Newbie Question on Flights

[mnocket]

The Silversea website says this about airfare.....

 

Our fares include international roundtrip flights, business class upgrades in selected destinations, in-country flights (when required by the itinerary)...

 

This would seem to indicate that business class upgrades are included for select destinations.  Is this correct?  I see discussions in this forum about paying for business class upgrades.  So are they sometimes included or not?  If they are, for which select destinations?

Edited February 1, 2023 by mnocket

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

So are they sometimes included or not?  If they are, for which select destinations?

In the past, they have included business class on a promotional basis.  But currently, according to their website, SS does not, stating “majority of destinations offer business class upgrades for a nominal charge…”. Some destinations don’t have a business class upgrade option at all.

[mnocket]

21 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

In the past, they have included business class on a promotional basis.  But currently, according to their website, SS does not, stating “majority of destinations offer business class upgrades for a nominal charge…”. Some destinations don’t have a business class upgrade option at all.

Interesting, both our quotes are from their website.  Yours seems to be the accurate one - although "for a nominal charge" could be a tad misleading.

Edited February 1, 2023 by mnocket

[Stumblefoot]

30 minutes ago, mnocket said:

…although "for a nominal charge" could be a tad misleading.

Totally agree.

[jpalbny]

Sounds like one quote is advertising and the other is the slightly less misleading "fine print"

[Chas2crews]

Based upon my recent cruise on the Dawn, I strongly suggest booking your own flights.  The number and complexity of odd routings I heard from fellow passengers  defy logic, and seems to undermine a luxury cruise label.  That said, my Blacklane pick up and return home were absolutely flawless.  Booking my own air and hotel made me somewhat of an outlier as I had little about which to complain for the entire trip.  

[Lois R]

11 hours ago, Chas2crews said:

Based upon my recent cruise on the Dawn, I strongly suggest booking your own flights.  The number and complexity of odd routings I heard from fellow passengers  defy logic, and seems to undermine a luxury cruise label.  That said, my Blacklane pick up and return home were absolutely flawless.  Booking my own air and hotel made me somewhat of an outlier as I had little about which to complain for the entire trip.  

Good morning, was your flight domestic? I always book my own when flying domestically but when I book something to Europe I let them do it.  Guess I have been lucky as I haven't had many negative issues. I did have something happen recently (the airline changed the time, so that was not SS's fault), but they did find me a new flight😃and hopefully going forward it will go smoothly too.

 

Oh, I saw your other posts and happy to see you enjoyed sailing with SS as a solo. I always go solo as well and love the experience😃

 

 

[Rothko1]

15 hours ago, Chas2crews said:

Based upon my recent cruise on the Dawn, I strongly suggest booking your own flights.  The number and complexity of odd routings I heard from fellow passengers  defy logic, and seems to undermine a luxury cruise label.  That said, my Blacklane pick up and return home were absolutely flawless.  Booking my own air and hotel made me somewhat of an outlier as I had little about which to complain for the entire trip.  

 

On my recent SS cruise, we did Port to Port and scheduled our own flights, which worked out fine.  Others who did the SS Air were complaining about some of the strange flights they had to take.  For example, a couple who lived in Houston had to fly Santiago to Miami to Dallas to Houston, when there were direct flights from Santiago to Houston, or at least should have been able to go Miami straight to Houston.  

 

The last time I did SS Air (June 2022), my travel agent worked with me and with SS Air to offer multiple flight options, and we were able to select the one that worked best for us.  Does that not happen for most people?  Do they just get told: "This is your flight" and have no options??

[Lois R]

11 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

 

On my recent SS cruise, we did Port to Port and scheduled our own flights, which worked out fine.  Others who did the SS Air were complaining about some of the strange flights they had to take.  For example, a couple who lived in Houston had to fly Santiago to Miami to Dallas to Houston, when there were direct flights from Santiago to Houston, or at least should have been able to go Miami straight to Houston.  

 

The last time I did SS Air (June 2022), my travel agent worked with me and with SS Air to offer multiple flight options, and we were able to select the one that worked best for us.  Does that not happen for most people?  Do they just get told: "This is your flight" and have no options??

I was given an option for my upcoming cruise in April....actually, they had to change my return flight because it was leaving Athens much too early. The 2nd choice (the one I am now ticketed on is just fine).

[drron29]

We always do our own flights so have never had a problem.

[mchell810]

9 hours ago, Rothko1 said:

 

On my recent SS cruise, we did Port to Port and scheduled our own flights, which worked out fine.  Others who did the SS Air were complaining about some of the strange flights they had to take.  For example, a couple who lived in Houston had to fly Santiago to Miami to Dallas to Houston, when there were direct flights from Santiago to Houston, or at least should have been able to go Miami straight to Houston.  

 

The last time I did SS Air (June 2022), my travel agent worked with me and with SS Air to offer multiple flight options, and we were able to select the one that worked best for us.  Does that not happen for most people?  Do they just get told: "This is your flight" and have no options??

 

I believe it's a matter of questioning what is presented rather than just accepting it.  Last year, SS gave me flights with multiple stops when more direct routes were possible.  I wrangled a bit, and ultimately did get better flights at no extra cost (after refusing one route with a huge extra cost).  I suspect part of the problem, for me, was having a TA in the middle -- she wasn't very good at follow up.  For my upcoming trip I was assigned flights with just over 1 hour connection time; I called my SS rep and he requested a change.  It took a week but I then got good flights with a reasonable connection time.  Sometimes in life people need to remember: you don't get if you don't ask.

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by mchell810

[pavementends]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:07 PM, mnocket said:

Interesting, both our quotes are from their website.  Yours seems to be the accurate one - although "for a nominal charge" could be a tad misleading.

 

"for an impressively large extra payment?"

[Chas2crews]

On 2/16/2023 at 9:06 AM, Lois R said:

Good morning, was your flight domestic? I always book my own when flying domestically but when I book something to Europe I let them do it.  Guess I have been lucky as I haven't had many negative issues. I did have something happen recently (the airline changed the time, so that was not SS's fault), but they did find me a new flight😃and hopefully going forward it will go smoothly too.

 

Oh, I saw your other posts and happy to see you enjoyed sailing with SS as a solo. I always go solo as well and love the experience😃

 

 

So my flights were Continental US to San Juan and then Barbados back to the US.  I hear you on the European flights, but some of the European fellow sailors also had weird SS routings.

 

And, yes, Lois, I think SS does solos very well.  With any luck, this might be my last solo as the spouse is very curious now that I have described how rich and how much fun this cruise was. 

[FlyerTalker]

On 2/16/2023 at 7:06 AM, Lois R said:

I always book my own when flying domestically but when I book something to Europe I let them do it. 

 

Why?

 

It is no more difficult to book an international itinerary than a domestic one.

 

In fact, booking yourself internationally makes more sense, as you have much greater control over a wider range of options.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

On 2/16/2023 at 12:00 PM, Rothko1 said:

For example, a couple who lived in Houston had to fly Santiago to Miami to Dallas to Houston, when there were direct flights from Santiago to Houston, or at least should have been able to go Miami straight to Houston. 

 

No.

 

If you buy cruiseline air, you are going to get flights that are within the contract they have for bulk contract tickets.  It is NOT the same inventory that you would get buying the ticket directly from the carrier.

 

So the "should have" is only valid if you know what the contents are of the current contracts that SS has with various airlines.

[Lois R]

10 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Why?

 

It is no more difficult to book an international itinerary than a domestic one.

 

In fact, booking yourself internationally makes more sense, as you have much greater control over a wider range of options.

 

 

Why? Because usually SS runs a special to upgrade to Business Class for much less $$ than I can find on my own. So I let them do it. Not everyone has points and stuff...some of us pay in $$ (If you can believe it). So I guess it does not make more sense for me. 

[ak1004]

12 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Why?

 

It is no more difficult to book an international itinerary than a domestic one.

 

In fact, booking yourself internationally makes more sense, as you have much greater control over a wider range of options.

 

 

 

We usually booked our own flights, most of the time with points. However, when we were looking on Med cruise for 2024, the bus class upgrade was priced at $2,800 CAD. If you add the air credit of $1,150 CAD, the total price is less than $4,000 CAD. Those prices don't exist anymore, typical trip from Toronto to Europe is now over $5k CAD with any decent airline, and prices in 2024 might be even higher.

 

So my booking with them, I lock at lower price, and if what they offer me is not suitable in terms of connection or airline, I can always remove the air part and book my own.

 

Sounds like a risk free option. Am I missing something? This is the first time in 15 years we booked flights through the cruise line.

[Lois R]

58 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

We usually booked our own flights, most of the time with points. However, when we were looking on Med cruise for 2024, the bus class upgrade was priced at $2,800 CAD. If you add the air credit of $1,150 CAD, the total price is less than $4,000 CAD. Those prices don't exist anymore, typical trip from Toronto to Europe is now over $5k CAD with any decent airline, and prices in 2024 might be even higher.

 

So my booking with them, I lock at lower price, and if what they offer me is not suitable in terms of connection or airline, I can always remove the air part and book my own.

 

Sounds like a risk free option. Am I missing something? This is the first time in 15 years we booked flights through the cruise line.

Hi, I don't think you are missing anything. 

[FlyerTalker]

Price is not the only component of an airline ticket.  Are you comparing tickets with the same fare rules?  If not, you are doing apples and oranges.

 

But then, if price is the defining issue....well....

 

 

[ak1004]

40 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Price is not the only component of an airline ticket.  Are you comparing tickets with the same fare rules?  If not, you are doing apples and oranges.

 

But then, if price is the defining issue....well....

 

 

Good point.. I agree.. However, in this case, SS air is fully refundable up to 90 days before sailing, while buying cash tickets, you have to pay significantly more to have a refundable ticket. The price shown when you book with an airline is typically the cheapest and with significant cancellation fee.

 

[FlyerTalker]

On 2/20/2023 at 2:59 PM, ak1004 said:

Good point.. I agree.. However, in this case, SS air is fully refundable up to 90 days before sailing, while buying cash tickets, you have to pay significantly more to have a refundable ticket. The price shown when you book with an airline is typically the cheapest and with significant cancellation fee.

 

Cancellation is the least of the differences.  And remember that virtually all tickets are refundable - some to your form of payment, some to a flight credit.

[ak1004]

20 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Cancellation is the least of the differences.  And remember that virtually all tickets are refundable - some to your form of payment, some to a flight credit.

Not cash tickets with Air Canada - those have relatively significant cancellation fees. Not sure about other airlines.

[labrasett]

On 2/1/2023 at 10:38 PM, Stumblefoot said:

Totally agree.

"Nominal charges" have got lost in the post covid flight price increases, I venture to suggest that the SS webpages have not caught up with reality!

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, labrasett said:

…I venture to suggest that the SS webpages have not caught up with reality!

Or SS’s marketing dept. doesn’t understand the definition of nominal. 😁

[jpalbny]

On 2/25/2023 at 12:08 PM, Stumblefoot said:

Or SS’s marketing dept. doesn’t understand the definition of nominal. 😁

 

Maybe they meant to say "abominable" but autocorrect fixed it?

Edited February 28, 2023 by jpalbny