booking air with cruise

[robinlbe]

Just going on my second cruise...but the 1st cruise, we drove to the port.

This 2nd cruise will be just me and my mom. We will be flying from Louisville, Ky to cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Currently, I have booked flights and transfer transportation through Carnival. I've been checking around for air fare, and it seems that Carnival's price is competitive. I wouldn't have thought so, though.

 

For those of you with experience in this area, do you normally book your flights through the cruise line, or do you book them separately?

(no, we're not going through a TA....I booked directly through Carnival)

 

What are the advantages/disadvantages to booking air with the cruise line or not?

 

Appreciate ALL the advice I get from this.....thanks!

[FlyerTalker]

Suggest you read the sticky at the top of the forum which explains cruiseline air. That may be of great benefit for your education.

 

Many here take cruiseline air as a last resort. Others gladly book it and report no problems. It's a cost/benefit analysis problem, with the costs involving more than just dollars.

[robinlbe]

Thanks...I actually did read through that whole entire "sticky" thread...

but am still concerned, I guess...

It did, though, educate me in many ways.....I had thought I had understood my PVP to say that Carnival would help me if anything went wrong, but according to that thread, the cruise line certainly wouldn't care.

 

My other thought is to fly down the day before, and just play it safe....

but really wanted to hear others' experiences...

 

Thanks for taking time to write!!

[Keith1010]

I would just like to make a few suggestions.

 

Yes, I would fly down the day before. The reason is that when you fly on the day of your cruise there is risk that you will miss your flight due to plane delays or cancellations. Delays can be caused by a variety of factors from aircraft issues, to computer shutdowns at the airport, on the aircraft or with the FAA systems. There could be other reasons from delays from the shutdown of the airport due to a security breach or to weather. And the list goes on and on.

 

 

Sometimes cruise air has an advantage with respect to price or with respect to getting between the airport and the cruise ship terminal where there is a lengthly drive.

 

In your case, you will not have a lengthly drive. If you fly to Fort Lauderdale and your cruise is out of that port, then you are talking about a five or ten minute drive between airport and cruise ship terminal which is easily accomplished via taxi cab at a low price and in a very timely manner.

 

The major drawback in my opinion is you are dependent on the flights that are selected by the cruise line which many times are driven by lowest cost but are not always convenient for the passenger. If you choose to use the cruise airfare, then you should pay the extra money to request an air deviation so that you can get flights that are convenient for you.

 

If it was me and the prices were about the same I would just book the air on my own for this cruise so that I could ensure I got the precise flights I wanted. I would fly in the day before. And, I would just use a taxi to get between the airport and the port. If you go in a day before and want to rent a car when you return it to the airport there is a complimentary bus that takes you from the rental car area directly over to the cruise ship terminal.

 

Keith

[skf]

We always book Princess Air (same company as Carnival). In 2002 our ship was late arriving, & 2003 early. Princess got our flights changed & put us up at the Newark Airport. If you book your own they try to help you, but only to a point.

Steve

[paul929207]

We always fly in at least a day before the crusie. It reduces the stress over making the ship and gives us time to relax and adjust to the time difference, if applicable.

 

We usually purchase our own air.

1. The cruise lines do not guarentee the price until final payment is made.

2. You have no control over the airline and routing.

[jayscore]

For our next cruise, I originally booked "cruise air" with CCL(for the day before) because the price was actually cheaper than the rest. After doing my homework, I realized I wanted more control of my flights. IE; no redeye flights, layovers, etc. So, I dropped the CCL air. Now I have, for better price or worse, non stop flights at decent times. Mind you, I have watched the fares go up and down since I booked last spring. Good price or not, I know what I have, and I'll live with it!;)

[greatam]

Thanks...I actually did read through that whole entire "sticky" thread...

but am still concerned, I guess...

It did, though, educate me in many ways.....I had thought I had understood my PVP to say that Carnival would help me if anything went wrong, but according to that thread, the cruise line certainly wouldn't care.

 

My other thought is to fly down the day before, and just play it safe....

but really wanted to hear others' experiences...

 

Thanks for taking time to write!!

 

While the PVP said Carnival "would help me if anything went wrong", the help the cruise line can offer is LIMITED by the type of tickets they purchase. And on the weekends, the help you may get from Carnival could be VERY limited. Who do you really think is answering the phones on the weekend??? Usually low person on the pole-with limited authority to make decisions.

 

Cruise air tickets are NON ENDORSABLE to another airline. What that means to you: IF your flight from Louisville is late into your connection (and you WILL have a connection to FLL) and you miss your flight to FLL, you have VERY few choices to get to FLL in time for your cruise. Cruise air tickets REQUIRE flights ONLY on originating airlines.

 

Example: You are booked on US Air by the cruise line. The connection would be in Charlotte. You miss the connection in Charlotte. The next US Air flight from CLT to FLL has no seats available. But the Delta flight 30 minutes after your arrival at CLT has seats available and will get you into FLL in time for your cruise. You CANNOT use your cruise air ticket to board the Delta flight. You are essentially STUCK until US Air has space available seating to get you to FLL. But when you finally get on a US Air flight that has space available and arrive FLL, the ship has sailed. So again, you/the cruise line MUST find space available seating on US Air/US Air affiliate to get you to the first port stop. You VERY easily could miss two/three days of your cruise waiting for space available seating with a cruise air ticket.

 

IF you bought the US Air ticket independently, your ticket (PUBLISHED FARE TICKET) would have been good on the Delta flight. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!

 

In this day and age of air travel, IMHO,you would be very foolish to book a same day arrival to a cruise/business meeting/vacation. And unless you pay for air deviation and possibly an upcharge in air price, you WILL arrive same day with a cruise air ticket.

 

There are just too many glitches in the system to take the chance. And have you thought about same day arrival and missing luggage???? It may be 2-3 days BEFORE you get your luggage with limited air availability to various Caribbean islands.

 

Post your dates, departure/arrival airports and we will all try to find an air ticket that will get you to your cruise with time to spare.

[serene56]

If controlling your flights is important. Book them yourself and get the seats you want also.

Booking the cruiselines airfares you take the chance of connecting flights.. or very late flights getting you home.

 

Now you can control your flights by buying an upgrade called a diviation.

 

Fly in the night before-- book a hotel and arrive stressfree and less travel weary. Its a great bargain

[meaclasact2]

We've taken cruise air (through NCL) twice. One on the day of the cruise, from JFK to LA, and the Miami to JFK. Our flights were not connections, and they were excellent times.

 

This past summer we took NCL air into London several days early. Very good flight, convenient, again out of JFK to Heathrow. Since we booked our air with NCL, our transfer to London was included. Coming home out of Barcelona, we again had a very good flight first thing out of BCN. Yes...we did have to go to Madrid and catch another flight. But this was not a big deal for us. We were booked on Iberia and everything went off without a hitch.

 

My DB met us in England...he flew in same day from JFK to Heathrow. He also took NCL Air. Again, no problem and his transfer from Heathrow to Southampton was included. He stayed a bit longer in Barcelona and had a direct flight back to JFK.

 

So far we have not had a problem using cruise air. I live in NY and there are many flight from here to Florida. If I were sailing out of FLL or Miami, especially in the winter, I would fly in the day before and would probably book my own air...maybe. If the price were significantly less than what I was being charged by the cruiseline.

 

I think that perhaps I encounter less difficulty with booking because I fly out of "gateway" city.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[FlyerTalker]

Having never bought "deviation", please correct me if I am wrong - but it seems from all of my research that getting "deviation" from a cruiseline is no guarantee that you will have a published fare ticket. It merely gives you some control over the scheduling, but not over the type of ticket you are buying.

 

I could easily see a cruiseline with ship departures on both Saturday and Sunday putting Sunday pax who want to come in a day early onto their contracted flights for Saturday. Or am I ascribing traits that aren't there?

 

Again, if incorrect, please let me know.

[greatam]

Having never bought "deviation", please correct me if I am wrong - but it seems from all of my research that getting "deviation" from a cruiseline is no guarantee that you will have a published fare ticket. It merely gives you some control over the scheduling, but not over the type of ticket you are buying.

 

I could easily see a cruiseline with ship departures on both Saturday and Sunday putting Sunday pax who want to come in a day early onto their contracted flights for Saturday. Or am I ascribing traits that aren't there?

 

Again, if incorrect, please let me know.

 

You are entirely correct. When you book deviation, pay the deviation fee, BUT get the "normal" cruise air price, those tickets are the bulk booked consolidator tickets. IF you book deviation, pay the deviation fee, AND pay a hefty upcharge over "normal" cruise air price, you MAY or MAY NOT have a consolidator ticket. As you pointed out, consecutive cruise days or even cruises like in Alaska that leave in the middle of the week could very well be consolidator tickets.

 

They also could be "free call" tickets, booked over and above the bulk contract buy. Again, as discussed previously, not all Q tickets are the same. And you will RARELY see the entire C of C BEFORE you pay for the tickets. Would have to have a pretty sharp TA or KNOW what you are doing to demand the entire C of C BEFORE you spent the money.

 

Even "air deviation" tickets with an upcharge could leave you at the mercy of the airline/cruise line if there is a problem. Just too many ways to buy your own tickets for the cruise line price (I'm thinking one way repo cruises specifically) with a little research.

[FlyerTalker]

I think that perhaps I encounter less difficulty with booking because I fly out of "gateway" city.

No...the reason is because it hasn't hit the fan for you....yet.

 

When all is going smoothly, cruiseline air can, and does, work fine for large numbers of people.

 

OTOH, when the proverbial "stuff" hits the proverbial fan, cruiseline tickets now truly show their limitations and restrictions.

 

So, to paraphrase old Harry.....(see below)

[greatam]

This past summer we took NCL air into London several days early. Very good flight, convenient, again out of JFK to Heathrow. Since we booked our air with NCL, our transfer to London was included. Coming home out of Barcelona, we again had a very good flight first thing out of BCN. Yes...we did have to go to Madrid and catch another flight. But this was not a big deal for us. We were booked on Iberia and everything went off without a hitch.

 

You were booked on IBERIA. One of the WORST airlines flying Spain/USA. 'Nuff said!!!!

 

If I were sailing out of FLL or Miami, especially in the winter, I would fly in the day before and would probably book my own air...maybe. If the price were significantly less than what I was being charged by the cruiseline.

.

 

Flying from NYC to Florida, you would be foolish NOT to book your own air. Prices are comparable and you have NO guarantees with cruise air. In the fine print of your cruise contract there is wording to the effect "air, hotels, shore excursions, ground transportation are booked as a CONVENIENCE for our passengers. XXX cruise line assumes NO responsibility for third party vendors". Wouldn't you rather be dealing direct with the airline directly rather than dealing with a "third party vendor"? You really are low person in the pecking order when dealing third party anything.

[wrp96]

I have booked cruise air in the past and will do so again if the price and conditions are right. But I do so knowing the risks and without assuming the cruiseline will help me if anything goes wrong - because I know they won't. I missed a flight home after a cruise. The rep at the pier told me to talk to the cruiseline rep at the airport. Then the cruiseline rep pushed me off on the airline I was flying. Thankfully the airline helped me - as the cruiseline did nothing for me.

[skf]

Having never bought "deviation", please correct me if I am wrong - but it seems from all of my research that getting "deviation" from a cruiseline is no guarantee that you will have a published fare ticket. It merely gives you some control over the scheduling, but not over the type of ticket you are buying.

 

I could easily see a cruiseline with ship departures on both Saturday and Sunday putting Sunday pax who want to come in a day early onto their contracted flights for Saturday. Or am I ascribing traits that aren't there?

 

Again, if incorrect, please let me know.

If you use Princess Air you can ask for Business or 1st-class seats. You pay Princess $75 each & also the price differential between your tickets & regular coach.

Steve

[FlyerTalker]

If you use Princess Air you can ask for Business or 1st-class seats. You pay Princess $75 each & also the price differential between your tickets & regular coach.

Steve

And since there are consolidator tickets for business/first as well as for coach, I would again posit that you are not guaranteed published fare tickets.

[greatam]

And since there are consolidator tickets for business/first as well as for coach, I would again posit that you are not guaranteed published fare tickets.

 

I think the published fare ticket explanation is going right over someone's head. AND no bargains with business class upgrades for cruise line tickets. AA to SCL from LAX, business class was $740 MORE than purchasing direct from AA. BA business class with Cunard from PHX was almost $2000.00 more. I sure am NOT paying a premium to get a consolidator class ticket.

[happy cruzer]

OP, you asked a question in general.

 

Specifically in your case Louisville to FLL, to me it looks like your carriers are Delta and Northwest and almost all direct flights around 440 pp. Does Carnival quote better than that? If so, then I might use Carnival air and go one day early.

 

Otherwise I would book a direct flight myself and save money. To me the bottomline is what you are paying for the ticket. If anything goes wrong, you have to fix it either way (the cruiseline likes to advertise that they will help you, that is not a contractual commitment and may not mean a thing in most cases) so if you can buy the ticket yourself for the same money or less, that's the way I would go.

 

If you want help checking fares, give us the dates and airports that you need.

 

Good luck.

[greatam]

OP, you asked a question in general.

 

Specifically in your case Louisville to FLL, to me it looks like your carriers are Delta and Northwest and almost all direct flights around 440 pp. Does Carnival quote better than that? If so, then I might use Carnival air and go one day early.

 

Otherwise I would book a direct flight myself and save money. To me the bottomline is what you are paying for the ticket. If anything goes wrong, you have to fix it either way (the cruiseline likes to advertise that they will help you, that is not a contractual commitment and may not mean a thing in most cases) so if you can buy the ticket yourself for the same money or less, that's the way I would go.

 

If you want help checking fares, give us the dates and airports that you need.

 

Good luck.

 

There are NO direct flights from Louisville to FLL. A direct flight is a flight you do not change planes at the connection and the same flight number is used for both flight legs.

 

All 6 legacy carriers fly Louisville to FLL. Continental connects in Cleveland, AA connects in Chicago, NW connects in Memphis, Delta connects in Atlanta, US and United connect in Philly or Charlotte.

 

Delta is the only carrier flying a mainline (large) plane out of Louisville. All others fly a regional jet out of Louisville to the connecting hub.

 

When you buy strictly on price and pick cruise air simply because of price, you have essentially purchased a ticket that has many restrictions and is the bottom of the pecking order if there are problems. An airline purchased ticket does not have those restrictions and will not leave you at the bottom of the pond.

[Keith1010]

Before people continue to go on and on on this I just am curious does the Original Poster need anymore input.

 

Several of us have provided pros and cons on using cruise air. Are there other questions for you to make your decision?

 

In short, look at the cost of each scenario, booking through the cruise line and booking on your own.

 

Realize that the airline ticket you receive has more restrictions. For example, I know this will likely not be the case for you but when you get an airline ticket through the cruise line it does have limitations. For example, you can't upgrade using that ticket from say coach to business or first class as it does have restrictions.

 

The cruise air does include transfers but as I mentioned Fort Lauderdale is one of the easiest places to just take a taxi between airport and cruise ship terminal at a very inexpensive cost.

 

You should consider flying in the day before your cruise no matter what you do.

 

Even if you book the cruise line air they have many disclaimers and one is that they do not guarantee responsibility if you miss the ship.

 

And, if you do the cruise air I highly recommend custom air so you can request specific flights.

 

But, do a good comparison between air on your own and through the cruise line.

 

Again, let us know if you have more questions.

 

Keith

[Lookingforfacts]

I understand some of the experts don't like cruise air. I understand one reason is the fact that consolidator fare tickets can't be endorsed over to another carrier. Passengers flying to locations such as FLL/MIA, and booking their own air, are likely to consider airlines such as SW and Jet Blue. SW won't endorse their tickets over to another airline and I think Jet Blue as the same policy.

 

Are you suggesting passengers avoid airlines which won't endorse tickets over to another airline? "Endorsable tickets" may be an issue if mechanical issue result in a flight be cancelled but may of little value if weather conditions cancels all flights.

[greatam]

I understand some of the experts don't like cruise air. I understand one reason is the fact that consolidator fare tickets can't be endorsed over to another carrier. Passengers flying to locations such as FLL/MIA, and booking their own air, are likely to consider airlines such as SW and Jet Blue. SW won't endorse their tickets over to another airline and I think Jet Blue as the same policy.

 

Are you suggesting passengers avoid airlines which won't endorse tickets over to another airline? "Endorsable tickets" may be an issue if mechanical issue result in a flight be cancelled but may of little value if weather conditions cancels all flights.

 

Obviously, if an airport is shut down for weather and nobody is flying, it doesn't matter what kind of ticket you have. But an airline with a hub in DTW (NW) may have more connection problems due to weather than an airline with a hub in ATL (Delta). And therein lies the pitfall of cruise air tickets.

 

Example: Two people going on the same cruise out of Florida. One leaving from DTW, one leaving from Kansas City. Both have a connection in ATL to the same flight. The Detroit flier has a NW/Delta connection-weather is bright and sunny. The MCI flier has a Delta/Delta connection-again, weather is bright and sunny. The Detroit flier doesn't make the connection in time-planes are flying but they are running late due to a snowstorm in Minneapolis. The next Delta flights are full or there is no other Delta flight that gets him to the cruise on time. His cruise air ticket is NO GOOD on Continental through Houston, US/United through Charlotte or push comes to shove, AA through ORD. Any of those alternative flights get the pax to the cruise on time. So weather in OTHER PARTS of the country could be a BIG DEAL and your cruise air ticket would put you behind the eight ball.

 

Not only mechanical issues, but crew issues (which happens often with mechanicals), terminal security issues-just happened at JFK two weeks ago-JetBlue terminal SHUT DOWN, everyone else flying. Has happened to me at LAX. Terminal 1-US Air/SW shutdown/backed up so no one could get in or out. But all other terminals were fine.

 

And yes, you are correct-JetBlue, AirTran, Spirit, SW-non endorsable tickets. Trip insurance is recommended in all situations.

[robinlbe]

Hi everybody...I'm the original poster, and I have just got to tell you all how grateful I am for your imput, opinions, and advice (yes, they're all different).

 

I have thoroughly read everything you all have to say...and I'm still unsure as to what to do :confused:

 

I guess I'm probably not as brave as most people, and am certainly not a seasoned traveler - when it comes to flying and cruising. I am used to planning everything myself, and being in control. I have planned our family vacations (usually at least 13-15 days in length), but we've always driven. I begin my planning MONTHS in advance, searching out my best deals, to make our $$$ stretch further.

 

Since this trip will be just me and my mom (who's 73), we don't want to be at someone else's mercy, but nor do we want to handle problems on our own.....I know, I know. I can't have it both ways....

 

Yes, I'm looking to save as much $ as I can. Yes, I'm looking for the most convenient way to do this.

 

Mom and I had just about decided to fly down the day before....just so we didn't have to stress out about missing the cruise. (We're both type A personalities...ha!) But as many of you said, the airport is so close to the port, we wouldn't have quite so much to worry about.

 

If we leave the day before, I won't be able to leave until the afternoon...there are several flights available during that time. I have been able to check many websites for these flights, and the prices actually seem to be a little higher than the ones booked through Carnival.

 

Yes - we're flying out of Louisville, KY....needing to get to the Ft. Lauderdale port. We're not particular which airport down in Florida - could be Miami or FLL. There seems to be little to no price difference between flying down Friday afternoon (March 20, 2009) or Saturday morning (3/21/09).

 

The flight coming back home on March 29 shouldn't really be a problem, I don't think.

 

 

I am SO grateful for all of your help....you are just awesome, and I feel humbled that you all would spend so much time and effort helping me out.

It's so nice to be able to find people who have "been there, done there"...

thanks!!!!

[robinlbe]

oops.....sorry for double post.

 

oh, and BTW....thank you for explaining the term diviation to me....the person with whom I booked the cruise never talked about it at all...sigh.