Strange website malfunction--Celebrity Air

[Bruin Steve]

We a re booked on back-to-back cruises this coming July .  When fights started becoming available for our dates, we used Celebrity Air to book our flights, LAX to Milan on June 25 and Rome to LAX on July 21.  Since we are flying in so far in advance of the cruise, we decided to fly into Milan, rent a car and take our time making it down to Civitavecchia.  I checked out the prices on Celebrity Air as well as on other sites like kayak.com and expedia.com.  Celebrity Air's prices were competitive, plus they offered us the flexibility of being refundable and not payable until the cruise full payment date.  We called Celebrity Air directly on the phone to make the reservation.  The agent noted that we could book the reservations, then continue to monitor the website for lower fares or better flight times.  And, if those came up, we could change them...so we booked.

 

Our flights are fine, the prices are good...but, just in case we could get on a slightly earlier flight there or find one going home with a better layover, I figured I'd keep checking.

 

 

 

Anyway, here is where the problem lies:  Whenever  I go to the Celebrity Air web page, and try to look up flights, while inputting the info into the form, I have been unable to get the form to recognize "MXP" or "Milan"...so, I cannot get any pricing on these routes.  It worked perfectly fine when I first booked...it just hasn't for the past couple of months.  I called Celebrity Air twice, each time telling the agent about the website malfunction.  But thus far, it hasn't been fixed. 

 

I then emailed Celebrity about the problem...and, a few days later, got a response telling me to call Celebrity Air about the issue.  Circular frustration.

 

I assume that, with all the cruises to and from both Rome and Venice, that MXP would be a popular option for many passengers--especially those like me who fly in or out early or late.  And, clearly, the system was designed to allow that.  You can type in any other three-letter airport code...and it will pop up on the form.

[39august]

Can't you just book this by calling Celebrity Air? I always call as web site is too complicated to get all flights. 

[Bruin Steve]

3 hours ago, 39august said:

Can't you just book this by calling Celebrity Air? I always call as web site is too complicated to get all flights. 

Sort of...They have trouble pulling it up as well...

But, I don't want to book it...I already have...

Since I have a cancellable booking, I just want to check from time to time to see if I can get a better or equal rate on a better flight...I don't want to continually bother their agents to do this only to check fares...

[CruiserMickey]

What if you check the fares on an external site such as Skyscanner, then call Celebrity Air to check the fare if you find a lower one on the other site? It’s not perfect, but it’s another way of checking if you don’t want to phone and have the Celebrity agent check for you. I am sorry for your frustration.

[Bruin Steve]

1 hour ago, CruiserMickey said:

What if you check the fares on an external site such as Skyscanner...

I always check other sources...like kayak...

I know that the flights exist--For example, there's a similar Lufthansa flight to the one I'm booked on, but that arrives in MXP about three hours earlier...

But pricing on Celebrity Air and sources like kayak are widely different and vary almost minute to minute.  And the terms are very different...The fares I find on kayak are most often non-refundable and need to be purchased immediately...while the ones I've booked with Celebrity Air are fully cancellable and don't have to be paid until the cruise final payment date...

 

It would all be VERY easy...except for the one bizarre glitch--that the Celebrity site just doesn't recognize this one MAJOR airport.  You can type in ANY other airport in the world--Zurich, Nice, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Moscow, Prague, etc.  and up will pop the airport, then flights in and out of ANY of those places.  It just doesn't want to recognize the ONE airport I need to check!

 

You would think that there is some computer genius at Celebrity that could figure that out and fix it...and some way of actually communicating this glitch to that genius???

[CruiserMickey]

3 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

computer genius at Celebrity

 

I believe this is the problem...there are no computer geniuses at Celebrity. My husband works in IT and he shakes his head every time we try to do anything on their website.

[mikkelhansen]

10 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Anyway, here is where the problem lies:  Whenever  I go to the Celebrity Air web page, and try to look up flights, while inputting the info into the form, I have been unable to get the form to recognize "MXP" or "Milan"...so, I cannot get any pricing on these routes.

I am having the same problem, but for me it's BLL (Billund, Denmark) not showing up. Copenhagen shows up instantly, but BLL simply doesn't come up as a suggestion, neither when writing BLL or Billund.

If I go to www.choiceair.com instead, BLL shows up like it should, and I believe Choice Air and Flights By Celebrity use the same backend (FBC is Celebrity's brand-specific version, Choice Air is RCI's "general" version, which is why it puzzles me that FBC can't find BLL. I'm not currently trying to book an actual flight, just comparing FBC's prices to the general price level.

[lienf]

A question about booking with Choice Air and deferring payment until the final cruise payment is due. Can you confirm your seats with the airline when you book your flight,  or do you have to wait?

[hiccups]

I've never had any luck using the Flights by Celebrity link on the Celebrity website.  Instead I use the ChoiceAir link on the Azamara website--maybe give that a try?

[CruiserMickey]

1 hour ago, lienf said:

A question about booking with Choice Air and deferring payment until the final cruise payment is due. Can you confirm your seats with the airline when you book your flight,  or do you have to wait?

 

I am not sure if this works for all tickets, but I was able to book our business class seats this way.

[Bruin Steve]

6 hours ago, mikkelhansen said:

I am having the same problem, but for me it's BLL (Billund, Denmark) not showing up. Copenhagen shows up instantly, but BLL simply doesn't come up as a suggestion, neither when writing BLL or Billund.

If I go to www.choiceair.com instead, BLL shows up like it should, and I believe Choice Air and Flights By Celebrity use the same backend (FBC is Celebrity's brand-specific version, Choice Air is RCI's "general" version, which is why it puzzles me that FBC can't find BLL. I'm not currently trying to book an actual flight, just comparing FBC's prices to the general price level.

Thanks...That works!!!

 

I don't know what the rates have been doing all this time, but, right now, it looks like I could have trade my Lufthansa flight  (change in Munich) that arrives at 4:30 pm for an Air Canada flight (via Toronto) that arrives at 10:40 am and saved $50 pp--but would have had to purchase non-refundable tickets now...

 

Anyone have any thoughts on Lufthansa vs. Air Canada? 

Edited October 28, 2019 by Bruin Steve

[sealover155]

We've had multiple, wonderful experiences flying Lufthansa from LAX to Germany and then onto other EU cities.  We've flown Business, FC once, and most recently their Premium Economy on their 380.  Frankly, PE was just fabulous as it's a private cabin with dedicated attendants and restrooms.  And very quiet.  If not using miles, I could not justify the cost of Business.  We talked to a passenger in regular economy and he was impressed as well.  As we are United Mileage Plus members we  consider Air Canada as well as they consistently rate highly in the annual competions.  But the connections in Toronto never seem to make sense on the routes we are interested in.  Also I'd rather fly non-stop to Europe when possible.  Do you check seatguru.com.  

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, sealover155 said:

As we are United Mileage Plus members we  consider Air Canada as well as they consistently rate highly in the annual competions. 

Hmmmm, not so sure about that. The Skytrax annual world airlines ranking consistently places Lufthansa well ahead of Air Canada. For the past five years, 2015 to 2019:

Lufthansa: 12th, 10th, 7th, 7th, 9th

Air Canada: 27th, 31st, 29th, 30th, 31st

 

J.D. Power, when ranking North America's five traditional carriers (not low-cost airlines), ranked Air Canada 5th (2017), 3rd  (2018) and 4th (2019). In each year, including 2018 when it finished in the middle of the pack, its score was below the segment average.

[hiccups]

Check to make sure it's Air Canada and not Air Canada Rouge.  We've flown Air Canada Rouge premium economy and liked it (the old business class with the wider seats, etc).  I'd never fly Rouge coach, though.

[critterchick]

I don’t know what website you’re using, but MXP comes up just fine on choiceair.com.  But in any event, I would call and bother the agents. The fares shown online often bear no resemblance to reality. 

 

We flew into MXP recently, booked with Air by Celebrity. For months the fare had been  anywhere from $1500pp To $5000 online (OW/BC) and then, when they went to the “book now, pay later” option, every single airline offered the exact same fare. When I called, the agents could see a wide range of fares, and one told me that the retail site isn’t updated regularly, or it’s just flat out incorrect. And she found me a less expensive fare than I was seeing for the exact same flights.

 

 

[lienf]

3 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

I am not sure if this works for all tickets, but I was able to book our business class seats this way.

Thanks for the info. 

[SharC]

3 hours ago, lienf said:

Thanks for the info. 

Hi Lienf, glad to see you are still cruising. Maybe our paths will cross again some time.  

 

I booked flights with Cruise Air and had to pay in full in order to confirm our seats.  

[happy cruzer]

How does all this compare to Princess' EZAir?  It seemed really easy to refare with EZAir.  Does Celebrity provide the same option?  Thanks.

[lienf]

3 hours ago, SharC said:

Hi Lienf, glad to see you are still cruising. Maybe our paths will cross again some time.  

 

I booked flights with Cruise Air and had to pay in full in order to confirm our seats.  

Hi Sharon. Thanks for the info. We are still cruising and spending our kids inheritance as fast as we can. 😀 Hopefully we do cross paths again. 
 

Neil

[hcat]

20 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

I believe this is the problem...there are no computer geniuses at Celebrity. My husband works in IT and he shakes his head every time we try to do anything on their website.

Mine too... it seems that if there is a wrong way to  do it...they follow that path! Often non functional,

[hiccups]

2 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

How does all this compare to Princess' EZAir?  It seemed really easy to refare with EZAir.  Does Celebrity provide the same option?  Thanks.

We were able to refare our flights twice (even changing airlines for the second one) with no trouble.  We were also able to select seats before payment.

[twincheryl]

12 hours ago, lienf said:

A question about booking with Choice Air and deferring payment until the final cruise payment is due. Can you confirm your seats with the airline when you book your flight,  or do you have to wait?

We had a little experience with Choice Air a couple years ago when booking business seats to Amsterdam, so I knew it wasn't going to be as straightforward as just going on the airline website.  This time when I called,I was told you can't confirm seats until it is paid in full.  So, we did that and had to call back to get the e-ticket confirmation number in order to choose (and pay for) our business class seats on Lufthansa.  No charge for the return seats on United, but did need the e-ticket confirmation number.  Strangely, Choice Air said they needed to do something in their system to allow that e-ticket number (not the 6-digit locator code) to show that our fare was paid in full.  

 

Also told that generally the confirmations are sent out 40 days prior to travel, even if you paid 90 days in advance.  We would not have been happy with having to sit in whatever seats happened to be available at that late date.  It was quite the strange process, but all was taken care of with a phone call. 

 

Others on here have said it was no problem to book their seats right away... so, like anything with Celebrity (or other cruise lines), it may depend who you get on the phone...

[happy cruzer]

16 hours ago, hiccups said:

We were able to refare our flights twice (even changing airlines for the second one) with no trouble.  We were also able to select seats before payment.

I should have been more specific in my question.  Does Celebrity allow checking fares and rebooking online like the EZAir website?  EZAir was very painless to check mutliple days, classes - first, business, etc, and routing.  Some cruisers reported checking online daily.  Can you do that for a Celebrity flight?  No need to call and speak to a rep.  Thanks.

[hiccups]

Just now, happy cruzer said:

I should have been more specific in my question.  Does Celebrity allow checking fares and rebooking online like the EZAir website?  EZAir was very painless to check mutliple days, classes - first, business, etc, and routing.  Some cruisers reported checking online daily.  Can you do that for a Celebrity flight?  No need to call and speak to a rep.  Thanks.

I checked daily, and when I found a lower price, called Celebrity.  So yes, you can check, but to change, I called.

[vtcruising]

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Edited October 29, 2019 by vtcruising