Please tell me I didn't make a mistake: Cruise air

[Fritzie]

I've been starting to really read these boards in anticipation of our cruise to Alaska in July. One thing I've consistently noticed is the suggestion to book air on your own; not through the cruise line. Well, we're letting Princess make our air arrangements. Can anyone reassure me that we aren't in for trouble by doing so? Please? Pretty please? :o

[gambit57]

It's a roll of the dice. Some people have had great experiences, some haven't. Also, where you go seems to make a difference.

[Spikesgirl]

We've had Princess book our air to Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, China, Thailand and London without a speck of trouble. It really depends upon how much value you place on airfare, airline and the destination. If possible fly in a day early to avoid any airine delays, There is also the option of paying a deviation fee and flying your favorite airline. That's what we do.

 

Charlie

[denneym1]

Its like everything else, you just need to comparison shop. So far everytime we have planned a cruise, we could get our own air for half or less of what Princess wanted. Also, we prefer to fly into the departure port the day before embarkation, and Princess does not seem very accomodating for that. IIRC they wanted to charge extra fees for that.

MD

[alolewis]

Have had the cruise line book air several times and have had no problems. On an "open jaw" ticket such as many Alaska cruise, i.e. flying into Vancouver and our of Anchorage lots of times the cruise line is cheaper than purchasing on your own. The only time I have booked my own is when using Frequent Flyer mile tickets. On Alanka cruises sometimes hard to get frequent flyer mile tickets due to small number of flights from some airports such as Fairbanks, if you take a land tour in conjunction with the cruise.

I wouldn't worry as the airlines don't treat you any differant if booked through them or the cruise line.

[jacksan1]

Depending upon where you are flying from and to, the cruise air may give you savings. In my own limited experience, in terms of price arranging my own air has beaten anything cruislines have offered by a wide margin. A lot of that has to do with where you are and where you are going.

 

As others have mentioned, I also like the flexibility of flying in the day before, and also having the control over the routing of the flight(s). I used to fly about 100,000 miles a year, and know from experience where the trouble spots tend to be in terms of connection. I want to control that risk myself, which cruise air would not (usually) let me.

[TNTLAMB]

The very most important thing to do is to not let others make you worry your cruise decisions. It can make the whole trip a worry instead of a joy. Its like buying Consumer Electronic, there will always be a I shoulda. If you have done it, its right. BTW as others have said Open Jaw Flights are hard to beat with the cruise lines pricing. The comfort of knowing all you have to do is go with the flow is worth an awful lot. Most CC'ers are very experienced travellers, and experience is what allows for more independent travel experiences. Inexperience can turn a dream holiday into a nightmare. You done good!

[janabug]

We have done cruise air twice and I think next time we will try out getting our own flights! We called our Princess Rep to change the day we fly to Ft Lauderdale by one day and were informed there would be a $57.50 per person fee to change to "custom air". I understand why the fee applies to all flight changes, but you'd think they could make a concession for 1 day.

[Fritzie]

The very most important thing to do is to not let others make you worry your cruise decisions. If you have done it, its right. BTW as others have said Open Jaw Flights are hard to beat with the cruise lines pricing. The comfort of knowing all you have to do is go with the flow is worth an awful lot. You done good!

 

:) You are very kind! Thank you! And yes, we are flying from Chicago to Alaska and then home from Vancouver. The airfares I've seen on the internet are comparable to what we're paying Princess. I guess I'm just concerned about getting there on time, as we're flying the same day of our cruise. But Princess should be used to handling this, right? :confused:

[willysgrandma]

Whether you book air on your own or through the cruise line, stuff happens that could cause delays , etc. It is all dependent on the airlines, not on the cruiseline.

 

The only time we ever bought air through the cruise line was our NCL cruise to Hawaii - they had better rates than we could get on our own.

 

Relex and have a great time.

[Lynda90]

Sounds to me like you made the right decision! Enjoy. :D

[Wilcoam]

Living in a 'big' city, like Toronto, I usually can fly anywhere direct and with enough flights of my choosing, so 95% of the time, I book my own flights...

 

HOWEVER, on a recent X galaxy cruise, because my wife and I had enough 'credits' with X to get 'deviated' flights, (to fly in n out of whatever city we wanted, whenever) and free of charge, we tried it.

 

IT WAS WONDERFUL...

 

I have not tried this yet with Princess, again to FLL and Van, I can use Air Canada direct, but I may do so to tahiti, since there is no direct or good flights from Canada period.

 

The big worry, us big city folks have, having the cruiseline book flights, isn't so much price, but a concern, we will have weird routing, when a local carrier offer direct. I'd budget in the deviation fee to ensure, but that's me..

 

Good luck

jc

Toronto

[Pam in CA]

I've used Princess air several times (6 or 7x), usually for "open jaw" flights. In each case, I couldn't find comparable air on my own, i.e., Princess was less-expensive. Out of all of those times, I've never had a problem or had the weird booking that others have reported. Yes, I might have been able to book a direct or more efficient flight schedule if I'd booked on my own a couple of times (for instance, flying to Rome where I had to change planes in JFK for a direct flight to Rome rather than directly from BOS to Rome) but I would have paid a lot more for a direct flight. For my Alaska cruise, the flights and connections were almost exactly what I could/would have booked on my own and I was delighted with a direct flight from Vancouver to BOS. If I'd booked my own flights, I might have been able to book an earlier connecting flight from Seattle to Fairbanks but the difference was only just over an hour. Not a biggie to me; I had enough books in my carry-on and my iPod.