Oceana fly cruise flights

Cruises on Oceana in 2019
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allatc
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Oceana fly cruise flights

#1

Post by allatc »

We're booked on an Oceana fly cruise next year.

It looks like the flight from Birmingham will be at around 6am.
That means a 4am check-in which in turn means leaving home at 3am having got up at 2am.

Alternative would be hotel at the airport but even then it would mean getting up at about 3.15am. Not sure its worth doing.

What do others do ?

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barney
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#2

Post by barney »

Tough one !
I've always been happy to pay a supplement for decent flight times.
All that getting up at 3.30 am is fine when you are 21 but now, we are looking for a bit more in life.
On the positive side, it will give you a decent bit of time in Malta before the ship departs (if you can stay awake)
Empty vessels .. and all that

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GillD46
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#3

Post by GillD46 »

We always stay before we fly, even if a much later flight.
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Manoverboard
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#4

Post by Manoverboard »

So do we ' Gill ' and like ' Barney ' we deffo do not book silly o'clock flight times.
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#5

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

We tend to do the hotel anyway to avoid any worries about possible hold ups on the way - be that the road or a problem with our car.

There is one, maybe two, hotels at Brum that are walking distance to the terminal.


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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#6

Post by CaroleF »

We recently had what I suppose people would call a reasonable flight time - 13.40 from Gatwick to Malta. However, we still went up to Gatwick the evening before and stayed at the Hilton - just didn't want to risk travelling in the rush hour - check in 3 hours before, two hours to get to Gatwick plus extra allowed because it would be rush hour - too stressful. In the event we didn't take off till 15.15 - technical problem! By the time we actually got to Oceana it was 8pm, we missed the Muster so had the choice of going to one just for our plane passengers at 9.30pm or getting up the next morning to go to one at 9am. We opted for going to the one that evening, couldn't face getting up, having breakfast and getting to the 9am, which was just as well as the sea conditions, courtesy of the Medivane storm meant it was extremely choppy in the morning. In restrospect I'd rather have had an early flight and got to the ship at a reasonable time - oh and not with Thomas Cook - dreadful. I'll do a report of the cruise as soon as I can get time.

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allatc
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#7

Post by allatc »

Thanks Carole F for the heads-up on booking the flight seats direct with Thomas Cook website. Done that.

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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#8

Post by allatc »

Manoverboard wrote: 15 Oct 2018, 17:53
So do we ' Gill ' and like ' Barney ' we deffo do not book silly o'clock flight times.
But as its a fly-cruise then flight times are set by P&O and the airline.
Or is it possible to arrange alternate flights, or even book your own flights and get a reduction on the cruise price ?

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Stephen
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#9

Post by Stephen »

As an aside, has anyone else noticed hotel prices for Southampton have gone mental for next year.

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barney
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#10

Post by barney »

allatc wrote: 16 Oct 2018, 14:29
Manoverboard wrote: 15 Oct 2018, 17:53
So do we ' Gill ' and like ' Barney ' we deffo do not book silly o'clock flight times.
But as its a fly-cruise then flight times are set by P&O and the airline.
Or is it possible to arrange alternate flights, or even book your own flights and get a reduction on the cruise price ?
You have to go through the booking process to find out what discount they will offer.
Maybe your TA can help with this.
We considered this a couple of years ago, arriving four days earlier and then staying on for another week and using Air Malta.
Didn't do it in the end !
I can't remember the exact discount allowed but it wasn't that much.
Empty vessels .. and all that

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Manoverboard
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#11

Post by Manoverboard »

barney wrote: 16 Oct 2018, 14:52
allatc wrote: 16 Oct 2018, 14:29
Manoverboard wrote: 15 Oct 2018, 17:53
So do we ' Gill ' and like ' Barney ' we deffo do not book silly o'clock flight times.
But as its a fly-cruise then flight times are set by P&O and the airline.
Or is it possible to arrange alternate flights, or even book your own flights and get a reduction on the cruise price ?
You have to go through the booking process to find out what discount they will offer.
Maybe your TA can help with this.
We considered this a couple of years ago, arriving four days earlier and then staying on for another week and using Air Malta.
Didn't do it in the end !
I can't remember the exact discount allowed but it wasn't that much.
Improved flight times are / were / can be available with P&O when the cruise is released but as they get more bookings on that cruise the flight times are less favourable. Going via a TA is the best option but I recall we paid more rather than less because of the much improved timings. We did the same with Celebrity. Conversely our Riverboat Cruises were perfectly timed as part of the package.
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#12

Post by Happydays »

We were on Oceana fly cruise in September and although we flew from Glasgow the flight times were the same as yours. We booked an Airport hotel and checked out about 4.15am and were checking our luggage by 4.30 (ish) we had already checked in on line and had our boarding cards for the return flights we also always book fast track for security that saves time, it was only a matter of checking the luggage didn't need three hours!!
There was no choice of flights flying from Glasgow apart from take it or leave it ;) Being an early flight we were on board about 12.30 and had an afternoon nap about 4.00pm ha ha

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david63
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#13

Post by david63 »

Stephen wrote: 16 Oct 2018, 14:37
As an aside, has anyone else noticed hotel prices for Southampton have gone mental for next year.
We always stay about an hour's drive outside Southampton partly to break the journey but also it helps fill in the time on the morning and their prices haven't gone up at all - yet!

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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#14

Post by Stephen »

If I may ask David, where do you stay.

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barney
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#15

Post by barney »

I haven't even looked for next May but for next month I booked the Mercure Dolphin in the city centre.
I booked very early and am a Accor hotels member.
It only cost forty eight quid without brekkie.
We will wander over to west quay in the evening to The Greek restaurant that we like and the next morning, go for a wander to get a lite bite somewhere.
We have a 1 pm board so won't have to kick our heals for too long.
I might now take a look for next May.
Thanks for the heads up.
Empty vessels .. and all that

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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#16

Post by Manoverboard »

For something a tad more interesting … The Three Lions a few miles from Fordingbridge.

:wave:
Last edited by Manoverboard on 18 Oct 2018, 10:25, edited 1 time in total.
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Stephen
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#17

Post by Stephen »

Thanks both.

We normally stay at either the Doubletree Hilton hotel at Chilworth or Chilworth Manor hotel, both are out of the running at the moment as they're prices for next year are ridiculous. It's not as if there is any special event going on in Southampton that can bump the prices right up. :thumbdown:
Last edited by Stephen on 18 Oct 2018, 10:39, edited 1 time in total.

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barney
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#18

Post by barney »

We'll see what this Mercure is like and if it's ok, I'll probably book it for next May.
With my discount, I can get it for 55 quid and it has a car park.
If it's not up to much, I'll look around.
Last time, we stayed in the Travelodge in the centre and that was ok.
A short walk to the bars and shops.

I may even have a stop over in Bournemouth or New Forest now we are coming from a different direction.
Empty vessels .. and all that

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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#19

Post by david63 »

Stephen wrote: 18 Oct 2018, 09:51
If I may ask David, where do you stay.
We stay at the Regency Park at Thatcham, near Newbury but I guess that it would be in the wrong direction for you as we are coming from oop norf

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GillD46
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#20

Post by GillD46 »

I can thoroughly recommend the Vineyard at Stockcross. Not cheap but a fabulous meal can be had there and they have a nice pool.
Last edited by GillD46 on 18 Oct 2018, 13:35, edited 1 time in total.
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Stephen
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#21

Post by Stephen »

GillD46 wrote: 18 Oct 2018, 13:35
I can thoroughly recommend the Vineyard at Stockcross. Not cheap but a fabulous meal can be had there and they have a nice pool.
Very nice Gill but too expensive.

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kaymar
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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#22

Post by kaymar »

Just to get back to fly cruises, we have booked one out of Malta in 2020 (almost sold out of balconies already!) but no details yet of flights. I have no desire to get up in the middle of the night and then sit with my knees under my chin for three hours. I get the impression from Barney, m.o.b. and others that there may be a better way if, when flight details are released, timings do not suit. We booked via Bolsover - do we just ring them and see what options there are, if any? Is flying a day early and staying overnight in Malta an option, maybe?

We have cruised out of Southampton a few times but this is our first fly-cruise. Might it be our last?

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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#23

Post by david63 »

kaymar wrote: 21 Oct 2018, 13:49
Is flying a day early and staying overnight in Malta an option, maybe?
Obviously it is an option but one thing to be aware of if you make your own arrangements is that if there is a problem with the flight and it is delayed you could miss the ship sailing. If you are doing this through a TA then make sure that it is all on the same booking, that way you should be protected under the terms of a package holiday.


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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#24

Post by Kentish Lass »

We stayed for two nights in Valletta prior to our cruise from Malta. We booked this directly with P&O, no extra charge for the flight out which was from Gatwick with BA, transfers included, return flights were with TUI so luggage was taken from our cabin as usual and we picked it up on arrival at Gatwick. It worked really well and meant that we had time to explore Valletta before the cruise

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Re: Oceana fly cruise flights

#25

Post by kaymar »

Kentish Lass wrote: 23 Oct 2018, 09:03
We stayed for two nights in Valletta prior to our cruise from Malta. We booked this directly with P&O, no extra charge for the flight out which was from Gatwick with BA, transfers included, return flights were with TUI so luggage was taken from our cabin as usual and we picked it up on arrival at Gatwick. It worked really well and meant that we had time to explore Valletta before the cruise
Thank you, Kentish Lass. Were you able to choose a sensible flight time and have some decent legroom?

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