Choice Air - NOT! Abysmal Air more like it.

[sailin'mama]

Sorry for long rant, but I want others to be wary!!:eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

I am not reviewing the airline, or the flight. I am only commenting on what I thought I paid for by utilizing Choice Air, and what I received. Having booked a last-minute cruise to Alaska, (Tuesday prior to Sunday departure), and with limited flights available from the east coast to Vancouver, I felt it best to book the air fare with Celebrity Choice to ensure all the guarantees of making the ship were in play.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find the airfare cost relatively the same as booking myself, and the agent was quite efficient and friendly. All good - I then asked about transfers. I was relayed onto that department. Even though I landed 3 hours prior to ALL ONBOARD, I decided, to layer another protection of guarantee. I was promised a Celebrity Agent at Baggage Claim, and transportation direct to the ship. Yes it was expensive, but again, I wanted nothing to ruin my special bucket-list cruise!

 

So what I got: No agent at baggage claim. We got our luggage, and after 20 minutes, was dialing Choice Air,when an agent showed up, at the podium. (Note - and this is important, Full uniform and Celebrity Name tag) I walked up with a big smile and said Hello! So glad to see you! The startled agent said "You're sailing with us today?"

 

I said yes, and gave her my name. Looking through the paperwork I was located with, alas,no flight information. To which the agent said "ahh that's the problem, CELEBRITY never gave us your information, we had you landing sometime after 12am."

 

(OK I'm not foolish, I know these are subcontractors, but really? When I go on a shore excursion I don't see Celebrity Name tags. To me that puts a high level of ownership onto Celebrity.)

 

We were directed to gather our luggage, and move outside where another agent would help us. In a blink of an eye she was gone, but again, I'm not worried or bothered - "THEY" know we are here, and all will be well. We had plenty of time. yeah....

 

Next agent, yes they were there waiting for us. (Again, Celebrity Uniform/Nametag) I said "so glad to find you, I was surprised you weren't looking for us" to which I got the same reply..but this time with a push back " It's not our fault Celebrity didn't tell us of your arrival time, but you are here now, come we will get you on your way."

 

Then to our surprise we were directed over to wait at the taxi lane, where another agent was winding through the line. (That WAS proactive on their part) But wait, what did I pay for? I can get my own taxi's, and it turned out the wait was about the same as the 20 minutes we wasted looking for the agent. OK - again, I paid my fees, I'm NOT going back now; and my cruise awaits. Still have plenty of time - 90 minutes for a 30 minute ride

 

Now we are on the way, when it becomes appearant everyone forgot it was CANADA DAY and the waterfront was shut down. I understand labor strikes, construction, but National Holidays? Surely someone has a calendar. After sitting still in traffic for the driver even suggested we walk the last mile, and having past the published ALL ONBOARD TIME.. (Again - what did I pay for?) I got on the phone to Choice Air..."are you holding the boat?" After explaining the situation the agent said "oh my, and put me on hold. (They never returned)

 

The taxi driver then stepped up, found an alternative route, and we were the last people to check in, and got on board during the muster call. (He got a wonderful tip) The most wonderful cruise unfolded from, but I will never use Choice Air again.

[TeaBag]

I'm so sorry you had such a stressful start to your cruise. Why, when they didn't have your arrival time, didn't they direct you to the Skytrain which is right outside the arrivals/departures and well signed? It would have gotten you to the port in jig time with no traffic snarls.

[Hlitner]

Our first, and last time, using Celebrity transfers was on a cruise with embarkation and disembarkation in Buenos Aires. When we arrived at the airport (after a long overnight flight from MIA) we were immediately met by a Celebrity rep (local contractor). She was very polite, ask if we had a nice flight, and then told us it would be about 1 1/2 hours before our transfer bus left the airport since they were waiting for another delayed flight. We immediately walked over to the taxi booth and paid for our own taxi into town and our hotel. We got to our Celebrity arranged hotel, quickly checked-in, and then went out for a nice breakfast. About 2 hours later we returned to the hotel just as our transfer bus was finally arriving at the hotel :(.

 

After that same cruise we also had Celebrity arranged transfers to a post cruise hotel. The transfer went well, but the luggage of everyone on the bus disappeared. It took the hotel Concierge about 12 hours to locate all the missing luggage (he had no help from Celebrity or their contractor) which had been taken out to the airport. The Hotel, at its own expense, sent a truck to the airport to retrieve the luggage (there were about 20 of us) so we had it around midnight.

 

To add insult to injury, Celebrity never reimbursed the extra money we paid for that wonderful service :(. We do understand that the Cruise Lines pay local providers to handle those kind of services. But we still think that the cruise line is responsible for the actions (or lack of action) of their contractors..

 

So when I read the OP's story my reaction was, they were the lucky ones.

Hank

[Duanerice1]

That stinks. Sounds like Choice Air is fine for flights but don't use Celebrity for transfers. Thanks for sharing, it's good to know.

 

Not sure I'd ever use them for transfers anyway, usually way too easy to do it on my own.

[msmayor]

Another who thinks your title is misleading...it doesn't sound at all like Choice Air was the problem. It was the transfers.

 

I also would question the decision to accept a flight scheduled to land a mere three hours before you are required to be on board. That is cutting it VERY close, with almost no margin at all for any error.

[BosoxI]

...

[critterchick]

Choice Air and transfers are two separate things. We have used the ship transfers three times in our lives - on our first trip to Barcelona, when we didn’t know that a cab would have been less expensive (rookie mistake) and a couple of times out of Port Everglades to MIA when it was the least expensive option and we weren’t in a hurry.

 

I don’t use Choice Air with any frequency, but it sounds as if they did right by you.

[Lady Arwen]

Choice Air is not to blame at all for any of this. It's strictly a Celebrity transfer issue, and they obviously dropped the ball in this case. My only advice to you is that if it's at all possible, fly into your embarkation city at least one day prior to your cruise. Same day fly/cruise makes me very, very nervous.

[Cruzinram]

Never ever fly in on the day of departure. You are asking for trouble. Way to many things can go wrong, and it is simply not worth the cost to pay for a one night hotel vs missing you cruise. I don't care what kind of guarantees someone offers you, things go wrong.

[sippican]

I agree the title is misleading; the criticisn is misdirected at Choice Air.

 

OP clearly states that they were transferred to the "Transfer Department" after making the air reservations. I do agree that they have a right to their dissatisfaction and may wish to pursue a complaint on the transfer portion through the proper channels.

 

FWIW, the CA guarantee does not state you will "make the ship", they will make avery effort, including travel arrangements on your behalf, to reunite you with the ship at some point. (This is another urban legend right up there with thinking that ships' excursions guarantee you'll never miss the ship in port.) I have been on two cruises where the ship has waited for passengers who were delayed (no matter how they booked).

 

We have used Choice Air three times, and have a fourth booked. We have found the service to be of value as far as pricing. We only book with them if there is a cost savings for a particular itinerary. Thankfully, we have not needed to use their service for travel disruptions (but we also have extra coverage for that.)

[cruisingagentone]

Everyone is correct this is a transfer issue not Choice Air.

What I can't figure out is how you booked transfers without giving the air info to them?

Didn't they ask for the air schedule?

In the old days if the cruise line made your air arrangements then yes you automatically had transfers

and they knew when you arrived but today its not like that.

[sailin'mama]

Thank you all for your input. Two points of clarification. I called Choice air for their advice on the flights. They picked the flight and ensured me that it was more than enough time, and stated the usual guarantees on meeting the ship after. I WAS very nervous, ready to fly in the day before but they assured me it was no issue.

 

I do see all your points on the transfer company. Perhaps Choice Air should make it clear they are a separate entity. They did not when I called, rather stating they would transfer me to THAT department. It makes more sense in hindsight they are separate.

 

I think from your posts, the biggest take-away is I could have done better myself! A lesson learned.

[Bruin Steve]

There was another recent thread on Choice Air...and it has got some problems as well...but, obviously, transfers are not their fault...

I NEVER book cruise line transfers anymore....Taxis, Uber, even public transit are more efficient...So easy in most places...and you don't have to wait around for the cruise line to fill up a bus and leave on their schedule.

 

OTOH, I AM in the middle of a problem with Choice Air--for my December Millennium flight, they booked me on nonstops to HKG and back from SIN... Then United went and cancelled my nonstop SIN-LAX...NOT Choice Air's fault, but their response IS... United only has a one-stop leaving SIN at a way too early 10:00 pm and stopping in SFO --where we'd have to go through customs in limited time...Choice Air (and Kayak and AA.com) has an alternate one stop via HKG at a much better 12:55 pm (and at a price currently lower than what we paid), but Choice Air claims they can't move us to that one because we're booked on two separate tickets there and back...and they'd have to either re-book just the one-way at a significantly higher price (by over $500)...or cancel both and charge us a $300 cancellations fee...and we are stuck without our nonstop no matter what happens...

 

Choice Air acts as little more than a booking agent...

[msmayor]

Anytime we've ever flown for a cruise I have always booked my own flights - I prefer the control over my reservation and ability to make changes (albeit at a cost, if needed) without needing to rely on a third party.

 

That being said...I did book with Choice Air for our upcoming cruise, our first with Celebrity. I was able to get a far nearly $80pp less booking with Choice as opposed to with AA direct. Same flight time. I've been told that I likely have a ticket with a few more restrictions due to the lower fare, but in my mind...for this trip...I can live with that.

 

The cruise is the Summit repo from Cape Liberty to Puerto Rico. No outbound flight for us as we live in NJ so we'll get to the port on our own the day of departure. Our flight is on the back end of the trip, home from Puerto Rico. If there are problems or delays, no risk in missing my vacation.

 

We'll see how it goes.

[waterbug123]

Thank you all for your input. Two points of clarification. I called Choice air for their advice on the flights. They picked the flight and ensured me that it was more than enough time' date='[/b'] and stated the usual guarantees on meeting the ship after. I WAS very nervous, ready to fly in the day before but they assured me it was no issue.

 

Everything they do is based on the assumption that all will go as scheduled on travel day...no weather delays, no mechanical delays, etc. This is actually the same for booking directly with airlines...the minimum connect times they allow are based on all flights taking place on schedule. When everything does go according to schedule, then yes, it's more than enough time (or at least enough time!). But I would never fly pre-cruise with "just enough time if all goes well" and with cruise air, that's often what you get!

[jkgourmet]

...

 

Choice Air acts as little more than a booking agent...

 

That EXACTLY what they are - and exactly what they CLAIM to be. I'm not sure I understand why someone would think differently.

Edited July 13, 2018 by jkgourmet

[RickT]

Thank you all for your input. Two points of clarification. I called Choice air for their advice on the flights. They picked the flight and ensured me that it was more than enough time' date=' and stated the usual guarantees on meeting the ship after.[/quote']

 

While I understand your concern, this unfortunately isn't much different than an airline publishing a "legal" connection that an experienced traveler knows there is little chance of making. While I rely on Travel Professionals, I also rely on my experience and common sense to guide me when booking anything. As far as flying is the day of the cruise or the day prior, that is also a personal preference and common sense. While I have flown in the day of a cruise with NO problems, I also know it does increase the risk of a problem that I may have to deal with. So, while it's OK to do that, for risk mitigation reasons I will fly in the day (or two) prior unless I am unable.

 

Glad things worked out though even if it was a bit stressful.