Choice Air Price Question

[Dr65]

Hi: I was wondering if any one else has noticed this or am I doing something wrong? When I make a faux reservation thru Choice Air its $300 less per person than when I use my reservation # to book our flights. I called Celebrity and they said the “quote” on Celebrity’s site is not in real time! I told the Celebrity agent this is kind of a bait and switch and can they re-set the “true fare”? Thanks for any help.

[39august]

That is because fares change all the time. I have actually seen fares change while I am in the midst of getting a quote. It is best to call a Celebrity Air agent. They have  actual currently available rates. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

Think you already have your answer.  Fare literally change minute by minute.  Celebrity makes only the TA commission on flights.  Not much.  More of a service.  Today make sure you book a refundable fare.  The airlines are making refunds difficult.  

[voyager1964]

@Dr65: I had exactly the same problem, had an agent from Flight by Celebrity investigate as he himself observed exactly the same discrepancy, was on hold for ~15 min while the agent was talking to his supervisor. The end result - is actually no result. It looks like when quoting, their system is looking for the cheapest fare given relatively non-stringent inputs, say a roundtrip during August-September 2021 but does not look for specifically your days of travel. When you enter your reservation ID it does.

In all good days when the choice air worked for all three lines (RCCL, Azamara and X), the "quote" there was always exactly the same as a real booking. OTOH, the quote that I got now from that site using a similar RCCL sailing, was $500 pp more expensive than the actual booking on the Flights by Celebrity😠

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Happened to us too. I was on hold for 2 hours with an agent.  In addition to getting told the price changes every minute United in Calgary did not want to book refundable air from Calgary to Pittsburgh.  After 2 hours with supervisors intervention we were able to book our flight home  at a slightly higher price. Right after that the option to book a return flight after our cruise tour disappeared. I've seen the same pricing happen when booking direct with United so don't think there was any bait and switch. I'm just glad we were able to book with Flights By Celebrity since everything re cruising, esp from Canada, is so up in the air.

[Ashland]

I have booked Flights By Celebrity (first time) for my July 2021 cruise. Nothing due until final payment and complete refund if my cruise is cancelled. I've easily done two price changes (no fees and kept my same flights and business class seats) and have gotten wonderful quick customer service from the reps based in Guatemala. The slight difference of approx $10.00pp more from what Celebrity offered vs the DL website was well worth it. Very impressed so far.

[TeaBag]

Who are the reps based in Guatemala?  Or can you not say?

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, TeaBag said:

Who are the reps based in Guatemala?  Or can you not say?

Each time I've called the direct number for Flights By Celebrity the department that handles this is based in Guatemala...Very helpful and friendly.

[dabear]

18 hours ago, Ashland said:

Each time I've called the direct number for Flights By Celebrity the department that handles this is based in Guatemala...Very helpful and friendly.

Caution; last time we booked international air with Celebrity, the airline subsequently dropped their price by $800. X only gave us a $380 reduction so we overpaid by $420 using X air. 

[Ashland]

52 minutes ago, dabear said:

Caution; last time we booked international air with Celebrity, the airline subsequently dropped their price by $800. X only gave us a $380 reduction so we overpaid by $420 using X air. 

Thanks...but my flight from LAX-AMS for July 2021..it's very doubtful it will drop with DL (KLM). And even if it does I got a great deal with 2 price drops so far on my business class seats...so I'm feeling good (also comparing it to other similar international flights I've paid for in years past)...now if my ship just sails...fingers crossed !