OK Help with air connections back to MAINLAND

[PattyCruise]

We have a choice of air from San Fran to Durango at 7 am or 7 pm.the day after the cruise. What time do most flights leave Honolulu when you are booked with NCL??? They said we wont get the schedule till 30 days and I want to use miles. I understand most are red eye. Anyone know???? Thanks for the tips about exchanging money Ha Ha:cool:

[beachchick]

Until today, we had included air on our PoH cruise this winter. The agents told me flat out that our return flight to CA would be a red-eye. We did that once (using miles, it was the only flight available; hated it). Today, I booked our flights and got us a mid-day flight that gets us home late that same night. I'll be cancelling the cruise air tomorrow. This was the first time we ever booked a cruise with air included because we're always afraid that the flight times, etc, will be the pits. Guess in our case, we were right.

 

beachchick

[greatam]

They said we wont get the schedule till 30 days and I want to use miles.

 

I am totally confused. If you want to use miles, you are booking your own flights and must use your miles DIRECTLY with your airline. If you are booking air through NCL, you are paying for air and you will not be able to use miles, even for an upgrade (for two reasons-there will most likely NOT be any upgrades available 30 days out AND your ticket-consolidator class-is NON upgradeable). It truly is miles or cash.

 

If NCL is flying you out the day AFTER the cruise, you will be paying for a hotel (it may be "kinda" wrapped in the price of your airfare-like a lot higher than you could buy on your own).

 

Better really check this out. You are talking about three TOTALLY different things-miles, NCL air, and day after (usually "custom air" which costs more) and a hotel. Most NCL booked flights will be the red eyes out of Hawaii, through one of the West Coast connections-LAX or SFO.

[PattyCruise]

Our cruise is booked with air only from SanFran to and back from Honolulu. We live in Durango CO which is 5 hours from any airport so to do air out of Durango is Impossible through the cruise. I have a free voucher on America West which I want to use from Durango to San Fran and back. There are two flights either early am on Sunday the 3rd or late. ( Our cruise ends on the 2nd so I am guessing we fly back to SF the night of the 2nd) So my real point here is about what time do red eye flights get back to the mainland. Thanks:p

[cathy_kearns]

Why would the cruise air be the red eyes? Is it just because those are cheaper? I know that most airlines have flights that leave early afternoon (1pm or 2pm) to LAX and SFO or OAK getting in around 8pm. Which I could see would cost them a hotel stay for those going onto other parts of the US, but for those going back to California I would think those would be easier to get. I guess if they did use the afternoon flights PattyCruise would have to get a overnight near SFO but could then fly out in the morning. (Note, I don't know what early am flight she is looking at, but the redeyes tend to get in around 6 or 7am.)

[greatam]

Our cruise is booked with air only from SanFran to and back from Honolulu. We live in Durango CO which is 5 hours from any airport so to do air out of Durango is Impossible through the cruise. I have a free voucher on America West which I want to use from Durango to San Fran and back. There are two flights either early am on Sunday the 3rd or late. ( Our cruise ends on the 2nd so I am guessing we fly back to SF the night of the 2nd) So my real point here is about what time do red eye flights get back to he mainland. Thanks:p

 

Big Questions??? Have you made final payment? And you keep posting the 2/3-of WHAT MONTH??? How do you KNOW you are flying out of SFO???

 

Did you price cruise air out of Denver or Albuquerque? Or was this one of the cruises with free air from the West Coast? If you don't want to book your own air (which may be cheaper and will certainly be easier in the scheme of things), then see how much the add on from SFO to DEN or Albuquerque is. And DRIVE to the airport.

 

The really big problem I see with what you are trying to do is the Durango connection. SFO/PHX/DRO-America West- is your routing if you want to use your voucher. On your return, there is a flight out of SFO at noon and one at about 3:30 that will get you home the same day. Both DRO flights are prop planes (Mesa Airways) out of Phoenix, so capacity is limited and you may not get a seat 30 days out, especially on the weekends.

 

This is a real pickle as you do not know when your flight LEAVES from SFO or when it returns and won't be able to book flights until you KNOW what NCL is giving you. The return is relatively easy-plan on the redeye out of HNL-the worst that could happen is you have to spend the night in SFO.

 

But trying to guess which flight you need to book to GET to SFO to catch the flight to Hawaii-that flight will DEFINITELY be a flight that arrives about 3-5 hours before your ship departs (figure early afternoon arrival and early morning departure).

 

So you will have to arrive SFO the day before and book a hotel. With all the extra expenses you could possibly incur ($312.00pp is the America West price booked today-DRO/PHX/SFO and return) and a possibility of two hotels in SFO (not cheap), I would call the cruiseline, see if they dont have an add on from Denver or Albuquerque and go from those gateways. Take a leisurely drive to the airport.

 

If you haven't looked into your own flights, book out of Denver- ATA flies to HNL for about $550.00. The way I am looking at it, that price is almost as cheap as what you are going to pay trying to catch up with an airplane for "free air".

[greatam]

Why would the cruise air be the red eyes? Is it just because those are cheaper? I know that most airlines have flights that leave early afternoon (1pm or 2pm) to LAX and SFO or OAK getting in around 8pm. Which I could see would cost them a hotel stay for those going onto other parts of the US, but for those going back to California I would think those would be easier to get. I guess if they did use the afternoon flights PattyCruise would have to get a overnight near SFO but could then fly out in the morning. (Note, I don't know what early am flight she is looking at, but the redeyes tend to get in around 6 or 7am.)

 

Redeyes are generally cheaper and there are more of them. Cruiselines book the cheapest AND they don't book the early flights generally so they can sell tours before departure from HNL.

[PattyCruise]

Wow you really dont understand. Driving to Albuquerque or Denver is not an option in the winter. The plain and simple is we booked our cruise with air from LA or SFO we chose SF beacause we can stay a day before and after. Our flight from Durango was 1 free ticket and one purchase due to offering to get bumped off a flight last year. We have 2 more Freebies on United that we will use for our Celebrity cruise in Feb 2007, then use miles for ST Thomas on the Wind Spirit next fall. All I was really wanting to know if anyone knew what time the flights return to the mainland. I guess it is unknown for now. Maybe they book the later flights because people want to spend a day in Honolulu. They did not have an option for air deviation. GreatAm where do you live??And I curious what you do??? Patty

[wrp96]

Basically the best advice anybody can give you is that you won't know until probably 30 days out what flights you will be put on.

[greatam]

Wow you really dont understand. Driving to Albuquerque or Denver is not an option in the winter. The plain and simple is we booked our cruise with air from LA or SFO we chose SF beacause we can stay a day before and after. Our flight from Durango was 1 free ticket and one purchase due to offering to get bumped off a flight last year. We have 2 more Freebies on United that we will use for our Celebrity cruise in Feb 2007, then use miles for ST Thomas on the Wind Spirit next fall. All I was really wanting to know if anyone knew what time the flights return to the mainland. I guess it is unknown for now. Maybe they book the later flights because people want to spend a day in Honolulu. They did not have an option for air deviation. GreatAm where do you live??And I curious what you do??? Patty

 

Oh, Patty, I understand PERFECTLY. I do global logistics planning (air, sea and land) and own 37 semi trucks which travel ALL OVER the US, WINTER and summer, including Greeley (Monfort) to Anamosa, over Wolf Creek to Durango, and down through 4 Corners or south out of Durango to Farmington. I used to work for Digby in the 70's and hauled meat over that route to California every week, WINTER and summer.

 

You have yourself a real pickle. Trying to procure freebie tickets or award tickets 30 days out (which is realistically when you will know what flights you have to HNL) is not very REALISTIC. As I posted earlier, the America West flight into and out of Durango is on a turboprop-max capacity 37-which could present an availability problem. Have you checked the AmWest voucher to make sure there are no "blackout" dates? Some vouchers are heavily restricted and most must be used within 1 year.

 

If you have the extra days on either end, just book the flights for the day before and the day after (not before noon on the day after). You should be fine.