Best time to book Fly2Fun

[Tom.Terrific]

All, We're cruising to Alaska from Seattle next August (8 months from now) and considering booking our flights through Carnival's "Fly2Fun" program.

Should we book now, or wait a few months and see if the cost of flying decreases as we get a little closer to sail away (fly away). 

Also, can you add your flight costs to "EasyPay" or do you just have to remember to pay for your flights before your final payment is due?

Thanks!

[vwrestler171]

Book a flexible rate as early as possible and if the price goes down, you still can adjust to the lowest price.  

[jvescape]

The cost of the flights is bundled in to your easypay.

[jsglow]

So I wanted to add some important information that may be useful for folks here.  We started occasionally searching for Fly2Fun airfares a few weeks back and were directed to contact Carnival rather than have the normal search page pop up on screen.  We erroneously believed that packages might not yet be available for our European trip late next summer even though the airlines already had schedules/fares up.  WRONG!  It's simply that the online portal couldn't 'handle' that we were B2B.  A call to Carnival (either the normal 800# or one's PVP) can take care of that airline booking manually.  We're now set with Flexible Air (covering both cruises) linked to Cruise #1.  Fly2Fun opens up something like 9 months before your cruise.   And if fares go down, we can take advantage using our PVP.

 

Hopefully that helps if you are ever in that situation.

[Tom.Terrific]

Thank you everyone for your input.  I'll give our PVP a call tomorrow.

[craig01020]

On 12/9/2022 at 1:59 PM, vwrestler171 said:

Book a flexible rate as early as possible and if the price goes down, you still can adjust to the lowest price.  

Sounds good, but can the price increase if you haven't paid yet?

[jsglow]

49 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

Sounds good, but can the price increase if you haven't paid yet?

No. But your flights can be slightly tweaked.

 

As an example, we had an extra stop added on a return trip from Europe last year. This can happen anytime before your flights are actually ticketed about 45 days before you fly.

[klfrodo]

Best time to book Fly2Fun?

 

Never. But that's me

[AtSeaWithChris]

You can book at 321 days out. 

[thenexus2k]

17 hours ago, jsglow said:

No. But your flights can be slightly tweaked.

 

As an example, we had an extra stop added on a return trip from Europe last year. This can happen anytime before your flights are actually ticketed about 45 days before you fly.

THIS!
We tried Fly2Fun for the first time last year. We found the perfect flights (good times, non-stop, good price) and booked, but chose the flexible option (accidently?). As the cruise neared, our flights changed a few times, even changed airlines. Ended up with a 6 hour layover (to be fair, scheduled 2 hour) in Chicago on the way home. 

[EllieinNJ]

We are also on a b2b in May/June 2023.  Last September we started looking and comparing prices with flytofun and the airlines direct. It did give us prices for the entire three weeks.  By the time we decided to book our United nonstop from Newark to Barcelona no longer appeared on ftf.  We panicked and booked privately using more miles than I would have liked.  Then last month United changed planes to a larger one but it was too late for us to change.

[jsglow]

And for the record, we have only used Fly2Fun to get to Europe.  Here in the US I always book privately.

[ninjacat123]

On 12/10/2022 at 1:58 PM, jsglow said:

So I wanted to add some important information that may be useful for folks here.  We started occasionally searching for Fly2Fun airfares a few weeks back and were directed to contact Carnival rather than have the normal search page pop up on screen.  We erroneously believed that packages might not yet be available for our European trip late next summer even though the airlines already had schedules/fares up.  WRONG!  It's simply that the online portal couldn't 'handle' that we were B2B.  A call to Carnival (either the normal 800# or one's PVP) can take care of that airline booking manually.  We're now set with Flexible Air (covering both cruises) linked to Cruise #1.  Fly2Fun opens up something like 9 months before your cruise.   And if fares go down, we can take advantage using our PVP.

 

Hopefully that helps if you are ever in that situation.

We have F2F added to our final payment.  I asked if I needed to pay for it and my PVP said not till final.  So do I need to keep an eye on airline prices or does it not matter till 45 days out? Is this when I get to select our seats? My PVP asked what airline do we prefer and I said American.  I hope we fly American for the miles.  I usually book direct with American so this is my first rodeo with F2F.  Thanks for any insight!

Edited January 31, 2023 by ninjacat123

[jsglow]

7 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

We have F2F added to our final payment.  I asked if I needed to pay for it and my PVP said not till final.  So do I need to keep an eye on airline prices or does it not matter till 45 days out? Is this when I get to select our seats? My PVP asked what airline do we prefer and I said American.  I hope we fly American for the miles.  I usually book direct with American so this is my first rodeo with F2F.  Thanks for any insight!

I'm not sure I can answer any of your questions.  I do know that I have the ability to cancel/reprice my F2F up until Final Payment so I do keep an eye on airline prices.  As to sear selection, that's an American Airlines policy and probably can't happen until the flight is actually ticketed some 30 days before departure. But that's all airline dependent. We only consider F2F for international travel. There's some good threads over in the Cruise Air section where some of the great international 'air warriors' have written detailed descriptions.  So without digging, where are you cruising/flying and why did you select F2F?

[AtSeaWithChris]

You can pick your seats as soon as you book f2f. 

[ninjacat123]

11 minutes ago, jsglow said:

I'm not sure I can answer any of your questions.  I do know that I have the ability to cancel/reprice my F2F up until Final Payment so I do keep an eye on airline prices.  As to sear selection, that's an American Airlines policy and probably can't happen until the flight is actually ticketed some 30 days before departure. But that's all airline dependent. We only consider F2F for international travel. There's some good threads over in the Cruise Air section where some of the great international 'air warriors' have written detailed descriptions.  So without digging, where are you cruising/flying and why did you select F2F?

We are cruising Carnival Pride out of Rome, Oct 18, 2023. My PVP quoted me $1,000 per ticket for airfare and that I could fly American.  At the time, flying American from CLT was about $1,400 roundtrip so I thought it was a good choice cost-wise and since it's connected to my cruise, I would have a safety net in case the cruise was cancelled due to Carnival.  I did read some of the Cruise Air threads which were helpful.  Just saw this thread and thought, more info😊

[reeinaz]

With Fly2Fun, you have the ability to select your own flights just like booking through a normal travel website. You don't have to leave that choice up to anyone else. If you prefer to go through your PVP, you still look at what is available through F2F and tell them the exact flights you want them to book for you. As soon as you have your flight booking confirmation code, you should be able to go to the airline page directly and select seats. It doesn't matter if the tickets have been paid for or not by Carnival. There has been only one time when I didn't immediately get a booking confirmation code after booking Fly2Fun. If you sign up for flight notifications with the airline, you should be notified immediately of any changes that the airline makes to your booked flights. Do pay attention to seemingly random cabin confirmation emails from Carnival. If you haven't made a payment or some other update to your cruise booking that would generate that email, it usually indicates a change was made to your flight. The PDF for your flight is at the very bottom of the email and will show any changes that were made.

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

We are cruising Carnival Pride out of Rome, Oct 18, 2023. My PVP quoted me $1,000 per ticket for airfare and that I could fly American.  At the time, flying American from CLT was about $1,400 roundtrip so I thought it was a good choice cost-wise and since it's connected to my cruise, I would have a safety net in case the cruise was cancelled due to Carnival.  I did read some of the Cruise Air threads which were helpful.  Just saw this thread and thought, more info😊

We were on that exact cruise this past October and used F2F for the first time.  Flew to Rome 4 days early to explore.  Worked out fine and in my book the exact right application for F2F.  Pack your endurance and enjoy!  We averaged nearly 20,000 steps a day, every day, for 2 weeks.

[notscb]

I'd say the best thing to do is set a google alert for the dates and location you're flying to/from and let it notify you so you can get a sense of the trends. Oftentimes, fly2fun fares are previously set per contract with the airline (i.e. the airline sells X number of seats under Y fare code for Z price which is associated with cruise line bookings). Remember that Fly2Fun doesn't guarantee that you'll meet the ship nor does it guarantee that they'll get you to the next port (they vaguely say they'll "help" but don't define what that means).

[reeinaz]

22 minutes ago, notscb said:

I'd say the best thing to do is set a google alert for the dates and location you're flying to/from and let it notify you so you can get a sense of the trends. Oftentimes, fly2fun fares are previously set per contract with the airline (i.e. the airline sells X number of seats under Y fare code for Z price which is associated with cruise line bookings). Remember that Fly2Fun doesn't guarantee that you'll meet the ship nor does it guarantee that they'll get you to the next port (they vaguely say they'll "help" but don't define what that means).

I had a flight cancel just as I was about to head to the airport at 4AM (signed up for text alerts from the airline). I called the emergency number (at 4AM) and the agent attempted to rebook me on another flight but no flights were available that would get me to the port in time to make the 1st leg of my b2b (last time I schedule to arrive the day of). They did rebook me on a flight to make the second leg of the b2b at no additional charge to me even though the new ticket was more expensive than my original one. Fly2Fun does come with flight insurance. Read the coverage on your own as it is subject to change. At the time of my trip, I would've been reimbursed for the cost of the plane ticket. I had my cruise insured through Carnival and received FCC for the 1st leg. I did have to file a claim per the usual process.

 

[craig01020]

Does Carnival only offer certain airlines with Fly2Fun?

[ninjacat123]

7 hours ago, reeinaz said:

With Fly2Fun, you have the ability to select your own flights just like booking through a normal travel website. You don't have to leave that choice up to anyone else. If you prefer to go through your PVP, you still look at what is available through F2F and tell them the exact flights you want them to book for you. As soon as you have your flight booking confirmation code, you should be able to go to the airline page directly and select seats. It doesn't matter if the tickets have been paid for or not by Carnival. There has been only one time when I didn't immediately get a booking confirmation code after booking Fly2Fun. If you sign up for flight notifications with the airline, you should be notified immediately of any changes that the airline makes to your booked flights. Do pay attention to seemingly random cabin confirmation emails from Carnival. If you haven't made a payment or some other update to your cruise booking that would generate that email, it usually indicates a change was made to your flight. The PDF for your flight is at the very bottom of the email and will show any changes that were made.

Picking our own seats would be at 45 days out, correct?  Tons of great info, thanks @reeinaz

[AtSeaWithChris]

2 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Picking our own seats would be at 45 days out, correct?  Tons of great info, thanks @reeinaz

I’ve always been able to pick seats at the end of the booking F2F process. Or as soon as I got my record number. At the end of the beginning booking F2F you have to pay attention or you can miss the select seats. Then you have to use the record number. 

[Eli_6]

Can you upgrade to business through F2F?  It seems like I looked into it before and couldn't so didn't end up booking it. 

[AtSeaWithChris]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

Can you upgrade to business through F2F?  It seems like I looked into it before and couldn't so didn't end up booking it. 

Not sure. I can look in a few weeks when it opens for my cruise next January. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by AtSeaWithChris