Flights by Celebrity vs booking my own flights

[Z'Loth]

It's been about three years and one major move since I last went on a cruise. I've scheduled one for next week. 

 

In the past, I usually handled the airline booking. Since my mother and I were flying out of Sacramento (SMF), flight choices were limited to the point where, for my 2018 Miami cruise, the cheapest and most convenient option was to fly through a Washington DC airport. Then again, I flew in on a Monday for a Friday departure so that I could see a little bit of Miami.

 

Flash forward to the Covid present and a move to DFW area. I booked a cruise that will begin one year from now for my mother and myself. And, for some strange reason, my mother is strongly hinting that we take the "Flights by Celebrity" for the refundability instead of letting me book the flight. So, my questions are:

1. Will I be able to arrive 1-2 days before the cruise? 
2. Can I still use American Airlines, as they are the key airline for DFW?
3. What are the cost differences? 

 

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, Z'Loth said:

It's been about three years and one major move since I last went on a cruise. I've scheduled one for next week. 

 

In the past, I usually handled the airline booking. Since my mother and I were flying out of Sacramento (SMF), flight choices were limited to the point where, for my 2018 Miami cruise, the cheapest and most convenient option was to fly through a Washington DC airport. Then again, I flew in on a Monday for a Friday departure so that I could see a little bit of Miami.

 

Flash forward to the Covid present and a move to DFW area. I booked a cruise that will begin one year from now for my mother and myself. And, for some strange reason, my mother is strongly hinting that we take the "Flights by Celebrity" for the refundability instead of letting me book the flight. So, my questions are:

1. Will I be able to arrive 1-2 days before the cruise?
2. Can I still use American Airlines, as they are the key airline for DFW?
3. What are the cost differences?

1) Yes;

2) Quite possibly; and

3) You will need to compare both options by checking what the pricing is for each option to know differences.

 

bon voyage

Edited October 10, 2021 by Bo1953

[drakes2]

11 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

1) Yes;

2) Quite possibly; and

3) You will need to compare both options by checking what the pricing is for each option to know differences.

 

bon voyage

In my case I saved $80 by booking directly with carrier. I also had some questions regarding cancelations, travel credits etc and the airline was most helpful in answering all my queries. I don't believe you would get that service if booked with Flights by Celebrity but you have to decide what suits your situation best. 

[PaperSniper4]

1 hour ago, Z'Loth said:

It's been about three years and one major move since I last went on a cruise. I've scheduled one for next week. 

 

In the past, I usually handled the airline booking. Since my mother and I were flying out of Sacramento (SMF), flight choices were limited to the point where, for my 2018 Miami cruise, the cheapest and most convenient option was to fly through a Washington DC airport. Then again, I flew in on a Monday for a Friday departure so that I could see a little bit of Miami.

 

Flash forward to the Covid present and a move to DFW area. I booked a cruise that will begin one year from now for my mother and myself. And, for some strange reason, my mother is strongly hinting that we take the "Flights by Celebrity" for the refundability instead of letting me book the flight. So, my questions are:

1. Will I be able to arrive 1-2 days before the cruise? 
2. Can I still use American Airlines, as they are the key airline for DFW?
3. What are the cost differences? 

 

With the virus, we absolutely plan on taking your mother's advice since we can roll the cost of the airfare into the final payment. In my experience (only 4-5 times using Princess EZ Fare or Celeb Air) the cost has been within a few dollars of what I'd have paid booking it myself. Avoiding the air payment until the cruise final payment and ease if I have to cancel are big deals for me.

 

Doug

[jelayne]

We found Celebrity air from DFW -FLL higher than booking direct for our upcoming trip so we booked direct. 

[wrk2cruise]

Since your sailing is a year out you could book with Flights by Celebrity and then watch pricing on your own and cancel the FbC flights prior to final payment if you find something better.

[ak1004]

We used Celebrity air twice for business class flights, both times it was cheaper than booking directly with airlines or expedia.

 

On our upcoming cruise in May Celebrity is cheaper as well. And yes, they give an option to fly few days before the cruise.

 

Celebrity air is probably one of the best of all cruise lines. The ability to book directly from the website is very helpful as well. 

 

[alyssamma]

9 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We used Celebrity air twice for business class flights, both times it was cheaper than booking directly with airlines or expedia.

 

On our upcoming cruise in May Celebrity is cheaper as well. And yes, they give an option to fly few days before the cruise.

 

Celebrity air is probably one of the best of all cruise lines. The ability to book directly from the website is very helpful as well. 

 

I can't agree with this more. I am a newb to sailing on X but the air deal is amazing. We have a May 2022 cruise in Europe and the Celebrity Air (for business) was $1000pp cheaper than me booking it direct. I was able to choose the exact flights I wanted (which means airline, connecting airports, etc.).

 

You can fly in as many days before or after as you want.

 

The *only* problem was that all of the flights weren't available. My first choice on the return didn't show up, but my second choice did.

 

LOL, I was so happy I tried to use it for a non-Celebrity cruise I have coming up but, as you might expect, was not able to 🙂

 

[canderson]

24 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We used Celebrity air twice for business class flights, both times it was cheaper than booking directly with airlines or expedia.

 

On our upcoming cruise in May Celebrity is cheaper as well. And yes, they give an option to fly few days before the cruise.

 

Celebrity air is probably one of the best of all cruise lines. The ability to book directly from the website is very helpful as well. 

 

I'm guessing that those were one-way flights to Europe.  That's where Celebrity's Air program can make a huge difference.  Airline direct bookings for one way often generate fares almost or equal to round trip fares.  Celebrity avoids that penalty, and by use of consolidator fares, often beats the round trip airline price by more than just half.  It's usually a far better alternative when booking a TA cruise or others like some S.American cruises that only require a one way international flight.

 

Also, never assume that what is shown on the web site is all inclusive of the available selection of flights.  A phone call to their Choice Air will almost always provide additional alternatives.

[ak1004]

26 minutes ago, canderson said:

I'm guessing that those were one-way flights to Europe.  That's where Celebrity's Air program can make a huge difference.  Airline direct bookings for one way often generate fares almost or equal to round trip fares.  Celebrity avoids that penalty, and by use of consolidator fares, often beats the round trip airline price by more than just half.  It's usually a far better alternative when booking a TA cruise or others like some S.American cruises that only require a one way international flight.

 

Also, never assume that what is shown on the web site is all inclusive of the available selection of flights.  A phone call to their Choice Air will almost always provide additional alternatives.

 

It's actually for both. I started with the round trip option which was already cheaper than booking direct. Then I checked the return flight only because I can book the flight from Toronto to Barcelona with points. The return flight was even a better deal with Celebrity.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

We found Celebrity air from DFW -FLL higher than booking direct for our upcoming trip so we booked direct. 

I was curious so looked up FBC for my upcoming November 12th cruise and it's $180 more than what I paid booking directly with the carrier. Also now that its outside final payment there is a penalty of $270 CDN to cancel or make changes. 

[KruznKimmie]

Your Mother could very well be correct.

If you book with Celebrity Air you are out no money until final payment is due & this has been helpful with COVID & cancellations.  Just make sure you book refundable airfare.

There is a discount on flights thru Celebrity Air now until Nov 1st but most flight schedules open up 11 months from departure so this might not apply to your trip.

You can choose the date you depart & you can select which airline you would like to book with.

Do your research by looking at options through the airline, then look at options online through the Celebrity Air link, & also call the Celebrity Air travel desk.  Our fares have usually been cheaper by booking online w/ Celebrity Air vs by phone.

And as others have mentioned if the fare drops in price you can cancel & re-book at the lower fare.

Finally, we usually book economy tickets, then after final payment is made you can pay to upgrade your seats, depending on the airline.  I know you can do this with American Airlines as I have done this.

[IDLnyc]

If I book standard (not Basic) economy with Celebrity Air, can I still select a "preferred" or "Economy Plus" seat with the airline for the better legroom.  I'd appreciate hearing if anyone has done that successfully. 

I'm too tall to sit in regular economy, so don't want to risk ending up in one of the standard seats.

[KruznKimmie]

4 minutes ago, IDLnyc said:

If I book standard (not Basic) economy with Celebrity Air, can I still select a "preferred" or "Economy Plus" seat with the airline for the better legroom.  I'd appreciate hearing if anyone has done that successfully. 

I'm too tall to sit in regular economy, so don't want to risk ending up in one of the standard seats.

Yes, you can as this is how we usually use Celebrity Air but don't book Basic (like with United).  However, I am not sure about non-US carriers as I have only done this with US airlines.  You will not be able to upgrade your seat until after you make final airfare payment & once I had to call Celebrity Air to do this.  Also, it might be cheaper to book Premium Plus on some airlines initially vs paying for the upgrade after final payment so check the prices.

[Pickels]

IMHO--- and there will people who disagree; and that's fine!  Putting cost aside,--- we started cruising in 2003 and have always dealt directly with a company being a cruise line, airline, hotel and have found that it was easier to work out an issue with the company itself,  instead of a third party. 

[LGW59]

3 minutes ago, Pickels said:

IMHO--- and there will people who disagree; and that's fine!  Putting cost aside,--- we started cruising in 2003 and have always dealt directly with a company being a cruise line, airline, hotel and have found that it was easier to work out an issue with the company itself,  instead of a third party. 

Totally agree!  I got taken to task on Oceania thread saying the same thing.  One guy told me I am apparently like to throw my money out the window lol 

[Jim_Iain]

There can be advantages and disadvantages to using Flights by Celebrity.

 

Advantage -

If booking far in advance you can cancel with no fees up until final payment

Payment is not due until  Cruise Final Payment

 

Disadvantage -

Post Covid most prices are the same as the airlines.

If you cancel or change reservation after final payment you are Charged I believe $100 per pax.

 

I find it best to do your research using a site like flights.google.com  (they track prices and recommend how  and when to buy  -  often buying 2 one way tickets is cheaper than RT.

 

I recently purchased an Alaska Air flight  SJC-SAN      Total cost buying separate tickets was $247.50  including taxes Round Trip in First.    Checked Celebrity and they want $898 (pre-tax) one way for the same flights.   Do you homework

 

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by Jim_Iain

[drakes2]

12 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Totally agree!  I got taken to task on Oceania thread saying the same thing.  One guy told me I am apparently like to throw my money out the window lol 

I use a website that's partnered with my bank to book flights and hotels as they are packaged together for additional savings and I get extra points for doing so which I redeem for travel. In this particular case decided to book flight separately with carrier since I ask a lot of questions and a third party won't help. Haven't flown since the pandemic and things have changed since then.

[jagoffee]

On 10/10/2021 at 4:48 PM, ak1004 said:

We used Celebrity air twice for business class flights, both times it was cheaper than booking directly with airlines or expedia.

 

On our upcoming cruise in May Celebrity is cheaper as well. And yes, they give an option to fly few days before the cruise.

 

Celebrity air is probably one of the best of all cruise lines. The ability to book directly from the website is very helpful as well. 

 I agree that Celebrity Air is much better than some including Oceania and Regent.  CA is not as good as Princess Air.   The most significant limitation with Celebrity Air is that you cannot cancel on line.  If you want to change you flights you first have to call to cancel.  Once you cancel, you can rebook on line or in the phone.  Princess’s air allows you to do this all on line.  

[HBLm3]

I want to be able to compare flights booked by myself with Flights by Celebrity, but I can't get the website to work. It shows fares, but I can't select any of them to get to the next flight in order to create a complete booking. Has anyone else had this issue? The buttons to select a flight are greyed out on every available flight. It's so odd. I called the number and the guy said he could help me but didn't know anything about the website. Thanks!