After taking a few cruises, I’ve figured out that booking flights in and out of your port city is about more than just getting the best price. While I haven’t missed a flight (yet), I have learned a few lessons the hard way. Here are some tips based on my personal experiences booking flights for a cruise.
1. Decide Whether You Want to Use the Cruise Line’s Ticketing Platform
A big benefit to using Royal Caribbean’s Air2Sea through Royal Caribbean is that you don’t need to pay for it until the same time that you pay for your cruise (90 days out). So, you can book it and then update flights within that time frame if the price changes. It’s also supposed to help you if you miss a connection or your flight is delayed. I didn’t have any issues catching my connections, so I can’t speak to that aspect of it. You can call and talk to someone or book it online. From what I saw, the prices they offered were the same as what I found on my own, and I was able to earn air miles still. I have booked on my own and through Air2Sea, so it’s entirely your preference.
2. Know Which Airport is Closest to Your Cruise Port
Most cruise terminals are close to several airports. And to make things even more confusing, different cruise lines will sail out of different terminals. So, before booking a flight, make sure you know exactly where your cruise is sailing out of. I don’t know how other cruise lines handle this, but Royal has answers on one of their FAQ pages with all the port addresses. I recommend bookmarking this page!
3. Look for Post-Cruise Excursions
Usually, when I cruise out of Los Angeles (which is actually in San Pedro), I fly in and out of Long Beach because it’s small and super easy to get in and out of. However, for my next cruise, I am booking two one-way tickets. The first is flying into Long Beach the night before because it’s cheaper and easier. But I’m flying out of LAX, so I can take a 6-hour excursion that includes a tour of Los Angeles and an airport transfer. This is something I didn’t even know existed until someone on my last cruise showed me her excursion in Vancouver on our last day. I will update y’all with a review of my LA adventure in November!
4. Consider Flying in At Least One Day Before You Leave
If you follow any cruise sites, you’ll see advice that you absolutely MUST fly in at least one day before your cruise to make sure you don’t miss the cruise. While that is reasonable advice, it’s not a hard and fast rule. For my last cruise, I flew into Long Beach the morning of the cruise and was there safe and sound a few hours before check-in was ready for the cruise. So, I didn’t have any trouble getting there on time.
However, I was exhausted. I had to get up at 4 AM my time, which was 2 AM LA time, to make my flight. By the time the cabin was ready, I could barely keep my eyes open and settled in for a long nap. I missed out on the Sail Away party and felt like I wasted that entire first day. If you are taking a long trip, that might be fine, but this was a short 5-night cruise. So, because of these reasons, I prefer getting in a day early to adjust to the time and make sure I am refreshed for embarkation day.
5. Set Up Price Alerts
I have Google price alerts set up for flights for all of my upcoming trips to make sure I don’t miss out on a good deal. They will ping you when flights go down, and you can decide if they are low enough for you to buy them and feel good. Once I buy them (especially if they are non-refundable), I don’t check back. I don’t want to know if I could have gotten a better deal, but that’s just me.
6. Wait a Beat Before Getting A Rideshare
I accidentally figured this out when I was in Long Beach at 9 AM and my check-in time wasn’t until 11:30. The Lyft prices were around $50 right after we landed, but they went down to a more reasonable $25-$30 within about 10 minutes. Then, they jumped as soon as the next flight landed. Lesson learned — if you aren’t running late, see if waiting a few minutes saves you some cash on your ride to the cruise terminal or your hotel.
What tips do you have for booking flights for your cruise? I’d love to hear them! Comment below or find me on Instagram.
The Sea Suite 
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