troubles with Fly away program

[karebear777]

My husband and I booked our first cruise. We are taking a 6 day Carribean cruise and were excited until we received our Carnival FlyAweigh information. We land 25 minutes before our boat departs.

I have talked over 2 hours on the phone with Carnival and they state it is not there problem. Even though I booked my airfare through them and was told when I wanted to book my flight that late, there was nothing they can do about it. I am waiting until Monday to talk with there travel services. Carnival has reassured us that when we miss our boat they will get us to our next port. I do not want to miss part of our cruise. Any ideas?

[*Mach*]

One of the few things I would not book through Carnival is air. Can you cancel the air portion and book on your own?

[PAPERBKWRITER]

My husband and I booked our first cruise. We are taking a 6 day Carribean cruise and were excited until we received our Carnival FlyAweigh information. We land 25 minutes before our boat departs.

I have talked over 2 hours on the phone with Carnival and they state it is not there problem. Even though I booked my airfare through them and was told when I wanted to book my flight that late, there was nothing they can do about it. I am waiting until Monday to talk with there travel services. Carnival has reassured us that when we miss our boat they will get us to our next port. I do not want to miss part of our cruise. Any ideas?

That's their mistake if you booked air thru them. Of course you'll miss the boat. Call back and get a supervisor who can change the flight and if unsucessful keep calling until you do get someone. And take names. Hope it works out for you.

[firefly333]

Unfortunately, this is very typical, and people do miss their ships.

 

Im sorry you didnt come to CC before you booked your flights with Carnival as we would have advsied you to book on your own and come in the day before.

 

All you can do is hope the ship waits and start calling them. Usually they make the cruise, so try not to worry as its too late to change... though Id be asking my booking agent to get it changed ....you can try.

 

Im sorry, but we tell everyone here not to book flights with Carnival, as you more often than not come in on a red eye last minute like this. I sure hope they will change your flight and/or the ship waits.

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

I would definitely contact the Land/Sea department from Carnival. Or talk to a supervisor because that's really ridiculous! I personally use Carnival's Fly Aweigh Program & I have never had anything like this happen to me or my family. In fact, I called them yesterday to see if they booked our air flights so I could assign my seats & they have, but they can't release it until my final payment is due (April 4). Anyways, she did leak that I have an early flight & did mention that they have guidelines for each airport as far as the latest they can book a flight. Example - For Port Canaveral, they cannot book a flight that comes into MCO-Orlando any later than 1:30 PM, and ships in Port Canaveral depart at 4:00 PM.

 

I'm sure Carnival isnt 100% consistent with this policy, just like all their policies lately. But definitely have this looked into & possibly fixed. I know I would not accept losing part of my vacation that I spent good money on!

[firefly333]

One of the few things I would not book through Carnival is air. Can you cancel the air portion and book on your own?

 

I bet they are past final payment as flights are given out so last minute people always worry they will get their flights. :(

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

I bet they are past final payment as flights are given out so last minute people always worry they will get their flights. :(

 

You are most likely right on this. They book flights between 75 days - 30 days prior to your sailing, which in most cases, is on or after the final payment is due. Like for me for example, my air flights booked through Carnival are booked, but I can't even view them until April 4 when the final payment is due.

[karebear777]

Since the fly Aweigh program booked our airfare, we did miss the first day and 1/2 of our cruise. Emails to the CEO and supervisors gave one answer- you will make your boat. I did fight with Carnival for a month and they stated they were not responsible for us missing the ship. After much persistance, we did get a day and a half refunded but the stress was not worth the money. Carnival does not care for its costumers. They treat complaints like you are ripping them off. My advise, do not book with Carnival.

[firefly333]

Since the fly Aweigh program booked our airfare, we did miss the first day and 1/2 of our cruise. Emails to the CEO and supervisors gave one answer- you will make your boat. I did fight with Carnival for a month and they stated they were not responsible for us missing the ship. After much persistance, we did get a day and a half refunded but the stress was not worth the money. Carnival does not care for its costumers. They treat complaints like you are ripping them off. My advise, do not book with Carnival.

 

Advice is do not book airfare with them as they seem to do this way too often. Its not the cruise portion but the airfare you should not book.

 

Im so sorry you did miss your ship. People have posted oh dont worry Carnival will hold the ship if they fly in you. Obviously, not true.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Did they pay to get you to the ship?

[Tbay-eh]

Try to cancel air and rebook on your own. We did it two cruises ago and it was the trip from hell - cruise was awesome. The connections were too tight to make and miss multiple flights. We were suppose to arrive the day before at about 1PM - had hotel, hockey tickets etc booked - arrived at ship next day 45 mins before sailing. The return was even worse if you can imagine. And they would not come good for anything. You will probably have even further changes to flight itineries before you leave. Run don't walk from it.

[Cruzin2paradise09]

I've never used the cruiseline air, so my question is just that. Couldn't the OP call the airline directly and just pay the airline 'service' charges to change the flight on their own? I only say that because it just doesn't sound like Carnival is going to help them and personally, I would pay the fee and change it. But, I don't know if you can or not.

[firefly333]

Since the fly Aweigh program booked our airfare, we did miss the first day and 1/2 of our cruise. Emails to the CEO and supervisors gave one answer- you will make your boat. I did fight with Carnival for a month and they stated they were not responsible for us missing the ship. After much persistance, we did get a day and a half refunded but the stress was not worth the money. Carnival does not care for its costumers. They treat complaints like you are ripping them off. My advise, do not book with Carnival.

 

to those giving advice after the fact .. the OP has updated us and said they did miss the ship.

 

the problem is by the time Carnival gives you the flight times its past final payment. You cannot cancel the air portion booked thru Carnival and rebook just the air, you would have to totally cancel, including the cruise ... AFTER final payment.

[thinfool]

My advise, do not book with Carnival.

 

Good luck with finding a cruise line that will improve in this situation.

 

Few here use cruise air, and then only in special circumstances.

 

We're glad you could come here to vent...but also suggest that you spend a lot of time on CC to help avoid future problems with Carnival or any other cruise line. They all have their weaknesses/shortcomings.

[Sargent_Schultz]

I have used cruise air before without incident and have paid the deviation fee to get the exact times and flights that I wanted. The reason I don't typically use it is because it costs more than what you can arrange on your own, but not always. At least I find out how much the Fly Away program wants and know that is the maximum that I should pay when looking for my own.

 

You can always reserve cruise air and then cancel at final payment if you've found something better.

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

Good luck with finding a cruise line that will improve in this situation.

.

Royal has a great cruise air program for transatlantic/euro flights. You can actually pick you own flights with a wide variety of choices.

[cherylandtk]

I've never used the cruiseline air, so my question is just that. Couldn't the OP call the airline directly and just pay the airline 'service' charges to change the flight on their own? I only say that because it just doesn't sound like Carnival is going to help them and personally, I would pay the fee and change it. But, I don't know if you can or not.

You cannot do this with the cruise line air. The tickets issued through the cruise line programs, in this case FlyAweigh, are consolidator tickets and are still owned by the cruise line, not you as an individual even though your name is on the ticket. To cancel or change one must go through the owner, the cruise line. The difference between a consolidator ticket and a regular ticket is not obvious, until you try to change it, convert it or need to be re-routed.

[karebear777]

Carnival did pay our hotel, meals, taxi fees, bag check fees, airfare to catch the plane and the Homeland Security Jones Act fee. I estimate they paid out $1500-$2000 for this flight error. Carnival ended up paying out the cost of our cruise to get us on board. All of this could have been avoided. We sent an email to the Vice president of Carnival and did receive a reply. He stated that he did not see a problem with this flight.

[chasinraynbowz]

Royal has a great cruise air program for transatlantic/euro flights. You can actually pick you own flights with a wide variety of choices.

 

 

You are correct. We booked our Med cruise and flight thru Royal and picked the exact flights we wanted. We are flying from Tenn to JFK and meeting up with the rest of our group before heading to Barcelona. I know my flights, seats, etc. Too bad Carnival doesn't do this too.

 

Op, sorry you have had such a hard time with this. I had read before never to use Carnival Air and you have reinforced that.

[oldstubblejumper]

Carnival did pay our hotel, meals, taxi fees, bag check fees, airfare to catch the plane and the Homeland Security Jones Act fee. I estimate they paid out $1500-$2000 for this flight error. Carnival ended up paying out the cost of our cruise to get us on board. All of this could have been avoided. We sent an email to the Vice president of Carnival and did receive a reply. He stated that he did not see a problem with this flight.

Karebear777,

Thanks for the update. I am glad to hear that things worked out.

 

On our first time cruising, my family had a close call as well using the Fly away program. We did make the boat but only because there were about 70 people or on the same late flight and Carnival ended up delaying the sail away for us.

We got lucky or we would have missed the ship.

Now we take care of our own travel arangements.

:)

OSJ

[MSRussell]

I booked my air through Carnival, there was a problem with the flight times. I called Carnival, who told me to call the airline. I did that, and the airline took care of me for no extra cost.

Now, I make my own arrangements.

[marshalltp]

I booked my air through Carnival, there was a problem with the flight times. I called Carnival, who told me to call the airline. I did that, and the airline took care of me for no extra cost.

Now, I make my own arrangements.

Funny how they sell the Fly Away program as not having to worry about anything, and it is the complete opposite, in fact, when you called them they get you to fix their problem for them.....quite the business model

[Sargent_Schultz]

You cannot do this with the cruise line air. The tickets issued through the cruise line programs, in this case FlyAweigh, are consolidator tickets and are still owned by the cruise line, not you as an individual even though your name is on the ticket. To cancel or change one must go through the owner, the cruise line. The difference between a consolidator ticket and a regular ticket is not obvious, until you try to change it, convert it or need to be re-routed.

 

They can still be changed by paying a fee - the same as if you booked on your own - unless you booked Southwest that doesn't charge change fees. The legacy airlines get you coming and going these days with exorbitant fees. Even if consolidator tickets, there is not much difference these days.

 

The Fly Aweigh program tells you to call THEM if there are any travel issues and they are on the hook for all kinds of expenses that you are not entitled to with standard air. In effect, they are insurance that you get to where you are going.

 

If you make your own travel arrangements, you have to pay for them NOW, whereas with cruise air you don't have to pay for air until final payment for the cruise is due.

 

Cruise air may not be the best deal, but sometimes it is the best choice and in some cases, perhaps the only choice. It is not always a horror story. Making your own travel arrangements doesn't exempt you from horror stories, either.

[oldstubblejumper]

Funny how they sell the Fly Away program as not having to worry about anything, and it is the complete opposite, in fact, when you called them they get you to fix their problem for them.....quite the business model

It used to be that (when checking a potential booking on-line) there was pricing for Carnival to manage your flights (the fly-away program) posted right in the booking engine and as well, when you called in to talk to a specialist, they would offer the fly away option. Now you never hear much about it so I suspect that Carnival is not all that crazy about their own program as well.

Regards,

OSJ

[chumley28540]

I would definitely contact the Land/Sea department from Carnival. Or talk to a supervisor because that's really ridiculous! I personally use Carnival's Fly Aweigh Program & I have never had anything like this happen to me or my family. In fact, I called them yesterday to see if they booked our air flights so I could assign my seats & they have, but they can't release it until my final payment is due (April 4). Anyways, she did leak that I have an early flight & did mention that they have guidelines for each airport as far as the latest they can book a flight. Example - For Port Canaveral, they cannot book a flight that comes into MCO-Orlando any later than 1:30 PM, and ships in Port Canaveral depart at 4:00 PM.

 

I'm sure Carnival isnt 100% consistent with this policy, just like all their policies lately. But definitely have this looked into & possibly fixed. I know I would not accept losing part of my vacation that I spent good money on!

HOw did you reach that department - do you have a number?