Carnival Fly2Fun

[MomIsTheBoss]

Are there any cons to booking Fly2Fun?

 

The flights for my cruise are about 10$ pp more through Fly2Fun than by booking direct with the airline.  Since I would be flying out during a Manitoba winter, I'm wondering if the extra peace of mind is worth it.  Is it actually peace of mind or are there a million things in the fine print that I am unaware of?  I also purchased the carnival protection on our cruise, if that makes a difference.

 

Thank you.

[6rugrats]

What peace of mind would this give you?

[MomIsTheBoss]

Well, it say "All Fly2Fun bookings come with flight protection — free! That means you’re covered in case weather conditions or flight changes delay your arrival to the ship. We’ll make alternate flight, hotel and/or ground transportation arrangements and do everything we can to get you to the cruise port in time to board the ship, at no expense to you. If no viable options are available to get you to the ship before departure at the homeport, you will be given a Future Cruise Credit to use toward an alternate Carnival cruise."

 

If I book direct through the airline and they cancel the flight or the weather is bad and causes cancellation or delays, the airline themselves don't care about whether I miss a cruise or not.  

 

I guess I'm wondering if booking through Carnival actually gives me a little more peace of mind and coverage if there is a cancellation or delay.  Our winters are known for being rough, travel-wise.

[Dancer Bob]

Cruise lines buy the cheapest flights they can, which usually means inconvenient.

If you're flying in day of cruise, viable options are unlikely. Bad enough for a YWG non-stop, but what are they promising to get you home if you've made it to YYZ?

The cruise line is the airline's customer, not you. There may be a whole bunch of other prople in the same situation.

While it implies FCC never expires, that hasn't always been the case in the past.

[MomIsTheBoss]

Thank you. It’s a direct flight whether through carnival or the airline direct. Not many direct flights out of Winnipeg so it was nice to see. 

[Dancer Bob]

Most advice is to fly one if not two days early, but a direct flight does change the equation. If it is day of cruise, I would definitely go with the Carnival guarantee.

[jsglow]

MomIs, we've done both but have only used Fly2Fun for international cruises.  As others have said, what F2F represents are tickets allocated directly to the cruise line.  They have a stack available that they'll sell to you.  I'm certainly no expert on this but it does give you less control over that aspect of your vacation.  For example, they likely won't actually ticket you until about 30 days or so before the flight. (Right now we have confirmed reservations.)  It's entirely possible, maybe even likely, that you won't sit together as a family, for example.  But they DO commit to getting you there so the financial risk is on them.

 

We use them for Europe to shift the risk and historically to save money. On an upcoming trip we're flying out SAS and flying back their codeshare partner Iceland.  Both flights are one-stop w/ a plane change.  We saved hundreds.  It was literally a flight combo that was impossible to recreate on Kayak. And importantly too, we don't pay a dime until the final payment with Carnival. Our airline arrangements are literally a line item on our bill.

 

And for Europe, we fly 4 days prior to our cruise.  That gives us sightseeing time and protects us from missing the ship.  Domestically (and i count you guys up in Canada), we always fly the day before.  So if your cruise from Florida departs on Saturday, Friday is your fly day at the latest. The airlines do a good job but they can't do the impossible.  Take this very moment as an example.  How many are sleeping in airports right this very minute; not able to get home (or to their cruise) for Christmas?

Edited December 24, 2022 by jsglow

[Dancer Bob]

OP stated their specific circumstance is YWG direct (FLL?) and Carnival would book them on the same flight rather than the infamous overnight connection in YYZ. Europe is irrelevant.

As far as domestic, I'm not sure about the current status of preclearance at YWG.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Dancer Bob

[em-sk]

7 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

OP stated their specific circumstance is YWG direct (FLL?) and Carnival would book them on the same flight rather than the infamous overnight connection in YYZ. Europe is irrelevant.

As far as domestic, I'm not sure about the current status of preclearance at YWG.

 

They have pre-clearance in Winnipeg.  Not certain of the hours.  

 

If the flight operates outside the hours that pre-clearance is offered then they would clear customs in Florida on arrival.

 

Not uncommon at other Canadian airports.  Pre-clearance closes in Vancouver at 9:00 pm.  Any red-eye flights after that time to the US go out of international.

Edited December 25, 2022 by em-sk

[Citigal9393]

I want to know if anyone travel to carnivals fly2fun program lately

[Citigal9393]

I like your ideas of peace of mind, I’m debating of using fun2fly app?! Someone please help it appears no no one has use the app

[6rugrats]

10 hours ago, Citigal9393 said:

I like your ideas of peace of mind, I’m debating of using fun2fly app?! Someone please help it appears no no one has use the app

I think these "peace of mind" claims need to be taken with a grain of salt.  Last summer I had several passengers who purchased cruise air and their flights were canceled.  One that stands out had purchased air through NCL.  They told me they tried to get help, but the air dept of the cruise line simply hung up on them.  They received no assistance at all.  We managed to rebook them, at no extra charge, but they had to split up because during the bad weather period, seats were scarce.  If there are no seats available, or if the cruise air dept does not answer the phone, I am not sure what "peace of mind" you would have.  I don't know why anyone would use cruise air for domestic travel at least.