Air booked with Carnival

[Calyn2323]

I was hoping to get some input from people who have traveled from the east coast to Anchorage with the cruise lines. I have read that sometimes they have you come in a day early or stay an extra day. Does anyone know if this happens often?

Thanks for any info.

Carolyn

[Budget Queen]

Frankly, book it yourself. With cruise booked air, you will be lucky to get the schedule 60 days ahead. If you book yourself, you get your choice of routings much earlier and usually savings.

 

No they don't usually have you come in a day early- they may have very tight schedules however. If leaving Anchorage, most flights are over night. Again I would suggest you at least look at booking your self to the best connections. Use the multi city feature on web sites. NOT two one way tickets. Add in transfers, again simple to arrange yourself for your desired time.

[Calyn2323]

Budget Queen

I like your name. Thanks for getting back to me so fast. We would be flying into Anchorage. I know the fair is very high going through Carnival, but it includes transfers and my piece of mind. We could probably fly in a day early and stay overnight and still save money. Its something I need to look into more. I know I can book transfers with Carnival. How do I scheduled the transfers on my own?

Thanks Again

Carolyn

[Budget Queen]

Leaving from Anchorage- Whittier??? There is the Alaska RR, about $55pp and you will be able to book ship contracted transfers without having to book the air. One way car rental with Avis frankly would offer you the best option since you could tour some of the area, high drop fee however, but extremely worthwhile. request their visitor guide. http://www.anchorage.net

[Calyn2323]

Budget Queen

That is a great site. Thanks Again

Carolyn

[CabinForFour]

We have sailed 10 times with Carnival--sometimes driving, sometimes flying day-of, sometimes flying day before. Typically, there will be a $50 per person "air deviation fee" in order to fly out a day earlier if you book through the cruise line. Sometimes I book airfare on my own and sometimes I book through the cruise lines, usually depending on who has the most competitive prices. For our last cruise on the Paradise, Carnival's airfare was significantly lower than anything I could find on my own. For other cruises, that has not been the case. For our upcoming Alaska cruise with NCL, we decided to book airfare through the cruise line with an air deviation to fly in one day early, as I had a recent bad experience with an airline in bankruptcy changing my flights in a way that was not acceptable for our plans. Since we're traveling with a large group and since so many airlines are having terrible financial problems right now, I thought we'd be safer to allow the cruise line to guarantee those arrangements rather than risk being dumped at the last minute by our carrier (like we recently experienced with another vacation).

[Budget Queen]

We have sailed 10 times with Carnival--sometimes driving, sometimes flying day-of, sometimes flying day before. Typically, there will be a $50 per person "air deviation fee" in order to fly out a day earlier if you book through the cruise line. Sometimes I book airfare on my own and sometimes I book through the cruise lines, usually depending on who has the most competitive prices. For our last cruise on the Paradise, Carnival's airfare was significantly lower than anything I could find on my own. For other cruises, that has not been the case. For our upcoming Alaska cruise with NCL, we decided to book airfare through the cruise line with an air deviation to fly in one day early, as I had a recent bad experience with an airline in bankruptcy changing my flights in a way that was not acceptable for our plans. Since we're traveling with a large group and since so many airlines are having terrible financial problems right now, I thought we'd be safer to allow the cruise line to guarantee those arrangements rather than risk being dumped at the last minute by our carrier (like we recently experienced with another vacation).

 

 

 

For clarification- the cruiseline guarantees nothing- they are a booking agent only. There was a very concise article in Conde Nast a while ago, see if you can get a copy. A LOT of misconceptions.