Air Fare Through Cruise Line or On Your Own

[Former Goalie]

I would suggest booking your own, you most likely can do better than the cruise line, and fly when you want to.

An exception (which we made) was flying in to one destination, then leaving from another, where it may be advantageous to book through the cruise line. We flew in to Anchorage, then flew out of Seattle (Seward-Vancouver point to point trip).

[mgagnon]

I fly into the US from Canada - and have booked air through RCI again for my second cruise. It is a bit more expensive (To book ourselves would be $2096 for two adults, one child and one infant - through RCI it is just over $2400) - the minor difference in these flights from Canada pays for the transfers and one night in hotel that RCI provides because there is no way we can get from Winnipeg to Tampa the day of the cruise - not on time anyway. I can see booking on your own if you are already in the US but coming in from Canada, the extra security if there is a problem with the flights (like weather) - is worth every penny to let RCI deal with it. Besides, we have such limited choices for flights into the US that there isn't much to compare!

 

I just re-checked the Air Canada website and if I booked my flight now - it would be $2800 - these prices are Canadian but still it is $400 more than RCI with no transfers or anything. If you are flying from Canada book through RCI or take your chances and wait for a seat sale - BUT you never know, they come up only weeks before flight time and that may be cutting it close, especially in Nov-Mar where weather up here can be a factor.

 

Michelle

 

LOS - 3/25/06

NOS - 9/11/04

[dh01498]

Don't forget... if you book on your own, you have to arrange your own transfers...

We booked our own via our TA and had transfers. A RCCL bus picked us up at the airport ( with all the other RCCL cruisers) and took us to the port.

We were told that if you book through the cruise line and have a few people in your party ( including children) that they can actually get booked on a differnt flight from you. This apparently has happened to families.

If you book yourself via your TA you the cruise line is not responsible if you do not make your port. So there are advantages and disadvantages to both but we booked ourselves since we had teens traveling with us.

[NYDee]

Sometimes I book my own and sometimes use the cruiseline. For the upcoming Baltic cruise I booked with RCI. The cost was almost the same and I get transportation to and from the ship which is very expensive. As a Platinum I get custom air. So I checked the airlines and flights. Told my TA which airline and flights I wanted and where we preferred to sit. She told RCI and I have the flights and times I want with transportation.

[Devo1994]

If you are cruising with other people you should get the custom air if you book with RCI. My group had 10 people in it and 8 of us were on the same filght to Miami but 2 of us were booked on another flight to Ft. Lauderdale!

 

Both flights were due to depart at the same time. The flight to Ft. Lauderdale ended up being overbooked so we asked if it was possible to get on the flight to Miami...and wouldn't you know....they had two seats left on the plan to Miami! We ran down to the gate, got checked in and the filght attendant told us to take the first two seats we see, which happen to be in first class!

We got lucky and our family members were very surprised to see us!

 

Unfortunately our luggage was on the way to Ft. Lauderdale:eek:

 

It was delvered to us on the ship before we sailed.:) Lucky again.

[lovemylab]

we booked our own air as well (this was recommended to us by our TA).

[KitCaz]

It really depends on whether you are going to go on the cruise only, or spend some time in the area. We once flew to Florida to go on the cruise, and since we live on the West coast, they put us up in a hotel the night before to make sure we made it there on time (it was through a travel agent a few years back). For this year, we are spending a few days with relatives in Florida before going on the cruise, so I booked our flights. Got a really good deal ($219/round trip per person).

Kitty

[negc]

There is no answer to your question that is right in every situation. You need to investigate flight schedules and prices to see what is available. If you are doing a round-trip Alaska cruise out of Vancouver, you may well be able to save a considerable amount by booking on your own. However, if you are doing a one way cruise and are flying into one city and flying home from another (called an open-jaw booking)the cruiseline can probably offer you a better price. You don't have to give up on getting good flights when you book through the cruiseline. If you find a particular flight that you prefer, try the cruiseline's custom air department, and you may be able to book it through them and not pay anything extra besides the customair fee, and if you are a platinum C&A member, they will waive that fee. In such an instance, you get to choose the flight and pay the best price, which is ideal, and you may also get any transfers that are included at no extra cost.

Check out all your options and then decide which is best for you, but don't automatically decide that one way is better than the other without investigating. :) We are flying to London before our transatlantic cruise on Jewel of the Seas. Because we are Diamond members we were able to pick a flight from Boston to London that leaves in the morning, arrives at night, and we are paying much less by booking through RCI than if we booked this one-way flight on our own.

[cruislovin]

When we sailed round trip out of Vancouver on the Radiance, I booked our air myself to Seattle. We then took Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver. Total savings per person were nearly $200, almost $800 for our family of 4! We also spent some time in both Seattle and Vancouver and saw both cities that way too!