Booking flights through Celebrity

[mimlypops]

Dear All,

 

We are considering booking a cruise with Celebrity from Barcelona with flights from UK included. We have only ever previously cruised with Princess and usually book our own flights to arrive day before cruise. In this case the flight would arrive on the morning of the cruise. Arrival 11am. Cruise depart 5pm.

 

May I please ask for advice as to whether you have experienced either problems re reliability of flights arranged by Celebrity and also whether they leave you sitting at the airport for a long time waiting for other flights to come in before they transfer you to the ship.

 

Many thanks for any help you can offer.

[ghstudio]

As with many things, what happened "last time" has nothing to do with what you will experience. If you let the cruise line schedule your flights, well...you've left it up to them and you have to live with their choice.

 

Unless it were a fantastic bargain, we would never consider letting someone else pick our airlines, routing and flights. That doesn't mean I wouldn't book through choice air...I would and I have...but that's different because I can pick my flights, etc.

 

Yes, the Galapagos cruise is different...in that case you do want celebrity to arrange the flights to/from Baltra...but it's the very rare exception.

[mrpacker03]

If you book air through Celebrity, you actually go to choiceair.com and pick out your own flight and time. We went through Barcelona last April and found the price 1/3 of what I could find on my own. Same thing when we went to London in November. Cabs are a lot cheaper than cruise line transfers and you don't have to wait around waiting for the bus to fill. If I remember right, it was about 40 euros including tip.

When you mention choiceair.com on this board you bring out all kinds of naysayers who are against it. Go to the website and read about them and their FAQs and make your own judgement. We were on the Constellation TA in December and our online TA had two reps aboard as they had 400 people who booked the cruise through them. Choice Air came up at one of their presentations and the Sales Manager said that she's been doing this for 14 years and have received 0 complaints from her customers who booked flights. We have used them 3 times, with 0 complaints and have saved thousands of dollars to spend on other cruises.

This is just our opinion, do whatever helps you sleep at night.

[ladylemondrop]

We have booked through celebrity and booked our own flights, both worked ok, this year we found it cheaper to book our own (we got club class BA flights for the same cost that celebrity wanted for economy) we liked being able to choose our flight time, as celebrity wanted us to fly very early morning, instead we are booking from gatwick at a more reasonable hour 0950 instead of 0700. Transfers were fine through celebrity, but we also cope on our own, we use romecabs.

 

See what they quote you, and take it from there.

[Bloodaxe]

Dear All,

 

We are considering booking a cruise with Celebrity from Barcelona with flights from UK included. We have only ever previously cruised with Princess and usually book our own flights to arrive day before cruise. In this case the flight would arrive on the morning of the cruise. Arrival 11am. Cruise depart 5pm.

 

May I please ask for advice as to whether you have experienced either problems re reliability of flights arranged by Celebrity and also whether they leave you sitting at the airport for a long time waiting for other flights to come in before they transfer you to the ship.

 

Many thanks for any help you can offer.

 

We have booked the full package through Celebrity many times, it usually works out Ok & they have the resposibility to get you to the ship on time.

Sometimes we have been dropped at the Airport quite early on return flights, check on the flight times before you book.

If the price is Ok go for it, I have been checking on Barcelona Flights & they look OK from Manchester.

By the way Choice Air does not apply to UK customers.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

If you book air through Celebrity, you actually go to choiceair.com and pick out your own flight and time. We went through Barcelona last April and found the price 1/3 of what I could find on my own. Same thing when we went to London in November. Cabs are a lot cheaper than cruise line transfers and you don't have to wait around waiting for the bus to fill. If I remember right, it was about 40 euros including tip.

When you mention choiceair.com on this board you bring out all kinds of naysayers who are against it. Go to the website and read about them and their FAQs and make your own judgement. We were on the Constellation TA in December and our online TA had two reps aboard as they had 400 people who booked the cruise through them. Choice Air came up at one of their presentations and the Sales Manager said that she's been doing this for 14 years and have received 0 complaints from her customers who booked flights. We have used them 3 times, with 0 complaints and have saved thousands of dollars to spend on other cruises.

This is just our opinion, do whatever helps you sleep at night.

I have to agree with you

I book the times I want on Choice Air, and the personal was very nice to talk with

[theborders]

If you book air through Celebrity, you actually go to choiceair.com and pick out your own flight and time

 

This would not be the same for the Brits. I am guessing the OP is from the UK, Celebrity have a deal where you can get the flight for £49.00 return and the flight is booked for you, no choice which flight. We are doing this, this summer. To go a day earlier was about £200.00 more per person. If you arrive in Barcelona about 11am you will most likely be on the first flight of the day from the UK, so fingers crossed should not be a delay as the plane will most likely have been at the airport overnight. If you miss the ship they have to get you to the next port at their expense as it is a package deal.

[harz99]

If you book air through Celebrity, you actually go to choiceair.com and pick out your own flight and time.

 

Not if you reside in the UK like the OP you don't!

[harz99]

This would not be the same for the Brits. I am guessing the OP is from the UK, Celebrity have a deal where you can get the flight for £49.00 return and the flight is booked for you, no choice which flight.

 

If you are using a UK Travel Agent for the booking you should be able to get a choice of flight; we were offered the 0700 to Barca for the Reflection TA but got that changed to 0920, still early but not painful.

 

Similarly we amended our return date from Miami back by 2 weeks to allow another 14 days cruising, so all is possible.

[Gig103]

We have booked the full package through Celebrity many times, it usually works out Ok & they have the resposibility to get you to the ship on time.

 

Does that mean that prices on choiceair.com include airport/ship transfers?

[harz99]

Sometimes we have been dropped at the Airport quite early on return flights, check on the flight times before you book.

 

And that is the main problem with using the Cruise line for flights and using their transfers - they will always get you off ship onto the coaches as soon as possible, and to the airport very early, simply because they want the shipped cleared asap and those same coaches that take you to the airport bring the next guests (on those early flights in) back.

[harz99]

Does that mean that prices on choiceair.com include airport/ship transfers?

 

Probably not; Bloodaxe is a UK poster, and we don't get choiceair.

[mrpacker03]

Transfers can be booked seperately through Choice Air so the air price doesn't include transfers. I think you can only get transfers for ship departures to the airport or if you are flying in the day the cruise leaves. Once you get the conformation number of the flight, you can go the airline's website and change your seats. We flew Delta, from Phoenix to London, and was also able to upgrade to Comfort Plus (more leg room and closer to the front of the plane), for the same price someone who paid full fare would. I think around $500 p.p., one way, was pretty reasonable for these seats.

[harz99]

May I please ask for advice as to whether you have experienced either problems re reliability of flights arranged by Celebrity and also whether they leave you sitting at the airport for a long time waiting for other flights to come in before they transfer you to the ship.

 

Hi mimlypops; sorry i got distracted by some of the non relevant answers from our North American friends;), in my experience our ex UK flights have been with BA from LHR and are all scheduled flights so reliability is as good as it can be bar mishaps on the day.

 

Yes, on arrival you will normally be formed into a group large enough to fill a full size coach (46-50), so a delay may well occur until the number is sufficient to fill the coach. With the number of different incoming flights I would expect around 30 minutes maximum wait.

 

HTH.

[mimlypops]

Thank you very much for the replies.

 

We are from the UK so Choice air is not relevant to us. I have already spoken to Celebrity and established the flight times & Carrier, which is Monarch. We are happy with the flight times. More concerned that we will sit at Barcelona airport for hours waiting for several other flights to come in to fill a bus to the port. Is this anyone's experience ?

 

Celebrity have already confirmed that, if we book flights through them, they will ensure we get to the boat (at their expense) even if, in worse case, there are major flight delays & it is to next port the next day. Their guarantee is not my concern, as I would have expected that, but more the realistic chances of something like this happening. Anyone had majoe problems like this from UK ?

 

Regards, Maria

[Lovemychoos]

Thank you very much for the replies.

 

We are from the UK so Choice air is not relevant to us. I have already spoken to Celebrity and established the flight times & Carrier, which is Monarch. We are happy with the flight times. More concerned that we will sit at Barcelona airport for hours waiting for several other flights to come in to fill a bus to the port. Is this anyone's experience ?

 

Celebrity have already confirmed that, if we book flights through them, they will ensure we get to the boat (at their expense) even if, in worse case, there are major flight delays & it is to next port the next day. Their guarantee is not my concern, as I would have expected that, but more the realistic chances of something like this happening. Anyone had majoe problems like this from UK ?

 

Regards, Maria

 

Hi Maria

 

We flew to Rome last year, to join Equinox, and as Celebrity had the full flight, there was not 'waiting around' to fill buses :-)

 

We are doing the same at end April, this time flying to Barcelona from Manchester, also with Monarch. Again, as this is a scheduled flight, probably everyone will be joining the ship anyway, so again, no waiting around.

 

When we flew home last year from Rome, the only waiting around we had at Rome airport was because they were going out on strike that day, and were on a 'go slow'. We were, in fact, very lucky, as a a couple of hours after we took off, they stopped working altogether :eek:

 

As you say, if any problem with flights etc, you are transported to the ship at the expense of Celebrity cruises, and not paying out of your own pocket. We had some friends who arranged their own flights a couple of years ago, and they spent the first 3 days of their 'cruise' trying to catch up with the ship because their 'bargain' flights were all up the spout,lol

 

I'll stick with Celebrity flights I think :)

 

Louise