Air Deviation - does this make sense???

[Iceberg 3]

Asked our TA to find out what flights they are putting us on in April 2014. She was told by Oceania they don't assign flights until 75 days out. To find out sooner you need to pay a deviation fee, even if you are OK with what they propose.

 

Going Honolulu to Tahiti. Assume they will send us through LAX. Don't understand how we can decide if we need AD if we can't be told our itinerary until 75 days out. Didn't want to wait until Jan 2014 to sort this out.

 

Is this really the way this works?

[funny26]

Asked our TA to find out what flights they are putting us on in April 2014. She was told by Oceania they don't assign flights until 75 days out. To find out sooner you need to pay a deviation fee' date=' even if you are OK with what they propose.

 

Going Honolulu to Tahiti. Assume they will send us through LAX. Don't understand how we can decide if we need AD if we can't be told our itinerary until 75 days out. Didn't want to wait until Jan 2014 to sort this out.

 

Is this really the way this works?[/quote']

 

Yes, that is the way it works for Oceania as well as most cruise lines. With all the changes in flight schedules and the fact that you have only paid a small deposit, Oceania is not in a position to book what is currently available since you haven't made final payment.

 

Believe if you make final payment early, they may go ahead and book your air but, be prepared for the possibility of changes before your April cruise.

[Mura]

For a deviation you want to be going in early, going out late. Perhaps doing different airports before or after. If you are accepting O's air without going in early or late, then a deviation probably doesn't make sense.

 

HOWEVER.

 

Many of us prefer to go in early, come back late. A practical reason is that you won't miss your connection to the ship. A less practical reason is that you want to visit the embarkation and departure ports.

 

Also, if you choose to book your OWN air (which can be a few days before or after, or not) you will get a discount on your cruise fare. It used to be a better discount than it is now, but that is a consideration.

 

I personally recommend going in at least a day early in case of air problems because I have known people who barely made the ship ... or did not.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

Can you fly HNL to PPT direct on your own and take the air credit?

Much shorter trip than going via LAX.

[treasure4two]

We are going to Hong Kong and back home from Beijing and we took a $1050 credit each and booked our own flights. Going in a day early to see HK and with just one stop each way. I like knowing in advance when and where I am going. You can not book on your flight until 330 days out, but still gives you a lot time ahead. I like the control!

[Ka Honu]

They'll undoubtedly route you through LAX. Don't know what your air credit will be but when we did it in April we took the credit and flew direct on Hawaiian. Got in to Papeete a day early and stayed two days after to accommodate Hawaiian's schedule. Total cost for air and lodging at Le Meridien and Intercontinental resorts was within $100 of the air credit so it turned out to be a great deal and saved us an extra 20+ hours of travel time.

 

Could be considerably different for you since you're not doing a Papeete round trip but you might consider seeing what credit they'll give you for the outbound leg versus the Hawaiian one way fare; that HNL-LAX-PPT routing is as hard on you as going from Honolulu to Europe or South America.

[Hawaiidan]

Asked our TA to find out what flights they are putting us on in April 2014. She was told by Oceania they don't assign flights until 75 days out. To find out sooner you need to pay a deviation fee' date=' even if you are OK with what they propose.

 

Going Honolulu to Tahiti. Assume they will send us through LAX. Don't understand how we can decide if we need AD if we can't be told our itinerary until 75 days out. Didn't want to wait until Jan 2014 to sort this out.

 

Is this really the way this works?[/quote']

 

Forget the Oceania air. Because it will envolve 24 hours of travel from Hawaii.. 14 hours alone of flying in a cramped coach. The might offer business for $800. However the Hawaiian flight is only $680, a 5 hour flight a hotel $135 and the connecting flight $150... Cheaper than an up grade with Oceaina and no deviation I just bought seats its a done deal.

 

I am on the april 19 departure and am doing it this way Hawaii 481, a 5 hour flight to Tahiti arriving 10:30 pm which may make the ship which sails after 11. However I have bookd the airport and a air Tahiti flight to Huhuhine arriving at 10 am sunday morning to join the ship missing only 11 hours of the cruise. However your saving 19 hours of travel ion 2 redeyes....

[Wendy The Wanderer]

You can do a one-way air credit if you want them to fly you back from Lima, then book your own flight to PPT as others have suggested. A day or two in Tahiti isn't a bad trade-off.

[TKS]

You can also request a quote from O for an air deviation, to see what they offer you. You have a couple days to make your decision, and they will tell you know what your unused air allowance is. You can request specific flights if you like, but if there is an upcharge, you will pay in addition to the air deviation. Remember, there is no cost to request the information, you're only charged if you accept the proposal, but your credit card is charged at that time, no refunds possible. It still has to be within 270-330 day window, because the airlines won't schedule any flights any farther in advance.

 

But if it were me, I would schedule arrival a day or two early on such a long flight to give myself time to recover from the flight, time in case luggage goes astray and knowing what your arrangements are in advance of the 75 days. It also allows a better choice of seating on the airplane, since at 75 days out there may be few seats left available. The peace of mind is worth the $300 to me.

[EmsMom]

We are on the April 19 Tahiti to Lima cruise. I finally decided to just go ahead and bite the bullet and use Delta points for our air and take the measly credit of $1050. We are on Delta from Orlando to LAX and then ATN from LAX to PPT. Delta from Lima back to Orlando. We are going four days early and staying an extra week in Peru so we would have also had to pay for a deviation. I was afraid to wait for Oceania's air options because if I didn't like them and had to use points, it probably would have been too late. It's also disappointing that they only credit $!050 for the air as it costs a lot more than that for these flights. So now we have the air arrangements that are exactly what I want and I'm not going to worry about it any more. Now I can concentrate on the fabulous time we are going to have on this cruise.

[Lady Meer]

We are on the April 19 Tahiti to Lima cruise. I finally decided to just go ahead and bite the bullet and use Delta points for our air and take the measly credit of $1050. We are on Delta from Orlando to LAX and then ATN from LAX to PPT. Delta from Lima back to Orlando. We are going four days early and staying an extra week in Peru so we would have also had to pay for a deviation. I was afraid to wait for Oceania's air options because if I didn't like them and had to use points, it probably would have been too late. It's also disappointing that they only credit $!050 for the air as it costs a lot more than that for these flights. So now we have the air arrangements that are exactly what I want and I'm not going to worry about it any more. Now I can concentrate on the fabulous time we are going to have on this cruise.

 

We are on the same cruise and have decided to book our own air. We have used a combination of miles plus cash. We didn't want to risk waiting for the O flights. We are going on the Tuesday before the cruise but not stopping in Peru. Are you going on Tuesday?

 

Brenda

[Hawaiidan]

Remember this is a question from a person living in Hawaii ( like me) for the April cruise. Taking the deviation from Hawaii is not wise because there is only 1 airline with 1 flight a week serving Tahiti.

 

Either you fly in 7 days earlier or the night of departure...that's it

 

By paying the $150 you in essence get nothing over what you would have gotten from Oceania . You would still have to fly Hawaii 5 hours to LAX then wait around for many hours and catch the Tahiti flight of which there is only one a day and it is 9 hours long. it is also a AA, Delta, Quantas and Air France code share ( one flight with 5 carriers names on it.

 

In addition to the $150 fee your also going to have pay additional air fare for the non charter flights!

 

The difference for me is only $230 more than the cruise credit plus $155 interisland flight. and the whole darn trip is under 6 hours total as opposed to almost 24 hours going through LAX If you then subtract the 150 the difference is $80 + the 155 = $235 more than the going through Oceania and that's not counting the extra airfare over and above the charter credit.

 

So in this specific case and point of origin it is a bad idea that cost you more in dollars and takes 400% more time.

[EmsMom]

We are on the same cruise and have decided to book our own air. We have used a combination of miles plus cash. We didn't want to risk waiting for the O flights. We are going on the Tuesday before the cruise but not stopping in Peru. Are you going on Tuesday?

 

Brenda

 

No we are leaving on Monday April 14 and arrive on April 15. We aren't going to Peru on the way there. We are flying home from Peru but will be spending an extra week there. We will be spending the four nights before the cruise in Moorea. Where are you staying?

[Lady Meer]

No we are leaving on Monday April 14 and arrive on April 15. We aren't going to Peru on the way there. We are flying home from Peru but will be spending an extra week there. We will be spending the four nights before the cruise in Moorea. Where are you staying?

 

Hi Kathy

 

Will continue on our roll call.

 

Brenda