X Air Fare- Deal?

[tropicaltravellers]

After reading the boards, it seems that the general consensus is that it is better to book your airfare yourself. We booked Summit from Vancouver to Seward (May, 2006). I can't seem to come close to matching the fare they offer on my own (They seem to have more clout, as they have the reverse cruise to fill up the seats). Can any of you offer advice for me (if there's somewhere else to find the better airfare?)

 

Also, I just realized (after reading the boards) that RCI owns CC. Our first cruise was on the Serenade (Caribeaan Cruise). Should I have mentioned that when I made my reservation (would it have helped w/price?)

 

The information contained here in the boards is invaluable. Thanks to all!

[ocngypz]

If you have a Crown & Anchor number, you can join the Captain's Club and receive reciprocal benefits. One benefit is the waiver of Custom Air fees.

 

I'd book Celebrity's air. Remember their air includes transfers. You need to transfer from the port in Seward to the airport in Anchorage.

 

I have not been able to find cheaper air for my Alaska clients. Many are using Custom air and are CC members. The custom air fee is waived.

 

Depending upon your gateway, there are not many choices of flights, so the sooner you book, the better.

[hajekfam]

I have found that for cruises that are one way - departure from one port and disembark in a different port - the airfare from the cruiseline is cheaper than doing it ourselves.

As far as joining the captain's club if you are a crown & anchor member, you must be at the over 5 cruise levels in order to join the captains club before cruising Celebrity and enjoying the benefits of captain's club members.

[superjerryw]

There is no break on the price on Celebrity because you have cruised on Royal Caribbean. You should however join each lines frequent guest program, Crown & Anchor for RCI and Captains Club for Celebrity. You will get a magazine on a quarterly basis from each that has discount coupons for certain cruises.

 

As for airfare, if you are travelling round trip to a single location you can almost always book a cheaper fare yourself. If you are going to one place and returning from another it's difficult to get good air fare prices on your own as the discounted fares are based on round trip travel to a single location. You should check and see if you can have the airfare added to your cruise package now and then have it removed if you find a better deal yourself later on.

[Desertbelle]

As for airfare, if you are travelling round trip to a single location you can almost always book a cheaper fare yourself. If you are going to one place and returning from another it's difficult to get good air fare prices on your own as the discounted fares are based on round trip travel to a single location. You should check and see if you can have the airfare added to your cruise package now and then have it removed if you find a better deal yourself later on.

 

The Celebrity airfare for our European cruise on the Millennium in June, starting in Venice and ending in Barcelona, was $1298, and I was easily able to beat their price by hundreds of dollars. I ended up taking a fare for $1050....for 4 people that was a savings of nearly $1000...more than enough to cover taxis and our extra day in Venice and Barcelona.

 

The open jaw airfares to Europe, at the time I was looking, were not more expensive than round-trip tickets.

 

We did keep the Celebrity air on our cruise booking until I booked the better rate, then simply had it removed.

[hajekfam]

I believe you can only book an open jaw ticket if the non-air segment is shorter than the air segments or something like that. You can't book an open jaw for a transatlantic cruise for example.

[ahoymatey3]

Someone over on the cruise air board clued me into http://www.airlineconsolidator.com (sorry if I'm not supposed to post that). They have very, very reasonable one-way fares. Its not the easiest to use, but well worth the effort.

[bmweezer]

You can't use this to become a Captain Club's member, unless you are at least a Platinum C&A member.

[tropicaltravellers]

Thank you all for your responses! Through all of your advice, I have found cheaper air (even though an open-jawed voyage). I am so thankful that I have found such a wonderful place to find information! Hopefully, we will meet you in our travels!