Fly Cruise - what would you do?

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CaroleF
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Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#1

Post by CaroleF »

We are going on an Oceana fly cruise - Gatwick to Valetta. I am dithering about whether to go up to Gatwick the night before or not. We live near Southampton so about a 2 hour journey from home to Gatwick. Our flight time is 13.40 - check in 10.40 so that would mean leaving home about 8ish, allowing a little time for traffic problems on the way. However, having heard about various incidents on the M23, I think it is, leading to Gatwick and on at least one occasion to it being closed I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to go up the evening before. We would go by taxi so wouldn't have to allow time for parking the car etc. Previously when we've done a Mediterranean fly cruise and when we've done Caribbean cruises we've always gone up the night before but then the flight times have been much earlier. It's just with this flight time of 13.40 being much later whether it's worth staying over or not.

I have a booking at the Hilton at Gatwick South which can be cancelled if we wish with no cost. We got a good price which includes breakfast. So I'm dithering. John would prefer to go up the morning of the flight but I'm likely to be worrying about traffic until we get there. So what would others do? I need to decide as I need to book a taxi for whichever time we decide to leave.

Carole

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Manoverboard
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#2

Post by Manoverboard »

We would go the night before, arriving at the Sofitel Hotel at about 16:00.

A pleasant evening meal of choice in the Hotel and a leisurely full English breakfast before ' walking ' the short distance to the Check In area. Possibly via the super simple automated rail connection.

No fuss, no worries … just consider the extra cost to be part of your holiday.
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being

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barney
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#3

Post by barney »

We always stay up the night before Carole and incorporate it into the holiday.
Having had a few close shaves in the past, it takes all the worry away..
Even when we lived 45 minutes away in Kent, we still booked a hotel.
Our regular flight to Malta was 11.55 am with AirMalta so we just got up at normal time, had a bit of breakfast and strolled over to the departures.
All very civilised and worth the cost.
Last edited by barney on 04 Sep 2018, 10:05, edited 1 time in total.
Empty vessels .. and all that

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allatc
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#4

Post by allatc »

Go for the hotel. Much less stressful.

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Stephen
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#5

Post by Stephen »

Always go down the day before. Make it part of the holiday. Who needs all that stress on the day.

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Gill W
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#6

Post by Gill W »

If it gives you piece of mind, go up the night before.
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GillD46
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#7

Post by GillD46 »

You can tell what my answer is by our next cruise which is from Hong Kong to Southampton. Our flight is from LHR at 9pm. We have booked a hotel for the night before!

We were once caught in traffic on the M4 for over FOUR HOURS! Had we NOT been going to an airport hotel, we would DEFINITELY have missed our flight.We lived only an hour away. You just never know what you’ll encounter, so we always book a hotel now.

This is one occasion, when I would advise you to ignore your husband :lol:
Gill

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Happydays
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#8

Post by Happydays »

We always go the day before and have a hotel stay takes all the stress away. As others have said nice dinner then breakfast in the morning. Plenty of time for showers etc in the morning.
When we went in February we had a lastish flight (11.30am ) and had decided as we're only about an hour from Glasgow airport we wouldn't bother with a hotel then two days before quickly booked an airport hotel as I started to worry about something unexpected happening😯 better safe than sorry😂

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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#9

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Always the night before for us. Not worth the worry


Quizzical Bob
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#10

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Personally I would always prefer to fly out a couple of days before and spend the night(s) in a hotel at the cruise departure point.

I can understand your dilemma but We have stayed in that Hilton and it does make the whole trip less of a concern. Have you considered getting the train to Gatwick the evening before? Southern rail run a direct Hourlyservice from Soton Central to Gatwick and they have some very good fare for only a few £££ if you go in the evening. South West Trains also run with a change at Clapham Junction but they are somewhat more exensive.


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CaroleF
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#11

Post by CaroleF »

Thanks Bob but the thought of manhandling cases on and off trains is a definite no as far as I'm concerned. The decision is made, we're going up the night before. Thanks everyone for your input. It didn't take much to convince John so a relaxing evening and no worry about getting stuck in traffic jams on the morning of departure.

Carole

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GillD46
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#12

Post by GillD46 »

You can relax about it all now. Have a great time.
Gill


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CaroleF
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#13

Post by CaroleF »

Thanks Gill. As much as I hate fly cruises these days I'm sure we will. Just got used to going from Southampton and not having to worry about weight of cases, plastic bags for liquids etc. We're so spoilt as we only live about 20 minutes from the port. Gatwick is a whole different ball game. I don't mind flying, it's the rest of it I hate!

Carole

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barney
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#14

Post by barney »

Good shout Carole.
Treat the old fellah to a brandy after dinner :D
Have a great time .
Empty vessels .. and all that

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oldbluefox
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Re: Fly Cruise - what would you do?

#15

Post by oldbluefox »

Why worry about getting there on time for the sake of a night's stay in a hotel? Go the night before and once there you can relax and enjoy your holiday. Good decision. Have a great time.

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