When cruising Alaska or Mediterranean .....

[mimmiepnp]

Do you book airfare yourself or thru Disney?

I know it is more expensive thru Disney but would you book for peace of mind if delays etc......? Usually book our own to Port Cavernal but have to decide which way to go for our next cruises.

Thanks

 

[mmmears]

Personally I booked Alaska and Europe myself. And I try to use miles/CC points whenever possible. And I also book us to arrive at least one day in advance, hoping that the buffer will help if something does go wrong with the airlines (I also get travel insurance, though).

 

[Shanti]

Do you book airfare yourself or thru Disney?

I know it is more expensive thru Disney but would you book for peace of mind if delays etc......? Usually book our own to Port Cavernal but have to decide which way to go for our next cruises.

Thanks

We booked airfare for both Alaska and the Med on our own to get great deals unobtainable via DCL.

 

[st0nehedge]

We booked our own flight to Alaska.

 

[Geomom]

We booked our own for both Alaska and Copenhagen (for the Northern European cruise). For both we arrived 3 days before the cruise--it gives us time to explore that port and to adjust to the time change. We use 3rd party insurance--I add in the cost of the flights, hotel, and cruise.

 

[BruinEd03]

Do you book airfare yourself or thru Disney?

I know it is more expensive thru Disney but would you book for peace of mind if delays etc......? Usually book our own to Port Cavernal but have to decide which way to go for our next cruises.

Thanks

Not sure where the peace of mind would come in. Disney can't make the airplane fly if there is a delay. They also don't automatically book you on another flight with a different airline if there is a delay.

Your best bet is to fly in early and also have a travel agent who can contact Disney on your behalf while you are working through your travel delay. If you are truly worried about delays, fly in 2 to 3 days early depending on how far you are traveling. It also gives you an opportunity to adjust to the time zone and location, and also to see the local sights.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We booked our own flights for Alaska. We started out in Seattle and flew home from Vancouver.

 

[fredandkell]

I book my own because quite often I’m using frequent flier miles but if I was paying I’d totally at least check Disney to see their rates.

 

[Pens Fan]

We always book on our own. I would never give up the flexibility of booking though certain airports (and avoiding others) / choosing our layover time / going through customs time / to turn all of those decisions over to a cruise line that is only looking to book the cheapest flight possible.

If you are worried about delays, fly in a day or two early and buy trip insurance. We do this every cruise (we buy our insurance independent of the cruise line so our entire trip is covered, not just the cruise).

 

[GPaLarry]

Of our eight cruises (9 on the way), we have booked with DCL for peace of mind and, sometimes, extra magic. However, West Coast bookings are on our own since we live in Oregon. Drove to Vancouver for Alaska cruise and booking ourselves for Mexico 5-day next March. For Med. and Baltic Capitals and all Caribbean and WBTA we relied on the mouse. We also have never bought travel insurance...Yikes! Been very lucky.

 

[OKW Lover]

Do you book airfare yourself or thru Disney?

No matter where I'm cruising, I always book airfare directly with the airline.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

DH is a retired airline pilot. We book directly with the airline for the employee discount.

 

[Corwin]

I agree with the previous posters...I always book through the airline directly, and plan to fly in at least 24 hours in advance. For example, for our Mediterranean cruise, we flew in the day before, and spent a night in a Barcelona hotel.

I've heard too many stories of flights arranged through DCL that cut it far too close, and didn't allow enough time for unexpected delays. I'd rather pick my own flight times.

 

[Shanti]

I've heard too many stories of flights arranged through DCL that cut it far too close, and didn't allow enough time for unexpected delays. I'd rather pick my own flight times.

You can now pick your own flight times when booking via DCL Air. Their policies have changed to allow that with no extra charge. Flying in a day early is no problem. You can even choose seats.

 

[lucky1]

This year we booked our Air to Barcelona through DCL Air and it was much cheaper than what we could find on our own. Plus we didn't need to pay for it in full until our PIF date. Now maybe because we went through a TA, we only saw one choice of flights, but maybe with the recent change with Disney Air, you will get more choices to chose your times.

 

[anjuan]

I also booked air through DCL for my Med cruise this past June. I first checked prices on other sites and found a flight I wanted (3 days before the cruise). I called DCL and the price was basically the same for that flight and day. As the last poster said, we were even able to pick our seats. We were booked but didn't have to pay until the PIF date. They had told us that if we saw the price drop that we could rebook at the new price before the PIF date, but I never did see the price go down. It worked out very well.

 

[tlprice]

I always book my own, but the farther you are flying, the more days/time I'd allow. We just did a Med. cruise and planned to be in Barcelona for 2 1/2 days before our cruise. Good thing because we got stuck in Canada for 24 hours due to bad weather. Because I'd planned extra days and had trip insurance, it didn't end up being too stressful because I knew I'd still make my cruise. We just made the most of an unexpected day in a city we'd never visited before.