Toronto to Rome via Princess Air

We are flying from Toronto to Rome to to catch a Princess cruise using Princess Air, which we are assuming is using Air Canada. Has anyone else done this? We are considering not using Princess Air but to make our own independent arrangments and we are wondering if the cost is comparable. More importantly, we are wondering if the hassle is worth it. Are the transfers worth it? We would apprieciate any feedback.

Cost depends on many factors

Are you flying inand out of Rome? or out of another city?

Do you want non-stop or connections?

What is the price differnce between Princess air and AC ?

What is their deviation fee if you want to fly with Princess but choose your own flights?

Are you flying in the same day as cruise...not recommended

You can ask your TA if they use Consolidators for air ...meaning you can get a better price on flights compared to AC website or the cruiseline

Typically the cruisline will book you on the flights with connections, sometimes you get lucky and get a non-stop.

I would ask over on the Princess board about how much private transfers generally cost to get the port city (I won't try to spell it from memory, but it begins with a C LOL) from Rome. Are the transfers included in Princess Air, or do you have to book a pre-cruise stay through them to get taken to the ship?

I know the few times I have looked into booking a pre-cruise night at a port city hotel through the cruise line, the per person charge was as much as the total room charge that I ended up booking separately. But those were North American, not European hotels.

We are flying to Osaka from Vancouver and back from Beijing to Vancouver for out cruise in Oct .. I booked the air with Air Canada directly and saved about 500 a ticket .. then I got the princess transfers so that I don't have to worry about transport in either city... I figure I am still money ahead.

I wouldn't assume that they would put you on Air Canada, they may but it's not guaranteed. Looking at this November's schedules (and a lot can change in a year), there are flights available on multiple airlines that the cruiselines could put you on, including Air Canada but also Alitalia, American Airlines, Air France, British Airways, Continental, KLM, and Lufthansa all of which have at least 1 stop if not more. Air Canada doesn't even offer a non-stop every single day to Rome.

We have checked the schedules on all the airlines we could find (thank you Expedia) and the return flight looks to be a freaking nightmare. The schedule we liked the best was on British Airways. The cost is within a few dollars of what Princess Air has offered so that's not a big consideration. The only major savings was to go thru Buffalo but again the scheduling was a nightmare with a minimum 3 hour stop over in New York on the way back, and of course that's assuming no delays ;)

Air Canada does have a non-stop return flight from Rome to Toronto which would be the best option of course. But so much changes and they can make changes right up to and including date of departure.

We also have the cost of the transfers so I guess its up to the spreadsheet and our sense of adventure to make the choice. We're already breaking the package as we are not staying at the Princess offered hotels in Rome so this is no big deal. I can see I have a lot of checking to do :)

Princess doesn't necessarily

use AC, therefore check out the flights you want, get the quote from Princess, and pay the deviation fee for that flight that you prefer.

Princess Air came in a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than AC did for the same flight!

We're doing the direct TO to Rome, and return from Heathrow for $1300. pp.... unfortunately I just screwed it up, by not leaving ourselves enough time to disembark in Southampton and get to Heathrow, so will have to recontact TA.

I like booking far in advance for the best $$, we've done this in the past and it was well worth it. Buy the travel insurance from Princess for your air deviation too.

Moral of my long winded story........ don't always believe that the cruiseline airfare will kill ya!! I haven't had it happen yet:D But then us Canadian's get raped every day by AirCrapanda

8 of us flew Toronto to Rome in May 06 to catch our Liberty cruise with AC.

We were not impressed with the plane (older) or the attendants (they apeared to be put out by just doing their job, very impersonal, not a friendly buch at all)

I feel that AC had a great reputation that is going south quite quickly (spoke to other frequent travellers who agree)

We paid more to use AC instead of a charter, thinking we would have a better travel experience but I believe the charter would have been comparable if not better.

I have booked to go back to Rome in June 06 from Toronto. I have chosed British Airways even though it means a connection time in Heathrow (I think it's a few hours, but that's o.k, lots to do in Heathrow)

BA was $700 cheaper than AC - Paid $1,100 CD - Works for us!!!:D

Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

If you can get BA that much cheaper than AC, then that is great. But even with the rather shabby state of the current AC European fleet, they still are better than the charters from Toronto. Skyservice and Air Transat, among others, pack the planes tightly. Legroom is at a premium. Nobody wants 29-30 inch pitch for a shorthaul, let alone an 8+ hour transatlantic flight. Plus, Air Canada is in the process of upgrading their 767 fleet and they will be near the top in terms of amenities of all the regular carriers.

If you can get BA that much cheaper than AC, then that is great. But even with the rather shabby state of the current AC European fleet, they still are better than the charters from Toronto. Skyservice and Air Transat, among others, pack the planes tightly. Legroom is at a premium. Nobody wants 29-30 inch pitch for a shorthaul, let alone an 8+ hour transatlantic flight. Plus, Air Canada is in the process of upgrading their 767 fleet and they will be near the top in terms of amenities of all the regular carriers.

But the difference is that we would have saved almost $3000 by going on a Charter. I would have liked to see a difference for this $$. :(

Upgrading the fleet does not fix the attitude of the attendants. They made us feel as though they were doing us a favour by offering a drink and a meal. They need a lesson in customer service.

I have flown with a Charter, Thomas Cook Airlines - Canadian-Affair, from Toronto to England many times. It's the best charter out there and could teach AC a thing or two.

soccerfan -

I am glad that you liked Thomas Cook - Canadian Affair as we will be flying with them to Toronto - Gatwick in July.