Can RCCI.....

[SeaTrekkie]

Maybe a silly question, but....We arranged our flights from Raleigh through the cruise line and made our final payment last month. We were only charged $620 for two rt tickets. We got our flight info today when I looked it up online to confirm times, etc. the price was over $1300! Can RCI charge us the extra $700+?

 

I've read so much here about booking your own flights because the cruise line overcharges, but it sure swung our direction for this one!! Non-Stop, too.

 

Thanks for any info,

Lea

[dc-snoopy]

My guess is that you are doing a repo or a "one way" cruise like when we took the Alaskan tour from Seward to Vancouver. In that case, you have what is usually called a "three point flight" where you fly from A (in this case Raleigh) to B and then from C back to A. This is one of the few times that you'll almost always get a better deal from the cruise lines. They usually work out a deal with the airlines that they'll guarantee X number of round-trip equivalents (for the in to Seward out from Vancouver, they have quite a few corresponding in to Vancouver and out from Seward the following week) over a period of time. The airlines will not mark up those flights given to the cruise lines as much as they would to individual passengers.

 

Once you have an invoice from RCI, they cannot charge you a different price. If you cancel the booking at any time, you may no be able to get that price back later, but the invoice price is what you'll pay.

[jcanino]

Maybe a silly question, but....We arranged our flights from Raleigh through the cruise line and made our final payment last month. We were only charged $620 for two rt tickets. We got our flight info today when I looked it up online to confirm times, etc. the price was over $1300! Can RCI charge us the extra $700+?

 

I've read so much here about booking your own flights because the cruise line overcharges, but it sure swung our direction for this one!! Non-Stop,

 

Lea, they are not going to charge you any more money. The cruise line has contracted rates. The fact that you checked the flights and the fares 2 months before your cruise only means that the flights are pretty full and there are no low fares available. If you had looked at those same flights 6 or 7 months ago, they may have been $300 per person. The fact that people on the CC boards claim you can always save money by purchasing your own air is not true. It all depends on the availabilty and the price and the rules when you look. It is totally possible that if you look at those same flights tomorrow, they may be only $1000. There are a lot of variables within the rules of pricing.

[bcs819]

The cost of airfare is constantly changing. Sometimes it's better to do your own, sometimes it's not. A few years ago, Carnival did a free air deal to San Juan if you booked a balcony for $999. Can't beat that. When we did the Pride, they wanted to charge us $500 pp for air we booked ourself for $249. Flying in a day early and paying for a hotel was still cheaper than what they wanted. It pays to do your research...

[springtxbill]

If you check airfares on cruise departure days, they will always be higher than the day before because the demand is higher. Go the day before and spend the extra money on the hotel to get a fresh start and be sure you make the ship. :)

[SeaTrekkie]

thanks to those who replied.....I'll sure be glad when I get this first cruise under my belt and won't feel so d--ned ignorant--- :o

Lea