Flights by Celebrity question

[Kat915]

I booked flights and cruise months ago for a cruise to Alaska (Aug 12-19).  The flights have constantly changed the last 6 months, but the last change for the return flight went from 1:30pm to 10:30pm.  Since I am flying from Seattle to east coast, this will be an overnight flight.  When I call Flights by Celebrity, they are telling me that I can't just cancel the outbound since it was booked roundtrip even though the other ticket is with another airline.  The outbound is with American so we can only go through American and I am being told it will take 7 days to find out if American will even accept the 10:30pm flight (someone goofed recently and booked me on Sept 19 flight). I asked about canceling the entire ticket then, and was told there would be a $200 penalty fee by Celebrity.  

 

I asked Celebrity to put an email to waive the $200 penalty fee since the airline changed the return flight to an unacceptable time (moved from 1:30pm to 10:30pm overnight flight).  They said it would take 72 business hours and I should call on Tuesday.   This is very frustrating that you wait on hold multiple times and they still have to send it to a back office for multiple days' wait.

 

Question:   Does anyone have any idea what the probability of the $200 penalty fee is waived if the airline changed the flight by more than 9 hours?  

 

I paid $278 for the flight with Celebrity and the flight is currently $600 (but direct).  I am willing to pay $300 extra for the flight to resolve/ get decent flight/ not have to work on during vacation, but probably not an additional $800 ($600 for new flight and $200 penalty).  I am debating about just booking a one way return flight at $300 and just using the outbound on my current flight.

 

Any advice/thoughts?

 

Thanks.

[dazey]

We had a change to flight made by Celebrity Air/airline and at first they were going to charge us the $200 fee but said they would submit the request to airline and I should call back.  However, shortly thereafter I saw an email changing the flight with no $200 fee.  The operator told me that most times the waiver is allowed if airline changes.  Honestly I cannot understand why they should not waive fee!

 

 

[ScottC4746]

6 minutes ago, Kat915 said:

I booked flights and cruise months ago for a cruise to Alaska (Aug 12-19).  The flights have constantly changed the last 6 months, but the last change for the return flight went from 1:30pm to 10:30pm.  Since I am flying from Seattle to east coast, this will be an overnight flight.  When I call Flights by Celebrity, they are telling me that I can't just cancel the outbound since it was booked roundtrip even though the other ticket is with another airline.  The outbound is with American so we can only go through American and I am being told it will take 7 days to find out if American will even accept the 10:30pm flight (someone goofed recently and booked me on Sept 19 flight). I asked about canceling the entire ticket then, and was told there would be a $200 penalty fee by Celebrity.  

 

I asked Celebrity to put an email to waive the $200 penalty fee since the airline changed the return flight to an unacceptable time (moved from 1:30pm to 10:30pm overnight flight).  They said it would take 72 business hours and I should call on Tuesday.   This is very frustrating that you wait on hold multiple times and they still have to send it to a back office for multiple days' wait.

 

Question:   Does anyone have any idea what the probability of the $200 penalty fee is waived if the airline changed the flight by more than 9 hours?  

 

I paid $278 for the flight with Celebrity and the flight is currently $600 (but direct).  I am willing to pay $300 extra for the flight to resolve/ get decent flight/ not have to work on during vacation, but probably not an additional $800 ($600 for new flight and $200 penalty).  I am debating about just booking a one way return flight at $300 and just using the outbound on my current flight.

 

Any advice/thoughts?

 

Thanks.

I had a similar problem being LAX-SEA round trip.  Our return got changed and changed until we depart SEA something like 5:30 PM on the day our cruise disembarks.  I went into Delta's website and couldn't change since it is considered a 3rd party booking.  I then called flights by celebrity and because we were outside the final payment day, the fees would have been equal to a round trip coach ticket LAX-SEA, even though we are in the pointy end of the plane.  Back to your question, based on your dates, there is 0% as airlines are suffering with schedule changes and staff shortages to the point they are cancelling flights left and right.

[ScottC4746]

Just now, dazey said:

We had a change to flight made by Celebrity Air/airline and at first they were going to charge us the $200 fee but said they would submit the request to airline and I should call back.  However, shortly thereafter I saw an email changing the flight with no $200 fee.  The operator told me that most times the waiver is allowed if airline changes.  Honestly I cannot understand why they should not waive fee!

 

 

I guess it depends which airline.  DL would not.

[mahdnc]

Normally when the airline changes your schedule drastically enough (I think 9 hours certainly qualifies), you should qualify for re-accommodation (to a schedule that works for the customer) or a refund (without fees).   Does one lose all that when they book their flights thru Celebrity?

 

For our upcoming Oct TA cruise, we booked our flights thru Celebrity for the very first time.  So far we have not had any issues at all, but stories like this really have me rethinking this.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic, @Kat915, and I am sorry that this had to be your first post.  I sincerely hope things get resolved to your satisfaction.  Please be sure to let us know how it all turns out.  Our fingers are crossed for you.

[Susanb10567]

I’m still waiting for new flights..I am flying to Rome for my 9/3 Edge cruise. On 6/29 I noticed my flight from JFK to Zhr was missing from my United Ap ..the connection from Rome is still there(obviously does me no good)

 

Both myself and my travel agent got no notice of this cancellation from flights by Celebrity or the airline. I thought this should be simple the flight was canceled I would be rebooked on another flight…

 

No flights by Celebrity told me it can take up to a month…and now they are saying it can take up to 6 weeks…I will never book with them again..I hope by the time they get around to booking me a new flight there is availability in business with a reasonable flight time. If I had booked the ticket myself United would of changed it immediately for me because when I originally called they were about to until they saw it was booked through a consolidator.

 

i guess if there are no issues with your flights booking with them is fine …but having no control over your reservations with the state of travel these days is very overwhelming.

 

 

[Jeremiah1212]

24 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Normally when the airline changes your schedule drastically enough (I think 9 hours certainly qualifies), you should qualify for re-accommodation (to a schedule that works for the customer) or a refund (without fees).   Does one lose all that when they book their flights thru Celebrity?

 

For our upcoming Oct TA cruise, we booked our flights thru Celebrity for the very first time.  So far we have not had any issues at all, but stories like this really have me rethinking this.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic, @Kat915, and I am sorry that this had to be your first post.  I sincerely hope things get resolved to your satisfaction.  Please be sure to let us know how it all turns out.  Our fingers are crossed for you.

 

The reps are clueless or like to pretend to be clueless just to get people off the phones. Supervisors aren't any better. You can find all of the airlines travel agent/third party change rules online, but FBC loves to throw around the 'check back in 30 days' and ignore what the airline rules are. I just had a situation where they tried to charge $8,000 to accommodate a schedule change and they acted like it was no big deal. Simply pay the $8,000 and everything is fine. They will also resubmit your initial request when you call to follow up which puts it back at the bottom of the pile. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

The reps are clueless or like to pretend to be clueless just to get people off the phones. Supervisors aren't any better. You can find all of the airlines travel agent/third party change rules online, but FBC loves to throw around the 'check back in 30 days' and ignore what the airline rules are. I just had a situation where they tried to charge $8,000 to accommodate a schedule change and they acted like it was no big deal. Simply pay the $8,000 and everything is fine. They will also resubmit your initial request when you call to follow up which puts it back at the bottom of the pile. 

FBC is a consolidator.   If their seats are part of group blocks the rules on those seats are different.   Sometimes more flexible and other times not.

Airline travel today is chaos.  All you can do is ask both FBC AND the airlines.  If you do not like the answer call back and ask again as the answer might well be different. 

Sadly your flights are likely to change again

[kimberlydrzymala]

We are also finding out the hard way regarding Choice Air. It is a great thing when you can book early and get the better deal on a flight and not have to even pay for it until the final payment is due. The downside is no control at all over the flights. Like everyone else our flight has changed many times since it was booked (Alaskan cruise) The most recent change came when Delta changed our flight time and now we have 25 minutes between connections. This is also an evening flight so the chance of making that flight connection with our luggage is probably slim to none. I called back in May and asked for a flight that we could actually make the connection on and now we are almost two months later with no resolution. If I would have booked directly with Delta I could have easily changed this months ago but still not change from FBC. I understand they are at the mercy of Delta and they have no real need to help me. It is VERY frustrating and the result will be a chain reaction of things that are already paid for (train ride from Anchorage to Seward) that will probably be missed. 

 

[Susanb10567]

1 minute ago, kimberlydrzymala said:

We are also finding out the hard way regarding Choice Air. It is a great thing when you can book early and get the better deal on a flight and not have to even pay for it until the final payment is due. The downside is no control at all over the flights. Like everyone else our flight has changed many times since it was booked (Alaskan cruise) The most recent change came when Delta changed our flight time and now we have 25 minutes between connections. This is also an evening flight so the chance of making that flight connection with our luggage is probably slim to none. I called back in May and asked for a flight that we could actually make the connection on and now we are almost two months later with no resolution. If I would have booked directly with Delta I could have easily changed this months ago but still not change from FBC. I understand they are at the mercy of Delta and they have no real need to help me. It is VERY frustrating and the result will be a chain reaction of things that are already paid for (train ride from Anchorage to Seward) that will probably be missed. 

 

Yes it is very frustrating…when is your cruise? 
 

We are traveling with friends who live somewhere else..so far their flights are alright…I would hate to have to cancel if Celebrity doesn’t find us flights…

[kimberlydrzymala]

1 minute ago, Susanb10567 said:

Yes it is very frustrating…when is your cruise? 
 

We are traveling with friends who live somewhere else..so far their flights are alright…I would hate to have to cancel if Celebrity doesn’t find us flights…

We start the Southbound cruise on August 26th. We had planned on traveling on the 23rd so we could take the train and my husband could go on a fishing trip prior to the cruise. We will obviously make the cruise but other things may have to be written off. I am hoping my travel insurance may cover some of this but I would have much preferred a stress free trip. I have made weekly calls to inquire about my change and always get the same story. 

 

[Susanb10567]

9 minutes ago, kimberlydrzymala said:

We start the Southbound cruise on August 26th. We had planned on traveling on the 23rd so we could take the train and my husband could go on a fishing trip prior to the cruise. We will obviously make the cruise but other things may have to be written off. I am hoping my travel insurance may cover some of this but I would have much preferred a stress free trip. I have made weekly calls to inquire about my change and always get the same story. 

 

No such thing as a stress free trip anymore it seems…

 

I’m just concerned they are going to come back asking for more money since the flight went up and they can’t get the price protection from the airline since they booked at a low fare and flights are packed…

[Kat915]

Thanks everyone for the comments.  I got a very good deal with my original booking with FBC but that was months ago and didn't have issues before.  But it's a new world.  I actually think it has been less of a hassle traveling the last 2 years then it is now.

 

FBC got back to me that I am officially booked on the Aug 19 return at 11pm.  No aisle seats left, so had to book a window seat which makes the overnight flight even worse for me.

 

I decided to cut and run since the current flight that I have is awful and wait times to find out anything is days/weeks. I have a feeling that they aren't going to waive the $200 penalty anyway.   I booked a return flight with the airline directly for $280 (direct 5.5 hour flight with aisle seat).  If they waive the $200 penalty, I will take the refund if I can get a cheaper one way direct inbound.  If not, I have a back up flight.  Lesson learned.

 

I am guessing if I don't use the American airlines flight at 11pm, that I get no credit with AA or FBC, correct? 

[publicpersona]

6 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

I guess it depends which airline.  DL would not.

Delta doesn’t have anything to do with FBC’s $200 change fee. With a drastic schedule change, the airline has no choice but to offer a change/refund. But FBC is a travel agency and has a change fee inside final payment, no matter what.

 

This is just part of the risk booking through FBC. Sometimes you can get a great deal with the consolidator fares on international flights, but you give up a lot .. including being able to control your booking directly with the airline. 

[KellyCz]

4 hours ago, kimberlydrzymala said:

We are also finding out the hard way regarding Choice Air. It is a great thing when you can book early and get the better deal on a flight and not have to even pay for it until the final payment is due. The downside is no control at all over the flights. Like everyone else our flight has changed many times since it was booked (Alaskan cruise) The most recent change came when Delta changed our flight time and now we have 25 minutes between connections. This is also an evening flight so the chance of making that flight connection with our luggage is probably slim to none. I called back in May and asked for a flight that we could actually make the connection on and now we are almost two months later with no resolution. If I would have booked directly with Delta I could have easily changed this months ago but still not change from FBC. I understand they are at the mercy of Delta and they have no real need to help me. It is VERY frustrating and the result will be a chain reaction of things that are already paid for (train ride from Anchorage to Seward) that will probably be missed. 

 

This is very helpful, given that we are looking at Alaska for 2023 and were just considering Flights by Celebrity vs. booking directly with the airline. Booking directly it will be!

[adhncruisers]

On 7/22/2022 at 10:10 AM, Susanb10567 said:

I’m still waiting for new flights..I am flying to Rome for my 9/3 Edge cruise. On 6/29 I noticed my flight from JFK to Zhr was missing from my United Ap ..the connection from Rome is still there(obviously does me no good)

 

Both myself and my travel agent got no notice of this cancellation from flights by Celebrity or the airline. I thought this should be simple the flight was canceled I would be rebooked on another flight…

 

No flights by Celebrity told me it can take up to a month…and now they are saying it can take up to 6 weeks…I will never book with them again..I hope by the time they get around to booking me a new flight there is availability in business with a reasonable flight time. If I had booked the ticket myself United would of changed it immediately for me because when I originally called they were about to until they saw it was booked through a consolidator.

 

i guess if there are no issues with your flights booking with them is fine …but having no control over your reservations with the state of travel these days is very overwhelming.

 

 

This sounds exactly like what happened to us. We received no notification that our flight from Barcelona post cruise had been cancelled and only found out about it when our TA called to make final payment. That was May 31 and we are still waiting for a new flight to be assigned for our Sep 29 homeward journey.

 

And, up until last Sunday, when our TA called, they would keep sending him confirmation that we were booked on the cancelled flights. This in spite of the fact that they were advised that the one flight had been changed in my British Airways account and the connecting flight had been removed.

 

Friends who we are travelling with (linked reservations) received notification of a replacement flight almost 3 weeks ago. 

 

Fingers crossed that we will receive notification soon and that out flights to Venice will get there on Sep 11 as planned.

[Susanb10567]

2 hours ago, adhncruisers said:

This sounds exactly like what happened to us. We received no notification that our flight from Barcelona post cruise had been cancelled and only found out about it when our TA called to make final payment. That was May 31 and we are still waiting for a new flight to be assigned for our Sep 29 homeward journey.

 

And, up until last Sunday, when our TA called, they would keep sending him confirmation that we were booked on the cancelled flights. This in spite of the fact that they were advised that the one flight had been changed in my British Airways account and the connecting flight had been removed.

 

Friends who we are travelling with (linked reservations) received notification of a replacement flight almost 3 weeks ago. 

 

Fingers crossed that we will receive notification soon and that out flights to Venice will get there on Sep 11 as planned.

Good luck with everything…so much of the fun has been sucked out of planning travel