Air deviation fee

[nrunnion]

We are going on a cruise to venice in September. However, the rooms that RC wants to put us in are very expensive. We can do better ourselves, but the travel agent says RC charges a air deviation fee if coming in a day early and they are not booking the room. Does anyone know how much this usually is?

Thanks

NR

[springtxbill]

I think it is $50, but I would look at booking my own air and hotel. I have seen a couple of instances where the cruiseline hotel price was the same per person that you could rent the hotel for 2 for.

[nrunnion]

I have found that RC charges a lot for the hotels. I can book one cheaper. But I was worried about doing the air fare myself because if you book that with RC they guarantee you get there. Is that correct? $50 is not bad. I thought maybe it was more. Thanks for the info.

nr

[chotton]

The fee is $50 plus any difference there is in the airfare. You maybe better off booking your own airfare. I have only used cruiseline air once becaue of the deal we got.

[phlydude]

Don't be fooled into thinking that if you are delayed on the day of departure that the ship will be waiting for you the next morning. Cruiseline purchased airfare gives you leniency to a point. Some have reported having people waiting to get on the ship at the 1st port of call after bad storms hit a particular part of the country. While this is good, do you really want to play catch-up?

 

Airfare purchased through the airline is often double the going rate. Reason for this is that the cruiseline waits to book your airfare a couple weeks before departure and books a refundable fare. You can do much better on your own and can save yourself hassles by traveling a day early. Sure, you are going to pay for a hotel for the night but $300 extra (double priced airfare) vs $100 extra (hotel stay) I'm going with the cheapest option 100% of the time.

[xpcdoojk]

Use expedia or travelocity for a base price, this is particularly good to use the multi destination option if you are going from one port and returning from another port. The best solution is to fly to the origination port the day before. Get a hotel and explore the city. Venice is a wonderful place to spend a week, so an extra day is a good thing! The air deviation fee is waived if you are a C&A member at the platinum level or higher. Still it is easy to get from the Marco Polo airport to Venice so you don't need a transfer either. The nice local bus system is less than $5 per person.

 

jc

[Guest OBAYbee]

I had this come up last month. I wasn't happy with the air arrangements made for us to San Juan. (13 hours of puddle jumpers) So I had them changed the next day. I had to pay the extra cost of course. I also had to pay $60.00 deviation fee PER TICKET. (Of note, they told me international deviation fee was $150.00 per ticket. You might want to ask around some more.)

[Cam6959]

I will always book my own air from now on. I just returned from a trip that RC booked airfare. They booked me going into Chicago using United Airways. United Airways is a charter company of United. I am still shaking my head at the mess, confusion and utter chaos this caused. I waited in line one hour in the United Airways line and was told I had to go to the United gate and wait in their line. I never did fly united airways I flew ED and TED and United Express and to top it off I missed my connection because of bad weather. My connecting flight was backing from the gate as I was gasping out of breath running to catch it from across the terminal. The only reason we made the ship is because RC has a policy if over 50 people are held up they will hold the ship for one and a half hours. 50 and under forget it they put you in a hotel and fly you in the first port that has a major airstrip. I made it to the ship my luggage did not. My luggage caught up with me 3 1/2 days later. Pack very carefully. : )

[xpcdoojk]

I had this come up last month. I wasn't happy with the air arrangements made for us to San Juan. (13 hours of puddle jumpers) So I had them changed the next day. I had to pay the extra cost of course. I also had to pay $60.00 deviation fee PER TICKET. (Of note, they told me international deviation fee was $150.00 per ticket. You might want to ask around some more.)

 

Did air deviation in 2003 to New Zealand and it was $50 then.

 

jc

[jezzdogg]

Especially if you are doing an overseas flight to come in the day before, what with the stress of packing, etc. getting to the airport the long flight over...you will be exhausted, the first day or two of the ship you will be a Zombie. We fly in usually 2 days before on a European cruise to let our bodies adjust to the time difference. At least give youself one day....For a great hotel, in a little square not far from San Marco we stayed last summer at the Hotel Ala (which is a 3 star best western) the rooms where a nice size, bathrooms were huge, breakfast was wonerful, they had the american newspapers, a/c that worked....paided 122 dollars wth senior discount (hafd to be over 50) but, they never even asked to see are ID about that. They have a private taxi dock on one side of the hotel on the canal and around the corner is a vapretto station

[xpcdoojk]

We stayed at the Hotel Antiche Figure which was directly across the grand canal from the vaporetto stand behind the railway station. The bridge was just to our east and it took about 2 minutes to go from the hotel to the vaporetto station (like a bus but it is a boat). We could be to St Marks in 20 minutes. We would take the vaporetto to St Marks or other stop, and then wander back thru the city to our hotel. It was an entrancing way to see the shops and restaurants. We found some great little restaurants and bars this way. Viewing the city from the Grand Canal in a Vaporetto is actually a very cool way to see the city. It was especially lovely at night. We paid $199 per night for our 4 star, and very nice hotel in mid September 2004 for 4 nights.

 

jc

[nrunnion]

Where has everyone stayed in Barcelona. I want to book through travelocity or expedia. The cruise line wants too much for the rooms for one night. Where does everyone suggest.

 

Thanks

NR

[xpcdoojk]

Where has everyone stayed in Barcelona. I want to book through travelocity or expedia. The cruise line wants too much for the rooms for one night. Where does everyone suggest.

 

Thanks

NR

 

Haven't been to Barcelona yet, someday!;) Check out tripadvisor and it will give you recommendations and links to expedia, travelocity and other internet booking engines. Plus people's opinions. Remember European hotels are a lot different than American hotels. In someways much better and in others not.

 

jc

[Guest OBAYbee]

Did air deviation in 2003 to New Zealand and it was $50 then.

 

jc

Hmm, that's interesting. Could be Travelocity mispoke or deviation fees were increased. But that's what they told me on the phone just last month. Either way, best way is not to put yourself in a situation where you must change like I did. Live and learn I guess. :)

[xpcdoojk]

Hmm, that's interesting. Could be Travelocity mispoke or deviation fees were increased. But that's what they told me on the phone just last month. Either way, best way is not to put yourself in a situation where you must change like I did. Live and learn I guess. :)

 

It could be some sort of travelocity making a few bucks too. Since my TA only does cruises and the associated air and hotels, they probably play the cruiseline rules a little straighter. Or you could well be right that the air deviation fee has increased.

 

jc