Inclusive air fare

[Magnum60]

Just booked a Viking River Cruise that includes round trip Coach airfare. How does Viking select your seat and is there a way to choose your own. Looks like Viking and likely other River Cruise companies offering 'free' air travel just scatter their passenger in any open hole they can.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe River Cruise companies book discounted blocks of seats well in advance which makes for very enticing cruise prices but meaningful flight information seems to be guarded information.

How does a booked passenger find where these blocks of seats are located, if there is a way to pre select seats, what airline or airlines will be used on all legs of the flight, what type of equipment do these flights employ for this trip (important information when selecting seats), scheduled departure and arrival times and what routes, connecting cities and transfer times are part of the itinerary?

At 6' 4" I'd like a shot at a seat that doesn't require that I get folded up like a napkin to fit in flying on a trans Atlantic flight :(.

Cabin upgrades on 'free airfare' cruise packages are price prohibited - even just moving up to Premium Economy. I could sail on QM2 in an ocean view cabin to England for what the upgrade to Business fetches :eek: :).

[NavyVeteran]

I booked a Viking cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest embarking on 1 November 2015 with the free air promotion, so the air flight leaves on 31 October 2015. Viking said they would send me the air itinerary between 90 and 75 days prior to departure.

 

I received my air itinerary on 30 July 2015 - 93 days prior to departure. Unlike some other posters, my flights had good connections and I am happy with them.

 

My flights are on United and Lufthansa. Viking provided me the United and Lufthansa booking numbers.

 

On United, I was able to go online and choose my seat.

 

On Lufthansa, I am not able to choose my seat unless I pay to do so. However, this is exactly the same policy they have if I had purchased a coach ticket directly from the airline. Their prices for reserving a seat or for reserving a seat with extra legroom were the same for me as for anyone else with a coach ticket.

 

On both airlines, I was able to enter my United frequent flyer number.

 

In summary, my tickets seem to give me the same frequent flyer benefits, baggage allowances, and seat selection privileges as an economy ticket purchased directly from the airlines.

 

The email from Viking with the air itinerary gave me a direct telephone number to the Viking personnel who handle air arrangements. I called them to ask about possibly changing my return flights to a more convenient time. Although they said their custom air was not available under this promotion (as I had seen in the fine print when I booked), they said they would be willing to change the flights if I paid a $50 per person fee plus the difference in fare. The agent was helpful in providing information on some alternate flights (on Delta and one of its partners), but he could not give me a price unless I paid for the air deviation - and the $50 per person fee was nonrefundable even if I chose to keep my original flights. He also said that they would have to change my outgoing flights (which I really liked) if they changed the return flights, since they keep the flights in both directions on the same airline (or its partners).

 

After some consideration, I decided to keep my original flights, so I did not pay the change fee and never found out how much the alternate flights would have cost.

 

On a related subject, I had decided to stay an extra four nights in Budapest after the cruise - on my own, not purchased from Viking. I had requested this much earlier - before the air itinerary was provided. They charged me $100 per person to change the air flights to a different day, and we also did not get Viking transfers for the return flight since it was on a different day.

 

I can't say for sure until after the cruise, but so far I have been very happy with the Viking air arrangements under their free air promotion.

[sengsational]

When I booked directly with Viking, they said that they were not going to book air until X weeks before departure (I think X was 4 or 6, but don't quote me on that).

 

I didn't even know how many plane changes, much less what seat I'd be in until I got the updated itinerary in the mail.

 

The mail and email showed-up with the updated itinerary. This itinerary had the flight numbers and reservation numbers, whereas the previous one just said "included transfers".

 

But only the domestic flight had seat assignments listed. I called Viking about it, and they said sometimes that was airport check-in only. Alternatively, they suggested to look at the carrier web site (the itinerary has a reservation number). I didn't try that until now, but it says "This flight does not permit seat selection". I told the Viking guy my seating preference, he went off and checked with the Viking air department for a few minutes, came back and said pre-assigned only. $40 to pre-assign, if you're really interested. That actually might not be a bad deal if there's an awesome stretch out seat that you can secure for a trans-Atlantic. Alternatively, you can request seats for the entire journey when you get to the first airport, so if you get there early, you might stand a chance of getting the exit row, bulkhead, or whatever you're going for. The Iberia site seems not to disclose the aircraft type, and the flight "Iberia operated by Air Nostrum" is not on seatguru.com. But the guy did tell me the configuration was a 3 - 4 - 3, so it might be an A380.

 

Nice to know the seats because even if they're all napkin-fold type seats, at least we can make sure that both of us aren't in a middle seat on different rows or something like that.

 

I paid $200 to change from Viking's stock return flight to a return from Paris, 4 days later. That's a non-stop, and we have seat assignments there.

Edited August 1, 2015 by sengsational

[orangebeach8]

We have all inclusive with Viking later this month. Flight and seat selection and timing seem fine although we have to fly into Amsterdam to catch a flight to Nuremberg and vice-versa from Budapest. Our flights are through Delta and KLM. We could get on the carrier site to change seats but could not upgrade to economy comfort except on the short domestic flights.

[Sharra13]

We booked Viking Air and I just logged onto our carrier website (Delta) with the booking number on my itinerary. Very easy to select seats for most of our flights--everything except the 2 short hops IN Europe which disn't have that option.

[biker1972]

First and foremost, go to the Cruise Air forum here on Cruise Critic. There is a sticky about consolidator airline tickets. These are the kind of tickets that Viking and other cruise lines provide. The biggest problem with these tickets is that they are opaque. There is no way to find out the fare rules. Now you ask why that matters. Generally it never does, but (and there is always a but) when things go south, such as a delayed or cancelled flight, how your ticket is handled by the airline depends on these fare rules. For instance, your Delta flight from Atlanta to Budapest with a stop in Amsterdam is cancelled. There is a flight leaving in 30 minutes for Paris with a connection to Budapest that Delta could put you on but the fare rules say you can't change any of the legs which means you must fly to Amsterdam and then to Budapest. The guy behind you in line pops up with a tickets that doesn't have that restriction and Delta re-books him to Budapest. It is these hidden restrictions that are the problem, and trust me, for the price the cruise line pays for these tickets, there are a lot of restrictions.

 

As long as you understand the dangers involved with the highly restricted tickets that the cruise lines provide at very good prices, then you can decide how you want to play it. The cruise lines do mark up the price from what they are paying the airlines so it is very difficult to find out the actual sale price of a cruise when they offer reduced or free airfare.

 

I leave in 12 hours on Viking provide air for a Rhine/Danube cruise and was quite happy with the routing and connections that were provided. Now I just pray for the airlines to perform flawlessly and for rain in Europe. :)

[Magnum60]

Anyone know that if once you're at the check in counter or you've received your travel documents from the cruise line if it's possible to 'purchase' a seating upgrade directly from the airline to Premium Economy if you are traveling on an 'included airfare' cruise supplied ticket? I've heard counter agents often say over the PA prior to boarding that for X number of dollars we can upgrade those traveling in standard economy to our premium economy cabin or has that option been lost.

Mention was also made as to being locked into a preset flight plan. As the cruise line supplied the tickets to their cruising guests what happens if a connection falls apart forcing you to miss a connection and therefore making you miss the departure time of your ship? Will your ship wait (not likely) or will the cruise line representative graciously say 'too bad, you better talk to your insurance carrier, hope you enjoyed your flight. Now all you have to do is find a way to your cruises final destination and wait several days so you can use the second half of your steel plated ticket to get home.

[Mark_T]

Anyone know that if once you're at the check in counter or you've received your travel documents from the cruise line if it's possible to 'purchase' a seating upgrade directly from the airline to Premium Economy if you are traveling on an 'included airfare' cruise supplied ticket?

 

Hard to give a definitive answer as it depends on which airline is involved and sometimes exactly which fare class the airline actually purchased. But as a general comment, if they are selling 'upgrades' at the check-in counter then there is no harm in asking, just don't base your plans on upgrades being available as they are getting less common in general as flight loadings have generally been getting higher over the past couple of years.

 

Mention was also made as to being locked into a preset flight plan. As the cruise line supplied the tickets to their cruising guests what happens if a connection falls apart forcing you to miss a connection and therefore making you miss the departure time of your ship?

 

Fare rules are one thing that often get ignored when handling problems due to cancelled flights, weather problems etc. so don't assume it is all going to fall apart just because one flight cancels. Also make sure that if you have status on the airline that they know about it as that will help as well.

 

Generally if you've taken the cruise lines air then they will help sort things out but yes, you'll find horror stories if you go looking for them. The worst problems are when extreme weather shuts down a hub cancelling huge numbers of flights which then results in delays that can spread over several days, in that case even with a willing cruise line, there can genuinely be no way to get you to your destination on time, so be proactive and make yourself aware of alternative routings that you can talk to the cruise line about, don't just depend on them to figure it out for you.

[Magnum60]

By status you mean that if a traveler is a member of an airlines frequent flyer program and is 'assigned' an airline by your cruise company, one that just might be a partner with that passengers frequent flyer program, a bit of magic might happen should a cancellation be in that passengers future?

I sure hope I'm booked on an American Airlines partner airline for my river cruise departing Budapest this November :). I'm in American Airlines million mile 'club' ;)

[H2Otstr]

Anyone know that if once you're at the check in counter or you've received your travel documents from the cruise line if it's possible to 'purchase' a seating upgrade directly from the airline to Premium Economy if you are traveling on an 'included airfare' cruise supplied ticket? I've heard counter agents often say over the PA prior to boarding that for X number of dollars we can upgrade those traveling in standard economy to our premium economy cabin or has that option been lost.

 

We have. We were in Atlanta, flying with Delta, and the gate attendant announced that they had seats available in EC for $xx. We jumped on it and upgraded for the flight over the pond. And we have cruise air tickets.

Edited August 2, 2015 by H2Otstr

[Kenster]

Just booked a Viking River Cruise that includes round trip Coach airfare. How does Viking select your seat and is there a way to choose your own. Looks like Viking and likely other River Cruise companies offering 'free' air travel just scatter their passenger in any open hole they can.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe River Cruise companies book discounted blocks of seats well in advance which makes for very enticing cruise prices but meaningful flight information seems to be guarded information.

How does a booked passenger find where these blocks of seats are located, if there is a way to pre select seats, what airline or airlines will be used on all legs of the flight, what type of equipment do these flights employ for this trip (important information when selecting seats), scheduled departure and arrival times and what routes, connecting cities and transfer times are part of the itinerary?

At 6' 4" I'd like a shot at a seat that doesn't require that I get folded up like a napkin to fit in flying on a trans Atlantic flight :(.

Cabin upgrades on 'free airfare' cruise packages are price prohibited - even just moving up to Premium Economy. I could sail on QM2 in an ocean view cabin to England for what the upgrade to Business fetches :eek: :).

 

See if your airline has Premium Economy (i.e. United's Economy Plus). You'll get an extra five inches or so of legroom. Trans Atlantic flights should run around $150 or so for the upgrade. Well, worth it.

 

Yes, Tour companies (and cruise companies) buy seats in bulk from the airlines. They buy, for example, 40 seats on a certain flight. The airline sells all the other seats but saves the last 40 seats, wherever they may be, for the contracted group. Often, these are going to be in the middle section in the rear of the plane. It's the price you pay for getting a somewhat discounted airfare. For very little more money, you could book your own coach seats and choose your seat (on most airlines).

 

Once you get your docs and a confirmation number for the flight, try going on line and choosing a seat yourself. If unable, call the airline and plead your case. Maybe you can sweet talk the agent into assigning you a seat with your specifications.

 

I'm only 5'11" and a long haul flight in a coach seat would be miserable for me. That's why I always buy up to the Economy Plus seat. I get the legroom I need and the aisle seat that I want. But don't wait too long to do this or all the good seats will be gone.

 

You shouldn't have to wait until check in time at the airport to see if there any Econ PLus seats available. Call the airline right away and get those seats booked!

Edited August 21, 2015 by Kenster

[Kenster]

By status you mean that if a traveler is a member of an airlines frequent flyer program and is 'assigned' an airline by your cruise company, one that just might be a partner with that passengers frequent flyer program, a bit of magic might happen should a cancellation be in that passengers future?

I sure hope I'm booked on an American Airlines partner airline for my river cruise departing Budapest this November :). I'm in American Airlines million mile 'club' ;)

 

Status means more than just being a member of their FF program. Status means holding an "Elite" level of some kind. You're definitely covered as a member of the MM club!