What is a transportation add on when booking a cruise and why is it so expensive?

cruise transportation add ons

That is typically called "transfers" which mean that the cruise line makes arrangements to pick you up at the airport, generally by bus or mini-van, and drops you and your bags at the port. Then after the cruise they will take you back to the airport. You can request transfers both ways, or just one way if you want.

The price of transfers, or as you called it transportation is not really that much more costly than taking a taxi between the airport and the cruise port. Sometimes what seems like a lot is actually a few dollars more than a cab ride and the cruise line is making a little money on the transportation the same as it does with the cruise, and tours from the ship. Transfers vary in price because the distances from the airport to the port vary. For example, if you fly to Ft Lauderdale, Florida for a cruise out of Port Everglades, the port is only about 5 or 6 miles from the airport; about 15 minutes away, so its a much lower price than if you were cruising leaving the Rome airport and the cruise port is 80 miles, or an hour's drive, away.

So distance from the port is the main reason. Then add in a little profit to cover the cost of renting and reserving the bus. The transportation, or transfers, are an option that you can decline and make your own plan to get to the port. Sometimes that makes sense and I have done that when I know that I can easily get a taxi to the pier or airport.

They are probably talking about ground transportation from the airport to the port by bus. This is really a great deal because you don't have to worry about how to get to the port. They take care of your bags too, so once you pick up your bags at the airport carousel, that's it, they will take them to the ship and later up to your cabin.

Cruise lines have air packages out of all the hub airports. The add on adds a "spoke" flight. Our congressman once told us that from Minneapolis, it's cheaper to fly to Amsterdam than to Fargo, so spoke flights are definately a rip off. I'd suggest either driving to your nearest big airport or flying with Allegiant, Frontier, Sun Country, or JetBlue. Always book air at least 2 weeks in advance for the best fare.
That's the story behind why 80% of the people on the boat live within driving distance of the pier!!!

You can add on air or ground transportation when booking your cruise. It is typically way more expensive than booking it yourself. The best advice I can give you is to book your cruise and then if you need a flight to book it seperately with a discount company such as priceline. just make sure that once you have your arrangements made to inform the cruiseline.

This is two parts-

Air travel "add on" is the airfare from your home airport to the cruise departure airport. This is the price of the airfare, based on their bulk rates. The down side is that they charge you an extra +/- $35 per person extra if you want to change what they offer (read "custom air") along with their inflated price. I have found that their price is usually MORE than what I am able to book independently, plus I can choose to go a day earlier, or stay later. Just be sure to plan to fly early enough to allow for delays, luggage, taxi, etc.

Ground "transfers" are the price of the bus from the cruise departure airport to the pier, each way. Uniformed agents wait at baggage claim and direct you and your luggage to buses. They have a list of paid transfer passengers and try to round you up in groups. Although we once waited about 45 minute for some bozos who decided to stop and have drinks in the airport upon arrival <sigh>. This price is based on distance. But again, independent is cheaper- always. In Dover England, you walk 100 yards to the train to get you to London. Cruise line wanted $100 per person, while the train ticket was about $50!

If you are intelligent and independent, book your own. Ask on cruiselinefans.com, on your particular port, and you can get a good guess what it will cost.

Whether you mean air add-ons or ground transportation add-ons, you can almost always do it more cheaply and much more conveniently on your own. [Exception would be if you have different departure/arrival ports.]

The cruise line air is going to be booked at their convenience, which means you may get routed on a bizarre route at an ungodly hour! [You can pay to get a change, if you're willing to do that.] Plus, they won't allow you to fly in the day before the cruise [always a good thing to do, especially if you're cruising in the winter].

With cruise line ground transportation, you have to wait until the bus is filled up [at either end of your trip] to get going. On your own you can get a cab, or limo, or van, or public transportation when you're ready to go.

It's "expensive" because that's one way the cruise lines can make a little more money.