Booking air more than 1 year in advance?

[ZIPPER]

I'm looking at booking a Princess Cruise for 18 months from now, and given the nature of the cruise I probably need to book well in advance. When I went to book I didn't get an option to also book air travel, I presume this is because the cruise is more than one year from now. If I go ahead and book the cruise now will I get an opportunity to book air travel through Princess later on? The air reservations will be rather tricky.

 

Thanks

Gregg

[JohnLauben]

Most major airlines do not open reservations until 330 days (plus or minus a handful, or approximately 11 months) prior to the flight. And, when making your air reservations for your cruise, that's 330 days in advance of your return flight. If you plan to use frequent flyer mileage, this is about your best chance at a successful reservation.

 

Also, bear in mind that schedules can (and do) change over the course of a year. There's no guarantee that what you book 11 months in advance is what will operate. But, most of the time, there won't be wild variations in flight times (although flight numbers may change). Go ahead and book, but make sure that your the airline will refund your fare if they change the flights such that they no longer satisfy the requirements of the cruise. And remember, if you cancel the cruise, you may lose what you have paid the airline for your non-refundable tickets. Same is true if Princess cancels the cruise.

[Globaliser]

I'm looking at booking a Princess Cruise for 18 months from now, and given the nature of the cruise I probably need to book well in advance. ... The air reservations will be rather tricky.

Could you explain a bit more what your concerns are? Other than grabbing frequent flyer award seats on flights where they appear at the beginning of the booking cycle and then never appear again, there is seldom any reason to look to book flights even 12 months ahead. Apart from anything else, this usually guarantees that you will not get the best prices for those flights, as the lowest fares usually become available during bursts of promotional or competitive activity. Low prices are not a first-come first-served thing on airlines. And you have the problem with schedule changes that has already been explained.

[janetz]

I'm looking at booking a Princess Cruise for 18 months from now, and given the nature of the cruise I probably need to book well in advance. When I went to book I didn't get an option to also book air travel, I presume this is because the cruise is more than one year from now. If I go ahead and book the cruise now will I get an opportunity to book air travel through Princess later on? The air reservations will be rather tricky.

 

Thanks

Gregg

 

 

 

Add the air on to your cruise thru Princess when you book the cruise. When the time comes when you can reserve your own air, start looking. You have until final payment to cancell you air with Princess. :)