Airfare

[dje27]

Hi, my husband and I are rather new cruisers. We went on our first cruise 5 years ago. Have another one scheduled for January 2010. People were telling us to find our own airfare, its alot cheaper. Can anyone help us on this. Is it worth it?? I called Celebrity and we can still buy the transfers to and from the airport. I have looked and the airfare is cheaper on our own. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Deb

[d&a Delaware]

Nearly always you can save money by booking your own airfare. And, probably more important, you keep direct control of your flight itinerary. You can get what you want for less.

 

David

[uppitycats]

It's almost always better to book your own flights. You can go when you want to go, and usually find a more direct route. You've already found a cheaper flight..so go for it, and have a great vacation!

 

(JUst one side note -- do be sure you're flying to your ship's port early enough to give yourself time for any flight delays, cancellations, weather-related stuff, whatever. A general rule of thumb -- fly in a day early; fly out mid afternoon on the day your cruise ends..)

[Glendakayself]

We had airfare booked with Celebrity for our next cruise. We booked the cruise 18 months out, and did not know what would happen with air prices. We kept pricing the air until we found the air at less than half the price Celebrity was asking. We were able to fly in one day early and stay a day later, book a private car to take us to/from the port, and save $1,000. We had custom air with Celebrity and had chosen our flights, but they allowed us to cancel with no charge.

[JanineM]

It really depends ... we wound up paying about $700 less per person using Celebrity air last year, but that was for a transatlantic, so we were only buying one segment of the flight.

 

If you're a savvy traveler and have the time to do some research then by all means do it yourself. But as others have said - be sure to fly in early! Depending on where you are sailing from and the time of year, make it a good 24 hours early. And get insurance!!!

[bardstowntraveller]

It is usually cheaper to purchase your own air and transfers. If you haven't already booked your air, my reco is to search one of the discount sites like Expedia and see what flights and rates are available, then go directly to the airline site for the flights you are interested in. We were able to fly business class to Rome for only $600 more than what Celebrity was quoting for coach.

 

We booked our transfers through Celebrity but after the fact saw much lower rates through posts on this site. Check out posts for the city you are transferring from. Other travellers will have recos on the cheapest way from the airport to ship.