Warning: Choice Air

[TERRIER1]

Btw, what type of discount does Oceania give if you do not take their air on an international flight?

 

I am booked on a 2012 Barcelona to Lisbon and if your do not take the air then you get a credit of $1125 pp. The credit is different for all cruises.

[Jade13]

i am booked on a 2012 barcelona to lisbon and if your do not take the air then you get a credit of $1125 pp. The credit is different for all cruises.

 

wow.

[gr8lakes]

Yes, in the past we have received $1,000 air credit from Oceania and Silversea has also given us $950. These were on European cruises.

 

It is a shame because we'd like to book Azamara, but frankly the price differences between an all inclusive like Silversea or Seabourn are not much if we do not use Choice Air and don't get the Azamara cabin discount by doing so. I don't want to pay more for a cabin because I don't use their air. I agree Azamara should rethink this.

[Jade13]

Yes, in the past we have received $1,000 air credit from Oceania and Silversea has also given us $950. These were on European cruises.

 

It is a shame because we'd like to book Azamara, but frankly the price differences between an all inclusive like Silversea or Seabourn are not much if we do not use Choice Air and don't get the Azamara cabin discount by doing so. I don't want to pay more for a cabin because I don't use their air. I agree Azamara should rethink this.

 

That is per person, correct?

[gr8lakes]

Jade13

 

Yes, when the fare per person on those lines shows "air included, " the reduction for not using the air is per person, so $1,000 pp deduction off the cruise fare for example.

[nanwel]

Not keen on Cruise air prices, or itinery - wanted me to go from Toronto to New York to Seattle to Hong Kong - cost more and took longer than flying from Toronto to Seattle to Hong Kong via any carrier I priced with on line - and it was only going to be a $500 credit for a single cruiser in a balcony cabin

[cpgrneyes]

I guess I've been lucky with Choice Air. During the promotion, I booked a 7 day to Europe and received $1,000 total off my cruise price. I got the same Delta flights I could have booked directly for about $100 less - this was in October.

 

Just this month, I decided that our one week on land was going to cost more than adding a B2B, but it meant changing the dat and return airport on my flight. The Choice Air change fee and fare increase total was $325 pp, less than if I would have gone surely thru Delta.

 

YMMV, but so far I've saved money, they've been very helpful, and everything iwas instantly available on delta.com to get my medallion seats, etc.

[Jade13]

The Choice Air change fee and fare increase total was $325 pp, less than if I would have gone surely thru Delta.

 

quote]

 

The change fee would have been the same. It is not a "Choice Air change fee" but the fee from the airline. Most airlines charge a $250.00 per person change fee (on a non-refundable" flight), plus the differance in airfare.

 

Many people would consider the extra $650.00 to make the change a large amount.

[cpgrneyes]

The Choice Air change fee and fare increase total was $325 pp, less than if I would have gone surely thru Delta.

 

quote]

 

The change fee would have been the same. It is not a "Choice Air change fee" but the fee from the airline. Most airlines charge a $250.00 per person change fee (on a non-refundable" flight), plus the differance in airfare.

 

Many people would consider the extra $650.00 to make the change a large amount.

 

Of course a $650 change is expensive, that wasn't my point. My point is that the fee charged by Choice Air was no more, and probably less, than changing it directly through the airline. For us, the $650 will still save us money doing a B2B rather than the land portion we had planned, and it was effortless and very efficient through Choice Air, not full of restrictions and hassles as others have experienced.

 

I want other CC members to realize there ARE plusses to Choice Air. For us, the $1,000 promotion was well worth it. FWIW, if we booked the same air itinerary today, we would be paying $675 PP MORE than the total we paid including the change. Granted, air fares have increased in the 6 months we booked, but half of that increase (the return) in theory was paid for as part of the change.

[BrendaJ]

Quick question for those of you in the know: Is there any advantage to using Choice Air other than the promotions that seem to surface quite often?

When we used to cruise with Celebrity, we used cruise line air because, from Toronto, their price was often cheaper than what we could do ourselves, and transfers were included if you booked their air (assuming there was no deviation). Air did not get charged to your credit card until final payment. If you cancelled the cruise before final payment, your air was automatically cancelled with no penalty. We were also under the impression that if your flight was delayed and there were enough people on your flight, the cruise line might hold the ship a short while to allow you to reach the port; at least they would be responsible for getting you to the next port in the event that you missed departure completely.

From what I understand, Choice Air does not include transfers, the prices are not always competitive, you pay for the air at the time of booking it and it is non-refundable. It does not include transfers.

While on board Journey last week, we booked a Rio Carnival cruise for February (which is considered a holiday sailing and not eligible for the Choice Air promotions).

Is there any benefit at all to using Choice Air, other than the promotions?

[MightyQuinn]

From what I understand, Choice Air does not include transfers, the prices are not always competitive, you pay for the air at the time of booking it and it is non-refundable. It does not include transfers.

On the surface, Choice Air doesn't seem to be advantageous at all, unless you also qualify for a reduction in your cruise fare by using it. Like you, I'm trying to understand the nuances of Choice Air. We usually make our own air arrangements. However, an AZ cruise that we're considering is eligible for a fare reduction IF we use Choice Air. It's an intriguing way to hook pax into using Choice Air.

[cpgrneyes]

I'm sure there are some disadvantages, but in our case, Choice Air was slightly less than booking direct, the flights are cancelable (with a hefty penalty), and we saved $1,000 on our cruise. Would I book the Choice Air without the promotion? Doubtful.

[suec12]

We have always booked our own air in the past but for our upcoming trip we have booked the Choice Air in order to receive the fare reduction on the cruise. I think Azamara is using this not so much to "hook us into using Choice Air" as an attempt to maintain the new price points they have set for their cruises. As far as I can tell there has been little discounting of the new higher prices, instead various promos (OBCs, 50% shore excursions, and the Choice Air cruise credit). For us it seems to have been a "no brainer" - the Choice Air fare we got was the same as the best posted rate on Delta - we got the flights we wanted, FF miles will be accrued and $1000 credited to our cruise fare. Now hopefully the rest will go off without a hitch. But I do think the promo is a bit unfair for those who for one reason or another can not take advantage of it. It is essentially a reduction in the price of the cruise and there is not a credit for "Free Air" like other lines use.

[Jade13]

On the surface, Choice Air doesn't seem to be advantageous at all, unless you also qualify for a reduction in your cruise fare by using it. Like you, I'm trying to understand the nuances of Choice Air. We usually make our own air arrangements. However, an AZ cruise that we're considering is eligible for a fare reduction IF we use Choice Air. It's an intriguing way to hook pax into using Choice Air.

 

Did you book the cruise? If so, what did you decide to do regarding air?

 

This was posted on the Cruise Air board:

 

From the Choice Air website: "Airline tickets we issue are highly restrictive and you may find that your ticket cannot be exchanged, reissued or revalidated for another carrier or routing"

[jcrandle]

I'll weigh in on my experience with the booking phase of Choice Air. I am booked on the Celebrity Solstice 11/16/11 BCN-BCN followed by the Solstice TA BCN-FLL. When I started looking at open jaw fares I was astonished. Expedia quoted $2000 pp. Other booking engines were similar. These were for economy, non-refundable fares with significant change penalties. Despite some of the posted concerns about Choice Air, I decided to check it out. I booked a Delta economy MEM-ATL-BCN with a nonstop FLL-MEM return for $762.08 pp plus the $25 Choice Air booking fee (actually $25.26 including tax).

 

So for $1200 less per person, I got great connections, at no added penalty situations.

 

My advice is don't discount Choice Air until you've compared all of the options. In my case it was a slam dunk!

[Jade13]

I'll weigh in on my experience with the booking phase of Choice Air. I am booked on the Celebrity Solstice 11/16/11 BCN-BCN followed by the Solstice TA BCN-FLL. When I started looking at open jaw fares I was astonished. Expedia quoted $2000 pp. Other booking engines were similar. These were for economy, non-refundable fares with significant change penalties. Despite some of the posted concerns about Choice Air, I decided to check it out. I booked a Delta economy MEM-ATL-BCN with a nonstop FLL-MEM return for $762.08 pp plus the $25 Choice Air booking fee (actually $25.26 including tax).

 

So for $1200 less per person, I got great connections, at no added penalty situations.

 

My advice is don't discount Choice Air until you've compared all of the options. In my case it was a slam dunk!

 

As long as you do not have to cancel your cruises. If you do the air gets canceled and you can not reuse it for a land vacation or for another cruise on a different cruise line.

 

Btw, Aer Lingus and Iceland air have true one way airfares to/from Europe.

[MightyQuinn]

Did you book the cruise? If so, what did you decide to do regarding air?

Well as it turns out, the AZ cruise we were considering isn't part of the Choice Air promo, so all bets are off. Rather odd, since the sailings on either side of it are included. But just for fun, I checked out Choice Air, at least as far as I could without a booking number. I was very impressed with what they returned as possible flights. Good connections, legacy carriers, great price. So if that particular cruise ever gets listed under the Choice Air promo, we may take a serious look.

[fla742]

As someone who has bitterly complained about Azamara's Corporate incompetence, I must confess that when it came to Choice Air they were wonderful.

 

We are doing a European B2B and taking a week on land both before and after our cruises.

 

I did my homework and knew exactly what flights I wanted. Because we are B2B we had to call rather than using the web site.

 

Their representatives came up with rates that were $400pp more than what I had found, I asked about the flights I wanted, they booked them at slightly more than I was able to find, didn't charge the fee and I got my Choice Air Credit. In fact, when I looked at an Oceania Cruise there was going to be a charge of $150pp for "air deviation".

 

As for losing out If you have to cancel, don't book your air until you are certain you are going or alternatively, take out travel insurance that includes air.

[TheNit]

We booked the Norwegian Fjord cruise and at that time it was the $500 pp ChoiceAir promotion (outside cabin). When booking, I said that I wasn't prepared to book ChoiceAir because were going to wait and decide if we were going early for a stay in Copenhagen. It was coming up to full payment time and we still hadn't booked out air. I asked AZ if they would credit the $500 pp whenwe booked the air and they said that they would take the $500 off before full payment because they couldn't/wouldn't refund. I'm now going to book air and I see no reason to book with ChoiceAir. From Toronto to Copenhagen, ChoiceAir quoted $1800 RT for the same flight I could get directly from Air Canada for $1400. I'll try them again but it seemd strange that I would be paying an extra $400 to get a $500 credit. I noticed now that the cruise no longer has the ChoiceAir promotion and the cruise fare is about $200 less so maybe that is why I'm not being forced to use ChoiceAir.

[MightyQuinn]

In fact, when I looked at an Oceania Cruise there was going to be a charge of $150pp for "air deviation".

Unless it has changed very recently, Oceania charges $100 pp for air deviation. There may be an additional charge if you're not flying from a gateway city or if you request specific flights/carriers beyond their contracts, but their standard deviation fee is $100 pp.

[Jade13]

Well as it turns out, the AZ cruise we were considering isn't part of the Choice Air promo, so all bets are off. Rather odd, since the sailings on either side of it are included. But just for fun, I checked out Choice Air, at least as far as I could without a booking number. I was very impressed with what they returned as possible flights. Good connections, legacy carriers, great price. So if that particular cruise ever gets listed under the Choice Air promo, we may take a serious look.

 

I thought you booked the cruise when the $500.00 OBC was available?

 

If someone has already booked the cruise, they run into the issue of whether they should purchase the air now, or take a chance if they wait it will go up. Plus, now they have to wonder if the Choice Air promo for their date will show up at a later date, perhaps weeks before final payment is due. How would they feel if they purchased the air now, and weeks later the promo comes out, their air is non-refundable and they are paying $1,000.00 more for their cruise fare because their air is not booked through Choice Air? That is the situation that we are in (although the Choice Air promo was on our booking and the cruise line failed to tell us about it.)

 

It doesn't matter how great our cruise will be this year, we won't forget about Azamara charging us an additional $1,000.00 on our cruise fare (caused by their own employees not telling us about the promo) and refusing to do anything at all. We canceled a second cruise this year on Azamara partly because of management and are going on HAL instead. Next year we are going on Celebrity instead of Azamara, and it is all because of this issue. We are not the only ones, and won't be the last, to run into a problem caused by the cruise line running these Choice Air promotions inconsistently and refusing a credit/discount for those not booked through Choice Air, many because they were not told about it, it became available after they already made flight arrangements, or it was never available from their departure city.

[Jade13]

 

As for losing out If you have to cancel, don't book your air until you are certain you are going or alternatively, take out travel insurance that includes air.

 

In our case we never planned to cancel, but there were drastic itinerary changes on a number of cruises. Additionally, we purchase insurance at final payment date and this happened one week before final payment was due.

[Jade13]

We booked the Norwegian Fjord cruise and at that time it was the $500 pp ChoiceAir promotion (outside cabin). When booking, I said that I wasn't prepared to book ChoiceAir because were going to wait and decide if we were going early for a stay in Copenhagen. It was coming up to full payment time and we still hadn't booked out air. I asked AZ if they would credit the $500 pp whenwe booked the air and they said that they would take the $500 off before full payment because they couldn't/wouldn't refund. I'm now going to book air and I see no reason to book with ChoiceAir. From Toronto to Copenhagen, ChoiceAir quoted $1800 RT for the same flight I could get directly from Air Canada for $1400. I'll try them again but it seemd strange that I would be paying an extra $400 to get a $500 credit. I noticed now that the cruise no longer has the ChoiceAir promotion and the cruise fare is about $200 less so maybe that is why I'm not being forced to use ChoiceAir.

 

Did you get the $200.00 per person credit?

[TheNit]

Did you get the $200.00 per person credit?

Upon further investigation and talking to my TA, I did not receive the $500 pp credit when I paid in full (as I was told). I actually had 2 billings on my card, one for $1000 and one for the balance. I've found out that when I book the air (with ChoiceAir) I will have the $1000 charge credited. I was all set to book outside of ChoiceAir and if I hadn't been checking Cruise Critic for Norway excursions, I would have screwed it up. To make it worse, when I booked the cruise (I'm in Canada) ,the Cdn dollar was only worth $.97 US and now it is $1.03 so I was confused about the new price (quoted in USD) so the price hasn't dropped, only the ChoiceAir promotion has been dropped.

 

Sorry about the misinformation.

[Jade13]

Upon further investigation and talking to my TA, I did not receive the $500 pp credit when I paid in full (as I was told). I actually had 2 billings on my card, one for $1000 and one for the balance. I've found out that when I book the air (with ChoiceAir) I will have the $1000 charge credited. I was all set to book outside of ChoiceAir and if I hadn't been checking Cruise Critic for Norway excursions, I would have screwed it up. To make it worse, when I booked the cruise (I'm in Canada) ,the Cdn dollar was only worth $.97 US and now it is $1.03 so I was confused about the new price (quoted in USD) so the price hasn't dropped, only the ChoiceAir promotion has been dropped.

 

Sorry about the misinformation.

 

So, even though the Choice Air promotion has been dropped, because it was coded on your booking, Azamara is still going to honor it?

 

That is interesting that they will do a credit (to credit card) after final payment. I assume most people finalize air before making final payment.