air lines to cruises

[One old man cruiser]

Using a travel agent or cruise line for air travel. Which is best.

[Shmoo here]

Using a travel agent or cruise line for air travel. Which is best.

 

 

We found it's often less costly, and you get better choices booking ourselves (not through the cruise line). Now, whether you prefer to use a TA or not, that's up to you.

[Shorex]

Best is booking air directly with the airline. That way you have complete control over your reservation and there is no middleman. Cheapest may (or may not be) to use some iteration of "cruise air." In that case the "cruise air" department acts as your travel agent - a middleman.

[jamessemaj]

I check both the cruise line and other sources before making reservations. Once I even used both on a transatlantic cruise. Don't automatically rule out any possibility for the best option.

[navybankerteacher]

Best is booking air directly with the airline. That way you have complete control over your reservation and there is no middleman. Cheapest may (or may not be) to use some iteration of "cruise air." In that case the "cruise air" department acts as your travel agent - a middleman.

 

 

When we use HAL's program, we book our own air using their code, but it is our booking and they are not the middleman. The alternative, when you are booking a one way trans-Atlantic you save many hundreds. Other than trans-Atlantics, however, there is not such a major saving.

[Kamloops50]

If you life in a smaller airport that feeds into a bigger hub. Example Boise ID then Seattle. The cruise line fare might be actually cheaper then booking your own. It's best to check for your self.

If you have a complicated route and connects . Then a TA might be the best choice.

[easyboy]

We always book direct with airline for better pricing. We also buy an insurance in case there are flight and baggage delays in going to cruise.

[Shorex]

The bottom line here is your definition of "best." Does it mean cheapest? That generates one set of responses. Does "best" mean total hand holding? That generates a different set of responses. Help us out here - tell us what "best" means to you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We prefer to book our air line.

Cruise Lines tend to choose the cheapest way to and from the ports -- which could mean super early flights, maybe even multiple connections. We live in an area where there are few flights to anywhere.

Some TA's charge a fee for booking airlines.

[marco]

Depends where your're cruising to. On various lines it has ALWAYS been considerably less $$$ using cruise line air in conjunction with a T/A or European/Med cruise. For us, being so close to JFK they've almost always been non-stops to the embarkation/disembarkation cities. We only inquired once about cruise line air when taking a Caribbean cruise out of Fla.It was considerably more. For that, we just book our own air on-line with the airline/flight/routing of our choice.

[Kamloops50]

We prefer to book our air line.

Cruise Lines tend to choose the cheapest way to and from the ports -- which could mean super early flights, maybe even multiple connections. We live in an area where there are few flights to anywhere.

Some TA's charge a fee for booking airlines.

 

 

For us any flight to a cruise port is early . Usually arrive around he day before.

 

 

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[SadieN]

When booking thru the cruise line some like the idea that if the plane is late, etc the cruise line will get you to the ship. Here's an interesting thread about that scenario--

Our Most Excellent Adventure - We Missed the Ship

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2175456

[Roz]

On cruises where I embark in one port and debark in another, I've done better price-wise going thru the cruise line. The exception is Vancouver/Seattle where I've found it better to do a Seattle round trip and take a shuttle to/from Vancouver.

 

Roz

[Hlitner]

Using a travel agent or cruise line for air travel. Which is best.

 

Why use either? On our more then 100 cruises (all over the world) we have only used cruise air on two occasions...when they offered some amazing pricing (this happens less frequently these days). The problem using cruise line air or a real travel agent is that they often want to book you on airlines with which they get the best commissions. And two of the most popular US airlines (Southwest and Jet Blue) are not even sold by travel agents (or cruise lines) since they do not pay any commissions (you must book them on their own web sites).

 

So we suggest one simply do a little shopping. Find out what kind of deal you can get through the cruise line...when you choose the flights (do not let them choose the flights...which can get you lousy multi leg routings). Then use a good online search engine (we like Kayak) to see what pops up. If you are near an airport that has Southwest or Jetblue (or both) check those specific airline web sites. Keep in mind that both Southwest and Jetblue do not book flights 330 days in advance (like most airlines) so you need to work with their timing. On the other hand, Southwest and Jetblue seldom change their flight schedule which is a big problem when you use US domestic carriers like United, American and Delta...all of whom will let you book 330 days in advance...and then often change your flights multiple times (or even cancel your flights).

 

With International Air....it is entirely different ball game where shopping can really make a big difference. Especially if one wants to look for the most convenient flights, upgrading to Premium Economy or Business, etc.

 

Hank

[Kamloops50]

A lot also depends which country you live. The cost to Europe from Vancouver is about $900 return. The flight to Vancouver from our home airport about $500 return. These are sale prices too.

 

 

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[LocoLoco1]

Book your own. Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak. etc. Cruise lines often book you thru some cheapo flights with odd routings, stops and tight timeframes; then you're stuck. Never ever again thru a Cruiseline 4 me. LocoLoco1

[Kamloops50]

Book your own. Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak. etc. Cruise lines often book you thru some cheapo flights with odd routings, stops and tight timeframes; then you're stuck. Never ever again thru a Cruiseline 4 me. LocoLoco1

 

Not only have got good prices. The schedule is the same what the airlines sell.Most cruise lines use the Saber or similiar to book flights.

[SPacificbound]

I book directly with the airline.

[Kamloops50]

Book your own. Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak. etc. Cruise lines often book you thru some cheapo flights with odd routings, stops and tight timeframes; then you're stuck. Never ever again thru a Cruiseline 4 me. LocoLoco1

 

 

Always been booked with the big airlines in Canada or the USA.

Schedules the same that airlines have even from small airports.

 

 

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[calliopecruiser]

I always book it myself, directly with the airline.

 

 

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[Kamloops50]

Doing it yourself , you can't book two or more airlines on one ticket.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Doing it yourself , you can't book two or more airlines on one ticket.

 

 

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Not true! This is not a problem if using web sites such as Expedia or Orbitz which do allow for multiple airlines on a single ticket. If booking directly with an airline this may or may not be doable depending on whether the two (or more) airlines are part of a code share alliance. If they have a looser relationship such as an interline agreement...it may or may not work. We should mention that it may actually be advantageous not to have a single ticket (especially on international flights). For example, if flying Quantas from Sydney to LAX...one may then want to use Southwest (which does not code share). A travel agency would not even want to book (or mention) Southwest since they do not get a commission and they would have to do a separate ticket. So the agency would likely put you on an airline that is part of the Oneworld Alliance such as American...even if that single ticket (multi airline) deal cost more then pairing the Quantas flight with Southwest.

 

Hank

[Roz]

Here's an example of the price difference between booking yourself vs. booking with the cruise line. In Fall of 2015 I sailed from Budapest to Passau, which meant booking a flight from Nashville to Budapest, then Munich back to Nashville. The cheapest I could come up with was $1,300 :o vs. $851 :D thru Uniworld.

 

The posts here on CC told me I would get rotten flights and be flown all over the globe. The routing over was Nashville - Dulles - Vienna - Budapest. Coming back it was Munich - Newark - Nashville. I really couldn't figure out a better way to get there on my own.

 

When it comes to domestic flights, I book my own since our main airline is SW.

 

Roz

[Kamloops50]

I usually don't have access to domestic airlines when booking. In Canada we only have two domestic airlines No cruise ports during the winter. Therefore all flights are international.

 

 

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[SPacificbound]

"Best" is in the eye of the beholder.

 

I book all airlines through the airline. I buy all cruises through the cruise line. that is what is "best" for me.