Are adding low cost flights onto your cruise lowering your standards and lightening your pockets????
More and more cruise lines are basing themselves out of European Ports rather than the old favourites like Southampton and Dover. It obviously cuts down on sea days and means you can cram as many ports as possible into a 7 night cruise.
But it opens up a whole other type of problem – how do we get to these stunning ports????
Before now the major airlines where the only ones servicing the routes and they could charge a premium that sent the cost of the cruise package sky high. However, with low cost airlines opening up more and more routes every year, they are now targeting Port Cities to try and catch some of the ever increasing cruise sector. In a world of supply and demand the demand is definitely there and now the suppliers are sitting up and taking notice.
However, this in effect is causing a new type of problem. Should I book a Ryanair, Jet Blue etc flight for my cruise passenger that has just spent thousands of pound each for their cruise? Are these low cost flights compatible with the luxury cruise market.
As former cabin crew with Ryanair I can see this from both sides of the coin. As crew members, they are there to ensure the safety of passengers on board and to be honest listening to customers complaining about paying £2.50 for a couple of tea is just a by product of today’s no frills philosophy and is now just seen as a part of the daily routine and is like water off a ducks back.
But, putting myself in my luxury cruise customer, or any cruise customer’s shoes, could I be bothered with fighting with the check in staff about the size and weight of my bag, whether or not my duty free constitutes as my one piece of carry on baggage and can I squeeze my handbag into it???
All the stress and tribulations of these types of airlines really don’t match up with my relaxing thoughts of how my cruise should go.
So what do you do. Do you pay through the nose for a major airline, or put up with shoddy customer service to make cruise packages more affordable to the masses.
Its also not only the customer service that is a bit lacking but the low cost airlines are finding ways of adding on more and more things. I know a lot of them are optional but they are finding more and more ways to claw back the pounds.
I flew back from Newcastle on Monday with a low cost airline who have adopted a brand new marketing trick – Hands Free!
They have introduced (for a fee of course) a hassle free way of getting through the airport without having to actually check in your bag. For a fee of £7 each flight, you drop your cabin bag off at the Easyjet Plus bag Drop desks then you go through security with not a bother in the world and no liquids, laptops etc to unpack and pack at security. They then guarantee your bag will be one of the first to come off the aircraft. It is also a way of getting around the liquid limitations normally imposed at security so if you have been on holiday and picked up some beverages or expensive olive oil and don’t want to pay the 20 odd pounds to fully check in the bag you can avail of this service.*
I would love to know what you think of this. Great move or just another way to get the extra spondules from you??
*Standard cabin baggage size and weight limitations apply to Hands Free. 56 x 45 x 25cm – maximum and must fit within baggage gauge. Bags larger than this will incur the relevant hold bag fee. Hands Free bag counts as customer cabin allowance. Customers can also take a personal item with them on board.
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About Me
My name is Danielle. I am an early thirty something (VERY, VERY EARLY) and I have a passion for not only cruise but holidays in general. If I am not currently on one then I am either planning one or sitting in my garden with a strawberry daiquiri dreaming about…
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Last year I booked a river cruise (Aug 19) leaving from Budapest and the inclusive flight from Edinburgh was with Ryanair. Obviously I will have luggage and I’m sure that wasn’t included in the price. I want to have the relaxed atmosphere from leaving home not stressed on a flight with(likely) stag and hen parties. There was no option for BA in the package so I ended up with cruise only, then a BA flight via Heathrow. More expensive and missing out on transfers to the ship but hopefully a better experience.
I would prefer that cruise lines would offer alternatives to the cheapest flight in their package.