Flights by Celebrity Booking Fee!

[MisterBill99]

I booked flights for my upcoming Celebrity cruise today, and the price was $20 more per person than what I was seeing on the airline's site. Since Celebrity has a low price guarantee, I figured that I would file a claim to get 110% of the difference back as OBC, as it their policy. In going through their FAQ to figure out how to file a claim, I came across this item, which is new to me. And it's definitely a change from how it used to work because their old promotional material said that there were no booking fees for using FBC. Does anyone know when this changed? They do not list it separately on the invoice so I guess it's part of the fare.

 

So basically, since the price difference was $20 and their fee is $25 (international flight), I guess that they were $5 cheaper than the airline. I don't want to book it myself at this point because the cruise is not for another six months and I do not want to end up with $5k in nonrefundable tickets.

 

It's on this page: FAQs: Booking a Cruise + Flight with Us | Celebrity Cruises and here's the item:

 

Will there be a service fee for using Flights by Celebrity to book my air?

Yes, a nominal service fee of $15 USD per person for travel within North America and $25 USD per person for International travel will be included within your airfare rate. Please visit http://www.celebritycruises.com/flights-by-celebrity or speak with one of our air travel experts at 1-800-533-7803 for the most up to date information. 

Edited March 26 by MisterBill99

[mahdnc]

15 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

I booked flights for my upcoming Celebrity cruise today, and the price was $20 more per person than what I was seeing on the airline's site. Since Celebrity has a low price guarantee, I figured that I would file a claim to get 110% of the difference back as OBC, as it their policy. In going through their FAQ to figure out how to file a claim, I came across this item, which is new to me. And it's definitely a change from how it used to work because their old promotional material said that there were no booking fees for using FBC. Does anyone know when this changed? They do not list it separately on the invoice so I guess it's part of the fare.

 

So basically, since the price difference was $20 and their fee is $25 (international flight), I guess that they were $5 cheaper than the airline. I don't want to book it myself at this point because the cruise is not for another six months and I do not want to end up with $5k in nonrefundable tickets.

 

It's on this page: FAQs: Booking a Cruise + Flight with Us | Celebrity Cruises and here's the item:

 

Will there be a service fee for using Flights by Celebrity to book my air?

Yes, a nominal service fee of $15 USD per person for travel within North America and $25 USD per person for International travel will be included within your airfare rate. Please visit http://www.celebritycruises.com/flights-by-celebrity or speak with one of our air travel experts at 1-800-533-7803 for the most up to date information. 

 

Yes, I noticed that new fee as well.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Something new I guess , 

[mahdnc]

Yesterday, I found this flyer published by Celebrity: Flights by Celebrity Flyer 

 

It contained one single lonely FAQ:

 

[MisterBill99]

2 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Yesterday, I found this flyer published by Celebrity: Flights by Celebrity Flyer 

 

It contained one single lonely FAQ:

 

 

As opposed to this page from 2019, which says

 

Our Lowest Airfare Guarantee means your clients get the best value in air travel with 24 hours to find a lower price, with ABSOLUTELY NO BOOKING FEES. Benefits no other cruise line offers

 

celebritycorporatekit.com/content/uploads/2019/06/AirCelebrity_Flyer_Corp_and_Incentive.pdf

[mahdnc]

Presumably this is not refundable and it may help address people who book to hold the flight and then cancel before final payment.

 

Or maybe Celebrity is trying to recover the loss in revenue from cutting Zeniths-who-book-The-Retreat a break.

Edited March 26 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

3 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

As opposed to this page from 2019, which says

 

Our Lowest Airfare Guarantee means your clients get the best value in air travel with 24 hours to find a lower price, with ABSOLUTELY NO BOOKING FEES. Benefits no other cruise line offers

 

celebritycorporatekit.com/content/uploads/2019/06/AirCelebrity_Flyer_Corp_and_Incentive.pdf

 

I am looking at the brochure now and it appears that they had an intern update it with the latest changes:

 

[MisterBill99]

5 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Presumably this is not refundable and it may help address people who book to hold the flight and then cancel before final payment.

 

Given that it's not broken out, I can't see why it isn't refundable. They didn't make me pay it upfront when booking my flights that are not due until final payment.

 

Maybe I'll file a low price guarantee claim and see what they tell me, whether they tell me that it's because of the fee.

Edited March 26 by MisterBill99

[mahdnc]

1 minute ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Given that it's not broken out, I can't see why it isn't refundable. They didn't make me pay it when booking my flights that are not due until final payment.

 

Good point--you are right.  I had it in my head that you paid the fee as soon as you reserved your flight.

Edited March 26 by mahdnc

[MisterBill99]

18 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Good point--you are right.  I had it in my head that you paid the fee as soon as you reserved your flight.

 

No, that's the thing -- they seem to be hiding it in the price of the ticket.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Just remember using FBC vs. the airline has one benefit- payment later and one possible benefit - cheaper.

Compare that to the restrictions that have been discussed in many posts including seat selection,  rescheduling difficulty and a myriad of restrictions that come with booking with a consolidator instead of the airline or a TA.

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Just remember using FBC vs. the airline has one benefit- payment later and one possible benefit - cheaper.

Compare that to the restrictions that have been discussed in many posts including seat selection,  rescheduling difficulty and a myriad of restrictions that come with booking with a consolidator instead of the airline or a TA.

 

Not to mention "The Big Gamble" of being able to reach anyone for help on day of flight in case of trouble.

[MisterBill99]

1 minute ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Just remember using FBC vs. the airline has one benefit- payment later and one possible benefit - cheaper.

Compare that to the restrictions that have been discussed in many posts including seat selection,  rescheduling difficulty and a myriad of restrictions that come with booking with a consolidator instead of the airline or a TA.

 

 

Well, the agent actually got my seats assigned when I booked, so I avoided that problem (this time). There are benefits to doing it both ways. I will check prices close to final payment and decide whether to book on my own or stay with Celebrity. It's unfortunate that they're no longer the same price as the airline.

[39august]

That is new. I have used FBC many times for no fee. Will see how this impacts any future flights.