Do most recommend Air2sea?

[slyone14]

HI all my fellow brothers and sisters of RCCL;

 

I have a couple questions for those who can lend advice and help. I have been cruising for about 3 years now all with Carnival. I live in Tampa, Florida, so im used to just driving wherever I need to portwise to catch my ship.

 

Well! I just got a promotion and this life time Florida boy is moving to Philadelphia, PA for my job. I booked a cruise out of port Can. in RCCL freedom of the Seas for my first RCCL cruise. in Sept for my birthday cruise sept 25th. My work will get me the days off, so that's not an issue at all. But, seeing I am a budget conscious person, I want to get the best deals, but protect myself in the process. I have seen flights on expedia and price line for direct flights at 630am the morning of the cruise and arriving at 930am. ANd for the flight home around noon for around $245.

 

I checked out RCCl AIr2sea program for direct flights each way for $325, but I think it includes transportation to the port. Which again, im used to just driving into port, lol. SO my questions is this, do most loyal RCCl people book the AIR2Sea flights, they seem to protect me, give money back for any reason, and help change items? If I book on another site, once I pay, im screwed. Second, I hear if I do book here, RCCL provides free transportation each way?

 

Any help, advice, or tactics for doing this would be greatly appreciated. Im really new to this and really nervous and scared about this. I hear people say they arrive night before, but again, that's extra cost. THank you everyone, need to get a sense of what to do, and how best to spend my money with flights and transportation from ORL AP to PC.

 

Gregg

[cruisingsince94]

Air 2 Sea offers great prices on international flights but not so for flights here in the U.S.

Your better off booking your own.

Edited March 2, 2016 by cruisingsince94

[Clarea]

We only use it for one-way international flights, and it has been very good for that.

[QueenofKrakatoa]

Air 2 Sea is usually just fine, especially international, but I usually book it 9 times out of 10 domestic because when I buy the travel insurance it protects the flights if I cancel. You never know what can happen. Also, since you live in PA now with the winters as they are, it's at least something to think about.

[cruisingsince94]

Many fly in the day before a cruise, we have done that but also fly in the day of at times. If you can get an early nonstop flight from PHL to Orlando arriving here around 9:30 that's fine.

It's about 45 minutes from the airport to PC.

I highly recommend booking transfers from to and from the airport to the port and back through Cortrans. It's $20 per person each way. Great service and value as well.

[cruisingsince94]

Air 2 Sea is usually just fine, especially international, but I usually book it 9 times out of 10 domestic because when I buy the travel insurance it protects the flights if I cancel. You never know what can happen. Also, since you live in PA now with the winters as they are, it's at least something to think about.

 

His cruise is in September. I doubt snow would be an issue that soon. :)

[slyone14]

Thank you for all the replies so far, it is most helpful. Is $240 a good price for a round trip ticket? OR should I wait and prices will go down? Im new to booking flights, im curious is the longer I wait the more they drop? Also, I was told to use expedia really only. Not sure if there is a better way and to never get the travel insurance.

[cruisingsince94]

Most do get travel insurance unless driving to the ports for many reasons. We do not, and fly in day of majority of the time.

Your cruise is Sunday to Sunday. That said, I feel the price for airfare is reasonable. Airlines offer less flights on Sunday compared to other days so there are less seats available, thus prices tend to be a bit higher.

Expedia will not have fares for all airlines so check for any other low cost carriers that may serve PHL. If I locate something I will post it.

[cruisingsince94]

Thank you for all the replies so far, it is most helpful. Is $240 a good price for a round trip ticket? OR should I wait and prices will go down? Im new to booking flights, im curious is the longer I wait the more they drop? Also, I was told to use expedia really only. Not sure if there is a better way and to never get the travel insurance.

 

You will get varied answers on when is best to buy your airfare. Same for cruises really. There are times when earlier is best and times when waiting until between 60-90 days prior works best.

Given your looking at Sunday flights, I personally wouldn't wait. As I said, less seats are available so price drops are not likely. Many airfares sales EXCLUDE Sunday's to begin with.

I checked and Souhwest and Frontier both fly out of PHL. The rate for Southwest is higher. Frontier is only accepting bookings right now until August 2nd. No idea when they will extend their schedule out farther. It would be risky to wait.

I hope this helps you somewhat.

[Desert Cruizers]

I have been told by our TA, when checking flights cost, to look on Tuesdays as that seems to be when prices are the lowest. Our flight to Newark this past Oct, was booked on a Tuesday from Palm Springs, Ca with 1 connection in PHX. We also booked through the Choice Air/Air2 Sea when we flew to Sydney Australia and got much better pricing then either the airline sites or other flight web sites could give us, but for domestic flight I book directly with the airlines or other sites.

[Sailor_Sally]

Check out cheapoair.com . Some of the other airlines may have better prices . There should be plenty of flights from Philadelphia to Orlando .

[Riff Sniff]

We have booked our flights through Royal for our last three cruises (all domestic flights), and we found the rates to be comparable or slightly less expensive than booking directly with the airlines. As mentioned above, your flights are then covered by the RCI cruise care trip insurance. We usually fly in the day of the cruise, so booking flights through Royal provides some peace of mind that they will get you to the ship in the event there is a problem with your inbound flight. We almost had to utilize that policy last spring when there was an air traffic control problem in San Juan. We landed very late and boarded the ship at 8:00 p.m. for an 8:30 sailing. Whatever you choose, I hope you have a great birthday cruise!

Edited March 2, 2016 by Riff Sniff

[DaddyBytes]

We only use it for one-way international flights, and it has been very good for that.

 

Agree. Much better deals if you are looking for a one-way on a TA.

Edited March 3, 2016 by DaddyBytes

[LizzieandLuke]

Welcome to Philadelphia - the City of Brotherly Love. We have great food, art, and culture.

 

The best kept secret is SPIRIT Airlines which flies out of Atlantic City NJ to Orlando. I am flying my family of four for under $700 round trip for our Freedom cruise in August. Atlantic City is roughly an hour from Philly - no traffic. Good Luck.

[ken_nyc]

I would definitely fly the day before, you never know. You can have hurricane problems and have your flight cancelled or delayed.

[robtulipe]

Check out Southwest as they show an $142 non-stop each way that should work for the Sept.25th Freedom cruise and factor in that they don't charge luggage fees for the first two bags per person. Even if you only have one check in bag each that saves at least $25 each. Also Southwest don't charge change fees if you should have to change any flights and even with their cheapest fares allow you to cancel up to 10 minutes prior which gives a credit that can be used for future travel for up to 12 months.

You can arrive at MCO at 9:30am on a non-stop flight that leaves PHL at 7:05am and return on a 11:20am non-stop that arrives at 1:45pm.

Also consider flying non-stop the evening before for $122 each as the saving will partially cover the cost of a hotel. We and friends, so we were four, did that for our last October B2B Freedom cruises and shared a one way Avis car rental each way for around $55 total cost per rental plus gas cost which was minimal. Got that rate with a discount code I got from the internet. We picked up car at airport, used it that evening to get to hotel, shop for cruise supplies (wine, soda, etc.) and go out for a meal. Next morning did dropped off near port and Avis provided shuttle to the ship. I actual dropped off all others and luggage at ship before dropping off the rental as it is easy to do as cruise terminal one where the Freedom docks is just off of the expressway on the way into Cape Canaveral. Our hotel was near MCO airport. Avis lot is on Astronaut Blvd which is a continuation of the incoming expressway and is about 1 1/2 miles from the cruise terminal. Other car rental agencies are close by also. At the end of our cruises did the reverse with an one way Avis rental. I also suggest you do an early walk off, if you can handle carrying off your luggage, with such a fairly early return flight.

Edited March 3, 2016 by robtulipe

[slyone14]

Check out Southwest as they show an $142 non-stop each way that should work for the Sept.25th Freedom cruise and factor in that they don't charge luggage fees for the first two bags per person. Even if you only have one check in bag each that saves at least $25 each. Also Southwest don't charge change fees if you should have to change any flights and even with their cheapest fares allow you to cancel up to 10 minutes prior which gives a credit that can be used for future travel for up to 12 months.

You can arrive at MCO at 9:30am on a non-stop flight that leaves PHL at 7:05am and return on a 11:20am non-stop that arrives at 1:45pm.

Also consider flying non-stop the evening before for $122 each as the saving will partially cover the cost of a hotel. We and friends, so we were four, did that for our last October B2B Freedom cruises and shared a one way Avis car rental each way for around $55 total cost per rental plus gas cost which was minimal. Got that rate with a discount code I got from the internet. We picked up car at airport, used it that evening to get to hotel, shop for cruise supplies (wine, soda, etc.) and go out for a meal. Next morning did dropped off near port and Avis provided shuttle to the ship. I actual dropped off all others and luggage at ship before dropping off the rental as it is easy to do as cruise terminal one where the Freedom docks is just off of the expressway on the way into Cape Canaveral. Our hotel was near MCO airport. Avis lot is on Astronaut Blvd which is a continuation of the incoming expressway and is about 1 1/2 miles from the cruise terminal. Other car rental agencies are close by also. At the end of our cruises did the reverse with an one way Avis rental. I also suggest you do an early walk off, if you can handle carrying off your luggage, with such a fairly early return flight.

 

Thank you very much, this is exactly what I did. I figured the cost with expedia, cheapest I found, for 232, which didn't include the luggage checked, would really be S280, so why not do as you suggest and pay S282 and go directly with the airline to be safe. I am cruising solo so it should be easy going on and off ship. I'll try to do as you suggested and be first off, I'm usually the last person,

[Paulette3028]

DH and I are going to be booking an Alaskan cruise.  What has been the experiences booking the flights through Air2Sea?  The few times we have had to fly to meet a ship we have done it ourselves. This time, we are concerned about possible delays etc, and whether doing it through Air2Sea gives us any additional protections, should delays occur.   

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and knowledge.

 

 

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

DH and I are going to be booking an Alaskan cruise.  What has been the experiences booking the flights through Air2Sea?  The few times we have had to fly to meet a ship we have done it ourselves. This time, we are concerned about possible delays etc, and whether doing it through Air2Sea gives us any additional protections, should delays occur.   

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and knowledge.

 

 

 

Air2Sea will not have better fares than the airline sites for purely domestic travel. 

 

Air2Sea will try to get you to the next stop, should your booked flight get cancelled or delayed such that you miss the ship.  However, with an Alaska cruise, if the ship is ending the cruise in the US, the PVSA will prevent Air2Sea from flying you to some other US port to catch the ship.

 

[Desert Cruizers]

As others have mentioned, I use Air2Sea for 1 way INTL flights. since we are on the subject, has anyone used Air2Sea to fly to San Juan Puerto Rico. I am pricing flights for our upcoming cruise, a year from March and getting around $702 right now using March 2019 dates from So Calif. 

 

Gay

[Clarea]

10 minutes ago, Desert Cruizers said:

As others have mentioned, I use Air2Sea for 1 way INTL flights. since we are on the subject, has anyone used Air2Sea to fly to San Juan Puerto Rico. I am pricing flights for our upcoming cruise, a year from March and getting around $702 right now using March 2019 dates from So Calif. 

 

Gay

 

Puerto Rico is US, so no price advantage for using Air2Sea if flying there from another US city.

[Desert Cruizers]

Bob I doubted there would be for that reason. Right now United via Chicago and return through Houston seems my best schedule, only 1 stop. Only problem is the departure times out of SJ to home are not ideal. I have either an 11 AM flight on JB or United at 2 AM. I can do the 11 AM with an arrival around 10 PM, but daughter going back to COL still has an hour drive and she would prefer to do in daylight and not land after 11 PM as it can snow in March.

 

Gay

[George C]

We normally book our own air but on our Barcelona cruise rccl had the best airfare for business class, this was a round trip

[kag19]

37 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Air2Sea will not have better fares than the airline sites for purely domestic travel. 

 

Air2Sea will try to get you to the next stop, should your booked flight get cancelled or delayed such that you miss the ship.  However, with an Alaska cruise, if the ship is ending the cruise in the US, the PVSA will prevent Air2Sea from flying you to some other US port to catch the ship.

 

 

I wouldn't say that necessarily...Air2Sear was almost $100 cheaper than Delta for our upcoming flight so we booked through them!  I would just say check all the sites and go from there.  If they are the same price or less then we book through them.

 

Forgot to add we are flying from Detroit to Orlando.

Edited January 14, 2019 by kag19

[Desert Cruizers]

George, I have never flown Business, mainly because we couldn't afford it, however we do have an upcoming TA from Barcelona Oct 2020. Our TA will end in Miami but I would need a round trip ticket from So Calif to MIA and a 1 way to BCN. What would you recommend