oreomaximus Posted September 4, 2013 #1 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Anybody used this before? From my understanding it appears that you can book your airfare to and from your port of embarkation through Carnival? Is this correct? Experiences? Pro's/Con's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovefuninthesun Posted September 4, 2013 #2 Share Posted September 4, 2013 When we used t have to fly to cruise, I checked Carnival's program every time. Every time I got a far better airfare on my own!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oreomaximus Posted September 4, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted September 4, 2013 When we used t have to fly to cruise, I checked Carnival's program every time.Every time I got a far better airfare on my own!:) Really? Hmm....I'm just wondering if its worth it if they guarantee to fly you to the next port to meet the ship in case your flight gets delayed or cancelled though. Hmmm.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisin*tigger Posted September 4, 2013 #4 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I've heard that people who use this end up with wacky connections and weird times (hence they might need to fly you to the first port!). And yes, more expensive than what you can find on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PittsburghGirlee Posted September 4, 2013 #5 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Did it the first time I booked a CCL cruise on my own.....I did not know any better. When CCL told me that they could DO IT ALL (book everything) for me, I thought GREAT.... NOT!!!!! Lesson learned....NEVER AGAIN.... I found a better price on my own and also a DIRECT flight to boot:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oreomaximus Posted September 4, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Wow. :eek: Well, I was thinking about giving it a try on our upcoming cruise out of Miami in March. The ship leaves at 4:00pm and if we flew in that day (yes, I know its a travel fauz paux) we would be cutting it close as there are only two nonstops that come in from Houston. One I believe at 9am and the other at 11 I think. I would much rather prefer to fly inthe day before but I was like, hey if Carnival guarantees that we will catch the ship then why not. But I don't think we will do it now that I've heard of all the "wierdness". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okgirl Posted September 4, 2013 #7 Share Posted September 4, 2013 With the money and convenience you will save by making your own flights, you'll more than pay for trip insurance that will cover all that stuff anyway, plus a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommytune42 Posted September 4, 2013 #8 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I have only had one experience with Carnival's program and it has been extremely positive. I booked flights for a transatlantic cruise through Carnival, which is a complicated venture (flying into Barcelona and then returning from New Orleans). I checked lots of different sources and then called Carnival. I got my tickets from Carnival for $550/person roundtrip (which was $350 cheaper than I could get them on my own) and they are not only direct (Chicago to Barcelona and New Orleans back to Chicago), but they are at great times. I also found out that we are booked in "preferred" seating, meaning more leg room. I would absolutely work with Carnival again on an international/unique situation like this. Having said that, however, for domestic flights I can always find cheaper on my own. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oreomaximus Posted September 4, 2013 Author #9 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I have only had one experience with Carnival's program and it has been extremely positive. I booked flights for a transatlantic cruise through Carnival, which is a complicated venture (flying into Barcelona and then returning from New Orleans). I checked lots of different sources and then called Carnival. I got my tickets from Carnival for $550/person roundtrip (which was $350 cheaper than I could get them on my own) and they are not only direct (Chicago to Barcelona and New Orleans back to Chicago), but they are at great times. I also found out that we are booked in "preferred" seating, meaning more leg room. I would absolutely work with Carnival again on an international/unique situation like this. Having said that, however, for domestic flights I can always find cheaper on my own. Hope this helps! This is actually very good to know as we were thinking of doing Europe in 2015....thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlktx49 Posted September 4, 2013 #10 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Only time we needed to fly was for our Alaskan cruise several years ago. Our travel agent booked the cruise and went through Carnival for the flights. Never again! Could not fly in the day before, had to change planes at DFW and only had 25 minutes to make it to another terminal. Someone from the airport had to call the plane to delay takeoff, then guided 35 of us that were going on the cruise to the new terminal, running! My knees were in bad shape then, and that run nearly killed me! And same thing coming back, 25 minutes to change planes. Learned my lesson. Don't let Carnival buy/book your flights, and don't buy your travel insurance from them. Cheaper and much better coverage elsewhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bab Posted September 4, 2013 #11 Share Posted September 4, 2013 And just because you can see 2 non-stop flights from Houston to Miami does NOT mean that Carnival will use those flights - they book the cheapest flights and sometimes that means changing planes at various airports, not necessarily non-stop. Now, going to Europe and booking a 1-way or even round trip I "might" look at it but otherwise it's much cheaper to book your own flights and "if" something happens that's what travel insurance is for. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dar & Bob Posted September 5, 2013 #12 Share Posted September 5, 2013 We were going to use this 2 years ago when we left from Port Canaveral. The flights were more expensive AND they make you purchase their INSURANCE which is what actually GUARANTEES that they get you to the next port. I asked if I booked my own flight and their insurance would it still then guarantee me getting to the next port. The answer was Yes. I booked the flight on my own, which ended up being free (the airline looked for volunteers to take a later flight home in exchange for a voucher which was more than the original flight cost) We flew in the night before and got a hotel room which was much less hectic. So for us I will book my own airfare. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kymann1 Posted September 5, 2013 #13 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I've used the fly-aweigh program when starting at one port and ending at another. No non-stops and very expensive. That being said, it was also pretty darned convenient. We cruise at least once per year. Most of the time we are starting and ending at the same port - so we just take care of our own airfare. We also have a tendency to get to the port city a day early. We cruise in January and have heard too many horror stories about snowstorms fouling up air travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphin2012 Posted September 5, 2013 #14 Share Posted September 5, 2013 we just used the fly aweigh program in june with no problems... we were on the sunshine so i didnt want to worry since we were flying in the same day from texas to barcelona... the flight only had one stop in amsterdam and on the way back we did have two stops... we were suppose to have a precruise room in barcelona and that did get messed up.. to this day we dont know if carnvial messed up and deleted it or what.. the flights were about 400 cheaper per person also... our TA would not check for price drops though cause she said you cant get the reduced airfare and a price drop... our first time in europe so we did all transfers thru them too and all went really well....for our other cruises we just did our own airfare... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oreomaximus Posted September 5, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbound Posted September 5, 2013 #16 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Really? Hmm....I'm just wondering if its worth it if they guarantee to fly you to the next port to meet the ship in case your flight gets delayed or cancelled though. Hmmm.... If you fly with CCL they will get you to the ship but when you fly home you're on your own. I always book my own flight better prices and better schedules to and from the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted September 5, 2013 #17 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Check out the sticky at the top of the CruiseAir board. It's eye-opening:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapearl Posted September 6, 2013 #18 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Hey Oreo! :D I don't think I'd do it. This is a couple years old, but check it out anyways. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1390690&highlight=aweigh Many people that book Carnival's air say their flights land THISCLOSE to the time boarding is supposed to end, and there's nothing you can do to change it. If you miss the ship, yes, they're supposed to get you to your first port. But what if you have 1-2 sea days first? What if it's a place like Half Moon Cay with no airport? What if that first port is missed or changed due to weather? Keep all that in mind. I'd say book your own, and fly in the night before if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.