Purchase Air through cruiselines?

[cdillon23]

I am thinking about purchasing Air though the cruise line, what are the advantages and disadvantages to this? Have you ever done this or not? I can save around $75 doing it on my own but then also have to get from the airport to the port on my own. What do you all suggest? Thanks in advance!

[Sheffie]

We purchase our own air fare. One reason is the price difference - about $250 pp for our flights to San Juan next Spring Break. Another is the fact that I like to be able to choose my flight times. A third is that we fly in the day before the cruise (which I HIGHLY recommend), and that would be even more if we booked through the cruise line.

 

The cost of a taxi to the port usually isn't very much. Maybe $20, depending on the port.

 

Advantages to booking through the cruise line? I have heard that they MAY hold the ship for a little while if there are a bunch of people flying in on delayed flights that have been booked through the cruise line.

 

Have fun figuring out what to do!

[heartofamerica]

I usually book on my own, but we booked thru the cruiseline for our Thanksgiving cruise. The fare was no different, and they were able to get me a little better routing than I could have on my own.

[Host Kewlguy]

We were going to book the airfare on our own coming back from England after our transatlantic a few weeks ago. After doing some research we found the cruise line had the much better price so we booked the air through them. We only needed one way air which is extremely expensive to or from Europe.

[Aleciajoyful1]

We booked our air through the cruise line when did our Med cruise last year and it worked out great for us. The only thing you can not do is make any adjustments to your assignments. We tried on a couple of the flights to upgrade to first class, and were willing to pay the difference, but the airlines would not let us. So basically, you get what you get.

 

It was nice not having to worry about transfers. They took us from the airport to the the hotel for our precruise hotel stay we booked through them. Then they took us from the hotel to the ship and from the ship to the airport. We were also in priority embarking and disembarking booking through them.

 

For us and going to Europe for the first time it worked out great. Good luck...

[cds2423]

We always book our air with the cruise. Our reasons for doing so are as follows: 1) It's easier for me to have the TA & RCCL do the work, i do realize that we may end up paying a little more. 2) If we book through

the cruise line, they look after everything, for example we booked on the JOS in January of this year, cruise & air. About 3 days after taking our reservation RCCL contacted our TA & told her that in fact there were no seats available from our location to Ft. Lauderdale on sail day, so as they'd already taken our res & deposit they HAD to make alternate arrangements for us. As it turned out they flew us to Ft. L the day before

sailing, met us at the airport with our own motor coach, put us up in a

really nice hotel in Ft. L & picked us up the next am to take us to the Jewel. It was so nice not to have to get up before the sun on sail day to get to the airport & wait in all the long lines. We were able to have a nice

leisure breakfast, go for a walk on the beach before they arrived to take us to the ship. All in all the error probably cost them about $300.00 & it cost us $0. It makes me think about going the day before sailing on future cruises, wheather we pay for it or not. All this is just my humble opinion.; .)

[WECoyote]

I am thinking about purchasing Air though the cruise line, what are the advantages and disadvantages to this? Have you ever done this or not? I can save around $75 doing it on my own but then also have to get from the airport to the port on my own. What do you all suggest? Thanks in advance!

 

It depends on where you are flying from and flying to. With that said, let me explain. Flying from the west coast to Miami is costing me approximately $100 more per person than what I can get on my own. However, because we are flying from the "left" coast, they are flying us in the day before and putting us up at the Hyatt for the night (included). Also included is all transfers. They pick us up at the airport, take us to the hotel, pick us up at the hotel and take us to the ship. After the cruise, they pick us up at the ship and take us back to the airport. The last time I paid for transfers in Miami, it was $44 per person. It is virtually impossible to find a flight that will get us into Miami in time to get aboard the ship when flying in on the same day as the cruise from the west coast. This extra $100 per person is actually saving me a total of $200 when you look at the hotel prices and taxi costs in Miami.

 

Here is the "biggy" in my opinion. If you book through the cruise line, THEY are responsible for getting you to the ship. If your plane breaks, one of the airports you are traveling through closes due to weather, or for whatever reason you miss the ship due to the airline that the cruise books you on, the cruise line will get you to the first port of call, put you up, so you can board the ship for the rest of the cruise. This may not seem like the best option, but consider missing the whole cruise because a flight YOU book gets you in late.

 

One other thought...ALWAYS pay the few extra bucks for trip insurance. It does not matter who you buy it from (there are a lot of really good companies listed throughout these posts). Just needing it once can save you major bucks and aggrivation. It also helps pay expenses or reimburses you in total for a missed cruise or if you have to use the outrageously overpriced medical facilities aboard.

[wrp96]

I've found from my area to Texas, I can find cheaper air on my own. Anywhere else cruiseline air is almost always much less expensive. I've had several really good experiences with cruise air and one bad experience. The one bad was where I booked directly through RCCL, RCCL forgot to book my airfare, and nobody noticed until 4 days before my cruise, despite me calling every week since I booked. It was straightened out, but then the only flight left coming home was before their recommended time and I missed the flight. Since then when I do cruise air, I do custom air and choose my own flights. Of course since I made Platinum I don't have to pay the fee.

[SheltieLady]

When we booked our cruise last November for our upcoming cruise in January, we took the air through the cruiseline, I figured we could cancel and book our own at a later time. We in fact we still have air through the cruiseline but switched to custom air and upgraded our flights to first class it was cheaper to use the cruiseline than book our own especially on first class tickets saved us about $500 total, still keeped our transfers and hotel that the cruiseline had booked for us.

 

Christine

[isujim]

If price is your main consideration...........

 

Always, always, always at least check and see what the cruiseline airfare is going to cost. On 3 of my last 5 cruises.........RC air was actually cheaper or within $25 of what I could have booked on my own. Most people assume booking on your own is cheaper..........and in most cases it is..........but..............it is always worth checking.........others have mentioned the benefits of booking RC air.......there are some advantages.....

 

So if cost is your main consideration........always check the cruiseline airfare..........sometimes they are cheaper or competitive.

[cdillon23]

I appreaciate all your opinions, this is why I joined this board. For us the cruise is leaving from Tampa. We can fly from Nashville, which is close to home to Tampa on Southwest for around $75 cheaper. I figure it will cost me around $20 or so for Taxi one way so the savings is not that great. I also like that I am able to control the times and such for the flights. We are purchasing trip insurance. I have been on two previous cruises and purchased trip insurance on both of them. I have not had to use it yet (thank goodness), but it is there in case I need it.

 

Again thanks for all your comments. I will take it from here! :D

[ZoeyZoo]

There are a few things yu have to take into account:

 

Do you want to come a day or two before? If you come in the day before, you should be able in most cases to make it to the ship on time. The exception is if you are on the east coast traveling in the winter time and the airport is shut down... You'll be more relaxed too than traveling on the day of the cruise.

 

Do you want to leave the day of the cruise? This is risky on your own unless you live close to the port and there won't likely be any wheather issues to close the airports.

 

Where is your local airport(s)? Where is the cruise's airport? Some port cities don't have airports and it can be expensive to find transportation to the ship. Ensenada is a port that a lot of Hawaii cruise used to sail from with no airport. The closest one is San Diego; two hours away.

 

Will you only consider a direct flight? Since cruise lines buy airline seats in bulk, you may not get the best routing. You will have to pay a higher fee to change the air plan the cruiseline gives you.

 

Are there other airports nearby? For many cities, the cruiselines will route people to alternative airports and take them to the ship by bus. For example in Alaska, they may fly you to Seattle instead of Vancouver and then you will have to take a 3-4 hour bus ride. Cruises from Miami might go through Ft. Lauderdale. Again, you will have to pay a fee to be allowed to change. I hated the two hour bus ride I had to do on one cruise. This was after the four hour wait to wait for the other flights to come in to fill up my bus.

 

I have used both my own air and the cruise line's air. On my next cruise I did my own because it was not only a lot less, but the only airline with a direct flight isn't a carrier that RCI uses and I didn't want to turn a short flight into a long one. I also don't mind coming a day early for peace of mind. The saving more than paid for my hotel room.

[negc]

There are a few things yu have to take into account:

 

Do you want to come a day or two before? If you come in the day before, you should be able in most cases to make it to the ship on time. The exception is if you are on the east coast traveling in the winter time and the airport is shut down... You'll be more relaxed too than traveling on the day of the cruise.

 

Do you want to leave the day of the cruise? This is risky on your own unless you live close to the port and there won't likely be any wheather issues to close the airports.

 

Where is your local airport(s)? Where is the cruise's airport? Some port cities don't have airports and it can be expensive to find transportation to the ship. Ensenada is a port that a lot of Hawaii cruise used to sail from with no airport. The closest one is San Diego; two hours away.

 

Will you only consider a direct flight? Since cruise lines buy airline seats in bulk, you may not get the best routing. You will have to pay a higher fee to change the air plan the cruiseline gives you.

 

Are there other airports nearby? For many cities, the cruiselines will route people to alternative airports and take them to the ship by bus. For example in Alaska, they may fly you to Seattle instead of Vancouver and then you will have to take a 3-4 hour bus ride. Cruises from Miami might go through Ft. Lauderdale. Again, you will have to pay a fee to be allowed to change. I hated the two hour bus ride I had to do on one cruise. This was after the four hour wait to wait for the other flights to come in to fill up my bus.

 

I have used both my own air and the cruise line's air. On my next cruise I did my own because it was not only a lot less, but the only airline with a direct flight isn't a carrier that RCI uses and I didn't want to turn a short flight into a long one. I also don't mind coming a day early for peace of mind. The saving more than paid for my hotel room.

 

Most of your objections to using the cruiseline's air can be met by using their custom air service. That allows you to fly in early,depart late, choose your airline and flight schedule and includes transfers. If you take the cruiselines air when you book and then find that booking your own airfare is a better deal, I believe that you can cancel the cruiseline's air before final payment, with no penalty. Once you attain platinum status, you don't even have to pay the air deviation fee. We always check all our options before deciding how to book our airfare. Sometimes it makes more sense to book on our own, but on occasion it is more advantageous to book through the cruiseline and use their custom air service. Check out all your options before you decide.