Info on airfare included in price

[sue in florida]

I have just booked the Dec. Infinity cruise to Valpariaso. The price included the air fare. If anyone has used this type of air travel through Celebrity I would appreciate their comments and opinions. Thank you.

[toronto_gal]

Hi Sue, I booked everything, including airfare, through Celebrity for my cruise on the Summit last month. I might have been able to get better flight schedules and maybe a lower price if I booked on my own, but found it easier to let Celebrity do everything for me. Also, as I was flying to San Juan on day of departure, I knew that the ship would be held for me should there be any problems with my connecting flights as they were booked by Celebrity. As a matter of fact, Celebrity provides passengers with a phone number to call in case of flight problems.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Also, as I was flying to San Juan on day of departure, I knew that the ship would be held for me should there be any problems with my connecting flights as they were booked by Celebrity. As a matter of fact, Celebrity provides passengers with a phone number to call in case of flight problems.

 

My understanding is that they can delay departure for a certain amount of time, but at some point they have to leave. What if your flight was delayed by several hours? If you book your air through the cruise line, they will be responsible for getting you to the next port so you can board there.

[Denny01]

Used Celebrity Air for our Jan 09 BA-Valp cruise. Only saw cheaper tickets a few weeks before depart so worked out well. Also check out Custom Air to see if you can get a non-stop if avail. Strongly recommend flying in day before - much less hassle and BA well worth at least a day. And your not 'dead on arrival'. We also used Celebrity hotels.

 

Fantastic cruise - enjoy

 

Den

[labeachcomber]

I have just booked the Dec. Infinity cruise to Valpariaso. The price included the air fare. If anyone has used this type of air travel through Celebrity I would appreciate their comments and opinions. Thank you.

 

Celebrity's Air I believe will only get you into your departure city on the day of sailing. If you want to arrive earlier to sightsee, allow extra time just in case, etc., you have to use their Custom Air option, which I think has a small fee.

 

I found the Custom Air choices to be pretty much the same as what I could find on my own, so I booked air completely on my own.

[dzcruisers]

Celebrity's Air I believe will only get you into your departure city on the day of sailing. If you want to arrive earlier to sightsee, allow extra time just in case, etc., you have to use their Custom Air option, which I think has a small fee.

 

I found the Custom Air choices to be pretty much the same as what I could find on my own, so I booked air completely on my own.

 

Check out CHOICE Air. It's different from regular and custom X air. It has had the very best prices for us. Plus it comes with X get you to the ship guarantee.

[Denny01]

I believe Custom Air changes are free if you are Elite (and Select?) or if you fly in the day before and use Celebrity lodging.

 

Den

[labeachcomber]

Check out CHOICE Air. It's different from regular and custom X air. It has had the very best prices for us. Plus it comes with X get you to the ship guarantee.

 

Forgot about Choice Air. Basically a third party website with discounted airfares, but again, for our flights, there really wasn't a whole lot of difference.

 

To the OP, there are three options that Celebrity will provide:

1. Celebrity Air - basically you just select "book my air" when you are reserving your cruise. Celebrity will choose the flights, the dates, the times, the airline. They will make sure you get to your cruise on time. They will also make you leave to go back home on the day of arrival back to port.

 

2. Celebrity Custom Air - use if you're interested in choosing your preferred airline, you want to change the dates of arrival/departure so you can spend some time in the departure port city, you want to select what times you're arriving, etc. They will work with you to find flights that you are happy with. If you are Select/Elite, there is no fee to use this service. Otherwise I think it's about $50.

 

3. Choice Air - this option is available on the website, it bumps you out to a third party website where there are discounted tickets. There are many threads on these boards about Choice Air, and the consensus seems to be that these are "consolidator tickets", giving you less flexibility should something go wrong. The website basically looks like any travel website and allows you to pick your dates, your airlines, etc.

 

Or just book on your own. I did that just for the security of knowing that I was in control of my flights and that I wasn't buying any third party tickets.

[cruiser9983]

We are sailing from Newark in May. When we originally booked the cruise while on board another Celebrity ship, they threw in a free night's stay pre cruise. We thought the pricing might be Ok, considering the hotel "bonus." We'er Elite and so my TA said that we could specify the flight we wanted. There was a direct flight from our city to Newark which we wanted, but that airline wanted an extra $380 pp to provide that specific flight (in addition to Celebrity's airfare charge). We said no thanks and booked our own flights. I did not expect to have to pay an extra amount to the airline and even my TA was very surprised.

[Denny01]

......There was a direct flight from our city to Newark which we wanted, but that airline wanted an extra $380 pp to provide that specific flight (in addition to Celebrity's airfare charge). We said no thanks and booked our own flights. I did not expect to have to pay an extra amount to the airline and even my TA was very surprised.

Wow that's weird - you booked through Celebrity and the airline wanted an addition? In our exoerience booking direct with Cekebrity we only worked with Celebrity (and in your case the TA) so how did the airline work themselves into the equation to charge the extra $30pp?

 

Den

[biker1972]

First check the sticky at the top of the cruise air board which talks about consolidator tickets. Really eye opening. Next consider the fine print that the cruiselines include when you book air with them. They MIGHT hold the ship but most likely not unless there were a large number of passengers on a delayed flight. They MIGHT help you get a flight to the next port. They MIGHT be there to help, but be prepared to do everything on you own and HAVE travel insurance. Second:Custom air always says that you pay for any difference in fares between what the cruisline selects and what you select. Since the consolidator tickets the airline has are limited you will most likely choose flights the cruiseline does not have tickets for, and thus they go into the marketplace and buy what you request and charge you. Simpler for you to go to the market and buy.

[sue in florida]

I went to the cruise air board as you suggested and it really was an eye opener.

I am going on a cruise which ends in Santiago. I just checked Lan Airline and a one way ticket back to Miami on Dec.20th was $2.907. I was shocked!

I will do some more checking and asking but right now I am reconsidering taking the cruise altogether. Luckily final payment isn't due until August so I have plenty of time to think about it,

[biker1972]

Sue: go to the cruise air board and direct a question to Greatam. She is very helpful and very knowledgeable about air to and from Chile and SA. She travels there for her business at least four times a year and has access to the sabre system ( I think). Give her parameters and she can give info that will help you to book. The cruise air might be fine, it is just important that you know what is happening and to have backup plans if things go south in a hurry. I am booked on the Infinity for next Feb. with the price including cruise air, but I know that I can cancel the air portion up to final payment date. I also know that I will have to use custom air since I an going down almost a week early to do Iguazu. It is a great trip and I am not going to let the air problem scare me off. Do the same but do investigate before you choose. :)

[cruiser9983]

Wow that's weird - you booked through Celebrity and the airline wanted an addition? In our exoerience booking direct with Cekebrity we only worked with Celebrity (and in your case the TA) so how did the airline work themselves into the equation to charge the extra $30pp?

 

Den

 

To my knowledge my TA was dealing directly with Celebrity. I do not know how Celebrity determined the airline wanted the extra $380 pp. My TA said that she had never had this happen before when requesting custom air - and she has done this in the past for many Celebrity cruisers.