Advice/Experience please

[RoupMom]

I know I'll get diverse answers, but good experience info. Which is better/do you prefer: have HAL arrange air and hotel for a stay the night before a cruise, or do it independently? I've priced out what HAL would charge, and the cost of doing it independently using a hotel with shuttle service. They are pretty much a wash in this case, with air slightly cheaper on HAL and hotel less doing it independently, although it may not be the same class of hotel.

Thanks for your opinion.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We prefer to book our own hotels and airfare.

Keep in mind when you let the cruise line arrange your flights, they do not always pick the best routes and times.

[Typhoon1]

Do it yourself.

 

You can pick the airline and flight that YOU want, If HAL does it, you get the flights that are most economical for them. The same applies to hotels.

[tooleman56]

The air add-on for two of us for our October Med cruise was $1,127 total booked through HAL. Had I booked the same itinerary independently, the lowest price I have found, and I continue to check prices once or twice a week, was $1,650 initially and is currently more than $2,400. We can certainly endure a four-hour connection inbound (Newark-Lisbon-Rome) and a shorter connection outbound (Barcelona-Lisbon-Newark) to achieve savings of that magnitude. The air add-on can often be higher, or lower, I've found, depending on the stateroom category.

Edited August 14, 2014 by tooleman56

[PathfinderEss]

I'm a big believer in booking yourself. One time I let a cruise line book my air we end up going to Texas from California on the way down to Acapulco. Way to long of a flight when Acapulco is normally a straight flight down from LA. Never again...........

[sail7seas]

The only way I would book cruise line air is if I had 'air deviation' and could select the flights I wanted. If left to the cruise lines, they often will book the least expensive routing and convenience or comfort are not high considerations. :eek:

[jtl513]

Keep in mind when you let the cruise line arrange your flights, they do not always pick the best routes and times.

 

If HAL does it, you get the flights that are most economical for them.

 

... if I had 'air deviation' and could select the flights I wanted. If left to the cruise lines, they often will book the least expensive routing ...

This no longer true with the FlightEase program. We have twice picked exactly the flights we wanted. "Air deviations" are a thing of the past. But, we only use cruise air for one-way or open-jaw flights where it usually results in big savings.

 

We only used a HAL-chosen hotel post-cruise once, and it was satisfactory, but we didn't price shop so I don't know if we could have done better or not.

Edited August 14, 2014 by jtl513

[tooleman56]

This no longer true with the FlightEase program. We have twice picked exactly the flights we wanted. "Air deviations" are a thing of the past. But, we only use cruise air for one-way or open-jaw flights where it usually results in big savings.

 

 

Exactly. The FlightEase program allowed us to book the flights we wanted. There were direct flights available, however, the price was significantly higher for direct flights than for those including a connection.

Edited August 15, 2014 by tooleman56

[PatriciaF]

If it is about the same, I would use HAL. If there are any problems--then HAL would probably arrange to get you to the ship at the first stop--if you are one your own you would be responsible.

[2 Sister Sue 2]

I had my TA book with HAL the exact flights I needed. 4 people, 3 different airlines. I also then purchased the Platinum insurance plan, which then covers travel delays and medical. I live in Alaska and getting out of here in January, can be a very tricky and lengthy trip, so I wanted to make sure that I was able to take my cruise if the airlines are delayed, without an added expense to me. Worth the few extra dollars for peace of mind.;)

[trub]

i agree with using HAL - i could not get anywhere near the price they quoted going it alone and did have choice of flights and hotels -

[dadroy]

Here on CC there is a forum under cruise discussion topics called choice air. I recommend you read the stickies. With most cruise lines (I would think HAL would be included) their air can be good until it isn't. For example, you choose a flight on British Airlines and the flight gets canceled for some reason. If you booked the flight yourself they might put you on a different airline to get you to your destination. With HAL tickets, they may make you wait for the next British Airline flight which could cause you to be late to your destination.

 

I used to use their air arrangements, but on one trip, coming back from Florida to Los Angeles, we went from Tampa to Chicago, 5 hour layover, then to Denver for a 6 hour layover, then to Dallas then to Los Angeles. About 20 hours total flight time. Saved about $100 but will never do that again.

 

Now in reading the posts above, if I get to use their flights but pick my routing at the same lower price, then I might give them another shot.

[lazey1]

If it is about the same, I would use HAL. If there are any problems--then HAL would probably arrange to get you to the ship at the first stop--if you are one your own you would be responsible.

 

Totally agree even if we had to pay more for the hotel we would use HAL. On our Baltic cruise there were 5 or 6 families that were late getting to Copenhagen due to problems with flights out of Newark. The ship left without them and they had to make their own arrangements at great expense to catch up.

That said HAL always books us into to nicer hotels then we would do on our own. AND we learned to always arrive at least 1 day before sailing.