Flights by Celebrity

[odyssyus]

Hello !  Trying to get flights out of MIA or FLL to Rome for a May 26, 2025 cruise using Celebrity air.  We would like to show up a week early and show up on the 19th however when I try to look at flights thru Celebrity, it shows as 'no flights found' unless I choose a much earlier date (24th).  Has anyone else experienced this or is this just an issue with Celebrity having a limit on how many days in advance you can book?  Unable to find that info.  Posted in Cruise Air and didn't get much traction.

 

Thanks for any and all responses.

Edited August 28 by odyssyus

[dcbiker97]

I’ve never had a problem with adding in days on either end with FBC’s search tool.  Is there another limit you’re placing that could have an effect on the search results? Could also call as some folks on here prefer that anyway.  Just have the flights you want and give it to them that way. 

Edited August 28 by dcbiker97

[canderson]

Have several times discovered that there are far more flights made available by phone than online.  Unless you see your preferred itinerary online, it's always worth the time to call if you want to work through FBC.

[odyssyus]

Thank you.  I've reached out by phone.

[bbtondo]

By any chance are you putting in only Nonstops in your flight search?  

[alexandria]

When I booked a Galapagos cruise in July, they said they no longer booked AA due to a dispute and on Delta they only book economy class.  However, I don't know whether that is still the case and whether it is impacting what you are finding.

[odyssyus]

The agent on the phone said it was because I was trying to fly into Rome and the cruise is out of Venice.  They could only book me on flights to Venice.

[Oceangoer2]

13 minutes ago, odyssyus said:

The agent on the phone said it was because I was trying to fly into Rome and the cruise is out of Venice.  They could only book me on flights to Venice.

If you search for flights you want, make a note, then call FBC....they have accommodated me in the past.

[Bruin Steve]

I just went through the same thing for my June 2025 cruises...

 

We have two cruises--a 7 night round trip out of Ravenna followed by an 11 night Ravenna-Rome.  We wanted to fly a week or so early into Vienna and work our way down to Ravenna by train, then fly home two days after the second one from Rome.  Could not do anything close on the website...all "No Flights Found".

 

I called.  They had no problem booking on my requested dates--but would NOT fly us into Vienna...only Venice for Ravenna (even though, in the past, they've always let us choose alternate airports to account for our pre- or post-cruise plans).  They said this was a change in policy and my Vienna request could not be accommodated.

 

We considered the alternatives of booking on our own, paying in full now and with restrictions versus accepting the new Celebrity Air rules.  We ended up booking LAX-Venice and Rome-LAX through Celebrity... with the first leg a day earlier than originally planned...and then booked a surprisingly cheap extra leg the following day on Austrian Air, Venice-Vienna.  We then booked one night at the Hilton Garden Inn by Venice Airport using Hilton points.  Problem solved.  Our combined cost with this set-up is still cheaper than anything I've found on kayak...and I don't have to pay (and am able to change) until final cruise payment date.

 

Edited August 28 by Bruin Steve

[canderson]

9 minutes ago, odyssyus said:

The agent on the phone said it was because I was trying to fly into Rome and the cruise is out of Venice.  They could only book me on flights to Venice.

Ah, well then.  That's definitely a new data point!

If they don't have any itineraries in or out of Rome in a similar time period, that could be a problem. 

 

That said, I don't know why that continues to be an issue for a cruise line that is now effectively tied into the same system as the public for access to available flights.  It would be interesting to know what their contracts with the airlines look like these days.  It used to be that the lines acted more or less as consolidators and worked flights +/- time from their departure ports.  Who knows what they're limited to now?

 

[dddone]

23 hours ago, odyssyus said:

Hello !  Trying to get flights out of MIA or FLL to Rome for a May 26, 2025 cruise using Celebrity air.  We would like to show up a week early and show up on the 19th however when I try to look at flights thru Celebrity, it shows as 'no flights found' unless I choose a much earlier date (24th).  Has anyone else experienced this or is this just an issue with Celebrity having a limit on how many days in advance you can book?  Unable to find that info.  Posted in Cruise Air and didn't get much traction.

 

Thanks for any and all responses.

 

I'm having the EXACT same issue.  Changing the airpots didnt help.

 

[Ronaldo807]

Same issue for a cruise next summer. Calling in to find out why is/was pointless as the phone representatives have no idea why and just make things up. I noticed today that the booking site looks completely different, but says it’s down when you do a search so hopefully improved changes coming. The phone representatives can book earlier flights, but who wants to sit on the phone with them for who knows how long going over all of the options. 

[canderson]

3 hours ago, Ronaldo807 said:

The phone representatives can book earlier flights, but who wants to sit on the phone with them for who knows how long going over all of the options. 

It helps if you start the conversation with a specific itinerary or two in mind.  Have often come away with my first choice.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Yup.  Can't use FBC to Rome unless Civitivecchia is the origination port.  Suggest using a search engine and then calling FBC.

Remember FBC is not a travel agent.   Just a consolidator who buys blocks of seats.   Be careful to understand the rules before you book.  There can be great international deals - but often big restrictions.

As said FBC only deals with a few airlines so check the rest.

Last you are restricted as to how many days before or after you can book with FBC and their agents do NOT know all the rules.

Good hunting.

[Ronaldo807]

11 minutes ago, canderson said:

It helps if you start the conversation with a specific itinerary or two in mind.  Have often come away with my first choice.

I’m familiar with how it works, but we (and I'm sure plenty of others) have multiple airports within driving distance, may have multiple airports they can fly into, would consider flying in sooner/later depending on cost, etc so it’s much easier to see all of your options online. If you are going on a specific day on a specific airline at a specific time then sure call them. If this is a new policy that they will only show options online for 3 days out or less then we will have to adjust, but this isn’t how it has been. 

[canderson]

6 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Remember FBC is not a travel agent.

Amen to that.  Just dialing up and asking for flights is like using Kayak.com with no filters.  Most US cities to Rome would bring up a hundred different ways of getting there, and as @Ronaldo807 days, you really don't want to spend hours sorting through them.

 

Just as another data point regarding 'days ahead' ... used FBC for upcoming cruise and we're flying out on 1 Nov, not embarking until 7 Nov.

[canderson]

5 minutes ago, Ronaldo807 said:

I’m familiar with how it works, but we (and I'm sure plenty of others) have multiple airports within driving distance, may have multiple airports they can fly into, would consider flying in sooner/later depending on cost, etc so it’s much easier to see all of your options online.

The FBC web site never has shown all of what they're prepared to sell you.  Like I say, I use Kayak to do this kind of initial 'filtering' legwork (it knows how to handle multiple airport options, too), and then call FBC only after I've spotted a couple of itineraries I like so we have something to discuss.

 

Edit:  Kayak also offers flexible dates with a calendar that shows red/orange/green to give you an idea of which days offer better prices.

Edited August 30 by canderson

[publicpersona]

19 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Remember FBC is not a travel agent.   Just a consolidator who buys blocks of seats

 

What source can you cite to indicate this is correct? The selection of flights, while ignoring some good airlines, is far too broad to make sense that they have purchased blocks of seats on all of them. Also, FBC flights earn airline points while consolidator fares do not.

 

Note that I'm not a fan of FBC. Their marketing sells more than they actually deliver, and they charge big fees for changes after final payment that can be avoided if booking directly with the airline). That said, I just used them last week.