Not so Choiceair

[Thoie]

Having read about Choiceair's good value many times on these boards, I decided to price my flights with them for an upcoming transatlantic. Travelling from DUB to FLL, then BCN - DUB was coming in at $1139.48 (€910.91). The exact same flights, with the same conditions, luggage allowance, taxes, etc directly through the airline's website came in at $573.18 (€458.21).

 

I was half tempted to take them up on their 110% guarantee, but then realised I'd be paying them an extra €450 for the pleasure of $56 in OBC, so I just booked through the airline. Initially I fooled myself and thought "110% in OBC, woohoo - that would be $622 in OBC, amazing!". Then I remembered that $566 of that would be my own money that I overpaid them :D

 

So, just a word of warning - many people have got great deals through Choiceair, and for those with poor/no travel insurance, the "Assured Arrival" may be worthwhile, but it's not worth €450 to me. Shop around!

[robtulipe]

Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee is for the cruise fare only and not for Choice Air as per

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithHero.do?pagename=best_price_guarantee&cid=RCConsumerWebLP-091609BestPriceGuarantee

 

 

Terms & Conditions

The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee applies to the cruise rate only. The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee will not apply to government fees and taxes and/or any fuel supplement charge. Lower rates must be Royal Caribbean’s publicly advertised rates available to the general public. Group rates, membership programs, charters or other Travel Agent promotions not offered by Royal Caribbean to the general public, including but not limited to travel agent rebates are ineligible.

 

For the two Serenade TA cruises we did this year between New Orleans and Barcelona the one way overseas air fare was very good but the open jaw itinerary with the US flight portion included was at a terrible price and would have cost over double the what we paid for the overseas flight.

We booked the US only one flights directly with the airline and only used Choice Air for the overseas flights we needed to get to and to return from these cruises which was out of Buffalo, NY.

Total air cost ended up being less than $600 per person for each TA cruise. ;)

Edited December 17, 2014 by robtulipe

[UNV-IT!!!]

Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee is for the cruise fare only and not for Choice Air as per

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithHero.do?pagename=best_price_guarantee&cid=RCConsumerWebLP-091609BestPriceGuarantee

 

 

Terms & Conditions

The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee applies to the cruise rate only. The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee will not apply to government fees and taxes and/or any fuel supplement charge. Lower rates must be Royal Caribbean’s publicly advertised rates available to the general public. Group rates, membership programs, charters or other Travel Agent promotions not offered by Royal Caribbean to the general public, including but not limited to travel agent rebates are ineligible.

 

For the two Serenade TA cruises we did this year between New Orleans and Barcelona the one way overseas air fare was very good but the open jaw itinerary with the US flight portion included was at a terrible price and would have cost over double the what we paid for the overseas flight.

We booked the US only one flights directly with the airline and only used Choice Air for the overseas flights we needed to get to and to return from these cruises which was out of Buffalo, NY.

Total air cost ended up being less than $600 per person for each TA cruise. ;)

 

Same here we booked direct with JetBlue from fll to NY. Then choice air from Barcelona to Miami

[CruisingMachine]

To get the best pricing for T/A sailings, you have to price it as 2 1-way flights, not as a simple "multi-destination" itinerary. Get the price for the 1st flight alone, then the return flight alone. Add the 2 together and you should have an amazing overall price for your flights. You can price it that way on the C/Air website but you would need to call C/Air directly to have them book the 1-way flights. Just tell them exactly what you want to do and they will get you set up.

[Desert Cruizers]

Our flight to Sydney Australia last March via the airlines or other sites would have cost us $1250 PP, but booked thru Choice Air 1 Way since we were cruising home, and came out with $841.91 PP

[The_Big_M]

Good thing you didn't try to book for that price benefit, as you would have done your dough.

 

I found a saving of a few hundred with them last flight, but current pricing is still a couple of thousand, with maybe a hundred or so saving.

 

It's been cheaper, but not much, and has significant trade-offs. A bit like shopping at ALDI. Worth checking, but not for relying on.

[rafinmd]

Same experience for me, I found ChoiceAir great for a one-way but horrible for a multi-destination. Mine was with Celebrity but I ended up getting a great Choice Air flight from Barcelona to BWI and opted for Amtrak to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Roy

[Markanddonna]

Your guarantee might not be what you think. We were taking Choice Air on a flight to Rome several days ahead of our cruise. Hurricane Sandy reared her ugly head and it was then that I discovered that their guarantee was to get me on the ship, not necessarily to Rome when I wanted. If it hadn't become a "crisis", I would have been stuck. Choiceair finally allowed me to contact the airline (United) directly to adjust my connecting flight which was one of the last before Sandy hit.

 

If I had listened to the assurances of the Choice air folks, I would have missed out on at least two of my days in Rome.

[Folk Singer]

We had good luck with our TA for next year and booked Choice Air and saved around $1500 for the same flight through a national carrier.

 

Agree it does pay to shop around.

[robtulipe]

To get the best pricing for T/A sailings, you have to price it as 2 1-way flights, not as a simple "multi-destination" itinerary. Get the price for the 1st flight alone, then the return flight alone. Add the 2 together and you should have an amazing overall price for your flights. You can price it that way on the C/Air website but you would need to call C/Air directly to have them book the 1-way flights. Just tell them exactly what you want to do and they will get you set up.

 

I tried that also with Choice Air but the pricing for the US domestic flights we needed, although much better booking as separate one way flights, still weren't as cheap on Choice Air as I could get directly with the airlines. There is a booking fee with Choice Air. We eventually booked Southwest flights, which Choice Air doesn't offer, for the US only portion as they had the best prices and flight times for us.

I've also found that booking flights as two one ways for a repositioning cruise to be often cheaper even when booking directly with the airline and is typically much easier to find the best flights, both for cost and itinerary. The only downside is one has to do two separate bookings.

I first did this directly with Air Canada for flights out of Toronto to get to and return from a repositioning cruise that went from Chile, SA to San Diego, CA and was amazed at the cost savings and how easy it was to find the best flights for doing so even though all flights were on AC. ;)

[Thoie]

I did a little bit more digging.

 

Choiceair does give a lowest fare guarantee on your airfare.

Our Royal Caribbean ChoiceAir® Low Fare Guarantee ensures you will enjoy the lowest available rate on your base airfare when you book with ChoiceAir. If you find a lower fare within 24 hours of booking, you will receive 110% of the difference applied to your cruise booking as an onboard credit to spend onboard. The lower price must be available for purchase.

 

But then I also noticed that Choiceair is only aimed at North American guests:

Royal Caribbean ChoiceAir is available to be booked online for residents of the U.S. and Canada only. Guests residing outside the U.S. and Canada should contact their local office for availability of ChoiceAir or other air travel programs. A non-refundable service fee applies per guest: $15 for North American destinations or $25 for International destinations.

 

Regardless, I looked up two one-way flights with the same carrier I've already booked with. The DUB-FLL leg is showing as $1060.70 and the BCN - DUB leg is priced at $123.59, coming to $1184.29. $35 more expensive than the multi-trip is today (it went up a few dollars since last night).

 

So basically, it's obviously intended for US/CA passengers to do their own bookings. Pricing the cruise plus flights on the Irish website was giving roughly the same breakdown cost for the flights, so presumably it's going through the same system.

 

End result - shop around, including Choiceair if you're from North America :)

 

I'd still love to know how they can justify charging European customers the extra $566 on scheduled flights.

[Thoie]

We had good luck with our TA for next year and booked Choice Air and saved around $1500 for the same flight through a national carrier.

 

Agree it does pay to shop around.

 

Also - hi again Folk Singer! Any chance of seeing you on the Allure in April?

[bellemiche]

The price guarantee is a joke anyway. Our airfare dropped the same day we booked. First told me both base prices were the same - even though the total cost was almost $100 cheaper. Then I was told that their base price was A PENNY LESS! I called more than once and could never get a straight answer. I asked for them to then give me the breakdown of the base fare and all of the fees. Well after an hour on the phone, I hung up. Next time we will book on our own.

Edited December 18, 2014 by bellemiche
Add to it