A couple Cunard Air questions

[sppunk]

If I've missed a thread that immediately answers these questions, my apologies. My search wasn't too yieldful.

 

My wife and I (US residents) will take our first TA in May 2018 from Southampton back to NYC. I know in this instance Cunard's air is usually much better than independent arrangements (I ignore Iceland Air, etc.) Mu two quest is are:

 

1) If I book before air is available (i.e. more than 355 days out) how does it work with flight ease? I've read full payment is due on deposit but I'd flight schedules aren't out, what happens?

2) I know (well, assume) I can't upgrade via miles once booked via Cunard. Can I get pricing for Premium Economy and Business with them too? Is this usually pretty outrageous vs booking independently?

 

We live equidistant to EWR and PHL so have many options for the flight.

 

Thank you!

[bananavan]

I do not know the answers to your questions, however they are also questions to which I would like answers.

So hopefully this will bump the thread up. :-)

We will have two one way flights for the 2018

world Cruise. We have many Delta sky miles. We have tentatively booked the TA back to the US in Southampton but think that we might just be ready to get back on land after 93 days . We would prefer to have a non stop and will fly anywhere in Florida from Orlando down. We would prefer to fly in either First class or Premium economy.

If anyone has information on any of this I would be happy to read it.

[pepperrn]

This may, or may not help you. I'm unsure because I may have misunderstood your question, and because the following is my experience in the UK.

 

I've booked a couple of Cunard cruises that included flights as part of the booking a l-o-n-g way in advance of the sailing (ie well over 1 year/nearly 18 months in advance on both occasions).

 

In both cases deposits were taken for the whole package incl flights, based on the total price of the booking including economy/coach seats on the 'plane going from/to a major airport (say for example; Heathrow-JFK). The flights were not charged separately (this may be different in the US as opposed to the UK).

 

Approx. less than a year from sailing (about 11 months to go), Cunard contacted me with flight details (times of flights, airline, airport departing/arriving etc).

 

I was then given the chance to upgrade to Premium Economy, Business or First. Or change airports.

In one case my choice meant a different airline was then booked, flying to/from a different N.Y airport.

I selected my upgrade and paid an increased deposit to cover the increased total value of the package.

This was all handled smoothly and quickly.

 

The differences in prices charged when upgrading the flights seemed to me to be far, far less than if I had booked a flight with an airline directly, and then decided to upgrade my flight to a higher grade of seat (premium/business/first).

 

I do not know anythng about use of frequent flyer points etc, sorry.

 

If any of the above was what you were asking about, then I hope this helped. If it was not, then I am sorry (and embarassed!). My fault if I didn't understand the question.

 

Best wishes.

Edited July 30, 2016 by pepperrn

[sfbearcat]

I only book the air thru Cunard for they have much lower fares then on your own..first and business are also much lower than you could ever buy on your own..No upgrades with miles..I wanted to upgrade a coach ticket but United would not do it since I had not directly paid for the ticket and it was discounted. If you have a flex air quote from Cunard you will not have to deposit and you can choose your flights once they have it in their system..I booked the more restricted air once very early and was given a flight once they opened for booking..thou I was happy with the choice given to me.

[sppunk]

Thanks!

 

pepperrn while US fares don't include air like UK fares that makes sense re: timing and contact 11 months out, so it is helpful. BTW I've lurked this board for a while and you hate been beyond helpful to us!

 

Now to contact my TA and decide between a sheltered balcony or inside to save the $$$ lol.

[Scrapnana]

I have only used Cunard air once but was very pleased. I was able to choose at which airport I wanted to change planes (and there was a little bit of cost difference for each), I was able to book a flight that came in two days early (no extra $), and was able to pay a little extra for premium economy. And the best part was I paid roughly 20% of what booking a premium economy one-way ticket with the airline would have cost!

[bananavan]

Thank you for your reply Scrapnana.

I know that you have taken a World cruise. At what point in time did you look into air arrangements? We are still over a year away from final payment.

Thank you for all your great information.

Evana

[Scrapnana]

Thank you for your reply Scrapnana.

I know that you have taken a World cruise. At what point in time did you look into air arrangements? We are still over a year away from final payment.

Thank you for all your great information.

Evana

 

I started looking at air fares about the time they opened up for the round-trip flight (mid May because I was staying in London two weeks after the world voyage). I didn't book, however, until the end of September (about the time final payment of the cruise was due). I did not notice any real changes in prices (they maybe fluctuated a couple of dollars up or down) between May and September. I was flying home with friends so I was limited in carriers because they wanted to get miles on one of their favorite airlines. I also wanted only direct flights to cut down on the chance of missing a connection in a January storm.

 

The following year I did the first segment of QE's world voyage (Southampton to Fort Lauderdale). That was when I used Cunard's air program. If I do another world cruise out of Southampton I would definitely consider getting the air through Cunard. I was very impressed.

[BoisDore]

Specific to US/CA residents: You can book the cruise, and go back to add the flight later. Cunard's ChoiceAir program offers two rate categories and counterintuitively the more flexible of them is usually cheaper. It can be changed until 45 days before departure, and does not have to be paid for until the cruise's final payment (90 days before sailing). What I do with my clients is book a flight option with the cruise (if available), or when it becomes available. These fare deals can fluctuate, so I check every couple of months, and again before final payment. Tracking this way allows me to catch drops in fare, saving money. Then pay in full at time of final payment.

 

Correct that the fares are usually (but not always) restricted from upgrades. There's really no way to know, so best assume the worst here. The program allows for Premium Economy(where available), Biz, and First. And those fares can be great.

 

I've recently seen as low as $250 JFK->LHR in economy, and just booked the same route in first for $2,200.

[sppunk]

Specific to US/CA residents: You can book the cruise, and go back to add the flight later. Cunard's ChoiceAir program offers two rate categories and counterintuitively the more flexible of them is usually cheaper. It can be changed until 45 days before departure, and does not have to be paid for until the cruise's final payment (90 days before sailing). What I do with my clients is book a flight option with the cruise (if available), or when it becomes available. These fare deals can fluctuate, so I check every couple of months, and again before final payment. Tracking this way allows me to catch drops in fare, saving money. Then pay in full at time of final payment.

 

Correct that the fares are usually (but not always) restricted from upgrades. There's really no way to know, so best assume the worst here. The program allows for Premium Economy(where available), Biz, and First. And those fares can be great.

 

I've recently seen as low as $250 JFK->LHR in economy, and just booked the same route in first for $2,200.

 

This is great info, thanks!

 

I actually booked today for our first Cunard trip (a loooong time away, May 10, 2018!) and my TA said at 350 days out we'll look at air options and I'll likely pay at final payment.

[pepperrn]

Thanks!

 

pepperrn while US fares don't include air like UK fares that makes sense re: timing and contact 11 months out, so it is helpful. BTW I've lurked this board for a while and you hate been beyond helpful to us!

 

Now to contact my TA and decide between a sheltered balcony or inside to save the $$$ lol.

Thank you sppunk, have the most wonderful time on board :)

[bananavan]

@SPPUNK,

Either we will meet you on that voyage or we will be availing ourselves of Cunard Air. We have not yet decided if we can handle 7 days at sea after seeing the world. ;-)

I hope we meet you. We too are diehard Sox fans.

[Winchester Ranger]

I booked my flights through Cunard for a return from the UK after an Eastbound crossing. Business class transatlantic on British Airways was an absolute steal at $1,600 and I forget what economy was, but First Class was almost full price at about $4,000 - and after paying just $2,000 including $750 of onboard credit for 8 days of luxury sailing, paying $4,000 for a 10 hour flight just didn't sit well with me. The nice part was that they allowed me a nice long stay in the UK and didn't expect an immediate return after arrival.

 

I recommend using Cunard's service but be sure to compare rates to the official airline prices before booking.