Our cruise clients often ask whether it’s better to book the air through the cruise line, or to make their own arrangements. There’s not a straightforward answer to that question, but I thought I’d throw out the considerations, so you can make the best decision for yourself.
The disclaimer here is that in the past few years, air travel has definitely become a necessary evil to get you to a ship or destination so you can enjoy your vacation. The airlines have been underperforming, and they don’t appear to have any significant plans to improve. Here in the US, the travelling public has been ignored by regulators in Washington for the past 40 years. I’m not optimistic any of this will change soon.
To be clear: I have nothing but respect for the agents, flight attendants, and pilots that work for these organizations, with a very disgruntled public. My contempt is directed at those running these poorly operated businesses, and the regulators that are supposed to be monitoring them.
So before we talk about any air options, you should set your expectations to ‘low’, and be pleasantly surprised when things go well. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Price. Sometimes cruise lines have air add-ons that are far below market value, and in such cases, you should probably take their air. More often, the cruise lines offer air tickets at market rates, in which case you’ll control many more variables if you book your own air.
- Contracted Rates. Cruise lines and other big buyers of airline seats have agreements with certain carriers, and as such it may not work for you. For example, if a cruise line has contracted rates with American and Delta, but not United, but you live in a United hub – you’re going to end up with a poor routing. The bottom line here is to do some of your own research before deciding on where to buy your air.
- Seat Assignments. There is a myth out there that if you book your air through a cruise line, you can select your seat in advance. This isn’t true. What is true is that if you’re flying overseas with two or three legs, and you buy a ticket on United (for example), your actual routing may have you on planes operated by Air Canada, Lufthansa, or Austrian Airlines. When you have a United ticket, but you’re on another company’s plane (ie. a ‘code-share’ arrangement), most often you CAN’T select your seat in advance of check-in. This is an airline limitation, and has nothing to do with the cruise lines.
- Loyalty Points. If you’re getting discounted air through a cruise line, then you might not be able to get any points for that flight. That’s usually because you paid far less than market value for your flight.
- Upgrades with Points. If this is how you like to travel, you should almost certainly book your own air. The airlines have a mile-long list of exclusions and restrictions as to how you can spend your points, and often air booked through any 3rd party (in this case the cruise line) is near the top of that list.
- Business Class and Premium Seats. First some definitions: Business Class internationally is usually lie-flat pods. Premium Seats are about the same as Business Class is domestically (wider seats, further apart, priority boarding etc.). If you like to fly in one of these classes of service, the cruise lines can often get you a better price than you can get on your own. For economy class seats, the price is usually the same (but it’s still worth checking).
- Select Airports. The cruise lines often will only fly you out of certain airports (and they’re usually the larger ones). It’s always worth checking, but if you live in a community not serviced by a major airport, you’re probably better off doing your own air.
- “Free” Air. There is no free lunch, although some of the cruise lines make booking air with them pretty attractive. To be clear… they do this to sell cruises, not because they want to be in the aviation industry. In some cases if you don’t take the “free” air, they’ll offer an air credit in lieu of. This is basically a direct discount off your cruise fare, so if you want to fly on points, or have airline privileges, then this is worth investigating.
- The last $50. We sometimes get complaints about a bad air routing scheduled by the cruise line’s air desk. When we dig into this a bit, that 9 hour layover in Newark could have been avoided if the client wanted to pay an extra $50. This is the same choice you would have faced if you booked your air directly. The cruise lines have to buy seats the same way we all do. My advice: you’re spending $10,000 on a vacation… don’t try to save the last $50 by laying over in Newark for 9 hours and think that kicking up a fuss will make it change. The airlines don’t care, and the cruise lines aren’t going to buy it for you.
- Our Experience: About 80% of the time cruise line air works out just fine. The last 20% of the time it becomes clear the client would have been much better off doing their own thing. The best way to make sure you end up in the 80% is to do your homework in advance. Go to Google Flights https://www.google.com/travel/flights and figure out which flights you would take if you were doing your own air. Also take note of what it would cost. Then see what the cruise line can do for you.
Today’s Travel Opportunities
Viking D-Day 80th Anniversary – NEW itinerary
The Normandy Landing Beaches are always a huge draw, and with next year being the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Viking has put together a special itinerary. This one will fill up very quickly:
- 12-day cruise-tour from London to Paris.
- Prices from $6699 per person. Air from $599.
- Visit London for (4-days), then Paris (2-days at Port de Grenelle, within a short walk of Eiffel Tower), Vernon, Rouen, Utah Beach, Juno Beach, Les Andelys, and two more days in Paris.
- Departures March through November 2024
- Air from $599
- See details here: https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/paris-d-day-80th-anniversary/2024-london-paris/index.html?agenturlid=pamperedcruiser
Viking Lyon, Provence & the Rhineland – NEW itinerary
Here’s one more new itinerary from Viking that is actually back-to-back cruises that will take you from Amsterdam to the French Riviera:
- 15-days from Amsterdam to Avignon (or reverse)
- Prices from $4999 per person.
- Visit Kinderdijk, Cologne, Koblenz, Rudesheim, Speyer, Strasbourg, Breisach, Basel, Burgundy, Lyon, Vienne, Tournon & Viviers, Arles, Avignon.
- Departures March through November. Available in 2023, 2024, 2025.
- Many sailings include free air.
- See details here: https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/lyon-provence-and-the-rhineland/2024-avignon-amsterdam/index.html?agenturlid=pamperedcruiser
Azamara
You may not have heard of Azamara. They are the small-ship cruise line that really focuses on Destination Immersion. They have a number of itineraries that specialize in one country – getting to more out of the way ports, with longer stops, and many overnight stays. Their vessels are the famed R-Class ships that hold only 680 when fully loaded.
Between now and the end of the month, they are running a ‘50% off the second guest’ sale AND an additional $500 on board credit for the cabin. There is a long list of select voyages, and I’ve put in a few examples below. The pricing shown here is per person AFTER the the 50% discount has been applied (what you’ll actually pay). Azamara always includes: a complimentary “AzAmazing Evenings” event on most voyages, and always includes select standard spirits, international beers and wines, gratuities, bottled water, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, self-service laundry, and shuttle service to and from port communities.
Best of the Mediterranean 12-nights departing July 8, 2023
- Barcelona to Venice. Visiting Provence, Monte Carlo, Florence (overnight), Rome, Capri, Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia.
- Ocean View: $4972. Veranda: $6616
Iceland for 13-nights departing August 7, 2023
- Oslo to Copenhagen. Visiting Arendal (Norway), Shetland, Torshavn, 4 port-stops in Iceland PLUS Reykjavik, Skagen (Denmark).
- Ocean View: $5525. Veranda $6769
Dubai round-trip for 7-nights departing November 13, 2023.
- Visit Abu Dhabi (overnight), Sir Bani Yas (UAE), Doha (overnight), Dubai (overnight).
- Ocean View: $2917. Veranda: $3500
Australia & New Zealand for 17-nights departing January 4, 2024.
- Visit Melbourne, Sydney, Eden, Milford Sound, Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Nelson, Picton, Napier, Tauranga, Bay of Islands, Auckland
- Ocean View: $4817. Veranda: $6233
Japan for 12-nights departing March 7 2024
- Visit Hong Kong, Taipei, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Kagoshima, Mayazaki, Kochi, Osaka, Tokyo
- Ocean View: $5000. Veranda: $5999
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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
