Is Booking Cruise Air A Good Alternative For the Med?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are looking at booking a Med Cruise in 2009. I know, a long way off and airfares aren't going to be out for a long time! However, itineraries will start showing up in a few months and I was wondering if booking airfare through the cruise line would be a good idea? I have never purchased my airfare that way.

 

I have been reading on another thread about how people have saved money on European flights and one way flights through Cruise Air. Some of the itineraries that we are considering are Venice to Barcelona. Those airfares seem to be so expensive that it has pretty much eliminated those options. Could booking air through the cruise line make those itineraries possible for us?

 

Thanks!:)

[jasl]

Hi Sunny...... I would book air through the cruise line and start looking for independent arrangements once they are available. Prior to your final payment, if you have found a better deal, you can then cancel the cruise air.

I just finalized two flights for our upcoming 2008 Europe cruises and found amazing fares from NYC.

One is to Venice via Aer Lingus, the other to Stockholm via Malaysia Airlines

Jetblue flies from Arizona to NYC and probably will be your best bet price wise. Good luck.

[alcpa1]

Ditto with the following caveats...

Due to the weight restrictions of the low cost European carriers you should stick with US carriers and their partners.

You can book open jaw, which we did and the cost was much more reasonable than either a round trip from a central European airport with connections, or booking cruise air. We took a train from Venice to Milan, which was an interesting ride in itself, in order to get a direct flight to Atlanta and avoid the madness at JFK. There are a hundred ways to skin a cat and even more to book air.

When we departed Milan there was an Air Traffic Controllers strike but because we were on an American carrier we took off. None of the European carriers took off.

Cruise air is contracted and may not provide the best schedules or seats since they are not assigned until shortly before departure, and in some cases only available the day of the flight.

The most important factor is traveling at least one day early.

And, don't forget all of the probable schedule changes. You do have a little more control of your flights with a domestic carrier.

I hope you enjoy planning your cruise. It will be fantastic.

[Keith1010]

My advise would be to look at both alternatives; cruise air and purchasing tickets on your own.

 

But, consider the following.

 

With cruise air your advantage is that they will provide you with transportation to and from the cruise ship which in some places can be expensive. However, if you are not flying in the day of embarkation or using the cruise lines hotel package you would not realize the benefit on your flight over to the Med. More on this in a moment.

 

The drawback to cruise air can be the flights themselves. Many times they put you on sub-optimal flights that involve connections vs. direct flights and also have connections that are too tight in my estimation. So remember, sometimes getting the cheapest flight can cause more harm than good. I would rather spend a few dollars and have better flights.

 

So, some suggestions.

 

If you go with cruise air, see how much the custom air would be where you could select your own flights and then see if you can get a price on that. Again, consider the ports where you are embarking and disembarking and the ground transfers that are inclusive with the air to see if that is a benefit that is good for you.

 

Then compare this to booking your own air. When you look at the air if it is not possible to find a direct flight pick a connection with a long layover in case your first plane leaves late.

 

And no matter what you do fly there a few days before your trip and if that is not possible get there at least one day before your trip. This allows you to get over the jet lag and also in the event your flights are delayed or cancelled hopefully allows you to still make the cruise and also provides time for you to visit the main attractions of the city that you are sailing from.

 

By and large I find that I do better booking air on my own and not through the cruise line. But there have been a few cases where I have done better though the cruise line but as I said I would only go that route if I can tell the cruise line what flights I want. I will not let it be a surprise from them because that can be a disaster waiting till happen.

 

Again, no matter which way you go pick flights that allow you to arrive early and if not direct have connections with lots of time to make your next flight.

 

Keith

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Ditto with the following caveats...

You can book open jaw, which we did and the cost was much more reasonable than either a round trip from a central European airport with connections, or booking cruise air.

 

Thank you all for your advice. I will be considering all of this when it is time to book the cruise! One more silly question: I have been reading the term "open jaw" & have no idea what it means. What is this?:confused:

[Globaliser]

I have been reading the term "open jaw" & have no idea what it means.

It means a ticket where you fly from A to B, and then from C back to A. The "open jaw" refers to the gap between B and C - think of the way it looks on a map.

 

Booking this type of ticket typically means that you get a price that is half of the sum of the price of a round-trip ticket from A to B, and a round-trip ticket from A to C.

 

Considering that most one-way tickets are very expensive (because they're usually fully-flexible full-fare economy), this is the most popular way for leisure to buy air tickets for the sort of travel that you want to do.

 

There are some restrictions, though: The gap between B and C must be shorter than both the distance from A to B and the distance from A to C. And the fare rules for the round-trip tickets from A to B and A to C must allow the fares to be combined for an open jaw ticket.

 

To book such a ticket on most websites, simply look for the "multi-city" option, and put in the sectors that you actually want to fly.

[Globaliser]

Due to the weight restrictions of the low cost European carriers you should stick with US carriers and their partners.

No need to subject yourself to a US airline to avoid the more stringent weight restrictions. Just make sure that you are on a major airline and that you have a through ticket (if you're connecting) so that you have the benefit of the trans-Atlantic allowance for the short-haul sector of the trip as well. Avoiding a US airline will very often mean that you get a better travel experience.

[junglejane]

Hi Sunny AZ Girl. We're from Arizona, too. We are going on a Venice-Barcelona cruise in June 2008. We did as Jasl suggested and signed up for cruise air but then started looking for our own air arrangements. It was good to have the cruise air as a back up. Based on my experience, I definitely recommend booking your cruise as soon as possible after bookings open. When we booked our cruise fare (cruise only) was $2799 pp. Now the same cabin category is about $3799! Also the cruise air went up from about $1479 to $1649!

 

I'm not sure where in AZ you are, but there aren't too many ways to get to Venice from Phoenix with only one stop. Our choices were Delta, US Airways, or British Airways (but that required changing airports in London). We're traveling with kids so I didn't want to have to make two connections. I felt that it was too much to hope for that the cruise line would book us with only one connection. So we finally booked with Delta (PHX-ATL-VCE then returning BCN-ATL-PHX) for about $1500 pp (actually we managed to get discounted fares for the two kids, so our average cost was more like $1350 pp). It was more than I wanted to pay but we have the exact flights we want. Also we're flying at peak season when it's harder to get a bargain.

 

So I would say book your cruise early, sign up for the cruise air, and then start hunting for a good fare. Good luck!

 

--Junglejane

[Sunny AZ Girl]

It means a ticket where you fly from A to B, and then from C back to A. The "open jaw" refers to the gap between B and C - think of the way it looks on a map.

 

To book such a ticket on most websites, simply look for the "multi-city" option, and put in the sectors that you actually want to fly.

 

Thanks! That explains a lot. When I was comparing airfares I compared one-way fares. That may really increase our options - I'll give it a try!:D

 

Hi Sunny AZ Girl. We're from Arizona, too. .

 

So I would say book your cruise early, sign up for the cruise air, and then start hunting for a good fare. Good luck!

 

--Junglejane

 

I will take your advice and book Cruise Air when the itinerary we want is released. Thank you so much!:)

 

Have you seen our "Arizona Cruisers" thread? It's kind of hard to find without an invite. We are from all over AZ and cruise all lines. It's a very active thread. We have even had one 'Meet & Greet' in October and are planning another one after the holidays. Come over and join us!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=420611&page=137