Book airfare through Carnival, then cancel if we can get a better rate on our own?

[steel123]

Does anyone know if we can do this? I'm thinking of booking our airfare through Carnival just so we are guaranteed our flights. Then if we get a better deal, I was wondering if we can cancel without penalty.:)

[letmetellya]

of course you can and its a great idea to do it that way, cruise air is usually the last resort because of the price and the unknown , its always better to get it yourself , but knowing just in case you cant get air yourself you have it allready. there is no penality unless you have paid your last payment.

[steel123]

Thanks! We are thinking of cruising during a popular week, so this way we can be guaranteed we'll get there if we can't get anything better on our own. Prices are high now for this week, and I'm concerned they will just keep going up. We may have to wait until Southwest comes out with their rates, too.:)

[happy cruzin]

of course you can and its a great idea to do it that way, cruise air is usually the last resort because of the price and the unknown , its always better to get it yourself , but knowing just in case you cant get air yourself you have it allready. there is no penality unless you have paid your last payment.

 

 

Not always :rolleyes: . We have used Carnival air twice - booked it when when booked the cruise and then looked for better rates on our own. We never found anything better than what Carnival was offering - and it included the transfers to and from the ship. So sometimes - although rarely - Carnival is not any worse that what you can do on your own. Especially now that they have the new air program that the PVP's and CVS's can book flights with specific times - similar to what you would see on an internet site. That takes the unknown out of it too.

 

OP: We have definately done what you propose upon several occasions. If we find something better we can cancel any time - up to final payment. In fact of CVS is the one that suggested that we do it that way ;) .

[gargoyle999]

I just asked this same question recently. Am doing the Spirit to Hawaii in 2010 and am worried that oil will be $300/barrel and airfare will cost more than the cruise by then! :eek:

 

I added the cruise air to my 2010 sailing to lock in the current rate. I plan to get my own when the time comes as I want to go in a day early and stay a day late.

 

You can do a deviation with cruise air but there is a fee to do that plus my TA says you have to pay the difference in airfare. From what I read cruise lines get lower airfares due to booking blocks of tickets. But that is usually to get all the people there on the day of the cruise and leave the day the cruise ends. So paying the difference in the airfare for different days when they don't have a big block of tickets purchased plus the fee for the deviation would probably negate any advantage to staying with the cruise air.

 

So my plan is to use the cruise air without any deviation if airfare becomes outrageous, but hope to make my own plans for less or same amount (or slightly more). As long as you cancel the cruise air before final payment there shouldn't be any problem or fees to do so.

[Frohoss]

I chose to go with Carnival airfare on my first cruise 9 years ago. We were, however, very nervous that we weren't going to make it though. We were supposed to land in Miami at 1pm the day of the cruise. After a 2 hour flight delay we ended up in Miami at 3pm and the cruise was supposed to set sail at 4pm. We were literally the last ones on the ship! And it was after 4pm. Understand that the above issue doesn't have much to do with purchasing Carnivals airfare.

 

We are do on our next cruise this Nov. Again I booked airfare with Carnival at first. They were asking $915 for 2. About a month later I decided to purchase our fight with expedia at $690 for 2. We saved $225 flight. We took the dif. and we'll be arriving a day early and staying at the embassy suites hotel for $90. This will us not feel rushed!

 

Keep in mind, as others have said, sometimes Carnivals airfare is better than what you can find. As time goes by most flights will become more expensive though. I would recommend purchasing your flight asap. I booked about a month ago and found out that as of a few days ago our exact same round trip flight is now $1500 for 2 :eek: Obviously flights can go up and down every day.

 

Also, Carnivals airfare doesn't guarantee you will get there. They are just booking your non-controllable flight times...that's it. Just like booking on your own doesn't guarantee it either, however, you are the one that can control your arrival/departure times. I mainly feel that the main dif. with going with Carnivals airfare provides a shuttle to and from the airport/ports. You can choose to fly in a day earlier with Carnival airfare but I'm thinking it is an additional $50 per person, as well as, paying for your hotel room.

 

Just pull the trigger if you see a good deal...if you are comfortable booking on your own. Most will recommend coming in a day early...peace of mind. If you do book on your own, just call Carnival and have them remove your airfare package. I had no problem doing this...it to 2 seconds for them to do it. IMHO

 

I hope my info will help. Thanks for reading.

[Livin4Real]

You don't HAVE to pay the $50 deviation fee if you want to fly down a day early. We just booked on the Glory this past Tuesday for the June 7th sailing and told our TA we wanted to fly down a day early and was there any way around the $50 fee. As long as you use Carnivals hotel package they don't charge you the $50 per person to change your flights to a day ahead. We ended up paying $160 for the overnight at the Marriott for the four of us (that was their hotel of choice) and avoided the $50 fee. So by booking with Carnival for the airfare we came out a little ahead of booking on our own once you include transfers which are pricey from Orlando to the port, and we'll be down a day ahead and still be covered by Carnival in the event something goes haywire getting us to port.:)

[steel123]

I appreciate all your experience with this. We have always booked airfare on our own. One of the reasons I'm thinking of booking through Carnival is that we live in the Northeast, and would be cruising during the winter (we usually travel during April, so weather hasn't been much of a problem). The weather is unpredictable, and flights can get cancelled due to winter storms and blizzards. Going down a day early might not be enough either. Right now, flights aren't that much cheaper than Carnival's, though when Southwest comes out, we may be able to get a good rate. Also, this year when we took our cruise, it was the same week the American Airlines flights were grounded. We were lucky we didn't have flights with them. So, since there isn't a penalty before final payment, I'm still thinking of booking with Carnival first for peace of mind.:)

[gargoyle999]

You don't HAVE to pay the $50 deviation fee if you want to fly down a day early. We just booked on the Glory this past Tuesday for the June 7th sailing and told our TA we wanted to fly down a day early and was there any way around the $50 fee. As long as you use Carnivals hotel package they don't charge you the $50 per person to change your flights to a day ahead. We ended up paying $160 for the overnight at the Marriott for the four of us (that was their hotel of choice) and avoided the $50 fee. So by booking with Carnival for the airfare we came out a little ahead of booking on our own once you include transfers which are pricey from Orlando to the port, and we'll be down a day ahead and still be covered by Carnival in the event something goes haywire getting us to port.:)

 

Did you have to pay any difference in the airfare or did you just pay the $160 for the hotel? And how does the transfer work when you fly in a day early. Do you get yourself back to the airport to meet up with the bus the next day?

[Bookbug53]

I chose to go with Carnival airfare on my first cruise 9 years ago. We were, however, very nervous that we weren't going to make it though. We were supposed to land in Miami at 1pm the day of the cruise. After a 2 hour flight delay we ended up in Miami at 3pm and the cruise was supposed to set sail at 4pm. We were literally the last ones on the ship! And it was after 4pm. Understand that the above issue doesn't have much to do with purchasing Carnivals airfare.

 

 

Funny, 9 years ago on our first cruise we were delayed getting to the ship and stepped on board at 4:05pm (sailing at 4). There were a couple of people behind us as we boarded. (Destiny?)

[grandmato4]

Did you have to pay any difference in the airfare or did you just pay the $160 for the hotel? And how does the transfer work when you fly in a day early. Do you get yourself back to the airport to meet up with the bus the next day?

 

If you're staying at the hotel they've booked you into the bus picks you up at the hotel and takes you to the port.

[Frohoss]

Funny, 9 years ago on our first cruise we were delayed getting to the ship and stepped on board at 4:05pm (sailing at 4). There were a couple of people behind us as we boarded. (Destiny?)

 

 

Sounds exactly like us :D ...but we were on the Ecstasy

[grandmato4]

I appreciate all your experience with this. We have always booked airfare on our own. One of the reasons I'm thinking of booking through Carnival is that we live in the Northeast, and would be cruising during the winter (we usually travel during April, so weather hasn't been much of a problem). The weather is unpredictable, and flights can get cancelled due to winter storms and blizzards. Going down a day early might not be enough either. Right now, flights aren't that much cheaper than Carnival's, though when Southwest comes out, we may be able to get a good rate. Also, this year when we took our cruise, it was the same week the American Airlines flights were grounded. We were lucky we didn't have flights with them. So, since there isn't a penalty before final payment, I'm still thinking of booking with Carnival first for peace of mind.:)

 

I'm confused. What peace of mind do you have with booking your flights through Carnival if you can find flights a bit cheaper than theirs right now?