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Why I book my own airfare


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The reason why I like to book my own airfare is because I like to be in control of my reservation and dates. I have read too many reports about Restricted Air and Flexible Air and Deviation fees. What people seem not to understand is CruiseAir is like Expedia or XXX Consolidator. Even if the airfare is $200 more I will book my own airfare.

 

With restricted airfare your cruise needs to be paid in full with flexible airfare your ticket gets ticketed after final payment and your schedule can change and the fare may go up.

 

Once I know that I am actually going I will book my airfare at the 330 day mark. I found a $570 airfare one way from Amsterdam-Rejkavik-Seattle-San Francisco combining Iceland Air and Alaska. You get one free bag and carryon plus seat assignment. Meals are for purchase which is not a major problem and you need to bring your own headphones or pay for IFE.

 

Going to Tampa we used miles. With CruiseAIr you cannot use air miles and cash combination unless you book one way miles and one way cash.

 

Also CruiseAIr may book you into Basic Economy where you cannot select your seats until checkin, no access to bin space and no way to upgrade to Premium Economy seating or Delta Comfort+.

 

Also I like to arrive a day before the cruise and stay a few days after the cruise. With CruiseAIr you need to go with their schedule.

 

So if you are looking to book CruiseAir look at other options. On Trans Atlantic Cruises Cruiseair may be less expensive but then its very restricted. With IcelandAir, NorwegianAir, XL Airlines, Level by Iberia you can save money.

 

Also look at booking multi city like San Francisco Miami and Barcelona-San Francisco and then you can stay a few days in each city. Also look at Cash/Miles redemption etc.

 

With CruiseAIr if there is a problem they won't be able to help you and the ticket may not be edorseable. You would need to call CruiseAir to help with any issues on the day of travel and you may not be able to make those changes online.

 

I like using the app on my phone and I can change my itinerary and not have to wait on hold with thousands of other people on the phone. In the worst case I can go to the Customer Service Desk at the airport and they can help me.

 

Just my 2 cents. I would like to hear your views on this post.

 

Thanks

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Thanks for your post. It's nice that we all have a choice.

 

As for your comments, there are too many "may be" or "may not be" for anyone else to act on what you find in your case.

 

Obviously Cruise Air is a popular profit center for the cruise lines, otherwise it would not be available. It makes a convenient way for folks who are not proficient at finding their own airfare to book flights to their cruise.

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I almost always book my own flights, so in agreement. However, beside Transoceanic cruises, where the cruise lines are hard to beat. There is more more category that needs consideration. The cruise lines have previously offered me tremendous deals to do adjoining cruises, on both sides of me booked cruise, late in the process. If I had booked air with the cruise line, they would have taken care of the air changes. Typically for me to do it would result in huge change fees or rebooking. Even though I continue to generally do it on my own, I realize I am often missing out on wonderful opportunities because of it.

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The reason why I like to book my own airfare is because I like to be in control of my reservation and dates. I have read too many reports about Restricted Air and Flexible Air and Deviation fees. What people seem not to understand is CruiseAir is like Expedia or XXX Consolidator. Even if the airfare is $200 more I will book my own airfare.

 

With restricted airfare your cruise needs to be paid in full with flexible airfare your ticket gets ticketed after final payment and your schedule can change and the fare may go up.

 

Once I know that I am actually going I will book my airfare at the 330 day mark. I found a $570 airfare one way from Amsterdam-Rejkavik-Seattle-San Francisco combining Iceland Air and Alaska. You get one free bag and carryon plus seat assignment. Meals are for purchase which is not a major problem and you need to bring your own headphones or pay for IFE.

 

Going to Tampa we used miles. With CruiseAIr you cannot use air miles and cash combination unless you book one way miles and one way cash.

 

Also CruiseAIr may book you into Basic Economy where you cannot select your seats until checkin, no access to bin space and no way to upgrade to Premium Economy seating or Delta Comfort+.

 

Also I like to arrive a day before the cruise and stay a few days after the cruise. With CruiseAIr you need to go with their schedule.

 

So if you are looking to book CruiseAir look at other options. On Trans Atlantic Cruises Cruiseair may be less expensive but then its very restricted. With IcelandAir, NorwegianAir, XL Airlines, Level by Iberia you can save money.

 

Also look at booking multi city like San Francisco Miami and Barcelona-San Francisco and then you can stay a few days in each city. Also look at Cash/Miles redemption etc.

 

With CruiseAIr if there is a problem they won't be able to help you and the ticket may not be edorseable. You would need to call CruiseAir to help with any issues on the day of travel and you may not be able to make those changes online.

 

I like using the app on my phone and I can change my itinerary and not have to wait on hold with thousands of other people on the phone. In the worst case I can go to the Customer Service Desk at the airport and they can help me.

 

Just my 2 cents. I would like to hear your views on this post.

 

Thanks

 

 

We book cruise-air when can. We have always been able to book Premium Economy , Business or First.

Most airlines let chose our seats at booking. Flying from a secondary our prices when booked locally are horrendous.The airline has always got us better prices for tickets.

Not everyone has the ability to book their own tickets online. There isn't a TA in my town that I trust or can get my any good airfare prices.

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With regard to "CruiseAir" is everyone referring generically to any/all cruise lines, or with one specific cruise line? The reason I ask is because when using RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara's Choice Air product, the client chooses the flight, routing and travel date as opposed to the cruise line doing so as the OP suggests.

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If booking air through the cruise lines offers me a savings and/or other conveniences by doing so, I see no reason not to do so. By using the cruise line's air deviation option, I can specify what flights on what dates and in what Class I want. If the cruise line is unable to accommodate my itinerary, I will then book on my own, which I have needed to do so at times.

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While I appreciate your comments and opinion there is too much misinformation and generalization for me to agree.

 

To each their own though, you seem to have a good grasp on what make you happy/comfortable.

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We book cruise-air when can. We have always been able to book Premium Economy , Business or First.

Most airlines let chose our seats at booking.

 

The ability to choose your seats in advance is much more common on many airlines when you are booking a ticket in the premium cabin. Since that's what you do, perhaps that is the reason, (as opposed to the fact that you booked through the cruise line) that you've not had issues booking seats as some others have.

 

 

If booking air through the cruise lines offers me a savings and/or other conveniences by doing so, I see no reason not to do so.

 

1. Many have found little to no customer service help from the cruise line air departments when issues have arisen on travel day

2. Some tickets purchased through the cruise line don't give you frequent flyer miles

3. Some tickets purchased through the cruise line are very restricted and can present issues if there are severe delays or cancellations.

4. Some tickets purchased through cruise air aren't actually paid for at the time of booking and as a result, don't allow advance seat selection.

 

That's just a few that come to mind immediately. If you haven't had any issues and are comfortable booking cruise air, that's great. But there ARE reasons that make them a less than ideal purchase for others. :)

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If you are flying out of Halifax your best year round WestJet is probably the only year round airline that does cheap one-way across the atlantic. If you can make your way to Montreal there is Air Transat.

 

Both Air Tranat and WestJet fly into London Gatwick.

 

Seasons service out of Halifax include Icelandic, Condor, and ASL.

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The ability to choose your seats in advance is much more common on many airlines when you are booking a ticket in the premium cabin. Since that's what you do, perhaps that is the reason, (as opposed to the fact that you booked through the cruise line) that you've not had issues booking seats as some others have.

 

 

 

 

1. Many have found little to no customer service help from the cruise line air departments when issues have arisen on travel day

2. Some tickets purchased through the cruise line don't give you frequent flyer miles

3. Some tickets purchased through the cruise line are very restricted and can present issues if there are severe delays or cancellations.

4. Some tickets purchased through cruise air aren't actually paid for at the time of booking and as a result, don't allow advance seat selection.

 

That's just a few that come to mind immediately. If you haven't had any issues and are comfortable booking cruise air, that's great. But there ARE reasons that make them a less than ideal purchase for others. :)

 

My experiences differ.

 

#1: Fortunately, I have not needed to use the cruise line air departments on travel day.

 

#2: I have earned frequent flier miles on my such bookings.

 

#3: I have no experience with your experience.

 

#4: I have not had issues in getting advance seat selection on air tickets that are not fully paid until final payment date.

 

Surely, others need to do their own research, get their questions answered and concerns addressed in order to be satisfied with how they make their reservations.

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We've done it both ways. For our cruise next year, using Choice Air was $660 PP less expensive for the exact same flights, and we were able to arrive a few days early without any deviation fee. We were able to select our seats as soon as we booked our tickets.

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My experiences differ.

 

That's wonderful. Doesn't mean someone else might not end up with a ticket that doesn't earn miles, or that someone else might indeed have travel disruptions and find they can't get the customer service they need. Bottom line: There ARE reasons someone else might not want to book air through the cruise line.

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That's wonderful. Doesn't mean someone else might not end up with a ticket that doesn't earn miles, or that someone else might indeed have travel disruptions and find they can't get the customer service they need. Bottom line: There ARE reasons someone else might not want to book air through the cruise line.

 

I always earn miles with my tickets bought thru the cruise line.

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[quote name=

Also I like to arrive a day before the cruise and stay a few days after the cruise. With CruiseAIr you need to go with their schedule.

 

[/quote]

Not sure if I understand this. You can change the dates of travel using Air2Sea. I've done it several times, leaving Europe two weeks after my sailing disembarked. You need to know how to alter the parameters.

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We book our air directly with the airline when it makes sense. Sometimes it does not.

 

On our last winter trip to SE Asia matrixit provided an option, including pricing and fare codes, which were very attractive to us in terms of price and sched ( 1 less layover). Priced at approx $1,000

 

I immediately called the airline. Provided the dates, flight times, even the fare codes as per the matrixit listing. The airline agent had inventory but their price was $1500. Tried expedia and I think travelocity. They flights either did not come up or came up at $1,500. Tried Orbitz as a last resort. Flights came up-same flights same fare codes, same airline, same everything with a price quote of $1,000. We bought. All of this was done within the space of 15 minutes.

 

Then, I looked at our credit card statement. The tickets were billed to our Visa account by the airline, not Orbitz. We were able to select our seats on line at time of purchase. We also went back into the airlines site and changed our seat location a few weeks later. Plus we did get our airline flight points credited to our respective accounts.

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We never seem to get full miles points any more...at least on Stat Allisnce or the Delta plan.

 

We usually do 4-5 ANA flights per year. The most we seem to get is 25-50 percent points. Same with a few others airlines in the group such as TAP and our favorite Lufthansa. LufthansaThe Delta plan is the same-especially if we fly on Virgin. Flights on our domestic airliner, Air Canada result in particularly low mileage credit. So much so that we are dropping their program.

 

I suspect that it has more to do with ticket fare code or price than it does with whether we book direct or through a third party-cruise line, orbitz, etc.

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Neither AA nor UA currently award frequent flyer award points based on actual miles flown. Both now award points based on monies paid for tickets along with extra points for BC/FC and status.

 

In the past, if One flew round trip coach from NYC-LAX, they may have gotten 6000 or so points. Today, if that ticket costs $450, they get 450 points. Huge degradation of the program! Consider the points we once got for miles flown on transoceanic flights versus the fraction of what we now get for the ticket price. Huge!

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