Reasons not to book cruise air through cruise lines

DH & I are going back/forth reviewing flight options to FLL from KY, not many and very $$$

I recently read a CC poster having problems with flight booked through the cruise lines. A follow-up poster replied: ' all the more reason to NOT book with cruise lines".

Unable to find the thread.

Comments on your experiences, please.

Our disembarkation is 7 and we were looking at near noon flight in order to not rush off the ship in frustration.

The cruise line suggestion would be 6 PM in order to have more leeway. That would be a long day.

Do the cruise lines truly guarantee their flights? What is this guarantee?

I learned the hard way, no guarantees in life.

Thank you.

If you come over to the Cruise Air board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

and read the many threads about Consolidator air fares, and the Sticky on Cruise Air, you will see the issues.

Is there a noon flight out of FLL? You should be able to make that flight with little "frustration" (most would call it stress), although Cruise Air may not offer it. One of the many downfalls of cruise air fares.

The cruise lines can't guarantee the flights. Weather, mechanical issues, on and on. What the cruise lines "guarantee" is they will make efforts to help you catch up with your ship. But that involves more complications, like you need a passport to fly out of the country. With private islands, you may miss 2-3 days of your cruise.

Better to book your own, and fly in a day early.

Thank you!

Only once -- many, many years ago -- did we book our flights through the cruise line -- back in the 80's -- for a European cruise. Flights going and coming home were horrible. 3 connections to get to Barcelona and 4 to come home from Rome. And back then there were many more flights to choose from had we done it on our own.

The cruise lines tend to wait until about 30 days before the cruise to book the flights. Then they find the cheapest flights which can mean many connections.

Since that time -- we book all our own flights.

You answered your question in your post. In order to save some money, cruise air will book you on a 6pm flight and put you on an 8am bus to the airport.

I suggest posting your travel dates and possibly alternate airports. There are some very good people on these boards who may be sitting inside because of the snow today and able to help you with alternatives. Just realize that air prices are higher than ever this year and the longer you wait the prices will go up.

On several trips we've flown out the next day to get a significantly less expensive early or late flight. We used the money saved on the flight and enjoyed an extra day of vacation (early flight) or 2 days (late flight) at the port city.

The mid day flights are generally the most expensive because FLL is such a busy cruise port and that is the most convenient time for a flight.

We have booked about six or seven cruises thru the cruise line. The tickets where on the airline web page within 24 hrs. We could do all the required paper work , order special meals and chose seats .If a cheaper flight became available we could always change the flight thru the cruise lines web page.

We booked three airfares thru a TA . The first no problem, the second the airline kept changing/cancelling flights and the third was a total disaster due to not enough time between flights. Even though the airline said there is plenty of time.

We have booked about six or seven cruises thru the cruise line. The tickets where on the airline web page within 24 hrs. We could do all the required paper work , order special meals and chose seats .If a cheaper flight became available we could always change the flight thru the cruise lines web page.

 

We booked three airfares thru a TA . The first no problem, the second the airline kept changing/cancelling flights and the third was a total disaster due to not enough time between flights. Even though the airline said there is plenty of time.

So you are saying cruise line airfares never have tight connections, changed itineraries or other problems? Seriously?

The only problems we have had is with the flights being late to make their connections. The only connections issues we have ever had with cruise-air was in Atlanta . The flight from Denver was delayed by 1 hr and the connection time was down to 30 minutes. I always try to book flights that have 60 minutes or better , especially coming from the snowy north country.

For us cruise air substantial cheer than booking thru the airlines .

For Example we paid $500 rtn (Full Flex fare) to LAX from YVR for a cruise.

The cheapest was $800 rtn (Full Flex Fare) for the same flight .

I always compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges.

Not oranges to apples.

Non refundable are totally different kettle of fish. Full Flex thru cruise is fully refundable and changeable right up to the day of departure.

I only will book air through the cruise line where I can pay an additional fee and request specific flights. There have been times when this has worked well. I look at each one on a case by case basis.

Keith

Bottom line is you loose control of your ticket.... ref changes, upgrades, etc.

We always book our own flights - get the most direct flights, know we can make changes if need be.

I have noticed over the past several years that cruise air has improved. There are no fees to pick your own flights, layovers are reasonable and prices are low.

I have noticed over the past several years that cruise air has improved. There are no fees to pick your own flights, layovers are reasonable and prices are low.

I agree. We use the cruiseline air option for our return flight from transatlantics. We got to choose the airline and the flight times, and the price was 1/4 what it would have been through the airline.

A Transatlantic is about the only instance where I think I'd consider booking through the cruiselines as they seem to have more reasonable options and if you are careful and can have reasonable choices, I'd take the chance.

Otherwise, I prefer to book my own. I've traveled enough to allow reasonable connection times that I am comfortable with and I can generally find better prices on my own than offered by the cruiseline.

Flight changes, weather delays, mechanical problems -- these are equal opportunity and will affect you whether you book on your own or through the cruise line.

Most importantly, many people do not understand that booking a flight through the cruise line in no way guarantees that the ship will not depart without you if you have problems flying. Additionally, they are very little help if anything goes wrong enroute and usually will just tell you to contact the airline yourself.

A Transatlantic is about the only instance where I think I'd consider booking through the cruiselines as they seem to have more reasonable options and if you are careful and can have reasonable choices, I'd take the chance.

 

Otherwise, I prefer to book my own. I've traveled enough to allow reasonable connection times that I am comfortable with and I can generally find better prices on my own than offered by the cruiseline.

 

Flight changes, weather delays, mechanical problems -- these are equal opportunity and will affect you whether you book on your own or through the cruise line.

 

Most importantly, many people do not understand that booking a flight through the cruise line in no way guarantees that the ship will not depart without you if you have problems flying. Additionally, they are very little help if anything goes wrong enroute and usually will just tell you to contact the airline yourself.

True this. And, despite what a cruise air brochure says, they have no special powers/pull with an airline to put you at the top of the rebooking queue. Most likely, you will be toward the bottom of the list - behind elite flyers, full paid fares FROM THE AIRLINE, frequent flyer awards, then 3rd party/consolidator…no guarantee you will get out the same day, let alone the next available flight.

A Transatlantic is about the only instance where I think I'd consider booking through the cruiselines as they seem to have more reasonable options and if you are careful and can have reasonable choices, I'd take the chance.

 

I agree. In planning my upcoming cruise I was checking one way fares between Europe and North America. In almost every case the one-way was more than a roundtrip ticket. This is where I would have used the cruiseline air as it was much more reasonable for a one-way.

Our disembarkation is 7 and we were looking at near noon flight in order to not rush off the ship in frustration.

Just to express my daily dose of anal-retentive, your disembarkation begins at 7am. It could easily take until 9:30am or beyond to get everyone off the ship - obviously an early flight will gain you some priority in the master queue though.

Since I usually fly Southwest, and pretty much always have at least enough for one way fare for one person (and usually more), I book the airlines myself.

My last cruise, the prices for the flight actually went down a few weeks after booking, so I got the difference back as a credit which I used later.

Try that with cruise company booked fares.

The cruise lines tend to wait until about 30 days before the cruise to book the flights. Then they find the cheapest flights which can mean many connections.

You answered your question in your post. In order to save some money, cruise air will book you on a 6pm flight and put you on an 8am bus to the airport.

Bottom line is you loose control of your ticket.... ref changes, upgrades, etc.

 

We always book our own flights - get the most direct flights, know we can make changes if need be.

Not all cruise line air programs are the same. Some are quite good, while others leave much to be desired.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara use their own program called ChoiceAir. It is one of the best available. We use it all the time since most of our cruises originate in one country and end in another. The tickets are NOT consolidator tickets, but the same coded tickets as would be issued by the airlines themselves. After purchase, the tickets have the same restrictions as if they were bought directly from the airlines - no more, no less. We have full control of choosing the originating and connecting flight times from the airline's availability, from more than one airline if necessary, as well as seating locations. And, the Choice Air support team will assist in rebooking missed or cancelled flights, as well assisting in getting you to your ship if you missed it's departure because your flight was delayed.

We have always gotten better fares through ChoiceAir than if we had booked it ourselves. We typically book our air about 6 months prior to the cruise. We choose our flight times, our seating assignments, and have everything arranged at that time, not 30 days prior. It is very similar to using a travel agent, but with some additional benefits.

Since I usually fly Southwest, and pretty much always have at least enough for one way fare for one person (and usually more), I book the airlines myself.

 

My last cruise, the prices for the flight actually went down a few weeks after booking, so I got the difference back as a credit which I used later.

 

Try that with cruise company booked fares.

For those of us who have to fly international to get to most cruises Cruise Air can or is cheaper than booking directly with an airline. The only cruises that I don't have to fly to start in Vancouver or Seattle ( RTN to Alaska ).

All others are international flights. In the US there are cheap flights or low cost carriers. These same carrier (IE Southwest) don't fly to Canada.

You have to look at what people are faced with to get decent flights and airfares. We booked Delta one time (thru TA) from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale. That was one disaster after another . Too many problems to list. Similiar issues with American Airlines.

I book through the cruise line if it is a cross-country or out of country flight. I research the flights myself and then give them my top choices via my travel agent. Have always been on my first choice.

Our first cruise, we booked with the cruise line. Our plane was held up in a work slowdown by the pilots. RC took very good care of us. Treated us like we were their best passengers. They went over and above what we expected.

The tickets are NOT consolidator tickets, but the same coded tickets as would be issued by the airlines themselves. After purchase, the tickets have the same restrictions as if they were bought directly from the airlines - no more, no less.

The ticket might not be called a consolidator ticket, but it sure can have the same significant restrictions, i.e., non-endorsable and non-reroutable, as a "consolidator" ticket.

See today's post from greatam on the "cruise air" board, and read the sticky on cruise air:

"Choice Air/EZ Air sells an entire variety of fares from consolidator/bulk purchase/"specially negotiated" fares (usually the cheapest that most buy) to tickets that go up in price as the cheapest tickets are sold out to discounted fares in business or first that you could easily buy yourself direct from an airline at the same price or even cheaper.

So unless you have TOTAL KNOWLEDGE of those who bought the CHEAPEST fares (which would generally be the whatever you want to call them fares bought at heavy discounts by the cruise line a year or more in advance from the airline) and what those underlying fare rules REALLY are, there can be no data points to specifically draw any kind of conclusion from.

As I pointed out in the Sticky at the top of this forum, SOME people luck out and get published fare tickets WITHOUT the restrictions at just about the same price or just slightly higher than the heavily restricted, bulk purchase tickets. Are those people with published fare tickets going to be treated considerably better than those with the heavily restricted tickets if there is a glitch in their air travels? You betcha.

BUT, buying from Choice Air/EZ Air generally DOES NOT give you the entire fare rules, so you REALLY have NO IDEA what you purchased."

Thus, you might get lucky, but, then again, you might not.

The ticket might not be called a consolidator ticket, but it sure can have the same significant restrictions, i.e., non-endorsable and non-reroutable, as a "consolidator" ticket.

 

See today's post from greatam on the "cruise air" board, and read the sticky on cruise air:

 

"Choice Air/EZ Air sells an entire variety of fares from consolidator/bulk purchase/"specially negotiated" fares (usually the cheapest that most buy) to tickets that go up in price as the cheapest tickets are sold out to discounted fares in business or first that you could easily buy yourself direct from an airline at the same price or even cheaper.

 

So unless you have TOTAL KNOWLEDGE of those who bought the CHEAPEST fares (which would generally be the whatever you want to call them fares bought at heavy discounts by the cruise line a year or more in advance from the airline) and what those underlying fare rules REALLY are, there can be no data points to specifically draw any kind of conclusion from.

 

As I pointed out in the Sticky at the top of this forum, SOME people luck out and get published fare tickets WITHOUT the restrictions at just about the same price or just slightly higher than the heavily restricted, bulk purchase tickets. Are those people with published fare tickets going to be treated considerably better than those with the heavily restricted tickets if there is a glitch in their air travels? You betcha.

 

BUT, buying from Choice Air/EZ Air generally DOES NOT give you the entire fare rules, so you REALLY have NO IDEA what you purchased."

 

 

Thus, you might get lucky, but, then again, you might not.

Just to set things straight, poster greatam isn't always correct. ;)

I used Choice Air several times and the tickets were definitely NOT consolidator tickets. They were regular tickets identical to those I would have gotten through the airlines. Even ChoiceAir tells us they don't use consolidator tickets. Copied directly from theChoice Air web site:

"The Celebrity ChoiceAir Low Airfare Guarantee does not apply to lower prices provided by websites that withhold airline identity, itinerary or other booking details until the purchase is completed. Also excluded are rates available through membership program websites, corporate discounts or rates, groups, charters, rewards programs, incentive, meeting, convention, consolidator, AARP, AAA, military, government, frequent flyer, loyalty, prizes, sweepstake or awards, transferred points or any other "reward" programs or interline rates, prices obtained via auction or other bid process, redeeming a coupon or other promotion not offered and available to the general public."

Just to set things straight, poster greatam isn't always correct. ;)

 

I used Choice Air several times and the tickets were definitely NOT consolidator tickets. They were regular tickets identical to those I would have gotten through the airlines. Even ChoiceAir tells us they don't use consolidator tickets. Copied directly from theChoice Air web site:

 

"The Celebrity ChoiceAir Low Airfare Guarantee does not apply to lower prices provided by websites that withhold airline identity, itinerary or other booking details until the purchase is completed. Also excluded are rates available through membership program websites, corporate discounts or rates, groups, charters, rewards programs, incentive, meeting, convention, consolidator, AARP, AAA, military, government, frequent flyer, loyalty, prizes, sweepstake or awards, transferred points or any other "reward" programs or interline rates, prices obtained via auction or other bid process, redeeming a coupon or other promotion not offered and available to the general public."

As stated above, it doesn't matter whether or not you call the tickets "consolidator." It only matters whether the tickets carry the same restrictions as consolidator tickets, i.e., non-endorsable and non-reroutable.

Your quote above from the Choice Air website has absolutely nothing to do with the tickets sold by Choce Air. Your quote refers to the "Low Airfare Guarantee." The quote is simply stating that the price they offer for the tickets cannot be compared with "consolidator" priced tickets elsewhere, if you want to claim the benefit of their guarantee.

You certainly might have obtained Choice Air tickets that did not have the above-mentioned restrictions, but, if so, you were lucky. Not everyone can be so lucky because the restrictions, i.e., non-endorsable and non-reroutable, are not available to be viewed before you purchase the tickets. With tickets directly from the airline, you know what you're getting because the restrictions are listed before you purchase the ticket.

"The Celebrity ChoiceAir Low Airfare Guarantee does not apply to lower prices provided by websites that withhold airline identity, itinerary or other booking details until the purchase is completed. Also excluded are rates available through membership program websites, corporate discounts or rates, groups, charters, rewards programs, incentive, meeting, convention, consolidator, AARP, AAA, military, government, frequent flyer, loyalty, prizes, sweepstake or awards, transferred points or any other "reward" programs or interline rates, prices obtained via auction or other bid process, redeeming a coupon or other promotion not offered and available to the general public."

This sounds to me like ChoiceAir is saying their low price Guarantee can not be compared with these other types of tickets in terms of have to drop their price in order to abide by their promise of being the lowest fare. In other words, these types of fares are not competitors in the "lowest fare" race.

It doesn't appear to be saying that ChoiceAir is not any of these types of tickets.

You certainly might have obtained Choice Air tickets that did not have the above-mentioned restrictions, but, if so, you were lucky. Not everyone can be so lucky because the restrictions, i.e., non-endorsable and non-reroutable, are not available to be viewed before you purchase the tickets. With tickets directly from the airline, you know what you're getting because the restrictions are listed before you purchase the ticket.

This sounds to me like ChoiceAir is saying their low price Guarantee can not be compared with these other types of tickets in terms of have to drop their price in order to abide by their promise of being the lowest fare. In other words, these types of fares are not competitors in the "lowest fare" race.

 

It doesn't appear to be saying that ChoiceAir is not any of these types of tickets.

Obviously I am not going to convince those people who have their minds firmly made up that these are consolidator tickets. :)

Suffice it to say that I have used ChoiceAir several times and none of the tickets had the same restrictions as consolidator tickets do. They were always normal tickets, the same as would have been issued by the airlines, with the same level of restrictions. We once even had to change one of the routings and with the usual fee, it was no problem.

Does that mean that in my case someone made a mistake each and every time and issued me the wrong type of tickets? Either I am one helluva lucky guy, or people claiming that these have to be highly restricted consolidator tickets are wrong. I believe what I believe because in all other areas of my life, I am nowhere near that lucky. ;)