add/remove cruiseline air?

[IMNiles]

Hi there. I've got a med cruise (cruise only) booked for next summer, and while I don't usually use cruiseline air (I've done it only once), this time their fare is "in the ballpark." Can I add and remove air from an existing reservation at will, before final payment, or are there further restrictions? I like the idea of having their air as a 'backup' while still keeping my eyes open for a really good sale down the road. Is it all fair game until final pay? Honestly, if their fare is even close to what I can get on my own, I'd rather have it all bundled together, but summer is a long ways off - it's hard to say what will happen! There is certainly a real advantage to not having to pay for the air until 90 days or so out.

 

 

Thanks!

[Host Kewlguy]

You can add or drop the cruise lines air up until final payment without any penalty. I would suggest using Royal's "custom air" program which enables you to choose your own flights/times, etc. There is no fee for this service if you are at platinum level or higher and a $50 fee if you're not.

[AFT_LOVER]

Internationally, I have never found cheaper airfare on the Net.

 

For our June Norweigan Fjords cruise on Jewel, we call Delta on 7/21 (330 days out) to use DL SM to book air. They took the reservation for CLE-CVG-LGW arriving at 8AM. Then I was told to callback on 8/3 to book the 6./30 return flight. When I did I learn we are WAITLISTED as DL has not released SM seats as yet. I was pissed! This is the 3rd flight I tried to book in 2006 using SM. So TA has RCCL booking air. I closed the credit card & got the Blue Sky for cashback. Even got flowers from AMEX with a note of apology for DL's rudeness.

 

So we do not trust DL to get us anywhere internationally, I did book us to MIA for Freedom in 2 weeks, and they better get us there with no troubles.

[sarahuk]

Hi

We are in the UK. We have booked the Radience Alaska trip for September 2007. We booked it in July 2006 and requested custom air with RCl.

I spoke to them last week to ask if they were going to book the flights in October when BA released them as I wanted to pay for an upgrade, and the person was very abrupt to the point of being rude. He told me he didnt know when they would book the flight and had no idea how much it would be to upgrade to Traveller plus and didnt know how much they had charged this year.

With an unhelpful attitude like that I decided I will book my own flights. They have charged us $40 each to take off the cruise air from our booking which for them was to just change the price on their computer system as the flights dont open till October!

[wrp96]

Custom air is definitely the way to go if at all possible. Just be aware that once you choose Custom Air flights, there is a fee for cancelling - even if you are still before final payment.

[ladylawyer]

If you choose RCI's custom air, do they give you the choices of flights/times or do you have to do the research, yourself? I'm doing a similar Med cruise next year and hadn't really thought about flights ... until now. Do I just call C&A to add that to my reservation (I'm a Diamond, now)? TIA!!! :D ~ Lorna

[Host Kewlguy]

If you choose RCI's custom air, do they give you the choices of flights/times or do you have to do the research, yourself? I'm doing a similar Med cruise next year and hadn't really thought about flights ... until now. Do I just call C&A to add that to my reservation (I'm a Diamond, now)? TIA!!! :D ~ Lorna

 

I do the research and tell them the flights and times I want. If they can't accommodate me they will give me an alternative which usually is pretty close to my original request. If it's not satisfactory I book the air on my own. I can usually get a better price on my own for domestic flights anyway. In the case of a transatlantic it's tough to beat the cruise lines air price. Yes, call C & A and they can add the air although custom air has a special number to call. C & A can connect you to the custom air department.

[ladylawyer]

Thanks, Kewlguy! ~ LL

[IMNiles]

Do you have to request custom air right from the start, or can you let them pick and if you don't like them, then request custom air? Is there a fee for cancelling only if you use custom air? I'm Platinum, so I know they'll waive the custom air fee, though I suspect they'd still charge me to cancel. basically, the current air price is about in the middle of the range of prices we're seeing, but since we don't know the airlines, number of stops, etc, we can't really judge. We have airlines we'd rather be on (for miles, etc), and if it's some kind of nasty routing that would make it worth less. But it seems like a nice insurance policy if I can just put it on, and wait to see what they come up with (or is that only after final pay?).

[wrp96]

If you just do regular cruise air, there is no fee for cancelling before final payment, but if you cancel after final payment there is a fee for cancelling. If you do custom air, there is a fee for cancelling even if you are before final payment. You can elect to do custom air at any time - as long as they have seats available. Sometimes they run out of seats that are available as custom air so if you are travelling at a popular time of year (like Christmas or President's Day Weekend), if you want to do Custom Air it's best to do it early.

 

When I do custom air, I usually do research to find out which flights I would prefer before I call. Then when I call I ask for my first choice, and if that's not available I ask what options they do have open. The reason I call with a list of choices is sometimes, they won't have contract seats available on one flight but they will on another. If they don't have seats available at the contract price on the flight you want, then you have to pay the fare difference in addition to the custom air fee so it is best to have alternatives available. You can always call and price custom air without committing to doing it.