Airline Reseervations

[tutak]

Given Celebrity's propensity to cancel cruises in favor of charters, how long before a scheduled cruise do you feel comfortable purchasing airfare?

[jagoffee]

Do you have any data to justify your propensity statement? I would think that Celebrity canceling a cruise for a charter with less than 1 year is extremely low. Has it ever happened?i I do read about charters, but I always thought they were at least with a year's notice. It has never happened to me.

 

The bottom line for me is that I feel very comfortable booking air if it is the right price at the slightly less than one year mark as soon as it is available.

[Bo1953]

Given Celebrity's propensity to cancel cruises in favor of charters, how long before a scheduled cruise do you feel comfortable purchasing airfare?

 

I have yet to read, here on CC, that X has cancelled any cruise for a charter in under one (1) year. All have been 18 months plus, unless one got me or I did not read it.

 

Then again, this is not to say they have or yet to, as well. Since airline tickets cannot, as a firm rule, be purchased either for cash or with miles more than one (1) year out, that would be a moot point do you think? Unless you know something which we who have reserved and paid for sailings within the next six months or so, need to know?

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[florisdekort]

As you can't buy air over ~300 days out I don't see the problem.

[JanineM]

We've sailed on Celebrity about 14 times and have never had a cruise cancelled or turned into a charter.

 

If you're concerned and the air fare is low enough, there is always the option to buy travel insurance. If I'm booking far enough out I always buy insurance anyways because you just don't know what could happen between now and X number of months from now.

[az_tchr]

Don't know how many cruises Celebrity has but it is hundreds. A charter is always as other have said done over a year ahead. As airlines will not book over generally 330 days out no issue there.

 

I think what you are actually referring to is groups that book lots of cabins. With probably one exception regarding clothing I cannot think of a group I would not want on board with me.

[Northern Aurora]

We've cruised on Celebrity 24 - 25 times and we did have a cruise chartered. The sailing was scheduled for September 2015 and, if my memory is correct, we were officially informed of the charter in late July 2014. There had been suspicions on the roll call that the sailing had been chartered when it suddenly disappeared from Celebrity inventory, and some rather "word smithed" responses were offered when folks or their TAs called Celebrity for clarification.