Air to Puerto Rico - should we book with the cruise line

We're joining a group that is forming for the New Year's Eve sailing on Adventure of the Seas. I've been reading these boards as much as possible since yesterday. Most people seem to have a very strong opinion that booking air through the cruise lines should be avoided. My concern is that if we don't book air through the cruise lines, it might be tough to even get a flight. I know there are only a few airlines that go to Puerto Rico and since we'll be traveling during the holidays, I'm sure the cost is going to be higher than normal. Any recommendations?

Marianne

We always book our own flights as we live in Long Island and we have numerous choices here. I can't comment on the availablity of flights from your area, but my one piece of advice if at all possible, fly in at least a day before. You will be less stressed in case any delays occur and for the price of a hotel room, a extra meal or two you will have peace of mind!

Sue

We can't give out company names but try the airline that fly tv's around!!

I agree with the previous poster in that you should arrive a day early. We sailed on the AOS in January and because we are in Canada, flights were very expensive. I know that you can get cheap flights to San Juan from points in the USA on airlines like Jet Blue. If you are concerned about availability, you could play it safe and book directly with the cruise line.

Now you have me thinking, maybe it would be worth our efforts to fly in a few day early and explore Puerto Rico. We've never been there before and, it might be nice, especially since we are both fluent in Spanish. I know the cruise lines sometimes offer hotel packages for pre-cruise stays. Do you find these to be overpriced too?

Marianne

We sailed Serenade last November and here is my 2 cents worth.... learn from others !!!!

DO NOT BOOK AIR THRU CRUISELINE.... what a mess we had.... part was Royal Caribbean - part was airline - and part was our ta. Long story short - we ended up cancelling our custom cruise air and booked our own AFTER WE ATE $200 IN FEES (non refundable of course) We did book one night hotel thru RCL and it was cheaper than the night we booked on our own. (Again the air mess up caused us to change plans and we ended up going down earlier than originally booked - was a good thing tho)

We went down on Thursday for 3 days/2 nights precruise stay and stayed at El Convento in Old San Juan. Kind of pricey but this was our 25th anniversary trip so went all out. They do have a 2 night pre/post cruise special but only available on the internet www.elconvento.com or check this out if thinking about going down early www.numero1guesthouse.com We had dinner at the restaurant here and this place was really neat. Right on the beach and in a residential neighborhood area with a gate...and priced well for San Juan too - but not in Old San Juan.

We fell in love with Old San Juan and walked all over. Try La Bombonera for breakfast !!!

I think - and you will have to check this - that if you book air with RCI, you have up until your final payment to cancel the air portion. Why not book it for now, and keep an eye out and see what deals you can find over the next few months? If nothing develops then you are covered.

This is very late for booking December 2006 flights. You may be stuck with booking air with the cruise line. I believe you can still fly a day early if you do a deviation, but it will be an addional charge. Don't think that because you are booking your flight with cruise line, you do not have to arrive one day early. We did that about 6 years ago in San Juan and my wife's luggage did not arrive in time to sail. Our choices were to leave with the ship and they would try to locate her luggage or go home (no refund, no flight home). Her luggage arrived on the ship 3 days later only because someone on board spent lots of time on the phone (very expensive) tracking down the luggage. Even when you book air with the cruise line, they are not responsible for late flights or lost baggage (which makes perfect sense). Problem is that cruise air usually involves connections which greatly increases the potential for missed connections and lost luggage. You definitely will need travel insurance to cover this.

That's why I always book cruises at least one year in advance (usually best prices, definitely best cabin selection) and book my flights 331 days in advance (first day flight opens and usually lowest airfare). This is not intended to be a criticism but just a suggestion for future cruises.

 

That's why I always book cruises at least one year in advance (usually best prices, definitely best cabin selection) and book my flights 331 days in advance (first day flight opens and usually lowest airfare). This is not intended to be a criticism but just a suggestion for future cruises.

Not to stray from the OP, but I've had just as much luck with price and selection when booking late as booking early. Granted, there is more risk with booking later, and a greater degree of flexibility may be required, but in many cases you can do very well by booking late or even last minute. Just depends on your plans and what you are willing to deal with.

What you can do it book the air through your agent -- thenkeep an eye on it-- if you find a chaper price then you book it then cancel the flight part of your reservation. You do this before final payment.

We did this for our upcoming cruise-- but I was able to find the air 300.00 cheaper pp then what the cruiselines offered..so I cancelled that part.

Flying out in winter you leave yourself open for cancellations due to storms and weather related conditions.. if possible fly out the day before.

This is also a major holiday-- so if you find flights cheaper-- grab them

Booking the cruiselines air you stand a good chance of being on a flight that has two layovers-- before you arrive

We flew into PR this past November one day pre-cruise, and have been there several times for short cruise stops.

I will only fly in at least one day before embarkation, I think that allows you to relax, and removes the anxiety of missing connections, flight delays, were you to fly in the day of the cruise.

I have flown in day of cruise (twice to FLL/MIA) and used cruise air. I think (but am far from 100% sure) that cruise air gives you some protection. If memory serves, pricing was OK.

You may be correct, purchasing cruise air at that time of year may be more economical than doing it on your own. Just do a simple online comparison. If you do buy cruise air, be aware that they will do the scheduling for you, and it is not always as desirable as were you to pick and choose yourself.

There is a lot to see in PR; I would suggest flying in at least a day early and enjoying what this large island has to offer.

If I were doing the booking, I probably would book both air and hotel myself, unless the cruise lines were to offer significant savings. Flying in day of cruise, I would consider cruise air more seriously.

I always book the air with the cruiseline, until I can book my own air. Sometimes the cruiseline will have a good price, most times not. I then start looking for a better deal. You definitely want to fly at least 1 day early, and two is even better. If you stay with the cruiseline air, you need to do an air deviation with an air deviation you have control over what flights you get (of course you pay for the privilege). I am certain you will find a better deal booking the air on your own, but you have until final payment to find it. Lots of time. Then when you find a deal, you cancel the air portion of your cruiseline booking. As far as hotels, you can almost always do better than the cruiseline offerings. On my last cruise, in South America I was able to save about 50% off the cruiseline offerings on hotels and excursions.

jc

As a former Mainer who has flown out of Maine in the winter many times... my advice... book with the cruiseline (ask about cancellation policy) until you can find something else.!!!!!!!!!!! Also, a day early... great idea. Jet Blue is starting flights out of Portland in May... and I believe they fly to San Juan. It would be a connecting flight from Portland to Dulles or JFK... probably... but it may be a good price!!!!!!!!! Last I checked... they didn't have flights listed for Maine beyond this summer. Just don't fly out of Bangor... unless the cruiseline gives you a good price... $$$$$$$$$$$. Good luck and have a great time on your cruise!!!!!!!!!!! My only word of caution about booking on your own when you fly out of Maine... the weather is just so unpredictable and there are not many options for neighboring airports if you are snowed in... unless you want to drive to Logan. So... really think about going a day or two in advance. We had air through the cruiseline when we went in Feb... and are glad we did... we were delayed and almost missed the ship. But, because there were so many of us who had booked their air... they actually held the ship for a few hours for us and they (the cruiseline) re-arranged all our flights and connections for us!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definitely go a day early. I recommend booking a hotel on your own, even if you do cruise air.

With your airfare, do what I did. Book the cruiseline air now and then up until final payment keep searching to see if you can find cheaper flights on your own. If you find cheaper air, cancel the cruise air. If you don't find cheaper flights on your own, keep the cruise air but add custom air and choose your own flights, which is what we did. From our area we never found cheaper flights that we were willing to take (I'm sorry but paying $50 less than cruise air for flights leaving at 5:30 am, getting in at 1am the next morning, and making 3 connections wasn't an option). If you are an RCCL platinum member, you even get the custom air fee waived.

I noticed a number of posters recommending booking with the cruise line and then looking for cheaper air. I guess it really depends on where you live, but I have never found a flight more expensive than the crusie line. I booked flight to Miami for August @ $122 per person direct on American Airlines. Even at this late date, I can still book direct flight at lower cost than cruise line.

I would book my own and go a day ahead. The cruise line may get you ther eonly late in the day of the cruise, since it leaves at 10 or 11, most likely. It's like throwing away a day.

We flew US Air from Philie and loved it. Wonderful plane, each seat with its own tv and movie selection

My concern is that if we don't book air through the cruise lines, it might be tough to even get a flight. I know there are only a few airlines that go to Puerto Rico and since we'll be traveling during the holidays, I'm sure the cost is going to be higher than normal. Any recommendations?

Pretty easy to address this concern - just check some fares! Go to an on-line TA or your local TA and see what the fares are like - then make a call!

personally, we've be reasonably pleased with the cruise line's arrangements and have been able to get equal or better price through them.

I noticed a number of posters recommending booking with the cruise line and then looking for cheaper air. I guess it really depends on where you live, but I have never found a flight more expensive than the crusie line. I booked flight to Miami for August @ $122 per person direct on American Airlines. Even at this late date, I can still book direct flight at lower cost than cruise line.

In 2001 I booked an open jaw flight on RCI from St Louis to Vancouver and Returning from Honolulu to St Louis for $199. I couldn't fly from California to Hawaii and back for that. So, sometimes you can get a deal from the cruiseline, primarily when the airline and the cruiseline have empty space.

That being said, I agree you can almost always find a better deal on your own.

jc

I will be doing X'mas/New Year Sailing out from San Juan this year.

I have been looking for a cheaper airfare than what the cruiseline offered with no success!

I still be looking until I find something till final payment. I did requested custom air on the flights that I would like to go on and arrive a day ahead.

When we go to San Juan from BWI we let the cruiseline do the arrangements. This past January, it worked out pretty even between doing it ourselves and letting RCI do it. We booked a pre-night through them. It seemed like an okay deal to me. When you factor in the transfers, it really is a wash.

We are platinum C&A so we are able to get the custom air without an extra fee. We got great flights three weeks before the cruise. Non-stop from BWI to San Juan at a civilized hour. It was very nice. The TA put us on flights that were not to our satisfaction and really -- at the last minute -- she was able to change the flights to what we wanted.

We are doing the same thing in January 2007. We are staying at El Convento and looking forward to it. We fell in love with it this past January when we were wandering around Old San Juan after our cruise. We got a one-night pre-cruise from RCI. I'm anxious to hear about how you enjoyed it, Texancruiser!

--Judy

We're flying to San Juan in July for AOS. We've never booked air through RCCL before, mainly because we want to make sure that we fly on our preferred airline. Is this what custom air is? If we elect to pay the fee, can we be guaranteed that we fly on our airline and accumulate our miles?

The reason why I ask is that prices for tickets to fly out on Sunday after we return to San Juan are astronomical. My airline has told me that it is quite likely that the cruise lines have snapped up all of the lower fares. I'm not willing to pay $1000 for a flight when the actual cruise costs almost as much.

Prices drop if we don't return home until Monday. Has anyone ever stayed an extra day after the cruise? Are there post-cruise excursions that we could do, or are we just kind of on our own for a day?

The port of calls board is a wonderful source of information- you can gather your information and decide on what to do post cruise- im sure it willbe cheaper and less crowded on your own.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

We're joining a group that is forming for the New Year's Eve sailing on Adventure of the Seas. I've been reading these boards as much as possible since yesterday. Most people seem to have a very strong opinion that booking air through the cruise lines should be avoided. My concern is that if we don't book air through the cruise lines, it might be tough to even get a flight. I know there are only a few airlines that go to Puerto Rico and since we'll be traveling during the holidays, I'm sure the cost is going to be higher than normal. Any recommendations?

 

Marianne

I am one of the few who do highly recommend using the cruise lines for air.

1. These tickets can be cancelled along with the cruise (within the cruise line guidelines) without penalty

2. If you have problems with your flight (weather, broke aircraft, etc) the cruise line is responsible to get you to the ship at its next port of call (buy insurance for your cruise also-should always do this...a simple fender bender on the way to the airport could stop you from making your trip)

3. All transfers from airport to ship and back are included (taxis and transfers can be darn expensive)

4. Depending on where you travel from, an overnight stay in a decent hotel may be included in the price.

5. Cruise line prices are getting closer and closer to the "best on the web" all the time when you figure in all related costs (transfers/taxi, hotel, and most importantly, peace of mind).

. Depending on where you travel from, an overnight stay in a decent hotel may be included in the price..

I doubt that the cruiselines will give you a free night in a hotel for booking their flights. They do have hotels that costs per person of over 100pp per night.

You also paid 20 bucks per person for the transfer to the ship from the airport. NOthing is free.

I looked into the cruiselines air- they wanted over 500 pp for their air. I got it myself for 300pp (thats 400 savings for two people)

hotels can be had on priceline for under 100 for the whole night-- not per person.

I've finally decided to venture out and try and book my own airfare. We are sailing on the Crown Princess leaving 12/30 and returning 1/6 out of Puerto Rico. Do I book my airfare to San Juan?? They had a few choices of cities in Puerto Rico and right away I'm confused. I'm sure its San Juan but I just wanted to confirm with someone that I'm right. Also how do you go about arranging transfers from airport to ship and vice versa. I've always booked air through the cruise line, but the prices were really outrageous for this cruise and I wanted a direct flight which Princess could not guarantee.

Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

The Crown Princess sails from/to the port of San Juan. It's an easy (15 minutes or so and about $25) 8 mile (freeway) cab ride from the airport. For peace of mind, confirm the port of San Juan with your TA, then book your own air!;)