Help with Choice Air

We are taking a TA next year on the Brilliance.

We would like to fly to Dublin and visit family and see Ireland, then either fly on our own or take the ferry over to England and stay a couple of days. We would board the Brilliance in Harwich.

I haven't used Choice Air so have no clue to what restrictions etc that apply. I read on RCI that you could fly in before the cruise, just wondering if we would have to fly to Heathrow, or if we could go to Dublin then get to Harwich.

Thanks for your help.

We are taking a TA next year on the Brilliance.

 

We would like to fly to Dublin and visit family and see Ireland, then either fly on our own or take the ferry over to England and stay a couple of days. We would board the Brilliance in Harwich.

 

I haven't used Choice Air so have no clue to what restrictions etc that apply. I read on RCI that you could fly in before the cruise, just wondering if we would have to fly to Heathrow, or if we could go to Dublin then get to Harwich.

 

Thanks for your help.

You can check now if you like. Just go to http://www.choiceair.com and choose Quick Flight Search Only. You can try different city pairs and dates.

Our experience with Choice Air has been with two Celebrity Cruises, in both cases a very good way to book the air. You need to have the cruise booked, with a confirmation number (reservation number). Call Choice Air, explain what you want, and they will give you a number of options, with prices. There is no need to book immediately; you can review the choices, make your decision, and call back.

In both of our cruises we had a choice of carriers and times, and we saved thousands of dollars over what we would have paid had we booked through the airlines.

We are doing exactly that this year before the Independence TA. We are flying from Reno to Dublin and staying 3 nights. We booked that on choice air. We are then taking Aer Lingus into Heathrow. We booked that are our own as we wanted to get there quickly in order to spend some in London before heading to the port. We had no trouble at all booking it.

Kathy

Kathy,

Did you search for prices on your own? Our cruise isn't until next September so I can't book yet.

Wondering where you are staying in Dublin and what you are doing.

Thanks for your help.

Our experience with Choice Air has been with two Celebrity Cruises, in both cases a very good way to book the air. You need to have the cruise booked, with a confirmation number (reservation number). Call Choice Air, explain what you want, and they will give you a number of options, with prices. There is no need to book immediately; you can review the choices, make your decision, and call back.

In both of our cruises we had a choice of carriers and times, and we saved thousands of dollars over what we would have paid had we booked through the airlines.

Thanks for your reply. Wondering how far in advance you booked your air? Did you price it and then follow and book or did choice air do it for you?

I am assuming once booked you are locked in the price? Can you include the Choice Air in your travel insurance?

Thanks for your help.

You can usually book air at most 11 months in advance.

As stated above, I just did 8 months out, so it is more than that.

We found domestic prices HIGH. Overseas prices were about 1/3 the cost of what we were able to book ourselves and through TA's.

We booked our choice air in the Spring when my son and family decided to go. Depending on the route, airline and time of year it has varied from about $490 to $570. A lot depends on how many stops you want to make. Flying direct from Reno to Europe is nigh on impossible. We are going Reno to San Francisco to Dulles to Dublin and paid $525 each.

We are staying at Bewleys at the Airport and booked it thru Hotels.com. It was in our price range and has a free shuttle from the airport.

We booked an all day tour from Tour Dublin that will take in the countryside, some historical sights and at least one castle( for my daughter in law). He has different ones and will customize. We booked online the Hop On Hop Off for a day in Dublin and the Guiness Brewery(for my son). My husband and I are taking the day we arrive to get adjusted and rested up from jet lag as we are in our 70's. The kids have rented a car and driver that day to take them to Galway and the area where they filmed The Quiet Man.

Hope that helps. We did a lot of research before we booked anything as that is part of the fun for me .

Kathy

Our experience with Choice Air has been with two Celebrity Cruises, in both cases a very good way to book the air. You need to have the cruise booked, with a confirmation number (reservation number). Call Choice Air, explain what you want, and they will give you a number of options, with prices. There is no need to book immediately; you can review the choices, make your decision, and call back.

In both of our cruises we had a choice of carriers and times, and we saved thousands of dollars over what we would have paid had we booked through the airlines.

The key is to check prices from both the airlines and ChoiceAir. When I was looking, ChoiceAir quoted prices a LOT more expensive than directly from United Airlines. ChoiceAir was almost twice as expensive for the same flights. Needless to say, I bought the tickets directly from United. To be fair though, all the other travel sites also quoted the higher prices. United must have been running a special deal on their web site that I took advantage of.

The key is to check prices from both the airlines and ChoiceAir. When I was looking, ChoiceAir quoted prices a LOT more expensive than directly from United Airlines. ChoiceAir was almost twice as expensive for the same flights. Needless to say, I bought the tickets directly from United. To be fair though, all the other travel sites also quoted the higher prices. United must have been running a special deal on their web site that I took advantage of.

Was this for a domestic or international flight? Our experience has been that international flights through Choice Air are far less expensive than booking directly through the airlines.

Domestic flights, on the other hand, are always less expensive when booking direct with the airlines.

Was this for a domestic or international flight? Our experience has been that international flights through Choice Air are far less expensive than booking directly through the airlines.

 

Domestic flights, on the other hand, are always less expensive when booking direct with the airlines.

This was domestic, NY to Alaska.....

Before you book anything I encourage you to post on the Cruise Air Forum under the Discussions boards.

To better understand the cruise air programs you can enlist the assistance of frequent poster who have an intimate knowledge of options.

I so appreciate the posts for everyone. That is what is so great from first hand cruisers that have been there and done that.

For those that have used the Choice Air international, did you book your airline tickets a year in advance or follow prices for a bit and then book?

Did you use a website to track prices or just check each airline on their one way fares?

This will probably be three seperate flights on this cruise, one to Dublin, then to England then from Boston home.

Any tips are welcome.

I so appreciate the posts for everyone. That is what is so great from first hand cruisers that have been there and done that.

 

For those that have used the Choice Air international, did you book your airline tickets a year in advance or follow prices for a bit and then book?

 

Did you use a website to track prices or just check each airline on their one way fares?

 

This will probably be three seperate flights on this cruise, one to Dublin, then to England then from Boston home.

 

Any tips are welcome.

We booked our flights 11 months in advance. In our experience, the prices for air did not go down from what we initially had booked.

For those that have used the Choice Air international, did you book your airline tickets a year in advance or follow prices for a bit and then book?

My experience has been that when pricing is first released, it is high. I watch daily and have found that pricing does tend to come down about 6-8 months prior to departure. Pricing also fluctuates depending on the time of day and day of the week that you are researching. So with a little patience, you should find a good price.

Since we pay for the tickets at the time of booking the flights, I always take out 3rd party insurance as a precaution.

We booked our flights 11 months in advance. In our experience, the prices for air did not go down from what we initially had booked.

This is what we did for our Alaska cruise next July. After the prices were put on the United website for next July, I looked around at the various other options and found that the United website was the best price. I did notice that the prices are low some days and almost double on other days. Got to be careful. We do not fly very often and it is a long trip to Alaska, so we booked First Class. :D

I think that the early air fare prices are about as low as they are going to be. We have found that the cruise prices tend to work the same way.

My experience has been that when pricing is first released, it is high. I watch daily and have found that pricing does tend to come down about 6-8 months prior to departure. Pricing also fluctuates depending on the time of day and day of the week that you are researching. So with a little patience, you should find a good price.

 

Since we pay for the tickets at the time of booking the flights, I always take out 3rd party insurance as a precaution.

Patti, is your experience with the economy class seats?

We are flying to Barcelona Sept 19th I booked through Choice Air after watching flight prices on travel sights for a year and a half getting a feel for what was an average. I checked with Choice and they seemed to be about $200 a ticket cheaper I started watching it faithfully morning, afternoon and evening One day checked it at 5:00 PM then again at 8:00 it dropped another $200 I jumped on it! A RT flight for $780 was a bargain to me when travel sites were about $1200 booking 6 tickets I saved ALOT of money!!

Patti, is your experience with the economy class seats?

Yes, it's been with both economy and business.

Yes, it's been with both economy and business.

Good, I may try waiting until the 6-8 months before the flight next year. Since Royal removed the Flex option for Choice Air, I don't want to buy non-refundable air 11 months in advance.

Also watching choice air for flights to San Juan for March cruise,

RIght now choice air is running the best price.

My question is I can't even find the same flights on the airlines website. Choice Air is with US Air and when I look on their site or any other travel sites these flights don't even come up. Is this normal??

Also watching choice air for flights to San Juan for March cruise,

 

RIght now choice air is running the best price.

 

My question is I can't even find the same flights on the airlines website. Choice Air is with US Air and when I look on their site or any other travel sites these flights don't even come up. Is this normal??

That has not been my experience. Everything I've seen on Choice Air has also been on the airline's websites.

We flew on Delta from Indianapolis, Indiana to Fairbanks, Alaska last July and booked "economy comfort" seats, which allow an extra 4" of leg room. Well worth the $$ for the long leg of the flight!!;) Do not need a first class seat unless you want to splurge!:p

I checked with Choice.... A RT flight for $780 was a bargain to me when travel sites were about $1200 booking 6 tickets I saved ALOT of money!!

There's a likely reason why the price was so much cheaper. A search on the Cruise Air forum can tell you why.