Need help - Silversea Air Arrangement Question

[AndieSF]

We have a trip scheduled with Silversea this November to Antartica. We booked this trip prior to covid, paid in full for several years.  It is our first time traveling with this cruise line and are very excited.  However, for the past months, we have been unable to work with them with our air arrangements.  Silversea set a random flight arrangements on our itinerary.  When we tried to request for our preferred flights (due to our airline program) and we are willing to pay the difference, the representative from Silversea simply kept telling us "please wait for few more weeks" and never followed up.  I get the same message every time I follow up after few weeks.    It is now July, less than 5 months prior to the trip, the rep is still chanting the same message: "please wait for few more weeks" and ignoring us.   Somehow I get this feeling that if I check in again in a few weeks, I will likely be getting the same message?  We have until late July to cancel without major penalty...   now we are considering cancelling the trip entirely due to lack of response from Silversea. 

 

From your experiences -  this common from Silversea?  Do they don't care about their customer's flight requests? Should we cancel?

 

Any advice you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

[Port Power]

44 minutes ago, AndieSF said:

We have a trip scheduled with Silversea this November to Antartica. We booked this trip prior to covid, paid in full for several years.  It is our first time traveling with this cruise line and are very excited.  However, for the past months, we have been unable to work with them with our air arrangements.  Silversea set a random flight arrangements on our itinerary.  When we tried to request for our preferred flights (due to our airline program) and we are willing to pay the difference, the representative from Silversea simply kept telling us "please wait for few more weeks" and never followed up.  I get the same message every time I follow up after few weeks.    It is now July, less than 5 months prior to the trip, the rep is still chanting the same message: "please wait for few more weeks" and ignoring us.   Somehow I get this feeling that if I check in again in a few weeks, I will likely be getting the same message?  We have until late July to cancel without major penalty...   now we are considering cancelling the trip entirely due to lack of response from Silversea. 

 

From your experiences -  this common from Silversea?  Do they don't care about their customer's flight requests? Should we cancel?

 

Any advice you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

I don't think the problem is actually with Silversea, but I do think their response could have been a bit more informative.

 

International flights are still not back to pre-COVID schedules yet, and more flights departures are being published every week.  Some countries also still have border requirements that are not well published.  Try to find regulations online for the countries you are entering so that you can ask specific questions when you next call Silversea.  

 

Although my Silver Muse cruise to Japan is still a year away, anyone going there this September still has issues with Japan's rules.  Silversea is also not being more informative there, either, which results in much uncertainty.

[gcornell]

Lots of posts on here with many unhappy with how SS handles flights. Perhaps consider booking yourself and getting a refund for the air you didn’t use.  In general, they will give you $1,000pp back and an additional $1,400 if you upgraded to business.  

[AndieSF]

Thank you for your inputs!  Good to know we are not alone with SS ignoring us with our flight arrangements?! Silversea knows which flights we want (they sent us the options but reserved another airline with worse flight schedule). If we make the flight arrangements ourselves, will they still pick us up at Santiago?  Or do we then need to find our ways to the hotel?

[forgap]

If you are on Facebook, join the Silversea Passengers Group.  You can then message Barbara Muckerman who is one of the senior executives.  We finally got some traction on our flight arrangements when I reached out.  SS air is problem.  

[kimanjo]

1 hour ago, forgap said:

If you are on Facebook, join the Silversea Passengers Group.  You can then message Barbara Muckerman who is one of the senior executives.  We finally got some traction on our flight arrangements when I reached out.  SS air is problem.  

 

See, that's a problem.... One shouldn't HAVE to join the Face Place in order to get some traction.....

 

 

[kimanjo]

4 hours ago, AndieSF said:

Thank you for your inputs!  Good to know we are not alone with SS ignoring us with our flight arrangements?! Silversea knows which flights we want (they sent us the options but reserved another airline with worse flight schedule). If we make the flight arrangements ourselves, will they still pick us up at Santiago?  Or do we then need to find our ways to the hotel?

 

We did our own air to Santiago in November 2021 for our Antarctica cruise.  We just hopped in a taxi to the hotel.. Not hard, didn't need them to pick us up.. It's a modern country/airport with all the transport services of any world airport.  Easy.

 

Then, the rest of the transport was handled/included by Silversea.  Transport from the hotel to the airport for our charter flight to Punta Arenas ( Port Williams now?)

 

Then after the cruise, transport back to Santiago, where they transported us to the hotel ( for our night flight out).  

 

We then just had the hotel get us a taxi back to the airport for our own air home.

 

I would guess about 30% maybe a little more of the pax on that cruise had done their own air. Lots of people used miles/points. It's not that unusual.  

[Joywrk]

My experience was different.SS had booked flights we didn’t like. We chose what we wanted. Our TA contacted SS and with paying a deviation fee we got exactly what we wanted. Business class to Sydney and home from Tokyo.

[labrasett]

While SS response to you is currently unhelpful the simple fact is that the world of airlines and flight schedules is in massive chaos.  As fast as SS book flights the airlines change their schedules or cancel their flights.   Keep pushing but if you cant get a better response then you could ask for an air credit and book your own flights.   As others have said flying into Santiago and getting a taxi to your hotel is very easy.  You would be, IMHO, cutting off your nose to spite your face by now cancelling your long awaited trip to one of the most amazing places in the world.

[alithecat]

@AndieSF We live in San Francisco and are on an Antarctica cruise this December. SS Air routed us to Santiago through New York outgoing and Toronto returning. Not acceptable, we refuse to fly into winter storms. We gave them the flights we wanted via Houston and they said it would cost an extra $2300pp. So, we cancelled SS Air and booked ourselves. You don't get the transfer to the Santiago hotel if you fly independently, but can ask for it. It costs $70pp. High price but worth it for the convenience. We are arriving 2 nights early just in case.

[AndieSF]

Thank you all!  We booked our trip via SS directly, and not with TA.  It is the first time we booked with anyone directly... I guess we learned our lesson.

 

I joined the FB group just now, but not sure if that would be any of help.

 

@alithecat - we are from SF, on the Nov 28 Silver Explorer to Antarctica.   We choose SFO to HOU to SCL on United, and in Feb, it was $1000 pp.  But Silversea first booked us from SFO - ATL - MIA - SCL...then now SFO - JFK (5 hour layover) - SCL.  They kept changing our flights, anything but the ones we want.  I am in a agreement - I want to avoid weather impacts to my flights!

 

  I have been monitoring the exact flight I wanted to go (that Silversea also have as well) since February - nothing has changed as far as the flights except price went up by 50%.  Now I wish I had known about SS enough not to believe them .. and just planned it myself 😞

 

This is leaving me a bad taste about Silversea - and our trip hasn't even started it ...

 

 

 

 

[alithecat]

@AndieSFWe booked the same United flights you found, Houston to/from Santiago. This is our 3rd try to get to Antarctica, thanks to Covid-19 cancellations. We had enough United miles in our accounts from the 2020 attempt to book business class using miles. We know we are taking a chance flying independently, with all the delays & cancellations happening now. We took an earlier flight from SFO to HOU to give us a 3 hour layover, and we are going 2 nights early. Hope it works.

 

To be fair to SS, there is a lot of chaos in the airline industry right now. Many flights have been/will be cancelled, and prices have increased. SS doesn't have contracts with all airlines, and has a limited number of seats.

[Gourmet Gal]

So it sounds like the problem is not lack of choice of flights and if you know your preferred flights then SS Air should give you a yeah or nay if they will book it with the deviations.  Sometimes the problem is that they do not have a contract for bulk fares with your preferred airlineS but they should tell you that.  SS Air has been a weak spot with SS for the past year or so and despite the advantages sometimes your preferred airline and routing has to take priority.  If money is not an issue then I would decline the air from SS and book directly. 
 

It seems SSAir has contracts with fewer carriers than in the past.  This is based on my attempt to use them this Fall and not being able to book the same carriers as in the past with SS.

 

Transfer from the airport by SS is only slightly more convenient than making your own way either by taxi or private car.  I wouldn’t base the air decision on that.

[AndieSF]

Got it.   We also planned to take the 11AM flight from SFO to HOU.  And I truly wished SS rep could just tell me from the start that they do not have contract, so if they book it then, it would cost me $x... then I could've decide sooner.  But the "Please check back in couple of weeks" is not only going to secure my flights through them, it is ending up costing me more. (it is now $1800pp).  I guess it is a hard lesson I learn going with SS.  I have only cruised with Regent, Azamara and Viking previously, and none of them were as difficult - really leaving me a bad taste 😞

 

Ok, I will look into do it on our own now. It is good to know that we are not alone and it is better to do it ourselves.

 

 

 

[alithecat]

@AndieSF be sure to give yourself an extra night in Santiago. You don't want to miss the boat! SS includes 1 night in the Santiago hotel. Ask SS to book the 2nd night. They charged us $210pp, which is quite high, but it's not worth the hassle of changing hotels/changing rooms for 1 night to save the money.

 

Don't let the SS Air experience sour you on the trip. We have been on several SS expeditions and they were wonderful. I hope we all get to Antarctica this winter. 3rd time lucky for us?

[Riverroad]

34 minutes ago, alithecat said:

@AndieSF be sure to give yourself an extra night in Santiago. You don't want to miss the boat! SS includes 1 night in the Santiago hotel. Ask SS to book the 2nd night. They charged us $210pp, which is quite high, but it's not worth the hassle of changing hotels/changing rooms for 1 night to save the money.

 

Don't let the SS Air experience sour you on the trip. We have been on several SS expeditions and they were wonderful. I hope we all get to Antarctica this winter. 3rd time lucky for us?

Why can’t you book both nights in the same hotel on your own? Why do you have to go through SS? 

[alithecat]

@RiverroadThe hotel room in Santiago for the night before the cruise is included in the SS fare, and the next morning they take you and your luggage from that hotel to the private airport for the charter flight to Puerto Williams. You could certainly forgo the SS hotel room and book on your own. If in a different hotel, you would need to get to SS's hotel in time for the airport transfer. We didn't think it was worth the bother to save at most a couple of hundred dollars when we were spending $50K+ on the cruise.

[Gourmet Gal]

1 hour ago, AndieSF said:

Got it.   We also planned to take the 11AM flight from SFO to HOU.  And I truly wished SS rep could just tell me from the start that they do not have contract, so if they book it then, it would cost me $x... then I could've decide sooner.  But the "Please check back in couple of weeks" is not only going to secure my flights through them, it is ending up costing me more. (it is now $1800pp).  I guess it is a hard lesson I learn going with SS.  I have only cruised with Regent, Azamara and Viking previously, and none of them were as difficult - really leaving me a bad taste 😞

 

Ok, I will look into do it on our own now. It is good to know that we are not alone and it is better to do it ourselves.

 

 

 

That lag time is problematic especially for a business seat.  In the past they’ve done a much better job.  I wonder how this poor service compares to other air departments currently in light of the airline turmoil and Covid staff shortages?

 

Good luck.

[Port Power]

56 minutes ago, alithecat said:

@RiverroadThe hotel room in Santiago for the night before the cruise is included in the SS fare, and the next morning they take you and your luggage from that hotel to the private airport for the charter flight to Puerto Williams. You could certainly forgo the SS hotel room and book on your own. If in a different hotel, you would need to get to SS's hotel in time for the airport transfer. We didn't think it was worth the bother to save at most a couple of hundred dollars when we were spending $50K+ on the cruise.

I have booked an extra night myself directly with the same hotel (or through a hotel booking site) and then emailed the hotel asking to keep me in the same room. 

[alithecat]

One more piece of advice for those going to Antarctica. Most of the return flights from Santiago to the US leave late in the evening. If you book with SS Air, they will take you from the charter airport to a hotel day room, and then back to the airport later for your flight. If you don't use SS Air, they will drop you off at the main airport. Right now due to Covid-19 restrictions there is a max. 2 hour stay in airport lounges, but no idea if that will change by winter. So staying at the airport would not be pleasant.

 

Without SS Air, the day room and transfer are extra cost. We decided to skip the back & forth. We booked a fully refundable, regular room at the Holiday Inn Santiago airport. Not fancy, but at the airport right across the parking lot from the terminal building. The cost was similar to what SS wanted to charge us for the day room plus transfer. Also, if for some reason our flight gets cancelled, we'll have a place to sleep for the night. 

[kimanjo]

57 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I have booked an extra night myself directly with the same hotel (or through a hotel booking site) and then emailed the hotel asking to keep me in the same room. 

We did the exact same thing for our cruise the past November.  I knew it was either going to be the Ritz Carlton or Mandarin.  I booked the Mandarin O when I knew for sure.  Then I contacted the MO to ask for the same room.  Easy peasy.  

[kimanjo]

Also, do you have miles??   All the major carriers now have free re-deposit.  I used miles, and booked them.  I'm kind of obsessive, and it didn't cost anything, so I would check on flights everyday.  If something better came up, I would cancel, re-deposit, and they would show up about 10 minutes later, and re-book the new flights.

I know most people won't do this, but for this of us who can/will have the energy, it's a plan.

 

[AndieSF]

OMG.. that is more new info to consider!  I didn't even think about the return leg of the trip!

So please let me know if I am capturing everything correctly.. if we make the air arrangement on our own: 

1) We are responsible to go from airport to the hotel in Santiago .

2) Just in case, we should leave one day sooner, and book an one extra nigh at the same hotel...(Question - they have not told us which hotel - Just rep simply said, "Ritz or similar"... and online it is written : "Silversea Hotel" ----how do we find that out?)

3) On the way back, Silversea will drop us off at the SCL airport - so we should arrange a day hotel at the airport in Santiago,  (Holiday Inn is nearby? Walking distance?)

 

Did I get all that right? Am I still missing something else?

 

You guys are so experienced!! OMG!  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[alithecat]

@AndieSF

1. yes.  You can book a transfer thru SS to their hotel, or find you own way in a taxi.

2. yes. SS won't tell you the hotel until much closer to the cruise. If you are ok with the cost, book the extra night thru SS. Otherwise, you can wait until you know which hotel, book it yourself, and ask the hotel to keep you in the same room, as others have done.

3. yes. The Holiday Inn Santiago Airport Terminal is the only hotel right at the airport. I read that you can walk across the parking lot to it from the terminal. They don't have day rooms, just regular rooms. Check-in is 3pm. Or you book the day room and transfers thru SS. Or you sit at the airport for what could be a long time, depending on your flight.

 

I'm not that experienced, I just started my research first, as soon as we decided to reject SS Air and their crazy routing home via Toronto in January. Our TA was good about contacting SS to find out what was included and what the additional costs would be.

[kimanjo]

11 hours ago, AndieSF said:

OMG.. that is more new info to consider!  I didn't even think about the return leg of the trip!

So please let me know if I am capturing everything correctly.. if we make the air arrangement on our own: 

1) We are responsible to go from airport to the hotel in Santiago .

2) Just in case, we should leave one day sooner, and book an one extra nigh at the same hotel...(Question - they have not told us which hotel - Just rep simply said, "Ritz or similar"... and online it is written : "Silversea Hotel" ----how do we find that out?)

3) On the way back, Silversea will drop us off at the SCL airport - so we should arrange a day hotel at the airport in Santiago,  (Holiday Inn is nearby? Walking distance?)

 

Did I get all that right? Am I still missing something else?

 

You guys are so experienced!! OMG!  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of thoughts... Just checked the Ritz web-site.  Room is 312.00 USD, fully cancelable up until 48 hours before checkin.  I'm sure MO is the same.  I would book both.  If I HAD to guess, it would be the MO that they are using ( best outdoor space!!!), Ritz it nice, but pool area on roof is no comparison.  Then cancel when you know for sure. It will pop up into your MySIlversea.  My agent kept monitoring it thru her contacts at SS, and she also emailed me.  If I had to guess, it was 60 days before?

Booking an extra day early is imperative.  Imagine if your luggage was delayed... 

For those who forgot anything, there a ton of "outdoor gear" stores at the giant Costanera Mall.

Yes, the Holiday Inn airport is right there.