Book flights through Princess or Airline?

I was wondering what you seasoned cruisers have experienced on costs of flights. Is it more economical to book through Princess or through the airlines?

We are booked for a July, 2015 cruise/tour which will begin in Anchorage and end in Vancouver. The flights are not yet available on the Princess site but are on the airlines sites. I have to admit that I'm having a little sticker shock right now. :eek:

I appreciate all of your knowledge and would welcome you sharing your experiences with me.

Thanks!

Depends. Sometimes best price is via Princess, most of the time it's direct with airline. Try Seattle instead of Vancouver. Then bus from Vancouver to Seattle. Airline fares change hundreds of times per week, it's a game of chance. I have read that the best time to book is 74 days form date of return flight, or on a Tuesday, or even when the cows are laying down (kidding). Alaska is very expensive to fly to, and an open jaw flight is terrible ( flying ito one airport, flying out of another).

Keep watching the Princess site. I find that they often offer a more competitive fare for these types of itineraries than booking direct with the airline as they are able to negotiate bulk fares that you wouldn't otherwise have access to.

It depends is the best answer. I agree with trying Seattle instead of Vancouver and then riding the shuttle. It saved us several hundred dollars last time. Keep pricing both Princess and direct with the airlines and watch out for sales.Princess air saved us $600 per person last year for a European cruise, but the year before that a Delta sale beat the heck out of a Princess price. Keep shopping, you are a long way out.

No personal experience but I have seen numerous posts here on CC stating that people get better pricing by going through Princess. I would guess you will get lots of replies from people here who do have personal experience.

You would have to compare prices to see if its economical or not.

Sometimes its cheaper through Princess sometimes not.

Calling on all of you seasoned/experienced cruisers for an answer/opinion on this one!!!

 

Have you found it more economical to book your flights through the airlines or through the cruise line?

 

We are planning a July, 2015 cruise/tour through Princess and I have started checking into airfares. The air is not yet available on the Princess site but is on the airlines. Needless to say....I'm suffering from sticker shock! :eek:

 

Any experiences you could share would be greatly appreciated.

I can tell you from experience that we feel we have gotten great prices using Princess Air. For example, Austin Texas to Venice and home from Fort Lauderdale (TA) $440. I can't fly to MSP for that price. Next Feb Phoenix to Aukland and return from Sydney $954. I have worked for AA in the past so I know my way around the airlines. It doesn't always happen but we have had good luck. THe one thing you give up is control of times and intermediate stops. you also usually can't choose seats but we've found ways around that sometimes. I guess I'd say do your homework and stay up on the prices. Use price alerts and then choose.

Hope this helps a little!

Cheers, Kenn

I always book through the airline site. I find I get the best fares through those sites.

However., I got a significant reduction in fare to Buenos Aires through Princess (thanks from a tip from a person in our CC roll call). The Princess fare was almost 50% cheaper and it was a flexible fare which can be canceled or altered into 45 days.

From now on I am checking both sites.

Many times the Choice Air is a better price......BUT, it is a special fare and most times will not qualify for earning frequent flier miles.

Last year was the first time my ticket didn't qualify so I'm not sure of all the rules, but after calling Delta to inquire about my missing miles, I was told about the special fare.

Hope this helps!

D

I used to be skeptical, but after booking the air through princess the last three cruises, I'm becoming a believer. The best part is getting to see all the available airlines and flight times and itineraries in one place--saves a lot of time.

You can always book a Princess air, then if you find something better cancel it. As long as you have not paid for it yet. Our most recent example is our future trip (2015) to Santiago, Chile. From LA to Chile the cost is $404. Booking direct with Delta was over $1,500 more. (Same flight)

We have changed the flight three times already. Price the same but better times of arrival. Seats have also been selected. For us times and costs determines if we go Princess or on our own. Good Luck

You can always book a Princess air, then if you find something better cancel it. As long as you have not paid for it yet. Our most recent example is our future trip (2015) to Santiago, Chile. From LA to Chile the cost is $404. Booking direct with Delta was over $1,500 more. (Same flight)

We have changed the flight three times already. Price the same but better times of arrival. Seats have also been selected. For us times and costs determines if we go Princess or on our own. Good Luck

In general we find "Open jaw" flights (different start destination and end airports) to be less expensive. For a round trip to/from a single airport (e.g. Rome) the flights may be comparable, but the EZair Next Port protection gives a little comfort for small cost. We currently have an open jaw booking for our TransAtlantic which is about 10% less than a round trip booking without a cruise. The prices did go up from when we selected them as soon as they were available. I would say if you can get that $404 cost, then go for it. For our TransAtlantic, EZair showed a $940 price when outside of the 330 day window, but then the cheapest was $1058 after I booked, so that low cost may be a phantom.

We did a Central / South America cruise (LA to Santiago) that used American and LAN/Chile airlines from EZair - LAN has been mailing me recently with some fairly good deals, so check their website.

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate you sharing your experiences with me. Once flights become available on the Princess site I will kick in my OCD and compare, compare and compare!!!

It is nice to hear (for at least some destinations) booking through Princess does have it's advantages. Time to get those search engines humming!

You would have to compare prices to see if its economical or not.

 

Sometimes its cheaper through Princess sometimes not.

That's the bottom line & why I search all options.

For flights between LAX & Europe it's been considerably less expensive in the past couple of years when using Princess eZair. Also the flexible fares have been less expensive than restricted fares but that doesn't mean that others will have the same experience.

I agree with the others' suggestion to book air into/out of Seattle and then take the Princess Xfer to the ship.

And as others have pointed out, the best fare/schedule might be on Princess or might be direct with the airline.

One advantage of the Princess EZAir is that if you use the flexible option, you can change/cancel flights until around final payment time or even a little later. So if you see a EZAir flexible price/schedule combo you like, you can book the fare and cancel if you later find a better airline sale.

If Princess EZAir allows you to buy only a one-way flight to your embarkation or from your disembarkation port, then you can perform price checks in components. (RCCL's Choice Air allows you to do this)

For example, let's say Princess quotes you $900 for the round trip (open-jaw in this case). Next you price each segment separately and find that the flight one-way flight to Anchorage is only $300, but the return flight from Vancouver is $600. You can buy just the $300 flight to Anchorage through Princess and buy your own ticket from Vancouver home, assuming it's less than $600, an appealing itinerary, etc. As long as they offer one-way pricing on your cruise itinerary, you are under no obligation to book both going and return segments through them. You can mix and match.

You would have to compare prices to see if its economical or not.

 

Sometimes its cheaper through Princess sometimes not.

Actually, in order to determine if it's economical or not, you'd have to compare more than just prices. You'd have to compare the ticket the airline is going to sell you to the ticket Princess is going to sell you. Even if it's the same flight, chances are that if the Princess price is significantly lower, it's NOT the same ticket. i.e. the Princess ticket may have additional rules and restrictions attached to it. If all goes well, you won't know there was any difference. If there are flight disruptions, you might find out in a hurry. If you understand the types of restrictions that may be attached to the ticket and understand the risks then you can compare the prices, keeping the potential rules/restrictions and risks in mind, and THEN determine if it's economical for you, given your own personal risk tolerance.

Bottom line: If you compare just prices, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. :)

If it's one way princess is often cheaper plus with transfers and they cover delay issues I would mostly then look at princess

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I was wondering what you seasoned cruisers have experienced on costs of flights. Is it more economical to book through Princess or through the airlines?

 

We are booked for a July, 2015 cruise/tour which will begin in Anchorage and end in Vancouver. The flights are not yet available on the Princess site but are on the airlines sites. I have to admit that I'm having a little sticker shock right now. :eek:

 

I appreciate all of your knowledge and would welcome you sharing your experiences with me.

 

Thanks!

Guess Princess Air does not work for me. I have yet to see Lower price on PA for any of my cruises with them. Always cheaper on my own. Even the flights I book myself have always been more $$ on PA for exact same flight. But it is always worth checking out just in case. So whatever works the best is what I would go with.