Cruise Air or On Your Own?

[gopher's girl]

I purchased cruise air for my last cruise (Philly to San Juan flight) and it worked out really well with our change of itinerary one week before boarding (Princess bump) and the fact that we had non-stop flights.

For my next cruise, I would be looking to fly from Philly to Fort Lauderdale, and I can get good prices on my own but is it really worth the extra $100 or so per person to have the cruise line responsible for my flight?

Has anyone ever booked their own air and really regretted it?

Also, what happens if you book your air through the cruise and then change your mind? Before or after the final payment... please help!

thanks so much!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dawn Princess 04/11/2004 ~ Southern Caribbean

Caribbean Princess 08/14/2004 ~ Eastern Caribbean

[meyerhaus]

When I went on the Celebrity Zenith's Inaugural in 1993, we used cruise air and had no problems. I have heard horror stories, but i havn't had any myself.

Personally, I try to start looking on Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. after I book the cruise. If I can't find a good deal before final payment, I would add air.

Just my two cents!

JON

MAKE SURE YOU GO TO MY NEW PATTERS AND MENUS SITE:
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Golden Princess 7/11/04
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Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

[Toto2Kansas]

Check on the prices yourself. I think you just got really lucky the first time around as letting the cruise line book your flights normally means a lot of stops along the way, both ways.
Best to book your own, then you can fly in the day before and relax a bit without having to pay the high deviation fees the cruise lines impose.

Tahitian Princess 10/14/04
RCI-Legend of the Seas 3/27/05 Panama Canal.
One Phantom Booking still open with Princess.

[torpeedo]

We did and will never do it again! We had to arrive at the airport in Charlotte NC at the wonderful hour of 5am to travel to Atlanta to take a connecting flight at 10am to Ft. Lauderdale. There is a non stop to Ft. Lauderdale at 8:30am which we would have booked had we done it ourselves. Have heard terrible things about people from the NE and west having to travel 10 hours plus to get to Ft. Lauderdale on the convoluted travel plan from the cruise line..

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12/5/04 Legend
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[sue d. miller]

First I would suggest going in a day early, regardless of the time of year. I would always try to book mt own air. You pick the time, price, airline. With the cruiseline, you take what they give you. Keep checking prices. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

[Pam in CA]

It really depends on where you're going and whether you have different embarkation/de-embarkation cities.

Last year, the Princess air fares for flying to Fairbanks, returning from Vancouver to Boston were better than what I could do on my own. I'm also using Princess air for my Manaus, Brazil to Rome itinerary.

So it's not really a blanket, "Never use Princess air." There are times when it does make sense. That said, going to/from Ft. Lauderdale, I would book my own air and go down the day ahead.

Song of Norway & Song of America, 1986-88; Royal Princess 2/99; Sun Princess 1/00; Ocean Princess 12/00; Royal Princess 4/01; Grand Princess 12/23/01; Sea Princess 2/9/02; Explorer of the Seas 12/21/02; Coral Princess 8/9/03; Nordic Empress 12/27/03; Regal Princess (4/20/04)

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[geoherb]

When we first started cruising (1989), we booked airfare with the cruiseline through our TA. Back then, there did not seem to be a lot of difference in price. We never had really bad layovers (except the time we flew back through Washington, D.C., had got fogged in for a few extra hours).

More recently, though, there's been a big difference in price for most of our cruises. We have started going a day early for most of them and coming back a day later a lot of times to avoid the crowds and get better prices.

The only recent cruises where we've booked our air through the cruiseline have been two from San Juan--where the price of buying it on our own was more than through the cruiseline.

[marco]

The only time it could be a problem, is if you booked the super deal non-refundable airfare and then your cruise got canx or departure dates changed. This is rare, but not unheard of. Usually, your own air is considerably less expensive and if going to FFL, a cab on your own is $10. If you are doing a cruise in and out of different ports, sometimes cruise air is a better deal, and in the case of some European cruises where the port is 1-2 hours from the airport and transfers would be on your own (and could be over $100 each way), cruiseline air WITH transfers is a better deal. Being from NY, all of the Eurpoean cruises we ever did using cruiseline air always included non-stops to/from JFK and the transfers.

[cjskids]

I booked my air myself for my upcoming San Juan cruise in October. Princess wanted $440 per person and I was able to get roundtrip on American out of Fll directly into San Juan for $230 per person.

[ambergj]

We always do cruise air b/c if something goes a muck then it's not your fault, it will get taken care of by the cruise. They will make sure to get your to the nearest port if you miss embarkation.

Sea Princess: 08/2000
RCCL Voyager of the Seas: 12/2002
Golden Princess: 07/2003

Can NEVER get ENOUGH cruisin

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[tory707]

GG, I also live in philly and have been on 8 cruises. Only booked through the cruise line once and will never do it again. They wound up sending us from Philly to Chicago to Florida! We now go down a day early and stay for about $65.00 in a nice hotel within walking distance to the Pier. Your then on the Ship by 10:30-11:00. You will also save about $100 pp. I scheduled Southwest back to Philly departing @ 11:50 which is ample time in FLL since it's minutes from the pier to Airport.

[CruiseFever]

Like Toto, I think you got lucky. I have yet NOT been able to beat the cruise line air price but I always check.

I'll add to that though a note of extreme caution with the current fuel price situation that is already resulting in air prices going up.

I think it might be conceivable that cruise air could be a good deal if this fuel pricing continues to become an issue. From what I understand (and someone correct me if I am in error) the cruise lines contract for air well in advance to secure adequate seats at a given price. This could turn out to be an advantage area for passengers if outside air that we have access to goes crazy high.

I booked air for our December cruise yesterday just because others had reported the addition of a fuel surcharge. I didn't want to wait and have a big shocker when I booked it.

As far as if I've ever regretted booking my own air? No not at all. Booking it on my own allows me to pick flights, airlines and the like that integrate successfully into our travel plans.

We also like to play "Lets Get Bumped!" where we book connecting flights really close together hoping a flight delay on the first one will make us miss our next flight and that the next one after that will be booked so we get "bought off" by the airline with vouchers good for future travel. It's pretty easy to do as we travel during peak seasons when our kids are out of school. There's a lot more to it than that but the odds of cashing in are not so great when the cruise line books your air...they play it safe. Doing this requires having flexible travel plans and the airlines really appreciate it when we volunteer to give up our seats to someone who MUST be on a particular flight that we have confirmed seats on.

As Sue noted above, flying in a day before the cruise is a great idea and just what we do. That gives us a lot of flexibility in our travel plans and would require paying an extra "deviation" fee to the cruise line to accomplish. We did cruise air on our first cruise and did not like it at all...felt like cattle going to the slaughter being led around in a huge group.

I really think on your own air is the way to go

Here's more

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/flight_reservations

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
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Star Princess 10/24/04
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[BUN]

we booked our own airfare this time too. our first cruise we let the ta make all the arrangements and it turned out it wasnt a direct flight from philly to ft.lauderdale so we had to pay extra$$.. so our tix were @ 600.00 pp round trip. very expensive! this time i found a great rate (156.00 pp) and we are going the night before too, with a free shuttle to the ship! ha!

[Tania]

We have always booked our own air and saved a lot of money. Example: Detroit - Istanbul - Athens was $700 including taxes. Princess wanted over $1000.

Like someone said, going in a day early is ESSENTIAL. The one time we didn't, the airlines lost our luggage. Thanks to the wonderful customer service at Princess, our luggage was placed in a taxi, then a pilot boat before being delivered to us in College Fjord.

FYI: LAst week, I booked a last minute 12 day Grand Med cruise at a ridiculously low price and decided to go with Princess air after frantically searching for two days and finding nothing that low. Of course three days later, my TA finds air at a savings of $500 for the two of us. HOWEVER, it seems that Princess will let you cancel air up to 42 days before departure, which we did, despite final payment. Of course, I realize that crediting my card will be notoriously slow, but $500 IS $500. Bonus is that the new flights are on Northwest with whom we have points accounts.

Good luck!

* Star Princess 07/04 *
Diamond Princess 03/04
Sun Princess 12/03
Grand Princess 12/02
Royal Princess 08/02
Ocean Princess 08/01
Pacific Princess 12/00
Carla C. 03/83

[rxmurphy]

I happen to travel a lot for business and have accumulated delta frequent flyer miles. While I couldn't get a non-stop from ATL to SEA for free, I did get first class for the same price as cruise air, and I'm sure that would have been coach with connections. I think you can do at least as good as the cruise line on your own, and you get to pick the times, etc. Good luck!

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[mrsgoofy98]

There are some things to consider when booking your own air. Someone has already mentioned the possibility of a cruise itinerary change. If you purchase insurance, then you might not be reimbursed for the air that you purchased separately. I have heard that one of the non-cruise insurers refused to reimburse a group of people since they claimed they were not being told they couldn't use their air. If you already purchased the air and something happens with your cruise being cancelled, you could possibly schedule to take another cruise from the same port on the same week. If you schedule your air to go down at least one night prior to your cruise, then this might be possible.

I always book my air separately and save money. I also always go up the night before.

If you do decide to use the air from the cruiseline, you do have the option to pay a small additional fee (called a deviation fee) to be sure to get flights you want. Some cruiselines offer deviation for free if you are a member of their loyalty club.

Hope that helped,
Donna

LEGEND, May 04
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[srphnx]

Another vote for own-air, everything the cruise line touchs it marks up and rightfully so.

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[cruiseaway]

My TA suggested I purchase my own air fare to Seattle, it was a LOT cheaper. I purchased non-Princess insurance and included the price of the airline tickets in the insurance. It did not add much to the insurance cost.

[kendon]

Book your own leaving plenty of time on each end. Our experience with cruise air has been to over pay and get crazy flight times. If you decide to book the flight on your own, don't limit yourself to travelocity, expedia, etc. as they have limited flights available. I just mentioned in a previous post that my local TA (franchised agency) came through with fantastic flights, non-stop round trip to San Juan for August that the other online biggies didn't come near in price or availability.