Question for Xpedition Cruisers

[CSloan]

How far in advance did you do your air to/from Quito (if you didn't book via Celebrity)?

 

I'm trying to decide if it's too early to book airfare. We leave November 24, returning Dec 4. I've booked air thru Celebrity @ $949pp just to make sure I have air secured. I found a fare on AA for $767pp. The AA is non-refundable, with the exception of illness or schedule change. If the price goes down, they won't refund cash, but will refund with a credit voucher.

 

So, what would you do? Wait and see if the fare gets any lower? (AA looks like they have the best price and schedules.)

 

Does Celebrity let you request a specific flight schedule with no extra charge?

[cruisePRN]

First you need to know they don't really fly into Baltra, it's been closed for renovations for a year and won't be done for years. The transfers to your hotel and then to the airport to get to the ship, from the ship back to your hotel and then from the hotel back to Quito airport are worth something. There are quite a few transfers you'll be glad to have through Xpeditions.

[Meribeth]

Our cruise is 4-16-06 and we booked our air in October 05. It's on AA from Miami and about the same price as you were qutoed ($760). You get the transfers even if you don't book air thru X.

 

Althought it doesn't really matter, I think Balta is open.

[SheilaNC]

You might want to got to the Xpedition Roll Call boards. There are many with lots of excellent, timely info. Probably will answer many of your questions. Re: your current question, folks on our cruise both booked with Celebity, booked their own air or flew into Guayaquil and joined our group flight there to the Galapagos. Many options - all worked. You just need to compare prices and convenience and book that which works best for you...

[Susan-M]

Cathy,

 

We are going on November 10th and I also booked air with Celebrity - the price was only about $40. higher pp than doing it on my own with AA, so I felt that it was worth it rather than commit to AA this far out.

I advised Celebrity which flights I wanted and they booked them. I didn't have to pay the custom air charge (I think because I'm a Captain's Club member) but Celebrity told me if I make any changes to the flight (other than cancel them), then the fee will apply. I'll keep watching the fares and if there is a sale before our final payment date, I still have the option to do air independently. It seems so far away.... should have booked for May:)

[cruisePRN]

Guayaquil is the airport we flew into not Baltra. I was there in Oct 05. They said Baltra would be closed for more then a year.

[gdayhoff]

Quito at 9300 ft will not allow a loaded jet aircraft to take off with a full fuel load so the flight from Quito to the Galapagos Island mades a short flight to Guayaquil to pick up paxs and fuel.Guayaguil is on the mainland.The flight was about 30-45 minutes and we were on the ground about 45 minutes.The flight from Guayaquil to San Cristobal Island,Galapagos Island is about 90 minutes.When we were there in Aug 2005 Baltra was close for repairs and all air traffic was landing at San Cristobal Island.I don't know what the present status of Baltra is.

[cruisePRN]

Quito at 9300 ft will not allow a loaded jet aircraft to take off with a full fuel load so the flight from Quito to the Galapagos Island mades a short flight to Guayaquil to pick up paxs and fuel.Guayaguil is on the mainland.The flight was about 30-45 minutes and we were on the ground about 45 minutes.The flight from Guayaquil to San Cristobal Island,Galapagos Island is about 90 minutes.When we were there in Aug 2005 Baltra was close for repairs and all air traffic was landing at San Cristobal Island.I don't know what the present status of Baltra is.

 

This is absolutly right.I forgot Guayaguil was just a stop.

[CSloan]

Our cruise is 4-16-06 and we booked our air in October 05. It's on AA from Miami and about the same price as you were qutoed ($760). You get the transfers even if you don't book air thru X.

 

Althought it doesn't really matter, I think Balta is open.

 

Meribeth - How do you get the transfers without booking air thru Celebrity? Did you pay extra for the transfers?

[Susan-M]

Cathy - when I booked with Celebrity, the rep told me that if we book the 10 or 11 day trip, flights between Quito and Baltra are included, if we had booked the 7 day trip, we would have to arrange our own Baltra flights. (Are those the transfers you mean, or the ones from airport to hotel in Quito?)

[SheilaNC]

I agree with Susan. Not only did all 10 and 11 day cruisers get transfers, but the Marriott in Quito has a free shuttle to the airport so for those who stay over extra days, as we did, that transportation was free as well.

[Susan-M]

Sheila.... how was your RCCL cruise last month?

[CSloan]

Thanks. I was referring to the xfers to/from the Quito airport to the Quito hotel. I called Celebrity, and they confirmed the 10-night package starts the minute we get off the plane in Quito, regardless of whether we did X transfers or not. Sounds great to me! I went ahead and booked our own air.

 

Susan - you'll be going before us!

[Susan-M]

Cathy - yes, we'll be going just a couple of weeks ahead of you.

 

I was quite impressed with Celebrity's service when they told me that even if we booked our own air to Quito & return, that they would want to know our flight info so that they could arrange to meet us at the airport. We'll use the hotel's shuttle on return though as we are staying on for a few extra days.

After you posted yesterday, it made me think that I should check AA again to see if prices had come down.... and they had. We are about $150. higher with Celebrity (for the two of us) so I will leave it as is for now and keep watching. If it gets any lower, I will book our own air. Was there any problem cancelling the air portion with Celebrity?

[SheilaNC]

Susan,

our RCCL cruise was fine...short, restful and fun. But...nothing can compare to what you're about to experience. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back...you'll all really understand what being treated 'famously' really means.

[CSloan]

Was there any problem cancelling the air portion with Celebrity?

 

I don't know yet... we booked our cruise thru a TA.. I've emailed her asking to cancel the Celebrity Air and haven't heard back from her yet.. So, we'll see. I kind of wish we'd just booked without a TA. Actually, we did book online, then transferred it to a TA - I wish we hadn't now. Since there's no $$ to be saved with a TA, I'd rather communicate directly with Celebrity.

[gdayhoff]

Every thing said about the transfers is correct but if I remember right there were certain hours the transfers were available.If that's the case and the transfers do not work out it only cost $5.00 taxi fare to the Hotel.No problem with going from the hotel to the airport because everyone leaves about the same time.

Was the most rewarding cruise/tour we have been on.Enjoy

[patlanta]

Clara Bosonetto, Budget Traveler, has the following in todays Atlanta Journal-Constituion:

 

"Here's the story: Continental offers a round-trip airfare from ATL! of $324 to Guayaquil. The deal is valid on any available day of the week on trips you plan to finish on or before February 5 of next year, 2007.

 

Advance purchase isn't required which means you could go this week or next. Plan to stay at least any three nights. Some blackout dates: Dec. 17-24 southbound and return flights Jan. 1-8."

 

You can get on the TAME flight in Guayaquil. Hope some of you are able to take advantage of this sale.

[SheilaNC]

Also, Guayaquil is only a 30 min flight from Quito...so it might still be quite a savings to fly to Guayaquil then on to Quito (if you're on the 10/11 day deal). Of course coming home, you'd have to reverse it and go back to Guayaquil. Just a thought. It's quite a good fare.....

[CSloan]

I just checked the flight on Continental from SFO to Guayaquil and the lowest is $818pp.. and it's an overnight flight. So definitely not for me.

 

No problem getting Celebrity air removed from my reservation. After the air taxes were figured in, we ended up saving $541 total! Not too shabby.

[Fontaid]

I agree with what most everyone has posted on the site. My wife and I (11/13/05 sailing - "10 day cruise") booked our own flights on AA using frequent flyer miles. I booked the cruise directly through Celebrity (I had a great rep there by the way). My Celebrity rep asked for our flight information so that she would be sure the Celebrity folks were there to pick us up. Note: There aren't that many flights from the U.S. into Quito and most arrive after 8 or 9 pm.

 

As someone mentioned... even if you miss the Celebrity transfers back to the airport and the Marriott shuttle isn't running at that time, the taxi is only $4 - 5. You can't get in a cab in the U.S. with your luggage and get out of the airport for that price!!! Yet, it's a good 15 minutes to the airport from the Marriott. Don't sweat it!

 

The ONLY thing I would worry about by booking air tickets this far in advance is that most airlines will change their schedules... perhaps change your seats too. They will rebook you on the other flights and sometimes you will even get an email informing you of the change. But, sometimes you don't. We booked our AA flights in May 2005 for November 2005 and our flights changed. Note: They don't change much... usually only by 30 minutes or so, but flight nos. can change, aircraft used can change, and hence, your seat assignments can change. When you book air through Celebrity, you won't know about seating because they don't assign seats (or at least they don't tell you) that far in advance. My suggestion is to "keep an eye" on your flights at least once a month. I just went to aa.com and checked... and once got surprised!!! I was able to get things "fixed" (more where I wanted to sit).

 

Patlanta - Continental from Atlanta to Guayquil??? That sounds weird. I didn't know Continental was using Atlanta as a hub. It's a great price if you can get it.

 

Note: I think a lot of people on our trip used frequent flyer miles to book their air. In order to make sure you can use your frequent flyer miles, you have to "book early", so I would say most people on our trip booked their air several months ahead of time. The cheapest we heard of for people paying was about $750 per person RT.

 

The other thing I will mention is that Celebrity does virtually everything right on this cruise. Virtually everything will be taken care of once you land in Quito until you get back to Quito airport to leave for home.

 

Dave

[SMNYCruise]

We booked our flights with FF miles very far in advance. Dave...you are right...Continental(without telling us) completely changed our flights. We now leave four hours earlier and connect through Houston instead of Panama.

 

My travel agent called last night to get our flight information. No problem using Celebrity transfers without booking air through them.

[Tellurian]

We bought the 7-day cruise-only as we are doing our own thing on land (Napo Wildlife Center) post cruise. To be a little "safer" however, we did opt to stay at the J. W. Marriott in Quito before and after to be in the loop with Celebrity. As for flights, be aware that the tricky part is securing the Quito-Baltra legs on TAME airline. Theoretically you can do it yourself on-line, but I have heard it is essential to re-confirm over and over with TAME. Because Napo Wildlife Center will only book through an agent, we ended up booking our flights, transfers and hotel through LADATCO. It was still a much better deal than the Celebrity 10 or 11-day package. Have a great trip - we sail March 26!

[CSloan]

As usual, this is a very helpful discussion. Thanks for all of the input!