Do not book air2sea. Nothing but problems.

[Pockymuncher]

Hey everyone. This story is a bit long so bear with me. I really tried to get this resolved with RC without coming on here sounding like a whiner but I thought I should share my experience as a warning.

 

So I'm booking a cruise for 10 people, mostly family but 2 friends as well. In our party there are 2 infants. So after booking our cruise directly with RC we started looking for flight options. Air2sea looked like a good option, with good benefits and the price was quite good. I tried booking it online but it wouldn't let me with such a large group so I had to call in.

 

I called in and the air2sea (a2s) agent told me they're unable to do the booking with the infants in and I am to just call the airline afterward to book them as lap infants. No problem I thought. After the booking I immediately called the airline to add the infants on, and they told me that it had to be done through my booking agent. After a few hours of phone tag between a2s and the airline I ended up back on the line with a2s. They called the airline and they could not figure out how to do it. So I was stuck with 8 tickets for the adults and no guarantee or booking for the infants.I really wanted to keep my a2s booking as the price was good but they told me there was nothing they could do but give me a refund. They told me I would receive a refund in 10-15 business days. It's now been 3 weeks and I have yet to see a penny go back my credit card. I had gone ahead and booked directly through the airline so now I've got charges for 16 tickets on my credit card, 8 from the airline and 8 from air2sea. My bill is due soon.

 

I followed up with RC through their resolutions department the same day I requested the refund, and also last week. Both times I was assured I would get my refund in 3-5 days. I just followed up again today and was told my air2sea they are again escalating the issue. I don't blame air2sea, it seems like they're trying their best and are contracted out by RC and their hands are tied by the department that handles the money. But I did get passed back and forth from resolutions department and air2sea.

 

Asking for an escalation is useless, it doesn't get any higher than the supervisor level. I just have to sit and hope the refund comes before my credit card bill is due. I only collected the funds for 8 tickets, not 16. It really shouldn't be this hard to book with air2sea with RC. They do sell themselves as family friendly, but if you've got infants, beware.

[Desert Cruizers]

First of all I would have let the individual couples/families book their own. While I didn't have 10 in my party, there was my husband & I, daughter and husbands sister. I booked our flights then notified the daughter and SIL of our seat #'s and they booked their own. Not sure where your flying to but I also only used Air 2 Sea for 1 way INTL flights.

[Pockymuncher]

First of all I would have let the individual couples/families book their own. While I didn't have 10 in my party, there was my husband & I, daughter and husbands sister. I booked our flights then notified the daughter and SIL of our seat #'s and they booked their own. Not sure where your flying to but I also only used Air 2 Sea for 1 way INTL flights.

 

Well all but 2 of our group is immediate family that includes grandparents that would rather us just take care of it for them. I still shouldn't have experienced this problem

[actuarian]

If you have the name of the person who told you that you "would receive a refund in 10-15 business days", then you should be able to go directly to your credit card company and contest the charge. The credit company bill will have to waive late charges and interest until they complete their investigation.

[Pockymuncher]

If you have the name of the person who told you that you "would receive a refund in 10-15 business days", then you should be able to go directly to your credit card company and contest the charge. The credit company bill will have to waive late charges and interest until they complete their investigation.

 

Would rather use this as a last resort. There are still a few days left. I don't want to mess up my cruise booking.

[MsOne]

Thank you for sharing. I don't have any plans of traveling with infants but this is certainly helpful information.

[CruiseGal999]

Aren't the babies on your lap free? That is the whole point. You hold them on your lap and they aren't booked or ticketed ... because you don't pay for them. So if that's the case, wouldn't keeping your A2S as is the best solution?

 

I am quoting from memory of posts and other info., but that was my understanding. I have never flown with babies ... so it isn't first hand experience.

[ReneeFLL]

If you have the name of the person who told you that you "would receive a refund in 10-15 business days", then you should be able to go directly to your credit card company and contest the charge. The credit company bill will have to waive late charges and interest until they complete their investigation.

 

We had to do this. We only had to pay what we owed except for the contested charges. When those charges were removed then the bill was already paid in full so no problems.

[Cel_cruise]

This sounds like it’s been a frustrating experience. Being the family travel planner is a labor of love for sure! And right now - a financial labor too!

 

I am surprised that the airline required you to register the infants on your booking. In my past experience - the gate agents are always asking passengers to do this at the gate! Bummer this low cost option didn’t work for you!!!

 

Hope you get a resolution soon!!

 

Our monthly credit card spending is high enough that I would just pay off the overages and enjoy the credit next month if I didn’t want to contest the charges.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BekkaW]

Aren't the babies on your lap free? That is the whole point. You hold them on your lap and they aren't booked or ticketed ... because you don't pay for them. So if that's the case, wouldn't keeping your A2S as is the best solution?

 

I am quoting from memory of posts and other info., but that was my understanding. I have never flown with babies ... so it isn't first hand experience.

 

Zero cost ticket, but they absolutely are both booked and ticketed. It is a legal requirement that every person on the plane is on the manifest.

[Clarea]

Zero cost ticket, but they absolutely are both booked and ticketed. It is a legal requirement that every person on the plane is on the manifest.

I understand the manifest, but we just went through this on Southwest. No ticket or reservation for the baby, however we had to check-in in-person at the airline ticket counter and get a boarding pass for the baby, after showing birth certificate.

[Iamcruzin]

Would rather use this as a last resort. There are still a few days left. I don't want to mess up my cruise booking.

Last resort! It's been 3 weeks and there isn't a sign of a credit. That would have been my next phone call after the problem wasn't addressed the first time.

[waterbug123]

Aren't the babies on your lap free? That is the whole point. You hold them on your lap and they aren't booked or ticketed

 

Yes, they are. And sometimes it isn't completely free. I seem to recall that on some international flights there are some fees that have to be paid but don't quote me on that.

 

 

I understand the manifest, but we just went through this on Southwest. No ticket or reservation for the baby, however we had to check-in in-person at the airline ticket counter and get a boarding pass for the baby, after showing birth certificate.

 

Likely the baby did get ticketed, it just didn't happen til you checked in at the airport. But, I would never wait until check-in to declare an infant-in-arms. My understanding is that not all rows of an airplane have an extra oxygen mask so you run the risk of being told there is nowhere on a particular flight to accommodate a baby (if the flight already has a lot of babies.).

[Desert Cruizers]

Pockymuncher, I do hope everything works out for you :)

[Havingfun2010]

I have no advice for the babies, but I did have an issue once, where my flight kept changing and I kept having an unacceptable layover. Airlines told me to go to A2S and I was already on the phone. The issue was the airlines, not a2s, so I wanted the airlines to resolve it. 40 minutes with a disabled passenger, on an international flight, going clear across the airport was not going to work. They said they could transfer the reservation, than they can fix it. Yes, it took a few more minutes, but at the end, I was fixed, no fees occurred, adn my trip was fine.

 

Many people book on a2s because of the price. Just like on a cruise, you can transfer a reservation.

 

I also would never book for friends, or family members. Maybe an elderly parent, but that's all.

[3monkeys4me]

International flights do have fees for babies, usually taxes. Also, Lap babies can not always be seated everywhere, depending on the type of plane and the airline. Some have restrictions for various reasons (like to have an infant in a row there has to be a 4th oxygen mask). I've pretty much always just purchased a seat for my infant so they can use their car seat on the flight, but I had to do a lot of reading on the subject when my kids were young since I flew internationally with the 3 of the quite frequently on my own and every country and airline has different rules.

[Pockymuncher]

International ticketing requires infants to be ticketed, there is a small fee.

[boatseller]

The first question for the airline, irrespective of the booking, is if the infants need to be pre-booked. I have family that travels with infants regularly and they are added at check-in.

 

To be clear, you ask the airline this question directly, don't even bring up the booking or a2s or anything else.

[Another_Critic]

Sorry to hear about your issues. But ... the thread title is very misleading.

 

P.S. I've booked thru Air2Sea multiple times and will continue to, if applicable.

[wendychloecruiser]

One other situation that Air2sea cannot do is purchasing an extra seat as in 3 seats for 2 people. The rate was so good on an upcoming flight that we thought we might do that merely for comfort on a long flight. It would actually be more room than premium economy. But they cannot do it and you would have to book it directly with the airline.....much more money.

[packedandready]

Had a similar CC issue. Was waiting for a rather large refund and my bill was due. As we always pay CC in full each month I didn't want to just deduct the refund amount because I was afraid that I'd end up paying the interest the next month ( I refuse to pay CC companies interest). I called the CC company and explained the issue and they told me to deduct the refund amount and they'd put a note on our account explaining the situation. Refund finally showed up and all was well. You might try that.

[taglovestocruise]

Sorry to hear about your issues. But ... the thread title is very misleading.

 

P.S. I've booked thru Air2Sea multiple times and will continue to, if applicable.

I agree with you completely. We have used Air2Sea many times and have been completely satisfied. Several years ago when hurricane Sandy shut down the East Coast and our flight was cancelled the morning of departure Air2Sea was a godsend as they rebooked us onto another airline, moved us up to economy plus, and never charged a dime. All done while we were on the phone with them.

[Pockymuncher]

UPDATE: I talked to air2sea again today. Spoke to a supervisor. They went to speak to a lead that spoke to finance department. Was told 7-10 business days from today AGAIN. I've now been waiting since Aug 7th. Credit card company is of no help either, they said RCI hasn't given me anything in writing indicating a refund is to come so I'm stuck waiting.

[2wheelin]

UPDATE: I talked to air2sea again today. Spoke to a supervisor. They went to speak to a lead that spoke to finance department. Was told 7-10 business days from today AGAIN. I've now been waiting since Aug 7th. Credit card company is of no help either, they said RCI hasn't given me anything in writing indicating a refund is to come so I'm stuck waiting.

When I had a problem receiving goods from a company, all I had to do was call the CC company and say I was contesting the charge. They immediately gave me a credit and contacted the offending company. Eventually they were able to ship product and with my permission, the charge was reinstated. Your situation should work similarly if you tell them it is an erroneous charge rather than that you expect a refund.

[centurycruiser]

It might have been cheaper to book seats for infants on A2S than pay 8 tickets directly with airline. Then the infants would not need to be "lapped".

My experience with A2S has been significant fare differences.