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

[Gonzo70]

You really do not believe this, do you?

 

If the plane is delayed due to weather, mechanical, etc and does not get there until 10pm or the next day, you are not going to make the ship. It will usually leave exactly on time, sometimes a short hold awaiting a a group such as Choice Air passengers. But if they plane, or alternate flights will not arrive the same day, they can not get you aboard. Simple logic.

 

 

Not saying you should not use them or not. Just a reality check.

 

By the way, buying insurance will not help you either.

 

You might want to reread my posts; I think you read in the exact opposite of what I have been saying.

[Gonzo70]

People, people, people! It's been said here several times that the tickets are the exact same tickets you would purchase on your own. The same restrictions, the same conditions. These aren't specialty tickets. Why is this so hard to understand?

 

What is different is the added support you are given by purchasing these tickets through ChoiceAir. They don't modify the tickets to make them special. Instead, the provide a service to help you work through problems if they occur, such as flight delays, etc. This isn't brain surgery. It's simple. They have their entire organization there to help resolve the problem, and have much vaster resources than we, the affected passenger, would have standing in the airport wondering what to do next.

 

If you want an example of what this means, consider the difference between purchasing your cruise through Celebrity or through a Travel Agent. If you go with a TA, you get their support in determining what are the best flights for you, and their assistance in resolving any problems that may occur rather than having to deal with Celebrity directly. It's the same with these ChoiceAir tickets. You get an added level of support if, and only if, something goes wrong. Otherwise, everything else is the same.

 

Fine Boogs, you are right and the pilots, 1,000,000 mile flyers and people who own global business and coordinate tons of flights on the Cruise Air board are all wrong. Choice Air is also just joking when they posted the restrictions that you quoted from the previous poster on their website.

[softail]

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.

 

Well said. Thank You

[boogs]

Fine Boogs, you are right and the pilots, 1,000,000 mile flyers and people who own global business and coordinate tons of flights on the Cruise Air board are all wrong. Choice Air is also just joking when they posted the restrictions that you quoted from the previous poster on their website.

 

Yes, I am right. I wish you would stop using people's experiences with generic CRUISE AIR to try to convince us that our experiences with CHOICEAIR never happened. I continue to talk only about CHOICEAIR, not CRUISE AIR, a different set of programs. It's as if you insisted on telling us what we can expect on a Celebrity cruise by describing people's experiences with Carnival. They aren't the same thing!!!

 

Whatever. We can't convince someone who insists on their own misinterpretation of the facts. I guess this the season for politics here in the US and it's inevitable for some people to ignore facts in favor of their own beliefs. I'm done here trying to convince you of something you refuse to accept.

 

No hard feelings. You still provide solid information at times, information I often find useful - but unfortunately, not this time.

 

Happy cruising to all of you!

Edited April 18, 2012 by boogs

[Cruise Junky]

Boogs, I dare you to start asking these questions on the cruise air board and see what kind of responses you get :eek: pretty sure no one really cares what you book, but you're doing a huge disservice to people looking for info and need to know what they're buying.

 

When we talk about cruise air, we're talking about air that is booked through the cruise line. Whether its called ChoiceAir, EZ Air, or buy at your own risk air, it's still cruise line booked air.

 

Your posting is extremely aggressive on this subject for no apparent reason - weird :rolleyes:

[boogs]

Boogs, I dare you to start asking these questions on the cruise air board and see what kind of responses you get :eek: pretty sure no one really cares what you book, but you're doing a huge disservice to people looking for info and need to know what they're buying.

 

When we talk about cruise air, we're talking about air that is booked through the cruise line. Whether its called ChoiceAir, EZ Air, or buy at your own risk air, it's still cruise line booked air.

 

Your posting is extremely aggressive on this subject for no apparent reason - weird :rolleyes:

 

One more time, and I will leave you to your own opinons:

 

Imagine that CRUISE AIR was actually VEGETABLES. There are carrots, cabbages, onions, celery, etc., all called VEGETABLES. They are all different. They taste different, they are prepared differently, they are used differently. But they are all called VEGETABLES.

 

CHOICEAIR is like a specific type of vegetable. It's in the "VEGETABLE" category, but it tastes different than the others. Same with your generic category CRUISE AIR. You even said so using the words I highlighted in your post.

 

Just like not all VEGETABLES taste the same, not all CRUISE AIR programs work the same. Just like you can't describe the taste of a carrot by talking about generic VEGETABLES, you can't describe CHOICEAIR by talking about generic CRUISE AIR.

 

If you want to avoid "a huge disservice to people looking for info and need to know what they're buying", please talk specifically about CHOICEAIR in this specific thread, and not the generic, all-encompassing, all different programs rolled into one, CRUISE AIR, and don't repeat people's experiences with other CRUISE AIR programs, which have nothing to do with CHOICEAIR. CHOICEAIR is what the topic of this thread is supposed to be about.

 

Man, I can't believe the time I'm spending trying to keep this thread focused. :eek:

Edited April 18, 2012 by boogs

[Gonzo70]

Yes, I am right. I wish you would stop using people's experiences with generic CRUISE AIR to try to convince us that our experiences with CHOICEAIR never happened. I continue to talk only about CHOICEAIR, not CRUISE AIR, a different set of programs. It's as if you insisted on telling us what we can expect on a Celebrity cruise by describing people's experiences with Carnival. They aren't the same thing!!!

 

Whatever. We can't convince someone who insists on their own misinterpretation of the facts. I guess this the season for politics here in the US and it's inevitable for some people to ignore facts in favor of their own beliefs. I'm done here trying to convince you of something you refuse to accept.

 

No hard feelings. You still provide solid information at times, information I often find useful - but unfortunately, not this time.

 

Happy cruising to all of you!

 

I have not once misused the terms. Cruise Air is the name of the Cruise Critic forum where people discuss flight related issues. Choice Air is very frequently discussed on the Cruise Air forum. On the Cruise Air forum there have been several instances of people posting about problems that arose when they used Choice Air. There have been tons of comments by people with massive amounts of flying experience cautioning about Choice Air and warning about the difference between the fine print and the marketing blurbs on the website to try to entice people to book Choice Air. There have been people who booked with Choice Air and without their approval were switched to completely different flights (that were much less attractive) - the fine print says they can change your flights. There have been people who did not receive help from Choice Air when they had long delays and cancellations. On the other hand there have been cases where Choice Air did come through. There has also been many, many cases where people saved tons of money with Choice Air.

 

You seem to be seeing this in a black-and-white manner, when there are shades of grey. Choice Air can be a very good option at times, but it also has some negatives and is not always the best choice. It is not yet clear how consistently and effectively Choice Air will help out when things go awry; there have been some positive individual anecdotes and some negative. I have only been speaking about Choice Air in my prior posts on this thread, and not once have spoken about the old version of cruise air or about non RCCL brand cruise lines. When I have used the term Cruise Air it has only been in reference to the Cruise Critic forum called Cruise Air (where Choice Air is often discussed).

 

If you want to see Choice Air as 100% safe and great in all situations, good for you - but please do not encourage other people to blindly follow you without considering the potential pitfalls. Hopefully you reread your prior post and realize that it was uncalled for. I know you are usually spot on with your comments here on Cruise Critic on other threads and generally seem to be a good person, so I am bit surprised at your condescending tone on this thread as well as your only considering information that confirms your belief rather than accepting there might be more.

 

I would encourage you to post your thoughts about Choice Air on the Cruise Air forum and ask people there what they think about your interpretation of Choice Air. You might be surprised with what you find out.

 

Happy Cruising.

[Christine Frances]

What am I missing:confused: If I buy my ticket directly from the airline I won't have any restrictions? All the AC tickets I buy have lots of restrictions (but then again I can only afford the cheapest ones:D)

[Cruise Junky]

One more time, and I will leave you to your own opinons:

 

Imagine that CRUISE AIR was actually VEGETABLES. There are carrots, cabbages, onions, celery, etc., all called VEGETABLES. They are all different. They taste different, they are prepared differently, they are used differently. But they are all called VEGETABLES.

 

CHOICEAIR is like a specific type of vegetable. It's in the "VEGETABLE" category, but it tastes different than the others. Same with your generic category CRUISE AIR. You even said so using the words I highlighted in your post.

 

Just like not all VEGETABLES taste the same, not all CRUISE AIR programs work the same. Just like you can't describe the taste of a carrot by calling it a VEGETABLE, you can't describe CHOICEAIR by calling it CRUISE AIR.

 

If you want to avoid "a huge disservice to people looking for info and need to know what they're buying", please talk specifically about CHOICEAIR, and not the generic, all-encompassing, all different programs rolled into one, CRUISE AIR, and don't repeat people's experiences with other CRUISE AIR programs, which have nothing to do with CHOICEAIR.

 

No one has claimed that all cruise air is the same and when discussing cruise line booked air on the Celebrity board of course were talking about ChoiceAir. I look forward to reading the responses you'll receive on the cruise air board :D

[Cruise Junky]

What am I missing:confused: If I buy my ticket directly from the airline I won't have any restrictions? All the AC tickets I buy have lots of restrictions (but then again I can only afford the cheapest ones:D)

 

It's all in the fine print in the codes as to what you can do with a ticket. Normal tickets you buy direct from an airline can be assigned to another airline such as my situation in Frankfurt when Lufthansa was able to switch me to Air Canada on a different route. When going through the cruise lines they can be far more restrictive...such as that ticket is only good on that airline on that route...oh, no seats available for the next two days? Sucks to be you.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Cruise Junky

[Gonzo70]

What am I missing:confused: If I buy my ticket directly from the airline I won't have any restrictions? All the AC tickets I buy have lots of restrictions (but then again I can only afford the cheapest ones:D)

 

The main issue is on the one way transatlantic flights where Choice Air has tickets selling for over 50% off the published fares on the airlines' websites. While Choice Air has said these are not consolidator tickets, that is a matter of semantics. These deeply discounted tickets are generally bulk fare tickets that have the same restrictions that come with consolidator tickets. As such if someone has these tickets for a transatlantic cruise (with the transatlantic flight on the front end of the cruise) if their flight is cancelled they will be at the end of the line for reaccommodation on that airline and will not likely be able to have their ticket endorsed over to another airline that has available flights. That is where there is a risk of missing one's cruise and it is not clear how much help Choice Air would actually provide in this scenario since new tickets would be so expensive. This is one of the risky aspects of booking with Choice Air. The other is situations where people choose a scheduled arrival time within a few hours of scheduled ship sail-a-way based on believing there is some "guarantee" they will make it in time to board the ship.

[richsea]

Our Choice Air tickets on our upcoming cruise are from American Airlines & the code fare is identical to the code fare for the same flight if I booked on American's site, Economy Super Saver, & are $500.00 per person less (inlcuding the Choice Air fee) through Choice Air as opposed to booking direct with American.

[Gonzo70]

Our Choice Air tickets on our upcoming cruise are from American Airlines & the code fare is identical to the code fare for the same flight if I booked on American's site, Economy Super Saver, & are $500.00 per person less (inlcuding the Choice Air fee) through Choice Air as opposed to booking direct with American.

 

FYI Economy Super Saver is not a fare code.

[Christine Frances]

It's all in the fine print in the codes as to what you can do with a ticket. Normal tickets you buy direct from an airline can be assigned to another airline such as my situation in Frankfurt when Lufthansa was able to switch me to Air Canada on a different route. When going through the cruise lines they can be far more restrictive...such as that ticket is only good on that airline on that route...oh, no seats available for the next two days? Sucks to be you.

 

This is a Fare Rules from a ticket direct from AC's website: looks to me like it is non refundable/non endorsable (ie only AC). This is a Tango flight - the cheapest (my kind)

 

Ticket Endorsements:

From: Victoria, BC (YYJ - Victoria Int'l)

To: Montreal, QC (YUL - Trudeau)

Fare Basis Code: E14STGC

FCL: E14STGC TRF: 781 RULE: 6030 BK: E PTC: ADT-ADULT FTC: SIP-ONEWAY INSTANT PURCHASE TE.TKT ENDORSEMENT FOR E14STGC TYPE FARES THE ORIGINAL TICKET MUST BE ANNOTATED - AC ONLY/NON-REF/ CHGE FEE - IN THE ENDORSEMENT BOX.

[Cruise Junky]

This is a Fare Rules from a ticket direct from AC's website: looks to me like it is non refundable/non endorsable (ie only AC). This is a Tango flight - the cheapest (my kind)

 

Ticket Endorsements:

From: Victoria, BC (YYJ - Victoria Int'l)

To: Montreal, QC (YUL - Trudeau)

Fare Basis Code: E14STGC

FCL: E14STGC TRF: 781 RULE: 6030 BK: E PTC: ADT-ADULT FTC: SIP-ONEWAY INSTANT PURCHASE TE.TKT ENDORSEMENT FOR E14STGC TYPE FARES THE ORIGINAL TICKET MUST BE ANNOTATED - AC ONLY/NON-REF/ CHGE FEE - IN THE ENDORSEMENT BOX.

 

But it's Victoria to Montreal, who are they going to endorse it to? No partners do that route. The fact that you're not tied to any route means you don't have to wait for the next available Victoria to Montreal availability. They can send you through Calgary or Toronto and connect to Montreal.

[Christine Frances]

Think I wii go to bed now. I still don't really understand but thanks for trying

 

 

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[donaldsc]

We have always booked our own air and gotten to the area of debarkation at least one day prior to sailing. We are now booked on the Equinox for Dec. 27 and realize it would be difficult to leave on the 26th. According to the Choice Air rep, if we book with them, we are guaranteed to get to the ship. For those of you who have used them, what has been your experience? Thanks.

 

This is what it says on the Princess site - I assume that Celebrity is the same

 

"Flight Disruption Coverage Princess will route to next port of call Princess will route to next port of call"

 

What it means that there is no guarantee that you will get on the ship on day 1 and they will route you to the next port of call. If you were doing a Hawaii cruise out of the west coast, you next port of all would be 5 days later in Hawaii. I seriously doubt if they are going to put you up in a hotel with a food allowance for 5 days while you are waiting for the ship to get to Hawaii.

 

DON

[richsea]

FYI Economy Super Saver is not a fare code.

 

I know that. The codefare for Economy Super Saver is N, the same as is on my Choice Air tickets. That was my point. Sorry if i wasn't clear.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

But it's Victoria to Montreal, who are they going to endorse it to? No partners do that route. The fact that you're not tied to any route means you don't have to wait for the next available Victoria to Montreal availability. They can send you through Calgary or Toronto and connect to Montreal.

But booking with AC does that mean you get pilots also or do the planes fly themselves ? :D

 

We book Choice Air and the ticket price was within $10 of Air Transat price on their website

 

Last year sailing out of Venice the ship left late , a number of flights were late getting there , probably easier to delay the ship departure if there was a lot of people who book Choice Air

[richsea]

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

 

Since that was the original question, why don't we all agree that the answer is "NO", & forget all the ticket reading. :eek:

Those who don't like ChoiceAir will not use it, & those who do, will.

[gfkcruiser]

I believe many of you think that the commitment by Choice Air to get you to the ship means they will get you there prior to sailing. What they are saying is if you are delayed and miss the sailing they will make arrangements to get you to next port to board the ship and take care of the arrangements.

 

I apologize if this was already posted.

 

 

From their website:

 

**Assured Arrival

What protection is provided when I purchase a ChoiceAir ticket?

When ChoiceAir guests encounter flight disruptions, Royal Caribbean,Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises will work with our airline partners to re-route them to the original port or next available port of call at no additional cost to the guest. We proactively monitor flights and contact guests ahead of time when possible. We act as a liaison between the ship and the guest, so that our Guest Relations team onboard is also aware of the guests' status. When required and feasible we will also provide hotel accomodations for up to 2 nights, and ground transportation. We also provide re-booking when there is a delayed/re-routed ship for return flights. Our support services are available 24x7

[A Sixth?]

DQOTD

 

I can't find the Choice Air booking site.... anyone got a link so I can compare air to Europe?

 

Did a search on the famous "X" site and got this:

Edited April 18, 2012 by A Sixth?

[PatriciaF]

DQOTD

 

I can't find the Choice Air booking site.... anyone got a link so I can compare air to Europe?

 

Did a search on the famous "X" site and got this:

 

http://www.cruisingpower.com/choiceair/protected/home.do

[A Sixth?]

http://www.cruisingpower.com/choiceair/protected/home.do

 

Thanks but unless I'm doing something completely off... it seems to be a link for TA's

 

At this time, this online New Account Registration form is only applicable to new agencies within the United States and Canada. If your agency is outside of the United States or Canada, please contact Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. within your respective country.

[PatriciaF]

Thanks but unless I'm doing something completely off... it seems to be a link for TA's

 

At this time, this online New Account Registration form is only applicable to new agencies within the United States and Canada. If your agency is outside of the United States or Canada, please contact Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. within your respective country.

 

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.