If you value your sanity, Don't EVER use Choice Air

[royalcruz]

2 hours ago, 39august said:

Flights booked by Celebrity Air are insured by the Celebrity travel policy. I have used it for travel delay and cancellation.  I have spoken directly with Ion, the travel insurer,  concerning several questions I have had about specific coverages in the travel policy The guarantee by Choice Air/Celebrity Air to get you to your ship as noted above is correct and a separate matter.

Well then either it has changed or the Choice Air rep gave me wrong information (what else is new) or certain things are covered and certain things aren't? I booked Choice Air in the last few weeks (in USA, Florida) and I asked if I purchased Cruise Care AND Choice Air, would I then be covered for the flights. The rep said, no, Cruise Care ONLY covers the cruise! She then told me about the guarantee to get you to the ship.

 

We are covered for the entire trip under covered reasons through our credit card, and we get medical through GeoBlue. 

[royalcruz]

Re: USA Cruise Care

 

I just read the Cruise Care policy. It reads that the cancellation penalty waiver program (for covered), and the "Cancellation Enhancement" (for non-covered reasons) would apply to the cruise fare. I don't see anything about air in those sections. If anyone finds anything that states that if you cancel the trip you get your airfare back, please post a reference. 

 

Reading further, it seems that the Interruption and Delay sections would apply to air transportation, but I don't see anything about needing to purchase air through Choice Air to get that coverage. 

 

 

[waterbug123]

On 5/31/2019 at 8:44 AM, Highpeaklad said:

 

Except they’re not cheaper. It costs more to have 2hr journey take 8. 

 

Maybe, maybe not.  Are you comparing apples to apples?  i.e. same airline for both the nonstop and the connection?   If not, maybe Cruise Air isn't contracting with the airline that flies nonstop, or maybe their particular contract is more expensive for the nonstop.

 

On 5/31/2019 at 1:03 PM, Presto2 said:

Whatever, my original statement stands. Sending people from Manchester to Amsterdam to change for Rome is ridiculous and shows no real care for customers. Yes, I know it is all down to them wanting to make money, but at the end of the day they sell themselves as a premium cruise line and that, to me, is not premium service.

 

 

Celebrity is not a premium cruise line.  They are a mass market line, same as Royal, Carnival, Princess etc.  If you want to cruise on a premium cruise line look at Oceania, Silver Sea, Crystal etc.

[Bo1953]

I believe that many of us think that CA has control over the seating and timing of flights ... They Do Not.

 

Airlines are responsible for these items and their changes.

 

Now, if we believe that CA needs to have a process in place to catch these changes, no matter how unfortunate they are, is another topic for discussion IMO.

 

e.g. for my independently booked flights for an upcoming sailing in November, I have received three (3) changes in flight times for each flight. Upon checking my last change of flights, it included loss of seats due to change of aircraft, we had no seats on one segment. It took some doing, but we got seats on a fully booked flight, the original ones selected, no, but we are on it, for now at least... LOL

 

I will keep on top of it, as I Am aware that changes can happen anytime after purchase up through boarding, these days.

 

safe travels and bon voyage

[evandbob]

I've had my middle name abbreviated on my passport as simply "A.".  My first name is Robert.  Several times I've gotten an airline ticket that had me as "Roberta".  After panicking about it, I was told it was simply the way the ticketing software packaged my name, and that I wouldn't have any issues at boarding.

 

The cynical skeptic that I am, I phoned a few more times, and got the same answer.  I was told my freq. flyer # also identifies me as a male.  Guess what?  No issues at the gate boarding, and actually shared a laugh about it.

 

Others with hyphenated last names have gotten their boarding pass with the first part of their last name as their middle name.  And some with rather lengthy names have them truncated by the software.  It is always worthwhile to call the airline and listen to their explanation.  It is usually not productive to affix blame, especially with multiple parties involved in a transaction.

 

And the data revolution is supposed to make life easier.

Edited September 19, 2019 by evandbob

[Presto2]

5 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Maybe, maybe not.  Are you comparing apples to apples?  i.e. same airline for both the nonstop and the connection?   If not, maybe Cruise Air isn't contracting with the airline that flies nonstop, or maybe their particular contract is more expensive for the nonstop.

 

 

Celebrity is not a premium cruise line.  They are a mass market line, same as Royal, Carnival, Princess etc.  If you want to cruise on a premium cruise line look at Oceania, Silver Sea, Crystal etc.

 

What I was saying was that they sell themselves as a premium cruise line. Other cruise lines that don't do not have those ridiculous flight changes (I think). I expect better from Celebrity - we had a brilliant cruise on Edge and to be honest it was an amazing cruise experience. On her I can see the 'premium' title coming in to reality.

 

We use P&O and they are not a premium line but the flights are always part of the deal and direct.

 

To be fair to Celebrity though the last one we had was direct and the transfers they included were excellent - but not cheap

[waterbug123]

21 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

What I was saying was that they sell themselves as a premium cruise line. Other cruise lines that don't do not have those ridiculous flight changes (I think). I expect better from Celebrity - we had a brilliant cruise on Edge and to be honest it was an amazing cruise experience. On her I can see the 'premium' title coming in to reality.

 

We use P&O and they are not a premium line but the flights are always part of the deal and direct.

 

To be fair to Celebrity though the last one we had was direct and the transfers they included were excellent - but not cheap

 

How do they sell themselves as a premium cruise line?  Do they compare themselves to other premium lines like Oceania or Crystal?  By all means, post a link to their advertising that shows them selling themselves as a premium line.

  I don't have any experience with P&O so can't comment on them, but most mass market lines, like Celebrity, do not automatically include flights as "part of the deal," though you can add them if you choose.

As for the flight changes, other cruise lines DO have them sometimes.  For one, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both use Choice Air; essentially it's just a branch of the Royal parent company, so Royal pax are just as likely to see changes as Celebrity pax are.  Beyond that, sometimes the change is based on a change made by the airline and no cruise line air department can do anything to prevent that. 

[hiccups]

2 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

As for the flight changes, other cruise lines DO have them sometimes.  For one, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both use Choice Air; essentially it's just a branch of the Royal parent company, so Royal pax are just as likely to see changes as Celebrity pax are.  Beyond that, sometimes the change is based on a change made by the airline and no cruise line air department can do anything to prevent that. 

Azamara, which is also part of the Royal Caribbean brand, is supposedly the premium line of the group.  We've had so many changes to our upcoming international flights (some of which I detailed earlier), I've lost count.  I put that on the airline, not Choice Air.

[K12Guy]

On 5/31/2019 at 10:30 AM, Pickels said:

I said it before, and I'll say it again, (even though I'll get arguments on the subject), I always work directly with the cruise line, airlines, hotels, etc.  If there's a problem or issue, I feel I get better results when working directly with the company.  No middle man or third person.

Absolutely. We book directly even when there might appear to be a cash saving through Celebrity Air or any other third party provider.

[Presto2]

3 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

How do they sell themselves as a premium cruise line?  Do they compare themselves to other premium lines like Oceania or Crystal?  By all means, post a link to their advertising that shows them selling themselves as a premium line.

  I don't have any experience with P&O so can't comment on them, but most mass market lines, like Celebrity, do not automatically include flights as "part of the deal," though you can add them if you choose.

As for the flight changes, other cruise lines DO have them sometimes.  For one, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity both use Choice Air; essentially it's just a branch of the Royal parent company, so Royal pax are just as likely to see changes as Celebrity pax are.  Beyond that, sometimes the change is based on a change made by the airline and no cruise line air department can do anything to prevent that. 

 

I don't really care if they are a premium line or not to be honest and really haven't got the energy and patience to keep arguing over the matter. We originally posted on this thread ages ago and have slept since

 

I'll finish by saying and then look for future cruises

 

At the prices they charge, asking someone to change half way from Manchester to Rome on a flight you have paid over and above for (as you purchased it from them) is a rip off. We have no idea what Choice Air is and can only comment on what can happen in the UK if you don't know Celebrity well. We always say that we will book  with them as long as the flight is direct as we know that there are plenty of them around !

 

 

[Highpeaklad]

On 9/20/2019 at 7:15 PM, Presto2 said:

 

I don't really care if they are a premium line or not to be honest and really haven't got the energy and patience to keep arguing over the matter. We originally posted on this thread ages ago and have slept since

 

I'll finish by saying and then look for future cruises

 

At the prices they charge, asking someone to change half way from Manchester to Rome on a flight you have paid over and above for (as you purchased it from them) is a rip off. We have no idea what Choice Air is and can only comment on what can happen in the UK if you don't know Celebrity well. We always say that we will book  with them as long as the flight is direct as we know that there are plenty of them around !

 

 

 

Not sure if I said this before but Celebrity will book you onto the direct flights, you just have to ring them up and pay up front (as you would do if booking yourself).

They are currently offering free (direct) flights to Europe so that fixes that problem. 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Highpeaklad