Free Air or no free air, that is the question...

[Acrusa]

Just to chime in...when we did Oceania, Istanbul to Venice in July 2006, we paid $200 pp to deviate our flights to arriving 2 days early and leaving 2 days late...We didn't "call" our flights...just the dates, leaving it up to them to pick the flights on those dates--still the $200 pp charge...

 

We figured it was just about the same neighborhood as picking our own flights would have cost, but we benefitted by not having to purchase nonrefundable tickets until the final cruise bill was due...

 

We also opted out on the transfers...Taxis were MUCH cheaper...

 

I would have done the entire thing (air/transfers/hotels/cruise) through Oceania had their hotel packages not been so exorbitantly priced (I've done it that way through Celebrity and am willing to pay a small premium for the coordination)...Oceania wanted $699 per person for a one night stay at the Gritti Palace in Venice...we booked the Anastasia for 130 euro per room per night...They wanted $249 pp for a one night stay at the Swissotel in Istanbul...We booked the Conrad on our own for $113 per room per night...

 

I noticed that for our proposed June 2009 cruise, they are offering the Conrad for $449 per person for one night!! Okay, it's a great hotel...and I'm sure prices are up from 2006 and I doubt we can get it for $113 per night (that was an outstanding price at the time, based on booking way ahead via the internet), but I am absolutely sure we can beat that $900 per night...

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that, if you want to add days to either or both ends of your cruise (something I really recommend), you'd better either book your own flights or pay for that deviation...

 

We are booked into the Swissotel in Istanbul for the 3 night package from O.

The cost in U.S Dollars for the 3 nights is 1400.00 for the 2 of us with taxes and tips and pickup at airport and drop off at the ship.

I called Swissotel for the same room rate O is using and they told me 900.00 EU for the 3 night stay,thats with taxes and no pick up or drop off thats extra.So I think its almost a wash.

[travelfirst]

I thought when you requested air deviation to fly in a couple of days early the charge was $75.00 per person.

 

Why are people being charged different amounts?

[Bruin Steve]

We are booked into the Swissotel in Istanbul for the 3 night package from O.

The cost in U.S Dollars for the 3 nights is 1400.00 for the 2 of us with taxes and tips and pickup at airport and drop off at the ship.

I called Swissotel for the same room rate O is using and they told me 900.00 EU for the 3 night stay,thats with taxes and no pick up or drop off thats extra.So I think its almost a wash.

I wouldn't just call the same hotel for rates. Do a search on TripAdvisor.com...There are several hotels in Istanbul that are at least the equivalent of the Swissotel...Some may be high, others may have some surprisingly low rates available...This is what happened with us. Once you have quotes from the various sites linked by TripAdvisor, always check the hotel chain's website...That is where we found our rate at the Conrad...Believe me, the Conrad Istanbul (a Hilton hotel) is an incredible property and our $113 per night internet rate was a flat out steal--we could not have gotten anything close by telephoning the hotel or through Oceania. We stayed two nights and, even throwing in $50 for taxis, we were over SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS ahead of what the Oceania package would have cost--more than making up for the air deviation fees...Our hotel in Venice, at 130 euro--approximately $170 at the time and our relatively cheap ground transportation put us at $350 versus Oceania's well over $2000 2 night hotel package...

 

Being a little more flexible in hotel choices and doing a little research will save you major amounts...For us, on four nights pre- and post cruise, it was over $2000...and for that, we really didn't settle for inferior hotels...

 

 

I thought when you requested air deviation to fly in a couple of days early the charge was $75.00 per person.

 

Why are people being charged different amounts?

The $75 is a service fee...They also charge you for the approximate difference in the fares for the flights you request and the ones they allegedly could get...There could be an added cost for a different airline, a more convenient flight or a different day of the week...In my case, the same flights for the days of the week I had changed to allegedly ran a couple of huundred per person higher...It's mostly a matter of trust because you really don't know what fares they are using...

[CathyCruises]

I am surprised at the amount y'all are quoting for the "rebate" if you don't take O's air. I was told the credit would be something under $500/pp. We have to fly to Sydney to board, then return home from Bangkok--that SEEMS like it would be a really expensive flight to book on our own--but maybe I should start looking into it! I know there aren't as many carriers as there are flying to Europe so one would think the fares would be high. But thanks for making me think about it rather than just accepting what they give me. I also need to find out the actual amount of the tax rebate plus the tax savings.

 

Thanks!

 

Cathy

 

 

So I have you all to thank for opening my eyes. I figured out that my "free air" is actually costing me $3,198!! Add in the deviaton fee if we want to fly in a day or two early, and we do, and that's a whopping lot of dough. It may be a bit tricky to find a flight into Sydney and out of Bangkok, but I have almost a year to do it and I am sure it exists. Now the question is how much will I be saving. Gracias to everyone!

 

Cathy

[Leonid]

If you want to compare airfares between any either two locations or multiple locations, try ITAsoftware.com or kayak.com. In your case, it would be multiple locations. A real eye opener!

I book our airfare and have used both sites extensively.

[CathyCruises]

Thanks! I will do it today. As we live in the wilds of Eastern Idaho, it is a pull to get anywhere decent to fly out of. The best is Salt Lake City which is a 4.5 hour drive--makes a really long travel day and we alwaya have to factor in an overnight stay there, sometimes both ways. But as I would love to add a couple of days both in Sydney and Bangkok, booking my own is probably easiest.

 

Appreciate the help

:) cp

[CathyCruises]

Okay, so now I know! The $3198 is pretty much of a deal after all. That is equivalent to the lowest available fare I can find, and given the advantages of cruise air, i.e. not having to pay until the final deadline while still being assured of seats, plus the always-questionable "if there is an air issue the cruise line will definitely get me to the ship", I think I will probably stay and just pay the $75 deviation for extending the stay. ALL of the possible flights I found on both suggested sites were extremely long and involved a lot of connections--just no easy way to get from here to there, it apears--especially getting back from Bangkok. Several suggested flights had stopovers in China--I probably prefer NOT to do that one, but Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, etc. are all in the mix. This'll be interesting, that's for sure.

 

At least I know I've done my homework!