Should I Buy Airfare Through My Cruise Line? We Won’t Again.

When people find out that we have taken 26 cruises (and counting) for a total of 180+ nights on cruise ships, we get quite a few questions. One of the most common questions is: “Should I buy airfare through my cruise line?”

In recent years, many cruise lines have heavily promoted reduced airfare deals and flight arrangements as part of cruise booking packages. These offers can look incredibly appealing, especially for international cruises where airfare costs can be significant.

Because the cruise line airfare savings appeared substantial, we ended up booking three cruises previously with airfare through Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). At first, we worried the flight routes would be convoluted or inconvenient, but the savings convinced us to give cruise line airfare a chance.

Adding Extra Travel Days to Protect Our Cruise

One helpful feature we learned about when booking airfare through NCL was the ability to request a “deviation.” This allowed us to fly into our cruise port up to two days before embarkation and fly home up to two days after disembarkation.

We requested these deviations for all of our cruises because we wanted additional time in each destination and, more importantly, extra buffer time in case of flight delays or cancellations before the cruise.

NCL even offered a small credit for adding deviations to the reservation.

Extra Cruise Line Costs to Watch For

One thing many travelers may not realize is that booking airfare through a cruise line can automatically add hotel stays and cruise port transfers to your reservation.

Because we usually book our own hotels and use public transportation when possible, we removed the cruise line hotel and transfer charges from our booking. Doing this saved us several hundred dollars per cruise.

The first two cruises we booked airfare through NCL for were:

1. A Greek Isles cruise roundtrip from Athens.

2. A Northern Europe cruise from Copenhagen to Southampton.

Our home airport is Minneapolis, and despite some concerns, the flight arrangements for both cruises worked fairly well overall.

Less Control Over Your Flights

The first downside we noticed with cruise line airfare booking was the lack of control.

Some of our flights were booked in basic economy, which meant:

No seat selection before the flight.

No airline miles earned.

Limited flexibility.

If you have ever spent 8+ hours in a middle economy seat on an international flight, you probably understand why this concerned us.

Fortunately, Jeff and I were seated together on our flights, but we still ended up with several long-haul middle seats.

Things Went Smoothly Until They Didn’t

Our perspective on cruise line airfare changed dramatically during our African cruise from Dubai to Cape Town.

NCL booked our airfare with multiple airlines:

United from Minneapolis to Chicago.

United from Chicago to Toronto.

Air Canada from Toronto to Dubai.

As often happens during winter travel in Minneapolis, heavy snow delayed operations at the airport the day we departed.

At first, the delay didn’t seem catastrophic because we had built in extra time before the cruise by arriving in Dubai two days early.

Unfortunately, the delay caused us to miss our connection from Chicago to Toronto, and United ultimately cancelled our Minneapolis flight entirely.

One Flight Delay Nearly Caused Us to Miss Our Cruise

Because of the limited international flight options available, a one-day delay would have caused us to miss the cruise entirely.

I immediately began calling United customer service while also standing in line at the airport customer service desk trying to find alternative flights.

The first challenge was that NCL had booked us on United from Minneapolis to Chicago and Chicago to Toronto and Air Canada from Toronto to Dubai. United was the airline I was on the phone with and the agent told me their job was only to get us as far as Toronto and then it was up to Air Canada.

That’s when we encountered one of the biggest drawbacks of booking airfare through a cruise line: no one seemed willing to take ownership of the problem.

The Biggest Problem: No Clear Responsibility

United told us their responsibility only extended to getting us to Toronto because Air Canada handled the next portion of the itinerary.

Air Canada had no remaining routes that would get us to Dubai on time.

When we contacted NCL’s airfare department, we expected the cruise line to assist us since they had booked the flights. Instead, we were repeatedly told we needed to work directly with the airlines.

We had some tight connections and our bag did not join us on that flight (more about that story in this another blog post.) but we made it to Dubai only about 6 hours later than originally scheduled.

t quickly became a frustrating game of ping pong between:

The cruise line.

United Airlines.

Air Canada.

Meanwhile, we were the stressed travelers stuck in the middle trying not to miss our ship.

After several exhausting hours, a helpful United representative finally rerouted us:

Minneapolis to Washington Dulles.

Dulles to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt to Dubai via Lufthansa.

We made it to Dubai only about six hours later than originally scheduled, though our luggage did not arrive with us.

Then Our Flight Home Disappeared

Unfortunately, the flight issues didn’t end there.

Our return flight from Cape Town to Minneapolis had been booked through Delta and originally appeared correctly in the Delta app.

However, while still on the cruise, I logged into the app to double-check our flight home information and discovered the reservation had completely disappeared.

After spending over an hour with Delta customer service, the representative confirmed there was no active booking for us at all.

At that point, replacement flights home near Christmas would have cost more than $7,000.

Hours of Phone Calls During Vacation

Because of the time zone difference, I had to wait until late evening in Cape Town to call NCL’s airfare department in Miami.

What I expected would be a quick fix turned into more than six hours of calls with seven different representatives, multiple disconnections, and repeated explanations of the issue.

Again, we were repeatedly told to contact the airline directly—even though Delta confirmed we no longer had a reservation.

Eventually, one NCL representative, Jasmine, took the time to investigate thoroughly. She discovered that our earlier flight disruptions likely caused the system to incorrectly process us as a “no show,” cancelling the remainder of the itinerary including our flight home.

Thankfully, she reinstated our flights and even followed up after her shift ended to ensure everything was resolved.

Why We Lost Confidence in Cruise Line Airfare

Unfortunately, after returning home, we were unable to get meaningful follow-up or acknowledgment from NCL regarding the issues we experienced.

This experience didn’t just shake our confidence in booking airfare through a cruise line—it also changed how we think about travel planning entirely.

Should You Buy Airfare Through Your Cruise Line?

If you’re trying to decide whether to book airfare through your cruise line or independently, here are some important things to consider:

Cost Savings vs. Control

Cruise line airfare deals can absolutely save money. However, travelers may give up significant control over:

Flight routes.

Seat selection.

Airline choice.

Schedule flexibility.

Extra Travel Days May Be Necessary

If you book airfare through your cruise line, we strongly recommend arriving at your embarkation port at least one or two days early whenever possible.

Re-Check Your Flight Information Frequently

Monitor your airline reservations before and during your cruise vacation. Our missing return flight could have become an even bigger disaster if we had not checked before disembarkation day.

Understand Who Handles Problems

One of the biggest hidden drawbacks of cruise line airfare booking is that responsibility can become unclear when issues arise between the cruise line and airline.

Would We Buy Airfare Through a Cruise Line Again?

After our experiences, we personally would not choose to buy airfare through our cruise line again unless the savings were extraordinary and the itinerary was simple.

If our first two cruise airfare experiences had been our only experiences, we may have continued using cruise line flight arrangements.

However, one complicated international cruise with multiple airline issues, disappearing reservations, and hours spent fighting for help was enough for us.

Going forward, this is one area of travel where we are willing to pay more for the added control and peace of mind that comes with booking our own flights independently.