Airfare paid by cruise line - your experiences

[skatie]

Has anyone done the free or half airfare with cruise lines? If so what was your experience with flights ideally out of Toronto?  Both the flights I’m considering have many direct flights each day but am I more likely to get a one stop if it’s the cheapest option for NCL?  Or do they put you on really early (6am) flights or returning at say 8pm when cruise arrived at 7am?  We are thinking of using NCL for Toronto to New York in April and then also for another cruise in September from Toronto to Reykjavík and return home from London because the prices were super cheap ($1100 for both of us flying to Iceland and home from London).  I do prefer to book my own flights but the savings especially for the overseas cruise was just too good to pass up so wondering if people have any experiences on cruise line booking you’re out of Toronto?  Thanks

[jonacruz]

I am actually doing this with a flight out of Toronto with an NCL cruise in the spring time. 

 

So NCL charged me about C$711 for 2 people (or C$355 per person). However, looking up the same exact flights on Expedia, I find that booking on own would mean paying C$1130 for 2 or C$575 per person round-trip. That's not exactly "2 for 1" (or "2nd person flies free"), but still a better deal than purchasing on-own.

 

You are also right about NCL putting us on super early flight (~7am). Returning back to Toronto, they would also put us on a super late flight (~9pm)! According to Expedia, there are earlier flights but NCL possibly put us on the latest flight hoping to sell us a disembarkation excursion 

 

The timing may depend on itinerary, but this is my experience so far with booking flights with NCL 

Edited January 30, 2023 by jonacruz

[em-sk]

The cruise line has access to special negotiated rates that are un-published.  So it may be the same flight as you see on expedia with the rate NCL is paying will be quite different.  For this reason the conditions around the ticket are also different and unpublished.

 

They generally don't book into the ultra-low-cost airlines.  Your likely to be on Air Canada, WestJet, AirTransat or one of the major foreign airlines.

 

There is nothing wrong with unpublished fares, but you should know what your getting into.  I have an RBC Avion card and AMEX miles card.  If I try to book on Avion or AMEX (even paying cash with no points) I can book into special unpublished fares that each of the banks negotiated.  Many cases it is cheaper but without aeroplan points as an example.

 

 

 

 

[CDNPolar]

My experience with Viking Ocean and River is that we have done some cruises with Free Air.  Viking offers Air Plus for $50 bucks per person, and you get to choose your airline, the schedule, upgrade if you want, and the seats.  We research the airlines, and the schedules, call Viking and book our air.  Yes, it is still free when you do this but you pay for any upgrade.  The next free air that we got is to Bucharest and home from Budapest, and we upgraded to Premium Economy, and are paying $1,200 CAD per person which is equivalent to the upgrade cost if we were buying the tickets ourselves.

[Ozzyrosie]

Hi there. About a year ago booked bogo air with NCL for a cruise this march in and out of San Juan. I received my flight times around Christmas. My flights are United and they have one stop over each way through Washington. Times aren’t great. Departure at 7am (two days prior) and for return flight I arrive around midnight. Plus one layover is short ~50 min. That said I’m pleased as it saves me over 1k. But flights could’ve been better as there are direct flights. And I’m thankful that I booked the air deviation two days early as if I miss the flight - I think unites will eventually get me there. 

[jonacruz]

9 hours ago, em-sk said:

The cruise line has access to special negotiated rates that are un-published.  So it may be the same flight as you see on expedia with the rate NCL is paying will be quite different.  For this reason the conditions around the ticket are also different and unpublished.

 

They generally don't book into the ultra-low-cost airlines.  Your likely to be on Air Canada, WestJet, AirTransat or one of the major foreign airlines.

 

There is nothing wrong with unpublished fares, but you should know what your getting into.  I have an RBC Avion card and AMEX miles card.  If I try to book on Avion or AMEX (even paying cash with no points) I can book into special unpublished fares that each of the banks negotiated.  Many cases it is cheaper but without aeroplan points as an example.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, that's good to know when comparing. On that regard, I had already received the airline names and also the flight times and flight numbers for my flights, then compared with Expedia. Yes, the airlines are also along the lines of AC, WestJet and AirTransat, and nothing like "Flair". So, no worries there. 

[truckswain]

With NCL promo air, it is my experience, you need to be very flexible in flights.  We used promo air for a cruise from New York. We had direct flights (we fly out of Pearson), early morning out on cruise day and the return flight was early afternoon, perfect.

 

We have an upcoming cruise in March on the NCL Encore sailing out of Miami (Sunday to Sunday).  We kept the promo air at the time of booking, 2nd guest flys free and the cost was $630.  We did the deviation as we always arrive the day before which gave us a $25 credit on the flight cost and we removed the NCL transfers.  So a good deal until we received the flights.  

 

The flights were on Air Transit, Saturday flight was early morning, not bad.  However the return flight was 10pm getting us back to Toronto after midnight. So the flights would not work. Air transit is a charter and that is never a good option for single flights.  Both DW and I work the Monday so arriving early Monday morning was not an option.  And both the flight down and return were from Fort Lauderdale, not Miami.  While the cities are close it does increase transportation costs. 

 

So, we cancelled the promo air ( received 50% refund on the flight amount less the deviation credit) and we booked our own flights.  A bit of an expensive lesson.  However for those who do not care about flight times, connections or airline, NCL promo air is a bargain.

 

I think is important to note that while NCL promo air does not allow for any changes to flights, airlines or times, booking your airfare through the cruise line allows one to pick their flights and times.  I have done this through both Royal and Celebrity and have saved a couple hundred dollars over booking direct with Air Canada.

[LHT28]

31 minutes ago, truckswain said:

With NCL promo air, it is my experience, you need to be very flexible in flights.  We used promo air for a cruise from New York. We had direct flights (we fly out of Pearson), early morning out on cruise day and the return flight was early afternoon, perfect.

 

We have an upcoming cruise in March on the NCL Encore sailing out of Miami (Sunday to Sunday).  We kept the promo air at the time of booking, 2nd guest flys free and the cost was $630.  We did the deviation as we always arrive the day before which gave us a $25 credit on the flight cost and we removed the NCL transfers.  So a good deal until we received the flights.  

 

 

When you do the deviation  can you choose the flights  for the fee charged?

 

 On their sister line  we pay the deviation fee $175 PP but can choose the flight we want

 or we sometimes find it better just to do our own air

[truckswain]

23 hours ago, LHT28 said:

When you do the deviation  can you choose the flights  for the fee charged?

 

 On their sister line  we pay the deviation fee $175 PP but can choose the flight we want

 or we sometimes find it better just to do our own air

From what I know, NCL promo air is you get what you are given, you cannot make or request changes.

 

Except you can arrive up to 2 days prior to the cruise and 2 days post cruise.  You get a deviation credit as there is more flexibility on flights when not arriving day of the cruise or leaving the day the cruise returns.

[EmJayDee]

We used the Business Class airfare  included  from Calgary to Auckland and return to Phoenix from Sydney, for a recent cruise on Regent Seven Seas. As we were flying from Calgary, not considered a gateway city, we had to pay an additional deviation fee.  However, as it was winter, we didn't want to take a chance on missing a connection, so paid the deviation fee.  It would have been more direct for us to fly Calgary to Vancouver and direct to Auckland with Air Canada. Regent's Air booking department do not appear to have any discount agreements with Air Canada, so they booked us Calgary to Vancouver to Los Angeles on United Airlines and Los Angeles to Auckland on Air New Zealand. From Sydney we were booked United to San Francico and again to Phoenix.

 

To accomplish the above routing took many calls and much negotiating back and forth with our travel agent. Regent only wanted to provide us Business Class airfare on the 2  transcontinental flights. Our agent persevered and we were able to fly business on all segments, but in the future I will go back to booking our own flights.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, EmJayDee said:

We used the Business Class airfare  included  from Calgary to Auckland and return to Phoenix from Sydney, for a recent cruise on Regent Seven Seas. As we were flying from Calgary, not considered a gateway city, we had to pay an additional deviation fee.  However, as it was winter, we didn't want to take a chance on missing a connection, so paid the deviation fee.  It would have been more direct for us to fly Calgary to Vancouver and direct to Auckland with Air Canada. Regent's Air booking department do not appear to have any discount agreements with Air Canada, so they booked us Calgary to Vancouver to Los Angeles on United Airlines and Los Angeles to Auckland on Air New Zealand. From Sydney we were booked United to San Francico and again to Phoenix.

 

 

Funny   we  get A C flights with their sister company 

It may  depend on their contract  with the connecting flights  but I would think you could have asked for  YYC to LAX

 

[Crown Vic]

On 1/29/2023 at 7:42 PM, skatie said:

Has anyone done the free or half airfare with cruise lines? If so what was your experience with flights ideally out of Toronto…so wondering if people have any experiences on cruise line booking you’re out of Toronto?  Thanks

Just back from an NCL cruise outta Tampa. NCL fare was 2 for 1. Going down we were booked on Air Canada non stop outta Pearson. The return was on AA with a change of plane in Charlotte. No problems at all. Suggestion is to read the cruise line’s procedure regarding non stops, one stops etc. If travelling overseas, the flights may have more than one leg and may go to an airport nearby rather than the one requested. Self booking for a similar price provides peace of mind…but…if there is a ship change of plans/delays then the cruise line will rebook your air for you if needed. This happened to one NCL cruise when the Port of Tampa was closed due to fog. The ship docked 11 hours late.

Good luck!

[cruisell]

On 1/29/2023 at 7:42 PM, skatie said:

Has anyone done the free or half airfare with cruise lines? If so what was your experience with flights ideally out of Toronto?  Both the flights I’m considering have many direct flights each day but am I more likely to get a one stop if it’s the cheapest option for NCL?  Or do they put you on really early (6am) flights or returning at say 8pm when cruise arrived at 7am?  We are thinking of using NCL for Toronto to New York in April and then also for another cruise in September from Toronto to Reykjavík and return home from London because the prices were super cheap ($1100 for both of us flying to Iceland and home from London).  I do prefer to book my own flights but the savings especially for the overseas cruise was just too good to pass up so wondering if people have any experiences on cruise line booking you’re out of Toronto?  Thanks

We are 2 couples leaving from Pearson to Panama City for a Panama Canal cruise next week. We both opted for a 2 day deviation. We leave at 7:30 am and transfer through Orlando and arrive in Panama at 4:30; flights are with WestJet and COPA (Panama airline). A direct flight would have been nicer but, we are paying $500 for the 2 of us. The other couple are flying the evening before and go overnight on a Columbian airline to Columbia the transfer to Panama. 

[Canadian Sunset]

We used to book cruises with Viking and were always pleased until the last time.  We had no idea that Easter, Passover and Ramadan were all at the same time in 2022.  We normally fly economy and paynextra for aisle seats.  We also ALWAYS use a travel agent.  Unfortunately nobody foresaw these three holidays coming together and we were stuffed like sardines into a Lufthansa 747.  Other than that we have had no problems because our TA is a friend and is always there.  
We’ve purchased air for our Celebrity cruise in March.  The airline is Air Canada Rouge out of Toronto, but is only a three hour flight.  We have paid for aisle seats and will manage well.

[LHT28]

21 minutes ago, Canadian Sunset said:

We’ve purchased air for our Celebrity cruise in March.  The airline is Air Canada Rouge out of Toronto, but is only a three hour flight.  We have paid for aisle seats and will manage well.

I would try to upgrade  to Biz /Premium class   even for  the 3hr flight 

JMO

 

[Canadian Sunset]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I would try to upgrade  to Biz /Premium class   even for  the 3hr flight 

JMO.   Not us.  Besides Rouge is all one class.

 

 

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I would try to upgrade  to Biz /Premium class   even for  the 3hr flight 

JMO

 

 

[skatie]

5 hours ago, Canadian Sunset said:

We used to book cruises with Viking and were always pleased until the last time.  We had no idea that Easter, Passover and Ramadan were all at the same time in 2022.  We normally fly economy and paynextra for aisle seats.  We also ALWAYS use a travel agent.  Unfortunately nobody foresaw these three holidays coming together and we were stuffed like sardines into a Lufthansa 747.  Other than that we have had no problems because our TA is a friend and is always there.  
We’ve purchased air for our Celebrity cruise in March.  The airline is Air Canada Rouge out of Toronto, but is only a three hour flight.  We have paid for aisle seats and will manage well.

So once we get our tickets can we deal directly with the airlines to secure seats or an upgrade or do we have to deal with cruise air department for those things?

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Canadian Sunset said:

 

 

Not sure  where you are flying  but they  usually have Premium Rouge  on the flights to MIA 

similar to BIZ 

https://flyrouge.com/ca/en/index.html

[LHT28]

45 minutes ago, skatie said:

So once we get our tickets can we deal directly with the airlines to secure seats or an upgrade or do we have to deal with cruise air department for those things?

We have  picked our seats online   & bid on an upgrade  with A/C once we had been ticketed  by the cruise line

Not sure what cruise line you are booking through so maybe check with them

[Dismomx5]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:15 PM, LHT28 said:

We have  picked our seats online   & bid on an upgrade  with A/C once we had been ticketed  by the cruise line

Not sure what cruise line you are booking through so maybe check with them

Can you explain how the bid on AC works? I was unsure the last time I flew with them, and didn't want to mess up what I already have. If I buy a ticket, and choose my seat, I can bid on an upgrade at that point?
I find the AC site confusing, even to prebuy food 🤷🏻‍♀️ but with being shunned by WestJet living in Ontario I will likely book AC for all future flights.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Dismomx5

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Dismomx5 said:

Can you explain how the bid on AC works? I was unsure the last time I flew with them, and didn't want to mess up what I already have. If I buy a ticket, and choose my seat, I can bid on an upgrade at that point?
I find the AC site confusing, even to prebuy food 🤷🏻‍♀️ but with being shunned by WestJet living in Ontario I will likely book AC for all future flights.

It was pre covid  since we flew last 

If you can still  put  a bit  to upgrade  I just  started at $150  left it for  a bit  then upped it to $200  then every few days  bid  a $1 more

Just go to your booked flights  I think it had an option under the itinerary to bid

 

If no luck  I check  at the desk at the airport how much they want  for Biz class  (for USA flight ) 

we are older & do not want to be stuffed in Econ for long haul flights now

 For overseas I just book BIZ class  or PE

[TheShag]

recently booked a cruise on Regent from Bangkok to Bali. As suggested elsewhere, did all my research, paid the deviation fee and called their air dept on 1st available date. Outstanding results. Got through in no time and was given my entire Toronto to Bangkok and Bali to Toronto flights as requested with no upcharge [even though it was far from the cheapest flight options on ITA Matrix]. Leaving at decent times with decent stopovers [Istanbul there and Dubai back] and shortest duration flights. Air agent said it was important that i booked early. Looking forward to RSSC Explorer and butler service!

[david,Mississauga]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:05 PM, LHT28 said:

Not sure  where you are flying  but they  usually have Premium Rouge  on the flights to MIA 

similar to BIZ 

https://flyrouge.com/ca/en/index.html

 

I know several people whose opinions I trust who have flown economy on Rouge. They have all said they will stay home before they will ever do that again. For one thing the pitch is a mere 29 inches, compared with 31 or 32 on most airlines.  

 

All of their planes have Rouge Premier which is sold as Business Class on AC's website. One friend has travelled many times in Rouge Premier. It is the same as Business Class and includes Maple Leaf Lounge access.  Some planes do not have a closet, though.

[LHT28]

33 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

All of their planes have Rouge Premier which is sold as Business Class on AC's website. One friend has travelled many times in Rouge Premier. It is the same as Business Class and includes Maple Leaf Lounge access.  Some planes do not have a closet, though.

We have flown on Rouge  in the Premium  seats   yes they are very similar to the BIZ  class on regular AC  flights  to the USA

having the  lounge access is also good

never needed a closet  so cannot comment