david55

Why do high end cruises lines publicize " Free Air" when if fact the published prices are just inflated to cover the air fare...as a footnote often says " a savings of up to $xxxx when making your own flight reservations....." Do they think we are that naive?

mahasamatman

Some people are, or they wouldn't offer it. And for some people, it's just the convenience of only having to book once.

It's just like "free" breakfast at many hotels.

TANSTAAFF (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Flight)

Often1

Nothing is "free," it is simply included. That goes for checked luggage, meals on flights and so on.

That said, cruise lines are able to make bulk purchases and therefore obtain air tickets at prices which an individual could not obtain. Most of those deals also include transfer protection. E.g., if your flight is late and you miss the cruise departure, you will be transported to the next port without cost (to you).

Perhaps not so naive after all?@:-)

david55

But the difference is that there isn't a disclaimer that if you don't eat the "free" breakfast that you can take $20 off your bill.

mahasamatman

Actually, they do. You can book a room without breakfast for $x and a room with breakfast for $y. And even though $(y - x) is greater than the cost of a breakfast, people will still book it.

mahasamatman

That's true even if you book the air separately, but still through the cruise line. And it's usually cheaper to do that than to book the "free air" rate, but a lot of people don't want to take the time to compare and do that.

jonsail

My experience with different cruise lines and with the same cruise line to different destinations is that sometimes the cruise line offers a better deal than I can get on my own and sometimes not. Here are a list of variables:

1) Some cruise lines charge extra if your home town is not a major city; some don't.
2) Some cruise lines charge extra if you do NOT want to arrive the day of embarkation and leave the day you debark.
3) Some cruise lines will work with you to present different options that might be important to you such as avoiding super early departures or extended layovers; other cruise lines will just tell you: Here is your included air schedule. Hope you like it, tough if you don't.
4) Some cruise lines will work with you if you are flexible on arrival and departure cities and dates to get a great deal, some won't. For example, your cruise ends in Stockholm. Can you save money by flying out of Frankfurt? Maybe you would like to see some of Stockholm and stuff in between there and Frankfurt.
5) If you book the air many months in advance, for some routes the cruise line will get you a better deal than you get and for some routes they don't.
6) If you book thru the cruise line and you have to cancel and you don't have cancellation insurance or your reason for canceling is not covered, you get zero back for what you paid for air. If you had booked independently and cancelled at the last minute you might get a credit minus a change fee.
7) If you care about elite qualifying dollars with an airline check with the airline. I used to get elite qualifying dollars booking United through a cruise line; no more.
SO, WHETHER THE "FREE AIR" is a sucker deal or a good deal depends on many variables.