What I've found about whether the Cruise line can get you a great airfare deal
Dec 25, 2018, 7:10 pm
#16
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
Programs: AA EXP, DL Silver, Global Entry
Posts: 1,863
That doesn’t sound right but having never dealt with Cunard or its larger parent corporation Carnival so I can’t say. Silversea would have upgraded us to first/business on our domestic legs but at a cost that pushed the total airfare to more than I could book myself. Others on Cruise Critic particularly have reported these great deals supposedly at great savings but I get jack. Go figure.
Dec 28, 2018, 2:43 pm
#17
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: GRR
Programs: Delta Plat & Million Miler
Posts: 1,376
Compare
So, of course, one should always compare what cruise line offers vs. booking separately. Having said that, we have had great luck with Princess and Cunard. They allow choosing airline if you wish. You are guaranteed assistance if flight is late, etc. The flex fares they offered were half the price of published fares at they time and were able to be cancelled without cost. You still get frequent flyer credit with them. If the fare is even close we go with the cruiseline's as they will be more helpful if there is a flight delay, etc.
If that is not the case for you, ask a real travel agent (not a website) to look into consolidator fares for you, especially if international. Most TAs don't do domestic because there is no commission. International consolidator fares can be very favorable and won't show up on Kayak, Google flights, ITA etc.
Shop around.
If that is not the case for you, ask a real travel agent (not a website) to look into consolidator fares for you, especially if international. Most TAs don't do domestic because there is no commission. International consolidator fares can be very favorable and won't show up on Kayak, Google flights, ITA etc.
Shop around.
Dec 28, 2018, 2:46 pm
#18
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: GRR
Programs: Delta Plat & Million Miler
Posts: 1,376
Agree
That doesn’t sound right but having never dealt with Cunard or its larger parent corporation Carnival so I can’t say. Silversea would have upgraded us to first/business on our domestic legs but at a cost that pushed the total airfare to more than I could book myself. Others on Cruise Critic particularly have reported these great deals supposedly at great savings but I get jack. Go figure.
It does not sound right. I am pretty sure Cunard and Princess use the same system and we have booked Delta One with Princess in the past. But maybe things have changed.
Dec 29, 2018, 8:47 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: BA Gold, HH
Posts: 673
I booked airfare through Princess for the first time this year. My cruise is Australia to NZ and back. I am flying from LAX with a friend to catch this cruise. At first I was hesitant b/c I was sure I could do better with booking the airfare on my own. After reading quite a few accounts of the Princess EZ air process, I decided to give it a go. My airfare started out at ~$1800 round trip LAX-SYD. I would watch for sales, reading various blogs, and occasionally doing my own google flights search randomly. I was able to change our flights whenever a better price would happened, all without penalty. I did this several times. I went from ~1800 -> !500 -> 1300 and finally 880. I am happy how easy it was, and will likely use it in the future, if the price is better than booking separately.