Flights by Celebrity. 1-60090081280
Italy, Turkey and Greek Islands Cruise, September 26 2022, on board the Celebrity Reflection.
We initially booked the cruise with inclusive flights in October 2021. While we recognize that changes in the air itinerary are not the fault of Flights by Celebrity, the following list of events certainly were:
6 August 2022-advised that the flights were being operated by Air China. The initial call of two hours resulted in the CSR hanging up on us.
7 August 2022-another call and finally the airline was changed to Air Canada, and we were now advised of changes to the flight which we had to accept.
Identified that my name as spelt on the air ticket was incorrect, we were advised to call Flights by Celebrity within 72 hours of our departure flight to get the name changed.
21 September 2022 called again, and was able to get the Air Canada outbound ticket corrected, however because the return flight was operated by Lufthansa, Celebrity would have to correct, we were advised by Air Canada that the return ticket would be cancelled at no extra charge and a new ticket issued, therefore no expense to Celebrity.
21 September called Flights by Celebrity, response was that we may have to pay for a new ticket. Then spoke to a supervisor who indicated they would call the following day with the issue resolved.
The call did not happen and we had to call again on 22 September, the day before the flight. Again told the issue would be escalated and that we would be notified by email or phone. Again no response and the cruise had finally started. I dealt with staff on the boat on 4 October 2022 and was curtly advised by the Emergency Travel Team in Miami that this was my issue and that I should be prepared to pay a charge of $1,500 for a new ticket.
5 October 2022 I spoke with the Hotel Director on the boat, who aggressively dealt with the problem and later that day we received a new ticket for my return trip.
You would think that would be an end to it, but no, when we checked in at the Rome airport, we found that in the process of re issuing my ticket in the correct name, Celebrity had cancelled my wife’s ticket home. We then were mandated to pay a fee ourselves to get the ticket fixed. The whole cruise was overshadowed by the fact that we never knew until almost the last day of the cruise how I was going to get home, and that had I never initiated the contact, the issue would never have been resolved, to state that the Flights by Celebrity staff were either lacking in understanding the process, or just simply rude, would be an understatement.
A complaint to the CEO of Celebrity, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo and Wilson Siguenza of Executive Escalations resulted in an offer of $100 on board credit on a future cruise. We responded for a further request for review, and have received no response at all to our last two emails.
Based on the treatment we received, this has to be a red flag to anyone considering using Flights By Celebrity, they absolutely ruined what should have been the holiday of a lifetime.
