Air2Sea major fail

[Joseph2018Baltic]

Umm, the cruise line was not responsible for this.  

Air2Sea is independant of RCCL, and is a travel agency for booking flights. 

Domestic flights happen several times a day, but International flights happen many times once a day.

Issue happens, than you have no choices to fix

They gave you a solution, and you did not like it.  (but that was you, and not your adult son).  

 

So all I see is that this was messed up by you, taking a risk, and they helped, but the help was not what you wanted, so you declined, and then you got mad because a taxi ride to the port was needed?  And yet, your adult son, most likely was OK with a few side stops.  I would have been ok, and yes, I had "issues" on trips several times.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

from the RCI website - What is the Royal Caribbean Air2Sea program

ASSURED ARRIVAL

When your vacation comes around, you don't want to miss the ship because of flight delays or cancellations. Book airfare through our Air2Sea program and should an issue arise, our Emergency Travel Team will work with our airline partners to do everything possible to get you to your cruise.

Was RCI trying to avoid a hotel night? Hard to say but I think saying the words that "they'll do everything possible" shouldn't be in the  description about Assured Arrival as the definition of those words can be up to interpretation. Yes...they will try to get you to the cruise; but not necessarily on the flights that are the most direct & convenient as these flights most likely are more expensive.  

[moposh]

25 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

should an issue arise, our Emergency Travel Team will work with our airline partners to do everything possible to get you to your cruise

What is glaring to me is that it's not get you to your cruise on time.  So it seems they did they job or would have if OP hadn't taken over the booking.  Do they say they'll pay for a hotel night if you miss the ship because of flight delays?

[Georgia_Peaches]

28 minutes ago, moposh said:

Do they say they'll pay for a hotel night if you miss the ship because of flight delays?

I should think not as they would recommend travel insurance for things like that...which is why they routed the new ticket through Finland.  And OP said they had the travel insurance but has elected not to file a claim because the out of pocket expenses are not enough to worry about the hassle of filing a claim.

 

Like OP, I would not have wanted to take that kind of flight just to avoid a hotel stay.  I just hope they were able to move past the circumstance and enjoy the cruise.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

7 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

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

 

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

It’s bizarre to me that so many of you feel like the Finland option was a reasonable suggestion. After flying for 12 hours, an added seven hours of flight time plus layovers makes sense to some of you. If that is “doing everything possible” I would hate to see what not trying looks like.

 

If air2sea does not have access to common flights in Europe, maybe they should not be operating there. I mean they have one job.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

1 hour ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

It’s bizarre to me that so many of you feel like the Finland option was a reasonable suggestion. After flying for 12 hours, an added seven hours of flight time plus layovers makes sense to some of you. If that is “doing everything possible” I would hate to see what not trying looks like.

 

If air2sea does not have access to common flights in Europe, maybe they should not be operating there. I mean they have one job.

I don't think it's that Air2Sea doesn't have access to the flights but they won't necessarily route you on what's easy and convenient. It's all about the $$$. We have friends who were in a similar situation and the flights offered were not at all good or convenient to "catch up" to the ship. They ended up cancelling. 

[fla33023]

2 hours ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

It’s bizarre to me that so many of you feel like the Finland option was a reasonable suggestion. After flying for 12 hours, an added seven hours of flight time plus layovers makes sense to some of you. If that is “doing everything possible” I would hate to see what not trying looks like.

 

If air2sea does not have access to common flights in Europe, maybe they should not be operating there. I mean they have one job.

I understand your frustration.

Unfortunately, they're only required to do the bare minimum and that's what they did. I'm so glad your son made it though. Him missing the entire cruise would have been heart breaking. 

[The sea calls my name]

11 hours ago, twangster said:

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.  

I hope you make your cruise and that we get to see some of your amazing photos. 

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

It’s bizarre to me that so many of you feel like the Finland option was a reasonable suggestion. After flying for 12 hours, an added seven hours of flight time plus layovers makes sense to some of you. If that is “doing everything possible” I would hate to see what not trying looks like.

 

If air2sea does not have access to common flights in Europe, maybe they should not be operating there. I mean they have one job.

 

I only see one airline serving Rome and Crete right now. And it's a tiny Italian airline that has a whopping 14 planes in its fleet.

 

[twangster]

20 minutes ago, The sea calls my name said:

I hope you make your cruise and that we get to see some of your amazing photos. 

 

I made my cruise!

 

However I don't do trip reports every cruise and I'm not doing one this cruise.  Sometimes you just gotta cruise!   😎

[Goodtime Cruizin]

11 hours 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.

 

Other than missing boarding the ship, did he otherwise enjoy his cruise?

[twangster]

In my case A2S offered an alternative flight the night before the cruise once Delta delayed. 

 

Delta didn't outright cancel my direct flight.  They returned to the gate but kept the flight in a "boarding" status.  That hindered A2S because my flight was not canceled but despite that they offered a connecting flight in Southwest through Chicago, changing planes, in what would be two red eye flights getting into LAX at 7:30am.   

 

First class on Delta vs. a double red eye in middle seats on Southwest.   Clearly not equivalent but that is all that was available.   A2S cannot create a flight or force an airline to bump a confirmed passenger to create a seat for me.   Everything on the morning of the cruise was full.   

 

The problem with the Southwest alternative was that Delta still had my luggage in the belly of their plane.   Flying Southwest would get me there but not my bag.   There is nothing A2S could do about that.  That's the reality of what my choices were.  

 

Delta was tight lipped.  The gate agents knew nothing and could announce nothing.   That's not on them, they didn't know what Delta dispatch was trying to do, or thinking about.

 

Eventually the Delta app updated with a 9am departure the next morning.   They froze the plane, keeping it in a boarding state all night long.   They eventually announced I could retrieve my checked bag or leave it with them.  

 

I found an airport hotel and booked it.  I grabbed my bag and made my way to the nearby hotel.   

 

The next morning I returned to the airport and repeated my check in and bag drop.   TSA was aware my boarding pass from the day before was valid and after a few extra steps I was through security.  

 

By keeping the original flight number and the plane in a boarding state I had a 17 hour flight from Orlando to Los Angeles, at least in appearance. 

 

The next morning it was the same plane and my seat display still remembered my Bluetooth headset pairing and the exact place in the movie I was watching when they returned to the gate.  

 

My resolution came from Delta.   A2S didn't participate in the solution but they did do their best to assist with the only alternative that anyone could have come up with.   In the end I didn't take them up on their offer but they fulfilled their duties as expected.   

 

A2S will try to find solutions but there limits.   They won't spend infinite money to offer what someone might consider to be the best alternative.   They will find an alternative if they can,  that minimizes their cost.  I can't fault them for that.   

 

[mac_tlc]

We just flew from Newark to Amsterdam using A2S. Originally we were on SAS through Stockholm, leaving on 6/14 for our 6/17 cruise. On 6/13, SAS cancelled the flight and did not immediately rebook anything. I spoke with A2S four times on 6/13, to see about rebooking options and new seat assignments. Ultimately SAS put us on a SWISS flight through Zurich. I felt like A2S did what they could, but being 30 hours before departure the airline seemed to take control of seats, etc. 

 

In the end, it worked out and we leave on the Jewel today! 
 

mac_tlc

[steveru621]

On 6/15/2023 at 11:17 AM, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

Air2Sea had built in no delay and no Plan B so basically the slightest variation caused him to miss the boat in Civitavecchia.

 

That's what you selected by arriving on the day of the cruise.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

On 6/16/2023 at 5:51 PM, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

Other than missing boarding the ship, did he otherwise enjoy his cruise?

 

Yes, we all enjoyed the cruise. The son with the travel issues is 31 and we had another son, 24, join us as well. They had each been on 1-2 other cruises when much younger. The itinerary we had, RCI's 10-night Greek Isles cruise, is the kind we like. No beaches, lots of stuff to see right from the ship and many great ports. The historical aspects of several of the ports was a bonus. We really enjoyed Ephesus and Pompeii in particular.

 

I don't think either of our sons will be cruisers after this trip though. The travel snafu was fairly insignificant, but neither of them really found the onboard experience to be to their liking. I think they will both stick to land-based travel in the immediate future.

[zoepipes]

Does A2S allow you to fly in 3 days prior to and 5 days after your scheduled cruise?

 

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, zoepipes said:

Does A2S allow you to fly in 3 days prior to and 5 days after your scheduled cruise?

 

Yes.