Booking flight with RCCL - good idea?

I have a cruise booked with RCCL and have been looking at airfare. The rep from RCCL said it would be better to book through them as if there is an issue they will take care of us - such as get us a flight if ours is cancelled/delayed or get us to the ship if delayed or if our flight home is cancelled they will cover hotel costs at a 4 star in Puerto Rico - our departure port.

We are planning for February vacation week in 2019 on Freedom.

Any thoughts would be great. Thanks!

I posted this in new cruiser section and realized this is probably the better location. thanks

Just my opinion-the only time I ever book an air ticket with the cruise line (Air2Sea) is for a one way international flight because they are generally much less costly than going through the airline. I do not know where you are flying from, but I always fly at least one day prior to the cruise and stay in a hotel in the embarkation city. A lot of things can go wrong with flights, especially in February. They can "promise" to get you on another flight, but what if all other flights are full?

I have a cruise booked with RCCL and have been looking at airfare. The rep from RCCL said it would be better to book through them as if there is an issue they will take care of us - such as get us a flight if ours is cancelled/delayed or get us to the ship if delayed or if our flight home is cancelled they will cover hotel costs at a 4 star in Puerto Rico - our departure port.

 

We are planning for February vacation week in 2019 on Freedom.

 

Any thoughts would be great. Thanks!

I posted this in new cruiser section and realized this is probably the better location. thanks[/quote

 

Answered you on the new cruiser/ask a question board.

Just my opinion-the only time I ever book an air ticket with the cruise line (Air2Sea) is for a one way international flight because they are generally much less costly than going through the airline. I do not know where you are flying from, but I always fly at least one day prior to the cruise and stay in a hotel in the embarkation city. A lot of things can go wrong with flights, especially in February. They can "promise" to get you on another flight, but what if all other flights are full?

I should have mention we are flying from Boston and will be flying in the day before. We have hotel points we can use to cover that! Since you are experienced at flying in early - when should we board the ship? I think they start at noon. I am not sure if we should get there for noon or later to wait so as to avoid lines?

Thanks so much for your help!

I should have mention we are flying from Boston and will be flying in the day before. We have hotel points we can use to cover that! Since you are experienced at flying in early - when should we board the ship? I think they start at noon. I am not sure if we should get there for noon or later to wait so as to avoid lines?

Thanks so much for your help!

Do you want to spend a little time either sleeping in or going to the beach or exploring any part of San Juan? You have time, since the ship does not sail until night. Or you may board around noon. Your choice.

I echo what was said above. I only use Royal's Air2Sea if I want a one way flight abroad.

From Boston, I would look at JetBlue and Southwest.

Just book yourself and fly in a day or 2 early. That gives you time to explore San Juan. [emoji3]

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In February if you are flying in the day of then I would use Royal. If you are flying in the day before then book it yourself.

In February if you are flying in the day of then I would use Royal. If you are flying in the day before then book it yourself.

Yep. And likely save money:p

We booked through RCCL once. Not a good experience. Air Canada messed us up and RCCL failed on their promise to get us to the ship on time. All it would have taken was for the ship to wait 15-20 minutes and they wouldn't do it! Missed 2 days of the cruise. Lesson Learned..

As others have said, we only book international flights through RCCL. So far they have offered significantly less expensive flights.

We booked through RCCL once. Not a good experience. Air Canada messed us up and RCCL failed on their promise to get us to the ship on time. All it would have taken was for the ship to wait 15-20 minutes and they wouldn't do it! Missed 2 days of the cruise. Lesson Learned..

Unfortunately RC does not always promise to wait - even short periods of time. Someone once gave a detailed explanation of tides, port fees, payment to all the harbor staff, etc. They often do not have a choice - another ship may be waiting for the berth. They do say they will get you to the ship - even if it's the next port. Over and over people stress flying in at least a day early - sometimes even two days if long flights and multiple connections.

Unfortunately RC does not always promise to wait - even short periods of time. Someone once gave a detailed explanation of tides, port fees, payment to all the harbor staff, etc. They often do not have a choice - another ship may be waiting for the berth. They do say they will get you to the ship - even if it's the next port. Over and over people stress flying in at least a day early - sometimes even two days if long flights and multiple connections.

The online page said "We guarantee we'll get you there on time" Without that "guarantee" we would have NEVER cut it that close. RCCL made it right but we still missed 2 days. In the end, it was 99% Air Canada's fault.

We booked 1st class through Royal for a Venice to Florida flight for less than coach on Travelocity. I'll always look to them first.

Why would you let them book for you- you won't know the itinerary until after you book. I'm not willing to let someone else plan my travel without knowing the details of carrier/flights before I buy.....

We booked 1st class through Royal for a Venice to Florida flight for less than coach on Travelocity. I'll always look to them first.

I'll throw some dollars in about that. American Airlines wanted $2100 each from London to Texas...other sites were about the same.

Royal booked the exact same flight and same seats for $700 each. Heck,a round trip ticket was about $1600 each.

I like using Royal when booking one way international.

Why would you let them book for you- you won't know the itinerary until after you book. I'm not willing to let someone else plan my travel without knowing the details of carrier/flights before I buy.....

Not true. When booking with Air2Sea you will be given several options of flights to choose from. Once booked, you will be given a confirmation number (record locator number) where you can go directly to the airlines website and select your seats.

You can also use http://secure.espresso.cruisingpower.com/directGuest.do?brand=R to search for flights prior to calling Air2Sea.

emdia43....you have obviously never tried using their service. You can go on the Air2Sea site and search just like you would if you went to any other provider. They will show you all flights meeting the criteria that you enter showing you the cost for each. They show 1st class, coach, and enhanced coach prices and the different airlines that meet your time and destination requested. I don't know why you wouldn't check them every time. Doesn't cost you a penny and may be able to save you a lot of money that you can then spend on the ship. Especially international flights!

You can also choose flights that arrive a day or two earlier than the day of embarkation.

I'll throw some dollars in about that. American Airlines wanted $2100 each from London to Texas...other sites were about the same.

 

Royal booked the exact same flight and same seats for $700 each. Heck' date='a round trip ticket was about $1600 each.

 

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Just a note that "same flight and same seats" doesn't always mean "same tickets." Highly discounted tickets may come with additional rules and restrictions, which won't be apparent at the time of purchase. If all goes well, you'll likely never know the difference. If things go awry on travel day, you might find out just how different your tickets are. Lots of stories out there of both wonderful service and of horrible service from cruise lines when a problem arises on travel day. Caveat emptor.

emdia43....you have obviously never tried using their service. You can go on the Air2Sea site and search just like you would if you went to any other provider. They will show you all flights meeting the criteria that you enter showing you the cost for each. They show 1st class, coach, and enhanced coach prices and the different airlines that meet your time and destination requested. I don't know why you wouldn't check them every time. Doesn't cost you a penny and may be able to save you a lot of money that you can then spend on the ship. Especially international flights!

OK thanks, I didn't know that..

When I have used Air 2 sea I booked from our home airport. They will want to book me from LAX if I don't specify on the booking Page the city I wish to leave from. When we did our first TA from Barcelona, I booked us 1 way from PSP ( Palm Springs, Ca ) connecting in Phil then to BCN.

I'll throw some dollars in about that. American Airlines wanted $2100 each from London to Texas...other sites were about the same.

 

Royal booked the exact same flight and same seats for $700 each. Heck' date='a round trip ticket was about $1600 each.

 

I like using Royal when booking one way international.[/quote']

 

How much notice do you get regarding your flight info? Do they allow you to fly in a few days before your cruise begins?We are thinking of flying to Rome and do a TA cruise back to Florida.Thanks in advance.

When we did Venice to Florida we stayed in Venice for 3 nights after our cruise. I don't know if there is a maximum.

We always go a few days early when flying to Europe and stay over a few extra days when coming home, no problem.

Yes, for us, Air2sea was a couple hundred bucks cheaper per ticket for DFW to London than the various mainstream travel sites.