Regarding Air Travel....

[Jim&JaneFromWV]

My wife and I are cruising on the Mariner 09/23. We will be flying from our home town in West Virginia on the day we set sail. We would like to travel on the 22nd, but we have a commitment that day and can't leave any earlier.

I have spoken with RCCL and they have no problem scheduling air travel out of our local airport on the same day that we sail. I know that I can book a flight to Orlando myself that gets us there in plenty of time and at a much cheaper price.

What are the advantages of having RCCL book the airfare vs booking myself, if there is a flight delay that keeps us from getting to the ship before departure time?

I would appreciate your insight!

 

Thanks,

Jim

[SomeBeach]

If I have this wrong someone will correct me.....

If you book through RCI and miss the ship, RCI will cover the cost to get you to the next port. Book on your own and you are responsible for working out the details yourself.

I book on my own but I always go a day or 2 ahead. Last year, I booked my son and his family on a same day arrival and it worked fine. I was a bit nervous until I knew for sure they were taking off.

BTW, you live in an area that I visit a few times a year. I especially like the fall when the mountains are a blaze of color.

[Guest furbear]

If I have this wrong someone will correct me.....

If you book through RCI and miss the ship, RCI will cover the cost to get you to the next port. Book on your own and you are responsible for working out the details yourself.

I book on my own but I always go a day or 2 ahead. Last year, I booked my son and his family on a same day arrival and it worked fine. I was a bit nervous until I knew for sure they were taking off.

BTW, you live in an area that I visit a few times a year. I especially like the fall when the mountains are a blaze of color.

Micki, you're correct in your response. However, if you make your own flight plans and you take out the cruise insurance, then the cruise insurance will cover you. The difference though is that you will need to cover expenses out of pocket up front, and then request reimbursement later.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Micki, you're correct in your response. However, if you make your own flight plans and you take out the cruise insurance, then the cruise insurance will cover you. The difference though is that you will need to cover expenses out of pocket up front, and then request reimbursement later.

 

Is this policy on RCI's website somewhere? I couldn't find it.

This is all I found.

 

Air Travel

 

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Q: What are the benefits of reserving my air arrangements through Royal Caribbean?

A: When you reserve your cruise with Royal Caribbean we can also handle your air arrangements. Our air arrangements offer a seamless, worry-free way to get from your home airport to the cruise ship and back again. Arrangements include round-trip air transportation to and from the port of departure and arrival, an airport greeting by a Royal Caribbean representative and ground transportation between the airport and the port.

 

Custom Air arrangements also allow you to choose a preferred airline, specific times and/or premium-class seats.

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To Jane and Jim - Do you have passports? Just read on another forum that they missed their cruise and they were going to fly them to their next port which was Grand Cayman. Unfortunately they didn't have passports so they couldn't go and missed the entire cruise.

 

Bill

[sassyj]

We booked air through RCI and missed the ship due to mechanical problems on both segments of our flights. RCI only gave us a 40 minute connection in Atlanta? Crazy. They put us up in a hotel in FLL the first night (there were 2 adults and 3 kids and they gave us 2 rooms), flew us down to San Juan and put us in a hotel (2 rooms again) for that night. We got on the ship on day 3. RCI was great about it, but I would rather have been on the ship. We are booking our own air this year.

[cb at sea]

The advantage of booking your own flights, will be that you can pick the times, connections, and seats that you want. If RCI books, you won't have that "luxury", unless you pay more for "custom air". Hardly worth it, IMO. Get insurance, and book on your own.