Air2Sea Flexibility

[LuCruise]

When doing a mock booking on Air2Sea's site, you select your cruise date and it will return you available flights.

A few questions about changing options:

1. It looks like you can change the date (i.e. fly in a day earlier).  Correct?
2. Can you change the airport?  Or can you only select the cruise airport?  E.g. The cruise may be out of Fort Lauderdale but it may be cheaper to fly to Miami  
3. If flights aren't showing, can you mention another one that you see on the airline's site?  Or does Air2Sea only offer a subset of available flights?
4. The site shows cost in USD.  I believe we can purchase in CAD if our cruise booking is in CAD?

 

Thanks.

[megr1125]

21 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

When doing a mock booking on Air2Sea's site, you select your cruise date and it will return you available flights.

A few questions about changing options:

1. It looks like you can change the date (i.e. fly in a day earlier).  Correct?
2. Can you change the airport?  Or can you only select the cruise airport?  E.g. The cruise may be out of Fort Lauderdale but it may be cheaper to fly to Miami  
3. If flights aren't showing, can you mention another one that you see on the airline's site?  Or does Air2Sea only offer a subset of available flights?
4. The site shows cost in USD.  I believe we can purchase in CAD if our cruise booking is in CAD?

 

Thanks.

1) Yes you can - fly in early, fly home later.  I think up to 2 weeks on either end - just type in the airport/airport code you want to use.

 

2) Yes you can.  It WILL give you a note that you're flying into a different airport and might miss your cruise.  (IE, I'm flying into AMS to go to a concert but my cruise leaves from Ravenna 5 days later.  It let me do it but told me I might miss my cruise. Really? LOL.  Thanks Royal.  😄 😄  Pretty sure I can get myself from AMS to VCE to Ravenna on my own )

 

3) No, you take what they give you.  They've already bought the tickets on the flights the airlines gave them.  BTW your ability to choose seats, etc. will depend on the carrier.  You SHOULD be able to do this on the airline's site BUT YMMV and it may not allow it until it's actually ticketed.  I paid my final about 1 month early and asked for early ticketing, which they took care of for me.  I've always been able to at least SEE my flights on carriers' sites before paying but haven't always been able to manage them.

 

A confirmation code is not the same as a ticket number.  Just don't get too nuts if you don't see it.  A call or Tweet to the airline can often help clarify things.

 

4) Don't know about that

 

And once you book it, if it's flexible air, you CAN change it until final but you CANNOT change it on line, you MUST call.  It's a pain in the you know what.

 

Also be sure to understand what you're buying.  Yes there is a savings.  Yes the cruise lines say they'll help you get to the ship.  REALITY is that airline seats are a commodity with a finite quantity so if there are no seats between your city pairs for 4 days, then that's what will happen.  These tickets often have very restrictive rules as well for reaccommodating you.  Be sure that's in the back of your mind.

I did have a flight cancelled on me (Celebrity so same air) 8 hours before I was due to leave.  Flights by Celebrity did NOT help and told me it might take a few days.  Um WHAT???????????  My operating carrier, SAS did the RIGHT thing (thanks in part to EU 261 I think, plus US DOT rules) and rebooked me onto the nonstop on UA into FCO rather than a connecting flight.  They did it almost instantly and the only "problem" was it departed 15 minutes later (problem?  Not even!)  Wound up getting to Rome 5ish hours before I'd planned.

 

Anyway, for more info, see the cruise air board but caveat emptor.  Have backup flights in mind when it's time to fly and be firm if you need to.

 

Is cruise air a good deal?  Sure it can be.  Is it always perfect?  Not even close.  Will I do it again?  I've done it 3 times, and again in May so while I know there are downsides, for ME, the benefits outweigh the bad and I NEVER will fly into a port of departure less than 2 days ahead.  And ALWAYS have good trip insurance.

 

Hope that helps. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by megr1125

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

When doing a mock booking on Air2Sea's site, you select your cruise date and it will return you available flights.

A few questions about changing options:

1. It looks like you can change the date (i.e. fly in a day earlier).  Correct?
2. Can you change the airport?  Or can you only select the cruise airport?  E.g. The cruise may be out of Fort Lauderdale but it may be cheaper to fly to Miami  
3. If flights aren't showing, can you mention another one that you see on the airline's site?  Or does Air2Sea only offer a subset of available flights?
4. The site shows cost in USD.  I believe we can purchase in CAD if our cruise booking is in CAD?

 

Thanks.

All of the things that you mention except for #3 can be done by calling in to book.

[LuCruise]

megr1125, thank you for the detailed response and sharing your experience and warnings.  Good  to know we can change the airport and date.  We're actually not considering Air2Sea to get a good deal.  The only reason we are thinking of booking with them is because of uncertainty.  It's for a December cruise over new years.  Our son will be in university then and since it's his first year we don't know where he'll be, and the holiday schedule. Most likely our cruise is fine but we don't know for sure yet.  And for flights at Dec time, the cost only goes up and up so sooner we can book, the better.  Thus, Air2Sea seems like a good  option if we can find a flight that works.

Edited February 10, 2023 by LuCruise

[LuCruise]

13 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

All of the things that you mention except for #3 can be done by calling in to book.

Thanks.  So only flights that Air2Sea offers can be booked.

[Ourusualbeach]

27 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks.  So only flights that Air2Sea offers can be booked.

Correct.  If they aren't listed you can't book them. 

[shirazcruiser]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:33 AM, megr1125 said:

2) Yes you can.  It WILL give you a note that you're flying into a different airport and might miss your cruise.  (IE, I'm flying into AMS to go to a concert but my cruise leaves from Ravenna 5 days later.  It let me do it but told me I might miss my cruise. Really? LOL.  Thanks Royal.  😄 😄  

 

 

I am sailing out of AMS, but want to fly to Vienna, Austria first; however, it won't let me change AMS at all. I called A2S and was advised that I couldn't do it online and I would have to book it telephonically.  Any suggestions? 

[Ourusualbeach]

20 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

I am sailing out of AMS, but want to fly to Vienna, Austria first; however, it won't let me change AMS at all. I called A2S and was advised that I couldn't do it online and I would have to book it telephonically.  Any suggestions? 

Call.  

[shirazcruiser]

6 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Call.  

I did, but I like to see all of the times...options...prices. Do you have a link that you use for RCCL?   Flights by Celebrity lets you change airports, dates, etc.  and both cruiselines are owned by RCCL.  Even Princess lets you modify flights online when the price goes down.  I like watch my flights for price reductions which you can't do with RCCL, but you can with Celebrity.

Edited July 8, 2023 by shirazcruiser

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

I did, but I like to see all of the times...options...prices. Do you have a link that you use for RCCL?   Flights by Celebrity lets you change airports, dates, etc.  and both cruiselines are owned by RCCL.  Even Princess lets you modify flights online when the price goes down.  I like watch my flights for price reductions which you can't do with RCCL, but you can with Celebrity.

There is no other option other than to call, just as they told you.  Either call and get them to run through the options or book your own air directly with thf airline.  

[shirazcruiser]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There is no other option other than to call, just as they told you.  Either call and get them to run through the options or book your own air directly with thf airline.  

Sorry for asking...I just realized that megr1125 had indicated they could could change the arrival airport.  

[shirazcruiser]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:33 AM, megr1125 said:

1. Can you change the airport?  Or can you only select the cruise airport?  E.g. The cruise may be out of Fort Lauderdale but it may be cheaper to fly to Miami  

 

2) Yes you can.  It WILL give you a note that you're flying into a different airport and might miss your cruise.  (IE, I'm flying into AMS to go to a concert but my cruise leaves from Ravenna 5 days later.  It let me do it but told me I might miss my cruise. Really? LOL.  Thanks Royal.  😄 😄  Pretty sure I can get myself from AMS to VCE to Ravenna on my own )

 

My cruise begins in AMS, but I want to fly to Vienna, Austria first.  On RCCL A2S, I can change the departure date, but it won't let me change the arrival city as it defaults to AMS.  Any suggestions? I have called A2S and they advised that it couldn't be done online.  I like to monitor my flights for price reductions. It's strange that Celebrity which is owned by RCCL has a much more flexible airline booking site.  Thanks for any info!