Cruise Line Arranged Airfare

[PirateCruisin]

I was wondering if anyone has used the cruise line to book their airfare.  Do you get horrible flights on horrible airlines?  Will the cruise line put you up in a hotel if you need to fly to the port early because of flight times?   Some cruise lines are offering free airfare to the second guest and I'm wondering what I might get myself into.

Thanks!

[ado121]

Following this as I’m curious too. 

[jsn55]

I've done air through a cruiseline a few times without issue ... but I did my own research and figured out which flights would work best.  I called the Air Desk and had them make the booking and give me all the details.  I checked it carefully with the airline the next morning to be sure we got what we needed.  I remember booking first class at Cathay Pacific Hong Kong to SF; the fare that morning was $9K, the cruiseline's Air Desk booked tix @$5500 each.  With a cruisetour of Egypt, they didn't want to confirm business class at the time of booking.  I just told them that I'd cancel the whole trip if they didn't confirm my flights with seat assignments, and they did so promptly.  I've certainly heard a great many horrifying tales from other pax about their flights to board the cruise, so I wouldn't just assume the cruiseline is doing its best for me.  Their goal is to get me there as cheaply as possible, my goal is to get there as comfortably as possible.  For a $15K cruise, I'm not going to quibble about spending $600 to avoid problems getting to the departure port.  

[CruiserBruce]

The cruise line has the right to book you on any airline or route that meets the agreement with you, which is to get you from point A to point B, and potentially back. Some cruise line air programs allow you to chose airlines, but you may not get discounted airfares in that case.

 

If the routing requires an overnight somewhere, the cruise line will offer a hotel, but they won't give it to you for free.

 

The are MANY pluses and minuses on cruise line air fares...this board discusses them daily. We did our first couple of cruises with cruise line airfare. No longer. Like @jsn55, we now prioritize comfort and convenience over cost.

[LHT28]

We sometime will take the air but  we pay the deviation fee to fly in a day or more early & choose the route/airlines  we want

Usually we book our own air

YMMV

[Markanddonna]

Airlines have different rules, so we can't generaluze. Even if you pick the flights, things can still go wrong as you have to count on their cs. You can't change with the airline. I would always try to book your own.

[ldubs]

Words I hate when booking indirectly:  "Seats will be assigned by airline".  

[klfrodo]

A great thread to read and learn all about how the airline and cruise air business works can be found at this link. It is old, but the information is as accurate today as it was when started.

After you read this thread, you can make an informed decision as to which way to go. Money can be saved, but there is a cost.

 

 

[Hlitner]

I will be careful how I answer because the answer, "depends."  It depends on the cruise line, the type air, etc.  So, for example, several of the CCL owned lines (i.e. Seabourn, HAL, and Princess) will often have amazing international Business/First Class prices that can save a person thousands of dollars.  The savings on domestic flights are not nearly as good.  Those same CCL owned companies also have a "Flex air" option that allows folks to not pay (or commit) until relatively close to the cruise (often about 60 days).  When dealing with the CCL companies you can choose your own flights.  In many cases you can also choose your seats just like if you booked directly with the airline.

 

There are also some downsides to doing cruise-air.  I am not a big fan of letting the cruise line assign the flights as you may find you get awful connections, lousy airlines, etc.  Some cr uise lines, such as Oceania, do have an option where a cruiser can pay an extra fee to choose their own flights (and also get some booking assistance).

 

One big advantage to cruise air is that if the cruise line cancels the cruise they will also cancel the air (in most cases).  If you booked your own air and the cruise line cancels or changes the embarkation/debarkation ports or dates you may find yourself stuck with the change or cancellation fees/vouchers etc.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

I would never let the line book air - they will route you the cheapest way - which is almost certain to be the least convenient for you.  When booking with Cunard, HAL and Celebrity I have chosen "cruise air" which leaves it up to you to choose the airline, flight, seats, etc. --  you only get the connection once you have paid in full - so you want to be sure you are going.  But the price you pay, especially for a one way trans-Atlantic, is far less than anything otherwise available.

[Honolulu Blue]

18 hours ago, PirateCruisin said:

I was wondering if anyone has used the cruise line to book their airfare.  Do you get horrible flights on horrible airlines?  Will the cruise line put you up in a hotel if you need to fly to the port early because of flight times?   Some cruise lines are offering free airfare to the second guest and I'm wondering what I might get myself into.

Thanks!

I'll offer my experience with the usual cautions.

 

My recent cruise on Celebrity had an air ticket attached by the cruise.  They chose an airline I rarely fly, the times were just OK, the initial price was decent - but I had to purchase better seats that cut deeply into the bargain I thought I was getting.  One funny thing is that one of my flights was upgraded to business class and the cruise line told me before the airline did.

 

In summary, things worked out all right, but I'm not rushing to do this again.  For 50% off or more, I'll consider it.

[CruiserBruce]

19 hours ago, PirateCruisin said:

I was wondering if anyone has used the cruise line to book their airfare.  Do you get horrible flights on horrible airlines?  Will the cruise line put you up in a hotel if you need to fly to the port early because of flight times?   Some cruise lines are offering free airfare to the second guest and I'm wondering what I might get myself into.

Thanks!

By the way, this is discussed daily on the Cruise Air board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/77-cruise-air/

[MCC retired]

Airfare and flights depend on the Cruise Line .

Cunard Choice Air is very reasonable and allows you to choose airline and  flights .

Post your question on Forum here for your cruiseline.

[marco]

Depneds where you're cruising to.  When going to Europe, we've ALWAYS used cruise line air as we could never come close to the price if we booked on our own.  We came home TA on the QM2 this past summer and the one way air to London was just a little over $200 through Cunard.  Living in close proximity to JFK, we've pretty much always gotten a non-stop to Europe and it has never mattered to us what airline we were on.  On the other hand, we once checked on Celebrity air to Fla for a Caribbean cruise and we got much better pricing booking air on our own.

[navybankerteacher]

2 minutes ago, marco said:

Depneds where you're cruising to.  When going to Europe, we've ALWAYS used cruise line air as we could never come close to the price if we booked on our own.  We came home TA on the QM2 this past summer and the one way air to London was just a little over $200 through Cunard.  Living in close proximity to JFK, we've pretty much always gotten a non-stop to Europe and it has never mattered to us what airline we were on.  On the other hand, we once checked on Celebrity air to Fla for a Caribbean cruise and we got much better pricing booking air on our own.

Agreed - but to us the choice of airline is significant - we are comfortable flying coach, but only if the configuration has two seats then an aisle.

[Hlitner]

I want to again reiterate that most lines that offer air options also offer the additional option of letting the cruiser choose their own flights.  Sometimes there is an additional fee (such as with Oceania) and other times there are no extra fees (Princess, Seabourn, HAL, etc).   During COVID, we had 5 cruises (all expensive voyages to exotic parts of the world) cancelled by the cruise lines!  In 4 of those cases, we had booked our air (all Business Class) through the cruise lines.  In those 4 cases, when the cruise line cancelled the cruise, they also cancelled the air, and we received a full refund.  On the 5th cruise we had booked our own air (using miles) and were on our own to deal with the airline (Delta).  Delta actually agreed to refund our miles.  But if we had paid for that air, Delta would have only agreed to some kind of voucher.  Some airlines would have likely refused to make any changes without charging a hefty change fee (we are talking international business class).

 

I should also mention that if using cruise air through Princess, HAL, Seabourn, (and some others), we are able to access an online booking engine (similar to using any online booking site) where we could view lots of different flight options from/to different airports and with many different airlines.  If we did not see any flights that we liked we could have simply booked our own air elsewhere.  We were never obligated to use cruise air.  To us, it is simply one more option to be evaluated against other options.  In the case of Oceania, we thought their air option was awful which is why we ultimately booked directly with Delta.

 

Hank

 

 

[ldubs]

On 11/20/2022 at 9:28 AM, navybankerteacher said:

Agreed - but to us the choice of airline is significant - we are comfortable flying coach, but only if the configuration has two seats then an aisle.

 

Most of our flights are international.   It has been quite a while since we have been on a cross country domestic flight.  We did a nonstop from SF to Miami recently on a 737.   Those are OK for short regional flights.  Longer flights, not so much.  I'm glad I bought the extra legroom seats.  

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Most of our flights are international.   It has been quite a while since we have been on a cross country domestic flight.  We did a nonstop from SF to Miami recently on a 737.   Those are OK for short regional flights.  Longer flights, not so much.  I'm glad I bought the extra legroom seats.  

Of course your 5 1/2 hour flight time SFO to MIA, which you are comfortable with, is just a bit shorter than our 7 hours JFK to LHR (our most frequent TA).  For you to get to London or Paris takes a whole lot longer.

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course your 5 1/2 hour flight time SFO to MIA, which you are comfortable with, is just a bit shorter than our 7 hours JFK to LHR (our most frequent TA).  For you to get to London or Paris takes a whole lot longer.

 

I am comfortable with them, but not so much on a 737.  

 

Our SFO to LHR nonstop is around 10.5 hours.   SFO to CDG is about 11 hours.   

[rjack22]

I am currently booked with EZAir on Princess.   The price (domestic) was slightly better than what I could book myself.  I don't have to pay for it until final payment 90 day before the cruise, not at the time of booking..   If you get the flexible fare you can make changes up until 45 days before the flight.   I was able to choose my airline, my flights, and my seats.  My Skymiles number was applied.  And if you miss your cruise they will even fly you to the next port of call to get on the ship.   And in addition, if you have the Princess Platnium insurance your flights are covered too.  It was a win win for me.

[jsn55]

12 minutes ago, rjack22 said:

I am currently booked with EZAir on Princess.   The price (domestic) was slightly better than what I could book myself.  I don't have to pay for it until final payment 90 day before the cruise, not at the time of booking..   If you get the flexible fare you can make changes up until 45 days before the flight.   I was able to choose my airline, my flights, and my seats.  My Skymiles number was applied.  And if you miss your cruise they will even fly you to the next port of call to get on the ship.   And in addition, if you have the Princess Platnium insurance your flights are covered too.  It was a win win for me.

This is so good to know!  I've about used up all my credits from the virus hysteria and no longer have status with any airline.  I will be sure to check with the cruiseline on air from now on.  Isn't CruiseCritic just the BEST!!!??

[Zach1213]

2 hours ago, rjack22 said:

And if you miss your cruise they will even fly you to the next port of call to get on the ship.  

 

Not to pick nits, but I'm a professional nitpicker so here we do - they will fly you to the next available port of call to get you on the ship. That may or may not be the next port depending on availability of flights/seats (they can't add seats to a plane that's already booked, and flights are going out with higher load factors than usual these days), availability of airports (some places, like private island, won't have an airport so that's a place they just can't get you to), and local laws/regulations (there are reasons why a country can't, or won't, let someone board at a certain stop). 

 

Do many of these same issues result no matter how you procured the tickets? Sure. But there's also a chance you may be further down the priority list of an airline than if you booked directly with them, for example. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by Zach1213

[rjack22]

Yes I knew this.   Just trying to keep it simple and short.

[Joebucks]

On 11/22/2022 at 11:45 AM, rjack22 said:

I am currently booked with EZAir on Princess.   The price (domestic) was slightly better than what I could book myself.  I don't have to pay for it until final payment 90 day before the cruise, not at the time of booking..   If you get the flexible fare you can make changes up until 45 days before the flight.   I was able to choose my airline, my flights, and my seats.  My Skymiles number was applied.  And if you miss your cruise they will even fly you to the next port of call to get on the ship.   And in addition, if you have the Princess Platnium insurance your flights are covered too.  It was a win win for me.

 

How many airlines and itineraries do you get to choose from? In my experience, a discounted Delta flight is likely still 50% or more of comparable flights.

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

How many airlines and itineraries do you get to choose from? In my experience, a discounted Delta flight is likely still 50% or more of comparable flights.

I will jump in and say that it depends on the airports and cruise.  The CCL cruise lines use a 3rd party air booking company and they enter into contracts with various airlines to get some discounted fares.  On International flights the choices can be from many different airlines with the best discounts usually happening for Business/First Class and sometimes Premium Economy.  On our upcoming HAL cruise where we need to fly to Tokyo we could have chosen from many airlines such as Delta, AA, Unted, Cathy Pacific, JAL, BA, etc.  In our case we snagged an amazing Business Class fare using British Air/JAL that is about 1/2 the usual fare.  They are also showing a terrific fare on Cathy Pacific (a fantastic airline) but we had no desire to go to JFK to catch those flights.

 

Domestic flights are not particularly great when it comes to economy.  However, there can be significant savings on domestic First/Business.

 

Hank