RC Pre-Cruise Pkg with AIR ??????

[saj513]

Looking for some input to share with our group. This is our 2nd cruise as a group of 20. The first time we sailed the Western Caribbean on the Enchantment of the Seas in 2003 and had the time of our lives. We have now booked the Eastern Caribbean on the Explorer to sail March 18, 2006.

On our first cruise we all made our own flight arrangements and the travel agent got us a great price on hotel in Ft. Lauderdale.

Now we are sailing out of Miami and she has suggested the airfare and pre-cruise pkg through Royal Caribbean.

They are recommending the Radisson on Biscayne Blvd.

I have done a lot of searching for airfares and cannot come close to what they have quoted.

Please advise on the packages, the hotel and any suggestions you think would be helpful to us.

Looking forward to hearing from lots of you seasoned travelers to help out this fairly new group of cruisers.

Thanks in advance.

[TrentS]

We've done both packages, and booked on our own, and it's no contest. We'd much rather pay more and book our own air, with the airlines/flights that we want and book our own hotels. Some things are not worth doing on the cheap and IMO this is one of them!

 

Cruise line air is frequently quite bizarre, they often use very strange connections and odd times. It's typically whatever is left when they book the flights - About 45 days out. I've seen cases where groups smaller than yours are not even put on the same flights!

 

The Radisson on Biscayne wouldn't be my choice at any price. It's on top of an old, long closed shopping mall and not in a very nice neighborhood.

 

Keep in mind that March is the peak of Spring Break in FL, with the most heavily booked flights and highest hotel rates.

[saj513]

Thanks for the input though it is quite disheartening. Doing the package certainly was not taking the cheap route (because it isn't) just the more convenient option of being able to leave from our very small home airport rather than having to travel to another city to leave.

 

As I mentioned, this is our second cruise. The first we did our own air (as many had ff points) and got a good hotel rate from TA. So we are not very experienced. I was not at all familiar with priceline before reading these boards.

 

So now we will have done both and will have basis for comparison for cruise 3.

 

Going with the pkg seemed the best option at this time. There have been other reviews on the Radisson that were promising - yours made me cringe.

 

Thanks for your input.

[TNTKP]

saj513,

Have you looked into an air deviation with the cruise package? It's the cruise line air fare, plus $50.00 pp, some cruise lines waive this fee for their club members. You can pre-selected flights, airlines, seats, etc. This usually will include ground transportation too, if you book their pre- and/or post-cruise hotel stays. Maybe this will balance some of the negatives about cruise line air? Worth a try!!

Good luck,

Tim