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Air on your own or book with cruiseline

dianfarmer

By dianfarmer,
in Royal Caribbean International

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QueenGlassHalfFull

QueenGlassHalfFull

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We always first determine the options and price, then contact our travel agent to get a price through the cruise line. We have found that cruise line airfare pricing can be significantly less expensive when traveling to non-US locations, especially in business class. We have had good experiences booking airline tickets through the cruise line air partners.

 

 

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joand452

joand452

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We generally book our own when cruising out of Florida (we live in northern Virginia), and usually fly in day before, but the one time we had to fly in day of cruise, we booked through the cruise line. We were able to choose our flights and times, and it worked out well. The cost was a little more, but pretty comparable.

 

 

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buyer203

buyer203

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We usually book our own but one time we booked our flights with Royal Caribbean because the price was the same. Soooo glad we did because this was the time we were on Anthem of the Seas where it encountered that huge storm on Day 2, the ship was damaged and we had to turn back. When everyone else was scrambling to reschedule their flights to go back home, Royal Caribbean had automatically rescheduled our flights for us and had dropped off a letter with all the info in our stateroom. Didn't have to use the expensive roaming charges to call and be on the phone for hours with the airlines. On top of that, on Day 3, they had to delay our arrival to port, so again people had to reschedule for a 2nd time and incur rescheduling charges. This was a special scenario but it was nice to not have to worry about getting back home.

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Florida Fan

Florida Fan

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Looking to book to Copenhagen in May 2019, looks like good prices on choice air. I have a few questions: can you choose your seats, and can you upgrade through the airline?

Thanks

 

I just booked one-way Miami-to-Barcelona on American Airlines through Choice Air. I got a code from Choice Air, then went to the AA web site and chose my seat. Sorry I don't know about upgrades.

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waterbug123

waterbug123

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Looking to book to Copenhagen in May 2019, looks like good prices on choice air. I have a few questions: can you choose your seats, and can you upgrade through the airline?

Thanks

 

Depends on the airline, and the specific fare rules for the exact fare class the cruise line books for you. So the answer is a definite maybe. There may be folks who tell you they could do one or the other or both, but there is no guarantee that you will have the same option. Others might tell you that no they couldn't do one or the other, but again- no guarantee that you would have the same limitations.

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mra9955

mra9955

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We have used air2sea/choice for one way business class to/from Europe. We live in the DC metro area. Excellent pricing. But it seems as the inventory gets used up remaining seats become more expensive. So book early! As N example, round trip on AA in J PHL-BCN five tickets @ ~$2500 each. In the height of the season.

 

 

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wendychloecruiser

wendychloecruiser

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Something new I didn’t know.... you cannot book an extra seat (3 seats for 2 people) when using Choiceair rates. My DH and I thought we might do that merely for comfort as the rate was so low for a one way across the pond and three seats were actually much cheaper than two when booking with the actual airline.

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LB_NJ

LB_NJ

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I would definitely look at the cruise line for international one way fares. For roundtrip (especially domestic) I would probably book my own. Usually can do cheaper and I have more control. I also would arrive the day or two before so I don't worry about delayed flights. Travel insurance, I hope, would cover cancelled flights.

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TizaR

TizaR

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I always book through the cruise line (Air2Sea). I've had 2 cruises so far where RC moved the ship's departure to an earlier time, and RC automatically changed my flights so they would still arrive in the departure city in time.

 

Also, on my upcoming cruise, the price of my American Airlines flight was cheaper going through Air2Sea than it was if I had booked directly through AA's website.

 

I was also able to log on to AA's website a couple days later and choose my seats.

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Clarea

Clarea

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... Also, on my upcoming cruise, the price of my American Airlines flight was cheaper going through Air2Sea than it was if I had booked directly through AA's website. ... .

Was this an international flight?

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TizaR

TizaR

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First time I've heard of Air2Sea being less expensive for a domestic flight. I normally don't even check prices on Air2Sea for domestic flights, I guess I should.

 

I was tracking airfare for a month or two. American's prices made a sudden increase, but A2S hadn't caught up yet, so it was cheaper to go through them. Maybe I just got lucky. ;)

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johnjen

johnjen

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I'm a bit apprehensive on air shopping on my own so I go through booking with cruiseline (Air2Sea) because I feel like I'm somehow more "guaranteed" passage if the flight is late - not sure if this is true. Do they actually cover you if you book through them better than if you booked your own flights?

 

But we've had good luck with Air2Sea and the prices were actually lower at the same time I checked on my own.

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johnjen

johnjen

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If we have to fly, which is not often since we normally cruise out of Florida, I book my own flights. We as a rule do Southwest and then I can watch price drops, so would rather do my own flights.

 

Wait, Southwest honors price drops??

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Clarea

Clarea

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Wait, Southwest honors price drops??

Yes, but it's up to you to find them and use Southwest's website to rebook the same flight.

 

It's actually very easy. You don't get cash back, but you do get a credit that's good for a year.

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