Another Celebrity Air deviation mess

[Fblack]

My transatlantic/back to back cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Harwich is next April so I decided to schedule my flights with Celebrity. I always use air deviation and it's free for me on Celebrity.

 

Even with air deviation (plus the fact I want to fly in a day early) they told me I could only take one of two United flights from San Diego that get me into Ft. Lauderdale after midnight.

 

Then I asked about the flights from Heathrow back to San Diego. Again only one of two United flights. One was at 9:00AM!!! I told them it's impossible to make this. The other was at 2:15PM...but they wanted an extra $125 per person over the airfrae price I was quoted and booked.

 

Needless to say this is not good. She said things may change in August when we are 9 months from the departure.

 

It all seems odd to me. I have done air deviation many times on RCCL and always was given any flight I wanted. Have things changed at Celebrity? Why would anyone pay the usual $75 air deviation if you were only given a red-eye, or be forced to pay extra on top of the deviation fee?

[Petert]

Hi Fblack,

 

April is in off peak season but San Diego may present some connection problems on a flight to/fro Europe, but the best way to answer your questions is to investigate the flight options available on your own. I have found the flights that I wanted on the internet, and then had specific suggestions for Celebrity when I requested a deviation. At the times that I used them they were very helpful, and I hope that hasn't changed.

 

Since you are traveling during the off peak season you may find a better deal on your own, and time is certainly on your side. Hope you can come up with a satisfactory flight plan.

 

Petert

[ArtM]

It is a bit early to get worked up about flight schedules. There are probably three or four iterations of schedule changes to work thru before the real schedules are known for next April.

 

Remember, as Captain's Club member, the first custom air request is free. If the airline you are booked on changes the flight schedule to something you don't like, and you want to change to a different flight, any further deviations cost money.

 

It does strike me that Celebrity has a working relationship with Delta. On our recent TA cruise, I requested a Delta flight to FLL and one back from GTW and got exactly what I asked for. This was all about 60 days out and the flight schedules were set (as much as they ever are for Delta) at that time.

 

As the other response suggested, the best approach is to do a whole lot of homework and know all the flights that are available and suitable before you make your request.

 

Art