2012 vs 2013 Airfair question?

[floridajourneygirl]

Thinking about booking an Alaska cruise in 2013 fly in to Ancorage and out of Vancouver. My TA said they would honor the 2012 prices for 2013 of $859 pp. Would this be a good deal or should I wait and book air on my own when the time gets closer? Thanks

[paul929207]

You should just flip a coin if you are hoping to predict airfares for next year.

[floridajourneygirl]

You should just flip a coin if you are hoping to predict airfares for next year.

 

LOL, I was really wondering if the price they gave me was a good price, whether if it is for this year or next year, doesn't matter?

[Eng23]

Thinking about booking an Alaska cruise in 2013 fly in to Ancorage and out of Vancouver. My TA said they would honor the 2012 prices for 2013 of $859 pp. Would this be a good deal or should I wait and book air on my own when the time gets closer? Thanks

If you are flying from Florida to Alaska and then from Vancouver back to Florida $859 sounds pretty good to me. If you wait until later this year or next year there is no telling what the price of airfare will be. If you are comfortable with that $859 go for it.

[Gardyloo]

My TA said they would honor the 2012 prices for 2013 of $859 pp. Would this be a good deal or should I wait and book air on my own when the time gets closer? Thanks

 

Assuming you're cruising in the normal cruise season, i.e. mid-May - mid-September, I'd seriously consider getting a new travel agent. Bookings won't even open, nor fares published for May 2013 for another month, and saying "they'll honor 2012 prices" is complete baloney. If you pay for your flights in 2012 (say in a few months) then sure, the airlines will "honor" them - you've bought them. In fact they'll be doing a happy dance, since you will probably have paid more than you would if you wait.

 

And incidentally, $859 pp is more than $200 more than you'd pay for TPA-ANC//SEA-TPA (use Seattle instead of Vancouver - much cheaper) for flights this August in the middle of cruise season.

 

My suggestion would be to wait until around March - April 2013 to book your air for your cruise. That, and consider the TA thing above.

[floridajourneygirl]

Assuming you're cruising in the normal cruise season, i.e. mid-May - mid-September, I'd seriously consider getting a new travel agent. Bookings won't even open, nor fares published for May 2013 for another month, and saying "they'll honor 2012 prices" is complete baloney. If you pay for your flights in 2012 (say in a few months) then sure, the airlines will "honor" them - you've bought them. In fact they'll be doing a happy dance, since you will probably have paid more than you would if you wait.

 

And incidentally, $859 pp is more than $200 more than you'd pay for TPA-ANC//SEA-TPA (use Seattle instead of Vancouver - much cheaper) for flights this August in the middle of cruise season.

 

My suggestion would be to wait until around March - April 2013 to book your air for your cruise. That, and consider the TA thing above.

 

Gardyloo we plan on crusing in June. My TA did say that the fares were not published yet. But they would guarantee me 2012 prices and if they were more they would honor the difference not the airline. I would think that, that would guarantee a price lock if the prices go up, which they 9 times out of 10 do, right?

 

You're saying even if our cruise ends in Vancouver take a flight back out of Seattle? That seems strange to me. That means we then need to find our way to Seattle which would cost more money wouldn't it? Guess I would have never thought of that. Thanks for your input.

[Woobstr112G]

Paul is correct. Flipping a coin would be the best way to to predict airfare prices from one year to the next. My thought is even if the pries came down, the decrease probably wouldn't be worth the worrying I'd do while waiting later to book. One other thought. Have you thought of trying a consolidator instead of Cruiseair? I did for my last cruise and saved several thousand $$$ when purchasing business class seats.

Bob

[greatam]

Gardyloo we plan on crusing in June. My TA did say that the fares were not published yet. But they would guarantee me 2012 prices and if they were more they would honor the difference not the airline. I would think that, that would guarantee a price lock if the prices go up, which they 9 times out of 10 do, right?

 

 

So this is a TA inducement to get you to book the cruise? I'd certainly have it in writing, MAKE SURE what kind of tickets the TA is selling you (NOT consolidator/cruise only/vacation package tickets) and that the tickets are not some "mileage run" with 4-5 stops that will take you over 24 hours to reach ANC.

 

You're saying even if our cruise ends in Vancouver take a flight back out of Seattle? That seems strange to me. That means we then need to find our way to Seattle which would cost more money wouldn't it? Guess I would have never thought of that. Thanks for your input.

 

There are LIMITED flights out of Vancouver. Supply and demand raises the price. Canada taxes and fees also raise the price.

 

As Gardyloo pointed out, TPA to SEA is $200pp cheaper than you were quoted (based on August 2012 prices). There are myriad ways to get from Vancouver to Seattle to catch a cheaper flight-train, shuttles (even cruise line shuttles), rental car, etc. Even if you have to spend the night in SEA, flying out of SEA generally saves at least $200 per couple over YVR flights.

 

I purchase 14-26 tickets per summer for my employees from various points in the USA to ANC for our summer fish shipping business. I find the cheapest prices in late September-October when Alaska airlines start the PDF sales (the oil money that is distributed to Alaska residents-Alaska airlines has sales to encourage Alaskans to use their PDF checks for travel). Most other airlines match prices. And the fares are good FROM the lower 48 TO Alaska as well as FROM Alaska to the lower 48. If you are flying out of Tampa, there should be great prices during the PDF sales because TPA is a vacation destination and the sales are geared towards leisure travel.

 

REALLY, REALLY check out what your TA is offering. Have you compared prices for the same cruise from other TA's? Your TA may be charging a higher cruise price to compensate for higher airline prices in the future.

[greatam]

Have you thought of trying a consolidator instead of Cruiseair? I did for my last cruise and saved several thousand $$$ when purchasing business class seats.

Bob

 

You DO realize that the tickets you purchased generally have much more severe restrictions on ticket usage than what you would purchase through the airline???

 

Cheapoair and Best Fares have some of the cheapest consolidator prices in the USA. HOWEVER, the restrictions are so severe you may end up purchasing additional tickets just to get home. Their favorite ploy-you booked a flight that leaves at the end of your cruise at 1PM. Your flight is changed to 9AM (which you can't make because you are either still on the ship or it is too tight to make the flight). TOO BAD. Flight XXX is STILL flying. You are booked on it. Can't make the flight-oh, well. Your ticket is NO GOOD on another airline and once your booked flight leaves, you are out the money and the ticket is cancelled.

 

You will now be purchasing a walk up ticket on a heavily traveled cruise day at an exorbitant price (if you can even get a ticket).

 

If you can't read the ENTIRE fare rules, the T & C's of the consolidator or choose not to, you may find yourself in deep doo doo with consolidator/cruise only/vacation package tickets.

[kenish]

Your travel agent is in business to make money, just like any other successful business. If they are offering an airfare "price lock" they are confident they will profit from the deal. If the fare drops they will charge you the original price...or you can purchase your own airfare. No skin off their back. If the fare goes up you will pay more for the cruise than necessary. Keep in mind there are rebates, discounts, commissions and "spiffs" from cruiselines to TA's. The TA can choose how much of the savings to extend to you, if any.

 

This is similar to buying a new car and doing a trade-in as one "package". The dealer is making money..if they offer you a generous trade-in you can bet you paid more for the new car. Extending this farther, if the dealer says "Yes, we will sell you a car like this one at the same price next year" you'd better be sure it's *exactly* the same car. To Greatam's comment it could be a bare bones car with no A/C or radio.

 

I'm not implying the TA is dishonest, but understand you will pay for the "price lock" one way or another.

[Woobstr112G]

You DO realize that the tickets you purchased generally have much more severe restrictions on ticket usage than what you would purchase through the airline???

 

Cheapoair and Best Fares have some of the cheapest consolidator prices in the USA. HOWEVER, the restrictions are so severe you may end up purchasing additional tickets just to get home. Their favorite ploy-you booked a flight that leaves at the end of your cruise at 1PM. Your flight is changed to 9AM (which you can't make because you are either still on the ship or it is too tight to make the flight). TOO BAD. Flight XXX is STILL flying. You are booked on it. Can't make the flight-oh, well. Your ticket is NO GOOD on another airline and once your booked flight leaves, you are out the money and the ticket is cancelled.

 

You will now be purchasing a walk up ticket on a heavily traveled cruise day at an exorbitant price (if you can even get a ticket).

 

If you can't read the ENTIRE fare rules, the T & C's of the consolidator or choose not to, you may find yourself in deep doo doo with consolidator/cruise only/vacation package tickets.

 

Don't you realize that, knowing their might be restrictions, I might have done just a tad amount of research before I comitted to buying the one way tickets (LAX to VCE).....:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I used reward points to buy the FLL to LAX tickets. I would never book a flight that didn't leave a lot of wiggle room for us to get from the port to the airport. I've also used consolidators for economy seats as well. The business class seats I purchased were 4300 and change out the door (including insurance). Princess air wanted over 7K and I won't even mention what US Air wanted to charge me if I booked the flights directly through them. Consolidators may not be for everyone and may not work everytime, but this particular time they worked fine for me.

[floridajourneygirl]

If the fare goes up you will pay more for the cruise than necessary. The TA can choose how much of the savings to extend to you, if any.

 

I'm not implying the TA is dishonest, but understand you will pay for the "price lock" one way or another.

 

Kenish, I am so confused? The TA give me a cruisetour quote and the break down with air. I checked the cruisetour they quoted me and it is what the cruiseline is charging on their website. I'm not sure how they add more to a price that has been quoted if it is what the cruiseline is charging with the quoted airfare?

[frugaltravel]

Don't you realize that, knowing their might be restrictions, I might have done just a tad amount of research before I comitted to buying the one way tickets (LAX to VCE).....:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I used reward points to buy the FLL to LAX tickets. I would never book a flight that didn't leave a lot of wiggle room for us to get from the port to the airport. I've also used consolidators for economy seats as well. The business class seats I purchased were 4300 and change out the door (including insurance). Princess air wanted over 7K and I won't even mention what US Air wanted to charge me if I booked the flights directly through them. Consolidators may not be for everyone and may not work everytime, but this particular time they worked fine for me.

 

Guess you don't frequent the Cruise Air forum much. Some people are on a mission, have no regard for others' intelligence and due diligence. So be it. You have done your homework, you are comfortable with the restrictions (note some consolidator tickets have FEWER restrictions and/or lower change fees than published tickets but you rarely if ever hear that from the touters with a mission), you leave room for issues that might come up. You have done a great job.

 

Kenish, I am so confused? The TA give me a cruisetour quote and the break down with air. I checked the cruisetour they quoted me and it is what the cruiseline is charging on their website. I'm not sure how they add more to a price that has been quoted if it is what the cruiseline is charging with the quoted airfare?

 

Like some bash consolidators, other bash travel agents. Take it in stride. TA's can usually offer a lower price or more amenities than the cruiseline itself offers, especially but not only online agents.

[kenish]

Kenish, I am so confused? The TA give me a cruisetour quote and the break down with air. I checked the cruisetour they quoted me and it is what the cruiseline is charging on their website. I'm not sure how they add more to a price that has been quoted if it is what the cruiseline is charging with the quoted airfare?

 

No reason for confusion. It's good the TA gave you a "line item" quote. It confirms what I speculated...the TA is not passing on any cruise discounts to you, and is using it to cover any increase in airfare. There is absolutely nothing questionable or unethical about it; as I commented the TA needs to make a profit. If you're happy with the bottom line, go for it; but the all-in cost may be higher than if the TA booked the cruise only and you handled the air portion.

[FlyerTalker]

Consolidators may not be for everyone and may not work everytime, but this particular time they worked fine for me.

Well stated. It seems you did the homework, found out EXACTLY what you were buying, and then made an informed, reasoned decision knowing the pluses and minuses of your options.

 

It's the headlong rush by some to jump into consolidator tickets that burns me. I have absolutely NO problem with someone researching, analyzing, and then making a capitalistic decision as to the best outcome FOR HIM.

 

Which is why capitalism works so well....the market provides options and people can chose as they wish. McDonalds? Wendys? Burger King? Mortons?

[Fattony]

Would you need to pay the airfare a year in advance in order to guarantee the fare? What are the penalties if you back out later?

[greatam]

Guess you don't frequent the Cruise Air forum much. Some people are on a mission, have no regard for others' intelligence and due diligence. So be it. You have done your homework, you are comfortable with the restrictions (note some consolidator tickets have FEWER restrictions and/or lower change fees than published tickets but you rarely if ever hear that from the touters with a mission), you leave room for issues that might come up. You have done a great job.

 

 

 

The only "mission" I am on is to make sure people know what they are buying. So many post that they got a confirmation number, got to pick their seats and are on the same flight # with their consolidator tickets as what could be purchased on an airline website. They TRULY BELIEVE they bought the same tickets at a huge savings. As you well know, most of the time they DIDN'T buy the same tickets with the same fare rules, restrictions and potential problems if there is a glitch.

 

And as I have posted before, there are two types of consolidators-those that operate like bucket shops and get heavy discounts on regular fare class tickets due to volume with particular airlines (which is what you posted about and are usually available only through GOOD TA's) and those that sell cheapies, generally online, that are based on city pairs and contracts let a year or more before flights. The airlines sell those tickets to consolidators with a whole list of restrictions at rock bottom prices. They could care less what they are resold for. They are essentially tickets "sitting on a shelf" just waiting for a name to be attached to them.

 

MOST who post on this forum are dealing with the online type (CheapoAir, BestFares, Vayama, Choice Air cheapest tickets being the same kind). And Woobstr112G brought up price over and over. So were the rules and protections the same as purchasing the ticket direct from US Airways or were they something different that leaves people in deep doo doo?

 

Just a case in point-one of the checkers in my NYC office asked my admin to help purchase 6 tickets for his grandmother and her friends from Florida to Rome for a cruise. She suggested routings and had it all priced out for them. They found some online price with Vayama that was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. There was a two hour connection time at JFK. They had to change terminals. The flight from Florida was almost an hour late. They missed the 7:40 Delta flight to Rome. There were only 4 seats on the 9:30 Delta flight. Two were told they would have to wait until the next day. Were there other seats on other airlines to help the two out? Yes Were the Vayama tickets good on those other airlines? NO Was Vayama any help? Absolutely not.

 

In the end, they spent well more than $200 each just in hotel bills and catching up with their luggage and the cruise. My employee was beside himself with Grandma calling every 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do. I finally sent him and my admin to JFK to see what solutions were available. Delta was FIRM-no endorsement to another airline due to the fare class. WAIT until the next day. Four made the cruise (one without luggage), 2 spent the night at a JFK airport hotel, missed the start of the cruise and no travel insurance is going to cover the additional expenses. These ladies' trip of a lifetime turned into a total nightmare just because their online ticket purchase was NOT the same as if they had purchased the tickets direct from Delta for $200 more.

[greatam]

Guess you don't frequent the Cruise Air forum much. Some people are on a mission, have no regard for others' intelligence and due diligence. So be it. You have done your homework, you are comfortable with the restrictions (note some consolidator tickets have FEWER restrictions and/or lower change fees than published tickets but you rarely if ever hear that from the touters with a mission), you leave room for issues that might come up. You have done a great job.

 

 

 

The only "mission" I am on is to make sure people know what they are buying. So many post that they got a confirmation number, got to pick their seats and are on the same flight # with their consolidator tickets as what could be purchased on an airline website. They TRULY BELIEVE they bought the same tickets at a huge savings. As you well know, most of the time they DIDN'T buy the same tickets with the same fare rules, restrictions and potential problems if there is a glitch.

 

And as I have posted before, there are two types of consolidators-those that operate like bucket shops and get heavy discounts on regular fare class tickets due to volume with particular airlines (which is what you posted about and are usually available only through GOOD TA's) and those that sell cheapies, generally online, that are based on city pairs and contracts let a year or more before flights. The airlines sell those tickets to consolidators with a whole list of restrictions at rock bottom prices. They could care less what they are resold for. They are essentially tickets "sitting on a shelf" just waiting for a name to be attached to them.

 

MOST who post on this forum are dealing with the online type (CheapoAir, BestFares, Vayama, Choice Air cheapest tickets being the same kind). And Woobstr112G brought up price over and over. So were the rules and protections the same as purchasing the ticket direct from US Airways or were they something different that leaves people in deep doo doo?

 

Just a case in point-one of the checkers in my NYC office asked my admin to help purchase 6 tickets for his grandmother and her friends from Florida to Rome for a cruise. She suggested routings and had it all priced out for them. They found some online price with Vayama that was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. There was a two hour connection time at JFK. They had to change terminals. The flight from Florida was almost an hour late. They missed the 7:40 Delta flight to Rome. There were only 4 seats on the 9:30 Delta flight. Two were told they would have to wait until the next day. Were there other seats on other airlines to help the two out? Yes Were the Vayama tickets good on those other airlines? NO Was Vayama any help? Absolutely not.

 

In the end, they spent well more than $200 each just in hotel bills and catching up with their luggage and the cruise. My employee was beside himself with Grandma calling every 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do. I finally sent him and my admin to JFK to see what solutions were available. Delta was FIRM-no endorsement to another airline due to the fare class. WAIT until the next day. Four made the cruise (one without luggage), 2 spent the night at a JFK airport hotel, missed the start of the cruise and no travel insurance is going to cover the additional expenses. These ladies' trip of a lifetime turned into a total nightmare just because their online ticket purchase was NOT the same as if they had purchased the tickets direct from Delta for $200 more.

[frugaltravel]

In the end, they spent well more than $200 each just in hotel bills and catching up with their luggage and the cruise...no travel insurance is going to cover the additional expenses.

 

Not sure if you are referring to the luggage issues or the flights/hotels, but I have to take exception that NO travel insurance will cover the expenses. Travel Guard has some very good policies. None that I have seen exclude consolidator tickets, frequent flyer tickets, etc. I have made travel insurance claims multiple times for various reasons and such claims have always been paid, even for having to purchase additional items that were not all clothing-related due to delayed luggage. Also had hotels, meals, etc. reimbursed for weather delays, missed connections, flight delays and more. Probably 4-5 claims the past 5-7 years and all processed very promptly and efficiently. Granted, I am adamant in getting documentation at the time an event occurs vs. waiting until I return from a trip, which is much harder.

[greatam]

Not sure if you are referring to the luggage issues or the flights/hotels, but I have to take exception that NO travel insurance will cover the expenses. Travel Guard has some very good policies. None that I have seen exclude consolidator tickets, frequent flyer tickets, etc. I have made travel insurance claims multiple times for various reasons and such claims have always been paid, even for having to purchase additional items that were not all clothing-related due to delayed luggage. Also had hotels, meals, etc. reimbursed for weather delays, missed connections, flight delays and more. Probably 4-5 claims the past 5-7 years and all processed very promptly and efficiently. Granted, I am adamant in getting documentation at the time an event occurs vs. waiting until I return from a trip, which is much harder.

 

To the best of my knowledge, the Vayama tickets were on two airlines, unrelated by any means (AA from Florida to JFK, Delta to Rome). So essentially, two separate tickets packaged as one purchase THAT WAS CHEAPER (and oh, the problems it caused for a group of 70yo ladies) No how, no way is any insurance company going to protect that. Late arrival on one flight has no reference to another flight.

 

The two that were left behind had to pay for last minute accommodations at JFK (about $240) and had to pay about $400 each to catch up with the ship. Not counting food and all the other incidentals to get those two to the ship. Then you have the one who was missing the luggage. Yes, that may have been claimed. But as you say, these were 6 70yo+ ladies who had rarely traveled other than in the USA. Did they have any documentation to prove they lost their luggage? Just the airline lost luggage report. Was it sufficient to prove a claim??? NO, I don't believe so or my admin would have helped them file a claim. Again, two airlines, unrelated, luggage had to be rechecked after they changed terminals. NOT a lot of insurance coverage for that situation. Oh, for the joys of Vayama, CheapoAir, BestFares, Choice Air, etc. etc.