Thread: Package deals vs. seperate bookings

What are the pros and cons of letting the cruise line book your hotel and airfare and doing it on your own if you want pre-cruise and post-cruise stays?

Edit: I did not want the poll to be multiple choice. Just vote for one option.

We are experienced travelers and like to make our own arrangements with hotel and air. We do the research and then book.

It is also less expensive to do it on our own for domestic flights, however, if one is doing a transatlantic, the cruise line air can be a bargain because they buy in bulk and can offer those flights at a lower price than what the individual airlines charge. We have done that a couple of times when we couldn't find airfare for less on our own.

Best advice...check it both ways. Look at the hotels and at the airfare that you would book on your own, then find out what the cruise line is offering and make your decision..

I just would never do it period.

I have a link to someone who did it thru Carnival who missed their ship. You have to pay extra for deviation, or they will fly you in so close to your cruise, you are lucky to make it on the ship before it sets sail. Or they do a red eye special.

Other than a few deals to Europe, its almost always cheaper to book on your own. You should not take the chances and fly in the day of a cruise anyway.

Luckily you said you were going to drive to the port right? I would still drive in the day before. What if you get a flat tire? I almost missed the ship for a last minute booking, hit the remnants of a hurricane driving thru Houston to get to Galveston and traffic was snarled.

Do yourself a favor and dont take chances with last minute cruise booked airfare. Anyone who tells you the ship will wait for you is lying or just not informed. I know of way too many people who didnt get their airfare until the last couple of weeks as its always done, too late to cancel the cruise, and the connections were next to impossible. The cruiselines will say not our problem, we use a 3rd party to book the airfare.

Flowers, I never said I will drive to the embarkation port. I was just thinking it would be nice if I could find a cruise ship I like that sadils out of Port Canaveral, Tampa, or Jacksonville for one of my cruises so I can do that. But that is a remote possibility.

You would think cruise lines always wanted to book day-before flights so passengers do not risk missing their ships. The red-eye flights never made any sense to me. I had to sleep at a Hilton near the Newark Liberty airport once because of weather-related flight cancellations, so you don't have to tell me about the importance of flying the previous day. I also missed a connection once when my first flight was late and there was only a half-hour layover, so I'm unwilling to buy a ticket with less than an hour between flights.

During the 80's and 90's we always had the cruise lines handle the air and hotel arrangements. We never had a problem We would usually fry down a day early for cruises out of Florida. There was one time that we took a red-eye and that worked out OK too. In those days the cruise lines would subsidize the cost of air as part of the deal. Sometime in the mid to late 90's it started to be not such a good deal. There is the occasional deal on air from cruise lines when they feel that they need to do it to move some cabins, but those are not too common.

Originally Posted by Smart Traveler

You would think cruise lines always wanted to book day-before flights so passengers do not risk missing their ships. The red-eye flights never made any sense to me. I had to sleep at a Hilton near the Newark Lib.

If you book a cruise with air thru the cruiseline .. you wouldnt get your flight info until a few weeks before your cruise. You are already well after final payment before you know the times they gave you stink.

For instance I think you have to be either diamond or diamond plus to get a free deviation on air thru RCL. Being a newbie cruiser, you would have to pay extra to get a deviation and to choose the flight. .. I dont know any cruiseline that will let you pick for no extra money.

I would want more control over when I flew in and not pay extra.

And I havent even gotten into another issue .. if the price of your cruise drops .. now its going to be tied to the air when otherwise you could get a price drop up until final payment. Bundling it all up just will make everything more compliated. I get my own hotel and flights . .. and probably cheaper.

If its airfare to Europe, this is the only time I know of that it might be a good deal. This is the one exception.

I always book my own air & hotel now. The cruise lines will use bulk air which may be cheaper, but you may be flying out of the way to get to the destination. Also, there is a possibility that you could end up with connections or layovers even if there are non-stop flights available from your city to the embarkation city.

When we went on our land/cruise vacation to Athens & the Greek Islands we booked a package deal and we were routed through Frankfurt Germany from Philadelphia/Athens. We had a 6 hour layover on the return and there were better (shorter layovers) and more direct flight options if we would have booked things separately.

Originally Posted by Smart Traveler;1783711

[B

You would think cruise lines always wanted to book day-before flights so passengers do not risk missing their ships.[/B] The red-eye flights never made any sense to me. I had to sleep at a Hilton near the Newark Liberty airport once because of weather-related flight cancellations, so you don't have to tell me about the importance of flying the previous day. I also missed a connection once when my first flight was late and there was only a half-hour layover, so I'm unwilling to buy a ticket with less than an hour between flights.

They'll only book you the day before flights if you're willing to book and pay for the pre-cruise hotel stay.

As Char already said, for domestic flights, it's always better to book your own air. For international flights, check both ways. With some cruise lines, purchasing air through them will include transfers, while with others it does not. This holds true if you book the hotel before or after the cruise - transfers may or may not be included to/from the airport, hotel, and ship. Whereas if you book the airfare and/or hotel on your own, transfers will not be included.

In the many hundreds of reservations I've booked for clients doing international flights and cruises, only a handful have selected the airfare offered by the cruise line. Often they cost more and the routing can be a nightmare. (I could tell you some horror stories!) And if you want to have a routing that suits your needs, you have to pay an air deviation fee, which can be an average of $50 to $100 more per person.

However, cruise lines are changing their airline reservations so they can compete better with the online sites. For example, Princess has their new eZAir program. You can select your airline, flights, and dates without paying any additional fees and you get your confirmation at time of booking. Plus, they offer restricted fares and flexible fares. A couple of other cruise lines are doing the same thing and I think you'll see alot of this as time goes on. The day of the 'bulk' airfare seems to be disappearing as they are no longer good deals like they use to be.

One site I like to use for researching airfare is kayak.com. Once I find what I'm looking for, then I go to the airline's website and book it.

One comment that was made is not quite right; when booking air associated with a cruise and the cruise price goes down, your agent can get you the price reduction without any problems provided it's not 'for new bookings only' or occurs before final payment. Booking airfare with a cruise has no impact on the cruise price unless the cruise line is advertising a special such as 'free airfare', which by the way is never 'free'. Each cruise line has different policies and procedures for handling such issues, so there are always exceptions to every rule.

But let your agent look at all the possibilities and provide you with the positives and negatives of the various ways to book. But most of the time, you'll find it easier, cheaper, and less hassle to have them help you book your own airfare and hotel.

While the cruiselines have negotiated rates with certain hotels, often you can do better with a special rate for yourself, such as AAA, AARP, etc.

One key bit of advice, when flying long distances, such as to Europe, plan to arrive at least one day earlier and preferrably two days earlier. This will afford you ample opportunity to get there should any problems arise that might delay your flight. It'll also give you time to get use to the time change (often 6 hours or more) and allow time for some sightseeing. It's just not worth the hassle and stress trying to arrive the day of your cruise, especially when going to Europe, Asia, Hawaii, or other far away destinations.

Pete

I always book my own flights, its cheaper, but when I left from New Orleans during Mardi Gras I booked the hotel thru the cruise line as it was hard to get a hotel room in the city and the cruise line was actually cheaper because it was mardi gras week. I could have stayed outside the city, but that seemed silly in a city like New Orleans.