HAL and Air???

[dobes3kh]

Just wondering if HAL has an air program like Choice Air for Celebrity/RCI? Looking to possibly book a HAL cruise and trying to get a handle on the airfare cost. Would be great if they have a program like Choice Air for those of you familiar with it!

 

Thanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Could you please explain what choice air is?

[sherilyn70]

Just wondering if HAL has an air program like Choice Air for Celebrity/RCI? Looking to possibly book a HAL cruise and trying to get a handle on the airfare cost. Would be great if they have a program like Choice Air for those of you familiar with it!

It is not like Choice Air where you log in and book it yourself. You have to call them and they'll tell you flights they have open and prices, then you can pick one and pay for it upfront or you can choose the flex option where you pay whatever market is when the final payment comes due and they book it then. I went for the straight booking now.

[dobes3kh]

It is not like Choice Air where you log in and book it yourself. You have to call them and they'll tell you flights they have open and prices, then you can pick one and pay for it upfront or you can choose the flex option where you pay whatever market is when the final payment comes due and they book it then. I went for the straight booking now.

 

Thanks sherilyn70...one further question--is market usually a lower cost or is that a gamble?

 

Thanks!

[dobes3kh]

Could you please explain what choice air is?

 

Sure, choice air is actually a great air fare program that RCI, Celebrity and Azamara bookings can be combined with---for example, if you want to book a transatlantic on Celebrity and you want to price out the airfare from your home airport, you can find out the prices for a return flight and one ways etc. and can enter other dates (if you were planning on flying in a few days earlier for example to enjoy the city you're departing from).

 

 

It's much like any other airfare search engine....there are multiple airlines offered as well. I have always had a good experience with Choice Air although there are some that haven't (and you will find their posts here on CC!!!) but I like the fact that the final costs for the cruise are known (air and cruise fare) as opposed to having a big surprise after booking the cruise and looking for air prices! And another bonus is that I have usually found Choice Air prices lower than anywhere else I can find.

 

Was really hoping that HAL offered something like this as I have a few cruises I'm looking at and would rather not have to call (time consuming)!

[whogo]

Holland America's air program is called Flight Ease and is described here: http://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Simple.action?requestPage=FlightEase

They booked much better flights at a much better price than a travel agent could find and than I could find on my own. My experience might have been a fluke, I usually book my own air, but you might as well see what flights and prices Holland America has to offer.

 

My mistake was in not noticing that transfers were included. I did not want them and did not use them and was too late to cancel them. A taxi is cheaper and faster than cruise transfers in Fort Lauderdale.

[dobes3kh]

Holland America's air program is called Flight Ease and is described here: http://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Simple.action?requestPage=FlightEase

They booked much better flights at a much better price than a travel agent could find and than I could find on my own. My experience might have been a fluke, I usually book my own air, but you might as well see what flights and prices Holland America has to offer.

 

My mistake was in not noticing that transfers were included. I did not want them and did not use them and was too late to cancel them. A taxi is cheaper and faster than cruise transfers in Fort Lauderdale.

 

Thanks whogo.

 

Sounds a bit like Choice Air in that the prices were better than I could find. Good to know about the transfers too.

[Randyk47]

We haven't used HAL air for years and, in fact, have only used HAL air twice in an dozen plus cruises. The first time was our very first cruise because we were talked into it by our then TA and the second time was when we waited too long to book a cruise and flights during the spring break time frame in Florida and could only get flights through HAL. On the whole, and I know others have had different experiences, we've always been able to do better on our own than through HAL. It doesn't help that we don't live all that close to a major airport and pretty much have to fly to a major hub like Dallas or Atlanta to get just about anywhere and that can get costly.

[catl331]

we used HAL AIR last yr to Barcelona for our Atlantic transit on the Prinsendam. Air companies wanted to charge us almost the price for round trip but HAL had a much better deal. It is worth looking into although I don't know what they would do for Canadians.

[Davidson Duo]

My experience with booking with HAL air was just 2 weeks ago. I was Online, pricing last minute cruise with air from Canada to Holland, with return to Canada from Singapore. I went through the cruise booking process to find out what our cost would be, then clicked to continue on to find pricing and flights for comparison to directly booking flights with the airline. I was able to check available flights and costs (exactly as if I was on the airline sites), and play with various airports, routes, etc. I compared the prices to directly booking with the airlines, and found the prices very similar to somewhat more expensive.

 

With my investigation on pricing complete, I logged out so I could discuss the possibility of taking this last minute cruise with my husband. To my surprise (as I had not yet paid for anything, and it was only 2 weeks to departure, so well past final payment date), I noticed new mail, and when I checked, I found I had received confirmation of my cruise booking, along with all my other info welcoming us to the cruise!! :) I quickly requested a phone call from HAL (an online button you click on), and told them I had just been price checking. She told me that you can not continue on to the flight section until you book your cruise. She also said it happened all the time that people complete the booking process without realizing it, and she was very kind and helpful in answering my questions. I had the option of leaving my booking in place on hold while I discussed things with my husband without a deposit if I wanted. I chose to cancel it, and she was very pleasant about doing that for me.

 

We did not end up booking the cruise (too late for us to be comfortable with being able to obtain the required visas in time), but I do know the HAL process from first hand experience, now. :)

 

You can choose your preferred flight by yourself online, but you have to complete your booking first before you are able to find out your flight choices and prices. And for the cruise I was looking at, there were no savings by doing it through HAL.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Davidson Duo

[puppycanducruise]

We have booked air through HAL and we have booked independently. It depends on the price. Sometimes our TA can get us a better deal, sometimes not.

[travelnap]

Just wondering if HAL has an air program like Choice Air for Celebrity/RCI? Looking to possibly book a HAL cruise and trying to get a handle on the airfare cost. Would be great if they have a program like Choice Air for those of you familiar with it!

 

Thanks!

 

I have used the HAL air on some of my HAL cruises and have booked air independently for others. HAL seems to have better flight prices for flights to and from Europe than what you can find on your own. Domestically, I usually book independently as I have found better value and flights that way. You can purchase the HAL transfers either way the flights are booked. I think it will depend on where your cruise destination is, so check out the flights independently as well as with the HAL air. That way you can see which way offers you the best flights and value for your cruise vacation. Good Luck.

[chloes nana]

It also depends on whether or not you have an airline preference, we only fly British Airways to Europe and our PCC could not even match, let alone better our prices we found online for our trip in August. So yes I agree, if you have an airline preference, we will NOT fly Delta or United, then shop around. You may find a better price on your own with a little research.

[catl331]

They booked much better flights at a much better price than a travel agent could find and than I could find on my own. My experience might have been a fluke, ...

For one-way or open-jaw flights we have always found that HAL air is much cheaper than DIY. For an upcoming one-way to Europe, the best DH could find on-line was $1955 pp, and HAL's price was $902! A pretty good routing too, with just one plane change on the Europe side.

[dadroy]

Be aware routing can also be problematic. Once when we booked air from Los Angeles to Tampa we got a non stop going to Tampa, convenient. Coming back we had two stops with one in Denver for 6 hours. 18 hour total flight time. Saved some money, but never again.

 

Of course back then, I had not discovered CC and was not as knowledgeable as I am now.:D

[catl331]

For one-way or open-jaw flights we have always found that HAL air is much cheaper than DIY. For an upcoming one-way to Europe, the best DH could find on-line was $1955 pp, and HAL's price was $902! A pretty good routing too, with just one plane change on the Europe side.

The 1955/902 prices are for an open-jaw flight, not a 1-way. Also, DH says there were other flights cheaper than 1955, but with terrible connections, such as two plane changes, through Warsaw, for a total time of almost 19 hours.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sure, choice air is actually a great air fare program that RCI, Celebrity and Azamara bookings can be combined with---for example, if you want to book a transatlantic on Celebrity and you want to price out the airfare from your home airport, you can find out the prices for a return flight and one ways etc. and can enter other dates (if you were planning on flying in a few days earlier for example to enjoy the city you're departing from).

 

 

It's much like any other airfare search engine....there are multiple airlines offered as well. I have always had a good experience with Choice Air although there are some that haven't (and you will find their posts here on CC!!!) but I like the fact that the final costs for the cruise are known (air and cruise fare) as opposed to having a big surprise after booking the cruise and looking for air prices! And another bonus is that I have usually found Choice Air prices lower than anywhere else I can find.

 

Was really hoping that HAL offered something like this as I have a few cruises I'm looking at and would rather not have to call (time consuming)!

 

 

Thank you for the explanation.

HAL is different.

For some of us with limit air choices, it doesn't work for us. Thus we book our own air and know that we will get to where we need to get to. Too often HAL (and Princess) wait until about 30 days out from the cruise to book flights and the people end up with crappy flights.

[Bextra1256]

if you let them book your flight check out connection times. Recently had them book flights for us. They left us with too short of connection times. Just about missed connection.

[whogo]

Thank you for the explanation.

 

HAL is different.

 

For some of us with limit air choices, it doesn't work for us. Thus we book our own air and know that we will get to where we need to get to. Too often HAL (and Princess) wait until about 30 days out from the cruise to book flights and the people end up with crappy flights.

I found HAL's new Flight Ease program to be like working with a travel agent. We flew into Rome two days early. I approved the flights and connections. You won't know whether Flight Ease works for you until you see what HAL has to offer.