Flightease and hotel packages ... are they worth the money?

[MBP&O2/O]

From a Silvereea immigrant.

 

We have just booked our first SB cruise .. Alaska ... Next year.

 

Exercising due diligence and research, and watching the SB and Alaska forums most questions are answered.

 

Not all though .... Flightease and hotel packages ... are they worth the money?

 

We are looking to fly out early and will need a hotel of course.

 

We are thinking that IF we use the flights then should the cruise be cancelled then we are not stuck with two unwanted flights ... as happened with Crystal.

 

We are not convinced with respect to the hotel package as the hotels that SB use are so convenient for the cruise terminal. DiY could be the order of the day.

 

Opinions would be appreciated. 

 

Mike

 

[dalliowner]

I try to use flight ease for the following reasons.

If my flight is delayed, Seabourn sort out all the problems about getting me to the ship.

 

They include transport to and from the airport.

 

If my return flight is in the late afternoon or evening they either arrange lunch or if later in the evening arrange a day room all at no cost.

 

I have found their prices do range from very cheap  to not bad when you cost the extras all though occasionally  they can be expensive , then I arrange my own flights.

 

Please note If you want to arrive a couple of days early the arrival transport is not included.

 

John

[jdk-atlga]

As an update - airport transfers are included only if you are traveling in/out on embark/disembark days. If you arrive a day or more early, then the transfers are not applicable. If you stay afterwards, then transfers are not included. 

 

Personally, I have found that the air fares to be very competitive, but I strongly suggest gaming the FlightEase app, trying different iterations/combinations, to derive your best/acceptable options. I would not take just the first options that pop up on FlightEase - it takes some finesse. 

[MBP&O2/O]

Thanks .. Good points.

As it stands .. and I am sure flights will change ... the absolute earliest we can arrive in Vancouver is 3:15pm ... and for a 5:00pm departure it just cannot be done, so we have no option but to fly out the previous day! 

I'll keep an eye out on the flights and see what happens and what they say.

I am leaning towards letting them arrange flights of my choosing and sorting my own hotels and transfers. The cruise is costing an arm and a leg so the cost of that will be miniscule in comparison.

[Hlitner]

Like most things you need to evaluate the actual purchase, hotels and or flights, against other sources.  But as a general rule we have found the FlightEase International Business and First Class options to be fantastic.  You can often get international business class for less than half the normal cost and Flightease usually allows you to buy Flexair which means you do not need to actually purchase or lock-in the air reservation until you make your final cruise payment.    Just as an example we have an upcoming cruise to Europe and used Flightease to purchase Business Class from Prague to Dulles.  The cost (for lay flat seats) was about $1000 per ticket which is fantastic for a one-way transatlantic flight in Business.

 

We are less impressed by Flightease deals on domestic air although there are times when it does offer some savings along with the Flex air benefits.

 

 

[hoosier74]

Our experience with FlightEase has been great.  The flights are comparable or much cheaper and they try to accommodate your wishes although they do have a relationship with Star Alliance, I believe.  We prefer Delta because it offers so many flight options on getting to and from our home airport whereas United and American don't, but we try to get long layovers in connection cities so we don't miss flights. We've never done a hotel package with Seabourn as the last time we checked it was ridiculously expensive, but that was many years ago.  

 

We took a Regent cruise with included flights about 12 years ago and you couldn't make ANY requests but I'm sure that has moderated.  

 

[sunshineocean13]

Our experience with FlightEase has also been good, and the current hiccups in cruising have only reinforced our desire to use it. With FlightEase we know Seabourn will take care of our flights no matter what changes may happen to the cruise. We always compare air costs we can find on our own with what Seabourn offers, of course. We've even had Seabourn purchase a hotel room for us because our flight arrived close to midnight the day before the cruise (it was called a "forced overnight").

 

The hotel packages are often ridiculously expensive, but they do give you the same "if anything changes about the cruise Seabourn will take care of this" reassurance. If you're arriving ahead of time, they also provide transportation from the hotel to the ship. FlightEase provides that transportation only when you're arriving on the day of the cruise.

[MBP&O2/O]

Thanks for all the help. Flightease it is and I'll sort my own hotels and transfers. 

Not dissimilar protocols to Silversea.

Quite looking forward to the cruise!

[red919]

Out of curiosity....as Seabourn, Holland America and Princess all use FlightEase, are the flights/fares offered to each cruise line the same or is there a fare difference? 

 

In other words, if two of us booked the same exact flight to the same port on the same date where one would be meeting a Seabourn cruise and the other a Holland America or Princess cruise, would we all be offered the same price for the same flight or would that price be different between the three?

 

One would assume they would be the same price, the only exception being Seabourn who offers free transfers. Answer might be obvious but had to ask.  Thanks.

[madera1]

We have begun using FlightEase since our return to cruising in September on Holland America. This summer I found a Seabourn cruise that we wanted and then 2 days later a Holland America cruise. I was able to look on both sites at flights but chose HA as I had some credits but just chose the first flight to arrive prior to the Seabourn cruise. The fares on both Flight Ease sites were the same.

[2SailingNomads]

We recently used Seabourn air, one way from Lisbon for biz class.  It was several thousand per person less than if I had booked directly with the airline.  I looked at using it for domestic to Miami and it was more than I could do on my own.   Turned down the group transfer from the ship to the airport and from what I overheard at the airport from others that was a wise choice as the bus left 25 minutes late.  And a car service was only 45 Euros.

[Hobar]

May 19 will be 330 days out and F.E., as well as the other consolidators will be able to book. we have had great luck with ilfybusiness, skylux and the others and we will try flightease since it has a SB guarantee. we too, will do our own hotel booking.