Choice Air and New Zealand / Australia

[chicagopaul]

Has anyone booked through choice air for New Zealand and/or Australia traveling from the states? We are looking at a 12nt in December of 2015 that pulls out of Auckland and ends in Sydney. Price of the cruise is great but airfare would be killer. Since it is over 300 days out I'm told we can't get quotes from choice air at this time. I'm just curious on how much can actually be saved booking through choice air versus booking on our own. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome! Thank you!

[jelayne]

I have had savings from $200 to over $900 on international flights. Best deals I have had are on 1 way fares.

[Merriem]

We will be going back in January 2016. I find I do best by watching the fares and then as soon as they are available, book them. We have never found any bargains on choice air. Quantas has an open jaw, from the NW in economy plus for about $3200. It is a lot of money, but it is also a long way. We did it twice in coach, but not this trip...no more coach! Another thing is put all your miles on one airline ff program, and work to get enough miles for one free ticket, and you would just buy one.

[Antonintassie]

Hi Paul

 

I fly alot and unfortunately East Coast Australia to US / Canada is perhaps the most protected and costly piece of airspace on the planet.

Your choices are Qantas who code share with AA ,Virgin Australia who code share with Delta ,Air Canada to Vancouver and fly backwards ( This actually sometimes works out very well on price and time) or United who have just upgraded their planes out of Australia.

Basically fares rarely go down so the further out you book the better .Australians like to travel and Dec to end of Feb is a popular time for us to holiday .

Air Canada to Vancouver often has good pricing as attracts alot of skiers heading to BC and Alberta .They use a 777-300 or 200 ER and the flight is about 13 Hours connections to US East coast via Toronto ,Calgary ,Edmonton and some direct are plentiful.

You will like Australia in Jan so please do not let the flight impede you ,myself DW and DS are flying Melbourne to Miami for a cruise on the Eclipse as they say getting there is all part of the journey.

[teecee60]

Has anyone booked through choice air for New Zealand and/or Australia traveling from the states? I'm just curious on how much can actually be saved booking through choice air versus booking on our own. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome! Thank you!

 

Quite often you can save a BUNDLE! ;)

 

Usually MORE on one ways, and less on round trips. You can SEARCH Choice Air for prices before you book. (I do!)

 

Cruising on the Century 23 night transpacific in a few weeks. Just booked return flight from Sydney to LAX through Choice Air for $619pp! :eek:

 

It's on Hawaiian Air with a plane change in Honolulu. (Quantas nonstop was $1063pp on Orbitz)

 

Like the song says...

 

"Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do! :)

 

Because I'm Happy...because I'm happy... because I'm happy..." :D

Edited August 26, 2014 by teecee60

[Antonintassie]

Excellent rate and a good solid airline i used to love Honolulu stopovers on my flights to Canada but alas it is direct now with AC

[hr80126]

I used Choice Air last November to Sydney and back on United. Had to fly back to Sydney from Auckland then home to Colorado. The fare was at a large discount from economy on the United website. I used United because that is the primary airline in Denver. As soon as you book CA sends you the United booking number. With number I used mileage plus miles and some cash to upgrade to First Class. The economy fare + the cash was less than a economy seat on the the exact same United flights. I assume that you use United for travel as Chicago is a hub. On choice air you can see all the available flights, airlines and fares prior to booking the actual cruise. We had lay flat seats which real help on the long haul.

 

We are heading to London and doing the same thing. One way fare $450 on CA. On UA site it has been between $1000 and $1600. Upgrade with mileage plus. Hope this helps.

[alcpa1]

I would like to encourage any of you with questions about cruise air programs to head over to the Cruise Air forum right here on Cruise Critic. There's more to the ticket than meets the eye and there are some very seasoned flyers posting on the forum. There is also a sticky on the top of the page that discusses in detail the ins and outs of the third party booking process.

[RickT]

I was looking at that itinerary earlier this year but gave up when I couldn't find a decently priced flight. I booked the cruise in March 2013 with a sale date in March 2014. I started looking for fares (from Canada) in April 2013 as soon as they became available and never saw the price fluctate more than $200. In my case Choice Air prices were identical to what I could have purchased directly from the airlines.

 

Good luck. Keep your eye on the airfare and be prepared to jump on a flight as soon as you see a price YOU are happy with.

[TLCOhio]

Has anyone booked through choice air for New Zealand and/or Australia traveling from the states? We are looking at a 12nt in December of 2015 that pulls out of Auckland and ends in Sydney. Price of the cruise is great but airfare would be killer. Since it is over 300 days out I'm told we can't get quotes from choice air at this time. I'm just curious on how much can actually be saved booking through choice air versus booking on our own. Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome! Thank you!

 

Good questions and responses for considering your air options from Chicago for going to New Zealand and coming back from Australia. Let me offer a few other "factors" to consider!! As noted in the live/blog below, we got off of the Solstice in February.

 

We were lucky (and it took some work and effort) to be able to use American Airline Frequent Flyer miles to do this trip, first class, BUT, here is the key "twist" and bonus. We did a "free" stop over in Hawaii, both coming and going, when we used Hawaiian Airlines for the connection between those islands and down under. It worked well, especially since we had not visited there previously and to break up those long, long flying times. Not sure if Hawaiian Air is still doing that free stop-over option.

 

Second, that cruise in NZ and Australia, has lots of great port options, things to see, etc. BUT, considering your pre-cruise options in and around Auckland is very important. Same for planning and allowing enough time after the cruise for key sights and options in Australia. What's your plan for these super great potentials? How much time do you allow for these options? In Australia, we super loved our time in Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef/Rainforest and near Adelaide to do amazing Kangaroo Island. You cannot do ALL of Australia after your cruise, but seeing one or two of these Aussie superstars (plus time in Sydney) can be well worth it. You cannot finalize air until have carefully considered your pre and post cruise potentials.

 

Check out these postings for more info/background (and lots of pictures) on this nice ship, its entertainment, food options, port stop potentials, etc. Keep researching and planning!! Happy to answer any added questions, info needs.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 74,433 views for this fun posting.

[TLCOhio]

I was looking at that itinerary earlier this year but gave up when I couldn't find a decently priced flight.

 

YES, the airfare AND flying times to get to Australia and New Zealand are very, very "costly". BUT, however, the "prize" once you get there is totally amazing. Understand fully the challenges in both cost and time.

 

Don't give up!! Keep looking and working. And, balancing the "value" for what you can see and do down under.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a “Solstice: Visuals, Highlights Shared!” summary from two different adventures on this ship with many pictures and other details on its many options. This includes our recent Australia to New Zealand sailing. Check it out, including these recent updates, at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

Now at 23,698 views for this posting.

[RickT]

YES, the airfare AND flying times to get to Australia and New Zealand are very, very "costly". BUT, however, the "prize" once you get there is totally amazing. Understand fully the challenges in both cost and time.

 

Don't give up!! Keep looking and working. And, balancing the "value" for what you can see and do down under.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a “Solstice: Visuals, Highlights Shared!” summary from two different adventures on this ship with many pictures and other details on its many options. This includes our recent Australia to New Zealand sailing. Check it out, including these recent updates, at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803477

Now at 23,698 views for this posting.

 

Australia/NZ is still on the list. We just made a management decision that if we were going to spend a small fortune on airfare we may as well go when we have the time to spend 4-5 weeks and that wasn't an option this year.

[TLCOhio]

Australia/NZ is still on the list. We just made a management decision that if we were going to spend a small fortune on airfare we may as well go when we have the time to spend 4-5 weeks and that wasn't an option this year.

 

YES!! Agree 100% that when going this far and spending this much, it is vital to allow enough time to . . . DO IT RIGHT!

 

Our 14-day Solstice cruise was a little less than half of our total trip. The added time in Hawaii en route both ways, plus in Australia before and New Zealand after were all super winners and important for the overall successful plan. Great fun!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 182,387 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[waterbug123]

I would like to encourage any of you with questions about cruise air programs to head over to the Cruise Air forum right here on Cruise Critic. There's more to the ticket than meets the eye and there are some very seasoned flyers posting on the forum. There is also a sticky on the top of the page that discusses in detail the ins and outs of the third party booking process.

 

To further elaborate on what alcpa1 said, if you are seeing significant prices differences, chances are you are not comparing apples to apples even if you're looking at the same flight with CA as you are with the airline. There can be big, potentially negative differences between the tickets.