Flights frustration

[georgiaguy]

I am so frustrated with Celebrity flights right now. We booked a really good deal on flights on Black Friday for our cruise leaving in June. Premium Economy DC to Rome and the Naples to DC after (because we are spending a few days after the cruise on the Amalfi Coast). The flight times were great until the airline cancelled the last leg of our trip. We went from getting home late the same day to having a 6 hour, overnight layover in Montreal. Basically getting in to Montreal at about midnight and then having a 6am flight. 6 hour layover before an international flight means wasting money on a partial night for a hotel and sleeping a few hours or staying on the pre-security side until the airport opens again. Oh and getting home 12 hours after we originally planned. That is frustrating and not Celebrities fault but there is more...

I called up to get my flights changed and they quoted me changes for $50 more a person but adjusting back close to our original times. Sounds great right. Yeah until I realized that the guy had booked me on economy flights. So now we paid $50 more each for a downgrade. I call Flights by Celebrity back and explain what has happened. We now my old flights are completely gone since he rebooked us and we can rebook again on premium economy if we pay $800 more and change from a noon departure from Naples to a 6am flight. More money and another terrible time. We basically are going to have to give up our last night in Amalfi (and we are only spending three) to go to the airport. I was fine leaving early in the morning for a midday flight, but not really with having to leave in the middle of the night. 

The best advice the very nice second person could recommend was to just keeping watching flight and maybe something might change or someone might cancel a flight and we could change the flights. Sadly they couldn't even just do premium economy on the flight there which is overnight. 

I guess I am not looking for advice as much and just needing to air my frustration. I am so disappointed. 

Edited January 27, 2022 by georgiaguy

[jelayne]

Air flights are so unpredictable now.  We booked a direct 1 way DFW to JFK.  We had a 4 hour layover which was fine as we would be claiming our luggage, changing terminals and airlines for a flight to Spain.  I Was booking flights for a entirely different trip when I saw a trip I didn’t recognize.  Turns out the airline has discontinued all direct flight from Dallas to JFK so they moved us to a DFW-MIA-JFK with a 35  minute connection in MIA and arriving under 2 hours before our departure to Spain.

 

I’m not going to deal with it yet as I figure whatever I book will change again before October.

[Jim_Iain]

I had something similar almost happen to me.   My flight was change from a 1 hour connection to a 5 hour connection.   I called Flights by Celebrity and they told me it would cost me an extra $200 dollars each to get on an earlier flight which was the original time.   My original flight was rescheduled to a later time  and they added a new flight (number) at the original time.

 

I told the agent - according to the airlines rules regarding booking another flight at the original rate if the delay was over 2 hours.   She went away for awhile trying to contact the airlines.   She eventually said she sent an email to resolutions department and I should get an e-mail within 72 hours.  

 

No email came so I logged onto Delta and the flight was changed at no charge.   BTW never received anything from Celebrity.    If I had booked direct with Delta they could have adjusted for me but since I booked with an agent I had to go through the agent.    The only reason I originally  booked with Flights was no payment until final payment and fully refundable.  The change came 3 days prior to final payment. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

It took my grandson 2 days and 5 flights to get from Denver to Houston.  Patience definitely needed.

Also understand Celebrity Air is not a travel agent but a consolidator.  The airlines in the past agreed to modify flights as needed if booked with Celebrity Air.  That is no longer true.  Non-refundable fares have change fees.

Unless Celebrity Air is lots cheaper AND you book at least a regular economy fare probably best to book direct with the airlines.

With almost half of January flights changed or cancelled one needs to have HUGE patience or do what we have done - cancell trips and stay home till things settle down 

PS - Our July flight Tucson to Reykjavik has changed twice since November.   Expect more changes

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[scottsla]

I have a flight in March from Sydney to Hamilton Island, was booked in December and it has change 4 times now and still 2 months away (and the last change also downgraded us from business to economy at same price with no choice but to accept or go different day). Flights everywhere at the moment are completely in flux.

[georgiaguy]

4 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

It took my grandson 2 days and 5 flights to get from Denver to Houston.  Patience definitely needed.

Also understand Celebrity Air is not a travel agent but a consolidator.  The airlines in the past agreed to modify flights as needed if booked with Celebrity Air.  That is no longer true.  Non-refundable fares have change fees.

Unless Celebrity Air is lots cheaper AND you book at least a regular economy fare probably best to book direct with the airlines.

 

I actually wasn’t planning to book with them, then I found the flights for $1200pp for premium economy. That was too good to pass up and was cheaper than booking directly by several hundred dollars per person.

[Kimboriffic]

This is good information.The only reason I was going to book with them was a guarantee to get us to the ship. It may just pay to come in a day early and not stress.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Kimboriffic said:

This is good information.The only reason I was going to book with them was a guarantee to get us to the ship. It may just pay to come in a day early and not stress.

They can only get you to the ship if there are flights available.  We always go in a day early for domestic trips; and that’s getting questionable lately.  For international 2-3 days pre cruise. 

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, Kimboriffic said:

This is good information.The only reason I was going to book with them was a guarantee to get us to the ship. It may just pay to come in a day early and not stress.

LOL... I booked flying in a day early (to reduce the stress).    That was the flight they changed to a 5 hour connection.   It was the 3rd change in 3 months and still 2 months to go until I fly.  

[Mike981]

Oohhh it was a pain before Covid and it has gotten much  worse.

FWIW: On a positive note, we had flights to Jamaica that I canceled three weeks before our planned flight. I went to the Delta website to "manage my trip/flight" and cancelled it there and asked for a refund. I received a refund confirmation the next day. Not an E-ticket, refunded to my credit card that only took a few days.

[georgiaguy]

I appreciate every sharing. I know that patience is required and things will continue to change. On the plus side it is nice to have a place to share my frustrations. Ultimately I dont really care as much about how we get there as long as we can have a reasonably safe and healthy vacation this summer. 

[RichYak]

15 hours ago, Kimboriffic said:

The only reason I was going to book with them was a guarantee to get us to the ship.

Please know that there are no guarantees like this with Celebrity air.

[CyberTag]

Also frustrated with Celebrity Air.  Booked air for 8 of us for June from SFO for $613 r/t each.  Great fare! We are before final payment, and now 2 members of our party have to leave from LAX.  I looked online and pricing is $899 per person for the flight.  We are ok with the price change.  Called Flights be Celebrity and they are saying that is an “estimate” and the price is $1,195 each ticket! *****?!  They explained that the price is for new bookings only and we booked before the “sale.”  Not happy with the new pricing structure at all!  Needless To say, we didn’t switch our flight and will keep checking airline prices directly 

[CruiseNYC]

I think I’m done with Celebrity Air.  I do like the idea of not having to pay up front but when the flights keep changing and you attempt to make changes, the change fees add up and you may or may not receive a response from Celebrity Air.  
This past cruise, they rescheduled us to a flight that would have had us waiting at the airport for about 5 hours until out flight home.  I tried numerous times pre-cruise to change the flight without any satisfaction from Celebrity. When I asked on board with the Retreat Concierge, they quoted a change fee which was more than if I had bought a new ticket.  When we got to the airport, I was able to get the earlier flight for a $75 fee per person - which was fine with me!

[Arizona Wildcat]

13 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

I think I’m done with Celebrity Air.  I do like the idea of not having to pay up front but when the flights keep changing and you attempt to make changes, the change fees add up and you may or may not receive a response from Celebrity Air.  
This past cruise, they rescheduled us to a flight that would have had us waiting at the airport for about 5 hours until out flight home.  I tried numerous times pre-cruise to change the flight without any satisfaction from Celebrity. When I asked on board with the Retreat Concierge, they quoted a change fee which was more than if I had bought a new ticket.  When we got to the airport, I was able to get the earlier flight for a $75 fee per person - which was fine with me!

When you buy a ticket that has change fees there is no difference if purchased thru Celebrity Air or direct from the airline.  If you need flexibility today one needs to purchase a full economy ticket or better.   The airlines are the ones charging the change fees.  Not Celebroty Air who is simply a consolidator. 

FWIW I book directly with the airlines unless Celebrity has a group fare.  Booking with Celebrity when about golf the flights are changed is crazy IMO.

[CruiseNYC]

14 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

When you buy a ticket that has change fees there is no difference if purchased thru Celebrity Air or direct from the airline.  If you need flexibility today one needs to purchase a full economy ticket or better.   The airlines are the ones charging the change fees.  Not Celebroty Air who is simply a consolidator. 

FWIW I book directly with the airlines unless Celebrity has a group fare.  Booking with Celebrity when about golf the flights are changed is crazy IMO.

It was more about the unresponsive team at Celebrity. If I book directly through the airline, I can always change the flights myself - and risk eventual change fees. 

[jagoffee]

18 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

When you buy a ticket that has change fees there is no difference if purchased thru Celebrity Air or direct from the airline.  If you need flexibility today one needs to purchase a full economy ticket or better.   The airlines are the ones charging the change fees.  Not Celebroty Air who is simply a consolidator. 

FWIW I book directly with the airlines unless Celebrity has a group fare.  Booking with Celebrity when about golf the flights are changed is crazy IMO.

Have always thought that what you say was the case.
 

This was certainly not true for me recently.  The $200 change fee was a Celebrity Air change fee, when a flight booked direct did not require any change fee.  In my case I received a cash refund minus the $200 fee.  If I would have booked directly with the airlines I would have not paid the $200, but I would have only received a credit. This was after final payment and the price of the ticket was the same either way.  

[cachouonacruise]

Dear OP, 

 

I am sorry about the turn of events for you and I understand your frustration.

 

My experience with Flights by Celebrity is limited but I was really positively surprised, when at the beginning of the pandemic, our cruise point of departure and destination had to be changed. Flights by Celebrity made the change for us, no cost, no hassle. Then, a couple of weeks later, the hole cruise was cancelled about a month prior to sailing time. Our fares were promptly refunded! No issues whatsoever.

 

Shortly after, another cruise was cancelled two day prior to sailing time. Unfortunately, this time, I had booked with an airline, via a TA. Because the airline offered a future flight credit, our cancellation insurance was useless. Fortunately in Quebec, we have a an Indemnisation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents....and almost two years later, 

I am still keeping my fingers crossed for that refund.

 

P.s As a resident of the Greater Montreal Area, I am quite familiar with Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport (CYUL. So, if you still end up having to do a short night stay, there is a nice Marriott Hotel located right above the international gates. So, it's easy to access on foot, without having to set a foot outside (our winters can be quite frosty). In my opinion, the bedrooms are comfortable and the food good.

 

Despite your initial disappointment, I really hope that at the end, you will enjoy your trip and cruise.

 

[fstuff1]

On 1/27/2022 at 2:14 PM, RichYak said:

Please know that there are no guarantees like this with Celebrity air.

wait what?

thought one of the advantages of booking celebrity air was that we get on the ship, even if the flight is late?

[downsmead]

43 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

wait what?

thought one of the advantages of booking celebrity air was that we get on the ship, even if the flight is late?

That is supposing they can get you on a flight to fly in on time to meet the ship. With the high number of flights being cancelled, if there are no flights then they cannot uphold that ‘promise’. Ships have been known to wait for charter flights specific for that cruise, but will not wait for individual passengers being late. 

[RichYak]

49 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

wait what?

thought one of the advantages of booking celebrity air was that we get on the ship, even if the flight is late?

They don't do anything that you or a TA couldn't do yourself (rebooking a different flight). And if you can't do it yourself (no available flights), they can't do it either.

 

The advantages are not paying until final payment, ability to change names of passengers until final payment, sometimes cheaper flights. Perhaps there's other advantages I'm leaving out, but getting you to the ship on time is not one of them.

[oskidunker]

I would never book cruise line air. Book direct with the airline and get what you want. 

[bloomcruisers]

I am only booking cruises out of Florida right now so I can drive to the port.

 I just don’t want to deal with that flight uncertainty stress. It’s a long drive from PA but I am in control. So I have limited my cruise options but feel much more relaxed about my trips.

[sippican]

Doubt if we will ever again book through Celebrity Air. Disregard everything they promise! If you have a problem while traveling they can be totally useless.

 

We had booked a return flight from Ecuador following our Xpedition cruise through Celebrity Air. A day prior to disembarking, I received a text from the airline saying our flight had been changed. I contacted the Guest Services desk onboard and asked them to contact Celebrity Air. Later in the day, we were told there were no changes to our itinerary and we were "all set". While at the Baltra airport, waiting to fly to Quito, I received another notification of a cancelled flight. At this point, there was no Celebrity rep with us, and I had no way to call flights by Celebrity on their "800" line.  The concierge in the airport VIP lounge called the Xpedition staff from her personal phone - no help whatsoever. When we boarded our charter flight to Quito, the X rep said he'd contact Flights by Celebrity for us.  Mid-flight he came to our seats and told us our flight was ok, no problem. Long story - when we landed, we phoned our daughter who confirmed our flight from Quito to the US had indeed been cancelled. She found a new flight for us and called X demanding they get us on a alternate flight home. It took hours. The end result was that we would have sat in Ecuador for three more days if we had relied upon X's resolution to get us home. Thankfully, we caught a flight later and were able to get it paid for by X.

 

 

[dateacher]

Here's a thought. We did a similar trip and jumped ship in Naples and went to the Amalfi Coast for a few days. I am geographically challenged and had already booked our roundtrip from Rome so never thought about returning home from Naples.  We had a driver from Sorrento to Rome.  It was about 2.5 hours in a beautiful car and it cost about $200. It might be worth it to eliminate the long layover if you can get a good flight home from Rome.