Cost of air through Carnival

[mnsawyer]

I am potentially thinking about a cruise on the Destiny for next winter. I don't have a Carnival brochure and couldn't seem to find out the cost of air through Carnival. Could someone tell me if Bangor, ME, is an available city and if so, how much. Also, what about Portland, ME and Boston, MA. How much? Air to SJU is very high and even though I wouldn't have any control on flights, it may be cheaper than doing it on our own. Thanks!

[hdawson]

Check Carnival's air fares with your travel agent. JebBlue may fly to SJ from Boston.
Also try Travelocity and other bulk sellers
of air.

[dawnp]

mnsawyer - I'm sorry I don't have a brouchure either but I know that Boston is a City you can do air from - did you try *********** to see that air options for Carnival?

Dawn

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;3;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0500
until Century Western Carribean cruise time!

Then let the countdown to Carnival Miracle 08/07/04 begin

Carnival Fantasy - 02/04

... one cruise leads to another and another and another...

[MusicMan]

...be aware that in most cases if you book your own air you can save enough money to pay for a hotel the night before the cruise. Cruise line air fares are NOT great deals!

Jerry


Triumph 05/05/01
Fascination 09/14/01cancelled
Fascination 12/07/01
Triumph 10/24/02
Fantasy 05/18/03
Statendam 05/09/04

http://members.cox.net/theparks2/bio/Tbone.gif

[Boston6]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Cruise line air fares are NOT great deals!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Depends on when you're flying and where you're going. Carnival air from BOS to MCO during school vacation week this year was $349. Lowest available airfares from BOS or PVD that I could find at the time were $550 + the airport to Port Canaveral transfers. When I went to SJU for the Monarch cruise, RCCL was offering $299 airfare specials and it cost over $500 to buy your own ticket. Your blanket statement that cruise airfares are NOT great deals does not apply in all cases. Best to price out both options and go with the least expensive.

Sovereign of the Seas (11/89)
Monarch of the Seas (8/99)
Norwegian Sea (7/02)
Carnival Glory (4/17/04)

[dawnp]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Boston6:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Cruise line air fares are NOT great deals!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Depends on when you're flying and where you're going. Carnival air from BOS to MCO during school vacation week this year was $349. Lowest available airfares from BOS or PVD that I could find at the time were $550 + the airport to Port Canaveral transfers. When I went to SJU for the Monarch cruise, RCCL was offering $299 airfare specials and it cost over $500 to buy your own ticket. Your blanket statement that cruise airfares are NOT great deals does not apply in all cases. Best to price out both options and go with the least expensive.


<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Let me preface this all first with... I am talking about Air from BOS, MHT or PVD anywhere...

I agree Boston6 - We too went to Port Canaveral over Winter Break and the airfare was killer - we had a GTY cabin tho so we couldn't get Carnival Air. SJO is another place that I haven't lucked onto a good airfare on my own so if we ever decide to take a ship out of there I would take the Air as the price is nearly the same (for every date/ship I have checked anyway)

Dawn

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;3;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0500
until Century Western Carribean cruise time!

Then let the countdown to Carnival Miracle 08/07/04 begin

Carnival Fantasy - 02/04

... one cruise leads to another and another and another...

[Colette]

I have a Carnival brochure and the rate from Bangor to San Juan is $599, from Portland,$529 and from Boston,$509. I saved enough booking my own flights to book a nice hotel on Prieline and fly in a day early. It does depend on when you travel and how the prices are. I have booked air through Carnival at times when I couldn't get good rates anywhere else. I find the main issue of booking your own fares are that it is hard to get a late enough flight back at a good price, but not always so check around and also check directly with the airlines-I got my best price that way. I hope this helps.

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

You might be able to find cheaper airfare then what Carnival offers I would check out orbitz or travelocity websites like that to see before doing carnival air. And usually if you find a deal on orbitz you can go directly to the website of the airline that had lowest price and get better deal going directly thru them on their site. I know its easier to book everything or its more convient to do it all thru the same place but ya might luck out and saves some dollars.

Cyt

Atlantic
Oceanic
Norway
Enchantment of the Seas
Destiny
Voyager of the Seas
Conquest March 30th 2003
Glory May 29th 2004

[loops]

Believe it or not, it was cheaper for us to book our air through Carnival then on our own. We probably saved about $200+ per person and there were 6 of us traveling. We were flying from Newark, NJ to Jacksonville, Fl.

You can call the Carnival air/sea dept. and they should be able to quote a price. Then do some research on booking your own air. If you do book your own air, I would recommend flying in the day before.

If you book air through Carnival you won't know your flights until you receive your documents (about 1 month before your cruise). Also, be aware that Carnival can fly you home the next day and put you up in a hotel if no same day flights are available. Also, Carnival will take care of getting you to the ship if your flight is late/cancelled. We didn't like the flights they gave us and were able to change them at no cost.

Good luck!

[bigmike7]

Yo-

We took the Carnival "Elation" Panama Canal cruise from Long Beach to Galvaston last September-

We got a "deal" which included RT air from SFO-

It appears that we paid $100 for airfare that would have otherwise cost us in excess of $450 and that did NOT include the transfers from and to the airport which is especially important from a place like Galvaston.

www.crucon.com (http://www.crucon.com) is a good travel agency that has alot of air included deals on various cruises-

Check them out-

Happy Cruisin'

Mike

Fairsea'86-Mexican Riviera
Stardancer'88-Mexican Riviera
Crown Odyssey'00-E. Med
Dream'01-W. Med
Sky'01-Hawaii
Regal'02-Alaska
Norway'02-E. Carib
Norway'03-E. Carib
Elation'03-Panama Canal
Crown'04-Canada/East Coast
Norway "Royal Suite" 07/04/04-CANCELLED!!
"We have never had a BAD cruise - some were just BETTER than others"

[diggerhawk]

Most of the time booking your own air is cheaper. We were flying from Salt Lake to Miami and the air through carnival was cheaper last November so we booked through carnival but it was a nightmare. On the return flight the airline said that no one had called to confirm the flight and so they had cancelled 30 of us from carnival and about 10 from Royal Caribbean. We were all on standby and some got on and some didn't. It was a bad experience. The cruise was great but the airfair ordeal was bad.

Wendy

[betsyrossapk]

I saw an advertisement for an airline called Song Airlines that has a fare of $370 RT from New York to San Juan. Maybe you could check out their website & see if that would work for you.

Inspiration: 11/4/04

[tim_alabim]

We are trying to compare for a next April cruise. Problem is most airline sites don't go out far enough. Want to book cruise now, but also want to do the whole thing at once and be all set. Anyone book together, then cancel air later?

Fantasy 10/91
Celebration 4/03
Disney Wonder 4/04

Destiny
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2005;4;17;22;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[RinaJune612]

I saved money doing my own air. I fly Southwest all the time. So I used my Free Ticket miles to get to New Orleans. You may just want to do cruise only.

Conquest 6/13/04

[islandgram]

Being another one of those "Mainiacs", we have been checking airfare from Bangor, Boston, etc. What I have found out so far is that sometimes you can do it cheaper from Boston, sometimes Bangor, and Carnival is often right in the ball-park. I don't know what time of year you are traveling, but if it is winter in Maine, I would go with Carnival, even if it is a little more expensive. They guarantee you to the ship, so if you are delayed even with weather, they catch you up to the ship if it has sailed. I have some prices and options we have used from Maine if you want to e-mail me, I would be glad to share ...
lfaulkingham53@yahoo.com

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=800080&cdt=2005;3;12;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Days 'til we cruise Carnival Glory!!!

[loops]

We booked our cruise portion 10 months prior to the sailing date. We didn't add airfare on until 2 months before. I would check Carnival's price and ask them if it stays the same whether you book now or later.

[CruiseFever]

Air is surely something that you need to shop around for. Why pay hundreds of dollars more for the exact same flights on the exact same airline if you don't have to?

I really think the time you're investing here and in your search efforts will pay off in the long run.

A couple points, pro and con, to remember about cruise line air as you continue your quest:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>PRO- you stand a better chance of making your cruise if your flight is delayed if you use the cruise line air
<LI>CON- You may not have the flexibility in your flight times that you would booking on your own without paying an additional "deviation" fee (I never liked the sound of that, like they're talking about me while I am on hold "There's another deviate on line 2!")
<LI>PRO OR CON- the price- you just have to look there is no steadfast rule the says either on your own or through the cruise line is better or worse
<LI>PRO- if traveling to a city or airport you are unfamiliar with, having someone from the cruise line meet you might be worth it to you[/list]

Just some stuff to consider

Happy Cruising

Chris

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

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

[fascination 5/10]

Another alternative to save mone would be to drive from Bagor to Burlington, VT (it's about 7 hours, I think, but not a bad drive. Then you could JetBlue to SJU for 157 each way. I love JetBlue...we're going RT to Ft Lauderdale next wee for $177 per person total!

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;5;10;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Fascination 5/12/03

[atonal1]

San Juan is one place where the cruise line air has ALWAYS been cheaper (from BWI) than booking on my own. I have been checking and the rates range from $471 (2 days early and 1 day later) to $771 (exact dates of travel). RCI's price is $479.

Now I did fare well on my own for the Miami departure of Carnival Triumph. CCL wanted $349 p/p and I found $188 p/p US Air Wash-National to FLL (non-stop).

Inspiration 6/96, 12/01
Carnival Destiny 7/97, 11/00
Rhapsody of the Seas 11/98
Norwegian Sea 7/00
Norwegian Star 6/02
Paradise 11/02
Sovereign of the Seas 8/03
Serenade of the Seas 12/03

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;8;7;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500&nbsp;until Carnival Triumph 8/04

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;11;21;22;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500&nbsp;until Adventure of the Seas 11/04

[umograd83]

I used to live in Scarborough, ME and when I started cruising (with Carnival, of course!) I used Carnival's airfare program. But after several cruises, I started doing my own airfare. I had a friend who flew out of Bangor and we would meet up in Miami. The one thing I hated about flying with Carnival making the arrangements is that they always put you on a 6:00 a.m. flight. I prefer to fly out the day before and stay at a hotel. That way you aren't worried about the weather, especially in the winter. Did you know that Pan Am flies out of the former Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, NH? They fly to San Juan (at least the last time I checked they did). Another alternative airport you can check out is Manchester, NH.

Norma

[crisp1]

I don't know if this still applies, but awhile ago, if you booked the air thru CCL, the port charges were higher than if you booked it(the air) on your own http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif



To Sea, or not, to See.
Starward 81, Volendam 83, Oceanic 87, Majestic 93, Victory 2/10/02, Imagination 5/23/02, 1/30/03, Conquest 12/28/03, Destiny 04/11/04

Conquest New Years Cruise
http://community.webshots.com/user/crisp1028

[mnsawyer]

Thanks everyone for the replies. It looks like going out of Boston may be the best bet. Since we're thinking about going in mid-March, it's high season. Would save us nearly $500 for two. Don't mind going to Bean-town two days prior...DH goes there often for work. Can stay at the Day's Inn in Saugus...shuttle, breakfast and free parking. Also, would want to go down a day before. All direct flights from Boston too. If the price was only $200, I assuredly would reconsider.