Cruise line vs. DIY flights

[ActiveTraveler]

What are the pros and cons of using the cruise line's flight program? Which method for buying two one-way plane tickets do you prefer, and why? I will stay a few days prior to the cruise date but don't know where yet except that it is in the Western Mediterranean part of Europe.

[schmeed]

What are the pros and cons of using the cruise line's flight program? Which method for buying two one-way plane tickets do you prefer, and why? I will stay a few days prior to the cruise date but don't know where yet except that it is in the Western Mediterranean part of Europe.

Pros: They make all the arrangements.

Cons: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ You can do FAR better purchasing your own flights. The cruise line airfare is outrageous!

[klfrodo]

What are the pros and cons of using the cruise line's flight program? Which method for buying two one-way plane tickets do you prefer, and why? I will stay a few days prior to the cruise date but don't know where yet except that it is in the Western Mediterranean part of Europe.

 

Read the Stickys at the top of this board regarding Cruise Air and Air Deviation

[NHBob]

...

Cons: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ You can do FAR better purchasing your own flights. The cruise line airfare is outrageous!

 

Beware of blanket statements like this - you need to check both alternatives, as there are times when the cruise line's fares are cheaper and/or more convenient, especially when the port is a considerable distance from the airport - London, Rome, or Santiago Chile, for example.

 

Here's an actual example of a case where the cruise air is cheaper and more convenient:

 

I'm booked on a cruise from Cape Town, South Africa to Dover, UK, next year, and will need a 1-way ticket from Boston to CPT, and a second one LHR-BOS at cruise end. The cheapest flights I have been able to find total close to $3,000. Crystal Cruise's air cost is $1,200, including the lengthy transfer from Dover to LHR. Therefore, unless I can get AAdvantage award tickets, this is a no-brainer!

 

Somewhere in this forum there have been lengthy discussions of the pros and cons of cruise lines vs. DIY air arrangements.

[NHBob]

Duplicate post deleted

[schmeed]

Read the Stickys at the top of this board regarding Cruise Air and Air Deviation

What a mess! Reading the Cruise Air and Air Deviation Explanation thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322) is reason enough to book my own flight!