Fly - Aweigh Program & complimentary hotel?

[iluvazsun]

I just booked a cruise for 2/22/09 on Freedom but I didn't get the air. I thought I'd book it myself, but I just read online under the Fly Aweigh terms & conditions that they offer a complimentary over night stay the night before the cruise if your flying into certain cities...Ft Lauderdale being one of them. Has anyone heard of this before and how does it work? I may be better off getting my airfare thru Carnival if they're gonna put me up for a night in a hotel because I had planned on doing that anyways.

And...if you purchase air thru their program do you have to pay that portion up front ? Like I put down a deposit and the final payment isnt due til beginning of Dec. So if I add on airfare, do I have to pay for that now, or will the deposit I put down still hold my airfare until I make the final payment?

Any info would be great! Thanks!

[big_duck]

Yes, if you are out west they will fly you in the day before and put you up in a hotel. This is mostly because of time zone changes they can't really get you there on the day of.

 

This price is rolled into your cruise fare and you only have to pay it off when you pay off the cruise.

[iluvazsun]

Great! That is awesome! Wonder why my personal planner didn't tell me that when I booked....hmmmm! I'm gonna have to give him a call and do that. I didn't want to have to pay for the airfare right now. And I am from Phoenix and noticed the flights were arriving later in the day so I needed to get there the day before.

 

Kinda nice they do that but wonder if everyone knows!

 

Thanks again!

[illiniwahoo]

do you think the hotel is really free, or do they just increase the price of the air portion to recoup the hotel cost? I'll be interested to see which option you think is best.

[redskin80]

Since we live in colorado, and have used the fly Away progam for all our cruises, I prefer the prorgam. Do I think my room is free, no, but it is worth the peace of mind I get from getting in the day before my cruise. I can relax from the hectic day of flying, by eating a nice dinner, getting my wine ( for taking on board) from a local grocery store, and a good night sleep and a shower, before I get on board for my week of cruising.

 

 

As far as the difference in cost, I have not done the math. We have a set price on what we will pay for the Cruise and airfare and what I gotten from Carnival has always been within what I am willing to pay, so for us it a good deal.

[iluvazsun]

For those who have used this program...any idea what hotel Carnival uses for those flying in to Ft. Lauderdale?

[big_duck]

One of these:

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Static_Templates/EMB_travel_hotline.aspx

[iluvazsun]

Thanks for the link! I checked and fly aweigh is gonna charge me $500 ppp round trip air with hotel when I found it on my own for $325 pp without hotel. so may be saving about $200 on my own. Undecided what to do...any suggestions?

[firefly333]

Thanks for the link! I checked and fly aweigh is gonna charge me $500 ppp round trip air with hotel when I found it on my own for $325 pp without hotel. so may be saving about $200 on my own. Undecided what to do...any suggestions?

 

Mid Feb is high season down in S. Florida. When we went near the end of January 07, it was also the football play offs, so hotels were even worse. I had a friend putting me up, but my cruise roomie couldnt find a hotel that wasnt a dump for under $200 a night.

 

You might check out hotel rates, but near the port, which is near the beach, hotels will be sky high, all the winter birds will be down there until Easter on the beaches. You could stay inland near the swamps, and probably get a little lower rate, say $150, but then you would have to pay more for the taxi ride.

 

Id check out hotel rates before you decide, you might be surprised how hight they are in Feb.

[Mulligan from Nova Scotia]

We are from Canada and have used the Fly Aweigh program on a number of occasions. I usually check the price of the flights and a reasonable hotel. When you include the transfers vs cab fare, we find that the Fly Aweigh program, for us anyway, is usually a better deal. We also like the convenience.

 

Mike from Nova Scotia, Canada eh!

[big_duck]

Thanks for the link! I checked and fly aweigh is gonna charge me $500 ppp round trip air with hotel

 

CC also includes all transfers so don't forget to figure that into your cost comparison.

[misguidedangel]

I have had good and not so good experiences with the fly aweigh program. I 've gotten two red-eye flights and one disasterous flight that expected us to fly in the of the cruise on a very cold winter day.

 

The Conquest cruise air was cancelled because they expected us to fly out the day of the cruise and take the longest possible route to Houston when we could get there in under 6 hours on a different flight. We cancelled, booked the other flight (just under six hours), and made hotel reservations on our own for the day before.

 

You are close enough to the ports to fly in the day of the cruise, so if you do book cruise air expect a early morning flight, unless you book a pre-cruise and then you will pay for the hotel for the days you want to be there before the cruise....

 

I leave in two days for my next cruise and as usual, Carnival booked me a red-eye flight to Florida. I am not looking forward to another red-eye flight and going another 36+ hours without sleep. I did it last year and it was not fun.....oh well, at least when I did fall asleep I slept for 15 hours..