A Flights by Celebrity error that worked to my favor.

[Stockjock]

Right after I wrote the above comment, I got a call from Flights by Celebrity.  It was the nice woman in executive escalations on the phone along with a booking supervisor.

In short, they said they can't figure out why things keep happening the way they keep happening.  So they talked to Lufthansa and United, they're going to blow up the entire booking, including the booking with confirmed seats that is ticketed, and start from scratch.  They said I'll have a new LH booking code, a new UA booking code and that UA will manually move our seats to the new booking.  Then, they'll cancel the old bookings.

I told them I'd say a prayer for them, and for me, lol.

[Oceangoer2]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Right after I wrote the above comment, I got a call from Flights by Celebrity.  It was the nice woman in executive escalations on the phone along with a booking supervisor.

In short, they said they can't figure out why things keep happening the way they keep happening.  So they talked to Lufthansa and United, they're going to blow up the entire booking, including the booking with confirmed seats that is ticketed, and start from scratch.  They said I'll have a new LH booking code, a new UA booking code and that UA will manually move our seats to the new booking.  Then, they'll cancel the old bookings.

I told them I'd say a prayer for them, and for me, lol.

Maybe you'll be assigned business class as a good will gesture for all the back and forth confusion....🤞

[Stockjock]

9 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Maybe you'll be assigned business class as a good will gesture for all the back and forth confusion....🤞

I'm quite sure that won't be the case.  I'd be happy to have a single confirmed return flight, lol.

[swigso]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

I'm quite sure that won't be the case.  I'd be happy to have a single confirmed return flight, lol.

Just hope you get it all sorted, I have only ever booked one flight with the cruiseline

a trip to Rome when the flights were included agh no I also booked flights with RCCL for a one way TA from Houston to Manchester.

That experience 10 years ago made sure I never did it again

i really hope everything works out have a great vacation 👍

[Stockjock]

I *think* we have things sorted out.  Here's what happened...

They did blow up the entire inbound flight reservation, cancelling all prior confirmation codes with Lufthansa and United.  I received new confirmation codes for the new bookings.

They told me the they gave me better seats.  Actually, it was a slight downgrade from Economy Plus to Preferred, but they fixed this quickly.

I asked very nicely if they could provide any additional OBC.  I think they gave us $700 (I had $100 shareholder credit, so they gave me $300 and my GF $400 just to even it up).

It still was a pretty frustrating situation, but the woman in the escalations team was very nice and pretty responsive, and it does appear that they have finally sorted things out.  And of course, we will be sure to put the OBC to good use.

 

[chemmo]

6 minutes ago, swigso said:

Just hope you get it all sorted, I have only ever booked one flight with the cruiseline

a trip to Rome when the flights were included agh no I also booked flights with RCCL for a one way TA from Houston to Manchester.

That experience 10 years ago made sure I never did it again

i really hope everything works out have a great vacation 👍

We have been tempted a few times to go through agencies (price driven) and each time regretted it…If you are lucky then fine but just one small timing change (amongst other possible issues) can make everything go wrong.
 

Following from that the nightmare starts! The airline won’t talk to you because you are booked through an agency…The agency always says they are liaising with the airline…Time passes, you nag both…

 

When we book direct there is only one agency to communicate with. They can’t direct you around the ever decreasing circle of whose responsibility/whose fault it is…

 

Once a second agency is involved it can even be a major issue getting someone to talk to without ending up in a phone loop where none of the suggestions to press match your personal circumstances…

 

This is so different than a few years ago. Then the agent was your representative, it was their role and responsibility to make their promise to you come true. You had a contract with them…

 

As they say progress isn’t all it’s made up to be.

[chemmo]

1 minute ago, Stockjock said:

I *think* we have things sorted out.  Here's what happened...

They did blow up the entire inbound flight reservation, cancelling all prior confirmation codes with Lufthansa and United.  I received new confirmation codes for the new bookings.

They told me the they gave me better seats.  Actually, it was a slight downgrade from Economy Plus to Preferred, but they fixed this quickly.

I asked very nicely if they could provide any additional OBC.  I think they gave us $700 (I had $100 shareholder credit, so they gave me $300 and my GF $400 just to even it up).

It still was a pretty frustrating situation, but the woman in the escalations team was very nice and pretty responsive, and it does appear that they have finally sorted things out.  And of course, we will be sure to put the OBC to good use.

 

Thrilled for you but it shouldn’t be such hard work…

[Stockjock]

2 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Thrilled for you but it shouldn’t be such hard work…

I agree.  I'm not thrilled in any way, but I do appreciate the extra OBC and of course I'm glad things finally seem to be sorted.

[swigso]

4 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I agree.  I'm not thrilled in any way, but I do appreciate the extra OBC and of course I'm glad things finally seem to be sorted.

Have a great trip 👍

[Stockjock]

13 minutes ago, chemmo said:

We have been tempted a few times to go through agencies (price driven) and each time regretted it…If you are lucky then fine but just one small timing change (amongst other possible issues) can make everything go wrong.
 

Following from that the nightmare starts! The airline won’t talk to you because you are booked through an agency…The agency always says they are liaising with the airline…Time passes, you nag both…

 

When we book direct there is only one agency to communicate with. They can’t direct you around the ever decreasing circle of whose responsibility/whose fault it is…

 

Once a second agency is involved it can even be a major issue getting someone to talk to without ending up in a phone loop where none of the suggestions to press match your personal circumstances…

 

This is so different than a few years ago. Then the agent was your representative, it was their role and responsibility to make their promise to you come true. You had a contract with them…

 

As they say progress isn’t all it’s made up to be.

I think things are tricky enough between the customer and the cruise line travel agents, but then when you add in not one, but 2 airlines, things get really sticky.  It definitely didn't simply my life, as I had expected it to.

I can still see pros and cons booking through the cruise line.

Pros:

Often good pricing.

No initial payment due.  Don't have to pay until final payment.

Seats fully refundable until final payment, which adds flexibility.

Cruise line is responsible for getting you there in the event of cancellations or schedule changes.

Cons:

After final payment, $200 per person penalty for changes or cancellations.

Sorting out problems could be a nightmare, as it was in my example.

If there was a last minute issue, could we be confident that they would promptly resolve it?  I'm not confident at all.

You must go through the cruise line travel agents for most changes, other than seat assignments.

Even though they are responsible for taking care of flights if there are schedule changes or cancellations, you might not like the flights that are picked for you.

Pretty sure I'll just do my own flight bookings going forward.  If they had exceptional pricing or a special offer, I'd consider it.  I do like the no penalty refund option up until final payment, but as mentioned, there are plenty of other drawbacks too.
 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Stockjock