Flights, transfers, etc

[Werangels]

Apologies for the barrage of questions.  I have tried to search for answers without any success.

 

I am just wondering what others do? Book everything together with the cruise or DIY?  I have no problem with DIY if it works out better value.

 

Thank you all x

[uktog]

Personally most times I book my own.  

 

In the UK we do not have access to Choice Air with Azamara as those in the USA have so have very little if any control over what airline our flights would be with and what times those flights would be at.  Hotel deals are also better and I positively refuse to fly on the day of the cruise - or if I can avoid it the day before which is the preferred option for the all in packages.  I prefer to head out 48 hours ahead so I have plenty of contingency given I will have a transit in London or somewhere like Amsterdam (will avoid the Europe transfers in future anyway as I suspect they will become less straightforward for us Brits.

 

The other reason I do my own is at the end of the cruise I can decide how and when i go to the airport for my flight home.  If you book a whole package with the cruise line or a travel agent, you have to go to the airport when they take you - I think you are flying out of Venice??  I have a bitter experience there once at the end of a cruise as they will not allow any check in until 2 hours before the flight and on busy days you could not access the terminal until 2.5 hours before however the cruise line had booked us on 3pm flights and took us to the airport at 9.30am.  Whatever your plans in almost every port you will have to leave the ship around 9am but at least if you do your own bookings you can determine your flight time and make your own transfer arrangements possibly with some more sight seeing en route - or of course stay another day.

 

You will need to work out your own transfers to the port and in some places that can be expensive but the ports of call board can give you suggestions of reliable local providers.

 

The risks of doing it yourself are if your plans go wrong you are more on your own to sort it out.  

 

However believe the line punted by some agents if you book with the ship and there are problems they wait for you - no they don't always, the difference is the cruiselne will be responsible for the costs of looking after you and arranging your catch up to the next port whereas if you book on your own, you have to fund that (but presuming you will have good travel insurance can claim it back).  You do have a number you can call in any event of the port agents if you hit a problem so the actual transport logistics could well be taken care of anyway by them again you might have to pay but claim back.  

 

I say all this not to give you worries but to say with good insurance and a willingness to take some responsibility for calling the right people, independent arrangements can have no more problems than paying the additional cost of having an all in package.   

[Grandma Cruising]

I’d agree with uktog. We like to make our own arrangements, being aware that we will have to take more responsibility.

We book the cruise ourselves, then transfer it to a travel agent. We find this helpful because if we have queries she seems to find it easier to get answers than we do. However we then book our flights, hotels and transfers ourselves. We like to choose our hotels, often preferring smaller boutique hotels, rather than the large chain hotels that travel agents tend to use. Like uktog we prefer to fly in a couple of days ahead of the cruise. The cruise often starts somewhere we haven’t been before so it’s nice to have time to explore.

As far as value is concerned some of the online cruise travel agents offer very good value in their packages, but as uktog says, you’re then stuck with their hotels and their transfer times.  

Flight times home for long haul flights can be late at night. Twice we have sacrificed our last night on the ship to catch a late night flight home rather than be hanging around all the next day.  We have our dinner then wheel our bags off the ship ourselves and get a taxi to the airport. All we really miss is the last breakfast.  Neither Azamara nor a ‘package’ travel agent would book a flight at that time.

 

[Werangels]

Thanks both.  Very useful.  How do you go about transferring to an agent please?

[uktog]

If you book direct with the cruise line you then have a short period of time (confirm this at the time of booking) to transfer the booking to a travel agent and perhaps enjoy some additional benefits/perks.  If you are first time with Azamara as you are, you will probably be better booking cruise only with an agent from the outset.

Most usually transfers happen back by those of us who are repeat cruisers who book onboard and get extra perks, then if we choose to, move the booking back to the agent in the UK for another small discount.  Then we have to call and tell Azamara we want the agent to take the booking and give them their ABTA number

In the UK we do not enjoy the massive travel agents perks you might read of here that others in the USA get, our agents do not rebate commission or fight to retain loyalty to the same level as happens in the USA.

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by uktog

[Grandma Cruising]

47 minutes ago, Werangels said:

Thanks both.  Very useful.  How do you go about transferring to an agent please?

Just tell Azamara that you wish to do this at the time of booking or within a few days after. Make sure your chosen travel agent is aware you are doing this and ask them if they can give you a discount. Travel Agents pay less to Azamara than you do, so may be prepared to pass some of their commission on to you.

[uktog]

5 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Just tell Azamara that you wish to do this at the time of booking or within a few days after. Make sure your chosen travel agent is aware you are doing this and ask them if they can give you a discount. Travel Agents pay less to Azamara than you do, so may be prepared to pass some of their commission on to you.

You actually do not need to tell Azamara at the time of booking, however you must ask "if I am going to transfer the booking to an agent, how long do I have"  You will need to make the request in that timeframe and to avoid last minute issues, if they say I have two weeks I work on the basis of doing the transfer in a week.  If you do not you cannot transfer it, but the cruise line cannot stop you transferring it.

 

You can after making the booking contact several online agents and otherwise and see who will give you the best deal, but DO NOT send them a copy of your Azamara confirmation.  Once you get the best price, then put the transfer in place.  Make sure you are comparing like for like, for example are there any restrictions on payment dates, how early do the agents want the money and does it fit with your plans etc etc.  (Our experience is agents are getting greedy asking for payment 12-16 weeks ahead of a cruise, whereas we are much later on direct bookings.

[Werangels]

Thanks both.  Oh crikey! This cruise malarkey is like learning a new language!!

Edited February 19, 2019 by Werangels

[Grandma Cruising]

I assumed you had a favoured travel agent that you would want to use. If not, you could get quotes from various travel agents before you book so you can tell Azamara to transfer the booking straight away if you wanted to.

[Werangels]

Thanks Grandma.  I have TA’s for land holidays, I tend to be a keen negotiator and I think they hide when they see me coming!  I was unsure as to whether you would use the same or go to the more specialist cruise suppliers.  However,  I now have a preferred TA for this ;)!!  #feeling very happy    Now to choose a balcony cabin and a hotel for Venice.

[uktog]

If you can get into the Ca Pisani in Venice, its great, near where Azamara usually docks and just down from where the water bus for the airport can drop you off (saves using water taxis)  Google it, its highly recommended by trip advisor and on the ports board here

 

 

[Werangels]

Thank you, looks lovely.   It is coming up at €300 per night on their website.   Is that about standard for the area?  I have had a quick read on transfers ie water taxi’s, water buses, taxis and am already feeling confused - it doesn’t take much 😂

[Werangels]

Would you advise against a connecting door?  Does it increase noise levels?

 

Thanks so much for helping.

[mchell810]

OP -- You've gotten a lot of excellent advice from the experts here, but I thought I would add my two cents: Don't be afraid to mix it up by using ships transfers and independent arrangements.  For my next cruise, I am flying in a few days early and so made my own arrangements, but for the return trip I am using an Azamara transfer.  We dock in a busy port and I decided I didn't want to fight for a taxi to the airport.  If I were staying in town, or had a late flight, I would probably do things differently.  The bottom line your needs might change based on the port. 

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Edited February 19, 2019 by mchell810

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Werangels said:

Thank you, looks lovely.   It is coming up at €300 per night on their website.   Is that about standard for the area?  I have had a quick read on transfers ie water taxi’s, water buses, taxis and am already feeling confused - it doesn’t take much 😂

These websites are very good for information about transport in Venice

https://www.theveniceinsider.com/how-to-guide-transportation-venice/

 

https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vi-transport.htm

[Werangels]

Thank you mchell810.  Good point.  I am very grateful for everyone’s help; it all feels like a minefield at the moment!

[Werangels]

16 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

These websites are very good for information about transport in Venice

https://www.theveniceinsider.com/how-to-guide-transportation-venice/

 

https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vi-transport.htm

 

Thank you.  I had read TA’s information guides earlier and I like the insider guide with the photos.  Much appreciated.

[Lookyboy]

And my two pennies' worth also......we have booked most of our recent cruises directly with Azamara and have used all their transfers, recommended flights and hotels. We have been able to travel 48 hours before sailing, when we have asked, and simply paid for any extra hotel nights, yet still enjoying Azamara transfers. We have also stayed extra nights at the end, again, paying for these extras, but enjoying Azamara transfers, hotels and flights. We have been offered a 'late departure' from the ship (after lunch), if the flight is later in the day, or sometimes provided with a hotel room for the day, to avoid spending hours in an airport, and in the early days, a tour was sometimes provided to pass some of the day prior to a later flight. We simply ask about all these things at the time of booking (always on board) and a note is attached to the booking, so that when flights come into view, we can be contacted by Azamara to finalise the number of days early we wish to fly.

[Werangels]

That sounds very worry-free.  I shall bear that in mind should we enjoy our first cruise and look to book again.  

[Lookyboy]

You will love your first Azamara cruise..... no doubt in my mind about that.

[Werangels]

Thank you.  I really hope so!

[Travels with Lisa]

I'm a little late with suggestions, but we did very well booking our return flight home with Choice Air - we couldn't get close to the price on our own.  We are doing the Croatia b2b with the Venice to Rome and flying out of Milan a week and a half later.

 

Once you decide and transfer to a TA, they can help you with this.  

 

Hotels are always better on your own - they aren't pp as the cruise lines sell them.  Our travel agent suggested Hotel Ala in Venice and we booked there.

 

Wereangels - have you joined the roll call for the cruise yet? Great way to connect with others on the voyage

 

[excitedofharpenden]

Just to say the OP is from the UK and we don’t have Choice Air here.  

 

Phil

[Travels with Lisa]

oops, sorry!

 

[manc]

We fly in early and stay in hotels of our  choice. We have left cruises early e.g. after dinner to catch a late night flight rather than hanging around an airport for many hours. Alternatively are able to pay to stay on board later if this helpful with flight times.