How far out can you book Choice Air?

[Keri's Cruisin']

Booked on the Oasis of the Seas for next March 17th, 2012 and cannot access the choice air to check flights. Am I too far out yet to be able to use this service? I have been looking at airfare for a while now from Des Moines, Iowa to Ft Lauderdale and it is extremely high! Not sure what is going on with flights/costs these days. Wanted to compare prices w Choice air but it won't allow my reservation #. Anyone have experience with how far in advance you can book Choice Air?

[Clarea]

Booked on the Oasis of the Seas for next March 17th' date=' 2012 and cannot access the choice air to check flights. Am I too far out yet to be able to use this service? I have been looking at airfare for a while now from Des Moines, Iowa to Ft Lauderdale and it is extremely high! Not sure what is going on with flights/costs these days. Wanted to compare prices w Choice air but it won't allow my reservation #. Anyone have experience with how far in advance you can book Choice Air?[/quote']

Choice Air should be usable for you. I've been looking at flights for San Juan in March of 2012 and am seeing several choices. I had to wait until late April before I got some choices.

 

Choice Air does allow you to check pricing without using a reservation number. I'd try that. Also, if your cruise is linked as a back to back, you cannot use the Choice Air website. In the case of a back to back, either call Choice Air, or unlink the cruises long enough to book Choice Air, and then have them re-linked.

[OklaCruiserMom]

Speaking of Choice Air, does it only offer flights on the "regular" airlines, or does it include the more budget airlines as well? I'm thinking AirTran, SpiritAir, JetBlue, Southwest, etc. Flight price is one thing I'm really worrying about for our May '12 cruise. I have 3 adults and an 11yo. Hoping I can find flights for total less than $1200 for all of us. Think I have a prayer?

[Pumbaamd]

Log in to Choice Air. Choose the 2nd option, where you don't need to log in with your ressie number, you are just checking flights for your cruise. If your fav airline is not listed, go to it directly yourself and check it out.

We have found that CA is great for long distance, Trans Atlantic and repo cruises. Our Cape Horn cruise and upcoming TA are great examples. They saved us $$$!

But for the seven day or less cruise to the Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, it's best to book direct with the airline yourself.

Rick and Deirdra

[Astona]

I called RCCL to book my air and the first price they gave me was 1600pp.. I almost fell out of my chair, HOWEVER, Alisha was very very nice and went over each flights with me, and I saved a ton by booking a few of the legs my self.

 

I had RCCL book the flight and trans to the ship, ( so they where responsible for getting me there ) and had them book the trans from the ship to the airport and the flight from Honolulu to the Big Island. I booked the flight from there back to LAX. Their prices was 4800 total plus transfers, mine was 2600 total including transfers.

 

Just check the prices before calling, travelocity is great for that ..... Saved me 2200 on flights and that money will be spent on the 11 nights we are on the ship I am sure LOL.

[skandls]

Booked on the Oasis of the Seas for next March 17th' date=' 2012 and cannot access the choice air to check flights. Am I too far out yet to be able to use this service? I have been looking at airfare for a while now from Des Moines, Iowa to Ft Lauderdale and it is extremely high! Not sure what is going on with flights/costs these days. Wanted to compare prices w Choice air but it won't allow my reservation #. Anyone have experience with how far in advance you can book Choice Air?[/quote']

 

 

If you can consider the 'low cost' airlines - the flight info may not be released so Choice Air won't show SW, JetB or VAmer. Keep checking and find out when your preferred airlines release their schedules and prices.

[Member123]

Booked on the Oasis of the Seas for next March 17th' date=' 2012 and cannot access the choice air to check flights. Am I too far out yet to be able to use this service? I have been looking at airfare for a while now from Des Moines, Iowa to Ft Lauderdale and it is extremely high! Not sure what is going on with flights/costs these days. Wanted to compare prices w Choice air but it won't allow my reservation #. Anyone have experience with how far in advance you can book Choice Air?[/quote']

 

330 days. So, choice air should be available to you as of 4/22/2011 for a flight departure for a March 17th cruise, keeping in ming that the 330 days have to extend to your return date... you should be good.

[Clarea]

Speaking of Choice Air, does it only offer flights on the "regular" airlines, or does it include the more budget airlines as well? I'm thinking AirTran, SpiritAir, JetBlue, Southwest, etc. Flight price is one thing I'm really worrying about for our May '12 cruise. I have 3 adults and an 11yo. Hoping I can find flights for total less than $1200 for all of us. Think I have a prayer?

I've not seen Choice Air offer flights on any of the low cost airlines. Also, as another poster has noted, Choice Air pricing is not as competitive for purely domestic round trip fares.

[waterbug123]

I've not seen Choice Air offer flights on any of the low cost airlines. Also, as another poster has noted, Choice Air pricing is not as competitive for purely domestic round trip fares.

 

Actually, if you do an apples-to-apples comparison, Choice Air isn't that competitive on transatlantic flights either, because you're not getting the same ticket you would get if you booked directly with the airlines. The consolidator ticket that you will likely get through Choice Air will have so many limitations and restrictions in the event of flight disruptions, that it's very misleading to imply that you're getting the same ticket you would get if you reserved directly with the airlines, but at a cheaper price.

[waterbug123]

I had RCCL book the flight and trans to the ship, ( so they where responsible for getting me there )

 

That's a HUGE misconception. You may find it helpful to go over to the cruise air forum; read the sticky on cruise air and search and read through the various threads on cruise air/choice air if you want more details.

[crzndeb]

Since you are flying domestic and have several months before your cruise, I would continue to watch airline prices. There always seems to be some type of air wars, especially after summer travel. There are several sites that will track pricing for you.

 

I don't think I would ever use a consolidator for a domestic flight, but that is my choice.

 

I always book my own air, but chose to go with Choice Air for my one way from San Diego to Rome for my TA in Oct. It saved me about $400-500, since it was one way. I will reserve judgement until I have actually done the flight.

[Gonzo70]

I had RCCL book the flight and trans to the ship, ( so they where responsible for getting me there ) and had them book the trans from the ship to the airport and the flight from Honolulu to the Big Island. I booked the flight from there back to LAX. Their prices was 4800 total plus transfers, mine was 2600 total including transfers.

 

 

Be careful about booking two legs of the same trip via different travel agencies. If something goes wrong on the first leg that leads you to miss your connection, you might have trouble. Since you booked two separate trips, the duty of the first flight is simply to get you to the first (and not your final) destination. If you have a 90 minutes layover scheduled and the first flight is two hours late, they have done their duty in getting you to the destination that first flight was supposed to get you too. They have no obligation to get you on your second flight or provide any compensation or booking assistance if you miss that second flight. The travel agency or airline with whom you booked the second flight would have no obligation to you either, since you simply were a no show to your scheduled flight and they had nothing to do with your prior flight being delayed. You may be forced to purchase last minute tickets for new flights if this were to occur. Hopefully you have lots of time in between when your first flight is scheduled to arrive at KOA and your second flight is scheduled to fly you from KOA to LAX. Travel insurance also would not likely be of much assistance as they generally require very lengthy delays to occur before they would provide any relief. If you do have lots of wiggle room, then the nice savings you received might be worth the small risk.

 

Also with as another poster mentioned, Choice Air is just available for "convenience." It is just as important to fly in a day or two early when booking air with the cruise line versus on your own. The reason to book air with a cruise line is only if it going to save you a lot of money versus what you are able to find on your own. They may or may not provide meaningful assistance if your flight causes you to miss the ship. If you are booked into consolidator class tickets (as the cruise line air often does) there is only so much they are able to do for you if something goes awry.

 

Edit: Here is a link to the Cruise Air sticky about booking air with the cruise line: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322

 

While it may be worth while to book air with the cruise line if the savings is substantial, people need to realize there is often more, not less risk when booking air with the cruise line versus directly with the airline when something goes wrong.