A PRELIMINARY LOOK AT DISCOUNTS AND INCENTIVES
YOU SHOULD NOW KNOW whether you are interested in a cruise offered in the brochure you are reading. If you are, the next step is to check the line’s price incentives and discounts.
After two decades of steady growth, with dozens of new ships coming online, the supply of cabins outstripped demand (the number of people to fill them). Competition put pressure on cruise lines to cut deals to keep their ships filled, and a buyer’s market prevailed. But that began to change in 2004, and for 2005, when a seller’s market with high occupancy and fewer discounts prevailed. In 2006, something happened that took the cruise industry by surprise. For the first time, excepting the downturn in all travel following 9/11, demand dropped significantly for Caribbean cruises. Reasons hypothesized for the decline include the growing sophistication of cruisers, the increased demand for cruises in Europe, the negative impact of large-ship cruising on the culture of the Caribbean, and in the year following Katrina, fear of hurricanes. If the Caribbean market remains soft, look for aboveaverage discounts in 2007 and possibly 2008.
Another destination where deep discounts on cruises seem likely is Hawaii. In this case, the number of ships and berths exceeds demand. Competition for passengers in this market has posed major problems, especially for Norwegian Cruise Lines. NCL’s Hawaii fleet includes a number of American-flagged vessels that are more expensive to operate than ships flying a foreign flag (owing to U.S. minimum-wage requirements, taxes, and safety regulations). Conse- quently, NCL can’t drop its prices to meet the competition without incurring a vastly reduced operating profit or a loss.
In the next couple of years there will be fewer new ships coming online than in the preceding three years, bringing supply more in line with demand. However, because the new ships entering service are so large (most carry more than 2,000 passengers), we’re unlikely to see anything approaching a real seller’s market. So there will still be bargains, but primarily in specific markets such as Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Alaska.
Incentives and discounts offered in the lines’ brochures are varied. First, the line sets prices according to times of greatest demand. High season is most expensive, followed by shoulder season, then low season. Savings may not be spectacular, judging from the brochure prices. Remember: fares in the brochure are base prices to which discounts are applied. Also, ships are less crowded and cabin upgrades somewhat more available during low and shoulder seasons. After studying seasonal discounts, check early-booking discounts. Lines offer substantial discounts to travelers willing to book six months to a year ahead. The line has use of your money in advance and gets critical information on whether a particular cruise is filling. Early-booking discounts commonly are 15% to 50% off the seasonal rate, or may be expressed as a two-for-one deal. Either way, earlybooking incentives are generally the largest discounts given directly by the lines, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. You get other benefits, too: your choice of cabin, often the most direct air routing, and your dining-room seating preference (if the line bases seating on first come, first served). That’s the kind of information available in fine print or from an experienced travel agent.
Cruise lines also may offer cabin upgrades, credit for shipboard purchases, receptions with the captain, or a couple of nights at a hotel at the originating or terminating port. In addition to an earlybooking discount, almost all lines offer other discounts (often up to 50%) to repeat passengers. Some discounts from cruise lines, travel agents, wholesalers, and consolidators never appear in the cruise lines’ basic brochures. For help in finding them, read the section “How to Get the Best Deal on a Cruise.”
ROUND-TRIP AIRFARE
UNLESS YOU LIVE WITHIN DRIVING DISTANCE of your cruise’s originating port, you will require transportation to it. Until a few years ago, most lines included air transportation in the cruise cost and promoted it as “free air.” But times have changed.
What Happened to “Free Air”?
First, check the cruise brochure to determine whether prices include air transportation. When lines include air transportation in their packages (for a higher cruise cost, of course), they agree to fly you round-trip from specific “gateway” cities. These gateway cities vary among cruise lines, but usually include all major U.S. and Canadian cities and many smaller cities. If air transportation is part of the cruise package but your gateway city is especially far from the port, an air supplement—an extra charge—may be levied.
Until the late 1990s, air/sea packages were touted as all-inclusive, with “free” airfare. Nothing, of course, was ever free. Cruise lines built air transportation into the cruise cost and called it free. By buying in advance and in large volume, lines could negotiate big discounts on airfares. These discounts enabled the cruise lines to offer complete vacation packages—the cruise with airfare—for a good price. Since 1997, however, cruise lines have increasingly published their rates as “cruiseonly” fares and sell the air transportation as an add-on. The reason for the change is that as demand for air travel increased, airlines radically reduced the availability and size of discounts for cruise lines. Even in a post-9/11 world, airlines can fill their planes without offering reduced fares to major ports, particularly for weekend flights when cruise lines need them most. Today, cruise lines can obtain the discounts required for a good air/sea package only by buying airlines’ least desirable flights, including late-night flights, circuitous routes, and multiple stops. Luxury cruise lines are the exceptions, as they continue to offer air-inclusive packages to ensure that their customers get the most direct and convenient flights.
At the same time, many passengers often discover they can get better airfares and routing on their own or by using their frequentflier points. Plus, they receive their tickets well in advance. Often with air/sea packages, airlines issue tickets only at the last minute (to distribute passengers equally among available flights). The practice panics cruise passengers near departure who wonder where their tickets are. As it happens, cruise lines accumulate reservations for several months before contacting the airlines and nailing down flight itineraries and seats. Standard practice is to advise you of your air itinerary 30 to 45 days prior to sailing (Princess has a program called Flight Choice, in which flight notification is made 60 days in advance). Understand, however, that we’re only talking about flight information. Actual ticketing does not begin until about 30 days from your sailing date, and your tickets might not arrive until a week or two before you walk out of the door. The process affords the cruise line maximum flexibility but vastly increases the probability of your receiving an inconvenient itinerary with multiple connecting flights, and with little time left to make changes. As a kicker, you may be surprised to discover that making your reservations well in advance doesn’t mean that you’ll get one of the better flight itineraries. A few lines give priority to early bookers, with flight itineraries based on the “seniority” of cruise reservations that are paid in full. With many other lines, it matters not whether you booked eight months or eight weeks ahead—you’ll get what’s available at the time the cruise line finally books the air travel.
If the air itinerary provided by the cruise line is not acceptable, you can request a change or a particular routing through your travel agent. Many cruise lines maintain “Air Deviation” desks to handle requests from passengers who want to change their assigned routing. Changes can cost $35 to $100 (as if you changed a ticket directly with an airline), and an additional air supplement may be charged if no seats are available in your designated airfare category. So, you ask, how bad can flight itineraries arranged by the cruise line be? A California couple was ushered off their ship and shuttled to the San Juan, Puerto Rico, airport at 9:30 a.m. for a flight home that departed at 6 p.m. Following a cruise, a family of six was split up with four of the party scheduled for an early flight and the other two reserved for a flight that arrived eight hours later.
If you purchase an air-inclusive cruise vacation but elect to arrange (and pay for) your own air transportation, the cruise fare will be decreased because you are not using the air-travel part of the package. The amount to be lopped off your package price is shown at the bottom of the rate sheet as “Cruise-Only Travel Allowance.” The allowance, for example, is about $250 on one-week Caribbean air/sea packages.
Price and itineraries, however, are not the only considerations in buying air from the cruise line. When you buy the line’s air add-on or an air-inclusive cruise, transfers are almost always included. The cruise line will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the ship. Likewise, at the end of the cruise, the line will return you to the airport.
When you purchase your air transportation independently or if you use frequent-flier awards, you can usually buy airport transfers from the cruise lines. Carnival, for example, offers one-way and round-trip transfers, which must be booked 14 days in advance; price varies with location. Without such an arrangement, you must set up your own transfers. This seems complicated, but travel agents can handle such details for you—and we advise you to let them. Be aware that at cruise’s end only, some lines provide this transportation service regardless of whether you bought your air through them. When arriving at the embarkation airport, you will claim your baggage. Those on an air/sea package or with transfers will board a bus and their luggage will be transported with them to the pier. There, luggage will be taken by porters, and you will see it several hours later, after it is delivered directly to your cabin. If the airline booked by the cruise line loses your luggage, the cruise line will do its best to get it to you (once it’s recovered), even if the ship has sailed.
unofficial T I P
Flights arranged by the cruise lines are often not eligible for frequent-flier mileage. Plan to call the airline directly after the ticket has been issued to try to get proper credit.
During busier times, cruise lines may fly you to the port city a day in advance and provide hotel accommodations. If you live in the western United States and are sailing from an eastern port, the cruise line may fly you to the port city on a late-night flight with arrival between midnight and 9 a.m. More considerate lines arrange hotel day rooms where you can rest before boarding your ship later in the day. Similar arrangements are sometimes made for East Coast passengers embarking on the West Coast, and passengers on European or Asian cruises.
The line, when it puts you in a hotel, assumes responsibility for transporting you to the pier. If you are to be accommodated in a hotel before embarkation, pack an overnight bag; you may not have access to your luggage until you’re aboard ship. Most air transportation purchased through cruise lines is coach class. Your travel agent can arrange seat assignments, boarding passes, and upgrades (when available).
If you are cruising during autumn (excluding holiday periods) or when airfares are discounted in your city, or if you can reach the port on a discount airline (like Southwest), you may want to book your own air travel to save money. If you can book your flights at or near the cruise line’s air allowance, you will be able to choose your airline, ensure a good flight itinerary, accrue frequent-flier miles, and receive your tickets well before your departure date.
If you choose the air-inclusive package or buy air transportation as an add-on, take these precautions: 1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Ask the cruise line if preferred air itineraries are allocated according to reservations seniority (that is, those who book earliest get the best itineraries). Also ask when your booked flight itinerary will be available. If the cruise line does not give priority to those who book early or does not provide flight information far enough in advance to make changes, book your own air.
2. CALL EARLY TO RESERVE. Remember that cruise lines contract for a specific number of seats for every cruise—when they’re filled, the line has to scramble for additional ones. That’s when you’re likely to get a circuitous routing. But, to put this in perspective: the airline crunch comes at holiday times—Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break through Easter—and can be exacerbated by bad weather. So, if you plan a cruise during a holiday period, arrange it early and save yourself a pile of headaches. As a veteran travel agent advised, “Passengers should seriously consider taking the air/sea package from the cruise line during the winter months, especially if they are flying from a cold-weather gateway. If there are weather- or equipment-related delays, the cruise line will help air/sea passengers get to the ship. If passengers have booked their own air, they are on their own if they miss the ship. Passengers who do their own air would also be well advised to purchase third-party travel insurance that covers trip interruption, delay, or cancellation due to weather- or equipment-related problems.”
The travel agent’s advice is valid, but only up to a point. The cruise line sees itself as merely an airline ticketing agent. As a matter of customer relations, many cruise lines will step in and assist a passenger who is delayed or misses the boat because of problems with flights that the cruise line booked. The salient point, however, is that the cruise line is under no obligation to help. If you read the terms and conditions of your passage contract, you’ll almost immediately bump into language like the following: “Under no circumstances does [X Cruise Line’s] responsibility extend beyond the ship. All arrangements made for the guests with independent contractors [such as airlines] are made solely for the convenience of the guest and are at the guest’s risk.” We’ll explore the ramifications of this and related issues later under “When Things Go Wrong.” For now, let us add that we recommend third-party travel insurance whether you book air through the cruise line or not.
3. ASK YOUR TRAVEL AGENT WHEN YOU CAN EXPECT YOUR TICKETS. Most cruise brochures tell this in the fine print. If not, your travel agent will know from experience or can ask the cruise line. Normally, they arrive two to three weeks before departure. Smaller cruise lines generally deliver earlier than the big lines do.
4. PLAN YOUR ROUTE. If you have a specific route you want to fly to your departure port, tell your travel agent when you book or as soon as possible, so that your plane tickets can be issued properly. If you receive tickets requiring layovers and a change of planes, have your agent contact the cruise line’s Air Deviation desk.
Click Here To Purchase This Book