Should I use Celebrity choice air or just book with the airline?

[OnTheJourney]

The difference is that the airlines don't post an ambiguous "assurance" statement on their website, that makes it sound like they guarantee something which, in fact, they do not guarantee. Choice Air uses verbiage that sounds very much like "we guarantee to get you to the ship" and a lot of people misunderstand that.

 

And contrary to what many seem to believe, if you book directly with an airline and your flight is canceled or severely delayed, the airline WILL work with you to get your rebooked. As with Choice Air, it depends on seat availability, but they don't just say "sorry we canceled your flight but you're on your own now." Many people seem to misunderstand that, too.

 

Agreed that the airlines certainly work with you in the event of flight problems. I've never had the issue arise wherein I had flights booked with choiceair and then some unforeseen event occurs that would indicate to what extent they really do spring into action to reroute. I only used them once. A good point was mentioned that they can't create seats that simply aren't available, but my hope (and I don't want to test this to be honest, especially in the middle of February) is that they would move fairly quickly to reschedule flights. They do not promise to get you to the ship at your embarkation port - although I think that would certainly be top priority if at all possible - but rather to the ship's next port of call. I was told by them that I would have to do nothing in the way of contacting the airlines. An airline representative, on the other hand, told me just the opposite - that I would need to contact the airline anyway. Like I said...I am really hoping not to have to find out either way! If things go wrong, and it turns out that I would not be pleased with how they (choiceair) reacted, then I'd be unlikely to use them again. The price was actually $100 higher than what I could have got directly with the airline, and yet many here have reported getting lower prices through them.

Edited August 13, 2016 by three4rd

[dodger1964]

The difference is that the airlines don't post an ambiguous "assurance" statement on their website, that makes it sound like they guarantee something which, in fact, they do not guarantee. Choice Air uses verbiage that sounds very much like "we guarantee to get you to the ship" and a lot of people misunderstand that.

 

And contrary to what many seem to believe, if you book directly with an airline and your flight is canceled or severely delayed, the airline WILL work with you to get your rebooked. As with Choice Air, it depends on seat availability, but they don't just say "sorry we canceled your flight but you're on your own now." Many people seem to misunderstand that, too.

 

Let me know the next time you have a flight delay or cancellation with a specific airline due to, for example, a weather issue, and then are rebooked by them on a different airline. That would make headlines.

 

If choice air abandoned their passengers the way you make it sound, it would be widely known on this board. I haven't heard of it before.

[OnTheJourney]

Let me know the next time you have a flight delay or cancellation with a specific airline due to, for example, a weather issue, and then are rebooked by them on a different airline. That would make headlines.

 

If choice air abandoned their passengers the way you make it sound, it would be widely known on this board. I haven't heard of it before.

 

It'd be interesting to get some feedback from specific cases where things did in fact screw up just to see exactly what choice air did for the passengers, and how quickly they responded. What I do not like about them to be sure, is that their website does not show all the available flights. I realize that they have to filter those out that they deem unsuitable for the cruise schedule, but I had been looking at flights that arrive a day before embarkation, and those are not on their website either. They could get the flights for me, but it was just an extra hassle to relay all the info back and forth over the phone. When I used them last summer for a trip, the flights I wanted were on the website.

Either way, all I know is that if a winter storm hits the week that my flights and cruise are scheduled in February, the problems could well be of such magnitude that it may not matter if I'm booked through choice air or the airline. I think the more critical component with a winter trip is to make sure there is really good trip cancellation insurance. That is the next step. I'm booked with X's plan, but the coverages are not that good, hence the cheap price.

Edited August 14, 2016 by three4rd

[waterbug123]

Let me know the next time you have a flight delay or cancellation with a specific airline due to, for example, a weather issue, and then are rebooked by them on a different airline. That would make headlines.

 

If choice air abandoned their passengers the way you make it sound, it would be widely known on this board. I haven't heard of it before.

 

Delta rebooked me on American a couple of years ago. It was a delay due to a combination of minor weather and mechanical. Major weather systems are a different story, as they can impact thousands of flights and rebooking can be next to impossible no matter who you booked the ticket with, the airline or CA or whoever.

 

And there ARE plenty of reported stories of CA pax either not being able to get through to CA (particularly on weekends) or basically being told "um, we don't know what to do, why don't you talk to the airline?"

There are also plenty of reported stories of CA pax getting great service from CA. My point was simply that it's not guaranteed. I've read plenty of stories right here on cruise critic. Some here, some on RC boards, some on the cruise air board etc.

[waterbug123]

Either way, all I know is that if a winter storm hits the week that my flights and cruise are scheduled in February, the problems could well be of such magnitude that it may not matter if I'm booked through choice air or the airline. I think the more critical component with a winter trip is to make sure there is really good trip cancellation insurance. /quote]

 

Very true statement about major weather issues and it not mattering how you're booked!

 

Trip cancellation insurance is one option; having a good back-up plan is another. Ex. A few years ago I was due to fly to FLL on DL, connecting at ATL (not for a cruise). A major weather system hit the ATL area and there were massive cancellations. I was supposed to fly on a Friday morning and be there for an event that evening. As of Thur night the earliest DL could tell me I could be rebooked was Saturday afternoon. But due to the weather situation they were offering refunds. I took the refund, and booked a noon-ish Southwest flight from JAX to FLL, got up Fri am and drove 4 hours to JAX and flew from there. Ideal? No. But it got me where I needed to be when I needed to be there. Barring that, I could have driven the entire way if that was the only option.

[hubofhockey]

How soon before cruise is Choice Air available?

[Karynanne]

How soon before cruise is Choice Air available?

 

 

Usually airline schedules are available 300 days from your sailing.

[OnTheJourney]

How soon before cruise is Choice Air available?

 

I don't think there is any limitation placed on this. Is your question more about how far ahead of time you can book flights with CA or how close to the cruise date that you can book with them? Either way, I don't think it matters. If the flights you want are available up to a year before your trip, CA should be able to book them for you. As I've mentioned though, you may need to tell them the itinerary you want since not all flights show up on the website.

[hubofhockey]

I don't think there is any limitation placed on this. Is your question more about how far ahead of time you can book flights with CA or how close to the cruise date that you can book with them? Either way, I don't think it matters. If the flights you want are available up to a year before your trip, CA should be able to book them for you. As I've mentioned though, you may need to tell them the itinerary you want since not all flights show up on the website.

 

Thanks, Karynanne answered my question. We will have a multi-city flight and it's for next July. I'll contact them in October or November.