HAL airfare to Rome from Istanbul

[fizzy]

What is the situation? HAL cannot assure a client of its flight #/carrier/times/etc? What does that mean---that only3 months prior to departure from Rome one must wait to see it HAL can offer flights? , , or must one be forced to make one's own arrangements at a later date meaning higher prices? We don't "get it"

[dakrewser]

Frequently flight arrangements aren't known until a couple of weeks before the cruise...

[Grumpy1]

If you book a cruise with airfare included, HAL will make arrangements to get you to the ship and get you home again at a fixed price. It might be a direct flight, it might be two or three segments, the times may be very inconvenient or it might be exactly the flight you would have chosen if you were doing it yourself. But you won't know the details until a few weeks before the cruise. That's because HAL won't know either, unless they stumble across a really good price well ahead of time and decide to lock it in.

 

I've flown twice on flights that were provided by a cruiseline. Both times, there was at least one flight segment where we were assigned seats in different rows. With the last minute ticketing, they just take whatever single seats are left and leave it up to you to try to negotiate with someone to trade if you want to sit together. Now I make sure I know well ahead of time what the flights are and what our seat assignments are. That usually means either booking the flights myself or having the travel agent book, but not through the cruiseline.

[fizzy]

Thanks, Grumpy. I think that I felt that would be your answer since I have been following your entries. Now I have another question. Is anyone out there going to be arriving at Rome airport on the 9:35 arrival on on 30 August, Lufthansa and who would want to share a limo service to the Port?

[Grumpy1]

Thanks, Grumpy. I think that I felt that would be your answer since I have been following your entries. Now I have another question. Is anyone out there going to be arriving at Rome airport on the 9:35 arrival on on 30 August, Lufthansa and who would want to share a limo service to the Port?

Since we are staying in Rome the night before, we have a private car picking us up at the hotel and taking us to the port. Have you checked with HAL on the price of a transfer? I know of one company that would provide a private car for about 100 euro. I don't know how that compares to HAL's transfer price. Oops, I just checked my source and it's $130 euro.

[Stevesan]

Is anyone out there going to be arriving at Rome airport on the 9:35 arrival on on 30 August, Lufthansa and who would want to share a limo service to the Port?

 

Have you visited the Roll Call thread for your cruise? There's a chance someone there will want to share.:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=86

[Grumpy1]

Fizzy, I have sent an Email to our limo company to see what the additional charge would be to stop at the airport on the way to the port. We leave the hotel at 10:00a, so we could be at the airport about an hour after you arrive. I'll post on our rollcall thread when I hear back.

[sail7seas]

Does HAL still offer the option that for an additional $50 pp, you can request they book specific flights that you choose? If they do not book the flights you request, they refund the $50?

 

That was a good option for people who wanted to do cruiseline air for their own reasons but they didn't give up all input as to which flights on which they would travel.

 

 

Do they still offer that?

[Grumpy1]

Does HAL still offer the option that for an additional $50 pp, you can request they book specific flights that you choose? If they do not book the flights you request, they refund the $50?

 

That was a good option for people who wanted to do cruiseline air for their own reasons but they didn't give up all input as to which flights on which they would travel.

 

 

Do they still offer that?

I think you can still request specific flights and pay a deviation fee. I'm not sure if the $50 applies to international flights, though. I seem to recall someone saying it was a higher fee for international.

[Stevesan]

Does HAL still offer the option that for an additional $50 pp, you can request they book specific flights that you choose? If they do not book the flights you request, they refund the $50?

 

That was a good option for people who wanted to do cruiseline air for their own reasons but they didn't give up all input as to which flights on which they would travel.

 

 

Do they still offer that?

 

We were denied an air deviation on our last international, sailing from Rome to Harwich. Others report that they have been allowed deviations. I was dealing thru a TA, and didn't receive a clear reason for the refusal. I presume they didn't want to mess with it.

 

I think the int'l deviation, if it's available, is a flat $75 plus any added air fare.

 

BTW - Our transfers were included (June 2005), but have read other posts reporting they're now add ons.

[xpcdoojk]

I would strongly suggest you figure out what flights are available and then try to book the one you want as a deviation. I haven't done this on HAL but on RCI or X it is $50 and I think $75 now for International unless you are platinum or diamond in their loyalty program then it is free. Either way your TA should know this information cold, mine would. There are a lot of low cost European airlines and if you are doing a flight one way they are amazingly cheaper than American one way costs especially now 3 months out. Don't wait find out what HAL charges for the deviation. The flight options could make you miserable if you don't. Not to mention the fact that you do not have control. Which for me is enough reason to book my own flights or at the least tell HAL which flights work for me.

 

jc

[Grumpy1]

One of the best sites I have found to compare all of the available flights on all lines is http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch You can check one way, roundtrip, open jaw... limit the selections to direct, 1 stop, 2 stop, sort by price or convenience, check nearby airports, etc. It will show all of the layover times and total transit time end to end. It will flag combinations that have a tight connection and ones with long layovers. Once you find a combination you like you can drill down to the booking details and get the exact booking codes your TA would need.

 

This week, I got a call from Continental telling me that one segment of our return from Copenhagen to RSW had been cancelled. I brought up the ITA site and was able to quickly see a substitute that was a far better choice than what they were offering. I asked about that flight and we were able to make the change. It's a better combination than the original choice. One segment was eliminated and the only layover was shorter by an hour. That combination was available but much more expensive when I originally booked, but since they eliminated my booked flight, they upgraded us to the better combination at the same price we had paid. I'm not sure I would have been able to navigate the Continental site quickly while I was on the phone with their rep.