CHOICE AIR PLUS - Do They Really Get You There No Matter What?

[A Sixth?]

Tested the link I gave you and it worked for me and I'm not a TA. I started with www.choiceair.com that link sent me to the one I originally posted.

 

Bingo! Thanks!:D

[crslover]

We booked Choice Air through our TA. We are Platinum on American and have flown millions of miles with them. We booked one way business class which we are upgrading to First Class with American directly. This could not be done if it were a consolidator fare. I believe either Celebrity or American will take care of us if there are any difficulties. Some on this board should fact check before lumping Choice Air into a certain category.:confused:

[Gonzo70]

We booked Choice Air through our TA. We are Platinum on American and have flown millions of miles with them. We booked one way business class which we are upgrading to First Class with American directly. This could not be done if it were a consolidator fare. I believe either Celebrity or American will take care of us if there are any difficulties. Some on this board should fact check before lumping Choice Air into a certain category.:confused:

 

Why would Business Class be a consolidator fare? :confused:

 

You have flown a million miles and do not know this? :confused:

 

The consolidator fares are mainly on the deeply discounted one way transatlantic coach fares.

 

Perhaps you should do the fact checking. :rolleyes:

 

If you truly have a million miles with American they absolutely would take care of you. I would not count on Choice Air taking care of you; so far they have a mixed track record in terms of people praising them and cursing them when things have gone wrong. They might come through, they might not.

[epixx]

I just spent about an hour looking through the CRUISE AIR forum to try to get a better perspective to be fair in this discussion. What I think is going on is confusion between the names CRUISE AIR and CHOICEAIR. CRUISE AIR appears to be a generic term used to describe all cruise line air reservation programs, while CHOICEAIR is exclusively for Royal Caribbean owned cruise lines, including Celebrity.

 

It appears that both terms are used almost interchangeably by many people, even some of us here in this discussion. I have seen some posts by Princess cruisers talking about booking through CHOICEAIR, which simply can't happen because a person needs to have booked a Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Azamara cruise to book it. And Celebrity and Royal Caribbean cruisers talking about CRUISE AIR, which isn't the program they booked through. Also note that the some of the discussions on the CRUISE AIR forum date back many years, while the current CHOICEAIR program was established in 2009. The old program that Royal Caribbean used was similar to the typical CRUISE AIR program the other cruise lines still use.

 

We may be talking apples and oranges here. There are significant differences between CHOICEAIR that make it a better program than the typical CRUISE AIR program.

 

It's certainly a confusing topic, even if we stay in our appropriate air program. I know I had some confusion at first, but now understand the differences and feel confident that we are indeed getting a better product with CHOICEAIR.

 

You asked for specific examples of the failures of CHOICEAIR. Here's just one of many, and it's a great one. Basically, the cruisers missed their cruise because of CHOICEAIR. Their tickets had severe restrictions that other tickets, presumably those purchased directly from the airline, did not. The CHOICEAIR tickets, unlike the tickets purchased directly from the airline, were non-endorsable and non-reroutable, so the cruisers missed their cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=choice+air

[ORV]

You asked for specific examples of the failures of CHOICEAIR. Here's just one of many, and it's a great one. Basically, the cruisers missed their cruise because of CHOICEAIR. Their tickets had severe restrictions that other tickets, presumably those purchased directly from the airline, did not. The CHOICEAIR tickets, unlike the tickets purchased directly from the airline, were non-endorsable and non-reroutable, so the cruisers missed their cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=choice+air

 

I only skimmed the 5 pages of that and while Choice Air was mentioned I'm not 100% sure the OP actually booked through Choice Air. Is there any one post you can point out that shows they did?

Edited April 19, 2012 by ORV

[boogs]

You asked for specific examples of the failures of CHOICEAIR. Here's just one of many, and it's a great one. Basically, the cruisers missed their cruise because of CHOICEAIR. Their tickets had severe restrictions that other tickets, presumably those purchased directly from the airline, did not. The CHOICEAIR tickets, unlike the tickets purchased directly from the airline, were non-endorsable and non-reroutable, so the cruisers missed their cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=choice+air

 

Since I'm still open to some actual facts that prove that CHOICEAIR is not what we think it is, I searched that thread for "CHOICEAIR" and got nothing. I then searched for "Choice Air", with a space between the words, and I found only three occurrences, all by poster greatam (a poster who is known to post some rather dubious claims on a variety of topics). He talks about, and I quote, "Choice Air, cruise line issued tickets nor with most of the common consolidators-BT Travel Store, Best Fares, Cheapo Air, Vayama, etc. etc.", are not what we think they are. And this is by someone who apparently has no first hand experience himself.

 

And then the OP admitted he had "Cruise Air" tickets, not CHOICEAIR tickets. So, no confirmation was presented that CHOICEAIR failed.

 

Sorry, but that's a pretty weak example to try to prove your point. Mostly assumptions and comparisons with other programs, but no actual proof that the OP used CHOICEAIR, so no proof of the CHOICEAIR program's failings. You haven't convinced this jury member yet.

 

Keep digging, guys. Maybe someone will find something that is ACTUAL PROOF and not assumptions or opinions by people with dubious qualifications. Only then will I reconsider my endorsement of CHOICEAIR.

 

Or better yet, admit to yourself that you do not have any facts to support your claims that CHOICEAIR will let us down. You don't need to admit defeat to the rest of us - no need to embarrass yourselves. Just stop posting claims you can't support so we can all move on.

Edited April 19, 2012 by boogs

[PatriciaF]

I did read through the full thread--the OP said she booked through Cruise Air (near the end of the thread)--but from what I could tell instead of calling the Cruise Air 800 number kept trying to deal with the airline.

 

Other problem--two of the party of 4 didn't have a passport, so Cruise Air couldn't send them to the first port as they couldn't legally get back to the US.

 

I tried browsing through her subsequent posts to see if she ever got her money back as she said she had insurance, but didn't see anything relevant--but didn't look too far.

 

Did see she sailed 4/8/2012

[Cruise Junky]

I did read through the full thread--the OP said she booked through Cruise Air (near the end of the thread)--but from what I could tell instead of calling the Cruise Air 800 number kept trying to deal with the airline.

 

Other problem--two of the party of 4 didn't have a passport, so Cruise Air couldn't send them to the first port as they couldn't legally get back to the US.

 

I tried browsing through her subsequent posts to see if she ever got her money back as she said she had insurance, but didn't see anything relevant--but didn't look too far.

 

Did see she sailed 4/8/2012

 

Yes, she was booked through Royal Caribbean in 2011 so for Boogs benefit, it was definitely ChoiceAir. Her first mistake was not making an immediate call to the ChoiceAir phone line for help. USAir was not going to help her - sucks that she completely missed her cruise.

[Cruise Junky]

I only skimmed the 5 pages of that and while Choice Air was mentioned I'm not 100% sure the OP actually booked through Choice Air. Is there any one post you can point out that shows they did?

 

There's no mention of when she booked, cruise was April 2011 on Royal Caribbean. Anyone have an idea when ChoiceAir was introduced? EDIT* found a press release from August, 2009 introducing ChoiceAir so I guess that answers that.

Edited April 19, 2012 by Cruise Junky

[Gonzo70]

Since I'm still open to some actual facts that prove that CHOICEAIR is not what we think it is, I searched that thread for "CHOICEAIR" and got nothing.

 

Here is another thread where Choice Air was a total disaster: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1584887&highlight=choice+air

 

While the cruiser mentions "cruise air" in her initial post, please note this was a 2012 occurrence (after cruise air no longer existed) and the OP does refer to her having used Choice Air in post #60 on the thread.

[biker1972]

Boogs: Just so you know; Greatam is a wonderful lady who owns an operates a company doing a lot of business overseas. She books hundreds of flights for herself and her employees every year. Her information is spot on! Her advice on travel, especially to SA or the Middle East, is sought after by many here at CC!

[Gonzo70]

Boogs: Just so you know; Greatam is a wonderful lady who owns an operates a company doing a lot of business overseas. She books hundreds of flights for herself and her employees every year. Her information is spot on! Her advice on travel, especially to SA or the Middle East, is sought after by many here at CC!

 

Agreed, she has helped me out on flying advice more than once.

[boogs]

Boogs: Just so you know; Greatam is a wonderful lady who owns an operates a company doing a lot of business overseas. She books hundreds of flights for herself and her employees every year. Her information is spot on! Her advice on travel, especially to SA or the Middle East, is sought after by many here at CC!

 

Thanks! You are correct and I apologize to greatam. She has thoughtfully responded with helpful information to at least one thread I started, and I appreciate that. Perhaps I was thinking about someone else with a similar name. I retract any offensive comments I made.

 

I must be getting too invested in this discussion, and am feeling too frustrated that I can't seem to get my message across. There is no excuse for questioning someone's contributions. I am sorry for that.

 

I need to let this topic go before I embarrass myself again, or worse, say something unflattering about someone else. :o

Edited April 19, 2012 by boogs

[Christine Frances]

What Choice Air states: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30733166&postcount=100

 

Packaged Air(Cruise Air) is still available and separate from Choice Air which seems to be what the poster in the last example used as they paid for their air with final payment: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29885800&postcount=24

 

A good outcome! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30664493&postcount=59

[Gonzo70]

What Choice Air states: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30733166&postcount=100

 

Packaged Air(Cruise Air) is still available and separate from Choice Air which seems to be what the poster in the last example used as they paid for their air with final payment: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29885800&postcount=24

 

A good outcome! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30664493&postcount=59

 

No, the poster clarified later in the thread that she had used Choice Air.

 

The OP states the following: "Yes I am in fact here, reading your 'condolences', advice and even the criticisms. My Mom has been on 15 cruises in her lifetime and has NEVER missed the ship. Im sorry to hear that some people think its our own fault. I assumed that RCs choice air would know what they were doing.... my bad."

Edited April 19, 2012 by Gonzo70

[Christine Frances]

No, the poster clarified later in the thread that she had used Choice Air.

 

The OP states the following: "Yes I am in fact here, reading your 'condolences', advice and even the criticisms. My Mom has been on 15 cruises in her lifetime and has NEVER missed the ship. Im sorry to hear that some people think its our own fault. I assumed that RCs choice air would know what they were doing.... my bad."

 

If RC picked the flights it was packaged air - not Choice Air where you pick the Airline, dates, flight times. "-The airline they booked us with (Continental)[/b]" Still not a good outcome for people who opt for the "convenience" of having the cruise lines assign the flights. I noticed under "specials" on the X website that they have a promotion for suites/business class and upon closer reading it seems there are only specific flights available which you must choose from. Looks like they are not separating their different "programs" and putting what I refer to as Choice Air and the packaged deals all under the umbrella of "Choice Air" I definitely agree with everyone that people should be cautioned about opting for packaged air where you don't know your flights/connections until after final and which in most cases, gets you to the port on the day of embarkation. Not a good plan:eek:

Edited April 19, 2012 by Christine Frances

[Gonzo70]

[/b]

 

If RC picked the flights it was packaged air - not Choice Air where you pick the Airline, dates, flight times. "-The airline they booked us with (Continental)[/b]" Still not a good outcome for people who opt for the "convenience" of having the cruise lines assign the flights. I noticed under "specials" on the X website that they have a promotion for suites/business class and upon closer reading it seems there are only specific flights available which you must choose from. Looks like they are not separating their different "programs" and putting what I refer to as Choice Air and the packaged deals all under the umbrella of "Choice Air" I definitely agree with everyone that people should be cautioned about opting for packaged air where you don't know your flights/connections until after final and which in most cases, gets you to the port on the day of embarkation. Not a good plan:eek:

 

Christine,

 

Is there a reason you seem to keep wanting to defend Choice Air even when objective information is being presented to show that it can be bad? The OP in the thread I linked earlier had spoken about how the flights they had selected had been changed so they contacted RCCL as the new flight times would not work: "In December, my Mom noticed that Continental airlines had changed the flight times and the new flights would not get us to New Orleans (port of dep.) unitl 8pm. She notified RCCL. They found us new flights, then posted additional charges of $1200 to her account. We fought for two months.. finally got this cleared up 3 days prior to sailing."

 

The facts are Choice Air can have pitfalls and does not always come through when there is a glitch in one's travel plans. This is factual objective information. It does not mean to never choose Choice Air; it can save a lot of money and sometimes they have come through. People need to be aware of the PROS and CONS and make informed decisions and not believe that Choice Air is some kind of wonderful option with all sorts of gaurantees and at the same time not totally dismiss Choice Air as always being a bad option.

[Christine Frances]

Hi Gonzo

I am not trying to do a blanket defense of Choice Air and I totally agree that people have to be fully aware of the Pro's and Con's. But I think there are some distorted assumptions and a lot of people dismiss Choice Air out of hand ie:(I would never book air through a cruise line!) All I was attempting to do was balance experiences of posters. I also believe there are just as many horror stories from people who have booked their own air and got themselves in trouble. I thank you and all the other posters who have educated me on flight rules and I will be checking them closely from now on. I was trying hard not to come across as combative and I apologize if that is how I seemed:o and I do appreciate all the help everyone provides on this board.

Christine

[MaxCruise]

I can't believe all the arguing in this thread where it seems that for some people it's the end of the world if they don't win a debate. I just want to add my recent, real, anecdotal experience with Choice Air on the Solstice July 10 sailing...

 

We booked the cruise through our travel agent, and due to the fact that we could not leave a day or two earlier for Barcelona, we had the travel agent book the flights from JFK to BCN as well (after comparison shopping on Orbitz). The costs were comparable, and we felt that there might be added benefits with emergency travel plans booking through Choice Air.

 

Ten minutes before boarding at JFK, Delta announced mechanical problems and shortly afterwards cancelled the flight, causing a stampede to the service agents. It turns out there were about 40-50 people on the flight who were cruisebound. There were no additional flights to Barcelona which would have allowed us to reach the ship in time, although Delta customer service on the phone suggested some wacky, risky itineraries that would not have worked. I called Choice Air's emergency help line, and when I got through to them (yes, I was on hold for longer than I wanted), they said "We know about the Delta flight problem. When you get to the front of the line, tell them to rebook you on tomorrow's flight number x to Nice (the next port), and Celebrity will greet you at the baggage claim in Nice and bring you to the ship." We rebooked with Delta, with no extra charges, got their miserable food and hotel vouchers, made friends with other cruisebound passengers, and flew out the next day. In the end, we made the ship in Nice and are being reimbursed 1/12 of the cost of our cruise plus incidentals from our Travel Guard insurance.

 

There were some additional bumps in Nice, mostly because Delta employees met us at the baggage claim on behalf of Celebrity, and there was a to-do about who was going to board which shuttle busses to the port. Also, a number of people didn't get their baggage rerouted correctly and had to wait until Livorno to get it (not us, though, I checked 3 times with the Delta agents to confirm that they knew where our bags were supposed to go). The other unpleasantness came from fellow cruisers who were so upset and childish that despite the fact we were traveling down the boulevard in Nice on a beautiful day, they couldn't let go of their anger about the whole deal. Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react.

 

Celebrity did a great job of making us feel better about getting off to a rough start with some freebies and reimbursement of missed excursions in Nice. ChoiceAir was fantastic in helping us redirect our plans and building our confidence that we would eventually get to the ship. Delta's risk management with regard to mechanical problems and backup equipment, as well as recognition of our specific issues with trying to catch a cruise ship was shameful.

 

Hope this helps!

[PatriciaF]

Celebrity did a great job of making us feel better about getting off to a rough start with some freebies and reimbursement of missed excursions in Nice. ChoiceAir was fantastic in helping us redirect our plans and building our confidence that we would eventually get to the ship. Delta's risk management with regard to mechanical problems and backup equipment, as well as recognition of our specific issues with trying to catch a cruise ship was shameful.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you for confirming that using Choice Air to book our flight to Rome landing the morning of the cruise was the right choice. Dealing with travel problems is always an issue--but a good attitude always helps.

[suec12]

Maxcruise - was it your impression that others who had not purchased ChoiceAir ended up on the flight to Nice as well? or did they have to go to Barcelona and make their own way to the ship?

[Cruise Junky]

Anybody could have had their flight changed to Nice who didn't book through the airline as long as they weren't on a consolidator ticket. Choice Air worked this time. It would have been a different story missing Vancouver on an Alaska Cruise. There would be no catching the ship at the next port because of the PVSA.

[raymay]

I can't believe all the arguing in this thread where it seems that for some people it's the end of the world if they don't win a debate. I just want to add my recent, real, anecdotal experience with Choice Air on the Solstice July 10 sailing...

 

We booked the cruise through our travel agent, and due to the fact that we could not leave a day or two earlier for Barcelona, we had the travel agent book the flights from JFK to BCN as well (after comparison shopping on Orbitz). The costs were comparable, and we felt that there might be added benefits with emergency travel plans booking through Choice Air.

 

Ten minutes before boarding at JFK, Delta announced mechanical problems and shortly afterwards cancelled the flight, causing a stampede to the service agents. It turns out there were about 40-50 people on the flight who were cruisebound. There were no additional flights to Barcelona which would have allowed us to reach the ship in time, although Delta customer service on the phone suggested some wacky, risky itineraries that would not have worked. I called Choice Air's emergency help line, and when I got through to them (yes, I was on hold for longer than I wanted), they said "We know about the Delta flight problem. When you get to the front of the line, tell them to rebook you on tomorrow's flight number x to Nice (the next port), and Celebrity will greet you at the baggage claim in Nice and bring you to the ship." We rebooked with Delta, with no extra charges, got their miserable food and hotel vouchers, made friends with other cruisebound passengers, and flew out the next day. In the end, we made the ship in Nice and are being reimbursed 1/12 of the cost of our cruise plus incidentals from our Travel Guard insurance.

 

There were some additional bumps in Nice, mostly because Delta employees met us at the baggage claim on behalf of Celebrity, and there was a to-do about who was going to board which shuttle busses to the port. Also, a number of people didn't get their baggage rerouted correctly and had to wait until Livorno to get it (not us, though, I checked 3 times with the Delta agents to confirm that they knew where our bags were supposed to go). The other unpleasantness came from fellow cruisers who were so upset and childish that despite the fact we were traveling down the boulevard in Nice on a beautiful day, they couldn't let go of their anger about the whole deal. Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react.

 

Celebrity did a great job of making us feel better about getting off to a rough start with some freebies and reimbursement of missed excursions in Nice. ChoiceAir was fantastic in helping us redirect our plans and building our confidence that we would eventually get to the ship. Delta's risk management with regard to mechanical problems and backup equipment, as well as recognition of our specific issues with trying to catch a cruise ship was shameful.

 

Hope this helps!

We really appreciate you posting about your experience. Thank-you

[Andy]

Celebrity did a great job of making us feel better about getting off to a rough start with some freebies and reimbursement of missed excursions in Nice. ChoiceAir was fantastic in helping us redirect our plans and building our confidence that we would eventually get to the ship. Delta's risk management with regard to mechanical problems and backup equipment, as well as recognition of our specific issues with trying to catch a cruise ship was shameful.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Hi MaxCruise,

 

Thanks very much for sharing your experience with us. I agree with everything you mentioned, and applaud your positive approach. Great to hear that Celebrity & Choice Air worked as one would hope for, especially in a difficult situation.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Host Andy

[MaxCruise]

Maxcruise - was it your impression that others who had not purchased ChoiceAir ended up on the flight to Nice as well? or did they have to go to Barcelona and make their own way to the ship?

 

Of course I only know about the people who were on the flight to Nice; I would have never met anyone else who took a different route. I know of at least one party who did not book their flight through ChoiceAir and but was part of this group. The woman was a travel agent, so I don't know if she had connections -- and I don't know if she incurred any additional cost.