Airfair

[Mike45]

Goodmorning all,

When making cruise reservations are you better off letting the cruiseline include your airfair or are you better off making your own flight arrangments? Witch one is usually cheaper?

[MonaCD]

From what I've read on other threads on this topic, it's a crap shoot. Sometimes you can get a better price on your own, sometimes not. Best thing to do is check out prices for both and go with what you feel is best. Me, I always book my airfare myself because I like to have control over which airlines I will use and know well in advance what my flights will be.

[big_duck]

Nothing you can do but shop around. If you are lucky to be using a hub airport with lots of competition you stand a better chance of booking on you own probably.

 

Booking on you own also give you more control of the your itinerary and of course makes it easier to fly in the day before.

 

Remember when doing your comparisons, the cruise lines air cost includes transfers which can have a significant cost for some ports (Galveston, Port Canaveral).

[silentbob007]

I always book it myself unless cruise air is substantially cheaper. Cruise air does come with transfers, which again are usually cheaper and more convenient if you take care of them yourself, but may be worth looking into for airports far away from cruiseports, etc.

 

I think that most of the warnings you'll get about cruise air is that it general costs more, you fly in the day of the cruise unless you pay extra to deviate, and you are given consolidator tickets with low-priority in the event that something happens and you are delayed and need to try to catch a different flight.

[LynneL]

I've generally found I can do better booking myself, although I always book my air far in advance so I try to catch the cheap flights when they are first posted by airlines. From what I understand, when booking thru the cruiseline you will not know your flight until close to sailing time - I'm a planner who likes to know all details ahead - don't like to cut things too close - also no guarantee they'll be non-stop, which we prefer. (Though with the rapid changes airlines are making these days to cover fuel costs, you may book a non-stop yourself & be told later your flight has been changed to include a stop). As other poster said, doing it yourself gives you a lbit of control (utlimately the airlines has all the say though).

 

The only time I have found the cruiseline to be cheaper was just recently when trying to add someone on to our cruise the week after Christmas (cruise over New's Year's Eve). Air has gone crazy in price for that week since we booked our air & Carnival was a bit less...but the person decided not to go on the cruise so don't know how it would have played out.

 

An option (depending on how far away is your cruise) is to book air thru Carnival & then search out fares on your own. You can cancel the air up until the time final payment is due without penalty (if former cancellation rules still apply - check first!!). Oh - way back I had thought booking thru the cruiseline guaranteed them waiting for you if you had a flight delay...NOT the case.

[Ken076]

I've ALWAYS done better researching myself and booking direct with the airlines. Carnival may not let you know the actual flights until very late and they have been known to schedule flight arrivals a little tight relative to ship departure. Generally, you're better off flying the day before and staying in a hotel. Carnival does have pre-cruise hotel stay packages, but maybe a bit pricey. Ken

[mom2tcdx2]

Each time I have checked airfare through the cruise line they were more than double what I could get on my own plus I had a lot more flexibility to schedule as I saw fit. For instance in November our cruise leaves out on Saturday but we are flying in on Thursday. You are still get the ship transfers even if you provide your own airfare, it was also pretty inexpensive.

[jajohnson]

I have found that the cruise line provided better value on "open jaw" flights, where you fly in to and out of different airports. As a general rule of thumb I usually book flights with the cruise line at the time of booking. I then watch various sources for better prices as time gets closer. If I can get a better price I drop the cruise air and book myself.

 

Warning, in todays air environment, the price quoted from the cruise line varies until final payment, so you need to be smarter and keep on top of the costs.

[pjtulsa]

I have a friend that we sailed with that had purchased Cruise Air and didn't know the flights until 4 days before the cruise. The big surprise was that she and her son were on one flight and her husband was on completely different flights! :eek: They tried like crazy to get it fixed so they would all be on the same flights but were not able to. To make things worse she is afraid to fly!

[jpg1747]

For domestic cruises I book my own flights, sometimes using ship transfers and sometimes taking taxis. When I venture over to Europe to cruise, I will probably use the cruise package, at least the first time, because I will be in unfamiliar territory, unless I can find something substantially cheaper on my own.

[dlbutler5]

When booking for europe check out Best Travel Store for good rates.