$500 Airfare offer inquiry to the British Isles

[Derbie]

My DH and I are wanting to take our two nieces on a cruise this summer.  We are considering a British Isle tour.  Has anyone used the airfare offer? I did note it is only on certain level cabins.  If so, any suggestions and reviews/pointers would be very appreciated.  We have also posted the question on the NCL as we are considering a cruise to the Isle with them as well.  We are trying to save a little money, as this is a huge undertaking for us.  Also, I am assuming that the flights would probably leave out of large hubs like NY or Boston, etc.  Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

[cargopilot]

Please consider making your own flight arrangements. Also, think of the flight transportation as just important or more important than the cruise itself. Price is NOT the most important factor. Just look at the past few months when it comes to the airlines.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, Derbie said:

My DH and I are wanting to take our two nieces on a cruise this summer.  We are considering a British Isle tour.  Has anyone used the airfare offer? I did note it is only on certain level cabins.  If so, any suggestions and reviews/pointers would be very appreciated.  We have also posted the question on the NCL as we are considering a cruise to the Isle with them as well.  We are trying to save a little money, as this is a huge undertaking for us.  Also, I am assuming that the flights would probably leave out of large hubs like NY or Boston, etc.  Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

I would never book NCL's free air.  You have no say in the flights you are assigned so you will likely get at least a one stop and probably a multiple stop flight that is at a terrible time, if you are booking multiple cabins there is no guarantee that all cabins will have the same flight and you may not even be flown into the closest airport.  People have been flown to Montreal for a Quebec City departure which is a 3 hour drive.  There is a reason its "free"

[olya1972]

I have just booked through Air2Sea Royal Caribbean flights program taking advantage of that offer you are mentioning. I booked Economy class tickets to Alaska ( offer is for European or Alaska sailings), so the price was $200 off per ticket per person. I went on Air2Sea site and there is an option there to browse if you did not book a cruise yet but do have particular sailing in mind. The site allowed me to price tickets few days before departure and few days post return back to the embarkation port. I priced same flights through Google search, Kayak flights search, Expedia and others. Air2Sea offered almost all the options available on all those other sites at $200 per ticket discount. This tickets can be reserved without payment. Payment is due when the Final Payment is due for the cruise. Our cruise final payment is not due till the end of February. Until that time we can cancel or change these tickets without any fee. I already called Air2Sea to change outgoing flight to different airport because it offered better flight times and they did that for me. Our friends whom we are traveling with also reserved and called to inquire if it’s possible to only book a return flight through Air2Sea and book flight to the cruise independently and the representative told them “ Yes” and quoted return flight price at $200 per ticket discount on that flight alone. ( Otherwise it’s $200 off per round trip). So far all of this sounds good to me. I am still checking their site daily to see if better flight options and cheaper flights will pop up so I can switch to those. Hope this info helps you.

[FlyerTalker]

Those "air discounts" are just another marketing tool.  Rather than discount the cruise, they discount the air.  One hand versus the other.

 

Just know that you are booking a different ticket than one bought from the airline directly.  And you are subject to the conditions of their bulk ticket contract.

 

Caveat Emptor.

[fbgd]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Those "air discounts" are just another marketing tool.  Rather than discount the cruise, they discount the air.  One hand versus the other.

 

Got to get the airfare down below to price of the cruise, right? 😁

 

With these kinds of offers aren't you likely to end up on Sky High Airlines Friendmaker Flights?

[Zach1213]

22 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

People have been flown to Montreal for a Quebec City departure which is a 3 hour drive.  There is a reason its "free"

 

I am by no means a defender of cruise line air, but out of curiosity on this one - were they set up with ground transport, or just dumped in Montreal and told to figure it out? I ask because, even though Quebec City Airport is obviously closer, it may not actually be any quicker if you're not coming from one of the (small number of) places with nonstops to YQB.

 

An example, after clearing immigration/customs/bag claim in Montreal (which you need to do whether you're ending your trip in Montreal or connecting domestically to Quebec):

 

AIR CONNECTION: re-clear security - 15 minutes, wait for flight - 75 minutes (could be more or less depending on connection), flight to YQB - 60 minutes (gate to gate), wait for bags - 15 minutes, ground transport from airport to city center - 25 minutes, total = 3:10 

 

GROUND TRANSPORT: get to already hired ground transport pickup - 15 minutes; ride to Quebec City Centre/Port - 3 hours, total = 3:15

 

So, they end up pretty much identical in this case, but my hypothetical times could change either way depending on traffic, how much time you have to wait for your connection in Montreal, etc. Again, not trying to defend cruise line air, but IF they procured ground transport in Montreal to get people to Quebec, it's really no different time wise than taking the connecting flight. 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Zach1213

[Ourusualbeach]

19 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

I am by no means a defender of cruise line air, but out of curiosity on this one - were they set up with ground transport, or just dumped in Montreal and told to figure it out? I ask because, even though Quebec City Airport is obviously closer, it may not actually be any quicker if you're not coming from one of the (small number of) places with nonstops to YQB.

 

An example, after clearing immigration/customs/bag claim in Montreal (which you need to do whether you're ending your trip in Montreal or connecting domestically to Quebec):

 

AIR CONNECTION: re-clear security - 15 minutes, wait for flight - 75 minutes (could be more or less depending on connection), flight to YQB - 60 minutes (gate to gate), wait for bags - 15 minutes, ground transport from airport to city center - 25 minutes, total = 3:10 

 

GROUND TRANSPORT: get to already hired ground transport pickup - 15 minutes; ride to Quebec City Centre/Port - 3 hours, total = 3:15

 

So, they end up pretty much identical in this case, but my hypothetical times could change either way depending on traffic, how much time you have to wait for your connection in Montreal, etc. Again, not trying to defend cruise line air, but IF they procured ground transport in Montreal to get people to Quebec, it's really no different time wise than taking the connecting flight. 

They were on their own for ground transportation

[Zach1213]

11 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They were on their own for ground transportation