one transaction provided the revised itinerary meets the same criteria as the affected ticket."

 

https://www.evaair.com/en-global/customer-services/ticket-changes-refunds-due-to-schedule-changes/

Alexandria, thanks for checking on this. People on this site are so helpful. I can get a refund of my miles but there is no space on the later flight that day. I think I will be okay booking a car in advance, plus I will only have a carry-on bag.

[Paulbud]

On 2/2/2024 at 5:05 AM, papaflamingo said:

Just a suggestion.... I'd pre-book a dedicated car so that it is waiting for you when you get off the ship.  Could take time to get a taxi.  It'll be more expensive but cheaper than missing your flight. 

Good idea, I'll definitely do that.

[alexandria]

3 minutes ago, Paulbud said:

Alexandria, thanks for checking on this. People on this site are so helpful. I can get a refund of my miles but there is no space on the later flight that day. I think I will be okay booking a car in advance, plus I will only have a carry-on bag.

Don't forget that EVA is part of Star Alliance so you may be able to book an award ticket on a later departing flight on another Star Alliance carrier.  Here is a Star Alliance search engine:  https://flights.staralliance.com/en/flights-from-japan

 

If you miss the 10:30am EVA flight you may find yourself at HND for a day or two with the added expense and inconvenience that entails.  If EVA can't or won't rebook you (they aren't required to) and you can't find an available award seat on a later EVA or Star Alliance flight, then you could find yourself having to pay a last-minute one way fare to get back home in a seat that is not of your choosing.  If your flight is long and/or you are flying business class, it may be better to proactively rebook (even for the next day) to be able to select your own seat, lest you pay thousands of dollars only to be relegated to a middle seat in the last middle row of four near the aft lavatories and galleys. 

 

And travel insurance won't cover your travel delay if the delay is a result of simply not getting to the gate in time.

 

Only you can decide whether to accept the risk knowing the potential costs involved (both money and time) if you miss your early flight!  Good luck!

[Paulbud]

1 hour ago, alexandria said:

Don't forget that EVA is part of Star Alliance so you may be able to book an award ticket on a later departing flight on another Star Alliance carrier.  Here is a Star Alliance search engine:  https://flights.staralliance.com/en/flights-from-japan

 

If you miss the 10:30am EVA flight you may find yourself at HND for a day or two with the added expense and inconvenience that entails.  If EVA can't or won't rebook you (they aren't required to) and you can't find an available award seat on a later EVA or Star Alliance flight, then you could find yourself having to pay a last-minute one way fare to get back home in a seat that is not of your choosing.  If your flight is long and/or you are flying business class, it may be better to proactively rebook (even for the next day) to be able to select your own seat, lest you pay thousands of dollars only to be relegated to a middle seat in the last middle row of four near the aft lavatories and galleys. 

 

And travel insurance won't cover your travel delay if the delay is a result of simply not getting to the gate in time.

 

Only you can decide whether to accept the risk knowing the potential costs involved (both money and time) if you miss your early flight!  Good luck!

Good idea, Alexandra. I just booked a UAL award flight departing at 5:45pm as a back up.  Economy plus exit row for 55K, not bad considering they want 140K for premium econ and 200K for business. It is a 9 hour flight to SFO, so I should survive if I miss my EVA business class flight.  I just have to remember to cancel it, if I get on the EVA flight.

[Paulbud]

Just to complete this conversation, it was easy-peasy to get to Haneda from the Tokyo International Cruise Ship Terminal.  We were off the ship at 8:45 and it was just a 15 minute taxi ride to Haneda. I had plenty of time to get to my flight with an on-line check-in and just carry on baggage.

 

Thanks to all who made suggestions!

[fudgbug]

On 1/31/2024 at 7:49 PM, Paulbud said:

I am booked on the Explorer with an arrival in Tokyo on April 1.  The itinerary shows an arrival time of 8:00 AM.  My flight was changed and now departs from Haneda at 10:30 AM. I would like to disembark as early as possible. Does anyone know how quickly I can get off the ship?

 

 

Depends on how long it takes to clear the ship.  Our recent cruise first departures from ship was around 8:30.  A 10:30 flight from Haneda is cutting it real close.  We got off of the ship at 9:10.

[PhD-iva]

Thanks to the OP for coming back and letting us know how things went. Glad to hear that all was well, although I would not want to encourage others to try to replicate your results in future.