Italy/Greece 2023 – Flight Confusion

Cruising, Travel, Travel Tips, Trip Reports

Italy/Greece 2023 – Flight Confusion

Published by

myfriendjess825

on

February 4, 2024

Trip: Rome and Cruise through Italy and Greece (Norwegian Breakaway)
Dates: September 1 – 15, 2023
Who: Me (Jess), Emily (one of my best friends), Beverly (my mom), Jeff (my stepdad), Jen (my aunt), and Megan (my sister).

Part of our deal with Norwegian Cruise Line was that our flight would be booked through them. This honestly was one of the most stressful parts of the entire thing, because we didn’t get our flight schedule until about 45 days before the trip. About mid-July, both Jeff and I got emails from AirCanada about our flights. At this point, we hadn’t received anything from NCL, yet. The flight would take us from Orlando to Montreal to Rome…. then from Rome to Zurich to Toronto to Orlando. NOT ideal, but it was what it was. Megan and Jen hadn’t received anything. We were all completely baffled as to what was happening.

A couple weeks later, Megan and Jen got an email from NCL about their flights. I checked my email and Em/I’s flights were there, changed from what I got from AirCanada. It took another day for my parents to get their email from NCL.

One of the reasons I wouldn’t recommend going through the cruise line (or at least NCL) for your flight is that you get NO control over your flights. Also, they only guarantee that people in the same cabin will be on the same flights. You get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit.

Here’s what we ended up with….

Megan and Jen – Leaving Orlando at 7am and arriving in Montreal for a 9 HOUR layover. Neither of them were super thrilled about this for a number of reasons. Jen had only previously been on one flight in her life…. about 30 years prior…. and it was on a puddle jumper from Alabama to Florida. She was VERY nervous about flying, so the idea of not having everyone together made her even apprehensive.

Me, Emily, Mom, and Jeff – Leaving Orlando at 3pm and arriving in Montreal with 65 minutes to spare. (Spoiler alert – This would not go as planned.)

EVERYONE – Overnight flight to Rome

Then….

Mom and Jeff – Leaving Rome at 9:45am, arriving in Zurich, flying at 1:30pm to Toronto, and then heading to Orlando at 7pm. They would be arriving in Orlando about an hour before us. Allegedly.

Me, Emily, Jen, and Megan – Leaving Rome at 1:30 to Montreal and then leaving Montreal to Orlando at 7:30pm.

Not the worse, but certainly not great. My coworker and his wife actually had really great flights to/from Rome on their trip. The rest of their party? Not good, at all. The savings is definitely attractive, but unless you’re only traveling in one cabin, it may be more trouble than it’s worth.

Italy/Greece 2023 Trip Report (September 1 – 15, 2023)
– The Beginning (Vivi Alla Giornata!)
– The Planning Process (Rome)
– The Planning Process (Greece Ports)
– The Planning Process (Italy Ports)
– Flight Confusion
– Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)
– Day 1: Rome Arrival and City Tour (September 2, 2023)
– Day 2: Board the Breakaway (September 3, 2023)
– Day 3: Sea Day (September 4, 2023)
– Day 4: Santorini, Greece (September 5, 2023)
– Day 5: Athens (Piraeus), Greece (September 6, 2023)
– Day 6: Mykonos, Greece (September 7, 2023)
– Day 7: Olympia (Katakolon), Greece (September 8, 2023)
– Day 8: Valletta, Malta (September 9, 2023)
– Day 9: Messina (Sicily), Italy (September 10, 2023)
– Day 10: Naples, Italy (September 11, 2023)
– Day 11: Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy (September 12, 2023)
– Day 12: Disembark and Vatican City (September 13, 2023)
– Day 13: Rome (September 14, 2023)
– Day 14: Leaving Rome (September 15, 2023) and Some Final Thoughts

Italy/Greece 2023 – Flight Confusion

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