Booking overseas flights - let CCL or do it yourself

[Muumuu]

First experience with booking overseas flight.

Let CCL take care of it?????

Experiences please.

[Bunkie103]

Where do you have to fly into? Why not price it out on your own and then see how much Carnival wants for the same itinerary. Just supposing as for most of us price figures into these plans. Are you not planning to spend a day or two pre-cruise in the port city? Have not done Med with Carnival, but booked our flights to Britain prior to our Westbound transatlantic and that was no problem.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

I wouldn't let the cruiselines book any transportation for me. You are going to get the cheapest tickets with the worst flight times and horrible (if not impossible layovers).

[simkoreb]

I would book myself with plenty of time built in for delays...and great insurance just in case! (One year I almost missed the cruise and the original flight was booked so we would arrive a day early, so you never know!!!)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Once upon a time, the way to do it WAS to use cruise air and get a deviation which allowed you to choose airlines and flight times AND save money. Yes, I have experience with this. I have also arranged flights on my own.

 

Since Carnival has stopped allowing air deviations, it is unlikely I will ever use them again.

 

Cruise air does include transfers so you need to factor those into your costs if you arrange air on your own.

 

Find out how much the cruise line wants for air, subtract out transfers and that should be the most you should pay, if you arrange on your own.

 

For transatlantic cruises, cruise air is certainly something you might want to consider. One way air to Europe can be hard to get at a decent price.

[sayvan]

I would book it yourself and pick flights that give you plenty of time to get to the departure port. The cruise line is almost always more expensive and you have no control over your flight times.

[gatour]

If you are embarking/disembarking at the same port, I would book it yourself. You have more control on flights etc.

 

If you are embarking/disembarking at different ports then it becomes more iffy, depending on if you are concerned about costs.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

First experience with booking overseas flight.

Let CCL take care of it?????

Experiences please.

It totally depends on what the cruiselineis offering in terms of cost. THe great thing about booking cruiseline air is that if anything happens to your flight, they are responsible to get you to the ship. The downside is it is usually quite a bit more expensive. If you do it yourself make sure you arrive at least one day prior to the cruise setting sail in case of delays.

[cruisinthemed]

When I went to Barcelona for a Western Med cruise a few years ago, I booked my own and on the return flight through Paris was able to spend an afternoon and night in Paris without any additional fees, since it was less than 24 hours. We got there about 12pm and flew out the next morning at 11am. My DD had always wanted to see Paris and we were able to take in a cruise on the river, the Eifel tower and shopping. It was a beautiful end to our vaca. We had a layover in New York also and could have done the same, but we had been there the previous year so chose not to. We did arrive in Barcelona 3 days early and enjoyed it.

[KFinTx]

You can book an "open-jaw" ticket for about the price of r/t between the same 2 cities. For example, on my trips to Spain to walk the Camino, I arrived in Paris CDG, walked the Camino, then departed from Madrid. If you need a flight in Europe, you should check out the LCCs they have. I've used EasyJet a few times without problems.

[bunny1954]

If you are embarking/disembarking at the same port, I would book it yourself. You have more control on flights etc.

 

If you are embarking/disembarking at different ports then it becomes more iffy, depending on if you are concerned about costs.

 

Actually, flying "open jaw" or "multi-city" (as it is labeled when booking) is probably still cheaper or at least comparable to cruise air. AND you control your flights. Also highly recommend flying in at least one and preferably 2 days prior to cruise. I once lost a whole day of a land based vacation in Spain due to a plane breaking down before it ever got to my departure city. THAT was probably the worst trip for air travel ever. After missing the day enroute to Spain, Northwest Airlines went on strike while I was there and I spent almost a whole day on the phone trying to get through to re-route my return home.