CHOICE AIR - pros & cons

[mrpacker03]

I agree with your post completely. Maybe I let my post get a little out of hand because of the success we, and all of our friends have had with the international low fares. These low fares have given us a chance to see Europe as we wouldn't pay the normal fares as we think they are grossly high.

Like everything else in life, there are risks involved. Each individual should weigh the pros and cons and make the decision that is right for them. One size doesn't fit all.

[epixx]

Where are all these horror stories about Choice Air or any other cruiseline sponsored airfares?

 

I thought you'd never ask! Here's a really good one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=omaha

 

The OP missed her cruise because her Choice Air tickets were non-endorsable and non-reroutable. Other passengers on her flight were accommodated with different routes because their tickets did not carry these restrictions, but because her restrictive, cruiseline airfare did not allow this, she was required to wait for the next available flight on her originally scheduled route with her originally scheduled airline.

[ORV]

I thought you'd never ask! Here's a really good one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=omaha

 

The OP missed her cruise because her Choice Air tickets were non-endorsable and non-reroutable. Other passengers on her flight were accommodated with different routes because their tickets did not carry these restrictions, but because her restrictive, cruiseline airfare did not allow this, she was required to wait for the next available flight on her originally scheduled route with her originally scheduled airline.

 

I've read all that before, if I remember right there is doubt that she was using Choice air, just regular cruise air. Not once in her first post did she mention contacting Choice Air

[nordski]

I thought you'd never ask! Here's a really good one:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=omaha

 

The OP missed her cruise because her Choice Air tickets were non-endorsable and non-reroutable. Other passengers on her flight were accommodated with different routes because their tickets did not carry these restrictions, but because her restrictive, cruiseline airfare did not allow this, she was required to wait for the next available flight on her originally scheduled route with her originally scheduled airline.

 

It's a lengthy thread, and I haven't digested it fully, but it seems that the air tickets in this case were Cruiseair not Choiceair. They are not the same programme. RCCL insists that Choiceair tickets are not consolidator tickets.

[mrpacker03]

Unless I missed something, I did not see where the poster said she had cruiseline air. It was inferred several times by other posters but how would they know? And also, this was over a year ago. She mentions insurance through the cruiseline, but that means nothing, I have that AND it covers my flight home from Ft. Lauderdale and I booked that on my own.

I don't care who uses or doesn't use cruise air or what they use for a reason, it's their own business. Let this die...

If you want something else to flame me about, I never book through the cruisline or a local TA, I use online TAs. Don't bother with your horror stories, I've heard most of them, and laugh all the way to the bank with my savings$$$$$. 24 cruises with 0 problems. I do get free upgrades ocassionly and I do get price reductions if it's before final payment.

[nordski]

Unless I missed something, I did not see where the poster said she had cruiseline air. It was inferred several times by other posters but how would they know? And also, this was over a year ago. She mentions insurance through the cruiseline, but that means nothing, I have that AND it covers my flight home from Ft. Lauderdale and I booked that on my own.

I don't care who uses or doesn't use cruise air or what they use for a reason, it's their own business. Let this die...

If you want something else to flame me about, I never book through the cruisline or a local TA, I use online TAs. Don't bother with your horror stories, I've heard most of them, and laugh all the way to the bank with my savings$$$$$. 24 cruises with 0 problems. I do get free upgrades ocassionly and I do get price reductions if it's before final payment.

 

In post #21 she states, "yes it was cruise air". But there was so much going on in this issue that perhaps that's still not a certainty.

[mrpacker03]

One last thing, I can't help myself.

Nowhere did the original poster say that she contacted the cruiseline, or the place she bought the air tickets from for help. Maybe the would have been able to help her out, or maybe not. You don't know unless you ask.

Choice Air's website addresses problems and what they'll do to help you. If you don't trust them, don't bother. I believe in trusting until the person or company does something to dispell that trust.

[SLWAtlanta]

I would probably still be in San Diego...not a bad place to be stuck...if not for Choice Air. We booked the whole trip through a travel agent and that included our airfare with Choice. On day 10 of our 14 day cruise we had a medical emergency which delayed us getting into port one full day. Everyone was scrambling with their airlines and folks who had bought with Airtran or Spirit were just out of luck. We went up to a suite on the ship where we met with a representative who rebooked us for the next day in the same business class we had originally paid for. They also paid $100 for a night in a hotel. Most folks really have to struggle onboard to get a new connection. Our travel partners ended up staying an additional 2 days in San Diego because that was the only flight they could get on. So, in that case it really helped us but come on, how often do you have an emergency mid cruise where you are delayed that long. It is worth it for my husband and I to use Choice air for this reason because we need to get back home as soon as possible to see about children and our jobs. Just something else to think about.

[SusieV]

Did you cancel your Hawaii cruise?

 

Unfortunately yes. My husband's work schedule changed and we couldn't go that week. I hope we'll get a chance to do Hawaii on an S class ship in the future.

[Chicago Boy]

Were these deeply discounted tickets, or were they approximately the same cost had you purchased the tickets directly from the airline?

 

 

Hi Gonzo 70

 

To be honest, I don't have the answer to your question. We have always used Choice Air and it has served us well. Whatever they tell us the air fare is that is what we pay. :)

[biker1972]

If you think of Choice Air like you might think of Orbitz, Expedia or Cheapo Air or even your personal TA, it might help in understanding what Gonzo and others are saying.. You are booking flights through a middleman acting as your agent. The product is the flight that is coming from the airline. The middleman gets a service fee for doing this. The middleman advertises that he will help if things go south but there is no guarantee. The middleman also does not tell you exactly what product you are getting. Sometimes there are severe restrictions that you don't know about and have a hard time finding out about until it is too late. The fine print that X includes in contracts gives them all sorts of wiggle room and does say that the tickets they book might have restictions, but the advertising hype does NOT point this out. All any of us are saying is that you need to be aware of what you are getting. X also says that the flights are in connection with a cruise and that if you cancel the cruise, the air might be cancelled, perhaps without a refund. It is in the web of fine print that you must check to be an informed buyer. Once you do the checking you can make plans that can safely get you from point A to point B at a reasonable cost. Just be AWARE!

[Jade13]

One thing no one has mentioned... if you book your air with Choice Air, then want to cancel and rebook your cruise prior to final payment (maybe to take advantage of a great promo), you have to pay the airlines penalty to rebook your flight. I recently tried to do it, and it was going to cost me $150 per ticket for rebooking the air, PLUS the fare for my flight had gone up substantially and I would have had to pay the difference. I tried to explain to them that I was not changing the air AT ALL, but since the air was connected to the original booking number, if I cancelled that, they were going to cancel my flights as well. I tried speaking with supervisors, but had no luck - so I missed out on a great promo. Now I just buy cruise insurance, which will cover my out-of-pocket expenses if I am delayed or rerouted. I am very comfortable working directly with the airlines, so if something happens, I will take my chances.

 

On another cruise, I had used Choice Air, and two days after I bought the tickets, the fare plummeted $180. (times 4 tickets) I called Choice Air, and they told me that I had to call the airline. I called the airline, and they told me that they would not refund me, but they would give me credit towards future airfare. However, since I had booked through Choice Air, I had to go back to them to get the credit. You can see where this is going. Needless to say, I got NO help from Choice Air, and none from United, so I ended up stuck with the higher airfare.

 

Good point. Many people do not understand that ChoiceAir is a department at RCCL/Celebrity. They have done a good marketing job of making some people think it is a another company. If you cancel your cruise your air is canceled too.

 

There may be a change now that if you cancel your cruise they will work with you so you can keep the air (suppose you want to now go on a land vacation or another cruise line because you do not like an itinerary change), but someone else can confirm that. It was one of the issues that I brought up when Choice Air came out.

 

I still think it is an improvement over traditional cruise air as you do have more choices, but they do not offer flights from every city in the US. You just need to understand what you are purchasing.

[Michidoeme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by epixx

The other possible explanation for KelliePoodle's pleasant experience is that his/her tickets might not have been the severely restricted variety often sold by Choice Air. Some Choice Air tickets carry these restrictions and some do not. The problem for the consumer is that he/she cannot review all the fare rules before the purchase and therefore does not know whether the tickets carry severe restrictions such as NON-REROUTABLE and NON-ENDORSABLE.

Great point.

 

And the other important point is that all flights originating or ending in a EU country fall under the EU Passenger Rights act which regulates strictly the assistance and compensation to passengers in case of delayed or cancelled flights, delayed or lost luggage, etc. This act makes no differentiation between passengers paying different fares within same class (but amount of compenstion might be different for economy, business, first) and is a great incentive to the airlines to make sure their passengers plus luggage arrive as close to original schedule as possible.

 

We have used Choice air a couple times for one way tickets for repositioning cruises and no complaints.

[odysee]

Not paranoid in the least. In fact I have used Choice Air before and it worked out fine (and saved me a lot of money) and I will probably use them again in the future. My post was simply alerting people that there are both pros and cons to Choice Air and that it is prudent to be aware of both so that one can make an informed decision. Seems like you prefer the Pollyanna approach. If you do your due diligence you will see that the boards are replete with both positive and negative stories of people's experiences with Choice Air.

 

Your points are very valid and as you say, people might not be aware.

However, I think these same or very similar points are valid when you book the cheap tickets via Ebookers, Expedia, Kayak and other similar websites and also here some people are not aware of them.

[Gonzo70]

Your points are very valid and as you say, people might not be aware.

However, I think these same or very similar points are valid when you book the cheap tickets via Ebookers, Expedia, Kayak and other similar websites and also here some people are not aware of them.

 

Yes, the same often applies when booking with such agencies.

[odysee]

Yes, the same often applies when booking with such agencies.

 

And that is probably reason of uproar (exaggeration) if you point out these issues here because people get impression that they are only related to Choice Air bookings and do not see that they would have same or similar when booking cheap tickets elsewhere.

[NancyIL]

Hi Gonzo 70

 

To be honest, I don't have the answer to your question. We have always used Choice Air and it has served us well. Whatever they tell us the air fare is that is what we pay. :)

 

You don't bother to shop around, eh? :eek:

[montecarlo0407]

my experience with choice air is horrible. I made the mistake of booking choice air for my upcoming cruise and I am very sorry I did. They booked me a United Flight operated by Copa Air at a cost of $160.00 more than the flight is with Copa Air. The price match offer that they are offering right now is something they do not stand behind. So of course they would not price match the flight. Actually they told me "the bottom line is they will not price match my flight." Now I find out from United that Choice Air booked it wrong and they should have booked directly with Copa Air. So I called Choice Air talked to a supervisor named Jeffrey and he said he would not change my booking to Copa Air unless I paid a penalty. Even though it was Choice Air mistake they still want me to pay more. When Choice Air first booked my flight through United Choice Air did not provide me with the proper booking number nor did they provide me with a seat number (even though on RCCL site it says that choice air provides you with a seat number). In order to get my proper information I had to call United they gave me my Copa Air booking number then I had to call Copa to book my seats. After all this frustration of me calling to get my right booking number and booking my own seat, I called choice air and told them according to the RCCL website they were supposed to do all this for me. Choice Air in turns asks me to read it from the website where it says thats what they are supposed to do. If you book with Choice air plan on paying much more than the 15 to 25 dollar fee they automatically charge. Plan on paying an inflated airfare amount and plan on doing all the work yourself to get yourself a seat assignment. Plan on dealing with very rude people that offer no customer service but yet will be very combative with you when you tell them what RCCL says what they are supposed to do for you. Just plan on headaches and aggravation when booking through choice air.:mad:

[richsea]

I am confused. Choice air does not book your flight; you pick the flight from the choices provided. How can you say that they booked the wrong flight?

[Christine Frances]

I am confused. Choice air does not book your flight; you pick the flight from the choices provided. How can you say that they booked the wrong flight?

 

This confusion could be eliminated by RCI/Celebrity/Azamara ceasing to call "cruise air" the same as "Choice Air". The real Choice Air is a good product and it should not be confused with cruise/air that is sold by the cruise lines with mystery flights that are assigned at final pay't

 

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[Lady Arwen]

We just recently booked our air with ChoiceAir for our 2 upcoming Summit cruises. We chose the flights we wanted without any problems. Their price was actually slightly cheaper than the airline's and Expedia. As we have not taken these flights yet, it remains to be seen if they live up to all their promises. We're hopeful that we won't have any issues.

[waterbug123]

Choice Air has stated on this board that they will do their best to work around any issues and even pick up the tab for additional expenses that materialize if flight delays/cancellations lead one to miss their cruise. Hopefully they will make good on this promise.

 

THe important thing to note of course, is that the "promise" is not a promise to get you on any particular flight or to get you to the ship etc. The "promise" is to "work with the airlines...." In other words, they promise to TRY, not to DO.

 

I was ticketed through Choice Air for my recent cruise and missed my connection in Paris for the flight to Venice. We were re-ticketed for the next flight 2 .5 hours later and given a voucher for a sandwich and a beverage by the airline. No one ever mentioned "Choice Air"

 

We were treated exactly the same as the thirty or so other passengers who missed the same flight due to late arriving planes.

 

I am certain you have reasons for your theory, but I have found no evidence of the problems you propose with a missed connection.

 

There are anecdotal reports of people getting exactly the type of response that you reported, but also reports of people who did NOT get the positive response you did.

[waterbug123]

We just booked Choice Air for the first time. The tickets were over $50pp cheaper than I could get on my own even for a regular Caribbean sailing and since our outbound flight is direct I wasn't too worried about missing the trip. We have a connection coming home but if we get held up, that's okay.

 

People always seem to think that most flight risks are associated with connections, and that if they have a non-stop (which, by the way, is completely different that "direct") flight they won't have issues. While a nonstop certainly reduces the risks, it does not eliminate them. You can arrive at the airport for the first flight out, on a nonstop, and be delayed because:

- a mechanical problem pops up with the aircraft as the pilots go through their pre-flight check list

- the crew got in late the night before and must wait out the mandatory rest period before they can fly again

- there is weather or some other situation at your departure airport that delays all flights

- there is weather or some other situation at your arrival airport that causes your flight to be held at the departure airport for a period of time

- other things, but those are a few of the most common ones I've experienced

[waterbug123]

It's a lengthy thread, and I haven't digested it fully, but it seems that the air tickets in this case were Cruiseair not Choiceair. They are not the same programme. RCCL insists that Choiceair tickets are not consolidator tickets.

 

I believe the old Cruise Air and the new Choice Air are essentially the same; Royal just changed the manner in which the particular flights are selected. But the tickets are the same as they always were.

 

As for Royal insistence that they do not use consolidator tickets, it's a matter of semantics. They called their cheapest fares "specially negotiated fares." These "specially negotiated fares" often carry all the same types of restrictions that consolidator fares do. You can call it whatever you want, but if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck....

[tamsno]

I recently booked Reflection April TA which required flying PHL-MIA and then FCO-PHL. I booked ChoiceAir for the first time. Their fare for the AA/BA flights I wanted was less than 50% of the going rate on all online sites including American and BA, with nonstop to MIA and one 2H connection in LHR to PHL. Other lines fly/cruise options prices were always approximately the same as independent booking. I hope the "you get what you pay for" demon does not pup up!