Precruise hotel, etc???

[GMWT10A]

My TA tells me that Miami is one of the ports that Oceania does not offer a precruise hotel stay?? We're cruising out of Miami on 12/21/08 and ALWAYS leave home at least 1-2 days early as we're from North of Boston and the weather is so unpredictable.

 

Has anyone run into this OR found this a TA error?? I hate to change my plans, as this is one of the cruises that provides free airtravel (other than taxes, etc.)

 

:confused:

[Andee]

I may be missing something, but can't you just arrange your own hotel?

[LHT28]

It is true ....no hotel packages for MIAMI.

 

You can usually get a hotel cheaper than the packages offered.

[GMWT10A]

Maybe I didn't explain fully...my TA says that they don't "Offer pre-cruise options" and that means that if I want to vary my travel from the day of the cruise I'll lose my "free" travel OR will have to pay the deviation fees.

 

If this was a cruise leaving out of another city, they would offer the hotel option, including transfers for 1-2-maybe even 3 days before cruising.

 

In all the time I've cruised, I've never seen a cruise line NOT offer prenight arrangements in Miami...I'm just a bit surprised. AND, this is a new TA to me. If this is truly so, then fine....I'll just "bite the bullet" and do it myself... I just want to be sure before I do anything.

[LHT28]

Maybe I didn't explain fully...my TA says that they don't "Offer pre-cruise options" and that means that if I want to vary my travel from the day of the cruise I'll lose my "free" travel OR will have to pay the deviation fees.

 

 

Your TA is right they do not offer pre cruise options.

 

You can always take the air credit ...it is not much from MIAMI I think we got $250. but your TA can tell you the correct amount.

If you can get return air for that great.... if not Plan "B".

 

We drove to Miami that last 2 cruises.

[nparmelee]

I would also either do the deviation and book my own hotel or book my air and hotel and take the air credit. With the current rate of changes with air schedules, good luck! Delta just canceled one leg of a flight we booked only one week ago. Air travel is going to get pretty ugly for a while, at least you live in a larger city, those of us in smaller cities are looking at pretty darn ugly connections for a while.

[Leonid]

What we plan to do on our next two O sailings is fly down to LV on SWA and stay the night. The first sailing will be to fly on Delta to BA via ATL in 12/2008. The second will be on Delta to FLL via ATL in 02/2009. As of now, no changes or cancellations. Who knows what will happen this autumn.

Getting out of Reno is getting to be the pits. First NWA stops its flights and now Continental. Probably the next to go will be Frontier. And then, ??????

BTW - AA & UAL will stop flying into FLL in the not to distance future, which leaves only MIA if these two airlines are what pax. usually fly into FLL. Ugh!!

[Jana]

BTW - AA & UAL will stop flying into FLL in the not to distance future, which leaves only MIA if these two airlines are what pax. usually fly into FLL. Ugh!!

 

Leonid, where did you hear this? At least about American... that really surprises me!

 

AA is closing its operations at Oakland (Ca), London Stansted and Baranquilla, Colombia. There are several other stations that will lose American Eagle flights. Five American Airlines flights have been cut from La Guardia, eight from St. Louis and 28 from Chicago O'hare. Many more American Eagle flights have been eliminated at all three stations, but Fort Lauderdale wasn't an Eagle station domestically.

 

You've really scared me now! Please tell me where you got this info about American!

 

Thanks.

 

Jana

[Andee]

Generally, the Oceania hotel packages are expensive enough that you could probably arrange your own hotel and transfers, pay the deviation fee, and still come out better financially.

[Acrusa]

Generally, the Oceania hotel packages are expensive enough that you could probably arrange your own hotel and transfers, pay the deviation fee, and still come out better financially.

 

Maybe so,but I deviated and picked our own flights trough O.Came out to be the same fair as if I booked it ourselfs. As far as the hotel package it was more in euros then dollars at the time.Also was not sure if we might have to cancel before final payment.If we did have to cancel we would get back all of it from O including the air.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Leonid, where did you hear this? At least about American... that really surprises me!

You've really scared me now! Please tell me where you got this info about American!

 

Thanks.

 

Jana

 

Flyertalk.com has numerous discussions relative to AA and UA cutting flights. Also, the NY Times has had articles on the same thing. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/business/28shrink.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214755621-mfkPaM6Mp1JMJpqUNw3xDQ

[Leonid]

Thanks for helping me for that which I could not remember. Although it wasn't in the NYT, it might have been in our local paper or USA Today. Senior moments are bad news!:D

[Jana]

Flyertalk.com has numerous discussions relative to AA and UA cutting flights. Also, the NY Times has had articles on the same thing. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/business/28shrink.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214755621-mfkPaM6Mp1JMJpqUNw3xDQ

 

Oh, whew, thank you! That is just, I suspect, a poorly constructed sentence in the NYT; United might well be cutting Fort Lauderdale and American IS cutting San Luis Obispo, but not --at least according to the official information I have-- Fort Lauderdale.

 

-----------------

This week, the country’s two biggest airlines, American and United, announced plans to lop cities like Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and San Luis Obispo, Calif., out of their networks.

------------------

 

So Leonid, at least you'll have that option... for awhile, anyway. Getting out of Reno is another issue altogether. :cool:

 

Jana

[GMWT10A]

Maybe it's time for the cruise lines to "buy up the airlines"?? ;)

 

My cruise departs Miami 12/21...if they cut anything close to that date there just won't be a flight...I've checked and many hotels are already booked.

[Mura]

I am one who would never book a cruise hotel option. I can do so much better on my own, that I don't mind paying for a deviation if I must.

 

In our case, we are booked on the Miami-Barcelona transatlantic March 9, 2009 cruise. It's almost certain we'll book our own air because while we really won't plan on coming in early to Miami, we definitely will be staying on in Europe after the cruise ends. Maybe we'll opt for a deviation, but our deviation would have us coming home several days later from a totally different city so that probably is not a real option for us.

 

But a deviation at $75pp is a lot cheaper than paying twice as much for the hotel as you can do on your own. Even if the rates go up!