Cruise Air and Air Deviation Explanation

[greatam]

Is this recent? I swear I read years back that the one way to prevent problems when flight schedule problems interfered with your cruise was to be sure to book flights through your cruise line. I guess now, as with air travel in general, you're S.O.L unless the protections provided by the EU apply.

 

 

MAYBE back in the 80-90's. But not since 2000. Read the fine print in the cruise contract which supersedes all the crap on Choice Air/Princess Air websites. Only on some of the luxury lines is there any kind of REAL guarantee. And that again depends on the fine print. The luxury lines book a lot of business/first class tickets. Those are generally totally refundable/changeable with no fee. NOT what most people are buying.

[exflygirl]

Just got done reading every post in this thread...and am almost sorry I stumbled on it. However, having been educated, I want to make sure we'll know what to do if anything happens.

 

Booked Princess eZAir day of embarkation STLFLL via DFW in O class and LAXSTL non-stop in Q class on the return (logged onto my account on AA to verify class of service). If our 230P arrival is delayed and we miss the ship, "Princess will work with the airlines to find a reasonable alternative to provide flights to the next appropriate* port at no additional air cost to the passenger." Not sure what the asterisk in the 'next appropriate port' part of the statement means. The Coral has 2 sail days before our first port in Aruba.

 

The two worst case scenarios I come up with are:

 

* We somehow get screwed and therefore have to buy MIAAUA tickets on our own as well as cover our hotel, food and other incidentals.

 

* We decide not to join the cruise and go home -(

 

Either way, we'll have to spend lots of time and effort trying to get reimbursed for whatever we can from the travel insurance company.

 

Am I missing anything?

 

Yes, next time, we will fly out the day before and book air independently as we have our previous cruises.

[caribill]

If our 230P arrival is delayed and we miss the ship, "Princess will work with the airlines to find a reasonable alternative to provide flights to the next appropriate* port at no additional air cost to the passenger." Not sure what the asterisk in the 'next appropriate port' part of the statement means.

 

It means:

 

If you encounter unforeseen flight delays, immediately advise an airline representative at the airport that you are a cruise passenger destined to sail that day. It is the airline’s responsibility to make alternate flight arrangement resulting from a delay or cancellation. Contact the Princess En Route Desk for coordination in joining in the next port of call and to advise of new flights. Note that if your delay involves missing the ship in the port of embarkation, you must immediately contact the Princess En Route Desk to confirm that you will be permitted to join the ship in the next port of call. In certain instances, you will not be permitted to join the ship if the late embarkation will result in a violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act(PVSPA). The En Route Desk may be reached at 1-800-545-0008 or 661-284-4410 outside the U.S and Canada.

[Twickenham]

If our 230P arrival is delayed and we miss the ship,

 

This is the big red flag here. What time is departure? You need to be checked in 90 minutes before your departure time; if it is 5pm, that 2:30pm flight arrival means that if everything is on time, you'll be running to catch your ship. There is no margin for error.

 

Personally, if a cruise line assigned me such a crazy air schedule, I'd be on the phone pronto to either reschedule or cancel with full refund. I wouldn't even attempt this schedule.

[greatam]

Just got done reading every post in this thread...and am almost sorry I stumbled on it. However, having been educated, I want to make sure we'll know what to do if anything happens.

 

Booked Princess eZAir day of embarkation STLFLL via DFW in O class and LAXSTL non-stop in Q class on the return (logged onto my account on AA to verify class of service).

 

Please be aware that it is NOT just the O and Q (which are sold by AA as consolidator class as well as published fare tickets) but the letters and numbers AFTER the O and Q. You need ALL those to determine what "rights" you have with your ticket and what the airline HAS to do in case of a glitch. You cannot see all the letters and numbers on EZ Air or Choice Air.

 

 

If our 230P arrival is delayed and we miss the ship, "Princess will work with the airlines to find a reasonable alternative to provide flights to the next appropriate* port at no additional air cost to the passenger." Not sure what the asterisk in the 'next appropriate port' part of the statement means. The Coral has 2 sail days before our first port in Aruba.

 

The two worst case scenarios I come up with are:

 

* We somehow get screwed and therefore have to buy MIAAUA tickets on our own as well as cover our hotel, food and other incidentals.

 

* We decide not to join the cruise and go home -(

 

Either way, we'll have to spend lots of time and effort trying to get reimbursed for whatever we can from the travel insurance company.

 

Am I missing anything?

 

Yes, next time, we will fly out the day before and book air independently as we have our previous cruises.

 

Why, oh why, would you book a ticket that may or may not get you to the ship ontime???

As Twickenham said, even in the best case scenario with no glitches, you will be running for the ship.

 

Appropriate port-there are ports you cannot fly into-the cruise line won't allow it. Jamaica and Haiti are two that come to mind off the top of my head. And there are PVSA rules that prevent you from flying into others.

 

If it was my cruise, I would be calling AA and paying the change fee (IF the tickets can even be changed) to the day before or even the early morning STL/MIA nonstop which arrives at 10AM-easy to get to FLL .

 

If you miss the ship, you will pay far more for tickets from MIA to Aruba than the AA change fee. And there may NOT be any tickets available.

 

In addition, your travel insurance will most likely REQUIRE that you make an effort to get to the next port before they will reimburse for any expenses. So going home is NOT an option.

 

If you need further info, please post.

[exflygirl]

Thank you caribill, Twickenham, and greatam for posting your thoughts on this issue. I am most grateful for your time and guidance.

 

I thought all I had left to do was decide on excursions for our port days; but clearly there are more pressing matters to address.

 

g: My fare basis codes are OA10EQU1 and QA10EQU1.

 

T: Departure is at 5P--check-in is from 1P - 4P. We purchased transfers with Princess.

 

c: Who knows what we'll end up doing, but I've noted the numbers.

[greatam]

Thank you caribill, Twickenham, and greatam for posting your thoughts on this issue. I am most grateful for your time and guidance.

 

I thought all I had left to do was decide on excursions for our port days; but clearly there are more pressing matters to address.

 

g: My fare basis codes are OA10EQU1 and QA10EQU1.

 

T: Departure is at 5P--check-in is from 1P - 4P. We purchased transfers with Princess.

 

c: Who knows what we'll end up doing, but I've noted the numbers.

 

For your own peace of mind, spend the extra money for the change fee and either change your flight to the early morning nonstop out of STL to MIA or change the flight to the day before. The ON TIME performance rating of the DFW/FLL flight at the bottom of the barrel.

 

I believe you are on flight 1494. Average delay is 37 minutes and 6% of that particular flight (62 flights from May 1 to June 30) were canceled (most likely thunderstorms at DFW).

 

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightRating/flightRatingByFlight.do

 

IF you are not at the airport with luggage by 3:00PM, I would guess that your Princess transfers will be no good. The last bus will leave in time to ensure that everyone on the bus has the full 90 minutes to check in.

 

Flight from MIA to AUA is $300 nonstop on AA. Other flights on local airlines are cheaper. Flights on US/Delta are more expensive. Your fare code on the outbound is a combination of published fare (from STL to DFW) and consolidator (DFW/FLL). Airlines bind you to the strictest of the fare rules, so you will be flying under consolidator rules.

 

Please change your flight. The money will be well spent. Otherwise, good luck.

Edited July 13, 2011 by greatam

[critterchick]

I agree that OP should change the flight because I wouldn't want my heart pounding for the entire day. I figure it only has a certain number of beats left.

 

However, I have been on many cruises where departure has been delayed to accomodate late-arriving guests who have booked their air through the cruiseline, the most recent being on September 2. IF there are enough passengers in your situation, the line MAY be able to hold departure and allow for late checkins. But I personally wouldn't gamble on it.

[1aCruise4wks]

Okay, I've read most of the posts on this thread but I'm still a bit confused. We are planning a Transatlantic cruise this fall from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale. Buying a flight from Phila to Barcelona and Ft Lauderdale back to Phila is over $2,000 per person. The cruise air is $625 (approx.) pp. Following advice from a posting on another board here, I found a web site where I can get a flight to Barcelona for around $700 pp. I assume that ticket would be a consolidator ticket. The advice on this board seems to be... "don't buy cruise air". So, should I use the web site that sells consolidator tickets or this that also not a good idea? I should mention that the cruise line is indicating that in order to fly to Barcelona two days early without booking a cruiseline hotel package we would have to pay a higher air fare (not a deviation fee because we get deviation for free do to our 4-star mariner status). To top it all off, we want to book a Caribbean cruise right behind the Transatlantic cruise (same ship) and the cruise line insists that we must buy another cruise add-on for the return flight from Ft Lauderdale to Phila associated with the Caribbean Cruise. Anybody been faced with this situation?

[greatam]

Okay, I've read most of the posts on this thread but I'm still a bit confused. We are planning a Transatlantic cruise this fall from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale. Buying a flight from Phila to Barcelona and Ft Lauderdale back to Phila is over $2,000 per person. The cruise air is $625 (approx.) pp. Following advice from a posting on another board here, I found a web site where I can get a flight to Barcelona for around $700 pp. I assume that ticket would be a consolidator ticket. The advice on this board seems to be... "don't buy cruise air". So, should I use the web site that sells consolidator tickets or this that also not a good idea? I should mention that the cruise line is indicating that in order to fly to Barcelona two days early without booking a cruiseline hotel package we would have to pay a higher air fare (not a deviation fee because we get deviation for free do to our 4-star mariner status). To top it all off, we want to book a Caribbean cruise right behind the Transatlantic cruise (same ship) and the cruise line insists that we must buy another cruise add-on for the return flight from Ft Lauderdale to Phila associated with the Caribbean Cruise. Anybody been faced with this situation?

 

Here are some options:

 

LOT out of PHL which flies US Air (commuter plane) to JFK to Warsaw Poland to Barcelona

$773.25 ALL IN per person. 17 hours total flight time BUT you can also spend time in Poland if you have any desire to see Poland.

 

AerLingus-$621 from JFK with one short stop in Dublin-this is the shortest flight-10 hours from JFK to BCN. You can enjoy a stopover in Ireland if you want for free (no extra air charge as long as you don't stay over 14 days).

 

Air Berlin, again also out of JFK flies through Germany to Barcelona-310GBP (whatever the conversion is it is still about $650pp)

 

There is also Iceland Air at about the same price AND you can stopover in Iceland for a day or two if you want. Or just pick the early morning arriving flight from the USA into Iceland and the late departing flight to BCN and you can spend the day at the Blue Lagoon (other worldly and they run tours from the airport to the Blue Lagoon and back). Again, all about $650.00pp

 

You should easily be able to find a commuter flight from PHL to JFK or take the commuter bus or train. Just MAKE SURE you leave enough time to get to JFK with 3 hours to spare for international check in.

 

Same thing coming back from Florida. A one way ticket from many, many airlines from Florida to PHL are available. That is so easy, I sure wouldn't be paying Princess for any of this and I darn sure wouldn't be paying EXTRA if you are getting off one cruise and getting right on to another.

 

I based all of these prices on ones that are available TODAY and am guessing that you are leaving on the Ruby Princess from BCN on Sept 27. Flights I priced out were flying either the 23rd or 24th, so that would give you a couple of days in Barcelona if you want.

 

These flights are ALL published fare NON CONSOLIDATOR flights with very good foreign airlines.

 

If you have more questions, please start a thread in the main forum.

[maina]

I have just read through this entire thread, and just want to thank all those who have made such detailed, helpful, and informative contributions. We've always made all our own arrangements, never use a travel agent, but have been considering doing so this year as we plan a transatlantic trip (Queen Mary 2, eastbound from NY). Cunard customer service person said they could only do air if we return to US from England, which was not our plan, and I now understand a lot more about how cruise-air operates. We were contemplating backtracking to fly from England, perhaps via Eurostar, if the airfare through Cunard was significantly less expensive. However, as greatam notes (above) with regard to flights from JFK, there are also somewhat reasonable one-way flights to Boston, closest big city to us, from Paris by both Icelandic Air (stopover in Reykyavik) and Aer Lingus (stopover in Dublin).

Edited January 28, 2012 by maina

[Ships R Great]

So---after reading through this thread I am still confused. We usually travel with anothercouple nd they sort of watch our backs. But this time we are on our own to get home (DC) from Rome after a TA/Med B2B. Can you give me an easy answer-Yes or No, with an explanation. Should I book Choice Air? PLEASE, somebody help!

[greatam]

So---after reading through this thread I am still confused. We usually travel with anothercouple nd they sort of watch our backs. But this time we are on our own to get home (DC) from Rome after a TA/Med B2B. Can you give me an easy answer-Yes or No, with an explanation. Should I book Choice Air? PLEASE, somebody help!

 

Did you comprehend the DISADVANTAGE you could put yourself in with MOST Choice Air tickets (the cheapest ones)???

 

Coming home is not as risky as going TO your cruise, but you have quite a few options besides Choice Air.

 

What dates are you looking at specifically? The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for us to give you answers.

Edited November 8, 2012 by greatam

[Ships R Great]

Did you comprehend the DISADVANTAGE you could put yourself in with MOST Choice Air tickets (the cheapest ones)???

 

Coming home is not as risky as going TO your cruise, but you have quite a few options besides Choice Air.

 

What dates are you looking at specifically? The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for us to give you answers.

 

Hi. The cruise ends in Rome on May 17, 2013. We live near DC. We would prefer a non-stop Rome to DC, leaving after 11:00m. Todaay C A is offering a non -stop for close to $1000 pp. Changing planes in Detroit is close to $600, a considerablr savings but not non-stop. We do not have any air credits on any airline. Do I need to give you more info?

Thanks for your help.

Patty

[Cuizer2]

Coming home is not as risky as going TO your cruise ...

 

Really, 'cause every problem I have had (four times) has been on the home bound flight - not on the outbound flight.

[Ships R Great]

I HATE the responsibility of selecting a flight home. DH says "whatever you want". ARGGGGHHHHHH!

[Globaliser]

Really, 'cause every problem I have had (four times) has been on the home bound flight - not on the outbound flight.

It's less risky because the consequences are far less serious.

[Cuizer2]

It's less risky because the consequences are far less serious.

 

That depends on what is happening at home.

[greatam]

Hi. The cruise ends in Rome on May 17, 2013. We live near DC. We would prefer a non-stop Rome to DC, leaving after 11:00m. Todaay C A is offering a non -stop for close to $1000 pp. Changing planes in Detroit is close to $600, a considerablr savings but not non-stop. We do not have any air credits on any airline. Do I need to give you more info?

Thanks for your help.

Patty

 

 

Just a couple of options:

 

AA is having a BIG sale on miles. You can actually BUY 40,000 miles for about $1217 AND get 20,000 BONUS miles which will get you TWO one way economy tickets on AA from Rome to London to IAD (30,000 miles each IF the seats are available). There will also be some fees and taxes attached. You could also fly other AA partners through other European airports and MAYBE save some fees and taxes. You also have the option of flying the nonstop from Rome to JFK and then catching the commuter flight to Washington DC, taking the train or the commuter bus.

 

Another option-for approx $1800, you can buy 60,000 miles and get 30,000 BONUS miles. 90,000 miles WILL ALMOST get you a one way ticket for two people in business class from Rome to DC. You will need to either open two separate accounts, get 50,000 miles in each through purchase plus BONUS. OR easier, if it is allowed with the bonus, have someone "gift" you the extra 10,000 miles.

 

There are just so many ways to do this. Miles and other airlines.

 

Aer Lingus can be booked from Rome to Dublin on your dates (if you ever wanted to see Ireland and have the time, this is perfect-they don't charge extra to stay a few night), then to JFK. Price TODAY is $512. You can certainly get to Washington DC for $100 per person, have a better flight experience AND have all the "perks" NOT available with a consolidator/Choice Air ticket.

 

You could use your AA miles to book Royal Jordanian and stop off to see some of Jordan if that interests you.

 

AirBerlin, which can be booked with AA miles, is $919 for May 17 one way from Rome to JFK with the connecting flight available to Washington, DC if you book with miles. You connect in Europe, then nonstop to JFK.

 

Just so many options. Please ask questions.

[harryw]

I just found this forum, so forgive me if my Q. was answered already. Simply put, I purchased air through the cruise line. Let's say there is an impending storm prior to flying from NY to Miami for a cruise, and I want a deviation on very short notice. Do I have to be at the mercy of the TA to contact the cruise line's deviation staff, or can I haggle with the airline directly? In this scenario, my scheduled flight had not yet been delayed, but I'd want to fly out early as a precaution.

 

Harry

[greatam]

I just found this forum, so forgive me if my Q. was answered already. Simply put, I purchased air through the cruise line. Let's say there is an impending storm prior to flying from NY to Miami for a cruise, and I want a deviation on very short notice. Do I have to be at the mercy of the TA to contact the cruise line's deviation staff, or can I haggle with the airline directly? In this scenario, my scheduled flight had not yet been delayed, but I'd want to fly out early as a precaution.

 

Harry

 

There are so many variations to your scenario that it makes it impossible to give a firm answer. The following gives you a few variations:

 

BEST CASE SCENARIO-airline issues a FREE waiver as they sometimes do with a KNOWN approaching storm (Hurricane Sandy being the latest example I know of). You can change your flight to whatever you want that has seats available FREE of any fees or upcharges for fare increases.

 

Does that happen with snow storms? NOT very often.

 

So then you are left to fight it out with the airline. You WILL pay the change fee. You will also pay any upcharges IF there is a fare difference between what you purchased and what the new flight will cost. Could be a pretty expensive proposition. Example: You paid $300. Change fee is $150. CHEAPEST fare available for the last minute flight-$500. So you will now pay $150 change fee and $200 upcharge to change your flight at the last minute. That is MORE than you originally paid.

 

Look at your options for other flights NOW. You MAY be able to buy a RT ticket on your chosen EARLIER date CHEAPER than paying the change fee and any upcharge on a last minute change. RT tickets to Florida (other than President's Week and Spring Break) can be purchased at fairly reasonable prices direct from the airline quite often.

 

Explore all airlines and ALL airports that are even close to where your cruise departs from. Just a caveat: Your cruise line ticket will be NO GOOD if you don't get on the first flight (NY to Florida). BUT you can generally get CREDIT for the residual value of that ticket to be used in the future (within one year from DATE OF PURCHASE, not date of FLIGHT) AFTER you deduct the change fee. Example: $300 ticket minus $150 change fee = $150 residual value. STILL a saving IF you would have to pay an upcharge for fare difference for a last minute change. And whether you have to pay an upcharge is something no one can tell you until you actually try to rebook a day or two early. Are there even going to be seats available early? OR could you simply be just STUCK and miss your cruise? Lots of things to think about.

 

Good luck!!!

Edited December 31, 2012 by greatam

[harryw]

Thank You. I had no idea there were so many options..a lot to think about..

Off topic, I was recently delayed from returning from a cruise that ended in San Juan due to bad weather in New York, and found that my travel insurance was inadequate in covering the cost of hotels. Are most policies similar for flight delay accommodations?

 

Harry

[Denali2003]

WOW - there is a lot of information on here. I will admit that I did not understand most of it. I do understand that there are risks in booking through the cruise line.

 

Here is our scenario:

 

Flying from Nashville to Venice (Oct 2014). I have looked on line at ALL domestic carriers and the cost is approx. $5,000 for 2 people (with this year's rates). :eek: Then I checked Iceland Air. However, they only leave out of a few places in the USA. One of which is Boston. We can take SW to Boston - hop on Iceland Air to Milan (they don't go to Venice) then take a train from Milan to Venice. Even with all of that, we are saving almost $3,000 in total airfare.

 

Now, I talked to Princess - they can't really give me a price for next year. Those prices don't come out until Dec 2013. Someone did give me a price for the same time THIS year -- it is MUCH cheaper. It included flying from Nashville to Venice - then Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville. We would go 2 days prior to the cruise leaving.

 

They didn't say anything about HAVING to get the hotel package in order to get the flight package. I did ask them about their hotels and they are expensive -- $500 per night. That's a bit much. I have done SO MUCH research on line for hotels in Venice and I KNOW I can do much better for less $$.

 

So, with all of that - is it still a good idea to go with the cruise line? If not, then we will have the take the long way around - to save $3,000 is worth it.

[Globaliser]

Flying from Nashville to Venice (Oct 2014). I have looked on line at ALL domestic carriers and the cost is approx. $5,000 for 2 people (with this year's rates).

There's absolutely no reason why you should be paying $2,500 to fly from Nashville to Venice and back, even if you were to do it this year.

 

A quick and dirty search using random dates (17 October out, 31 October back) shows flights for under $1,200, or closer to $1,400 if you want to limit yourself to one stop in each direction, like this:-

 

17 Oct

US2455 BNA-PHL 1145-1444

US714 PHL-VCE 1845-0915+1

 

31 Oct

US715 VCE-PHL 1135-1620

US3171 PHL-BNA 1949-2059

 

$1,391.10

 

You may need to check this on the US website, but the ITA tool is usually pretty reliable for stuff like this.

 

Of course, you won't be able to get firm prices for October 2014 until November-ish 2013, but I wouldn't expect a vast difference.

[Denali2003]

There's absolutely no reason why you should be paying $2,500 to fly from Nashville to Venice and back, even if you were to do it this year.

It's a one-way ticket. We are doing a TA and will be flying home from Ft. Lauderdale. If we could get it for cheaper that would be great. But most One-Way flights are more expensive. I looked again. Going through the carrier was $2,478 per person. Through a 3rd party site starts at $1,473 per person - but with those prices the TOTAL travel time - with layovers - are 33 HOURS - That is through Air Canada with a 23 hour layover in Toronto. For that, we could drive to Toronto in less time. Not going to do it. . . .

Good thing I am starting now to find things and budget - give me time to do a lot of research. ;)

Edited May 24, 2013 by Denali2003