Extra days added to Cruise Air?

[Momma Mojito]

We are looking into possibly spending time in Italy  either before or after a 7 day Mediterian  Cruise  (ports in Greece and Italy).  Because booking flights has usually been less expensive through the cruise line, do you think we would be able to add days so that we could spend extra time in Italy

 

[Ashland]

We had no problem booking a week pre-cruise with Flights By Celebrity for our July 2021 British Isles cruise out of Amsterdam. However...now doubtful that cruise will sail.

[CruiserBruce]

All you can do is ask. In some circumstances, better air has not been available, because the cruiseline only buys the bulk air for common days passengers would need it...for example, if there aren't any cruises on Wednesdays, they won't buy any bulk air on Monday or Tuesdays. A week in advance of your sailing probably won't cause this problem, but 3 or 4 days might. 

[Zach1213]

11 hours ago, Momma Mojito said:

We are looking into possibly spending time in Italy  either before or after a 7 day Mediterian  Cruise  (ports in Greece and Italy).  Because booking flights has usually been less expensive through the cruise line, do you think we would be able to add days so that we could spend extra time in Italy

 

 

I would urge you to avoid the word "usually" in these days. Don't just assume - do a ton of comparison. With a seven-day cruise, that means you're flying to AND FROM Europe, so you're looking at a roundtrip (or an open jaws)...often, cruise airfares are significantly cheaper for one-way fares, not necessarily roundtrip/open jaws. Not to say they aren't, but definitely don't assume. 

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, Momma Mojito said:

do you think we would be able to add days so that we could spend extra time in Italy

 

At least inquire if that would be possible.  It might require a "custom air" schedule provided by the cruise line.  There could be a fee for doing so, unless you have loyalty status when requesting custom air is a perk of their loyalty program.  I have done so in the past when I have arranged air through Holland America Line.  

[jules27556]

On 2/11/2021 at 9:28 PM, Momma Mojito said:

We are looking into possibly spending time in Italy  either before or after a 7 day Mediterian  Cruise  (ports in Greece and Italy).  Because booking flights has usually been less expensive through the cruise line, do you think we would be able to add days so that we could spend extra time in Italy

 

I did.  Simply gave the date we wanted to arrive in Italy. 4 full days before departure.

[Ashland]

11 hours ago, jules27556 said:

I did.  Simply gave the date we wanted to arrive in Italy. 4 full days before departure.

This is exactly what I did and no questions were asked about the pre-cruise dates. Glad it worked well for you.

[jules27556]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:00 AM, Ashland said:

This is exactly what I did and no questions were asked about the pre-cruise dates. Glad it worked well for you.

Wonderful!  

[nini]

As far a I have seen on CC, people do this quite often; especially if your return

flight options are a bit tight. Then people spend a night then catch their flight the next day.

Play around with the dates that are offered to you on your cruise site; for example, the one for Princess is called EZAir. This is how you can keep an eye on the fares. Currently, we are planning on arriving in Italy a week before cruise departure and then 2 nights in Barcelona before flying home.

[Hlitner]

Policies vary between cruise lines and since you do not say which line we cannot give you a good answer.  Also keep in mind that any advice would be based on what used to exist prior to the COVID shut down and policies may change once cruise lines resume operations.

 

Some cruise lines such as HAL, Princess, Seabourn and Cunard have no problem if you want to fly-in early (we are even talking weeks) or stay after a cruise.  Other lines, such as Oceania charge a hefty fee (i.e. $175 per person) for any deviation.  Some other lines might not even be willing to handle your air.

 

Hank

[Momma Mojito]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Policies vary between cruise lines and since you do not say which line we cannot give you a good answer.  Also keep in mind that any advice would be based on what used to exist prior to the COVID shut down and policies may change once cruise lines resume operations.

 

Some cruise lines such as HAL, Princess, Seabourn and Cunard have no problem if you want to fly-in early (we are even talking weeks) or stay after a cruise.  Other lines, such as Oceania charge a hefty fee (i.e. $175 per person) for any deviation.  Some other lines might not even be willing to handle your air.

 

Hank

 

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Policies vary between cruise lines and since you do not say which line we cannot give you a good answer.  Also keep in mind that any advice would be based on what used to exist prior to the COVID shut down and policies may change once cruise lines resume operations.

 

Some cruise lines such as HAL, Princess, Seabourn and Cunard have no problem if you want to fly-in early (we are even talking weeks) or stay after a cruise.  Other lines, such as Oceania charge a hefty fee (i.e. $175 per person) for any deviation.  Some other lines might not even be willing to handle your air.

 

Hank

 

[Momma Mojito]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Policies vary between cruise lines and since you do not say which line we cannot give you a good answer.  Also keep in mind that any advice would be based on what used to exist prior to the COVID shut down and policies may change once cruise lines resume operations.

 

Some cruise lines such as HAL, Princess, Seabourn and Cunard have no problem if you want to fly-in early (we are even talking weeks) or stay after a cruise.  Other lines, such as Oceania charge a hefty fee (i.e. $175 per person) for any deviation.  Some other lines might not even be willing to handle your air.

 

Hank

Thanks,   sorry I didn't mention what cruise line, we usually cruise with Princess . So it's good to know that this could be possible!

 

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, Momma Mojito said:

Thanks,   sorry I didn't mention what cruise line, we usually cruise with Princess . So it's good to know that this could be possible!

 

When it comes to booking cruise/air Princess is my favorite line.  They have a pretty decent booking engine which can be accessed online.  Prior to COVID it was easy to book flights in and out of many different places (not just your embarkation port) and there were no limitations on booking dates prior or post cruise or both.   Once you get used to using their air booking engine it is relatively easy to try all kinds of options which is especially helpful for those of us booking Business or First Class.  Sometimes driving a couple of hours to a more distant airport can save you thousands of dollars.

 

Hank

[alcpa1]

Before you book via your cruise line's air program do mock bookings on sites like Kayak to compare prices and schedules. 

And, don't forget to monitor your flights once booked, Schedules and equipment changes can play havoc with your travel days. As Covid wanes airline schedules should loosen up, particularly to Europe and modifications can occur if they meet the airline protocols.

[Hlitner]

On 3/1/2021 at 11:38 PM, alcpa1 said:

Before you book via your cruise line's air program do mock bookings on sites like Kayak to compare prices and schedules. 

And, don't forget to monitor your flights once booked, Schedules and equipment changes can play havoc with your travel days. As Covid wanes airline schedules should loosen up, particularly to Europe and modifications can occur if they meet the airline protocols.

COVID has caused me to modify some of my thinking regarding air.  In the past I would always compare cruise line air deals to other options and we would often find advantages to booking our own air.  But when COVID caused lots of cruise cancellations many folks found they were stuck with expensive non-refundable airfares.  In many cases the airlines eased their rules and many of these folks found they now had airline vouchers (with limitations) or the ability to book other flights with no penalty.  But lots of these folks have since realized there are no flights to book, they cannot travel, etc.

 

For those with cruise air, it is often possible that you will get a 100% refund of your air with no voucher hassles.  This happened to us when our April 2020 HAL cruise was cancelled (we had business class to Japan).  Our air reservation was immediately refunded (we are talking about thousands of dollars).  The same with another Asian cruise (April 2021).  If we had booked our own air we would have paid many thousands of dollars for a pair of Business Class tickets to Tokyo.  Instead we booked the air through the cruise line.  4 months prior to the cruise it was cancelled which was before we had paid a penny for the air.  

 

When it comes to reasonably priced domestic air I have no problem do my own bookings and dealing with the issues if the cruise is cancelled.  But with much more expensive International air it is a different story and we now prefer to rely on cruise/air options (even if it costs a little more then doing our own air).  Once we get past all this COVID-related stuff then perhaps it will be time to revisit the issue.  

 

Hank

[AF-1]

Before my New England cruise Canx;  I had booked air thru Princess to NY and I added two nights pre cruise with no issues. 

[MsMaybelline]

On 3/14/2021 at 7:18 PM, Hlitner said:

This happened to us when our April 2020 HAL cruise was cancelled (we had business class to Japan).  Our air reservation was immediately refunded (we are talking about thousands of dollars).  The same with another Asian cruise (April 2021).  If we had booked our own air we would have paid many thousands of dollars for a pair of Business Class tickets to Tokyo.  Instead we booked the air through the cruise line.

Were you able to upgrade to the Business Class fare or was this booked automatically for you by the cruise line? I'm looking at a very long flight that I wouldn't really want to take in Coach. The airfare through NCL is reasonable though I'm sure it is for a bare bones ticket. I'm almost hesitant to book the cruise due to the uncertainty of the flights.  Any advice would be appreciated. 

[1982CruzStart]

i booked through cruise air a couple of times in the past and when i did so, I was able to choose what level of service that I wanted.  The business class tickets were less and better terms than what i could get through the airline. 

If you book an economy or lower class ticket it could be quite difficult or impossible to upgrade. So if you want to fly business class you should pick that class of service when you book your flights.  I haven't used NCL air but think they would offer tickets at different levels. 

[travelplus]

I booked air for my Feb Carnival Cruise out of LLong Beach on Alaska for $208 r/t in First Class from San Jose CA. Carnival wanted $170 and if the cruise does not go I can use the funds later. 

 

Carnival only books economy and I get lounge access at LAX so this way on arrival and Departure I can get something to eat and drink. Also I booked a 7:55 PM return flight so I can be one of the last passengers off.

 

I plan to stay 2 nights before in Long Beach so for me doing my own air is better.

[travelplus]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:43 AM, 1982CruzStart said:

i booked through cruise air a couple of times in the past and when i did so, I was able to choose what level of service that I wanted.  The business class tickets were less and better terms than what i could get through the airline. 

If you book an economy or lower class ticket it could be quite difficult or impossible to upgrade. So if you want to fly business class you should pick that class of service when you book your flights.  I haven't used NCL air but think they would offer tickets at different levels. 

And remember you could be booked into Basic Economy which I avoid.