Oceania Air Experience?

[ORV]

Why don't you do as I did, do your homework, pick the exact flight you want, call your TA immediately while it is still available, and ask if it is possible.

 

My entire converstion with my TA, including the 2 min it took for him to call Oceania while I held, took no more than 5 minutes total. Quick and painless.

 

I got a direct flight with 4 extra nights in Miami, one before, 3 after. There was no charge on top of the normal deviation fee.

 

Well, I suppose the main reason I wouldn't be doing that just yet is that the cruise is not until May of 2012, just figuring for future reference. I somehow doubt those flights are available yet.

 

And yes, $200 is not much considering the cost of the cruise. But growing up dirt poor you learn to not spend money unnecessarily. Of course others mileage will vary.

[happy cruzer]

Well, I suppose the main reason I wouldn't be doing that just yet is that the cruise is not until May of 2012, just figuring for future reference. I somehow doubt those flights are available yet.

 

And yes, $200 is not much considering the cost of the cruise. But growing up dirt poor you learn to not spend money unnecessarily. Of course others mileage will vary.

 

Yep, same here about squeezing that eagle.

 

But I always assume that I will be doing a deviation to get to the cruise at least one day early. Getting there early is a requirement for me to have a high level of confidence of making the cruise, trip insurance covers delays but alot start at the delays being 4 or 5 hours that would not cover alot to flight delays. So I usually determine a period of time far enough out to have a selection of flights, I usually like about 8 months.

 

Then I do some research on kayak.com etc. to check the prices that I could get. Then compare to what the air cost is that O includes.

 

If I can book cheaper I do and cancel the O included air.

 

If I can't then I contact my TA to get the air deviation going through O.

 

For those trying to figure out the details of what and when they want to book, I really recommend reading tons of posts over on the cruise air board. I even post my days and ports over there for help picking the flights, and have gotten great assistance.

[ORV]

Yep, same here about squeezing that eagle.

 

But I always assume that I will be doing a deviation to get to the cruise at least one day early. Getting there early is a requirement for me to have a high level of confidence of making the cruise, trip insurance covers delays but alot start at the delays being 4 or 5 hours that would not cover alot to flight delays. So I usually determine a period of time far enough out to have a selection of flights, I usually like about 8 months.

 

Then I do some research on kayak.com etc. to check the prices that I could get. Then compare to what the air cost is that O includes.

 

If I can book cheaper I do and cancel the O included air.

 

If I can't then I contact my TA to get the air deviation going through O.

 

For those trying to figure out the details of what and when they want to book, I really recommend reading tons of posts over on the cruise air board. I even post my days and ports over there for help picking the flights, and have gotten great assistance.

 

On this trip a couple of those points don't apply. The included air is about 1200 additional. The current price of a flight from LAX to PPT is a little more than that. At least it was a week or two ago. I can't see it being any cheaper once the flights are posted.

 

Like you we generally go in the day before. On this trip the first night is an overnight in Papeete. That gives an extra 24 hours to get there even if there is an issue.

[caribbeansun]

I would expect that the days prior limit is a function of when different airlines load their flights into the schedule. I see you are in Vancouver - Air Canada is one of the earliest to load their flights in.

 

 

From following the posts, I find some questions myself facing air deviation fees for a cruise with cruise air over three hundred days out. I am aware of researching flights at the 330 day point for the return air date. I am unaware of the significance of 270 days for air return dates. Would you not have to fully pay for your cruise in full at 270 days for you to be discussing air flights w/O associated with your cruise? Or do you begin at that point (270 days prior to return flights) discussing air deviation flights prior to final payment.

[happy cruzer]

On this trip a couple of those points don't apply. The included air is about 1200 additional. The current price of a flight from LAX to PPT is a little more than that. At least it was a week or two ago. I can't see it being any cheaper once the flights are posted.

 

Like you we generally go in the day before. On this trip the first night is an overnight in Papeete. That gives an extra 24 hours to get there even if there is an issue.

 

Here's a thread that mentions tahiti from the cruise air board

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1245985&highlight=tahiti

Just an example of what kind of help you can get if needed.

 

Research is key in your case as you seem know since you did start early.:)

 

You are plaining to mix some air that you purchase with miles and some from the cruiseline. So all the fine print in the travel insurance will be important; some cover FF miles if there is a problem and some don't.

 

Good luck on your final decisions!

[ORV]

Here's a thread that mentions tahiti from the cruise air board

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1245985&highlight=tahiti

Just an example of what kind of help you can get if needed.

 

Research is key in your case as you seem know since you did start early.:)

 

You are plaining to mix some air that you purchase with miles and some from the cruiseline. So all the fine print in the travel insurance will be important; some cover FF miles if there is a problem and some don't.

 

Good luck on your final decisions!

 

Thanks for the tips. I always try to research as much as possible before taking action. Nothing like the experience of those that have done it before. I also check the Cruise Air board. There is some good advice there. The last time I went to PPT we went into LA on AA, spent the night, took a separate flight on ATN the next day. I made the arrangements independent of the cruise line. It worked out fine.

 

The problem with making arrangements is that you'll get everything exactly the way you want it then the airlines will make a change and mess it up. We had this issue on our upcoming cruise. We have to stay in Puerto Rico an extra night due to Delta changing their schedules. They canceled the flight we were on and switched us to a flight where we would have 4 minutes to make a connection in ATL. On top of that they didn't notify me. Good thing I check my flights every couple of weeks.

 

All part of the fun.

[threeedogmedia]

It seems the 200 deviation fee might be cheap piece of mind. We're looking at a Tahiti cruise so it might be better to just get to LA the day before as I'm pretty sure they'll be using ATN to get to Papeete, and there is only one or two flights on most days. Should be easy to figure out which one they'll put you on from there.

 

When we were going on the Paul Gauguin in Jan 2002, we had free air from Seattle to LA and ATN to Tahiti. Radisson booked our flights so we assumed that they would give us enough time to make the connections in LA> The lines in the LA international terminal were horrible. First one line to drop your bags at the airline gate and then back to the end of another line that went outside and around the building for security. We heard our flight being called when we had at least another 1/2 hour or more in line. I grabbed a guy from behind the ATN desk and had him escort us and many others who were on our flight straight to the front of the line. We still had a bus ride after security to make it to the plane. We barely made it. They door closed on our plane after we boarded. I realize that this was very close to the 9/11 attack and procedures have changed but I will never allow myself to be in this stressful situation again. I'll check in HOURS before I need to in LA so that I never get stuck in their long lines again. I'll plant my rear in the business class lounge and relax for a few hours rather than stress in a long line ever again. We now try and avoid LA when ever possible.

 

I would also select a air deviation on this cruise because we didn't arrive on the ship until very late in the evening (ship was overnight in port) and this just isn't the way I want to start a cruise. We were novices then and have learned along the way to make our life much easier by paying just a little more to get exactly what we want and arrive a few days early so get used to the new time zone.

 

Hope your trip goes well.

Karen

[450tempe]

We have two experiences and both are positive. On our first cruise we extended our stay 3 weeks in total and still only paid the $100 deviation fee. We did get poor connections on the way back. The second time (which is coming up in March) we again extended our holiday a week at the start and 3 weeks at the end and still only paid the $100. The connections are brilliant. In our case, flying from Vancouver to BA and back from Rome it means no zig zag stuff across the USA to get home. I think they do a great job if you give them a chance.

[dlb237]

Original Q: Is there any benefit to booking Oceania Air instead of air on your own, besides getting to pick your flights, if the price is close to equal. Since Oceania gets you to a port the day of the cruise (without air deviation), do they take any responsibility if you miss the cruise?

 

Per O's FAQ:

 

"In making these arrangements, Oceania Cruises acts only as an agent to the guest(s') behalf, and does not operate, control, or supervise any airlines and will not be responsible for carriers failing to meet schedules whether or not air tickets by Oceania Cruises. "

 

So in other words - no.

 

Not exactly - that's probably a necessary disclaimer to cover situations in which the airline does something truly ridiculous; Oceania does considerably better when they can. We have seen Oceania do impressive things for people who have booked air with Oceania.

 

A few years ago, we were on Regatta when she remained in Miami for several hours past her scheduled sailing time in order to accommodate passengers on a late plane from California. This past spring Insignia arrived from her transatlantic in Barcelona on the Sunday that Iceland's Mt. Unpronounceable unexpectedly closed the Barcelona airport - passengers who booked air w/Oceania (including us) were put up in nice hotels and Oceania got us home a lot sooner than those who booked air on their own. Friends who were traveling on FF miles "won" an unexpected week in Barcelona, courtesy of Air France/KLM.

 

If one is planning to arrive on the day of the cruise departure, I strongly recommend booking air w/Oceania - having seen what they did for us in Barcelona, I want them working for me if things ever go wrong in the future (and missing the ship is a miserable way to start a vacation). OTOH, I'll probably continue to book my own air for US domestic trips and plan to arrive in advance.

 

FYI, --David