Have you flown on RyanAir??

[DMRick]

I'm back to my square one. To have the cruise include being picked up from the airport, taken to the hotel, picked up at the hotel, taken to the cruise and then returned to the airport after the cruise comes to $684.00 (plus losing a small deposit at the hotel we have now). It's just too high, compared to doing it ourselves So..back to figuring out the train, and booking a later flight to Dublin, in case we mess up! We're adventurous..I think we can do it.

 

Our itinerary is to fly into Gatwick from Upstate NY (stopover in NYC) on Delta, the morning before the cruise. We had planned on taking the train to London and staying at Luna Simone Hotel.

 

Then we were going to take the train to the cruise port (Harwhich).

 

After the cruise we need to go to Dublin...I thought it would be an easy fly.

 

After some time in Dublin, we will leave on Delta, back to NY. We didn't fly Aerlingus this time, because the closest is a 3.5 hour drive or shuttle (a not so cheap shuttle) from home.

 

I am waiting to hear from our TA..at this point, it's just getting too confusing, too much worrying about missing the cruise, missing the flight to Dublin, etc. and I asked how much to include transfers and one night hotel in London. I don't know if the cruise line has a certain airport we'll have to fly out of. I also see that the cruise has an excursion after our cruise to site see in London and then onto the airport. It just seems so much easier, although I will lose my hotel downpayment, and I'm sure I'll spend a lot more. But a lot less headaches. Once I have a price, I'll decide what the heck we should do.

 

I learned from this..pick ports closer to the airport from now on.

[Globaliser]

I'm back to my square one. To have the cruise include being picked up from the airport, taken to the hotel, picked up at the hotel, taken to the cruise and then returned to the airport after the cruise comes to $684.00 (plus losing a small deposit at the hotel we have now). It's just too high, compared to doing it ourselves So..back to figuring out the train, and booking a later flight to Dublin, in case we mess up! We're adventurous..I think we can do it.

Are you dead set on going to Dublin and flying home directly from there?

 

One option, if the cruise line will transfer you to Heathrow or Gatwick post-cruise, is to do that. Leave some of your luggage at the airport. Fly to Dublin, Then fly back to London, pick up your luggage and fly back to the US.

[DMRick]

Yes, our son and his wive live there and we are going to visit him for about a week (we already have our return airfare on Delta for that). We need to bring all our luggage, since we fly home from Dublin, and we will have only one bag each..and we need clothes to wear :) We can fly out of anywhere after the cruise to Dublin, since I haven't made that reservation yet.

For $170 the cruise line will transfer us to Heathrow or Gatwick. But, if we can take a cab to Stansted for $50, we might do that...or take the train to one of the other airports. I've just been hestitant to make the reservation on Ryanair, after reading these boards, and that's what we would need to do from Stansted. If we are going to fumble and figure our way to the cruise ship (via airport to London to Harwhich), we might as well fumble and figure our way to the airport from it, eh?

 

Are you dead set on going to Dublin and flying home directly from there?

 

One option, if the cruise line will transfer you to Heathrow or Gatwick post-cruise, is to do that. Leave some of your luggage at the airport. Fly to Dublin, Then fly back to London, pick up your luggage and fly back to the US.

[Globaliser]

If we are going to fumble and figure our way to the cruise ship (via airport to London to Harwhich), we might as well fumble and figure our way to the airport from it, eh?

I'm sure you'll manage much better than that!

[SelectSys]

Actually, I have tried to get onboard one of their flights once, specifically for the purpose of doing a day trip to see what flying Ryanair is like...

 

Too bad, I guess you received enough of the experience as to not try again.

[sea-explorer]

I too have not flown Ryan Air.

 

We were booked with them once, it was a last minute booking for a weekend in Rome, hence we paid top price for the seats. Unfortunately there was a major incident on the M25 & we were gridlocked for 6 hours. Needless to say we did not make the flight. We rang & they said they would transfer us to the next flight. When we arrived they told us there was no availability and as we had already been transfered once, (??????) they could not transfer us onto another flight. They were very unhelpful, bordering on rude in fact & wouldn't accomodate any change of plan, just shrugged and asked to see the next people in the queue.

 

Needless to say, we never made it. We also lost all our hotel expenses as it was too late to receive a cancelltion refund. So all our £500+ got us was a day trip on the M25!

 

I don't think we will be booking with Ryan Air any time soon.

[Budget Queen]

Yes, our son and his wive live there and we are going to visit him for about a week (we already have our return airfare on Delta for that). We need to bring all our luggage, since we fly home from Dublin, and we will have only one bag each..and we need clothes to wear :) We can fly out of anywhere after the cruise to Dublin, since I haven't made that reservation yet.

For $170 the cruise line will transfer us to Heathrow or Gatwick. But, if we can take a cab to Stansted for $50, we might do that...or take the train to one of the other airports. I've just been hestitant to make the reservation on Ryanair, after reading these boards, and that's what we would need to do from Stansted. If we are going to fumble and figure our way to the cruise ship (via airport to London to Harwhich), we might as well fumble and figure our way to the airport from it, eh?

 

Not to sound harsh, but for general information for others. This problem with this poster could have all been avoided, IF they had looked at the entire itinerary, rather than booking in segments, thinking they'd be able to add the rest later. I see this frequently and many times, it does fall apart as it seems to be doing. Do all your homework prior, rather than later. It usually works out better.

 

It is far more beneficial to take some time, before booking stuff with cancelation penalities. And going over and over your plans, fine tuning along the way, until you have a final plan chosen, then do your bookings.

[Budget Queen]

I too have not flown Ryan Air.

 

We were booked with them once, it was a last minute booking for a weekend in Rome, hence we paid top price for the seats. Unfortunately there was a major incident on the M25 & we were gridlocked for 6 hours. Needless to say we did not make the flight. We rang & they said they would transfer us to the next flight. When we arrived they told us there was no availability and as we had already been transfered once, (??????) they could not transfer us onto another flight. They were very unhelpful, bordering on rude in fact & wouldn't accomodate any change of plan, just shrugged and asked to see the next people in the queue.

 

Needless to say, we never made it. We also lost all our hotel expenses as it was too late to receive a cancelltion refund. So all our £500+ got us was a day trip on the M25!

 

I don't think we will be booking with Ryan Air any time soon.

 

 

If there was an accident on M25, how is this Ryan's fault??? Certainly you were well aware of their policies when you purchased the ticket and their transfer and cancelation restrictions?? This certainly would have been the case with anyone you booked with, not just Ryan?

 

 

This would have been a good case for travel insurance?? It sounds like you didn't have any?

[Globaliser]

If there was an accident on M25, how is this Ryan's fault??? Certainly you were well aware of their policies when you purchased the ticket and their transfer and cancelation restrictions?? This certainly would have been the case with anyone you booked with, not just Ryan?

Many Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted passengers are critically dependent on the proper functioning of some very busy roads, including the M25. The airlines know this, and they keep a very close eye on what is happening on the roads so they know immediately when there is a problem and many passengers are going to arrive late. If there is a major problem on the roads, you often find that the airlines activate and publish commercial policies immediately. Obviously, there are always constraints because of availability, but most airlines will do what they can to help. Ryanair, in constrast, has a reputation for not helping (although they are not quite as strict as they could, in theory, be).

[DMRick]

Not to sound harsh? Then why say it? LOL..Yes, I think it sounds pretty harsh. Since it's been pretty much worked out for us (still some details I need to take care of) thanks to several on this board that gave us very helpful info, this board proved what I've always known..there are many onboard willing to help out others, who aren't familiar with an area, without getting "harsh" about it. I was frustrated, not being familiar with the air and airports, and of course the port..have you never been frustrated? Have you never asked for help, so that some of the expenses could be kept down (because obviously, that was a part of it, or we would just spend the almost $700 and let the cruise ship handle it)?

 

While in your perfect world an entire intinerary could be looked at well in advance, when you are looking at more than one person and family's time off from work, working out air, to coincide with a certain cruise etc, it's not always possible to figure everything out in advance. When I first started considering this trip, I was told it was pretty easy to get to the port and back from several airports. For someone from the area, or someone who has done it, it prob is easy. It will be easier for us the next time.

 

Sometimes you have to do it bit by bit, just to make sure you have the important parts..the air to the cruise, and the air back home, and of course a cabin on the cruise.

 

This was one small part. A frustrating small part, but small non the less. The segment I have yet to settle on has many many choices, and not being familiar with the area, I want to make sure I pick the best choice for me and mine. Hence, I asked on a board full of people who have delt with this. I pretty much thought that was one of the great things about this board.

 

Really, if you have a problem with my asking for help in figuring this out on this board, it might be better for you to just pass over the question. I may have more questions about the exact trains we should be taking. Feel free to not take up your time in helping, as I'm sure there are others who may have been in my situation and like to help withoug judging.

 

And no, our trip is not "falling apart" LOL. It's coming together, just like our unfamiliar Hawaiian cruise or our far from home California cruise did..thanks to some help from this board. If I had waited until I had my "final plans", I would be paying three times what I paid for air, and a few hundred dollars more for the cruise. Wouldn't that have been helpful.

 

Not to sound harsh, but for general information for others. This problem with this poster could have all been avoided, IF they had looked at the entire itinerary, rather than booking in segments, thinking they'd be able to add the rest later. I see this frequently and many times, it does fall apart as it seems to be doing. Do all your homework prior, rather than later. It usually works out better.

 

It is far more beneficial to take some time, before booking stuff with cancelation penalities. And going over and over your plans, fine tuning along the way, until you have a final plan chosen, then do your bookings.

[sea-explorer]

If there was an accident on M25, how is this Ryan's fault??? Certainly you were well aware of their policies when you purchased the ticket and their transfer and cancelation restrictions?? This certainly would have been the case with anyone you booked with, not just Ryan?

 

 

This would have been a good case for travel insurance?? It sounds like you didn't have any?

 

I don't think I implied the traffic chaos was Ryan Air's fault, at least that wasn't my intention. It was rather the way they handled it. We contacted them in good time to make arrangements to transfer onto the next flight which they agreed to do, but they didn't follow through as promised, refusing to even consider a transfer once we arrived at the airport. Their whole attitude was appalling. If we had been booked with another airline I very much doubt the outcome would have been the same.

 

Oh, and yes, we did of course have travel insurance, but theoretically at least, we should still have been able to fly out at a later time. Next time..although there won't be a next time..I'll make sure I have a policy which covers Ryan Air's rude & unaccommodating attitude.:p