Booking Air Through Princess

[Mimi39]

Is ther any advantage to booking flights through Princess rather than booking online like I usually do for other travel?

[jacketwatch]

The advantage is it becomes their responsibility to get you to the ship if there is a snag and you miss the embarkation. The disadvantage is usually price and routing. We book our own air and try to go a day early to the embarkation port in case we encounter connection problems.

[cherylandtk]

Please note that your contract with Princess DOES NOT GUARANTEE they will get you to the ship; although the practice has usually been that they will re-book your flights to the next port or home if there is a big delay. (Last month's Grand wave/delay for example). But there is a big difference in being obligated to do something and voluntarily choosing to do it.

 

Also, cruiseline air is usually booked on consolidator class tickets, meaning you cannot use them to be re-routed on another airline if there is a delay on your original flight. There is a ton more information on the Cruise Air board, too>

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

[Stevesan]

You might consider cruise air for international travel. I've twice used it for flights to Rome with good results.

However, my point of origin is Houston so there's not too much screwing around they can do between here and Rome or the UK.

Land transfer costs are included in cruise line air. that can be significant with some destinations.

 

However, I'd recommend cruise air only if the fare is significantly less thru Princess, factoring in transfers, and you are comfortable with the routing.

You can request flight selections, if Princess has a booking contract with the airline you want to fly. You'll pay a premium for that.

 

In most cases cruise air will be more expensive. This may not be a typical example,

but Princess quoted a higher fare for Economy class R/T Houston<--->San Juan than I paid booking directly for Business class!!

That was a no brainer.:p

 

I've always booked independent for domestic and regional destinations.

However, it doesn't cost anything to call Princess's air desk for a quote.

[TucsonRick]

We booked Princess air for our Alaska cruise last year. For the return from Anchorage to Tucson, they routed us thru Atlanta, thousands of miles and 12 hrs out of our way. Needless to say, we canceled and booked on our own. We actually saved money in doing so.

 

Rick

[Easternstar]

We booked Princess air for our Alaska cruise last year. For the return from Anchorage to Tucson, they routed us thru Atlanta, thousands of miles and 12 hrs out of our way. Needless to say, we canceled and booked on our own. We actually saved money in doing so.

 

Rick

We booked through Princess as it is our first time and I wanted to be free of the hassle. Flight times are unfortunate but not catastrophic so , so far so good. I'll probably have a list of things I'd do differently after it's all over, but I am getting what I paid for-somebody else to take the responsibility.

My only concern all the way through has been what not even Princess can control: w-e-a-t-h-e-r!:eek:

[ocnlvr3]

Easternstar- I know most cc'ers like to book their own travel. I always find the flights I want and then call Princess and book thru them paying the deviation fee. I have always paid the same thru them as the airline would have charged me anyway. So far it has worked out great but that's not always the case for everybody. I always go in a day or 2 early just in case the weather's bad.

 

 

Andrea

[Pam in CA]

Whether or not to use cruise air really depends on a number of factors: where you're flying from; where you're flying to; are you embarking and disembarking at the same port; are there many available flights to/from your embarkation/disembarkation port(s), etc.

 

If you are embarking a cruise from a U.S. port, it's almost always less expensive and easier to book your air independently. IMHO, the exception is a one-way Alaska cruise where you embark and disembark from different ports. Do your research and see if you can get air cheaper than cruise fare. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

 

For international travel, particularly if you are arriving/leaving from two different ports, cruise air is usually competitively priced but not always. For instance, for my upcoming cruise on HAL where I'm flying to Rio and then returning from Santiago, I was able to get flights that were much less expensive than the cruiseline air. For my cruise this summer where we're cruising R/T from Southampton, I'll probably use cruise air as it's less-expensive than anything I've been able to find so far.

 

I usually add cruise air to my bookings and then look for better flights/rates. If I find them before final payment, I cancel the cruise air; if I can't find them, I've got my air all set.

[Colo Cruiser]

Is ther any advantage to booking flights through Princess rather than booking online like I usually do for other travel?

 

 

Not unless you are flying into or out of a city that is difficult to book on your own. :)

[49er]

We are using Princess Air for our upcoming cruise (New Zealand-Australia). The price was nearly $1500 cheaper then anything we could get on line. No strange connections either with non stops to Auckland from LAX with a nonstop return from Sydney. Also have decent connections from Sacramento to LAX.

 

49er

 

Pam in CA

I had posed the question a while ago on CC regarding baggage allowances. We are using Qantas for our flights out of LAX to New Zealand and United express for the Sacramento - LAX leg. The 2 bag PP international flight rule applies for the United flight as well and there is no charge, at least that is what I have been told by United. I will let you know if that is the case when I get back

[iancal]

It very much depends on what flights you need. If, for instance, you just need standard return air in North America, the only advantage to booking Princess is that you will pay more, may have mulitple stopovers on your flight, and cannot choose your airline/seat etc unless of course you pay even more for an airline deviation fee (code for paying even more than you could on your own to get what you could book on your own for generally a much lower price).

[Colo Cruiser]

Priblem with Princess air too is all the possible connecting flights/bad times of the day etc.

Unless you pay for the upgrade. :)

[flamomo]

We used Princess Air in November for a cruise on the Tahitian Princess. I flew from Tampa to LAX.

My cabinmate flew from Northern California to LAX, where we met and then boarded Air Tahiti Nui for the flight to Papeete, Tahiti.

For both of us it worked out very well. We did pay the deviation fee so were able to choose our seats on ATN. (I had gone on seatguru dot com and perused the seats in advance.) Once the final flight arrangements were sent by Princess, and I had the confirmation number, I was able to go on the domestic airline's website and choose my seats for those legs of travel.

There were no hitches whatsoever, the fare was definitely less than what we would have paid had we booked them for ourselves. and we would not hesitate to use cruise air again for international flights.

 

For cruises departing from and returning to the same US port, I always book my own flights because I prefer to have more control over times of flights and the places I have to change planes. Also, I always fly to the port city a day in advance of the start of the cruise.

 

I have read a lot of negative comments on these boards about cruise air, and though I know that not every flight arrangement made by cruise lines works out to passengers convenience or liking, somehow cruise air gets a pretty consistent bad rap by several "experts". Sadly, that leads people to believe that there is no such thing as good cruise air arrangements, and I believe that's an unfair generalization. So long as people thinking about using cruise air read the sticky posting at the beginning of the "Cruise Air" part of the boards, understand just how cruise air works, and are willing to use cruise air with that knowledge, they should not be put down for making that choice. But I have seen that all to often.

[Pam in CA]

We are using Princess Air for our upcoming cruise (New Zealand-Australia). The price was nearly $1500 cheaper then anything we could get on line. No strange connections either with non stops to Auckland from LAX with a nonstop return from Sydney. Also have decent connections from Sacramento to LAX.

 

49er

 

Pam in CA

I had posed the question a while ago on CC regarding baggage allowances. We are using Qantas for our flights out of LAX to New Zealand and United express for the Sacramento - LAX leg. The 2 bag PP international flight rule applies for the United flight as well and there is no charge, at least that is what I have been told by United. I will let you know if that is the case when I get back

As I normally bring only one 25" suitcase, I don't worry about the suitcase allowances. For my 31-day Sydney to LA cruise last April, I brought my 25" suitcase and a 2nd 18" case, which lasted me for five weeks.

 

If you're flying from LAX to Sydney and booking your own flights, check out Hawaiian airlines. While I few business class (which sucks on HI Air -- a complete waste of money as the seat didn't go back, the leg rest didn't come up, etc.), several people on our roll call paid only about $650 for their flight, which included a stopover in Honolulu. While that was one-way, it was a heck of a lot less than any other airline.

[campanet]

One GREAT advantage I saw to booking with Princess was during our transatlantic cruises. Both times we ran into weather issues which delayed our arrival into the U.S. port. Princess took care of rebooking everyone on board that had booked flights through them. Anyone who booked on their own was on their own.

KC

[iancal]

What we save by booking our own air, hotels, and transfers is usually more that enought to pay for a two day precruise stay in FLL or MIA.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Make sure you plan to arrive at least a day before your cruise. Whatever your method of booking your flight.

 

The one time we booked a flight with our cruise fare, we regretted it as we were given red eye flights that would get us into Miami the morning of our cruise. When I saw the tickets, I immediately called the TA and demanded we get changed to get in the night before (we were supposed to get a hotel room along with the arrangements).

 

To us, having that extra time is a must.

[caribill]

Experience 1:

Needed one-way from Venice to Houston after a cruise. Princess (with air deviation fee) had a reasonable one-way fare.

 

Experience 2:

Needed round trip Houston to Tahiti. Princess quoted slightly more than I could do on my own. But I wanted to arrive on Tahiti a day early which would require additional Princess deviation fee. Booked my own and: Saved the air deviation fee, had the exact flights I wanted, could use Southwest airlines for Houston-LAX, an airline Princess does not use.

 

Experience 3:

Needed one way Houston to Manaus (Brazil) for Manaus-FLL cruise. Asked for Princess air and received a schedule that had us flying overnight to Sao Paulo (arriving at 5 AM), waiting five hours and then flying back north to Manaus to arrive exhausted about 6 PM. Travel agent contacted Princess and changed that 30 hours of air/airport travel to the 12 day FLL-Manaus cruise segment. Arrived relaxed in Manaus after 12 days on the ship ready to start the return cruise Manaus-FLL.

[Colo Cruiser]

Experience 1:

Needed one-way from Venice to Houston after a cruise. Princess (with air deviation fee) had a reasonable one-way fare.

 

Experience 2:

Needed round trip Houston to Tahiti. Princess quoted slightly more than I could do on my own. But I wanted to arrive on Tahiti a day early which would require additional Princess deviation fee. Booked my own and: Saved the air deviation fee, had the exact flights I wanted, could use Southwest airlines for Houston-LAX, an airline Princess does not use.

 

Experience 3:

Needed one way Houston to Manaus (Brazil) for Manaus-FLL cruise. Asked for Princess air and received a schedule that had us flying overnight to Sao Paulo (arriving at 5 AM), waiting five hours and then flying back north to Manaus to arrive exhausted about 6 PM. Travel agent contacted Princess and changed that 30 hours of air/airport travel to the 12 day FLL-Manaus cruise segment. Arrived relaxed in Manaus after 12 days on the ship ready to start the return cruise Manaus-FLL.

 

 

That is exactly what I meant by those examples. :)

[Pam in CA]

One GREAT advantage I saw to booking with Princess was during our transatlantic cruises. Both times we ran into weather issues which delayed our arrival into the U.S. port. Princess took care of rebooking everyone on board that had booked flights through them. Anyone who booked on their own was on their own.

KC

That is a great advantage. One of my experiences with Princess air was almost four years ago when I was on a 21-day three continent cruise and 2/3 of the way into the cruise, learned that my stepfather was diagnosed with an extremely fast-moving cancer and didn't have much time. I'd planned to spend several days in Rome post-cruise but canceled that; Princess arranged new flights for me to get home to the Boston area right after the cruise. I flew to FL the following weekend to say my "Good-byes" and he passed away a few days later. Princess couldn't have been better, assisting me with the flights and making sure I was OK.

[jpthomas27]

In my limited experience it seems as though the cruise line will generally take care of you if there are delays with your flights. The disadvantages are;

- Booking your flights through the cruiseline is muh more expensive. Much more expensive!!

- The flights are not flexible at all without additional fees. If you want to arrive at a certain time or leave at a certain time it isn't really in your control, without paying for it.

- You don't get the details of your flight until closer to the cruise. So if your a planner and like to book things early, say 6 mothes to a year ahead of time, you won't know any of your flight details until 2 to 3 monthes before your cruise.

 

My TA was able to get me much better prices on flights by going through different channels and in addition to the much cheaper rates, I was able to control my departure and arrival times so I got where I wanted to go, when I wanted to go there. - Much better for a slight control freak like myself.

[Mimi39]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It looks like I'll be booking our round trip flight to Copenhagen online myself. Our cruise is Baltic/Russia on August 24 and we'll arrive a day or two in advance. My next question is should I book next month or wait to see if prices go down or the airlines remove the the fuel surcharge?

[flamomo]

"You don't get the details of your flight until closer to the cruise.

So if your a planner and like to book things early, say 6 mothes to a year ahead of time, you won't know any of your flight details until 2 to 3 monthes before your cruise."

 

Not entirely true.

Example: When we first booked the cruise and cruise air 7 months out from sailing, we were given a tentative flight schedule. From then on, EVERY time there was even a few minutes change for any of the flights, we were notified. And the final fliight schedule was known to us well before the usually projected 90 days.

 

"- Booking your flights through the cruiseline is muh more expensive. Much more expensive!!"

 

Also not always true.

Had we been able to fly cheaper by booking ourselves, that's what we would have done. But getting to Tahiti is pretty expensive. Even with paying the deviation charge, we still saved a significant amount each on the plane fares. Enough to allow us to spend 2 nights pre-cruise at the IC Papeete Resort.

 

The above two quotes are examples of generalizations that people post, that tend to give cruise air a bad image.

 

Travel arrangements are not "one size fits all". Cruise air may not suit every cruiser, but in certain circumstances, can be a good choice.

 

'Nuf said.

[Stevesan]

Is ther any advantage to booking flights through Princess rather than booking online like I usually do for other travel?

 

This is a good thread.

 

Mimi, you've been provided with a variety of cruise line air experiences. Presuming you've already checked for available flights thru a consolidate web site such as ITA,

or had your TA do it, call Princess and ask the air desk for a quote.

Better yet, if you booked thru a TA, have them call and get back to you. TAs often have clout that you don't. Caribill's post is a good example of that.

[Colo Cruiser]

"

"- Booking your flights through the cruiseline is muh more expensive. Much more expensive!!"

 

Also not always true.

Had we been able to fly cheaper by booking ourselves, that's what we would have done. But getting to Tahiti is pretty expensive. Even with paying the deviation charge, we still saved a significant amount each on the plane fares. Enough to allow us to spend 2 nights pre-cruise at the IC Papeete Resort.

 

The above two quotes are examples of generalizations that people post, that tend to give cruise air a bad image.

 

Travel arrangements are not "one size fits all". Cruise air may not suit every cruiser, but in certain circumstances, can be a good choice.

 

'Nuf said.

 

 

That is why it pays to do your homwework. ;)