Air-sea arrangements drop as cruisers seek cheaper tickets. (In the News).(fewer customers buying package cruise and airline tickets)(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)

Travel Agent, July, 2002 by Young, Susan J.

ORLANDO--Last month, cruise specialist Cindy Bertram, MCC, booked a family reunion group on a cruise embarking from San Juan, Puerto Rico, next summer. She also booked the cruise line's air add-on supplement at $639 per air ticket. But for Bertram, of Eagle Travel in Grown. Point, Ind., the air tickets seemed too pricey.

Through diligent searching, she found enough seats at $404 each on a nonstop Chicago-to-San Juan flight, opted out of the line's air tickets and saved her clients $2,000. But was it the right move? Where air-sea is concerned, says Bertram, it's "a volatile situation" in knowing what's best.

Downward Trend

Over the past few years, the cruise industry has witnessed a steady downward trend in air-sea bookings-passengers who buy...