Air2Sea reservations

[cjc729]

Is there an advantage to booking flights thru Air2Sea?  Are the prices and service better than found thru the airlines themselves?  And if anyone had a flight problem did they provide necessary assistance?   

[Clarea]

24 minutes ago, cjc729 said:

Is there an advantage to booking flights thru Air2Sea?  Are the prices and service better than found thru the airlines themselves?  And if anyone had a flight problem did they provide necessary assistance?   

 

One-way international flights are usually much less expensive with Air2Sea.  Round-trip domestic fares are about the same as the airlines. 

 

They say you get "assured arrival", which means they will either hold the ship for you if your flight is late, or arrange to get you to the next port of call at no extra charge.

 

There are also flights that you can get where you can make reservations 11 months in advance but don't pay in full until cruise final payment date.

[awestover89]

Price out both. One way flights between US and Europe can often (but not always) be cheaper with Air2Sea. 

[Ourusualbeach]

On most flights you can also get fully refundable tickets that you don’t pay for until final payment for the same price as the non refundable fares 

[klfrodo]

Sounds to good to be true!

What are the gottchas?

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Sounds to good to be true!

What are the gottchas?

 

You don't really know what kind of fares Royal is buying from the airlines.  The fare type might have restrictions, like no miles or the inability to transfer to another airline.  I've gotten miles with all of our Air2Sea flights, but it's not a guarantee.  If there are issues with your flight, you may not be able to use the airline to rebook you on another airline.  You may have to contact Air2Sea to make alternate arrangements.

[taglovestocruise]

4 hours ago, cjc729 said:

Is there an advantage to booking flights thru Air2Sea?  Are the prices and service better than found thru the airlines themselves?  And if anyone had a flight problem did they provide necessary assistance?   

Very long story made short. Booked American Airlines LAX to Rome through Air2Sea..  Morning before flight our flight was canceled due to hurricane Sandy, American said there was nothing they could do and we would be on a flight 3 days later which was one day after cruise sail date.  One 15 minute call to Air2Sea and were rebooked on Air France non stop for the next morning, upgraded to economy plus on the 380,  got a full refund for lounge access we paid for through American and did not pay a penny more. Love Air2Sea and we have used them every time since for international flights.  Sad to say but Air2sea absolutely sucks on domestic prices. happy cruising.

[cjc729]

 

4 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

One-way international flights are usually much less expensive with Air2Sea.  Round-trip domestic fares are about the same as the airlines. 

 

They say you get "assured arrival", which means they will either hold the ship for you if your flight is late, or arrange to get you to the next port of call at no extra charge.

 

There are also flights that you can get where you can make reservations 11 months in advance but don't pay in full until cruise final payment date.

 We'd be flying domestic to Miami.  Sounds like the handling of international flights is consistently more advantageous.  But the idea of making a reservation that isn't paid in full until final cruise payment date is very appealing.  Is this something that they just offer or do you have to request it? I didn't see that when I was on their website to check prices.

 

[Clarea]

8 minutes ago, cjc729 said:

 

 We'd be flying domestic to Miami.  Sounds like the handling of international flights is consistently more advantageous.  But the idea of making a reservation that isn't paid in full until final cruise payment date is very appealing.  Is this something that they just offer or do you have to request it? I didn't see that when I was on their website to check prices.

 

 

You have to choose the proper fare type, and that fare type may not always be available.  Call them, they are very helpful.

[Snit13]

Recently booked TPA to AMS for June 2020 Brilliance cruise thru Air2Sea on Delta flights.  Would have been about $135 more pp to book directly with Delta.  I do not have to pay until final payment in March 2020.  A number of people on our roll call have been told by their TA's that they could not find any fares for their clients to compare with Air2Sea.  Have never used them before.

[FLACRUISER99]

When something goes wrong A2Sea seems to handle it well.

[dcourt]

I made my very first reservation with air2sea yesterday for my cruise in May.  I did my research prior to calling them.  Told the agent what flights I ended up with my flights and they are refundable and $125 less than the non-refundable AND payment not due until final cruise payment.  This was awesome.  

[NouCruzer]

9 minutes ago, dcourt said:

I made my very first reservation with air2sea yesterday for my cruise in May.  I did my research prior to calling them.  Told the agent what flights I ended up with my flights and they are refundable and $125 less than the non-refundable AND payment not due until final cruise payment.  This was awesome.  

 

We recently did the same for a western Mediterranean cruise in summer 2020.  Good price, refundable fare (although with a penalty), but when I got the confirmation, it said that seat assignments could not be made until check in.  Does this mean that our party of 3 might be seated separately?  If so, can this be changed?  Certainly don't want to fly with each is us in random middle seats scattered across the cabin.  

[cjc729]

Thanks for all of this information, everyone!  I think I need to make a phone call to them.  Sounds like they provide a good service at a fair price.

[dcourt]

2 hours ago, NouCruzer said:

 

We recently did the same for a western Mediterranean cruise in summer 2020.  Good price, refundable fare (although with a penalty), but when I got the confirmation, it said that seat assignments could not be made until check in.  Does this mean that our party of 3 might be seated separately?  If so, can this be changed?  Certainly don't want to fly with each is us in random middle seats scattered across the cabin.  

I picked my seats when I made the reservation.  I would go out to the airline you are flying and pick the seats you want.  I could change mine on the Delta sight if I wanted to.

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, dcourt said:

I made my very first reservation with air2sea yesterday for my cruise in May.  I did my research prior to calling them.  Told the agent what flights I ended up with my flights and they are refundable and $125 less than the non-refundable AND payment not due until final cruise payment.  This was awesome.  

If you should have to cancel the cruise before final payment, is there any charge from Air2Sea for making the refundable reservations? any cancel fee or is it $0 owed to them?

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, Jimbo said:

If you should have to cancel the cruise before final payment, is there any charge from Air2Sea for making the refundable reservations? any cancel fee or is it $0 owed to them?

No charge.

[Jimbo]

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

No charge.

how about you make reservations on Jan 1st and then on March 1st you see a lower price, can you change to those flights without any added  change fees?

Edited September 30, 2019 by Jimbo

[bound4sea]

We used Air2sea for our Baltics 2018 trip, LAX to Stockholm, then Boston back to Orange Co. First class for both of us, think we paid around $3500.. sounds high, but 1 seat first class LAX to Stockholm was over $8000 just for one person without Air2sea. We used them again this year Orange Co to Tampa, then Venice to Msp (with a 2 week stop over to visit family), then MSP to Orange Co.. another first class on all legs.. about $4000 for the both of us.  Next year we are flying to Australia and home from Vancouver.. didn't get the lower fares from what was on the internet, but was able to delay paying for the flights (the only downside was I couldn't confirm the seats on AirNZ site). 

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

how about you make reservations on Jan 1st and then on March 1st you see a lower price, can you change to those flights without any added  change fees?

Just cancel them and rebook them. 

[Jimbo]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Just cancel them and rebook them. 

 

If the cruise is booked through a travel agency does the agent at the travel agency have to make the reservations through Air2Sea or can I call and make reservations myself?

 

[Coralc]

2 minutes ago, bound4sea said:

 Next year we are flying to Australia and home from Vancouver.. didn't get the lower fares from what was on the internet, but was able to delay paying for the flights (the only downside was I couldn't confirm the seats on AirNZ site). 

 

Interesting. When we did the TP, our flights directly with Air New Zealand were slightly less than Air2Sea, so we booked directly with the airline. And what a nice airline! Enjoy your flight and cruise.

 

We are sailing a TA out of Barcelona next year, so we will check out Air2Sea again. We had used them previously out of Rome. Not flying economy to Europe ever again. 

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

If the cruise is booked through a travel agency does the agent at the travel agency have to make the reservations through Air2Sea or can I call and make reservations myself?

 

I believe that the agent would have to make it since the air shows up on your cruise invoice and not a separate invoice. 

[packedandready]

If booking refundable flight through air2sea when payment is not due until cruise final payment date when are seats chosen? 

[Clarea]

11 minutes ago, packedandready said:

If booking refundable flight through air2sea when payment is not due until cruise final payment date when are seats chosen? 

 

Depending on the airline and ticket rules, you can pick seats as soon as you make the reservation.  We've done that wth Delta, United, and America.  However on British Airways, the type of fare that Air2Sea purchased only allowed us to pick seats 24 hours in advance.