First Time Using Flights by Celebrity...What Did I Do Wrong?

[Georgia_Peaches]

On January 12th, I booked air travel for our late May Alaska cruise via FBC.  Final payment for the cruise is March but the cost of the airfare has already hit my credit card.  I thought I had until final payment to pay for the flight portion of the trip...I booked using a TA...does that make a difference?  Anything I should do at this point?

[dcbiker97]

Sometimes there are nonrefundable fares on FBC which would be charged at the time of selection. Maybe you got one of those by mistake?

[loving goldens]

Your Flight should be with your final payment.. I would call your TA..

[mahdnc]

I agree, call your TA to get it straightened out. I think there is an online option to pay for your tickets immediately when you are booking on Flights By Celebrity’s website.  Maybe you did that by mistake? Or maybe it’s their error. So contact your TA. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

8 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

Sometimes there are nonrefundable fares on FBC which would be charged at the time of selection. Maybe you got one of those by mistake?

Thank you, I will look in to this but I think I recall that when I booked, it said it was refundable up to the time of cancellation.  Would there have been a flag or notation on the flight that would have said otherwise?  Also, we've already selected our seats.  Would this trigger payment?

[mahdnc]

Just now, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thank you, I will look in to this but I think I recall that when I booked, it said it was refundable up to the time of cancellation.  Would there have been a flag or notation on the flight that would have said otherwise?  Also, we've already selected our seats.  Would this trigger payment?

Seat selection should not trigger payment. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, mahdnc said:

I agree, call your TA to get it straightened out. I think there is an online option to pay for your tickets immediately when you are booking on Flights By Celebrity’s website.  Maybe you did that by mistake? Or maybe it’s their error. So contact your TA. 

Yes, this seems more likely as I did enter my CC info (obviously) but I assumed (my mistake) that this was for auto pay upon final payment date.  However, I do remember telling DH to remind me to log in on final payment day to pay for flights.  Will call TA tomorrow.  I get so annoyed when I think something is working one way and it turns out another...

[cbfb]

As far as I know any flight you book you can cancel without penalty within 24 hours. Just in case you want to do that. 

[dcbiker97]

20 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thank you, I will look in to this but I think I recall that when I booked, it said it was refundable up to the time of cancellation.  Would there have been a flag or notation on the flight that would have said otherwise?  Also, we've already selected our seats.  Would this trigger payment?

It’s been a while since I’ve booked through FBC, but there are notations in the different fare classes whether it was refundable or not.  Seat selection won’t trigger payment. 

[Tierun]

Is your cruise already paid in full? That might be why the fbc payment was taken.

[mahdnc]

22 minutes ago, cbfb said:

As far as I know any flight you book you can cancel without penalty within 24 hours. Just in case you want to do that. 

I was thinking exactly the same thing. However I inferred from the first post that the tickets were purchased on Jan 12. 

Edited January 28 by mahdnc

[jelayne]

When we have used FBC the airfare is added to our total due and get get a revised invoice from the TA with the new total due.  At final payment it is just 1 amount due to X which is cruuse and air.  Shortly afterward FBC has the flights ticketed.  

[cbfb]

9 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I was thinking exactly the same thing. However I inferred from the first post that the tickets were purchased on Jan 12. 

Oh darn! That went right by me! 

[mahdnc]

43 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, this seems more likely as I did enter my CC info (obviously) but I assumed (my mistake) that this was for auto pay upon final payment date.  However, I do remember telling DH to remind me to log in on final payment day to pay for flights.  Will call TA tomorrow.  I get so annoyed when I think something is working one way and it turns out another...

It’s still worth a call. Perhaps FBC will allow you to cancel or cancel with a fee. Otherwise you may have to get use to the idea that you’ve finished with the air planning for this cruise. Good luck. 

[C-Dragons]

19 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

It’s been a while since I’ve booked through FBC, but there are notations in the different fare classes whether it was refundable or not.  Seat selection won’t trigger payment. 

I’ve only used FBC one time.

We wanted to choose our seats at the time of booking instead of waiting many months until final payment.

Even though FBC stated full payment wasn’t required, for some reason the system would not allow seat selection without full payment, so I paid.

I realized then that there was no advantage, (for us) to use FBC.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I have used FBC many times, I check for pricing online , but always call in to book the ticket 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

It’s still worth a call. Perhaps FBC will allow you to cancel or cancel with a fee. Otherwise you may have to get use to the idea that you’ve finished with the air planning for this cruise. Good luck. 

I will call just for my own peace of mind and to confirm that the air is paid.  I don't want to risk messing anything up by cancelling...too many things that can go wrong.  On the positive side, the air fare was a far better price than if I booked outright...so there's that.  ☺️

[Spif Barwunkel]

Ms. Peaches - We have used FBC many times over the years and never had a problem. It does require a bit of extra work and awareness to get it right, but it is certainly worth the effort should cruise/flight arrangements need to be modified or changed. Whereas I might use a TA to book a cruise, I would never use a third party to book flights through FBC. In some cases, a TA may require final payment for cruise/air thirty days prior to the required due date if booked directly with the cruise line. Perhaps this is the case in your situation. Final cruise payment due in March but TA booked-air due in February. 

 

For your consideration, I book my flights as soon as my travel dates show on the airline website. I go to the website, find the flights that I want, select the seats, call FBC and make the arrangements. Final payment for cruise and air is due on the same date. Up until flight time, I am kept apprised of any changes, both from FBC and the airline.

 

I am very particular about where I sit on an airplane, especially on long flights. I want to be in charge of making those reservations and I do not believe that a third party will necessarily have my best interests in mind. Dealing directly with FBC has always worked for me.   

[Georgia_Peaches]

53 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

For your consideration, I book my flights as soon as my travel dates show on the airline website. I go to the website, find the flights that I want, select the seats, call FBC and make the arrangements. Final payment for cruise and air is due on the same date. Up until flight time, I am kept apprised of any changes, both from FBC and the airline.

  As it was my first time with this process, this is very helpful.  I will know better how to navigate through this in the future!  Thank you, Spif!

[Jim_Iain]

One thing of note.   If you booked air are are a US citizen you have 24 hours to cancel without penalty or fee (Federal Law).    Give FBC a call and see what they can do for you.

[mahdnc]

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

One thing of note.   If you booked air are are a US citizen you have 24 hours to cancel without penalty or fee (Federal Law).    Give FBC a call and see what they can do for you.

That deadline has long passed if the OP purchased the flights on Jan 12. 

[Lastdance]

If you book with FBC and it is added to your reservation, insurance usually requires that you must insure your flights too.  That is one reason that I book flights on my own, especially going overseas: However, it really depends on cabin class, price and other factors including insurance.  Also, so many factors change, making it more difficult at times to navigate.  Some airlines allow seat reservations, while others do not until paid.  Life is always a live and learn process for me.

 

I hope everything works out for you!

Edited January 28 by Lastdance

[alexandria]

18 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

One thing of note.   If you booked air are are a US citizen you have 24 hours to cancel without penalty or fee (Federal Law).    Give FBC a call and see what they can do for you.

Not necessarily.  (Plus, it isn't federal law but a DOT regulation.)  That regulation provides that the airline must offer EITHER:

1.  The ability to hold a price for 24 hrs without a fee, OR

2.  The ability to cancel booked tickets within 24 hrs without a fee.

 

So if the airline offered the ability to place a 24 hr price hold at no cost, there is no concurrent right to cancel booked tickets within 24 hrs.  An airline can offer both options, but they are not required to.  As always, wise consumers should read all of the terms and conditions applicable to their purchase/booking before making that purchase.  😃

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

I also have a question. I booked our cruise and flights with Celebrity, my cruise price went down by $1663.00 even with losing some perks, can you reprice the cruise without repricing the airfare?

 

[bap335i]

When I have used FBC there is an option to pay at final payment or pay now.  Checking the box to pay later adds it to final payment.  I assume you have three parties involved now - Celebrity, TA, and airline.  The airline probably has your money, Celebrity was just the cost aggregator..  Good luck.  It is largely a good program if you book flights you would normally take, not so good if you book an unfamiliar airline with seat fees and other unexpected rules.  In this case it sounds like your TA did not choose wisely.  You can potentially unwind it if was a cancellable/refundable fare.  Fares can change daily so your cost may be different.