Booking our own airfare..is it worth it?

[greatam]

Hi,

I'm going to give you 3 reasons why you shouldn't book air without rcl.

 

Better get a little further into the travel agent book.

 

Yes, the cruise line is SUPPOSED to be responsible for getting you to the ship. However, the fine print in the cruise contract states cruise air is a "convenience" and the cruise line has NO liability to get you to the cruise. As I have posted ad nauseum, cruise air (NOT air deviaton/custom air) is generally booked in consolidator class. The tickets are NO GOOD (non endorsable) to another airline. So if the originating carrier cannot get you to the cruise on time and has no seats available to another port, the pax is STUCK EXCEPT for the goodwill of the cruise line or airline. And on the weekends and after business hours, the help you get from the cruise line is MINIMAL.

 

Another question- how and when can you use air miles to book cruise air (even custom)? The FF contract is between the FF and the airline. RCI input would not be allowed.

[RuthlessBoss]

I doubt if we'd ever book with the "package" again. We didn't know departure time until a few days before leaving, the agency said that's how they did their reservations. Well we left Florida in the tail end of the plane and got to Seattle about 8 p.m..So much for sightseeing Seattle. Had to get our luggage and be transported to "their" hotel like a herd of cattle, register, find something to eat, hit the sack for the trip to Vancouver early the next day. This may never happen again, but we'll book our own flights, thank you! It was a waste of time, money, and got nothing for it except aggravation. The reverse trip wasn't any better.

[Psoque]

Yes, it's true, if you make your own flight arrangements, you are, in fact, on your own, whether there happens to be a problem with the flights or not.

 

However, in our experience with cruise/air, we were in fact ON OUR OWN, when we had a problem with the airlines. When we called the "24 hour emergency hotline," we were told that the cruise line has no obligation to help us, and hopefully we can make the cruise somehow.

 

So, I'm not disagreeing with statement #1 below, but at the same time, I don't think that's a valid reason to buy cruise/air package. Based on our (perhaps limited) experience, we can't really count on the cruise line to help us if our flights have any problems, even if we buy a cruise/air package from them.

 

I'm not sure where the quoted poster got this from, but the statements sound a lot like something a cruise line or a less than honest TA might tell an uninformed first-time cruiser.

 

Hi,

I'm going to give you 3 reasons why you shouldn't book air without rcl.

1. If your flight is delayed and you miss the cruise ship, YOU ARE 100% RESPONSIBLE TO GET TRANSPORTATION TO THE NEXT PORT OF CALL.

[Shorex]

The most experienced flyers tend to (generality alert!), most of the time (generality alert!), book their own air for cruises. Of our 38 cruises, we have used cruise air 8 times. It was a conscious decision that was right for us, given the particular circumstances of each particular cruise.

 

We know how to do the homework to find reasonable fares. Notice I didn’t say “absolute best” fares. That’s like trying to know exactly when to buy/sell a stock – just make your best informed decision and live with it. Getting to/from each cruise has a slightly different set of variables. Airfare is only one variable. We know how to get from Bangkok to the port at Laem Chabang on our own. If the concept unnerves you, book cruise air and transfers. Reduce anxiety wherever you can.

 

In our experience, cruise air tends to be significantly less expensive for cruises where “open jaw” ticketing is not possible. For example, embark in Malaga, disembark in San Juan. Embark in Yokohama, disembark in Anchorage. Embark in Fort Lauderdale, disembark in Buenos Aires. For those cruises we elected cruise air.

 

If cruise air is not significantly less (and the definition of “significantly” is different for everyone), we book our own air for reasons you’ve heard before: certainty; ease of contingency planning; guaranteed earning ff miles in preferred program; control of price, routing and equipment; having endorsable tickets; sometimes cashing in ff miles to sit in business/first on the long hauls across the pond; etc. We don’t buy “fully refundable” tickets; however, if our trip is cancelled, we can apply the value towards a new ticket (minus the change fee). We travel enough that there will always be a need for a new ticket to somewhere.

 

If you’re on the fence, read the various threads and make a list of all the pluses and minuses of cruise air and independent air. Give weight to what matters most to you, make a decision, and don’t second guess yourself. Have to go now – time to book a cruise!;)

[Soccerfan]

Just to let everyone who responded know, we have booked our own airfare through British Airways. We ended up saving $600.00. So thanks to everyones wonderful advice.

 

 

We flew from Toronto to Rome direct with Air Canada last year. We were not impressed with the service or the attitude of the flight attendants.

 

This June we are going back to Rome, we have booked British Airways even though it means the inconvenience of the connection in Heathrow. I have heard really positive things about BA so I'm expecting a good experience.

 

Have a great flight :)

[SeattleKnitChick]

Ok somehow tonight I realized I didn't research this enough (unusual for me!) I just looked online and found out that booking through RCI is costing us about $500 more than if I had bought the air separately.... is there anything I can do now? I guess I will be calling them tomorrow morning.... we leave in about a month and I just booked the trip last week... I think I was rushing in excitement to get the cabin I wanted!

 

oh well I guess I learned my lesson! :(

[Hedy31]

Soccerfan...let me know how your flight on BA's turns out. I'm a little nervous because we only have and hour and twenty minute layover to switch planes. I've read it should be okay but I'm still a little uneasy.

 

Seattle...I was told you can change your flight arrangements through the cruiseline as long as you haven't made your final payment. Hope that helps. Good luck.

[JJPNYC]

Ok somehow tonight I realized I didn't research this enough (unusual for me!) I just looked online and found out that booking through RCI is costing us about $500 more than if I had bought the air separately.... is there anything I can do now? I guess I will be calling them tomorrow morning.... we leave in about a month and I just booked the trip last week... I think I was rushing in excitement to get the cabin I wanted!

 

oh well I guess I learned my lesson! :(

 

If you haven't made your final payment, you can always cancel the cruise air segment. But before doing it, I would make sure that the cheaper airfare is also still available.