Most people don't book cruise line air anymore, at least not on the more simple itineraries. In fact most cruise line brochures don't even publish air add-ons anymore. You have to call the cruise line direct. Often you can get better deals booking the air on your own, and many people like to use miles for award tickets as well.

Personally I much prefer having a bare bones cruise fare and adding air if I want it, rather then having a bundled package and taking a set air credit if I don't want air. Usually the air credit is nowhere near the cost of the air. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't seen bundled fares in a long time except in a few cases.

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All of the fares in the brochure are now ‘cruise only’ they no longer include air fare, port charges, transfers or overnight hotel accommodation. Instead they offer an option to purchase these so called ‘extras’ separately.

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With port charges being mandatory, not including them in the cruise fare is a clear violation of EU regulations.

As for air fare, transfers etc. - there are really few cruise lines including those items in the cruise fare.

Best,

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Originally posted by dougnewman:
I have no idea how port charges can be called an "extra", they're mandatory. Many cruise lines do not include them in the fare but they really ought to be.

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Originally posted by r.fiebig:
With port charges being mandatory, not including them in the cruise fare is a clear violation of EU regulations.

As for air fare, transfers etc. - there are really few cruise lines including those items in the cruise fare.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Yes, our cruise brochures in the UK (and UK web sites) give a total price for the cruise fare, port charges and our taxes. This is the only fair way. Tips are quoted as an extra - often in the small print. Holiday insurance (sickness, cancelation etc.) is comulsory, but you can select who you buy it from.

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I certainly think anything mandatory like port charges ought to be quoted as part of the base fare - anything else is just deceptive. However, it is hardly only cruises that are priced this way in the US; this is how virtually everything is. For one thing, very few things here have tax included in the quoted price - vehicle fuels are the only things that come to mind where the price you see is really what you pay.

One major difference is that insurance is virtually never compulsory in the US where it always seems to be in the UK (perhaps even by law, I'm not sure). So here that really is an "extra" and of course you can buy it from anyone you like.

[ 11-27-2008: Message edited by: dougnewman ]

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Originally posted by Eric:
That I think is the OP's orignal point, we travelled once with P&O when they flew us to Acapulco & back from Buenos Aires. No way would we have done that cruise if we had to book our own flights & I think most long distance UK cruisers would think the same. Eric

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You can still book the air with P&O if you desire, it's just not bundled as a package anymore.

Personally I have no problem booking my own air anywhere in the world. In fact I prefer it as I like to have control over what airline I fly and what routing without paying the "custom air fees" the cruise line charges.

I have even found during high season flights to FL can be more than a bundled cruise inc flights, even when scheduled aircraft are used. During low season it can be cheaper to go it alone.

Another major aspect for UK passengers is the ABTA bonding required by the operators for packages. This has no effect when going it alone and booking piecemeal.

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Originally posted by PamM:
It's the cost, not a problem over actually booking/arranging the flights. It works entirely differently from the UK with such a small country & few 'hubs'.

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I understand that, so it should be even easier to determine if P&O's air add-on amount is a good value or not. I would think it's much more difficult having everything bundled and not knowing how much of the bundled cost is actually the air, and how much of it is the cruise. Now you can compare the air add-on amount with the price of an independent air ticket.

I also thought you had a fair amount of "discount" air carriers that fly all over Europe. I would think they would be much cheaper then booking cruise line air.

Flying somewhere like Barbados of course is a different story, and I know some of the cruise lines do charter their own planes. In that case I would think the air add-on amount will be substantially less expensive then booking scheduled commercial.

In the US at least, having bundled air was in a way penalizing those that did not need air, or preferred to book their own. The air credit was usually no where near the amount of the actual independent air cost.

In the US we also have our share of exotic cruise destinations (Asia, Australia, Africa, India, etc.) and even in those cases, the air is not bundled and there is an air add-on. It has worked fine and everyone seems to benefit. Those that prefer the cruise line handle all the arrangements and those that prefer to book independently.

I understand that, so it should be even easier to determine if P&O's air add-on amount is a good value or not. I would think it's much more difficult having everything bundled and not knowing how much of the bundled cost is actually the air, and how much of it is the cruise. Now you can compare the air add-on amount with the price of an independent air ticket.

Some lines [not sure if P&O did & can't be bothered to check ] tell you how much you can deduct from the inclusive price if you wanted cruise only, or wished to make your own arrangements. I did this once with MSC as wanted to fly from STN & not LGW; the cost to me was more, but convenience outweighed that. So the cost has always been comparable.

Discount air carriers are not always cheaper at all, especially when you consider the tfr is not included and this can be a lot from the way out of town airports used. Treviso instead of Marco Polo for Venice and Girona/Reus instead of Barcelona etc... my example with MSC was with easyJet. The flights were more than BA from LGW.

I have used Ryanair & easyJet but there is a risk factor using no-frills; if a flight is cancelled tough luck, there is no contingency plan and you do not get shoved on a later/next flight as per scheduled airlines. But we are talking long haul open jaw in the main. P&O do not as a rule do Med fly cruises.

In the US at least, having bundled air was in a way penalizing those that did not need air, or preferred to book their own. The air credit was usually no where near the amount of the actual independent air cost.

I must admit it has always amused me when I have seen the free air offers, as basically it always seems anything but when the extra costs are added.

I always figure out the prices both ways. It can vary depending on the time of year. Earlier this year a one way FOCL cruise inc flight home, was overall less than I could book the flight for alone. They chartered an aircraft and far superior to anything no-frills. We had a full hot meal inc wine, would have had to pay for even a coffee on an LCC.

Here we are supposed to see an overall price advertised that we can go for. Not a cheap tempter which then has everything under the sun added to it rising 3 fold.

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Originally posted by PamM:
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I must admit it has always amused me when I have seen the free air offers, as basically it always seems anything but when the extra costs are added.

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This is so true Pam. Oceania is probably the biggest advertiser of "free air plus 2 for 1 pricing". It is anything but. I've priced out the same sailing cruise only and with the so-called "free air", and believe me it's not free. Oceania will tack on enormous air taxes and air ticketing fees that basically end up being as much as an air ticket. I think it borders on false advertising and honestly it turns me off to Oceania.

I actually prefer having a bare bones price, then adding on all the extras. It helps me determine the value of each component.

Usually I get my own airfare as I go with an airline that I get my reward points with.

Ken

[ 12-03-2008: Message edited by: KenC ]