Booking airfare thru RCI & transfers

[Sleddogs]

I hope someone can help with this. We currently have our airfare booked from Boston to Heathrow thru RCI for our upcoming cruise on Jewel of the Seas (12 nights).

 

I was under the impression that my airfare was $699 per person, but have just found out that the taxes were not included and that in fact, my total airfare is about $809 per person. I usually like to book my own air and have been checking for lower fares. I did find a couple today.

 

If I cancel my air thru RCI, does that mean I have to purchase the transfers for London to Harwich separately? Is it more cost effective to keep the air thru RCI and know that the transfers will be included?

 

This is our first trip to Europe and any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Sleddogs

[wwinfl91]

HI Sleddogs,

 

We are on the same cruise as you are. If you haven't you should check out the roll call for the cruise at the following link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=51547

 

You may also want to check out the Yahoo group site I set up for the cruise.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/warrenm_us/

 

Finally to your question, I suspect you will find that somewhere in your total charges for the cruise are included a transfer charge from Harwich to the London airport you are leaving from. It will be a charge per person and will probably be around $80 per person.

 

I'm surprised you were able to find cheaper air fares as I really struggled finding any at least back to somewhere in Florida. Also be aware that if you cancel your flight home RCI will also probably cancel your flight to Ft Lauderdale as supposingly, at least according to my TA and to the RCI service rep I talked with, they will only do round trip air for cruises.

 

I suspect you come out ahead by just keeping your already existing air arrangements with RCI for this trip.

 

Good luck whatever you decide and have a great next cruise.

[Sleddogs]

Hi and thanks for replying,

 

I should have mentioned that we are on the July 26 British Isles/Norwegian Fjords cruise. We have a thread going and our Meet & Mingle party has been confirmed.

 

I will definitely not do anything foolish regarding our flight arrangements.

It may not be worth the hassle of cancelling our air and then booking transfers.

 

Have a wonderful cruise in May & thanks for your note.

 

Sleddogs

[wwinfl91]

Sorry Sleddogs that was more my error than yours. I will tell you I had a really terrible time finding a one way flight back from London from our cruise in May on the Jewel. You might have better luck with a round trip fare but the $809 actually doesn't look too bad for the time of year.

 

You might check out Virgin Atlantic Vacations if you can stay an extra week in England either before or after your cruise. They had really good prices for airfare and 6 nights stay in London.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[lamwnfa]

We are on the Baltic Cruise on the Jewel, May 27th. We booked our own airfare through British Air and then the transfers through RCI. We are flying in a day early and flying out a day after the cruise so we had 2 nights in a hotel as well and came out at about the same cost as the air from RCI. We've been to London before so we didn't need a lot of time there but we can hit some highlights and go to a musical in the West End. The biggest factor in our decision was we were able to book a non-stop to Heathrow from DTW...we just couldn't face the unknown flights and probable layovers AND we really like the idea of arriving a day early to get a jump on the time change and to have 24 hours to get to London if something happens to the original flight.

 

Lori

[Phil'rup]

Sled, we've done your cruise several times, you'r going to love it, I think. To answer your question, the transfers are only included if you book your air through RCCL. A year ago, the transfers were $60 each way - LHR to Harwich - or $120. So you need to beat RCCL's air cost by $120 or $689 or less each. You're travelling in the summer time, so good luck.

[bluehorizonlover123]

I would never buy air thru the cruise lines. Not only are you paying for your ticket but you are paying an upcharge to the cruise lines. The same goes for transfers from the airport to the ship. You can do this cheaper yourself by taking a cab.

[Phil'rup]

You may be right, Blue, but I shop both the cruise line and airlines for airfare, then pick the lowest taking into account the transfer I would have to buy if booking my own air.

One way fares are generally cheaper with the cruiseline. The cost of a taxi from London Heathrow to Harwich would be prohibitive, it's 110 miles each way. There are vans available from London if you have enough people to share the cost. British Rail also runs a train from Victoria Station to the pier in Harwich...it lets you off maybe 50 feet from the check in counters.

[Sleddogs]

You have all given me a lot to ponder. I will check all possible options.

 

We are really looking forward to this cruise. It started off wanting to see the Norwegian Fjords, so the other ports are a bonus.

 

Thanks so much to all of you!

Sleddogs