Booking air on your own vs through Celebrity

[RockyTop2]

I have always found booking my own air to be cheaper than booking through Celebrity. But, many on these boards find that not to be the case, especially on the transatlantics. My question is, does it matter when you book your air through Celebrity in terms of price? Is the cost usually more or less closer to the sailing date? Or does the cruise airfare stay the same price no matter when you book it? We usually book our cruises pretty far out so maybe that is why the cruise air is always higher. And if the cruise airfare price does drop before you cruise, do you get the lower fare? Lots of questions, I know, but I am fairly new to Cruise Critic and am learning so much through these boards so I appreciate all your advice.

[Host Kewlguy]

I have always found booking my own air to be cheaper than booking through Celebrity. But, many on these boards find that not to be the case, especially on the transatlantics. My question is, does it matter when you book your air through Celebrity in terms of price? Is the cost usually more or less closer to the sailing date? Or does the cruise airfare stay the same price no matter when you book it? We usually book our cruises pretty far out so maybe that is why the cruise air is always higher. And if the cruise airfare price does drop before you cruise, do you get the lower fare? Lots of questions, I know, but I am fairly new to Cruise Critic and am learning so much through these boards so I appreciate all your advice.

 

We've found the price of air offered by the cruise line usually stays the same regardless of when you book it. As for transatlantic's, since one way air into and out of Europe is extremely expensive people usually find it more economical to purchase the air through the cruise line. We usually book round trip air on our own and use each leg of the flight for two different transatlantic's. One in the spring and one in the fall. This has worked well for us and saved a lot of money verses buying cruise air.

[chessbriar]

I have yet to have X offer better pricing than what I find on my own. It might make a difference when you are flying in and out of different airports. They will occasionally offer deals on airfare once you get closer to the sail date, but I have not seen many of those.

[TravelerThom]

I have always found booking my own air to be cheaper than booking through Celebrity. But, many on these boards find that not to be the case, especially on the transatlantics. My question is, does it matter when you book your air through Celebrity in terms of price? Is the cost usually more or less closer to the sailing date? Or does the cruise airfare stay the same price no matter when you book it? We usually book our cruises pretty far out so maybe that is why the cruise air is always higher. And if the cruise airfare price does drop before you cruise, do you get the lower fare? Lots of questions, I know, but I am fairly new to Cruise Critic and am learning so much through these boards so I appreciate all your advice.

What I THINK I have learned from experience:

-- these are long term contract air fares and not likely to change.

-- if you book late [probably after normal final payment] they may well not offer cruise air.

-- I was on a repositioning cruise last year and in researching the X on-line reservation website, I noticed that the base fare increased if I asked for air. I thought I must be mistaken, but I check and re-checked. Yep the cruise portion of the fare quote with air was more than cruise only fare. Not saying they do this all the time, but was true for that FLL-Chile cruise. Certainly seemed less than honest to me.

-- you are right about getting killed on one-way trans-Atlantic airfares, since one-way generally costs more than RT. My solution this year was to do two TAs and buy RT air from Europe to the US in the spring and back to Europe in the fall. Lyn rains on my pride over saving hundreds in airfare by having to point out that we do have to pay for another TA cruise:rolleyes:

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

The airfares are all over the map. We recently booked our FFL to Santiago, Chile cruise and took the Celebrity airfare and a Cat. 2A Verandah stateroom. The airfare, at just over $1,000 EACH for San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale and Santiago to San Francisco, was less expensive than anything we could find. I always keep an eye on the fares after booking to see if there are any changes. About a month later, I noticed that they were offering a promotional airfare for Concierge Class staterooms. (The CC level staterooms were not selling well for this cruise, thus they used the incentive) We are now getting our airfare for $1,300 TOTAL for two, and will be in a Concierge Class stateroom. The savings on the airfare was over $700, and the stateroom was just $200 more total, with a total savings of $500, and a much better stateroom.

You just need to keep an eye on the fares constantly, and jump when you see a nice reduction.

We're also looking at a 2008 holiday cruise from Auckland to Sydney, and the roundtrip airfare they are offering is under $2,000. This is far less than anything we can find. Most discount fares are around $2,500, and full fare on United is around $8,000.

It seems Celebrity (and maybe other cruise lines) are using the airfares as a way of encouraging sales of particular sailings and staterooms. You have to keep looking. Airfares offered by the cruise lines DO change.

Celebrity has howver recently announced that promotional airfares are not eligible for Custom Air requests.

[RockyTop2]

Wow! I have learned so much from those of you who have already posted...I hope more of you seasoned cruisers will continue to share more tips with me....thanks!!!:)

[RockyTop2]

The airfares are all over the map.

You just need to keep an eye on the fares constantly, and jump when you see a nice reduction.

 

I do not not book directly through Celebrity, but rather use an online TA. Does the Celebrity website show cruise air? I have checked prices on their site before, but don't remember seeing any airfares listed. This board and those on it are awesome!

[bobbyleduck]

I booked our TA cruise about a month ago and did a combination. I booked round trip Portland, OR to Fort Lauderdale for 2 of us at a total of $452. I booked one-way flight from Miami to Barcelona with the cruise and it cost $300 each, above the cost of the cruise. Total for airfare, cruise and taxes $1,431.88 each. Sometimes you have to be a little creative.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[RockyTop2]

We've found the price of air offered by the cruise line usually stays the same regardless of when you book it. As for transatlantic's, since one way air into and out of Europe is extremely expensive people usually find it more economical to purchase the air through the cruise line. We usually book round trip air on our own and use each leg of the flight for two different transatlantic's. One in the spring and one in the fall. This has worked well for us and saved a lot of money verses buying cruise air.

Arno, who we met on our first T/A and who also introduced us to Cruise Critic, gave my husband and I this same fabulous tip and when we docked in Miami we called the airline and told them we would not be making the flight and rented a car and drove 12 hours home! We then used the other half on another T/A in the spring. But a few more questions if you don't mind...I know of course one flight is east and one westbound, but do the cities matter or is it ok as long as it is somewhere Europe and then somewhere in the US? I am just wondering how far you can push on location. We were using FF miles on the trip I mentioned so I do not know if regular fares will matter. Also, does the airline know or care that folks are doing this? Thanks in advance for your time in answering.

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

I do not not book directly through Celebrity, but rather use an online TA. Does the Celebrity website show cruise air? I have checked prices on their site before, but don't remember seeing any airfares listed. This board and those on it are awesome!

 

Airfares are quoted on the website. From the cruise summary page, click on "Book Now" and it will ask how many traveling, and if you want air included and if so, choose the departing airport. On the next screen, choose the tab for the type of stateroom you want (suite, verandah, ocean view, inside). Then choose the stateroom you want and click on "select" The "Vacation Total" will show you Cruise, Air, Tax and Total.

 

Try different classes of staterooms (suite, verandah, etc) and you MAY find the air cost is different on some classes. Also check for the difference in the cruise fare with and without air, it MAY sometimes be different.

 

With the advent of inventory management software, all of these variables can and are changed often to produce the greatest amount of revenue for the cruise lines. Just be vigilent about checking fares, and you might save a bundle.

 

Happy hunting!

[RockyTop2]

Airfares are quoted on the website.

Thanks!!! My time at the computer doubled after finding Cruise Critic...now, here I go again. It just means more searching and more fun doing it!

[Bruin Steve]

I almost always INITIALLY book the air through the cruise line (Remember, you can cancel the air portion and keep the cruise only wit no penalty clear up to final payment). Even if you think you'll likely find a better air deal on your own, it's a great hedge in case you don't.

 

Next thing to realize is that there is no hard and fast rule that says cruise air is always more expensive. You have to realize how cruise air works and how the airlines' air rates work.

 

Cruise lines tend to standardize rates. They'll take a particular cruise (say a round trip out of London (Dover) and they'll establish a rate for an entire season of sailings with maybe a small adjustment if you are flying out of certain cities. Maybe $800 rt flying out of any major Eastern US hub and $1200 flying out of any Western US hub...and they'll tack on another $100 flying out of any secondary airport. Well, this may turn out to be a bargain if you're flying out of Boise Idaho July 4 weekend, but you may be overpaying if you're flying out of JFK a week before Memorial Day.

 

Airlines price fares based on supply and demand--which varies on different travel dates, days of the week and the city you're flying from. They may have lots of nonstops going from JFK or LAX to Heathrow, but very few flights (all with multiple connections) getting you there from Boise or Albuquerque or Dayton...And you may find lots of cheap rates on a Tuesday in April, but on the Friday preceding Memorial Day or July 4, it may be hard to find.

 

There are also pluses and minuses to booking that low rate on your own--It may require you to do an advance purchase of a nonrefundable ticket.

 

Airline fares may rise and drop at any time...and they actually sell different tickets on the same plne for different fares. I'd say, go ahead and watch the prices, but keep that cruise air in place untile you're ready to pull the trigger.

 

Also, though, note to make sure that you are comparing apples and apples...Make sure the airfare includes all of the fees, taxes and charges. Also, remember the cruise air includes the transfers from airport to port (this value may be quite large if you are cruising out of a port such as one of the English ports--Dover Harwich and Southampton are all a considerable distance away from Heathrow) and ground transportation can be pretty expensive...

[TravelerThom]

Arno, who we met on our first T/A and who also introduced us to Cruise Critic, gave my husband and I this same fabulous tip and when we docked in Miami we called the airline and told them we would not be making the flight and rented a car and drove 12 hours home! We then used the other half on another T/A in the spring. But a few more questions if you don't mind...I know of course one flight is east and one westbound, but do the cities matter or is it ok as long as it is somewhere Europe and then somewhere in the US? I am just wondering how far you can push on location. We were using FF miles on the trip I mentioned so I do not know if regular fares will matter. Also, does the airline know or care that folks are doing this? Thanks in advance for your time in answering.

My personal case:

I arrived on a TA in Southampton, England early April, and stayed for ten days with my nephew and family in Birmingham. I am leaving on a TA from Barcelona in early December. I checked numerous combinations, and ended up purchasing a RT from Birmingham to DC with a return to London Gatwick [only slightly more than LGW-DCA-LGW] and then was able to get a one way BA flight from LGW-BCN for $65. This is all legal and perfectly above board, no reason that the airline should complain. There were numerous ways to have done this, but this is what worked best for me as a trade off of cost and convenience.

[Wilcoam]

On a galaxy euro crusie last year, I found X airfare to be cheaper than Air Canada. I bought through X and because we have cruised alot with X, were able to use the deviation system for free and get the flights we

wanted.

 

Everything was perfect.

 

However, it's still the only time I used a cruiseline airfare. Most of the time I would prefer to fly 1st or exec class, and prefer to book myself.

 

However, I must commend X on doing a great job this one time I used them.

 

jc

Toronto