Air2Sea major fail

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

For our recent 10-day Greece cruise we used Royal to book airfare for our son. He was joining us from a different location and he was not able to build in an extra day at the port. We figured using Royal's travel agency would provide a timely arrival but would also include back-up support in the event that he missed the ship. Unfortunately Royal and their service Air2Sea failed him at every level. His first flight -- out of San Francisco -- was slightly delayed and that caused the entire itinerary to fall apart. Air2Sea had built in no delay and no Plan B so basically the slightest variation caused him to miss the boat in Civitavecchia. At that point his only option was to catch us at the next port, which was Crete. Since there was a sea day in between, he was going to need a hotel in either Rome or Crete. Air2Sea's solution to that was to give him the longest possible connection from Rome to Crete -- flying via FInland. This would have been a lengthy flight right after flying from SF to Rome, but would have saved Air2Sea the cost of a hotel room.

 

After many hours of talking to Air2Sea we finally gave up and took over his flight plan ourselves. There were multiple options from Rome to Crete that were much faster and a hotel in Crete was not that bad. The last straw though was that Royal on-board the ship -- which was aware of our issues and also that we had been forced to take over and eat all flight costs -- did not even offer a ride from the town in Crete to the port. It was only thirty euros or so for this ride but for them to not even offer to do that was beyond crazy. I will say Royal's port person did a good job of on-boarding him, although they had been give no advance warning by Air2Sea that he was going to join in Crete (we alerted the ship).

 

Air2Sea was not helpful at all and was in fact a major negative in our travels. We cruise often and while Royal is not our primary line, we have been on them several times. We won't be going to back though after this debacle.

[Ashland]

Sorry so many things went wrong but I certainly wouldn't avoid RCI because you opted to book your son's flight with them. 

We always book our own flights regardless.

[twinmommy08]

Insane that your son gambled and tried to fly in same day of an international cruise. I’m sure the trip insurance he purchased will refund him his expenses. It’s not the cruise line’s fault the flight was delayed. Ship happens. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by twinmommy08

[smokeybandit]

Air2Sea doesn't decide flight schedules. They just book you on flights. Flying in the day of is a gamble. Flying international the day of is insane. You can't blame delays on Air2Sea.

 

The Rome to Crete flight, the one via Finland was probably the first one that came up on their screen. You could have asked for better ones.

[Tlbecker1]

We use Air2Sea when we fly international, but we have never booked to arrive the day of the cruise.  I would never do that.  Air2Sea has been great for us.

[RB9643]

1 hour ago, twinmommy08 said:

 I’m sure the trip insurance he purchased will refund him his expenses.  

 

Ohhh, SNAP!  That was brutal.  

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

We use Air2Sea when we fly international, but we have never booked to arrive the day of the cruise.  I would never do that.  Air2Sea has been great for us.

I don't even try to drive in on the same day.  Canaveral is only about 8.5 hours away and I always, even at other ports, drive in the day before.  I don't trust traffic situations and I don't fly because these days, you can't count on airline schedules and too many cancelations (even at the best of times, I don't fly, I hate what the airlines have turned into).  I live between Birmingham and Atlanta, I'll even drive to Galveston but we leave two days before the cruise. 

 

I did fly to Seatle in May 2022 for a cruise on Ovation.  That was the first flight I've taken in a couple of decades and probably my last.   

[LibertyBella]

Wow--San Francisco to Rome with no advance home port days?!  I live in Philly, on the East coast, and I would not even attempt that.  We are traveling to cruise from Rome in July, and I built in four advance days. 

 

I 100% agree the main job of cruise flights should be to provide what you ask for--your dates, your itinerary.  If I cannot build in advance days then that is MY problem, not the cruise line!

 

I have been burned a few times by airlines on international cruises, so my knowledge come from brutal experience. Thank goodness I have never missed a cruise or had to board late, but I have lost hotel nights, been thoroughly and a bit terribly rerouted on flights, and had luggage missing for days (all on many different cruise lines, including Viking, Princess, Celebrity, and Holland America).

 

The only fault here is parents who did not put their foot down and insist son arrive a day or two early.    I always say even better than travel insurance sometimes is an emergency credit card. I also always check out all flight routes myself BEFORE I talk to a cruise agent.

 

Thank goodness he had the two of you to "rescue" him.  Husband and I have been traveling independently all over the world since we were barely out of our teens, so we always plan for the worst but hope for the best, and can only rely on ourselves. 

RC is not my top cruise line, but I would not hesitate to book them for any cruise, including Greece, one of our favorite voyage locations! Hopefully once on board, he--and you--had a great time.

[twangster]

It sounds like you would like A2S to avoid close connections but then you find fault with A2S for offering long connections.  

 

If the connections were legal they can be sold.  It's not the role of A2S to protect you from yourself.  

 

Flight delays happen.  I'm encountering one right now on my way to a cruise with air booked through A2S.  Flight last night didn't happen so I just boarded a plane this morning and now I'm flying the day of the cruise.  If this one delays as well I won't be cruising today.  I knew the risks associated with booking the last flight of the night, the day before the cruise.  

 

A2S cannot overcome everything the airline industry might throw at us.  I think you have the wrong expectations.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

11 hours ago, twinmommy08 said:

I’m sure the trip insurance he purchased will refund him his expenses.

So passive-aggressive.  Why not just be direct and say what you mean...'did you purchase insurance, if not, shame on you for taking the risk'.

 

I agree with your sentiment on both flying in on the day of, especially international, as well as trip insurance.  But given the OP's set of circumstances, I think a little venting is understandable.

[Georgia_Peaches]

21 hours ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

We figured using Royal's travel agency would provide a timely arrival but would also include back-up support in the event that he missed the ship.

I just don't think they are a travel agency-per say.  My understanding is that the advantage of using them is that they will guarantee getting passengers to the ship in the event that embarkation is missed due to flight delays such as your son's.  From what you've reported, the were making good on that guarantee but it wasn't to your liking.  From a purely business stand point, I understand why they would opt for a long flight, over paying the cost of a hotel for your son.  Like you, I would be totally frustrated with the entire situation and it's a bummer way to begin a vacation.  I hope than when the dust settles you are able to look at the big picture more objectively. 

 

For me, the lesson learned here (at your expense and others with a similar story) is to never put the travel arrangements into the hands of a third party.

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 hours ago, RB9643 said:

Ohhh, SNAP!  That was brutal. 

...and mean and completely uncalled for...IMO.

[Tlbecker1]

8 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I don't even try to drive in on the same day.  Canaveral is only about 8.5 hours away and I always, even at other ports, drive in the day before.  I don't trust traffic situations and I don't fly because these days, you can't count on airline schedules and too many cancelations (even at the best of times, I don't fly, I hate what the airlines have turned into).  I live between Birmingham and Atlanta, I'll even drive to Galveston but we leave two days before the cruise. 

 

I did fly to Seatle in May 2022 for a cruise on Ovation.  That was the first flight I've taken in a couple of decades and probably my last.   

We have to fly for all of our cruises except for Alaska, we can drive or take the train to Seattle.  We have cruised 7 times this year and have flown each time.  We had a flight in February booked with Flights by Celebrity going to Buenes Aires with 2 extra days before the cruise.  We had weather issues/plane delays and ended up arriving the morning of the cruise.  They did a great job  finding us a flight so that we could make it to the ship.

[klfrodo]

The problem with Air2Sea and any of the other cruise line air travel accommodations is that there are huge potential problems that can and do occur. 99 out of 100 people will not have problems, but when that 1 person does, it's always the cruise lines air travel departments fault. Imagine that.

Ever since 2007 there has been a sticky called "Cruise Air and Air Deviation" on the Cruise Air segment of CruiseCritic that helps explain how cruise line purchased air travel works and the potential pitfalls included, but few read it. Yes, the thread is 16 years old but the information is still valid today. I'm not saying that cruise line air programs are bad, it's just that people need to know how it works, when it doesn't, and then make the choice that best works for them.

 

[RobInMN]

12 hours ago, twinmommy08 said:

I’m sure the trip insurance he purchased will refund him his expenses.

 

22 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

So passive-aggressive.

 

 

12 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

...and mean and completely uncalled for...IMO.

I disagree.

[Zach1213]

12 hours ago, twinmommy08 said:

Insane that your son gambled and tried to fly in same day of an international cruise. I’m sure the trip insurance he purchased will refund him his expenses. It’s not the cruise line’s fault the flight was delayed. Ship happens. 

 

 

37 minutes ago, twangster said:

If the connections were legal they can be sold.  It's not the role of A2S to protect you from yourself.  

 

 

This should be their catchphrase. There are massive pros AND massive cons of Air2Sea, but in either case they really require some research on your own part. The people working there know absolutely nothing about the realities of air travel, they only know how to read a schedule and book it (most of the time). 

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

I disagree.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

Whoa I expected the usual apologists but not to this extent!

 

Yes, we had trip insurance but I’m not sure we will even bother trying to use it. We know the nightmare involved in using such insurance from past experience. Our out of pocket to fix this mess was not that high anyway.

 

And yes, we did ask air2sea for a (much) more direct flight from Rome to Crete, but they would not budge. We ended up buying the same flight that they declined to purchase. Of course that meant a night of hotel, which is what air2sea was desperate to avoid. Read my first post where I mention hours on the phone.

 

And finally, we only used air2sea because we assumed they were experts in getting people to the ship in time. Unfortunately they ended up being totally cost driven and had no concern for the passenger. 

Frankly if RCI had simply offered to pay the tiny cab cost from Crete to the port I would have walked away feeling differently. At no point did we get anything even resembling an apology from RCI.

[smokeybandit]

Air2Sea doesn't contract with all airlines, especially some of the smaller European ones that have direct flights from Rome to Crete.

[Georgia_Peaches]

44 minutes ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

Frankly if RCI had simply offered to pay the tiny cab cost from Crete to the port I would have walked away feeling differently. At no point did we get anything even resembling an apology from RCI.

Certainly not in the apologist camp by any means but respectfully, if you're not too worried about cashing in on what your trip insurance will cover for your out of pocket, I guess I'm just confused as to why you're hung up on the cab fare reimbursement from RCI.  How would they go about this, exactly?  Reimburse you after the fact?  OBC?  The ship itself wouldn't be equipped to pay the fare, would they?  IDK, I think I'd be more inclined to get what I could from the trip insurance than worry about a cab fare reimbursement.

 

Regardless, I'm glad you took over the travel plans and got your son to the ship!

[moposh]

I don't understand why you expect RCI to pay fare from airport to port.  They didn't pay my fare on my ride from airport to port and I didn't expect them to.  They wouldn't have paid his fare from airport to port on day of departure.

 

I would definitely arrive several days before international cruise.

 

I'm glad he was able to get on the ship and hope you had a good time.

[sowhat]

Air two sea tried  to book us on a flight departing  Venice  airport at 09.30 am on disambarking morning when the ship was in Ravenna
There was a 4 hour transfer to the airport  and  you are recommended  to be at the airport  2hrs before departure
We informed  the representative  that was no good and we would miss the flight, he informed  us that is the flight that Royal Caribbean  recommends
We did not book the cruise!!!

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

Whoa I expected the usual apologists but not to this extent!

 

Yes, we had trip insurance but I’m not sure we will even bother trying to use it. We know the nightmare involved in using such insurance from past experience. Our out of pocket to fix this mess was not that high anyway.

 

And yes, we did ask air2sea for a (much) more direct flight from Rome to Crete, but they would not budge. We ended up buying the same flight that they declined to purchase. Of course that meant a night of hotel, which is what air2sea was desperate to avoid. Read my first post where I mention hours on the phone.

 

And finally, we only used air2sea because we assumed they were experts in getting people to the ship in time. Unfortunately they ended up being totally cost driven and had no concern for the passenger. 

Frankly if RCI had simply offered to pay the tiny cab cost from Crete to the port I would have walked away feeling differently. At no point did we get anything even resembling an apology from RCI.

Sorry to hear of your Son's travel difficulties.     Airline changes happen all the time and hopefully next time anyone in your family flies to Europe for a cruise they are able to plan at least 1 or 2 days at port prior to cruise embarkment.     

A2S is Not contracted with every single airline so this may be the reason they could not book the flight you wanted.      They have paid for people to stay in hotels in the past when necessary so I am not sure that is the reason.    

I don't understand why you do not wish to file a claim thru your travel insurance (why buy it if not going to use it) and why you expect A2S or Royal Caribbean to reimburse you or your Son for a cab ride from his hotel to the port, especially after you booked his own float (not the A2S flight to get to the port).   

I hope your Son is enjoying his cruise

[goldfish65]

That was a huge gamble your son took. 🤷‍♂️

[Orsino]

The core of the problem was routing from Rome to Crete via Finland to avoid a hotel night. I look at that and I agree that air2sea is useless in that respect. We often see people on this board talking about booking air2sea for the assurance that RCL will take care of things if things go wrong.  Routing so that one spends a day in the airport to save RCL costs is not what I would want for me either. This post is a very good “buyer beware.”

I would contact RCL and see if they would refund part of the cost of the airfare, specifically the amount that the Finland flight would have cost. I doubt you would get anywhere, but that would seem “fair” to me.