[Question] Booking Through Air2Sea Versus Booking Directly With Airline/Hotel?

[VillainsGin]

I've always gone through a travel agent but unfortunately my TA caN't assist much if I booked a comp'd cruise through casino royale.

I was comp'd a 7 night cruise on Icon OTS in March 2024. I plan on flying in the night before and booking a hotel to give me enough buffer time in case anything happens between my journey from  ONT -->  MIA.

I'm trying to see what the difference (if any) between booking my flights independently or using royal caribbean's Air2Sea program on their website.

Questions:

1. Are there any perks or benefits that comes with Air2Sea that I'm missing?
2. Is there some sort of protection or coverage when booking through Air2Sea?
3. Is it better to book round trip flights directly with airline?

Any additional helpful insight/advice regarding the Air2Sea program versus booking hotels & flights independently is much appreciated!

[steverk]

23 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

 

Questions:

1. Are there any perks or benefits that comes with Air2Sea that I'm missing?
2. Is there some sort of protection or coverage when booking through Air2Sea?
3. Is it better to book round trip flights directly with airline?

1. You can book the flight today and owe nothing until final payment. You can also cancel, reprice or change your flight without cost until final payment 

2. Air2Sea guarantees your connection.  Meaning they will try to get you to the ship even if they have to fly you to the next port. They also assist with delays, missed connections,  etc.

3. I don't think so. Booking direct will usually save you $50 or so, but the other benefits are worth that cost.

[VillainsGin]

22 minutes ago, steverk said:

1. You can book the flight today and owe nothing until final payment. You can also cancel, reprice or change your flight without cost until final payment 

2. Air2Sea guarantees your connection.  Meaning they will try to get you to the ship even if they have to fly you to the next port. They also assist with delays, missed connections,  etc.

Could you elaborate on #1 & #2 this is definitely really good information I did not know prior.

Referring to your answer for #1, how do they secure a booking for a seat on a flight without payment ahead of time? Could I just wait until much closer to my sailing date to pay for my flight fare or is there limitation to this "book today pay later"

 

Referring to your answer for #2. If there were problems like delays or flight cancellation how would I go about making sure thr Air2Sea program guarantees my connection? Is there a direct Air2Sea support number or is it through the vague directory of Royal Caribbean. I've had a mediocre experience with their general phone support so If its something urgent like flight delays or cancellation I'd want to resolve asap to not miss sailing date.

 

Thank you so much in advance!

[DDaley]

3 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

Referring to your answer for #1, how do they secure a booking for a seat on a flight without payment ahead of time? Could I just wait until much closer to my sailing date to pay for my flight fare or is there limitation to this "book today pay later"

As soon as I booked through Air2Sea I was able to go on the Alaska site and choose my seats even though I didn’t pay until final payment, months later! I actually saved money on my flights booking through A2S. I recently paid the $120 each for our flight from San Diego to Seattle (price locked from A2S, booked the day the date was available) and it’s currently listed at $593 each!! 

[VillainsGin]

12 minutes ago, DDaley said:

As soon as I booked through Air2Sea I was able to go on the Alaska site and choose my seats even though I didn’t pay until final payment, months later! I actually saved money on my flights booking through A2S. I recently paid the $120 each for our flight from San Diego to Seattle (price locked from A2S, booked the day the date was available) and it’s currently listed at $593 each!! 

When problems arise during your travels under the Air2Sea program how do you get it resolved?

Does A2S have a direct line dedicated to that program or do we have to go through the directory phone line jungle?

Have you ever had any hiccups under the program and how was their service?

[DDaley]

Unfortunately I don’t have those answers for you, I used A2S on a previous trip and everything was fine so I have had no need to contact them. 

Several members here have reported being offered alternate flights after cancelations and trip delays but I personally can’t speak on that! I am pretty sure there’s a phone number, a quick google turned this up specific to making claims so I think you should be able to access them directly. 

[smokeybandit]

I've only found it worth using A2S for international flights.

[steverk]

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

Could you elaborate on #1 & #2 this is definitely really good information I did not know prior.

Referring to your answer for #1, how do they secure a booking for a seat on a flight without payment ahead of time? Could I just wait until much closer to my sailing date to pay for my flight fare or is there limitation to this "book today pay later"

 

Referring to your answer for #2. If there were problems like delays or flight cancellation how would I go about making sure thr Air2Sea program guarantees my connection? Is there a direct Air2Sea support number or is it through the vague directory of Royal Caribbean. I've had a mediocre experience with their general phone support so If its something urgent like flight delays or cancellation I'd want to resolve asap to not miss sailing date.

 

Thank you so much in advance!

I'm happy to elaborate. 

On #1 I don't know exactly how they secure seats but they usually, but not always, do. The key here is don't pay off your cruise early. If you do, they.lock n the ticket.

On #2 the phone number is 844 278 9745. They pick up 24x7. They've saved me twice now, but that's been fully covered in other threads on the topic.

I always book air2sea.

 

[VillainsGin]

25 minutes ago, steverk said:

I always book air2sea.

My last follow up question would be:

In order to received all the coverage/benefits of Air2Sea program do I need to book cruise & flight & hotel all together?

For example in my situation:

I've already locked in the casino royale comp'd cruise the same day it was offered to me by paying port fees/taxes over the phone.

Can I still utilize and receive coverage with the Air2Sea program just specifically for round-trip flights & hotel only, catered around my sailing date?

[Ampurp85]

I am unsure if air2sea offers hotels. 

But I agree with @smokeybandit. Only good for international flights.

I have use them twice for domestic and won't again. In both cases it was a because I could only fly the day of. I booked first class, so I had my seats assigned but the flight was cancelled so many times. That is the thing, you aren't sailing until March 2024, which means flights and flight numbers could change. They don't notify you. You have to constantly check and make sure it hasn't been cancelled or changed and select new seats each time. 

Since you are flying in the day before, you can just book directly.

[VillainsGin]

16 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I am unsure if air2sea offers hotels. 

But I agree with @smokeybandit. Only good for international flights.

I have use them twice for domestic and won't again. In both cases it was a because I could only fly the day of. I booked first class, so I had my seats assigned but the flight was cancelled so many times. That is the thing, you aren't sailing until March 2024, which means flights and flight numbers could change. They don't notify you. You have to constantly check and make sure it hasn't been cancelled or changed and select new seats each time. 

Since you are flying in the day before, you can just book directly.

Thank you for this valuable insight! I am flying domestically from ONT airport in California to MIA in Florida.

What you're saying is to wait closer to sailing date before booking directly with airline because a lot of things can change prior to flight.

What is the ideal range to book a flight prior to sailing date in your experience?

[Ampurp85]

7 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

Thank you for this valuable insight! I am flying domestically from ONT airport in California to MIA in Florida.

What you're saying is to wait closer to sailing date before booking directly with airline because a lot of things can change prior to flight.

What is the ideal range to book a flight prior to sailing date in your experience?

No. I would book flights as soon as possible. But by booking direct you will have communication. Air2Sea is basically a TA for flights, but they don't often communicate well imho. The thing is you can also reprice, it will just get returned as an airline credit if booking nonrefundable. I booked my flights for my Jan 2024 sailings last month and repriced this month and saved $40. My hotel was booked way back in February, you get the best deal by being an early bird.

[VillainsGin]

32 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

which means flights and flight numbers could change. They don't notify you. You have to constantly check and make sure it hasn't been cancelled or changed and select new seats each time. 

OHH gotcha you were referring if you booked through Air2Sea.

So I guess i'll start booking this weekend when I have more time for round trip flights directly with airline! Since my sailing isn't until early march 2024, that should be early enough.

[smokeybandit]

AIr2Sea does not offer hotels, but RC does offer a Priceline-branded hotel search tool

[steverk]

2 hours ago, VillainsGin said:

My last follow up question would be:

In order to received all the coverage/benefits of Air2Sea program do I need to book cruise & flight & hotel all together?

For example in my situation:

I've already locked in the casino royale comp'd cruise the same day it was offered to me by paying port fees/taxes over the phone.

Can I still utilize and receive coverage with the Air2Sea program just specifically for round-trip flights & hotel only, catered around my sailing date?

You can book everything at separate times. No issues at all. 

As far as hotels,  the started offering them about 18 months ago. Whenever I looked into them, they were always more expensive hotels than I normally book, so I never booked them through air2sea. Based on some of the other comments in this thread, I'm not sure if they still offer them or not.

With or without a hotel, international or domestic,  the air benefits are included and (in my opinion) are real, genuine valuable benefits that come at very low cost.

[DDaley]

19 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

They don't notify you. You have to constantly check and make sure it hasn't been cancelled or changed and select new seats each time. 

Oh weird, my Seattle flight has changed around 3-4 times since booking and I got an email notification from A2S every time! Maybe it’s airline brand-specific? Another one of the Royal email mysteries. 

[VillainsGin]

8 minutes ago, DDaley said:

Oh weird, my Seattle flight has changed around 3-4 times since booking and I got an email notification from A2S every time! Maybe it’s airline brand-specific? Another one of the Royal email mysteries. 

when things change from your original booking is there anything you have to do on your end or do you just download the newest booking confirmation/ticket?

[DDaley]

Just now, VillainsGin said:

when things change from your original booking is there anything you have to do on your end or do you just download the newest booking confirmation/ticket?

I don’t even have to do that! I make a note of the change and move the email into my travel folder. I wont download my boarding pass until after check in 24 hours prior to departure. If they changed it after that, the changes would be reflected on my digital boarding pass without any additional effort from me, too. 

[Zacharius]

19 hours ago, VillainsGin said:

Thank you for this valuable insight! I am flying domestically from ONT airport in California to MIA in Florida.

Have you considered LAX? A little extra time up front (on the road) can result in a myriad of nonstop options that could save time in the long run versus the necessary connection coming out of ONT. 

[VillainsGin]

23 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

Have you considered LAX? A little extra time up front (on the road) can result in a myriad of nonstop options that could save time in the long run versus the necessary connection coming out of ONT. 

That is absolutely true, glad someone knew ONT only did connecting flights to MIA!

I was weighing the stress and the absolutely chaos that is LAX and thought it was not worth it compared to the quiet spacious ONT.

I definitely would love to avoid connecting flights and fly straight from LAX to MIA with no connecting/stops.

This is actually something I am still on the fence whether to choose ONT with stops or LAX no stop and weighing the options.

What do you think personally when going from ONT or LAX to MIA?

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, DDaley said:

Oh weird, my Seattle flight has changed around 3-4 times since booking and I got an email notification from A2S every time! Maybe it’s airline brand-specific? Another one of the Royal email mysteries. 

Maybe they have gotten better, but this was in late 2021/ early 2022. I got not one email about changed or cancelled flights, and I must add my cruises were with a TA and he got the email only once. 

[Zacharius]

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

What do you think personally when going from ONT or LAX to MIA?

I have to make this decision pretty frequently because I do a lot of work up in the Palmdale area and need to decide if I want to connect through ONT (easier drive down, quieter, easier, rental cars right there) or go nonstop through LAX (crazier, busier, rental cars halfway to Pasadena, but better hotel choices if I need to spend the night). I also do BUR sometimes, of course, but there's no point in you going there so I'll leave it out of the discussion. 

If my destination requires a stop no matter where I come out of, I'll usually choose ONT over LAX. If it's a case of LAX being nonstop and ONT being one-stop, I'll usually (but not always) choose LAX. A lot of times it just depends on my mood when I am booking. In your case, I would probably do LAX. 

 

[VillainsGin]

2 hours ago, Zacharius said:

I have to make this decision pretty frequently because I do a lot of work up in the Palmdale area and need to decide if I want to connect through ONT (easier drive down, quieter, easier, rental cars right there) or go nonstop through LAX (crazier, busier, rental cars halfway to Pasadena, but better hotel choices if I need to spend the night). I also do BUR sometimes, of course, but there's no point in you going there so I'll leave it out of the discussion. 

If my destination requires a stop no matter where I come out of, I'll usually choose ONT over LAX. If it's a case of LAX being nonstop and ONT being one-stop, I'll usually (but not always) choose LAX. A lot of times it just depends on my mood when I am booking. In your case, I would probably do LAX. 

 

I was leaning a bit towards the nonstop option as I pondered more about it. It makes sense to go with ONT if both airports required stops. I think nonstop helps decreases your chances of problems, with less moving parts.

 

I've decided to suck it up and uber to LAX to save myself the drive and self parking? Actually how is the self parking in LAX? do they have a indoor parking structure to protect my vehicle from the elements?

[WannaCruise]

On 8/29/2023 at 3:26 PM, DDaley said:

As soon as I booked through Air2Sea I was able to go on the Alaska site and choose my seats even though I didn’t pay until final payment, months later! I actually saved money on my flights booking through A2S. I recently paid the $120 each for our flight from San Diego to Seattle (price locked from A2S, booked the day the date was available) and it’s currently listed at $593 each!! 

I think it must depend on the airline.  We are trying Air2Sea for the first time in December.  The airline is WestJet but we are not able to book our seats until we pay off the flight. It's a chance we are taking, but like the fact that we don't have to pay the flight off when booking.

[Zacharius]

16 hours ago, VillainsGin said:

I was leaning a bit towards the nonstop option as I pondered more about it. It makes sense to go with ONT if both airports required stops. I think nonstop helps decreases your chances of problems, with less moving parts.

 

I've decided to suck it up and uber to LAX to save myself the drive and self parking? Actually how is the self parking in LAX? do they have a indoor parking structure to protect my vehicle from the elements?

I've never done self parking at LAX, but my friends in LA who do often use the garage(s) inside the terminal loop...they feel it's worth the extra money. If you book ahead for the cheaper parking (that requires a shuttle), they sometimes throw you a deal to upgrade to the terminal parking. 

14 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

I think it must depend on the airline.  We are trying Air2Sea for the first time in December.  The airline is WestJet but we are not able to book our seats until we pay off the flight. It's a chance we are taking, but like the fact that we don't have to pay the flight off when booking.

Yes, it depends on the airline AND the fare. And you often won't know the real fare ahead of time, if at all. Many of the fares Air2Sea uses are specially negotiated, so even on the same airline and same route, two people may have very different experiences. 

[VillainsGin]

17 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

I think it must depend on the airline.  We are trying Air2Sea for the first time in December.  The airline is WestJet but we are not able to book our seats until we pay off the flight. It's a chance we are taking, but like the fact that we don't have to pay the flight off when booking.

@Zacharius speaking on booking through Air2Sea, how does the loyalty points with flying through specific airlines work in this case? I know booking directly gives you travel points when you can use to redeem for rewards with airline but if you book through a 3rd party are you still rewards airline points?

[steverk]

58 minutes ago, VillainsGin said:

@Zacharius speaking on booking through Air2Sea, how does the loyalty points with flying through specific airlines work in this case? I know booking directly gives you travel points when you can use to redeem for rewards with airline but if you book through a 3rd party are you still rewards airline points?

In my experience, you still get the points, but you can only redeem them directly through the airline 

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

@Zacharius speaking on booking through Air2Sea, how does the loyalty points with flying through specific airlines work in this case? I know booking directly gives you travel points when you can use to redeem for rewards with airline but if you book through a 3rd party are you still rewards airline points?

You do, but you have to make sure your frequent flyer number (and known traveler number if you have one) is added to the reservation before the flight.

[Zacharius]

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

@Zacharius speaking on booking through Air2Sea, how does the loyalty points with flying through specific airlines work in this case? I know booking directly gives you travel points when you can use to redeem for rewards with airline but if you book through a 3rd party are you still rewards airline points?

There may be cases in which the fare they book you on doesn't earn points (or doesn't earn the full amount of points). To be fair, that can also be the case with certain fares on the airlines themselves. But I have never used Air2Sea so I don't have experience personally. 

[smokeybandit]

I've never heard of a revenue fare bucket that wouldn't accumulate miles. 

[Zacharius]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I've never heard of a revenue fare bucket that wouldn't accumulate miles. 

It's rare, but I have heard of them. More often than that are airlines whose super discounted fares earn some miles but not 100% miles (such as AA, who specifically note cruise lines as the origin of some fares that result in reduced miles). 

[Fuzzywuzzy]

On 8/30/2023 at 1:32 PM, DDaley said:

Oh weird, my Seattle flight has changed around 3-4 times since booking and I got an email notification from A2S every time! Maybe it’s airline brand-specific? Another one of the Royal email mysteries. 

I got one of those, the change being a new arrival time for my flight being 8 minutes early. How they knew this was going to happen 2 months in advance Ill never know. Air Canada.

[VillainsGin]

16 hours ago, Fuzzywuzzy said:

I got one of those, the change being a new arrival time for my flight being 8 minutes early. How they knew this was going to happen 2 months in advance Ill never know. Air Canada.

so every time your flight changes the airline app will just automatically update your digital ticket or do you have to print that out for reference?

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, VillainsGin said:

so every time your flight changes the airline app will just automatically update your digital ticket or do you have to print that out for reference?

It will be automatically updated.