I must be an idiot, because after having a nightmare experience with Flights by Celebrity...

[Stockjock]

...I booked them again.

The way I see it:

Cons:

1. Really bad experience last time, as duplicate flights were entered, comped business class upgrade was cancelled, lots of miscommunications.

2. I spent at least 24 total hours on the phone trying to straighten things out.  Still wasn't sorted out (duplicate bookings) a week before sailing.  FBC said everything was "fine."  Airline said it wasn't fine & they'd cancel my booking.  I believed the airline.

3. They probably reduced my lifespan by a year or two.

Pros:

1. The flights they offered were excellent.  Short flights SAN to FCO (Rome) and BCN (Barcelona) to SAN with only 1 stop each way & minimal layover.

2. Includes a checked bag and seat assignments.

3. No payment due until May.  Fully refundable until then, $200 pp penalty afterwards.

4. An airline I fly the most on both ways (American).

5. Even though the FBC experience last time, was a nightmare, in the end, they gave us a good amount of OBC compensation.

8

What I'll do differently this time:

1. I think I'm fine paying for an upgraded seat, but no other changes unless I do it with them.

2. I'll see if I can find something better before May and especially zero in as that final payment date approaches.

3. I've had an easy time finding a SAN to FCO ticket using my frequent flyer miles, but not BCN to SAN.  I booked a SAN to FCO flight using those miles and if something decent opens up from BCN to SAN, I'll kill the FBC reservation & book w/frequent flyer miles.  

Interestingly, a one way flight from BCN to SAN is the same price, or more, versus a multi-city roundtrip ticket.  So buying BCN to SAN didn't make a lot of sense.

Please, pray for me.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Stockjock

[mahdnc]

We are the idiots for reading this thread--especially if it turns into another mega problem thread!  Just kidding (kind of).  Seriously--good luck, I hope everything works out.

Edited October 13, 2023 by mahdnc

[1Virgo]

ooh. I hear ya. I swore would never book FBC again,  but , I could not match the price. So bit my pride and saved money.    Think the bad experience was a new employee

 

I will add they looked after us after a mechanical from Toronto to Dublin.  One call. 10 minutes later, we had reservations to meet up with the ship.  Those that booked online ……. well a lot of upset people.  So. There is a benefit for sure of booking FBC. They do look after you

[Stockjock]

14 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

ooh. I hear ya. I swore would never book FBC again,  but , I could not match the price. So bit my pride and saved money.    Think the bad experience was a new employee

 

I will add they looked after us after a mechanical from Toronto to Dublin.  One call. 10 minutes later, we had reservations to meet up with the ship.  Those that booked online ……. well a lot of upset people.  So. There is a benefit for sure of booking FBC. They do look after you

In my case, the price was the same w/FBC as AA.com (just checked).  But I like the thought of not having to lay out any cash right now and also I like free cancellation until May. 

I will pay more attention to finding other options using frequent flyer miles (most are on AA), but if I can't find anything better, at least I have this in place.

[njguy_south]

So, did you finally fly business class all the way over and back?

[Stockjock]

3 minutes ago, njguy_south said:

So, did you finally fly business class all the way over and back?

So, I was offered it due to flight changes and cancellations, but the duplicate bookings by FBC caused it to be cancelled.  While I did not pay for business class, I did have confirmed seats, but it became apparent that nothing I could say would change the situation.

Quite irritating at the time, but it is what it is.

[Georgia_Peaches]

I admire your tenacity!  

[njguy_south]

Question: If you flew business class on American Airlines, why were you not allowed 2 pieces of checked luggage, since that is one of the perks of business class.

[Cruise till you drop]

14 hours ago, Stockjock said:

...I booked them again.

The way I see it:

Cons:

1. Really bad experience last time, as duplicate flights were entered, comped business class upgrade was cancelled, lots of miscommunications.

2. I spent at least 24 total hours on the phone trying to straighten things out.  Still wasn't sorted out (duplicate bookings) a week before sailing.  FBC said everything was "fine."  Airline said it wasn't fine & they'd cancel my booking.  I believed the airline.

3. They probably reduced my lifespan by a year or two.

Pros:

1. The flights they offered were excellent.  Short flights SAN to FCO (Rome) and BCN (Barcelona) to SAN with only 1 stop each way & minimal layover.

2. Includes a checked bag and seat assignments.

3. No payment due until May.  Fully refundable until then, $200 pp penalty afterwards.

4. An airline I fly the most on both ways (American).

5. Even though the FBC experience last time, was a nightmare, in the end, they gave us a good amount of OBC compensation.

8

What I'll do differently this time:

1. I think I'm fine paying for an upgraded seat, but no other changes unless I do it with them.

2. I'll see if I can find something better before May and especially zero in as that final payment date approaches.

3. I've had an easy time finding a SAN to FCO ticket using my frequent flyer miles, but not BCN to SAN.  I booked a SAN to FCO flight using those miles and if something decent opens up from BCN to SAN, I'll kill the FBC reservation & book w/frequent flyer miles.  

Interestingly, a one way flight from BCN to SAN is the same price, or more, versus a multi-city roundtrip ticket.  So buying BCN to SAN didn't make a lot of sense.

Please, pray for me.

Question - did your flight plan have you arriving on the day of the cruise or before?

[NMTraveller]

Hmmm.

 

I have to admit I have a cruise where I did the same.  It was for a larger group.

 

But I usually prefer to book directly and forgo the middleman.  The Cruise Air forum had/has a detailed explanation of why...

Edited October 14, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Jeremiah1212]

I would not recommend them and after my own experience had also sworn them off, but the next time I need business class flights the savings is nearly $9,000 so……here we go again. Fingers crossed. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Jeremiah1212

[Stockjock]

It took less than 24 hours to encounter the first problem. I received a notification this morning from Flights by Celebrity that there had been a change to my flights. I then went over to American Airlines and I see that they were canceled, I believe by Celebrity. 
 

I thought it was unusual that they didn’t send me a booking confirmation, even though it showed up on my cruise reservation. I did notice that late in the day the price increased significantly on the tickets I booked, so I’m not sure if they screwed up and neglected to book the flights or what.  But having a cancellation occur in less than 24 hours means that we are not off to a good start. 
 

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

3 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Question - did your flight plan have you arriving on the day of the cruise or before?

To be honest, I don’t remember, but I would not arrive the day of the cruise for something like this. I scheduled the flights 4 days before the cruise so I could spend some time in Rome.

[Stockjock]

29 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

It took less than 24 hours to encounter the first problem. I received a notification this morning from Flights by Celebrity that there had been a change to my flights. I then went over to American Airlines and I see that they were canceled, I believe by Celebrity. 
 

I thought it was unusual that they didn’t send me a booking confirmation, even though it showed up on my cruise reservation. I did notice that late in the day the price increased significantly on the tickets I booked, so I’m not sure if they screwed up and neglected to book the flights or what.  But having a cancellation occur in less than 24 hours means that we are not off to a good start. 
 

 

As a sidenote, I did just check to make sure that the flights are still offered by American Airlines, and they are.  While I am speculating, my best guess is that they neglected to book the flights in a timely manner, and while they were twiddling their thumbs, the prices increased by about $800. Bear in mind that there was no price change for many hours and the reason I know that is because I checked on American Airlines’ website, and I also checked it on Google Flights.   It will be interesting to see how they address this.
 

This may end up being a long thread, but only time will tell. The funny thing is that I’d love to say something good about them, and I will try to do so, but again, we’re not off to a good start.

Edited October 14, 2023 by Stockjock

[Cruise till you drop]

42 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

To be honest, I don’t remember, but I would not arrive the day of the cruise for something like this. I scheduled the flights 4 days before the cruise so I could spend some time in Rome.

Reason for asking is if it’s worth having the cruise line arrange this flight if you’re arriving early versus arranging it directly with the airlines.

Wondered how many people use the cruise line airline booking because they’re less expensive or because they are arriving the day of the cruise

[Stockjock]

18 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Reason for asking is if it’s worth having the cruise line arrange this flight if you’re arriving early versus arranging it directly with the airlines.

Wondered how many people use the cruise line airline booking because they’re less expensive or because they are arriving the day of the cruise

I laid out some of the pros and cons earlier.  The biggest pros are:

1. No money down.

2. Can be cancelled up until final payment with no penalty.

Let's say I'd booked this directly with American Airlines.  I would have had to pay about $2,400 versus zero.  And if I cancelled outside of 24 hours, if I'm lucky, I'd get a flight credit that would become worthless in 12 months.  Some airlines might not even offer that much.

It gives me a lot of time to find a better option, and if I don't, then I can roll with FBC.  Of course, that presumes that they are competent, and I frankly have some doubts.  

As an example, had I booked with AA, I'd have those negatives (largely non-refundable, cash tied up), but at least I'd have the flights in place.  What I have at the moment are two cancelled outbound flights and two canceled return flights.  I'll let you guys know if they come up w/a solution.  No calls for now, as there's still a lot of time.  Best guess is that they'll offer me something cheaper and inferior to what I booked.

Edited October 14, 2023 by Stockjock

[waterbug123]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

It took less than 24 hours to encounter the first problem. I received a notification this morning from Flights by Celebrity that there had been a change to my flights. I then went over to American Airlines and I see that they were canceled, I believe by Celebrity. 
 

I thought it was unusual that they didn’t send me a booking confirmation, even though it showed up on my cruise reservation. I did notice that late in the day the price increased significantly on the tickets I booked, so I’m not sure if they screwed up and neglected to book the flights or what.  But having a cancellation occur in less than 24 hours means that we are not off to a good start. 
 

 

 

The cruise line doesn't typically purchase your actual ticket until you pay for it. Prior to that, you may have a reservation but not an actual ticket. 

[Stockjock]

15 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

The cruise line doesn't typically purchase your actual ticket until you pay for it. Prior to that, you may have a reservation but not an actual ticket. 

Could be that it's not formally ticketed, but you do have a reservation and booking number/locator code.  With that locator code, you can add the booking to your airline website profile, and purchase upgraded seats or make changes within the same fare class (if seats are included).  A cancellation is not normal or expected.

Edited October 14, 2023 by Stockjock

[Tyler414]

I had NCL book my flights once, I actually learned my lesson and will never have a cruise line do my flights again. 

[NMTraveller]

28 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

The cruise line doesn't typically purchase your actual ticket until you pay for it. Prior to that, you may have a reservation but not an actual ticket. 

Yep.  We have not received seating assignments until we paid.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

Yep.  We have not received seating assignments until we paid.

I've always received seat assignments before payment, as long as seat assignments are included.

Examples:

There is a FBC booking code and an airline locator code.  Sometimes, there may be two airline locator codes.  Example: You book Lufthansa, but one or more flights are through United, who is a partner of LH.  In this example, you'd have a FBC code, a LH locator code and a UA locator code.

Most of the time, you can do seat assignments, and even paid upgrades within the same cabin, but adding that respective airline's locator code to your online profile for that airline.

Example:

FBC: UFTYX
AA: J2M3H

I can search on AA by that AA locator code and add it to My Trips.  I can then choose a seat assignment online, as long as they are available.

Here's one I did on Alaska and then via Aer Lingus. (Reward redemption).

AS: Z2YBV
EI: 3JBY7

Created Aer Lingus profile.
Added booking 3JBY7 to my profile.  Showed the flights, but no option to select seats online.
Called Aer Lingus, as seats were included.
Aer Lingus confirmed this and allowed me to choose my seats.
Seats then showed on reservation.

So most of the time, you can pick your seats if you know how to do it.  When you book on FBC, it will show you if seats are or are not included.  I tend to avoid flights without a free seat selection option.  I also avoid those without a free checked bag, although most do allow this.

With FBC, I had booked LH, but seats were not included (I could buy them).
Due to issues, they moved me to UA, where I could enter the UA locator code (differs from LH and from FBC), add the trip to my upcoming flights profile, and then select the seats online.

Remember, the key is to use that specific airline's locator code with that specific airline.  Using the earlier example, but taking it a step further...

Outbound flights:

First leg on Lufthansa; UK28R
Second leg on United: 8A98V

I can only modify that first leg on LH's website (or sometimes calling in), but not the 2nd leg.  LH usually does not include any seat assignment, so I can wait and get some random seat assignment, or pay for one (usually starts at about 15 Euro and goes up from there).

On the 2nd leg, I can only modify the seating (if included) with UA's locator code.  If I input the locator code of LH or FBC it won't work.  From there, I should be able to do a free seat assignment (if included) online.

If you upgrade the cabin, that likely creates a problem, so you'd likely want to do that through FBC or a travel agent.

Examples:
Changing seats - you can usually do it yourself and usually not an issue.

Minor Upgrade (ex AA Main Cabin Extra or UAL Economy Plus) - you can usually do it yourself and usually not an issue (though you may have to pay extra).

Major Upgrade (ex Premium Economy, Premium Plus, Business Class, First Class).  This probably can't be done, and if you try it, it may foul up your reservation.  Go through FBC or the Travel Agent and expect to pay them for the upgrade.

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Stockjock

[Maclet]

Just curious... because your ticket is not actually bought with the airline until you pay in full for your cruise (and airfare), does that mean the lower price you got at the time of the initial reservation could go up before it is paid for?  

I'm looking at flights by Celebrity for a May cruise and they are less than half of what it would cost me to book myself (business class).  Just seems too good to be true.

[Stockjock]

26 minutes ago, Maclet said:

Just curious... because your ticket is not actually bought with the airline until you pay in full for your cruise (and airfare), does that mean the lower price you got at the time of the initial reservation could go up before it is paid for?  

I'm looking at flights by Celebrity for a May cruise and they are less than half of what it would cost me to book myself (business class).  Just seems too good to be true.

I believe the price is locked in once booked.  That said, don't be surprised if there are screw-ups.

[Cruisin4ABruisen]

I have such mixed feelings on this subject -- I feel like we normally come out ahead by booking our own flights and removing the middle man. However; last year we had a flight that was canceled last minute and we couldn't even reach the airline (wait time was 5+ hours) -- we were on hold with FBC for a few hours, but they were able to book us on a different airline's flight (which would have cost us $5k to book ourselves) last minute.

 

In terms of upgrading seats, that has definitely bit us before -- we've upgraded, then FBC has changed airlines. Some pros and cons for sure...

[Stockjock]

8 minutes ago, Cruisin4ABruisen said:

I have such mixed feelings on this subject -- I feel like we normally come out ahead by booking our own flights and removing the middle man. However; last year we had a flight that was canceled last minute and we couldn't even reach the airline (wait time was 5+ hours) -- we were on hold with FBC for a few hours, but they were able to book us on a different airline's flight (which would have cost us $5k to book ourselves) last minute.

 

In terms of upgrading seats, that has definitely bit us before -- we've upgraded, then FBC has changed airlines. Some pros and cons for sure...

Here's a little secret, between us.  If you have a really long hold time, select the Spanish option.  You have to be able to speak a tiny bit of Spanish (I do), but once you reach an agent, they will speak English.  I've turned 4 hour hold times into 15 minute hold times doing this.

If you speak zero Spanish, you may have a problem, but you can always give it a try.