what airlines does Celebrity use?

I booked a promotional rate special which includes the cruise and air for the Med. Cruise in late September. Air portion will be from Los Angeles to Barcelona RT. Celebrity will be making the arrangement.

Do you know what major airlines they will use? They say i won't have flight information until 45 days before cruise.

Thanks

I booked a promotional rate special which includes the cruise and air for the Med. Cruise in late September. Air portion will be from Los Angeles to Barcelona RT. Celebrity will be making the arrangement.

 

Do you know what major airlines they will use? They say i won't have flight information until 45 days before cruise.

 

 

Thanks

Any and all (except ones like Singapore, Cathay and the Middle Eastern 4 and 5* airlines). In other words, as cheap as possible and generally US airlines for US departures.

From LA to Barcelona-plan on at least 2 stops if not three. A typical routing would be LAX/DFW, ORD or JFK/LHR/BCN (AA/BA routing). You generally WILL NOT get a nonstop or a one stopper, especially on a cruise/air promo.

Whatever consolidator tickets the cruise line has available is what you will get. Have you read the sticky at the top of the page so you know what you are in for???

And what other people have gotten with cruise air has NO bearing on what you will get. Good luck!!!

I booked a promotional rate special which includes the cruise and air for the Med. Cruise in late September. Air portion will be from Los Angeles to Barcelona RT. Celebrity will be making the arrangement.

 

Do you know what major airlines they will use? They say i won't have flight information until 45 days before cruise.

 

 

Thanks

You really are at the mercy of whatever contracts they have in place and what is the lower fare as greatam said.

We don't use the cruise lines air too often but when we do we ensure that we either use custom air where we can request the specific airline flights we want. I would not recommend leaving it up to the cruise line without being to specify what you want. The custom air costs additoinal dollars and depending upon what you request can add dollars as well. There are times that we have done better with cruise lines airfare but what is true of many things the devil is in the deails.

Keith

Agree with all the above. BUT what about experinces with Choice Air? Supposed to be well priced. Anyone have any experiences?

Agree with all the above. BUT what about experinces with Choice Air? Supposed to be well priced. Anyone have any experiences?

Choice Air is using the "backend" (software) of Travelocity to book flights. It essentially does away with most of the air/sea department. Choice Air STILL sells consolidator tickets. You just get to pick which flights you want online which makes you think it is new. The air/sea dept is NOT involved, which saves thousands of man hours.

Unless they have changed it since it first came out, you CANNOT access the complete fare rules. Without being able to read the complete fare rules, you have no knowledge of what you are buying.

And from the FAQ about Choice Air:

"What protection is provided when I purchase a ChoiceAir ticket?

Subject: ChoiceAir Arrangements

Guests purchasing airline tickets through ChoiceAir will receive assistance on travel days, should there be a disruption to their scheduled airline service. While we monitor flights, guests should first check with the airline to request re-accommodation, and then call us if the new flights will not enable the guest to meet the ship. We will work with the guest to find a seat on the next available flight, on a regularly scheduled airline, and in the same class of service to the ship. If there are no viable options, we will work with our airline partners to accommodate the guest on a flight to the next available port, where a guest may legally join the ship."

This is almost the same wording as previous Cruise Air/Custom Air wording. IF your originating airline cannot get you rebooked on THEIR AIRLINE to make the ship, the Cruise/Air dept will TRY to get you rebooked on another airline BUT you have to deal with the cruise line AFTER you have dealt with the originating airline. Why would you put yourself through the hassle of dealing with an additional party when you could deal directly with the airline IF you had a published fare, fully endorsable ticket??

If you do the research and ask the correct questions, I have RARELY seen prices for any air the cruise lines provide to be cheaper by more than a few dollars. AND that few dollars may cost you dearly in the long run. Ask the March 2 Star Princess passengers how well cruise air works!!!

We purchased a cruise/air promotion two years ago with RCI. After talking with more knowledgeable people on this board, I soon found out what I was in for. Keep one thing in mind, the cruiseline is going to book you on the cheapest flights possible. Convenience for you is not in the picture. The best advice I can give you is to be prepared with alternate plans should you need them. By that, I mean alternate flights and times for each stage of your trip. You may not need them, but at least you'll be ready. Our flights and even airlines were changed several times. It all worked out in the end but it was an experience. Unless the price is too good to pass up, next time I'll be in charge of our air arrangements.

Choice Air is using the "backend" (software) of Travelocity to book flights. It essentially does away with most of the air/sea department. Choice Air STILL sells consolidator tickets. You just get to pick which flights you want online which makes you think it is new. The air/sea dept is NOT involved, which saves thousands of man hours.

 

Unless they have changed it since it first came out, you CANNOT access the complete fare rules. Without being able to read the complete fare rules, you have no knowledge of what you are buying.

 

And from the FAQ about Choice Air:

 

"What protection is provided when I purchase a ChoiceAir ticket?

Subject: ChoiceAir Arrangements

 

Guests purchasing airline tickets through ChoiceAir will receive assistance on travel days, should there be a disruption to their scheduled airline service. While we monitor flights, guests should first check with the airline to request re-accommodation, and then call us if the new flights will not enable the guest to meet the ship. We will work with the guest to find a seat on the next available flight, on a regularly scheduled airline, and in the same class of service to the ship. If there are no viable options, we will work with our airline partners to accommodate the guest on a flight to the next available port, where a guest may legally join the ship."

 

This is almost the same wording as previous Cruise Air/Custom Air wording. IF your originating airline cannot get you rebooked on THEIR AIRLINE to make the ship, the Cruise/Air dept will TRY to get you rebooked on another airline BUT you have to deal with the cruise line AFTER you have dealt with the originating airline. Why would you put yourself through the hassle of dealing with an additional party when you could deal directly with the airline IF you had a published fare, fully endorsable ticket??

 

If you do the research and ask the correct questions, I have RARELY seen prices for any air the cruise lines provide to be cheaper by more than a few dollars. AND that few dollars may cost you dearly in the long run. Ask the March 2 Star Princess passengers how well cruise air works!!!

Greatam - you have amazing insight into the air booking process. Really interesting that Choice Air uses Travelocity anyhow, but without giving pax full access to the airline. Would I be correct in your opinion then, that booking the same flights for Choice Air on a Newark - FLL route as I can book directly with Continental, and at no savings, is of no value if I fly in the night before anyhow on my own ticket?

Thanks!

Greatam - you have amazing insight into the air booking process. Really interesting that Choice Air uses Travelocity anyhow, but without giving pax full access to the airline. Would I be correct in your opinion then, that booking the same flights for Choice Air on a Newark - FLL route as I can book directly with Continental, and at no savings, is of no value if I fly in the night before anyhow on my own ticket?

 

Thanks!

Just a slight correction, then an answer.

Choice Air has merely licensed the SOFTWARE from Travelocity. It is NOT Travelocity.

But since Travelocity had software which allowed very complicated itineraries to be booked, RCCL decided to use their software. What RCCL does-they put their cruise line contracted tickets into Travelocity's software (the backend) which is only available to those who have booked a cruise. THOSE are the heavily discounted, restricted tickets you see on Choice Air. And since the majority of people shop by price, they end up with consolidator tickets which are no different than the old cruise air/custom air tickets.

To answer your question, buy the Continental ticket directly from the airline (IMHO, even if it is a few dollars more). Then you have airline PROTECTION, an ENDORSABLE ticket and only have to deal with Continental. I see no advantage to buying a Choice Air, EZ Air (Princess new system), cruise air or custom air ticket. I see no advantage to buying any type of consolidator ticket UNLESS you are very airline saavy, know how to overcome the glitches with a minimum of hassle, have large credit lines AND do not absolutely, positively HAVE to be someplace at a certain date and time. While you may save a few dollars with a cruise line air ticket, you may also miss your cruise.

Thanks very much - your warning is well taken! Ironically, I was only considering Choice Air due to the apparent promise that we would not be abandoned if we missed our cruise due to flight delays/cancellations, particularly if we flew on the day of departure. From what you say, that is not really the net effect.

In fact, right now Florida is on sale with almost all the airlines, and on my itinerary the airlines are cheaper than Choice Air. So we've opted to fly into FLL the night before we sail, as it seems clear that there's no benefit in paying extra for Choice Air, when we now have a confirmed nonstop and confirmed seat assignments on Continental; and also that Continental has several flights the next day, should anything (heaven forbid!) go wrong with our scheduled flight.

You are a goldmine of information!:)