Air2Sea Question

[Dad2Cue]

I have never used Air2Sea because I would rather book my own flights a couple of days before the cruise.  First time for everything because I'm doing a cruise out of Galveston which is another first for me.

Is it true that the only flights that Air2Sea offers are on the same day as my cruise? 

I booked a one-way Air2Sea flight out of MIA to IAH on American Airlines the morning of my cruise with ground transportation to the cruise port.  No worries ... right?

I didn't reserve a return fight with Air2Sea because I plan to do the Space Center excursion with transfer to IAH.  From IAH, I plan to go to New Orleans MSY on United Airlines.  Can this flight be booked on Air2Sea  too or does it have to be round trip to the same city that I departed from?

Air2Sea says my one-way flight from MIA to IAH is guaranteed and refundable.  What if I added on the return flight from IAH to New Orleans and repriced everything?  Can this be done?  I can't price it out on the Air2Sea website.  It only shows round-trip fares to the same city. 

I can't seem to check for price drops on my one-way flight either. The only option on the website seems to be round-trips.  I could book this same flight directly with American Airlines for a lower price but then I would worry about getting to the cruise port on time.

[Jkaczano]

Flights through Air2Sea can definitely be a couple days before your cruise.  To check for price drops use the “just looking” (don’t remember what it’s called) and don’t put in your reservation number.  

[steverk]

I'm a huge fan of air2sea. Let me seeing I can answer your questions. 

1. You can fly in several days early and return several days later. No problems. 

2. You can pick your flights, airlines and airports within reason. Flying in HOU and out IAH shouldn't be an issue

3. Flying in day of is risky, but allowed. Keep in mind air2sea will do everything possible for you to meet the ship, but the ship won't wait if you fliht is canceled and another isn't available. 

[Dad2Cue]

22 minutes ago, steverk said:

3. Flying in day of is risky, but allowed. Keep in mind air2sea will do everything possible for you to meet the ship, but the ship won't wait if you fliht is canceled and another isn't available. 

I have ground transportation to the port reserved with Air2Sea too.  Assuming my flight is on time and I collect my luggage and get to the bus ... everything is "guaranteed" by Air2Sea.  Is this right?

[Michael S. Arisohn]

Good evening,

No with Air to Sea, you can pick the day that you want to arrive. It is always recommended that you arrive the day before your cruise.

If you have specific questions I would recommend calling into the air to see the department or ask your travel advisor.

[steverk]

26 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

I have ground transportation to the port reserved with Air2Sea too.  Assuming my flight is on time and I collect my luggage and get to the bus ... everything is "guaranteed" by Air2Sea.  Is this right?

My understanding is they will "guarantee " you make the cruise. This means they will do their best to get you on the ship before it departs. If that's not possible,  they used to fly you to the next port of call yo catch your ship there. I've heard this is no longer possible,  but I don't have any experience with it to be sure.

[HillaryG]

Spring break 2022, air2 sea flew us to the next port of call with a major airport because we missed the ship in Miami when all flights to southern Florida were canceled for 3 days.  They paid for our hotel as well. Needless to say, we still didn't make it on the ship due to a mechanical issue causing our ship to to skip the port we were at. Again air2sea/ royal paid for our hotel and we got a cruise credit (a lot of work on our TA's part). Highly recommend air2sea. That being said, I would recommend traveling at least a day ahead. We now do two days or the earliest flight the day before. 

[ChessE4]

To echo the other posts, we used Air2Sea in booking round trip to Barcelona with arrival two days in advance.

[smokeybandit]

Has anyone who has booked premium seats via Air2Sea, therefore paying up front, been able to get a price reduction later?

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Has anyone who has booked premium seats via Air2Sea, therefore paying up front, been able to get a price reduction later?

Yes. Last summer for Norway, we booked Delta Premium Select from DTW-LHR round trip. We were able to follow the same price adjustment usual (up until final payment for the cruise). I am not sure what you mean by "paying up front". When we book First Class or Premium Select, we never pay up front, and we can always price adjust. We always pay with cruise final payment. But this is with Delta. Not sure what policies other airlines have.

[smokeybandit]

16 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

t". When we book First Class or Premium Select, we never pay up front, and we can always price adjust. We always pay with cruise final payment.

I was under the impression that if you picked premium seats, it had to be paid for up front and not with final payment. I hope United has the same rules as Delta.

[Lovetocruise2002]

15 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I was under the impression that if you picked premium seats, it had to be paid for up front and not with final payment. I hope United has the same rules as Delta.

Oh, I never heard of that before. They always ask when I make a new Air2Sea reservation do you want to pay now or pay at final. Doesn't matter what fare category.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I was under the impression that if you picked premium seats, it had to be paid for up front and not with final payment. I hope United has the same rules as Delta.

I just got off the phone with A2S repricing some premium seats.  That means cancelling the original flights and booking like new.  I was asked again with the new flights if I wanted the Pay Later or Pay Now option.  I've only got a few days before payment is due but I did the Pay Later again.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

I just got off the phone with A2S repricing some premium seats.  That means cancelling the original flights and booking like new.  I was asked again with the new flights if I wanted the Pay Later or Pay Now option.  I've only got a few days before payment is due but I did the Pay Later again.  

This is exactly what happens when I call to re-price as well. 

[steverk]

10 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

This is exactly what happens when I call to re-price as well. 

Don't forget, cancel and rebook means selecting your seats, entering KTN and frequent flyer numbers again 

[Lovetocruise2002]

11 hours ago, steverk said:

Don't forget, cancel and rebook means selecting your seats, entering KTN and frequent flyer numbers again 

Yes, I am all too familiar with that. Lol

I have all our Skymiles numbers saved on my phone and it’s a simple cut and paste back into the app. And I reselect my seats as soon as I get off the phone with Air2Sea. Also very quick on the Delta app. Small price to pay for savings.

[twangster]

Just to show why Pay Later is always best my airfare dropped again today.  I repriced it yesterday.  Tomorrow is final payment.   Had I paid it yesterday when I repriced I would have lost out on $100 savings.   

[baltodave]

Just to repeat other here:  You can alter the dates you want to fly.

Since my home airport is BWI, we fly SWA (using points) to cruises that begin/end in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.  That being said, we used Air2Sea for a European cruise as well as our upcoming Alaska cruise and (RCB Group) Panama Canal cruise.

It's interesting that even though we select "pay later", I can select seats with most airlines (so far, Air Canada is the outlier).  I've had no problem selecting seats with AA, Delta, and Copa. 

One final thing: I find the prices with Air2Sea to be very good!

[steverk]

4 hours ago, baltodave said:

It's interesting that even though we select "pay later", I can select seats with most airlines (so far, Air Canada is the outlier).  I've had no problem selecting seats with AA, Delta, and Copa. 

One final thing: I find the prices with Air2Sea to be very good!

That's been my experience as well. Air New Zealand also seems like an outlier. 

[caffeinated]

Can you do transfer even if you arrive a day early? Arriving the day of makes me too nervous!

[steverk]

8 hours ago, caffeinated said:

Can you do transfer even if you arrive a day early? Arriving the day of makes me too nervous!

I've had mixed results on this.  My best advice is call air2sea and ask for your specific sailing. 

[Dad2Cue]

19 hours ago, caffeinated said:

Can you do transfer even if you arrive a day early? Arriving the day of makes me too nervous!

It seems that you can.  I got nervous too about arriving the day of the cruise.  I rescheduled the flight to the day before and asked about the transfer to the cruise port.  They said as long as I could make it back to baggage claim area on the day of the cruise, I would be transferred to the port.

The flight on the day before the cruise was somewhat cheaper so I saved a bit going the day before.  They don't do the hotel stay though.

[Dad2Cue]

On 5/2/2023 at 12:51 AM, twangster said:

Just to show why Pay Later is always best my airfare dropped again today.  I repriced it yesterday.  Tomorrow is final payment.   Had I paid it yesterday when I repriced I would have lost out on $100 savings.   

There doesn't seem to be any way to check the price on the Air2Sea website since I'm going one-way instead of round trip.  I'm forced to do round trip and select the cruise ship and month.  The only days I can choose are on the day of the cruise.  They said I just needed to call directly and check with them.  I had to take their word for it.  The price on the airline website seemed to go down but the Air2Sea price was the same.  The Air2Sea price was still less than what the airline listed.  How do you check the Air2Sea price without having to call them?

[twangster]

Just now, Dad2Cue said:

How do you check the Air2Sea price without having to call them?

Track what the airline direct costs.   If it goes down call A2S. 

[Dad2Cue]

40 minutes ago, twangster said:

Track what the airline direct costs.   If it goes down call A2S. 

It seems you have to call them in order to do anything.  I like my one-way ticket and since I haven't cruised out of Galveston before, I like that Air2Sea will provide some assistance if needed.  I'm still learning the ropes with A2S ... what about the following that I found in FAQ. 

"What happens with the flight booked through Air2Sea if a guest cancels their cruise? If you are holding a refundable (with fee) flight reservation and need to cancel, you can do so at any time. You will be assessed $200 (plus the Air2Sea fee) as a cancellation penalty per guest; all other air money will be refunded."

A2S said the flight was refundable but this negates any refund.

[smokeybandit]

Refundable prior to final payment.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Track what the airline direct costs.   If it goes down call A2S. 

@Dad2Cue ^^^This^^^

Works every time. But yes, you have to deal with Air2Sea directly. Exactly like when you book cruise with a TA. They have control of your booking and any changes need to go through them. In this case, Air2Sea is your TA.

 

[steverk]

13 hours ago, Dad2Cue said:

It seems you have to call them in order to do anything.  I like my one-way ticket and since I haven't cruised out of Galveston before, I like that Air2Sea will provide some assistance if needed.  I'm still learning the ropes with A2S ... what about the following that I found in FAQ. 

"What happens with the flight booked through Air2Sea if a guest cancels their cruise? If you are holding a refundable (with fee) flight reservation and need to cancel, you can do so at any time. You will be assessed $200 (plus the Air2Sea fee) as a cancellation penalty per guest; all other air money will be refunded."

A2S said the flight was refundable but this negates any refund.

This seems like one of those policies that isn't enforced. I've  canceled prior to final payment without any issue. 

[Cactus527]

Can you do Air2Sea through your TA?

[KevinJ]

For our TA, Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale I was able to adjust the dates so we flew in 4 days early, arrive 3 days early due to overnight flight. Also changed the return so that we flew home the day after. I did this through the website by modifying the dates once my ship and date were initially selected. Since it's essentially two one way tickets checking for better fares is a bit cumbersome. The Air2Sea site doesn't let you do a mock booking, it states that you already have a reservation for your cruise.

[steverk]

2 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

Can you do Air2Sea through your TA?

Yes, but it is easier and more efficient for you to call air2sea directly 

[Lovetocruise2002]

7 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

Can you do Air2Sea through your TA?

 

5 hours ago, steverk said:

Yes, but it is easier and more efficient for you to call air2sea directly 

Also, TAs do not get commission from Air2Sea so I feel awful bothering my TA for that.

I can usually get through to Air2Sea with hardly any wait time so I always call myself.

[Dad2Cue]

8 hours ago, steverk said:

This seems like one of those policies that isn't enforced. I've  canceled prior to final payment without any issue. 

As written, I think this policy could use a revision or scraped altogether.  I elected to "pay later" but not this way.   I didn't even provide them with a credit card number so I don't know how they would collect the penalty and fee. 

A $200 per person cancellation "penalty"  and a "fee" on top of the penalty sounds really harsh to me.  The flight I reserved was only $205 per person.  

[ChessE4]

8 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

Can you do Air2Sea through your TA?

We have our TA book Air2Sea for us. TA gets commission on our overseas cruise and doesn't do much on air after booking. We haven't needed to call A2S yet. Value of TA is in getting a good reservation. We book pre-cruise hotel so it's good to have TA connect all parts of the trip. 

[steverk]

15 hours ago, Dad2Cue said:

As written, I think this policy could use a revision or scraped altogether.  I elected to "pay later" but not this way.   I didn't even provide them with a credit card number so I don't know how they would collect the penalty and fee. 

A $200 per person cancellation "penalty"  and a "fee" on top of the penalty sounds really harsh to me.  The flight I reserved was only $205 per person.  

Royal adds it to your cruise invoice. Assuming you have a refundable fare and you cancel, they have been known to withhold some of your deposit from the cruise.  My TA had to do battle with them for this once. 

[smokeybandit]

I've finally connected the dots on why I was seeing "No flights found" for an upcoming cruise.

The default search always assumes that you're flying in the day of the cruise. If the distance to your port is far enough, there may not be any flights to where you'd get there in time day of.

Just start by picking an airport somewhat close to your port (say, Atlanta if sailing out of Miami). Flight results will come back. Then from there you can change the dates to what you want and pick your home airport.

[twangster]

Noted some United weirdness today.  Booked flights on A2S, receive email with my flights, checked united.com and found completely different flights with an extra stop. 

Called and cancelled them.  

Found other flights on different days and booked United through A2S.  Same flight changes on united.com. 

Called and canceled them.  

It's 27 hours with 1 stop.  I don't want to fly the wrong direction and add another stop in Newark, in the winter with lots of chances of winter weather, to get there.

If I must have 2 stops there are cheaper options on other airlines.

A2S didn't know why United was changing the flights.

[smokeybandit]

I just wish the A2S website was consistent.

A potential Wednesday flight I want doesn't appear, but the same flight on the same airline appears the next day.

They don't show any United business class seats for flights that Thursday, despite showing them for Wednesday

[Dad2Cue]

13 hours ago, steverk said:

Royal adds it to your cruise invoice. Assuming you have a refundable fare and you cancel, they have been known to withhold some of your deposit from the cruise.  My TA had to do battle with them for this once. 

My cruise is refundable.  I assumed the $200 per person penalty was referring to the penalty for cancelling the cruise in addition to the flight.  Do you have any idea what the A2S fee was in your case?  They seem to leave out that bit of information in the policy as written.  The information about my flight that I got from A2S says the my flight is refundable "with fee" but it doesn't disclose what the fee is.  The airlines play this game with "flexible" and "fully flexible" fares.  I hate future flight credits as much as future cruise credits but don't get me started.

I have only cancelled a cruise during "cruise with confidence."  Now I only book a cruise with a refundable deposit.  I got burned once with a nonrefundable deposit.  I didn't cancel the cruise but I changed the date.  That was a $200 change fee but maybe it was $100 per person.  I have no idea what happens if you cancel a cruise completely with a nonrefundable deposit.  Do you lose your whole deposit or $200 per person or what?

[Dad2Cue]

5 hours ago, twangster said:

It's 27 hours with 1 stop.

That sounds like a pitfall to me but don't worry ... A2S will rescue you.

Going in the wrong direction and adding another stop in Newark, in the winter with lots of chances of winter weather, to get there might be out of Air2Sea's  control.