Flight is waitlisted? What does this mean?

[gooners1968]

Hi,

 

This is my first post-so please be gentle! ;)

 

Have booked our first cruise for next August on Liberty.

 

Have read all about price drops before final payment,so was looking on the RCL website tonight.For new bookings for the same cruise,flights from Birmingham(where we are flying from) are showing as waitlisted-what does this mean? We haven't been contacted by the TA with any changes.

I did get rather excited when I looked at the price-then realised that,although it says that flights are included,the breakdown of charges is not showing a flight cost-never mind,keep checking!

 

Thanks

[MrsFixitCT]

It could be that you're on a waitlist for the flights...most airlines open booking 12 months out, but some go to lesser lengths of time, so maybe RC is planning on putting you on one that goes lesser...

 

JMHO-Just My Humble Opinion...I might be tempted to contact your TA or RC to be sure...

[Jimbo]

Just select the flight option now through Royal Caribbean, check the price they charge you per person, you have up until when final payment is due to either keep their air tickets for you or you can cancel the air portion(must cancel the air portion by final payment date, otherwise you are stuck with their air tickets) and

 

buy air tickets yourself, you might find a much lower price buying them yourselves.

 

It's also a good idea to fly in a day ahead of time for peace of mind of not missing the ship because of weather problems or equipment problems.

 

It's also nice to add an extra day to your vaction.

 

Jimbo:)

[jgf]

Flights generally can't be booked until 330 days prior - so it may be that your dates are simply not available to book yet.

 

Hi,

 

This is my first post-so please be gentle! ;)

 

Have booked our first cruise for next August on Liberty.

 

Have read all about price drops before final payment,so was looking on the RCL website tonight.For new bookings for the same cruise,flights from Birmingham(where we are flying from) are showing as waitlisted-what does this mean? We haven't been contacted by the TA with any changes.

I did get rather excited when I looked at the price-then realised that,although it says that flights are included,the breakdown of charges is not showing a flight cost-never mind,keep checking!

 

Thanks

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

A few times when I have looked at RC air it came up that PHX was not available and to select another gateway. Wait listing was not an option.

 

Weird!

 

***

[Ontherocks47]

Hi,

 

This is my first post-so please be gentle! ;)

 

Have booked our first cruise for next August on Liberty.

 

Have read all about price drops before final payment,so was looking on the RCL website tonight.For new bookings for the same cruise,flights from Birmingham(where we are flying from) are showing as waitlisted-what does this mean? We haven't been contacted by the TA with any changes.

I did get rather excited when I looked at the price-then realised that,although it says that flights are included,the breakdown of charges is not showing a flight cost-never mind,keep checking!

 

Thanks

 

Flights can't be booked more than 11 months in advance. Looks like your sailing is 20 Aug 2011 according to your cruise ticker? They should have just opened for booking this week, perhaps call your TA to touch base that all is ok, I'm sure it is but do check. But really if you can cancel the air portion from your cruise booking I think you'll do better with prices on your own and just watch them over the next few months for a good sale you could save several hundred dollars. Have a great cruise.

[twoputt.plusone]

First things first - Welcome to Cruise Critic. :)

 

I've only done one cruise where the cruiseline arranged the flights. We didn't get our flight information until approx. 6 weeks before our cruise. So sit tight a bit. ;)

[tracyanns]

Flights can't be booked more than 11 months in advance. Looks like your sailing is 20 Aug 2011 according to your cruise ticker? They should have just opened for booking this week, perhaps call your TA to touch base that all is ok, I'm sure it is but do check. But really if you can cancel the air portion from your cruise booking I think you'll do better with prices on your own and just watch them over the next few months for a good sale you could save several hundred dollars. Have a great cruise.

 

Not only might you save hundreds of dollars but you can pick which flight you want. A lot of times the cruise lines charge you the most but get you the cheapest...meaning lots of stops and plane changes...meaning lost bags are possible. I would cancel the air portion, fly down the day before for piece of mind and go non stop...this way you know what you are getting.

 

We did air through the cruise one time and NEVER again. We paid like $350 per person and had 2 stops...one completely out of the way. I could have booked a non stop for $50 less than what I paid for that other flight and would have been there in 3 hours instead of 6 1/2...

[niko40]

hi,

 

this is my first post-so please be gentle! ;)

 

have booked our first cruise for next august on liberty.

 

Have read all about price drops before final payment,so was looking on the rcl website tonight.for new bookings for the same cruise,flights from birmingham(where we are flying from) are showing as waitlisted-what does this mean? We haven't been contacted by the ta with any changes.

I did get rather excited when i looked at the price-then realised that,although it says that flights are included,the breakdown of charges is not showing a flight cost-never mind,keep checking!

 

Thanks

hi are u flying from birmingham uk ? And did you book direct through rci or a ta like thomas cook

 

 

 

nick

[Ontherocks47]

More info. I forgot to mention the 11 months or rather 330 days has to encompass your return date as well. So you won't be able to book flights until 330 days prior to your return date. No worries, there's plenty of time to book flights. I see Liberty goes out of Barcelona and you're flying from Birmingham, AL. Delta is your best bet for flights, has fewest connections. Just one, Atlanta. Check the fares and watch them over time and book anything under $1000 is a good fare for that time period. Only other tip with that Atlanta connect is book flights with a comfortable connection time, +2 hours preferrably. Atlanta airport is busy and you don't want to miss the transatlantic portion, its only once a day, if you miss it you can't fly till next day, same schedule, red eye over lands early am. On the return, you have to do customs in Atlanta on arrival so again +2 hours connect time to be comfortable. Have a great cruise!

[Jimbo]

More info. I forgot to mention the 11 months or rather 330 days has to encompass your return date as well. So you won't be able to book flights until 330 days prior to your return date. No worries, there's plenty of time to book flights. I see Liberty goes out of Barcelona and you're flying from Birmingham, AL. Delta is your best bet for flights, has fewest connections. Just one, Atlanta. Check the fares and watch them over time and book anything under $1000 is a good fare for that time period. Only other tip with that Atlanta connect is book flights with a comfortable connection time, +2 hours preferrably. Atlanta airport is busy and you don't want to miss the transatlantic portion, its only once a day, if you miss it you can't fly till next day, same schedule, red eye over lands early am. On the return, you have to do customs in Atlanta on arrival so again +2 hours connect time to be comfortable. Have a great cruise!

 

Good info, welcome to cruisecritic. Hey, Do you have any places you would like to travel to? Looks like you haven't missed many......Can't you tell I'm jealous.

 

Jimbo:)

[cruisenfever]

Not only might you save hundreds of dollars but you can pick which flight you want. A lot of times the cruise lines charge you the most but get you the cheapest...meaning lots of stops and plane changes...meaning lost bags are possible. I would cancel the air portion, fly down the day before for piece of mind and go non stop...this way you know what you are getting.

 

We did air through the cruise one time and NEVER again. We paid like $350 per person and had 2 stops...one completely out of the way. I could have booked a non stop for $50 less than what I paid for that other flight and would have been there in 3 hours instead of 6 1/2...

What you say is true for domestic flights, but for international flights RCI can usually get your cheaper fares than booking on your own. And if you do Custom Air you can pick the flights you want and get non-stop or the least amount of stops.

 

We've done South America twice and Europe twice and could not even come close to the fares that we got doing Custom Air with RCI.

[gooners1968]

Thanks for all the advice.I'm sorry I should have made clear that we are flying from Birmingham in the UK!!!

 

We booked through a TA-I will give them a ring in the morning :)

[Ontherocks47]

Thanks for all the advice.I'm sorry I should have made clear that we are flying from Birmingham in the UK!!!

 

We booked through a TA-I will give them a ring in the morning :)

 

 

Too funny!!! Check Easy Jet, Ryan, etc before booking thru cruiseline. Same deal with flights don't book the last one for the day, book with a little back up in case delays or cancellations. They also tend to fly into lesser area airports so don't just search on BCN, also check for flight to Girona (GRO) which is close.

[Ontherocks47]

Good info, welcome to cruisecritic. Hey, Do you have any places you would like to travel to? Looks like you haven't missed many......Can't you tell I'm jealous.

 

Jimbo:)

 

Jimbo,

My want to go places list far exceeds my been to list, like most people!! I want to go to Cambodia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, Mongolia, Syria, Ethiopia, Namibia, Botswana, Bhutan, to name a few!! For interesting sea journeys, the Royal Mail Boat RMS St. Helena does regular runs from Cardiff, Wales to Capetown, stops Canaries, Ascension, St. Helena, Namibia (Wallis Bay). Fares aren't cheap and journeys long but can shorten with flying with the Royal Air Force to Ascension 3 or 4 times a month they take about 20 passengers. There's also a great mail/supply boat in French Polynesia the Aranui 3, a bit more of a mail/supply boat they have balcony suites :) Happy travels!

[Marie51]

Thanks for all the advice.I'm sorry I should have made clear that we are flying from Birmingham in the UK!!!

 

We booked through a TA-I will give them a ring in the morning :)

 

Great! I hope you are coming to Florida at least one day early so you have time to unwind and relax after your flight.