Choice Air: Helpful Information

[Andy]

Andy, Thanks for your help. I guess what Troy is indicating that I should wait until I have a confirmed (approx. 45 prior to the flight date) flight before calling if I have concerns about adequate time to transfer planes. Can changes be made once the flight is 'confirmed"?

 

Hi Bill !

 

Here is Troy's repsonse :

 

Hi Bill. Yes, please wait until your air is assigned. The policy on our traditional air package is that special requests are not permitted; however, it is possible - though not common- that either one of our systems or agents book something that really doesn't work. We are always happy to correct those situations. We do use the airlines published schedule and the legal connection times as guidelines. We also know that "risky" connections are not good for our guests, or us - so we avoid them whenever we can.

[BillK400]

Troy, thanks for the follow up and Andy, thanks for your help.

[Carnevale]

Hi Andy: This site and the info Bill has been providing on another thread about air arrangements is very helpful and is greatly appreciated. It is so impressive to have this kind of support!

 

On the other current thread I posted what happened when I booked our cruise for Feb, 2012. I'm still not sure how this all happened, but it didn't go well. I'd like to understand more about what is available for future reference (while the Feb cruise will be our first on Azamara I suspect it won't be the last given the great reviews I've read about the onboard experience).

 

Here's what happened:

 

During our booking we asked our TA to look into flights. She told us that Azamara would not quote air from our city (we are not a major gateway but are a Provincial Capital City in Canada so there is a good amount of air travel here). Am I correct in understanding that Choice Air does let one book from any city in Canada?

 

She told us that unlike other airlines where the guest can select the airline (usually for a deviation fee) Azamara would not quote on the airline of our choice (Air Canada). From what you've posted here it sounds like Choice Air does give this kind of flexibility. Why was it not possible here?

 

Finally, Azamara would not quote on buisness class air or transfers (our cruise was still 8 months away but we thought transfer info would be available). Can business class air be booked on Choice Air? What about transfers - is this all included with Choice Air?

 

Given what I've read here I am confused as to why Azamara only provided a single economy class booking option on Alaska and United Airlines out of aother city. At no point during any of this did Choice Air come up so as it appeared we had no other option, we booked our flights on our own (and, from the sounds of it, may have paid more than Choice Air and don't have the extras Choice Air offers).

 

And one additional question (sorry there are so many): We are frequent flyers on Air Canada and usually have upgrade coupons. Is it possible to use these coupons with flights booked on Choice Air?

 

From what I've heard here, Choice Air sounds good! Thanks agan for all of your help with these kinds of questions!!

[Andy]

Hi Andy: This site and the info Bill has been providing on another thread about air arrangements is very helpful and is greatly appreciated. It is so impressive to have this kind of support!

 

On the other current thread I posted what happened when I booked our cruise for Feb, 2012. I'm still not sure how this all happened, but it didn't go well. I'd like to understand more about what is available for future reference (while the Feb cruise will be our first on Azamara I suspect it won't be the last given the great reviews I've read about the onboard experience).

 

Here's what happened:

 

During our booking we asked our TA to look into flights. She told us that Azamara would not quote air from our city (we are not a major gateway but are a Provincial Capital City in Canada so there is a good amount of air travel here). Am I correct in understanding that Choice Air does let one book from any city in Canada?

 

She told us that unlike other airlines where the guest can select the airline (usually for a deviation fee) Azamara would not quote on the airline of our choice (Air Canada). From what you've posted here it sounds like Choice Air does give this kind of flexibility. Why was it not possible here?

 

Finally, Azamara would not quote on buisness class air or transfers (our cruise was still 8 months away but we thought transfer info would be available). Can business class air be booked on Choice Air? What about transfers - is this all included with Choice Air?

 

Given what I've read here I am confused as to why Azamara only provided a single economy class booking option on Alaska and United Airlines out of aother city. At no point during any of this did Choice Air come up so as it appeared we had no other option, we booked our flights on our own (and, from the sounds of it, may have paid more than Choice Air and don't have the extras Choice Air offers).

 

And one additional question (sorry there are so many): We are frequent flyers on Air Canada and usually have upgrade coupons. Is it possible to use these coupons with flights booked on Choice Air?

 

From what I've heard here, Choice Air sounds good! Thanks agan for all of your help with these kinds of questions!!

 

Hi Carnevale,

 

Here is Troy's response :

 

I understand that some of the information I am providing you is inconsistent with what you experienced over the phone. It sounds like ChoiceAir should have been a great fit for you, unless you purchased a promotional air package with the cruise, which is essentially a "bundled" price for cruise and air that does not provide the flexibility or choice that comes with ChoiceAir. Without understanding the specifics of your situation, I do not know why ChoiceAir was not offered. I am not sure if you also went to the ChoiceAir website to shop on your own. A cruise booking that has an air promotion, will be identified as "ineligible" for ChoiceAir when accessing the booking online.

 

We do offer service from essentially every city with commercial air service in Canada. I am aware of rare occasions where a city code has been inadvertently ommitted from our site, resulting in our agents taking the bookings over the phone, until the site was updated.

 

We have a great relationship with Air Canada (including some impressive Europe promotions right now). There is no reason we would not quote Air Canada, unless their flight schedules did not work with the specific sailing, or the desired fare was not available; however, if that happens, we can still look at coming in early and/or returning later to make it work on your prefered carrier.

 

ChoiceAir can be used for all cabin classes (i.e. Business, First, Economy, Premium Economy).

 

We offer a wide variety of published and contract fares, and most are eligible for various frequent traveler program benefits. As with fares on other sites, including the airline sites, some fares are not "upgradeable". We will count on you to know the eligibility requirements for your airline program, and our agents will be happy to help you find the best value in the right inventory code for that airline.

[Carnevale]

Andy, many thanks for the info from Troy. We didn't book a bundled cruise/air package and sadly, I didn't check out the website when we were booking relying instead on the info our TA was getting from Azamara by phone. We ended up booking our air on our own on Air Canada as there were flights that worked very well with our schedule. Guess the lesson for us is that next time we need to get more involved and check things online. It is very helpful to understand that Choice Air would have worked for exactly what we wanted.

 

Your help with all of this info is terrific Andy!

[JAKE3337]

Choice Air does offer some great fares. I just booked by one way flight from Rochester - Heathrow for $460 all taxes in for next August on Air Canada. This was the Flex Fare as well so it doesn't need to be paid until final payment but the price is locked in. My preference would have been Toronto - Heathrow but it was $300 per person more so search out several airports around you to find the best fare.

 

Angela

[Jade13]

Are tickets purchased through Choice Air consolidator tickets, yes or no?

 

I thought the question was asked and we were told that Choice Air no longer uses consolidator tickets, but again, being told on the Cruise Air board that these are bundled (consolidator) tickets, so I wanted to confirm. The issue is that consolidator tickets are often not reusable (can not be re-routed) for any fee, or used on another airline.

[Andy]

Are tickets purchased through Choice Air consolidator tickets, yes or no?

 

 

Hi Jade,

 

Here is Troy's response to your question :

 

No, We do not use Consolidator tickets.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

As we've answered many outstanding questions from our Cruise Critic community over the past 2 months, it's time to close the ChoiceAir thread to new questions. Thank you for your questions, as they've helped us all learn a great deal about ChoiceAir. This thread will remain available for future reference.

 

I'd like to share a special Thank You to Troy Martin for meeting with me, and making himself available to answer our questions. Judging from the level of positive feedback and over 24,000 thread views - and counting... I trust you will agree the discussion was highly beneficial !

 

I firmly believe that direct from the source discussion brings a valuable connection to our community. I hope to visit with future Guests from the Royal Caribbean family. While I cannot make any promises, I will gladly reach out, should there be an interest. I welcome your feedback, and suggestions for future topics. Please contact me, by clicking on the link below.

 

In wrapping up this discussion, Troy asked to share his comments, below:

 

Thank you for the opportunity to share information about ChoiceAir. I really appreciate all of the input and thoughtful questions from the Cruise Critic community. I would like to extend special thanks to Host Andy for his professionalism and enthusiasm in facilitating his discussion. It's clear to me that he not only shares the passion and knowledge about cruising that brings this community together, but that he is also very committed personally to the members of the community. I appreciate the time he took to understand ChoiceAir, and to ensure that the answers we gave, met the needs of the members. We at Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International look forward to welcoming you aboard soon, and I hope that the information we have shared on this forum, will lead you to consider ChoiceAir as an option for purchasing airline tickets to your cruise. Should you have further questions, feel free to reach out to me or my team at choiceair@rccl.com or 800-533-7803.