Complimentary air travel - curse or blessing?

[happy2golf]

We're beginning to wish we hadn't booked a Silversea cruise (our first with SS) which gave complimentary air travel. We booked early January 2011 and paid quite a large deposit for travel in October 2012. We intimated from the start that we were interested in an upgrade on the air travel from economy to premium economy (or its equivalent). We were told they regularly use BA or Virgin but it was too early to say at that time.

 

To cut a long story short, when we enquired recently, we were told we had been booked (without any consultation) on BA economy. We enquired about an upgrade on one leg of the journey - the overnight flight home.

 

The cost of this flight, including taxes, on the BA web site is £731.47 economy, £827.39 premium economy - a difference of £95.92. Silversea have quoted us £819 per person to upgrade to premium economy. When we queried the tremendous difference in cost Silversea simply said "the cost is the cost". BA say, obviously, they can't answer for SS but "taxes etc" and the original cost of the ticket they purchased could answer for the difference but we simply can't believe there should be such a significant difference! Aren't we correct in thinking that SS haven't got the air travel for free - therefore, haven't they really included the cost of the so-called "complimentary" air fare in the total cruise price??

 

In addition to this, we can't reserve our seats on the aircraft until our e-tickets are issued and then we have to pay another £25 each or wait until we check in on-line 24 hours before - which we can't do as we won't have internet access readily available - we shall be on holiday!

 

This coupled with SS's excessive charges for post-cruise hotel accommodation makes us feel we've set off on the wrong footing.

 

Are we right in thinking that in future it's a mistake to take "complimentary" air travel?

 

By the way, a few months ago SS were offering $1000 on board credit and kept sending us emails telling us so. When we enquired we couldn't have it because we have "complimentary" air travel!!

[Observer]

In nearly all cases, I decline the free air travel and receive a discount on the fare. Silversea apparently has good contracts with airlines for reduced-price economy and business class travel. You, however, wanted premium economy, and I would not be surprised if their contracts do not cover that class of service. Why don't you see if you can decline the free air, get the discount, and make arrangements yourself. Note: I am resident in the US. I see that you are a UK resident. It may be that options for US travelers are not open to UK travelers, and vice versa.

[Mayflower1]

I agree with 'Observer' - Silversea do not generally quote for Premium Economy but do have some good deals on Economy & Business Class travel hence their Complimentary & Promotion fares. To achieve a quote for a one way upgrade via the BA Website is difficult and is not merely a half of the return difference.

From our experience ( we have travelled extensively with Silversea ) their fares are variable in value depending on location, but you do get the reassurance of travel during times of difficulty i.e. Strikes - they will get you to the ship or offer a full refund - this may not be as easy if you buy your own Flights.

The subject of Seat selection is a pain ( not of Silverseas making ) - Tickets can usually be issued 3 months ahead of travel ( you will have to pay the full amount at that time ) which then enables you to book Seats. Alternatively as you say Seats can be selected 24hrs ahead of travel online - You can try to do this onboard but from my experience the Internet Connections are often very slow.

 

I hope this may be of some help but in todays world most things that are 'Complimentary' are often less so when fully investigated.

 

I totally agree with your thoughts re Silversea Hotel pricing - they are often 30-50% more than available elsewhere ( but generally the prices do include Transfers !! ).

[farbster]

Out of curiosity, did you use a travel agent, or did you book directly with Silversea?

[Randyk47]

Generally speaking we don't use cruise line air. When we booked our upcoming Med cruise we did leave the "complimentary" air in place and also signed up for the upgrade to business class. I have to say that when we went to price the same basic flight itinerary we couldn't do any better than what Silversea was charging. We did eventually drop Silversea air in favor of using our frequent flier miles to travel first/business class on our preferred carrier but it wasn't because Silversea's arrangements were bad. Interestingly Silversea's "free" or "complimentary" air actually was a hidden cost in the basic cruise fare and once we dropped it we got a $1,000 per person reduction. We're cruising with friends who are staying with Silversea air and the upgrade as they discovered they couldn't match or improve upon the fare. I give Silversea pretty high or at least positive marks for that as our experience with other cruise line air had always been we could do substantially better ourselves.

[happy2golf]

Out of curiosity, did you use a travel agent, or did you book directly with Silversea?

 

We booked with our Travel Agent. It was she who contacted SS regarding their constant emails to us offering $1000 onboard credit. We were told we could drop the comp air travel in order to receive it but that the air fare would be in excess of that amount - correct.

 

Thank you all for your comments. We agree that here in the UK we seem to get far less advantageous deals than those of you in the USA. We shall be wise in retrospect with this one. As I mentioned, although we've cruised many times, this will be our first with SS, our first small ship and our first "inclusive" cruise. We were a bit niggled by SS's attitude - "the cost is the cost" etc - but will try not to let it spoil a holiday we are really looking forward to. Then all we need is to not be able to get two seats together on the flight home - not SS's fault we know - but that would really niggle!!

 

All the best to everyone.

 

Happy2golf

[philipb]

With Silversea I try and go on cruises that start or end in ports serviced by British Airways, and I book 'cruise only'. I'm fortunate in having plenty of BA Miles so last October/November I flew Business to Lisbon, then did the transatlantic on Silver Spirit (see my review) and flew home First from Barbados. All for the cost of the taxes (not very much at all) and a 20 Euro taxi ride in Lisbon. Much cheaper than booking via SS!!!

[Randyk47]

We booked with our Travel Agent. It was she who contacted SS regarding their constant emails to us offering $1000 onboard credit. We were told we could drop the comp air travel in order to receive it but that the air fare would be in excess of that amount - correct.

 

Thank you all for your comments. We agree that here in the UK we seem to get far less advantageous deals than those of you in the USA. We shall be wise in retrospect with this one. As I mentioned, although we've cruised many times, this will be our first with SS, our first small ship and our first "inclusive" cruise. We were a bit niggled by SS's attitude - "the cost is the cost" etc - but will try not to let it spoil a holiday we are really looking forward to. Then all we need is to not be able to get two seats together on the flight home - not SS's fault we know - but that would really niggle!!

 

All the best to everyone.

 

Happy2golf

 

Our Med cruise will be our first Silversea cruise and it has been an interesting experience from when we first booked this cruise in February 2011 until now. Let me say it's actually been pleasant but different than our experiences with other cruise lines. When we initially booked we got what we thought was a good fare for an interesting itinerary and that initially was good enough for us. The incentives were a significantly reduced basic cruise fare which, by the way, we viewed with a little bit of skepticism, "free" or "complimentary" coach air, and an offer to upgrade the coach air to business class for a substantial but not unreasonable fee.

 

A few months later we noticed that Silversea was advertising an additional incentive of $1,000 ($500 per person) on board credit for ours and a number of other cruises. We're not using an independent TA for this cruise so we called our cruise consultant at Silversea and she was able to get the on board credit added to our reservation. Couldn't be happier with that and how easy it was to ask for and get.

 

Next change for us was that we dropped the "free/complimentary" coach air and canceled the upgrade. Since we were going to pay extra for the air upgrade we fully expected that charge would disappear and it did. What kind of surprised us was in addition to removing that charge was that Silversea also credited us an additional $1,000 per person for dropping the coach air. Guess the "free" coach air was not exactly free but it was nice that they gave us credit. Again, couldn't be happier with how that all was handled.

 

What happened next was probably the most surprising. About two weeks before final payment Silversea came out with a sale on a series of cruises including ours. It was a further 5% reduction in the basic fare and for a 14-day cruise that was a fairly significant chunk of cash. The surprising aspect was that we had seen mass market lines typical price reductions before but those were almost always after final payment which effectively makes the offers not available to already booked and paid passengers. At the time I figured no harm, no foul so I called our cruise consultant and asked about the sale. I have to admit she hesitated for a moment but checked with her supervisor and we were quickly given the new fare without having to rebook or lose our on board credit. Again, if any of you has dealt with the typical cruise line this is really a different experience and pleasant surprise.

 

For you experienced and frequent Silversea cruisers this is probably not all that special or surprising. Indeed, maybe it is the level of service and consideration you've come to expect and have gotten from Silversea. We're coming over from Holland America and while that's not a bad cruise line I'm not sure we'd gotten the same level of service out of them. We haven't really started to research our 2013 vacation but have to say one of the first considerations will be to see what Silversea is offering. :)

[wripro]

I hate the use of the word "complimentary." It is included and that is a big difference. Do you think they would give a credit for not using it if it were truly complimentary?

[Randyk47]

Technically Silversea actually calls it "free" air but if they give you a $1,000 per person credit if you don't use it then there's nothing free about it. So much for "free" or "complimentary". :)

[rl787]

If the flight is on BA quite often you can upgrade at check in. BA regularly have promotions to upgrade on a pay per leg basis, from memory last time it was £200 each from economy to premium economy from Heathrow to New York. it is well worth a call to BA customer service about this.

Try to forget this poor response from Silversea, once you are on board I am sure you will relax and have a great time.

[CanadianKate]

I hate the use of the word "complimentary." It is included and that is a big difference. Do you think they would give a credit for not using it if it were truly complimentary?

 

I can say for a fact, they won't! Alcoholic drinks are complimentary on Silversea but, aside from our first cruise, caviar is not. So we asked if we could have a free caviar since we didn't drink alcohol. And were turned down.

 

What I like about the airfare package is that for repositioning cruises, the one way flights could cost more than the cruise but Silversea can offer them for enough less that the cruise+air meets the per diem we have in mind when looking for a cruise.

 

For our Fort Lauderdale to Alaska cruises, it made sense to book our own airfare but for Capetown to Barcelona , it is far cheaper to use Silversea so this new marketing works well for us.

[wripro]

As long as you don't want to travel in business class.

[CanadianKate]

Even traveling in business class, the savings are huge if the promo is on.

 

At least from here to Europe, Asia or Africa, there are no one-way deals to be had.

 

Last year, we booked return, reward flights to Hong Kong and flew one-way on Virgin from Hong Kong to Sydney to reduce our costs. But there aren't affordable one-way fares from Barcelona to Capetown, or from Capetown to Barcelona so the surcharge for business class (which we took only for the Toronto to Capetown flight, not Barcelona home since that will be a daytime flight and about 7 hours) was quite reasonable ($2250 each compared to at least $6K per person flying discounted J.)

 

For our particular dates, because we are flying home to Canada during our 'March Break' there actually weren't any seats on the flight back from Frankfurt to Toronto, but somehow there were seats on that flight for Silversea's Air department. So we ended up with good airline choices (SAA on the way down, and AC for the TATL home), we have lie flat seats for the long, long, long, flight to South Africa, and just two economy seats together for the TATL home (the plane is 2-4-2) with AC's inflight entertainment system plus power at our seat to keep us entertained during the daytime flight. All for just $2250 each. Sounds like a bargain to me.

 

 

 

 

[SanFranCruizer]

We have used Silversea air twice and both times, we have gotten exactly what we wanted, but my TA suggested both times we pay the $100 deviation fee, which gives you far more latitude than if you just accept what they assign you. I think that may be the way to go with Silversea (same with Regent) if you want more say about carrier, time of flight, etc.)

[luvtojump]

I think you are getting "onboard" credit and "air" credit confused. Because you are cruising in late 2012, it's not too late to take off your SS air.

 

Your TA should explore all options regarding purchasing air independently versus using SS's to see what is your best value. Same with any pre or post cruise hotel stays.

 

Get him/her more involved.

 

I hope you enjoy your first Silversea experience!

[kiltie]

How interesting to hear this tale - we tried to book a Silversea cruise in South America a few months ago and were also quoted an exorbitant price for premium economy. We have been with Silversea twice before but I think we must have had a travel agent's package as opposed to a Silversea one because on one of these occasions we did get the $1000 obc. We actually abandoned the South America idea and are now going somewhere else with Seabourn in March. We did manage to book premium economy with them!:

 

:(

We're beginning to wish we

hadn't booked a Silversea cruise (our first with SS) which gave complimentary air travel. We booked early January 2011 and paid quite a large deposit for travel in October 2012. We intimated from the start that we were interested in an upgrade on the air travel from economy to premium economy (or its equivalent). We were told they regularly use BA or Virgin but it was too early to say at that time.

 

To cut a long story short, when we enquired recently, we were told we had been booked (without any consultation) on BA economy. We enquired about an upgrade on one leg of the journey - the overnight flight home.

 

The cost of this flight, including taxes, on the BA web site is £731.47 economy, £827.39 premium economy - a difference of £95.92. Silversea have quoted us £819 per person to upgrade to premium economy. When we queried the tremendous difference in cost Silversea simply said "the cost is the cost". BA say, obviously, they can't answer for SS but "taxes etc" and the original cost of the ticket they purchased could answer for the difference but we simply can't believe there should be such a significant difference! Aren't we correct in thinking that SS haven't got the air travel for free - therefore, haven't they really included the cost of the so-called "complimentary" air fare in the total cruise price??

 

In addition to this, we can't reserve our seats on the aircraft until our e-tickets are issued and then we have to pay another £25 each or wait until we check in on-line 24 hours before - which we can't do as we won't have internet access readily available - we shall be on holiday!

 

This coupled with SS's excessive charges for post-cruise hotel accommodation makes us feel we've set off on the wrong footing.

 

Are we right in thinking that in future it's a mistake to take "complimentary" air travel?

 

By the way, a few months ago SS were offering $1000 on board credit and kept sending us emails telling us so. When we enquired we couldn't have it because we have "complimentary" air travel!!

[SusanNJ]

Last year they routed me out of JFK on Icelandic instead of a more convenient airport. This year I picked a Continental flight out of the airport I wanted. My TA was perserving and I was booked on the flight I requested. When you take SS air the transfer is included. As we are leaving from South Hampton it was a no brainer. They are not even offering a precruise hotel due to the Olympics.

[Dallas Aggie]

Somewhat related to this thread, does anyone have a history of using the complimentary air from US to Asia? How many flight segments to get from point A to point B? We have done a few European cruises and opted for using our own miles, but I can't find any mileage flights for Hong Kong / Singapore later this year. (2 days before Thanksgiving is not the best time to look for a flight using points!) I believe SS prefers Star Alliance and then Delta, but I really don't want to be forced to make 2 air stops each way. Being in Dallas we certainly have to change once.

[Bramcruiser]

Interesting read. Being new to Silversea myself I was convinced by the travel agent I was dealing with that it made sense to take the free economy air package for now while booking the cruise. They did have the $1,000 off promotion going on if I had decided to do cruise only.

 

I had mention that its way to early to decide anything but that I usually like to spend a few days visiting the applicable area post and/or pre cruise. Since my booked cruise was in summer of 2013 I just wasn' sure what I'd being doing at this point. He seemed to think it was cheaper to go with the air package and pay only the deviation fee and any applicable airline charges than to pay for separate air. Considering I live in Canada and I know one way fares to London and Reykjavik are not exactly cheap there appears to be some sense to it. So in the end I went for it.

 

The great unknown is just what would the increase be if I decide later on to stay a few days in either city and not fly in at the date of cruise departure or out upon arrival. I must admit this is one issue I am just not sure of myself on. I never booked the cruise line's air program before but with other lines it tends to be an add-on and not a hidden part of the cost.

[happy2golf]

Interesting to read all your responses - thank you for that. We haven't taken any action so far, deciding perhaps to run with things as they are this time around.

 

Happy2golf