Silversea vs Seabourn air

[cruiseej]

37 minutes ago, hsheffield said:

However, in order to get these one way seats, I was asked to pay an additional $2600/person.  

Has anyone else been asked to pay a similar fee?

 

I think what they're telling you is that they don't have contracted seats available on the flight you're asking for. So they're giving you a price quote for switching to your desired flight which they would be purchasing basically at retail (perhaps minus a little bit of discount). 

 

I don't know if you've mentioned where this flight is from/to, but $2,600 per person for one way does seem pretty pricey. Although… overseas business class roundtrips can easily price out in the $5,000 range nowadays, so it may not be far out of line, unfortunately. I agree with the post above about pricing the flight(s) on your own, to see how the cost would compare if you were to book on your own and take an air credit from SS.

[Dolcevita Diva]

1 hour ago, hsheffield said:

the saga continues....

 

first off, I checked my email and I requested Delta flights at the time of booking in February '22.

 

as I said before, without notifying me, SS booked me on other airlines for dates I didn't want. 

 

last week SS finally came back with seats they were able to get on Delta on the dates I wanted for the outgoing leg but not the return. 

 

However, in order to get these one way seats, I was asked to pay an additional $2600/person.  

 

Has anyone else been asked to pay a similar fee?  

 

I thought we might have to pay the deviation fee, but $5200 extra seems ridiculous. 

 

 

Not positive whether this applies to the way they have their contracts set up with the various airlines, but Delta has more recently changed something in their system and on international trips, their fares for one-way are almost as much for RT.  That could be a reason for the steep add-on, as it sounds like SS can only book DL one-way for you.

[hsheffield]

cruisej, dolcevita diva and gourmet gal- 

 

I think you're all exactly right.  I just tried booking it myself on delta and was able to get RT business for $3600/person. 

 

my TA tells me that we would receive $1400 back for the business upgrade fee and a $700 airfare credit (again, that seems super low for a RT international airfare but maybe that's their contracted price)

 

so basically I'm thinking we'd lose airport transfers and pay $1500 more/person.

 

am I missing something? do you still get airport transfers if you paid for door to door but book your own flights?

 

also: had anyone converted a door to door reservation to a port to port??

 

 

thanks to everyone for sharing your experience. I'm hoping one day I actually get to set foot on a cruise ship!

 

[Gourmet Gal]

It depends how badly you want your preferred flights.  I just spent about 4K more so we wouldn’t have to wake up at 2:30AM on a return from Porto.  I think you’d lose the airport transfer.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Gourmet Gal

[Dolcevita Diva]

If you wish to stay with Delta both ways, you may want to check what the fare would look like for flying Business Class for the outbound overnight flight and Premium Select for the return.  Depends on where you are going.
 

 Definitely want the extra legroom, but I personally don’t use the “lie-flat” feature on a daytime flight back from Europe to the East Coast.   I won’t fly economy, but am considering trying that combo (business class outbound and premium select on return) because that can bring the RT fare down quite a bit. 

[Gourmet Gal]

DD, that combo works well for Europe to East Coast but West Coast, not so much.  It’s nice to take a nap after mealtime plus there are fewer people in the cabin if one is hoping to keep a little social distance.  

[hsheffield]

fantastic idea DD, agree that I don't need the lie flat option on return!

 

thank you

[MBP&O2/O]

On 5/7/2022 at 10:27 PM, Hlitner said:

Regarding Seabourn, they have a decent air system.  You can access their internal search engine and choose your own a flight, airports, class, etc.  if you want hand holding you can call Seabourn directly and deal with their regular reservations folks or ask to speak directly to their air department folks.

How do you access this search engine please? We have a SB cruise booked and paid for and will be needing to sort out flights soon.

FWIW I have just ditched SS in favour of SB ... one of the reasons being severe communications problems especially when our PCC was inept! 

[dawntrdr]

1 hour ago, MBP&O2/O said:

FWIW I have just ditched SS in favour of SB ... one of the reasons being severe communications problems especially when our PCC was inept! 

When your SB cruise is over, please post your views on how they compare.  

[toseaornottosea]

2 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

How do you access this search engine please? We have a SB cruise booked and paid for and will be needing to sort out flights soon.

Go to the Seabourn website.  Access and open your booked cruise.  Go to Travel Planning Pre and Post-Cruise.  That will take you to Flight Ease.  Go to Book and Manage Flights and you're there.  Or call Seabourn and one of their reps will book the flights for you.

[MBP&O2/O]

52 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

When your SB cruise is over, please post your views on how they compare.  

Will do ...

39 minutes ago, toseaornottosea said:

to the Seabourn website.  Access and open your booked cruise.  Go to Travel Planning Pre and Post-Cruise.  That will take you to Flight Ease.  Go to Book and Manage Flights and you're there.  Or call Seabourn and one of their reps will book the flights for you.

Thanks ..

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

How do you access this search engine please? We have a SB cruise booked and paid for and will be needing to sort out flights soon.

FWIW I have just ditched SS in favour of SB ... one of the reasons being severe communications problems especially when our PCC was inept! 

You can access it from your in line booking account