How Does Air Deviation Work On Princess?

[cecilterwiliger]

Maybe I have the wrong idea about air deviation on Princess. Could someone help me out with how it works. I thought if you chose the deviation, you selected your flights and they were booked and guaranteed at the time of booking. We have requested specific flights through our travel agent and are being told that we still will not know what flight we were on until the regular flights come out from Princess. If that is how it works, then what is the point of paying for a deviation? At the last minute, we could find out that we don't have the flight we want and it could be full at that point. Someone who has experience will all of this, please help!!!

[greatam]

Have you paid a fee for deviation? Fee can be paid either in cash or by virtue of "elite" status on the cruise line.

 

IF you paid a fee for deviation, you should have been given the flight info almost immediately. The cruise line may not PAY and confirm your booking until final payment-they would be stuck with your tickets if you cancel. But they have special contracts with the airline to GUARANTEE your seat if you make final payment.

 

You may also have to pay additional costs for your flights. Example:

 

GENERIC cruise air-$500.00. But you want flights that cost the cruise line $600.00 (not you-has absolute NOTHING to do with what you could purchase the flights for) . So you will pay the deviation fee (usually $50.00) and the difference in flight cost.

 

If you did not get this info from your TA, ask again. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, I would rebook the cruise with another TA unless there is a large cancellation fee.

 

Have you looked at booking the flights you want yourself? You can always get the transfers separately direct from the cruise line (although you are usually better off and save money by doing it yourself-taxi, shuttle, limo, excursion).

 

Good lucK!!!

[cecilterwiliger]

Our agent has a deviation fee listed of $75 and an airfare fee (a bit above what I found separately but within range). When I go to our booking on Princess, it lists Princess airfare and but no deviation and tells us to contact our travel agent if we want a deviation. We have specifically asked the agent for the flight and are told Princess won't release that until they release the non-deviation airfares. We thought of booking our own airfare and hotel but wanted complete insurance coverage via Princess in case anything went wrong. The hotel fee was double what I could have gotten had I booked it myself but we were told by Princess that the transfers were what made it so much higher.

 

My fear in changing agents at this point is not being able to book the same cabins if the agency had a block of them. Guess our best bet would be to call Princess and see what they say. Thanks for your help. Any other input would be appreciated. We started this process very early, and just wanted to sit back and relax, but frankly it is like pulling teeth.

[DanJ]

I might be mistaken, but the deviation is a separate thing than booking "custom air" or whatever Princess calls it. Deviation is when you want to go down early or come back later than the standard embark/debark days, and they still book you on whatever flights they have. Custom air is when you say you want this flight on this date.

 

You can also book separate travel insurance to cover your flights and hotel arrangements should you decide to book them on your own. And remember to factor in that deviation fee (which is per person) when comparing air fares.

[cecilterwiliger]

When we booked the air, we told the travel agent that we wanted non-stop flights, which is only available from our home airport on one airline. The TA asked for the name and number of the flights and she said she requested them from Princess, but said Princess would not confirm back until it released all flights for the cruise. The TA charged $75 pp for this, in addition to a slightly higher fare than is posted online. When we call Princess directly, I will ask about if they have a difference in terms between deviation and custom. Thanks for the advice. We are leaving one day early, but the total package is supposed to be through Princess to have their insurance cover us.

[greatam]

Air deviation/custom air/air-sea dept-all about the same. Different cruise lines call them different things. YOU pick the flights, whether they are the day of cruise or two/three days early.

 

Since it does not appear that you have made final payment, why don't you just cancel the hotel/air/insurance and book everything on your own? You have stated that you will save money.

 

It appears that you are worried about the insurance. Go to one of the online insurance sites and pick your own policy. Then you can pick EXACTLY what options you want. Have great health insurance from work that covers you out of the US-probably don't need to spend a lot of the medical part of a travel insurance policy. Have Medicare and leaving the US-better invest in the extended medical coverage. Have a great homeowner's policy-you probably don't need a lot of lost/stolen luggage coverage. http://www.insuremytrip.com/ and http://tripinsurancestore.com/, are reputable companies, have a wealth of information and numbers you can call if everything is very confusing.

 

And just a heads up-IF you decide to book this stuff on your own-book another hotel other than the cruise line hotel, unless you REALLY want to stay there. The hotels the cruise lines use are usually VERY nice. However, the lobbies/resturants/bars/gym are overly CROWDED with all the cruise passengers. And the entrances can become very congested with the cruise line buses and all the luggage piled up.

 

You did not state where you are cruising from/to. However, other than a VERY few places in the world, you are FAR better off getting your own transportation to the port (shuttle, limo, taxi) than waiting for a bus with 50 people to get loaded and moving.

 

Your TA will probably throw a fit if you cancel the hotel/air (they get commission), but it is your vacation. IMHO, you will be far better off making your own arrangements. At least you KNOW what you are getting.

[cecilterwiliger]

Dan and Great--

 

Thanks for the advice. It really helped. Pretty sure we have it all straightened out now, thanks to both of you.

 

C