How satisfied were you with Celebrity air travel

[wwinfl91]

We are considering a cruise and stays in Sydney and Auckland NZ as well as air travel arrangements done with Celebrity this fall. I am interested in other people's experiences with Celebrity arranging their air travel and hotel stays.

 

While we probably could afford to do business class flights we would probably do the premium economy because of the enormous costs of the business class flights. Can you work with Celebrity to do premium economy instead of just regular economy seats? Do you also have any choice of seats?

 

I did a cruise in Europe in 2003 with HAL arranging my flights and while it all worked out we almost missed a connecting flight in Germany.

 

Thanks for any assistance and input you can give us on this subject.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[FloatSomeMore]

We have used ChoiceAir on several cruises. Their one way fares are hard to beat. We have never had a problem except that we were not able to upgrade a fare to business class. After speaking with their rep they told us to always get the "upgradeable category" from the airline before booking the flight so that they (ChoiceAir) could ensure that they booked the appropriate category. In regards to Australia, we used airline points to fly there and traveled first class (woohoo!) from NC to Australia, it was awesome! Have not used Celebrity's land portion, we always do our own booking (TripAdvisor is always a great resource). We return to Sydney in 2016, would be interested in hearing your experiences.

[wwinfl91]

Thanks for the reply and the advice. If we decide to do this cruise and letting Celebrity do the arrangements I will post more about our experience.

 

Thanks again.

[boogs]

Used them last year to get to our departure port of Barcelona and from our arrival port of Venice. With competitive prices, no complete flexibility when choosing airlines, flight schedules, and seats, plus the support they would have provided if problems arose, we were completely satisfied. Wouldn't hesitate to go that route again.

[BEAV]

While we probably could afford to do business class flights we would probably do the premium economy because of the enormous costs of the business class flights. Can you work with Celebrity to do premium economy instead of just regular economy seats? Do you also have any choice of seats?

 

 

You can go to http://www.choiceair.com and price check what Celebrity is offering on your own. (Use the Quick flight search method if you don't yet have a cruise booked.) You can price check not only economy, business class, etc, but also premium economy.

 

If you're not already aware, do your homework with regard to a premium economy product. The product varies widely between U.S. and foreign carriers, with the foreign product being usually being far superior. For example, United and Delta premium economy is nothing more than extra legroom and is still situated in the economy cabin. On many foreign carriers, premium economy has it's own dedicated cabin separate from economy as well as wider seats (for instance 6-7 seats across compared to 9 or 10 in economy on a wide-body aircraft). Again, do your homework and know what you're buying! Chances are a minimum amount of research will put you in a more knowledgable position than anyone in the cruise air department!

 

Good luck and have a wonderful cruise.

[DaKa2002]

We have used them twice on Alaskan cruises with great results, no problems.

[need2bespoiled]

We were happy with Choice air and have booked flights to Istanbul and Hong Kong with them. They are essentially working as a travel agent with access to discounted and group fairs that are not always accessible directly with the airlines. You'll have complete choice of the flights you take EXCEPT they will not let you arrive too late, or leave too early on the days the ships departs nd returns.

 

We upgraded our Istanbul flights to Economy Plus on United. On those flights we had our original flights cancelled but United 6+ monts out, and United automatically rebooked us on different flights (without telling us), we weren't happy with those, so we called Choice Air and they moved us to other flights and refunded us $130 each, which was quite nice. It turned out we couldn't upgrade those flights no matter what as it was on Luftansa where I have no status, so we changed again, and spent $50/person plus the cost of economy plus and were wait listd for an upgrade to first class. All very fair, and no change fees.

 

We booked Hong Kong through choice air, and while the seats cost about $200 less/seat using choice air, the upgrade fee was $100 more to upgrade to first class from enonomy (it was $$ plus mileage) in the cheaper class Choice Air had access to then me booking directly with United. Overally, we saved $100 a set with choice air and have the protection that if something happens, they'll get us there (even though we're flying in 3 days early).

 

I trave a LOT, so I am familiar with a number of avenues to book and upgrade and have been happy with Celebrity's Choice Air so far.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[h20cruzer]

I have only used Choice Air for one way travel (on the TA's) and have been thrilled with the price. I did all my own booking,however they do have agents who can help you. On my last TA I upgraded to premium economy on Air France from San francisco to Rome and it was a little over $900.00. However they have never been able to give me a good rate fro SFo to Florida or back, so I use my airline of choice Virgin America and usually get a one way ticket for about 165.00.

I always fly in at least 1-2 days early so have no experience with delays and the guarantee.

Norma

[jelayne]

We have used Choice Air 3 times- twice for one way fares, which were much better than any we could book on our own. We have a round trip flight from Dallas to London booked in July- saved about $300. In all cases I have found the flights & times we wanted then called Choice Air to book. Once booked we go to the airline website and select our seats.

[ghstudio]

We consider choice air just another flight travel agency. We have used them multiple times for one way travel to Europe for transatlantics because they have fares I can't find anywhere else on major airlines...we almost always pick American for air miles. We've never had a problem

Edited June 1, 2014 by ghstudio

[Christine Frances]

Just to clarify please. Is Celebrity booking your flights and hotel as a package? Or are you selecting all your own flights (dates and connections) yourself and then booking through Choice Air? Most people that have posted are talking about the latter. The former is the old "cruise /air" packaging (now Book & Go Vacation Packages) where you don't know your flights etc until after final payment.

 

 

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Edited June 1, 2014 by Christine Frances

[need2bespoiled]

We look at both the prices on airline sites, and compare to choice air, and book with choice air if they can get the flights we want for the same or less. If not, we book without them (flights leaving before 1pm on date of cruise return for example) can save some $$.

 

I generally use up the hotel points I get when traveling for work to use on vacation to stay in nice hotels for free :)

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[SPacificbound]

I have booked Choice Air for our flight from Miami to Buenos Aires and we booked business class. We saved about 30% by using Choice Air. I called United with our booking number and chose the seats the following day.

[waterbug123]

premium economy product. The product varies widely between U.S. and foreign carriers, with the foreign product being usually being far superior. For example, United and Delta premium economy is nothing more than extra legroom and is still situated in the economy cabin. On many foreign carriers, premium economy has it's own dedicated cabin separate from economy as well as wider seats (for instance 6-7 seats across compared to 9 or 10 in economy on a wide-body aircraft).

 

Delta does not offer premium economy; they have economy comfort which is entirely different, and it's quite clear when you book that it is NOT a separate cabin or fare class; you book regular economy first and then have the option to upgrade to EC. That said, in addition to extra legroom it also offers extra seat recline and zone 1 boarding. (Complimentary spirits on international flights used to be an added perk, but Delta has now added that for regular economy as well, although EC does get them free on some transcontinentals from JFK, while regular econ does not)

 

Just curious what airline you are flying that has premium economy with only 6-7 seats across? :confused: Air France, for instance, is well known for their premium economy product and it is 8 seats across. You'd have to move all the way up to business to get much less. So while the seats might be slightly wider, you only get an extra inch or two. Not saying that doesn't help, but it's still closer to a regular economy seat size than a business or first class seat size. ;)

[CathyCruises]

Just to clarify please. Is Celebrity booking your flights and hotel as a package? Or are you selecting all your own flights (dates and connections) yourself and then booking through Choice Air? Most people that have posted are talking about the latter. The former is the old "cruise /air" packaging (now Book & Go Vacation Packages) where you don't know your flights etc until after final payment.

 

 

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Just going to mention this too. I was UNhappy with them booking our hotels as we overpaid by at least 50%--I'll never make that mistake again, plus I like choosing my own hotels, location, etc.

 

We have been very happy with ChoiceAir--use it exclusively for one way flights on TA's and have had incredible savings of us to 75-80%. I have never found them to be significantly competitive on RT or domestic flights, however. I like the fact that I can choose my own airline, schedule, layover times, etc. Then once I book I just get on the airline website and select my seats--the last two returning from Europe, I booked the outer two in the center section of 4, and no one ever booked the inside seats so we had the row of 4 to ourselves.

Edited June 1, 2014 by CathyCruises

[BEAV]

 

Just curious what airline you are flying that has premium economy with only 6-7 seats across? :confused: Air France, for instance, is well known for their premium economy product and it is 8 seats across. You'd have to move all the way up to business to get much less. So while the seats might be slightly wider, you only get an extra inch or two. Not saying that doesn't help, but it's still closer to a regular economy seat size than a business or first class seat size. ;)

 

Since the OP is flying to/from Auckland & Sydney, I was comparing Air New Zealand and Qantas vs. United.

 

Air New Zealand 747 premium economy is 6 across in the main level and 5 across on the upper level vs. 10 in standard economy. On their 777-300 it's 6 across vs. 10 standard economy . Qantas' A380 is 7 across in premium economy vs. 10 in standard economy. This compares to United's 747 is which is 10 across in Economy Plus (same as standard economy).

Edited June 1, 2014 by BEAV

[Dick in Falls Church]

Used Choice Air for oneway from Amsterdam. Price was very good. Then upgraded to more leg room directly with United.

 

Friend on same transAtlantic had booked his return through Choice Air-on Icelandic. Day before arrival in Amsterdam, he got an email saying flight was cancelled due to pilot strike. Guest relations helped him call Miami. Agent in Miami took information, said she would try to get it taken care of and get back to him. She called back in about 20 minutes--had rebooked him on different airline, with one different stop, arriving in Colorado within an hour of orginally scheduled time. He was very glad he had not booked himself direct with Icelandic.

[seeyakids]

We have used ChoiceAir several times and they did quote us the best prices. However, this last trip (Solstice 8 day Alaska) was a complete disaster. Probably not ChoiceAir's fault, but I have an opinion.

Booked Orl to Vancouver and return Seattle to Orl (direct) about a year prior to our cruise. A couple of months prior to cruise United Air changed our return from direct return flight to Orl to a stop over in Washington DC. I called ChoiceAir and the response I got was "sorry, we have no control over UA flight changes".

On the morning of our departure from Orlando, I get a text message from United that we have been delayed 3 hrs due to "crew availability". Of course that screwed our Denver connection and was told we would have a 7.5 hr wait in Denver. So, 1st day in Vancouver is shot.

Now here comes the "kick while we are down" moment....the morning of departure from Seattle we were texted by United that our flight to DC was delayed due to "crew availability". So we would have the same missed connection in DC and another big wait. We finally got ahold of United to change the flight from Seattle to Chicago to Orlando. But wait, the worst thunder storm to hit O'Hara cancelled all flights out of Chicago. Only flight to Orlando would be next morning with stop in Houston! No rooms available, 12 sleepless hours at O'Hara.

Now my thoughts on this whole fiasco....While I do think ChoiceAir is correct about changes made by airlines after initial bookings thru them, does anybody think that the great pricing we get thru ChoiceAir puts us at a great disadvantage with the airlines? We all know about airline overbookings and maybe the fact we did pay such a good price bumped us down the totem pole to be replaced by a different plane full of higher priced ticket holders. I don't know....I hope this is not the case and "crew availability" was a legit excuse. Of course, the storm was out of our control. My point is, without all the cancellations, we would never have been involved in the Chicago weather mess

Ok, my rant is officially put to rest. Soapbox back in the closet.

[waterbug123]

Since the OP is flying to/from Auckland & Sydney, I was comparing Air New Zealand and Qantas vs. United.

 

Air New Zealand 747 premium economy is 6 across in the main level and 5 across on the upper level vs. 10 in standard economy. On their 777-300 it's 6 across vs. 10 standard economy . Qantas' A380 is 7 across in premium economy vs. 10 in standard economy. This compares to United's 747 is which is 10 across in Economy Plus (same as standard economy).

 

Looks like the 6 across on Air NZ 747 (4 across in some rows) is largely due to the galley area (?) being located in that section, according to Seat Guru. In any event, the premium econ. seats are listed as being less than 1" wider than the regular economy seats...hardly what one might infer about bigger seats when reading that the seats are 5 or 6 across instead of 10. :eek:

 

It does show the Qantas A380 PE seats as being a full 2" wider than economy seats.

[BEAV]

Looks like the 6 across on Air NZ 747 (4 across in some rows) is largely due to the galley area (?) being located in that section, according to Seat Guru. In any event, the premium econ. seats are listed as being less than 1" wider than the regular economy seats...hardly what one might infer about bigger seats when reading that the seats are 5 or 6 across instead of 10. :eek:

 

It does show the Qantas A380 PE seats as being a full 2" wider than economy seats.

 

Point well taken regarding Air NZ 747 premium economy dimensions. To the contrary, their 6-across "Space Seats" on the 777-300 are clearly superior to regular economy. So not only do you need to know the differences in premium economy between the different carriers, so also do you between the different aircraft within the same airline! With regard to Air NZ 777-300 and Qantas A380, to me it's not only about the seat width, but also the width of the console between seats. Seat width isn't all that important to me, thankfully, but the width between seats in these cabins (ie. elbow room!) is an important factor!

[Shake]

We have used ChoiceAir on several cruises. Their one way fares are hard to beat.

 

That's not true, shop it. Choice Air fares can easily be beaten AND did so recently by a huge margin of $932 for the two of us arriving to Australia and departing New Zealand.

 

Booked our flights 3 weeks ago for November 2014 to Sydney thru Hotwire/Priceline using US Air and Fiji Air. Phoenix to Sydney - Auckland to Phoenix Round trip $1332. Departing Phoenix 10/30, Auckland N.Z. 11/17. Way under Choice Air at $1798 saved $932 for two.

[CathyCruises]

That's not true, shop it. Choice Air fares can easily be beaten AND did so recently by a huge margin of $932 for the two of us arriving to Australia and departing New Zealand.

 

Booked our flights 3 weeks ago for November 2014 to Sydney thru Hotwire/Priceline using US Air and Fiji Air. Phoenix to Sydney - Auckland to Phoenix Round trip $1332. Departing Phoenix 10/30, Auckland N.Z. 11/17. Way under Choice Air at $1798 saved $932 for two.

 

What?? "Their one way fares are hard to beat." You are clearly quoting a round trip fare to and from Phoenix. The poster you quoted said 'one way fares'. I think there is consensus that the ONE WAY FARES are hard to beat but that round trip fares are not necessarily the best.

[RickT]

Just to clarify please. Is Celebrity booking your flights and hotel as a package? Or are you selecting all your own flights (dates and connections) yourself and then booking through Choice Air? Most people that have posted are talking about the latter. The former is the old "cruise /air" packaging (now Book & Go Vacation Packages) where you don't know your flights etc until after final payment.

 

 

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Very good point. My experience with Choice Air has been for me to choose the dates/flights/etc. That experience for the most part has been positive but does require you to do your homework in regards to flight options, prices, connections and overall flight time. I find that the Choice Air website only lists a few options and that many of the Choice Air reps are not as adept at looking into other flight options as they should be. If you are looking at this sort of booking be sure to check out itasoftware in order to get a good idea of what your choices/prices can be.

 

If it's a promo where you have no control/choice over your flights there would have to be a significant savings associated with it. The last thing you want before or after a cruise is an ugly flight schedule with risky connection times.

 

As far as hotel, Choice Air is just another TA. Find out what hotels/prices they are offering and check some of the usual travel sites to see what prices you can get as well as what other flight options are available to you.

[Christine Frances]

Very good point. My experience with Choice Air has been for me to choose the dates/flights/etc. That experience for the most part has been positive but does require you to do your homework in regards to flight options, prices, connections and overall flight time. I find that the Choice Air website only lists a few options and that many of the Choice Air reps are not as adept at looking into other flight options as they should be. If you are looking at this sort of booking be sure to check out itasoftware in order to get a good idea of what your choices/prices can be.

 

If it's a promo where you have no control/choice over your flights there would have to be a significant savings associated with it. The last thing you want before or after a cruise is an ugly flight schedule with risky connection times.

 

As far as hotel, Choice Air is just another TA. Find out what hotels/prices they are offering and check some of the usual travel sites to see what prices you can get as well as what other flight options are available to you.

 

Totally agree. We always research our flights and then if the Choice Air website does not show the ones I want I give them a call. I have found them very helpful and so far they have found my preferred flights.

[scifimonkey]

Not sure if this applies for the US or not but for uk passengers I believe that if you book through choice air it becomes an integral part of your holiday package. In UK therefore, that puts the onus on celebrity/choice air to deal with the consequences of any flight delays which is a big comfort on the way to the ship. We have only used them once and were able to book business class flights on BA from London to Rome. A three hour flight delay would have caused us huge concern as we were flying out on embarkation day but in the event the knowledge that the the ship was unlikely to leave without us or that if it did they would have to arrange for transport to the first port/overnight accommodation etc was worth the marginal increased cost over a direct booking of the flights through a T A or the airline. in the event we barely got to the ship on time and missed the emergency drill but the fact that the whole thing was in their hands and not ours reduced the stress enormously.

Have booked through choice air again this year for the same reason but hopefully lightening will not strike twice in the same place and this time we will have a completely stress free trip.

Unless there is a big price difference or you are in a position to fly out at least a day in advance I would recommend the choice air route to anyone from the UK.