hsheffield

we were COVID virgins until this cruise on the Moon. We have been super careful since the beginning of the pandemic. We wore our masks religiously on tenders and buses and in crowded rooms except when eating. Should we have said something to the majority of people on the tour buses who did not wear masks? I didn't think it was my place but in retrospect.....I have heart disease and a major COVID event would be a significant health risk. I'm afraid between the lack of compliance with masking and the debacle that is Silversea Air, we won't be cruising SS any time soon. Too much stress: not what I'm looking for in a vacation.

the good news is that we're double boosted and our illness isn't terrible. mild fever/chills and rhinitis. and our bags finally showed up 2 days later no worse for wear! SS Air gave us a 1 hr 5 min connection in Frankfurt that we knew was too tight. Tried hard to get it changed to no avail. Super stressful time in Frankfurt airport but we (not our bags) made the connection just in time. Would strongly recommend no one accept anything less than a 2 hour layover in Frankfurt. With all the buses (from terminal to plane) and passport control with limited staff, even 2 hours is optimistic.

just got off the Moon. we were careful about our masks but agree that others on tenders and buses were not. after almost 3 years COVID free, we just tested positive for our first COVID last night.

good to know Flyer Talker. thanks.

I can not say enough bad about SS air. I've traveled fairly frequently by air for the last 50 years and yesterday was my worst travel experience EVER. Not only did we fly 3 hours in the wrong direction with a connection that I repeatedly argued was was too tight, our bags were lost in the process. I anticipated these too tight connection problems but got no help from my TA (she says SS wouldn't budge) or from writing Barbara Muckermann months ago. SS was able to book what I proposed but wanted $5,000 extra. Some of you may remember my complaining about this earlier... Yesterday was the worst 24 hours of travel in my life. Running through airports to try to make connections, unexpected security lines. (note to travelers in Frankfurt: even if you arrive from a Schengen country, you have to go the security mulitlple times if you are going to the US). To top it all off, at the end of all this running, we arrive at the last leg of our 24 hours and United says my husband doesn't have a ticket. They have a record locator that says 2 passengers but it only works for me not him. So we stand at the gate (at least the plane waited for us) while they try to figure our why he doesn't have a ticket. Meanwhile, I have boarding passes with seat assignments but somehow it's not enough. after a long wait they let us on but it was the last straw.... the upshot for me right now is that the fun on SS is not worth the nightmare of their travel department. I did everything I know how to do short of coughing up another $5k to make it work. I suspect part of my problem could have been that my TA did not go to bat for me but I don't know for sure. If anyone feels kind enough to PM a good cruise travel agent I would be grateful. in the meantime, it will take a lot for me to be willing to travel with SS again and I won't have good things to say about SS to any friends considering using them. it was not a luxurious 6* experience.

I was also surprised at the short layover. I've have been nagging (my recently acquired superpower!) to get it changed to no avail. Just double checked: flight A and B are both on Lufthansa. Flight C is on United: I'm assuming a codeshare with LH. So this brings me back to has anyone used the Silver Air emergency number to get help if stranded?

OK, I've given up on getting better connections. No amount of wheedling on my part has changed anything (short of paying +$5000...) I'm expecting to miss my flight from FRA to Dulles (1 hr connection, flight is only on time 20%.) There are no later flights to the US that I can find. Has anyone ever called the SS 'Emergency Air Desk'? Would you mind sharing your experience? Would it be reasonable to expect them to find us a hotel for the night? Or would that be Lufthansa's job? Or would it be nobody's job???

thanks to everyone for the feedback!! sounds like Viking is doing a better job than Silversea. looks like we may become Viking travelers!

We are presently sailing with Silversea this fall. Their SilverAir service has been a nightmare. I'm considering booking with Viking in the future and would appreciate feedback in general re: recent experience with Viking Air. I would especially be interested in the ability to specify Delta Airlines (Skymiles member.). It sounds like everyone is having issues....

unfortunately I'm coming to the same conclusion. I'm afraid my TA is tired of all my pushing. I'm hoping to talk to other passengers on the cruise and find a different and perhaps more effective TA. the trouble is that it appears all the cruise lines are having issues with air right now so I'm not sure I'm being reasonable. I'll ask my TA again if there is a way to escalate...unless you know of a way?

just checked the stats: our flight from Lisbon to Frankfurt is only on time 20% of the time. it's 'excessively' late 35% of the time. There are no flights connecting to CLT leaving after 5:10 pm. Since we only have an hour window if everything is on time, it's looking likely we'll be spending the night in Frankfurt. I tried to get my TA to answer who'd be responsible if we had to stay the night but no answer. Has anyone asked to have their return flights changed once they get on the ship? I was wondering if I might have better luck with customer service onboard if we're face to face.

I've been using a TA and in the past (though I never actually took the cruises bec. of COVID) I was able to get routes that I've proposed. But for this trip (my first cruise ever despite trying for the last 2.5 years) they wanted to charge large amounts of money to book the flights I proposed. My understanding is that the airlines are becoming less willing to enter contracts with the cruise lines though I don't know this for sure. THAT explains it!!

thanks Gourmet Gal! I hope we get to meet on the ship. the late arrival into Frankfurt is on the way home from Lisbon. We are booked on LH 1167: it wasn't late today as it was last weekend, it was outright canceled. Any idea if SS puts us up in Lisbon in case the outgoing flight is canceled or are we on our own?

Does anyone have the phone number for me to call Silversea Air? My TA wrote them and they told her that the 1 hr 5 min layover in Frankfurt was the best they could offer. I'd like to call them and see if I can have any luck. Any advice appreciated. We won't arrive in Frankfurt until late and I suspect that if we miss our connection, we'll have to wait until the next day. Does anyone know if Lufthansa or SS would be responsible for a hotel? I'm afraid I've not been very impressed by the luxury aspect of Silversea. I really hope the wonderfulness of the cruise makes up makes up for all this hassle.

We still have only a 1 hr 5 min layover in Frankfurt (coming from Lisbon) I'm wondering what happens if you miss your connection on SS booked air. Who rebooks you? Does SS provide a hotel? BTW, I've checked the flight out of Lisbon: it was 52 minutes late yesterday and over 30 minutes late the day before. I've asked our TA again to request SS to revisit our reservations. What kind of luck have others had? Is my only recourse to book it myself?

yes, we're flying business. I've written my TA and hopefully she can work this out to a more satisfactory itinerary. I wish they'd just gotten the Delta flights I asked for when I booked the cruise months ago but my TA says that Delta is not playing nice with vendors these days. So I do have some sympathy for SS.

Hi all, I'm also having a heck of a time with SS Air and am considering booking my own flights. I just wanted to confirm what kind of a credit I should expect from SS as I understand it: $1000 pp airfare economy additional $1400 pp refunded for business upgrade do you all agree I can expect $2400 pp back from SS towards booking my own tickets? I know that you guys aren't SS but I am grateful for any insights you can offer.

Just checked: today's flight into Frankfurt was 52 minutes late.

the saga continues: I rejected the $5K proposal and said please just book the route/dates for which I've already paid. Return flight from Lisbon booked through a 1 hour layover in Frankfurt. I'm not at all confident we can make a flight with only 1 hour in between-have these people been to Frankfurt airport?? That's assuming the flights are on time (they were 35 minutes late today.) Not to mention that we are flying 3 hours in the WRONG direction to get back to the States. Then we're booked from Frankfurt to Dulles, but no flight to our gateway city of Charlotte.

no tickets issued as far as I know. this process has been a mystery to me. I asked for Delta when I booked, but they cobbled together a mix of other airlines. not sure what's going to happen now. I'm not planning on staying at the grand hotel or accepting the extra charges for flights to accommodate staying at the hotel but I'm not sure what SS will do when I reject their proposal. I'm not feeling the warm fuzzies for SS right this minute.

correction: an additional $4970 for one extra night

Update: Agreed to the $1170 for one night at the Corinthia since I understood that would not incur a deviation fee for changing my flights to get in one day early. Guess what? SS wants to charge $150/person deviation fee for going in a day early despite staying at their hotel. They also want $1750/person for additional airfare. Grand total: $4900 in extra charges to go one day early. For that much money, I'll take my chances on flight cancelations.

It's not about visiting London so much as giving us a buffer in case flights are canceled. I'm hoping to avoid missing our ship departure! Appreciate the info about Heathrow and Southampton. If we can't get SS flights that make sense, that sounds like a great plan. That being said, I love London. I've been dying to get back to the V & A for a while so if we actually do get in a day early, all the better. Also found out that SS is quoting the Corinthia. SS is charging $1100/night while the hotel charges $1300/night. Such a deal.

very helpful-thank you. we're new to cruising so this kind of info is extremely valuable. I'm grateful for the cruise critic crowd!!

Out of curiosity, what happens if our flights are canceled and we do miss the ship out of London? Our flights are booked through SS air: do they take responsibility for getting us to the ship?