Free Air

[CTKath]

The fall 2007 Med cruises are exactly what I was looking for. Now I have to decide which one. Can anyone explain the "free air" to me? Is it restrictive or what? Is there a deviance fee? I was going to use miles to get to Europe, but if their program is worth it, maybe I'll use it. Thanks.

[Pecoraro]

In my opinion negotiate an air credit and book your own. You have many more options then.

[CTKath]

In my opinion negotiate an air credit and book your own. You have many more options then.

 

Please tell me how I would do that!

[LHT28]

Please tell me how I would do that!

 

Just book cruise only ..you will get an air credit.

You can pay the deviation and use the free air deal also if you want to do it that way. Pick your flights and tell them what you want you may have to pay some extra on top of the deviation fee. We paid $100. pp plus the deviation so just be aware and explore all the options

[Jancruz]

Your TA can advise you what the differences are and how to go about booking..

Jan

*****

[shedevil]

The fall 2007 Med cruises are exactly what I was looking for. Now I have to decide which one. Can anyone explain the "free air" to me? Is it restrictive or what? Is there a deviance fee? I was going to use miles to get to Europe, but if their program is worth it, maybe I'll use it. Thanks.

 

There is no simple answer for your question. For some passengers, especially those who live in or near airline hubs, it will be cheaper to book the cruise and flight separately. For others, the cruise/airfare deal is cheaper or a break even proposition.

 

You should ask your travel agent how much of a credit (reduction in the cost of the cruise/airfare price) you would get and then check around to see if you can find airfare that is cheaper. If you were planning to use miles, see if the air credit amount makes cashing in those miles worth it.

 

We are doing the Baltic cruise on July 10th. It was about $200 less per person to book the cruise/airfare package with a deviation charge rather than booking them separately. Our friend looked into using miles but it was cheaper to just use the cruise/airfare package and save the miles for another trip.

 

So, it really depends on how much credit the cruise line with give you and how lucky you are at finding cheap flights.

 

If you are planning on arriving early to the departure city or spending a couple of days longer in the destination city, you will need to buy the air deviation. The air deviation lets your travel agent book you on flights other than just those flying within 24 hours of your ship sailing. Also, buying the air deviation lets your travel agent book your seats earlier. If you buy the cruise/airfare package without the deviation, the travel agent has to wait until about 2 months before your cruise departure date to book the flights. If you are sailing during a peak season, that can leave you with seats only in the middle of rows or right by the lavatory. Yikes!

 

I just learned some of the tricks about the air deviation -

 

1. The cruise lines reservations begin with a Q. It will signify that it is one of their block of seats. The travel agent can only book within that block of seats.

 

2. When doing air deviation, do a little research and find the flights you want and give those to your travel agent. The travel agent will be able to better know what you want.

 

3. The air deviation lets your travel agent book your flight sooner. Worth it for less stress (for folks like me who want everything done now) and access to more seat options (before the plane gets really full).

 

4. Have your travel agent book the seats as soon as they can. With you confirmation number in hand, call the airline directly and have them upgrade or find better seats. Being a frequent flyer with that airline or on one of their partner airlines will give you more seat options when getting reseated but isn't necessary.

 

5. The Q will also prevent you from being able to change seats on-line with some airlines.

 

Just recently, Jancruz gave me heads up on calling the airline directly when our TA wasn't able to get us seats in the same row - heck I was in the lavatory and my husband was on a wing. The airline was really helpful and all they needed was that confirmation number.

 

So, the best bet is to do a little research and see if the credit saves you any money.

 

Didn't mean to be soooo ;) wordy,

 

Sharon

[Jancruz]

Just recently, Jancruz gave me heads up on calling the airline directly when our TA wasn't able to get us seats in the same row - heck I was in the lavatory and my husband was on a wing. The airline was really helpful and all they needed was that confirmation number.

 

Thanks Sharon, so glad it was easy..!!!

Jan

*****

[Bruin Steve]

My TA quoted me the price BOTH ways: With the "Free Air" and without...

Yes, "Free Air" really isn't free (as in "free lunch"...there's no such thing)...It's built into the price...If you opt out, you get a credit...

 

Not only is the effect of opting out different depending on whether you live near a hub or not, it's also different depending on which side of the country you reside...and also on the dates you're travelling (Peak season, you may find no deal better than the cruise lines)

 

We're traveling from Southern California in July on an Istanbul to Venice...

We're paying an extra $150 per person for a deviation, but we're still well BELOW any deal I could find on my own (taking into account the credit, the taxes and fees, the cost of the ai on my own plus taxes and fees and the deviation charge)...

 

There are also some hidden benefits to just doing it through the cruise line:

1) You don't have to shell out the cash until the "final payment date"...

2) If you should need to cancel your cruise before final payment date, you never buy tickets, so you don't get stuck with unusable, nonrefundable tickets (as most of the "great deals" are)...

 

I ALWAYS book my cruises, at least initially, with air...You can always cancel just the air portion prior to final payment...but you have it as a hedge while you search out that better deal...

 

But, on the whole, I've typically found the various cruise lines air packages to be a reasonable deal...Of course, I'm always travelling from California during school vacation times--when no airlines EVER seem to run sales...If you are, for example, living in New York and cruising out of London in February or March--when all the airlines seem to run those really low cost sales, no doubt you could do better opting out...

 

Good luck...

[drwong]

Note that airfares to Europe are up anywhere from 40-60% from the post- 9/11 period, and according to several travel forums, frequent flyer seats are as scare as hen's teeth this summer.

 

Oceania offered us a specific cruise credit if we booked our own air, but I haven't found a flight combination that even comes close to the credit Oceania's offering. Currently, ticket prices are running about twice of the credit Oceania is offering on our particular cruise, so like Bruin Steve, I may end up taking what Oceania offers and using it as a hedge just in case United or Delta releases some frequent flyer seats prior to my final payment.

[cmvan25]

We are scheduled to fly to Rome from Phoenix on April 17 for our April 21 cruise. Oceania has us booked on Delta. Delta has now announced that due to contract negotiations not going well, the pilots have voted and set April 17 as the day they may strike. I immediately called our TA who called Oceania to inquire about what could be done. Oceania says only that should Delta strike they will make arrangements to get us onto another flight as soon as they can. The fact that every other Delta passenger will be needing to be placed on other flights as well does not give me a real confidence about how soon we might be on our way. And yes, we do have a cushion of several days before we cruise -- we'd intended to use those days for some additional sight seeing in Rome. I understand that this may be a power play on the part of the pilots and that the strike may not happen. I guess I was hoping Oceania would be pre-emptive and move us to a different carrier -- but that is not their procedure. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[drwong]

If you purchased travel insurance from an independent carrier (and not through Oceania's package), they would cover the cost of alternative transportation that would get you there within a reasonable time of your original arrival, and provide a little spending money to boot depending on the length of your delay.

 

I haven't heard many positive stories about cruise line-sponsored insurance, where the primary beneficiary seems to be the cruise line rather than the customer. After all, guess who's writing all the terms and conditions???

[cmvan25]

We did purchase travel insurance -- guess I better dust off the policy and read the fine print. Suppose this is all part of the 'adventure' of traveling! Thanks for responding.