Custom Air with RCCL ?

[SPARKLE10]

Hi::)

 

We have a B2B cruise booked with RCCL for next April, departing in Sydney and we have to drive to a different state to make the connections. I was reading that "Diamond Members" can do "Custom Air" and it makes for better connections. I've cruised a lot, but we usually have our TA make the arrangements for us. This time, it is not a convenient schedule, as we have to drive to Omaha, Nebraska, from Des Moines, Iowa, to make the connecting flights to Sydney.:confused:

 

I know a lot of people book their own air fare and can tell me how custom air works....

 

Thanks in advance.:D

 

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

[lvtotrvl1]

Hi::)

 

We have a B2B cruise booked with RCCL for next April, departing in Sydney and we have to drive to a different state to make the connections. I was reading that "Diamond Members" can do "Custom Air" and it makes for better connections. I've cruised a lot, but we usually have our TA make the arrangements for us. This time, it is not a convenient schedule, as we have to drive to Omaha, Nebraska, from Des Moines, Iowa, to make the connecting flights to Sydney.:confused:

 

I know a lot of people book their own air fare and can tell me how custom air works....

 

Thanks in advance.:D

 

As a diamond member , you do not have to pay the deviation fee, but would have to pay for any price difference. If you want to leave from you own state you need to tell RCI and they will find the price for you. That is what custom air is...you are able to let them know what you want as far as flights...however you will still be paying the difference between their flights and the flights you choose. Your TA should be able to explain this to you.

[greatam]

Hi::)

 

We have a B2B cruise booked with RCCL for next April, departing in Sydney and we have to drive to a different state to make the connections. I was reading that "Diamond Members" can do "Custom Air" and it makes for better connections. I've cruised a lot, but we usually have our TA make the arrangements for us. This time, it is not a convenient schedule, as we have to drive to Omaha, Nebraska, from Des Moines, Iowa, to make the connecting flights to Sydney.:confused:

 

I know a lot of people book their own air fare and can tell me how custom air works....

 

Thanks in advance.:D

 

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

 

I am curious-what difference does it make whether flying out of Omaha or Des Moines? You will still have to fly to Sydney from LAX/SFO/YVR.

 

As the previous poster stated, you may pay a HUGE upcharge for custom air.

 

And you may be subjected to consolidator class tickets.

 

PLEASE read through the first few pages of this thread for an explanation of cruise air and air deviation.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322

 

Then come back, post your dates and we will all try to help. Can even get you a couple of days in Fiji if you are interested.

[alcpa1]

RCI has given you a price. That is your base fare. If you are Diamond you can work with the RCI agent to arrange your tickets. They will offer you an itinerary at that cost. There may be other options at the same cost, BUT if you have a specific itinerary that they do not have in their inventory you will have to pay any additional fees.

As stated above you will not be charged a "service" or deviation fee, only the difference in the cost of the flight in their inventory and an alternative of your choice.

Search for alternative flights because there may be more than one flight in their inventory that will meet your needs.

The cruise air is akin to a consolidator fare and is subject to restrictions.

I think you will find that cruise air can present some real challenges. Booking this far out will, no doubt, bring schedule changes that could be a real problem if you do not have the flexibility of working with your airline to adjust your schedule.

Good luck

[PennyAgain]

Do your own research before you talk to your cruise line. You are looking at a very expensive package of tickets.

 

When I have to start a long overseas trip from Middle America, I try to fly to my city of departure for the longest flights and stay at least overnight. That puts me in much better physical and mental condition for the flights to come.

[Shak]

I am a diamond member on RCCL also and for our Panama Canal trip this October we choose cruise air for the first time. The air ended up being free but that is another story. A couple of months ago I was looking at air and discovered Continental had a nonstop flight to LAX from CLE that got in at 10:50am. That was perfect in my mind so I got a hold of custom air and arranged to be put on this flight. On the return flight we also got a direct flight on Continental leaving SJU at 3:15pm. To make this change it cost an additional $15 each. That is a small fee to be assured of a direct flight in my opinion. For both ways Continental is the only airline offering a direct flight from CLE and to CLE. I called RCCL today and they gave me a confirmation number. My wife called Continental to see if we could arrange seats and asked about upgrades. Our seats are under the group booking. We were able to get seats but were not able to upgrade at this time.

The allure of cruise air is not that it is the cheapest but then again you all you have to do is say yes to air and it is done. Another big advantage of cruise air and custom air is that RCCL will make arrangements for you if the flight is canceled or changed. I hope to never find out how good or bad this service is but RCCL is going to get you to the ship one way or another.

Another advantage to cruise air happened last year on our Hawaii cruise. About 12 hours after leaving Oahu on the way to San Diego a passenger had a medical emergency and the ship turned around to meet a Coast Guard helicopter. RCCL told us that anyone with a flight before 6pm on our arrival date should make new arrangements. This is not an easy feat in the middle of the Pacific as you could imagine. RCCL was kind enough to cover calls to make arrangements. We were as well as many others forced to spend the night in San Diego and make new flight arrangements for the next day. As you may know to make this change is expensive. It cost us over $1000. Luckily our trip insurance company covered this expensive, most didn’t by the way. The insurance companies that didn’t stated that their policy covered delays caused by their illness but not the delays caused by the illness of others. All the policies covered the expense of the hotel. Those with cruise air had to do nothing. All of their arrangements were made for them.

Next year we are going on a transatlantic trip from Harwich. I added cruise air for this trip as an insurance policy. Celebrity has told me that once cruise air is reserved the price will not go up and if prices go up as I believe they will cruise air may be cheaper. If a bargain does come up you can cancel cruise air without penalty before final payment.

Shak

[greatam]

I am a diamond member on RCCL also and for our Panama Canal trip this October we choose cruise air for the first time. The air ended up being free but that is another story. A couple of months ago I was looking at air and discovered Continental had a nonstop flight to LAX from CLE that got in at 10:50am. That was perfect in my mind so I got a hold of custom air and arranged to be put on this flight. On the return flight we also got a direct flight on Continental leaving SJU at 3:15pm. To make this change it cost an additional $15 each. That is a small fee to be assured of a direct flight in my opinion. For both ways Continental is the only airline offering a direct flight from CLE and to CLE. I called RCCL today and they gave me a confirmation number. My wife called Continental to see if we could arrange seats and asked about upgrades. Our seats are under the group booking. We were able to get seats but were not able to upgrade at this time.

 

You do realize that you are most likely getting consolidator class tickets. And IF for any reason there is a problem with your flight, you are essentially STUCK flying on Continental. You CANNOT use your cruise air tickets to board another airline. They CANNOT be ENDORSED to another airline. So you will wait until Continental has space available seating. Could be 2 hours or two days. And if you are flying in day of your cruise, you very well could miss it. Also, if you are getting upgrades on consolidator class tickets, you are violating the T & C's of OnePass. You could be VERY surprised when you are BILLED for the upgrade.

 

The allure of cruise air is not that it is the cheapest but then again you all you have to do is say yes to air and it is done. Another big advantage of cruise air and custom air is that RCCL will make arrangements for you if the flight is canceled or changed. I hope to never find out how good or bad this service is but RCCL is going to get you to the ship one way or another. [/font]

 

While it may be EASY to book cruise air, your thinking is TOTAL FALLACY. READ the fine print in a cruise contract. Most have wording to this effect: "air, hotels, shore excursions and ground transportation are booked as a CONVENIENCE to our passengers. We are NOT LIABLE for actions of third party vendors". Princess even goes so far as to state that you can't sue for "disappointment" if you miss a day or two or your entire cruise. The ONLY liability the cruise line assumes is a full refund.

 

And PLEASE don't count on a cruise line making satisfactory arrangements to reschedule a flight. They MAY make arrangements-but SATISFACTORY is the key word. My own step son got STUCK with cruise air arrangements after they mis connected with the Chicago flight to Hawaii. 2+ days, a thousand dollars+ out of their pockets and MUCH hassle-they finally made it to their seven day Hawaii cruise on the afternoon of day THREE.

 

There was a post the other day about a lady going on an Alaska cruise. Cruise air booking. They FINALLY boarded the ship on Day 4 of a 7 day cruise. NO REFUNDS, although HAL did pay for hotels and food.

 

In this day and age of airlines' changing flights, canceling flights and just general mayhem in the industry, cruise air will often be the WORST choice you could make.

 

PS: Quite a few of the cruise lines are NO LONGER GUARANTEEING cruise air prices until final payment.

[Shak]

I have an update from my last post to this thread. I received my custom air confirmation from Continental today and I have a fare code M for my Oct cruise.

 

Celebrity has increased the air on the Transatlantic trip I have booked for next year but they have not increased my price I reserved before the increase.

 

Shak

[greatam]

I have an update from my last post to this thread. I received my custom air confirmation from Continental today and I have a fare code M for my Oct cruise.

 

Celebrity has increased the air on the Transatlantic trip I have booked for next year but they have not increased my price I reserved before the increase.

 

Shak

 

Continental fare code M is for elite award tickets. Better check it out again.

[Shak]

On both the paper document confirmation and the web site confirmation my tickets says the Fair Class M.

 

Shak

[Sea and Me]

On both the paper document confirmation and the web site confirmation my tickets says the Fair Class M.

 

Shak

 

That is because the "air gods" know what a nice guy you are:) Hope all is well with you & Pat.

 

Carol

[6rugrats]

Continental fare code M is for elite award tickets. Better check it out again.

 

I think on Continental, fare code M is just a standard economy fare code.

[greatam]

I think on Continental, fare code M is just a standard economy fare code.

 

Could be, but not according to this chart:

 

http://www.cwsi.net/continental.htm

 

 

And M is a Delta fare code for OnePass on Continental codeshares (Continental operated).

 

And I can't find any M class tickets on ExpertFlyer EXCEPT as Delta codeshares (Continental operated).

[6rugrats]

Could be, but not according to this chart:

 

http://www.cwsi.net/continental.htm

 

 

And M is a Delta fare code for OnePass on Continental codeshares (Continental operated).

 

And I can't find any M class tickets on ExpertFlyer EXCEPT as Delta codeshares (Continental operated).

 

I have seen that chart and believe it is incorrect.

 

CO's webpage lists M as an economy fare. I see lots of M fares on CO, on CO metal on ExpertFlyer, but admit I am not an expert at this site, just as I am not an airfare expert at anything!

[FlyerTalker]

M class on CO appears to be a mid-range economy fare bucket.

 

I use THIS PAGE to see the various buckets and how they are arrayed, figuring that the OnePass earning is a good indicator.

[greatam]

M class on CO appears to be a mid-range economy fare bucket.

 

I use THIS PAGE to see the various buckets and how they are arrayed, figuring that the OnePass earning is a good indicator.

 

I saw that too. But when you go to Expertflyer or SABRE, you get M class as a Continental codeshare with Delta.

 

I am not well versed in SkyTeam (in the least), so maybe I am just totally wrong. But it would be VERY odd for an air deviation with NO upcharge to be booked in a relatively high fare class. JMHO

[Shak]

This is directly copied from my confirmation on line. I am flying a Continental flight not Delta. This flight is also a custom air flight from RCCL. It cost me an additional $15 each for the tickets for these non stop flights.

 

Shak

 

Fare Class: Economy (M)

Meal: Snack

No Special Meal Offered.

[Globaliser]

M class on CO appears to be a mid-range economy fare bucket.

But when you go to Expertflyer or SABRE, you get M class as a Continental codeshare with Delta.

A little playing with ITA Software will show you CO (cash) fares on CO metal that are booked into M class, so this must be legit.

[greatam]

A little playing with ITA Software will show you CO (cash) fares on CO metal that are booked into M class, so this must be legit.

 

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

Shak should be VERY happy he/she got a PUBLISHED fare ticket. Doesn't happen very often.

[Shak]

It looks like I am going to roll the dice again. I just looked at pricing for our transatlantic flight next year and the pricing at the moment air to London alone is greater then the price I have air reserved from Celebrity. While Celebrity has increased air costs on this trip after I reserved air but as of today my cost has not gone up. A lot can happen in a year and if a bargain comes along I jump on it. I feel that having cruise air reserved offers different options like access to non stop flights. Many times these flights are more expensive the cruise air. Now that I know the limitations of cruise air I feel I can use that to my advantage. Thanks for your inputs.

Shak