New policy with air fare

[Maya57]

My TA informed me about some policy changes made by Princess Cruises

 

FYI the air cost quoted by Princess when checking is NOT guaranteed until full payment is received by Princess.

 

It use to be that you could check air price and/or book air with Princess then check around to see if you could get it cheaper. This may not work anymore as when you go back to Princess you may get an entirely different price.

 

Personally, I can easily appreciate why Princess made this change and I suspect all the other cruise lines will do the same

[Cruise Junky]

It's a bit scary thinking how much it could change. We got a quote yesteday and the air is about half of what I can do on my own, but realistically, how much is that going to go up before final payment? And I don't particularly feel like handing Princess $11,000 for a year to lock in my air :(

[TWELVEOHONE]

It's a bit scary thinking how much it could change. We got a quote yesteday and the air is about half of what I can do on my own, but realistically, how much is that going to go up before final payment? And I don't particularly feel like handing Princess $11,000 for a year to lock in my air :(

 

I guess we are all in the same boat and the airlines are in control.

 

I agree with the OP and cannot blame Princess. In fact it is a smart business move as I am sure they were taking a big hit with airline cost.

[Cruise Junky]

I guess we are all in the same boat and the airlines are in control.

 

I agree with the OP and cannot blame Princess. In fact it is a smart business move as I am sure they were taking a big hit with airline cost.

 

Completely agree, with itineraries coming so far in advance, no one can predict what the airlines are going to do.

[Pam in CA]

It's not Princess, but I believe all of the cruiselines. I just paid for my January HAL cruise to lock in the pre-cruise package airfare. While I've booked my own air for the cruise itself, the pre-cruise is a trip to Iguasu Falls which meant flights to/from Rio.

 

I can't blame the cruiselines since you can book some cruises two years in advance and it's unrealistic to expect the airfare to remain the same. Heck, even if you book your own air and reserve a flight, the fare is locked in for only 24 - 48 hours when full payment is due.

[paul929207]

With airfares rising so quickly and so high, the cruise lines do not want to take the risk that fares could be much higher than they are charging.

[Latitude 20]

It works both ways--we just made the final payment for our cruise in November and the airfare was $200/person LESS than what we were quoted six months ago. A very nice turn of events! :)

[CruiseBumm]

It's a bit scary thinking how much it could change. We got a quote yesteday and the air is about half of what I can do on my own, but realistically, how much is that going to go up before final payment? And I don't particularly feel like handing Princess $11,000 for a year to lock in my air :(

 

We booked our air in January for October cruise and it never whent up before final payment. I received an emial arequesting I pay one week early to insure no increses in airfair.

 

THe one thing I don't like is having to pay for the second bag, since the cruise line tickets are ussaly not full fair. I hope my elite status with the airline gets me out of the extra bag charge.:rolleyes:

[caribill]

I hope my elite status with the airline gets me out of the extra bag charge.:rolleyes:

 

It should.

[Grannycb]

Something I wonder about is if you can cancel both the cruise and the airfare after you've made full payment? For instance, you see a cruise, pay the full amount to hold the airfare, then discover you'd rather be on a different cruise. Are you stuck with the air portion?

[dennbr9]

Usually Full Payment time is about the same as the first cancelation time and you may lose a portion of your payment and would bet air is included in that amount. Check your brochure.

[Pam in CA]

Something I wonder about is if you can cancel both the cruise and the airfare after you've made full payment? For instance, you see a cruise, pay the full amount to hold the airfare, then discover you'd rather be on a different cruise. Are you stuck with the air portion?

If you've bought cruiseline air, it's considered a package with the cruise. Check the Passage Contract for cancellation fees and as always, get insurance.

[MoonPet]

It should.

 

Which airline do you hold status with? American Airlines does waive the fee for GLD, PLT, and EXPLT.

[caribill]

Which airline do you hold status with? American Airlines does waive the fee for GLD, PLT, and EXPLT.

 

 

Each announcement I have seen for every airline says that that elite passengers are no subject to luggage fees for the first two bags.