Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
If one books air through the cruise line, can one pick the airline, route, times, etc. freely (subject of course to arriving reasonably in advance of the scheduled cruise departure)? Do these plane tickets earn full FF benefits and credit?
From what I've read at Cruise Critic and heard from fellow pax on ships, I'd be wary of cruise-arranged flight tickets (not all but some/most).
From my understanding:
1) generally only premium cabin tickets earn miles (YMMV)
2) You're last to be accommodated as far as IRROPS go
3) No weather waivers! I was on a cruise that started in October 2012 just as the big hurricane struck the metro NYC area. We talked to some pax who joined the ship a few days after the cruise started (they'd missed the departure in "Rome"). They knew that the hurricane was coming and that airlines were allowing weather waivers for people to leave early. They asked the airline and they were not allowed to depart earlier due to the nature of the cruiseco-sourced ticket. Of course, YMMV.
3a) On the other hand, if the ship arrival is late, your return flights will (or should) be taken care of by the cruise line. Had an experience earlier this year where the ship arrived some 10 hours behind schedule (ship leaving late (change in schedule, not due to mechanical or anything) from the 1st port didn't help and there were no port of calls to miss/shorten to make up lost time. Had to deviate due to rough weather and unfavorable currents (small ship so to speed is limited) made me think the ship would arrive late. I ddi a rough calculation ~100 hrs before scheduled arrival and estimated arrival delay at various speeds. Got it right. A fair number of passengers missed their onward flights. The cruiseco didn't arrange flights for any pax (just for the crew including the captain who was rotating off).
4) Generally, the flights are arranged so that you have to arrive just before ship departure and leave shortly after ship arrival. Arriving earlier or later, or from airports other than the closest to port requires paying for a "deviation" (all $$$ in the cruiseco's pocket IMO).
5) You may be given a choice of airlines and routes.
From what I hear, the premium cabin fares are generally very attractive.