Question about using Silversea for air and hotel

[mdpa]

OK, we booked our Silversea trip 8 days ago. I mistakenly thought it would be relatively easy for them to give us a price on a pre/post hotel and confirm any issues with booking a flight on certain days.

 

I'm getting frustrated...

 

- Not only do I still not know what they charge for a pre/post hotel package, I also still haven't received confirmation on flights. This is preventing me from locking in any hotels where I need to pay in advance.

 

I guess this is handled by a different department that we aren't allowed to speak with directly? Also, just to add...we are working with SS directly.

 

I'm still excited about the trip, but at this point almost wish the air wasn't included.

 

Oh...one related question. If we change flights, we will need to pay a $100 deviation fee per person. Should this be $200 or $300? My wife and I are getting "free" air, but we are paying for our daughter's flight (but they are booking, since we want to fly together).

 

Your help and advice is appreciated.

Edited January 14, 2017 by mdpa

[Zenblue100]

I think it is handled by a different department at SS, as I too have booked directly and when I called and asked for the tickets to be 'issued' the agent said she would have to contact the Air division. However she did come back to me the next day so 8 days does seem a long time.

[mdpa]

Thanks, my wife tells me that I just need to be patient. [emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wripro]

Do you remember that line from The Producers where Max Bialistock tells his partner that there are two rules for producing a show on Broadway. Rule number 1: Never put your own money into a show. Rule number 2: NEVER PUT YOUR OWN MONEY INTO A SHOW.

 

The same thing applies with booking hotels through a cruise line. NEVER DO IT unless you want to pay twice as much for the same room as you can get on your own. Cruise lines charge per person for a hotel room and not per room. And you can take a taxi to the port for FAR less than the extra money you are paying to have your transfer included. This is where you use your TA to make all the arrangements for you.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Do you remember that line from The Producers where Max Bialistock tells his partner that there are two rules for producing a show on Broadway. Rule number 1: Never put your own money into a show. Rule number 2: NEVER PUT YOUR OWN MONEY INTO A SHOW.

 

The same thing applies with booking hotels through a cruise line. NEVER DO IT unless you want to pay twice as much for the same room as you can get on your own. Cruise lines charge per person for a hotel room and not per room. And you can take a taxi to the port for FAR less than the extra money you are paying to have your transfer included. This is where you use your TA to make all the arrangements for you.

 

I wholeheartedly agree .... except in the circumstances where you are unabe to allow a reasonable travel buffer.

 

For example I would feel edgy about making arrangements where the flight was the evening before boarding. If there is a delay or cancellation you would be on your own and might struggle whereas if it was SS organised they are responsible for sorting things out for you. I'd never have SS make the arrangements if there was a 2 night buffer for example.

 

Jeff

[machotspur]

I wholeheartedly agree .... except in the circumstances where you are unabe to allow a reasonable travel buffer.

 

For example I would feel edgy about making arrangements where the flight was the evening before boarding. If there is a delay or cancellation you would be on your own and might struggle whereas if it was SS organised they are responsible for sorting things out for you. I'd never have SS make the arrangements if there was a 2 night buffer for example.

 

Jeff

 

In general I very much agree with you. To build on this ..

 

The Iceland ash cloud situation of 2011 really focussed our mind. We had booked a cruise and air through Seabourn, only because the package price was good.

The ash cloud grounded most flights in Europe, at a time when we were due to fly to Venice to start our Seabourn cruise. We were unable to get a flight, and therefore weren’t able to embark on our cruise.

 

In the weeks after the ash cloud situation it became clear how badly informed travellers were with regards to refunds/liability. In short many of those that had booked cruise & air separately lost all their money. Those that had booked air/cruise as a combined ‘package’ had protection and the operator, in this case Seabourn, was legally bound to refund all monies paid. It took a few weeks of emails but eventually they refunded in full.

 

Since that issue I’ve paid particular attention to risk, particularly with some of the higher value trips we take.

There is a ‘third way’. We more often than not identify our flight independently but then arrange for our cruise TA to book the flight and cruise, then ‘package’ it. This way we receive ABTA protection and also the TA has responsibility to deliver that whole cruise/flight ‘package’.

 

An example they gave me recently was where due to a flight delay, they, with Silversea co-operation, had to hire a fast boat to get a client to a ship somewhere off the Chilean coast !

 

Since the close escape of 2011 we always weigh up the likely risk, and try to understand where the liabilities are, before deciding who to book our flights with.

[MBP&O2/O]

Equally …. Glass half empty

Some time ago we booked a cruise and asked the agent to sort out flights etc. as well.

The ‘agent’ was a large national holiday chain who had a specialist cruise department staff by experts. (Think peanut / monkey?). The company also had their own international airline.

I told them I wanted MAN to LHR to MIA, an overnight at Miami (in an airport hotel) and a connection to San Juan in the morning. I specifically said the airport hotel should be adjacent to the airport and have a courtesy bus.

They arranged a hotel on Miami Beach – and tried to charge me for two nights as this was the minimum booking the hotel allowed.

For the flights home they said that there were no direct flights between SJU and MIA – despite the fact they had booked me one outbound! They claimed the fastest route to MIA was via Philadelphia – which of course would include an overnight stop.

I argued them down and got what I wanted – they sorted the flights out but ‘forgot’ to reimburse me for the hotel.

The week before we flew they re-ticketed the MIA/SJU flight and we ended up losing our pre-booked seats and thus had to sit at different ends of the aircraft and to rub salt in the wound they claimed that this was how it had been all along!. I sent them the formal reply from AA saying what booking had been cancelled etc. but they denied it.

They refused to answer my complaints so I reported them to ABTA, but some weeks later ABTA apologised for the delay stating that said company wouldn’t speak to them either.

On another thread I mentioned how BA fouled up on several occasions and that was the last time I sorted out my own flights.

In respect of another cruise, I spoke to SS regarding hotels and can confirm they charge per person not per room. They also quoted me an extortionate fee for flights – even though the flight schedules had not been published. The flight price was 50% more than the price the airline started selling them at.

This time I have studied my flight preferences / options and given them to my (very good) TA and asked for their professional opinion and comments before I make a final decision.

[wripro]

Equally …. Glass half empty

Some time ago we booked a cruise and asked the agent to sort out flights etc. as well.

The ‘agent’ was a large national holiday chain who had a specialist cruise department staff by experts. (Think peanut / monkey?). The company also had their own international airline.

I told them I wanted MAN to LHR to MIA, an overnight at Miami (in an airport hotel) and a connection to San Juan in the morning. I specifically said the airport hotel should be adjacent to the airport and have a courtesy bus.

They arranged a hotel on Miami Beach – and tried to charge me for two nights as this was the minimum booking the hotel allowed.

For the flights home they said that there were no direct flights between SJU and MIA – despite the fact they had booked me one outbound! They claimed the fastest route to MIA was via Philadelphia – which of course would include an overnight stop.

I argued them down and got what I wanted – they sorted the flights out but ‘forgot’ to reimburse me for the hotel.

The week before we flew they re-ticketed the MIA/SJU flight and we ended up losing our pre-booked seats and thus had to sit at different ends of the aircraft and to rub salt in the wound they claimed that this was how it had been all along!. I sent them the formal reply from AA saying what booking had been cancelled etc. but they denied it.

They refused to answer my complaints so I reported them to ABTA, but some weeks later ABTA apologised for the delay stating that said company wouldn’t speak to them either.

On another thread I mentioned how BA fouled up on several occasions and that was the last time I sorted out my own flights.

In respect of another cruise, I spoke to SS regarding hotels and can confirm they charge per person not per room. They also quoted me an extortionate fee for flights – even though the flight schedules had not been published. The flight price was 50% more than the price the airline started selling them at.

This time I have studied my flight preferences / options and given them to my (very good) TA and asked for their professional opinion and comments before I make a final decision.

 

Find a good TA who specializes in luxury cruises, not a national chain. That was your mistake.

[mdpa]

Thanks everyone, some very good points.

 

Some additional clarification:

 

- I can transfer my Silversea booking (paid a 25% deposit) to an agent without any negative repercussions within 30-days of original order and before I pay the total balance. Correct?

- A travel agent will be able to use my Amex Platinum benefits? Otherwise, I will just use Amex (unless this is a mistake).

-Do you have any recommendations for a reputable agent that has experience with Silversea? I am in Maryland.

 

Thanks

Edited January 16, 2017 by mdpa

[MBP&O2/O]

"Find a good TA who specializes in luxury cruises, not a national chain. That was your mistake."

True ..... we all have to live and learn😡

The one I now use is very very good - I have used them several times - and so far everything has gone well.👌

[UKCruiseJeff]

machotspur/MBP&O2/O

 

I think it extremely wise of you to use a TA to "create a package" with an ABTA agent so long as you receive written confirmation from them that removes ALL DOUBT before finalising payments (not after) that they do consider it a "package" for responsibility purposes and not several seperate component bookings.

 

For the sake of our overseas posters in the UK we have additional UK law protections in the UK for packages and under ABTA rules, when there are no proections when elements are bought seperately except those covered elsewhere eg delay compensation for flights. There are specific responsibilities best summarised here .....

 

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/package-travel-regulations

 

With respect to ABTA, some time ago I bought a claim to court against a travel agent (when ABTA failed to help) and it was (at it's time) the largest court claim up until that point for a holiday claim in the UK. Some of those precedents (they are precedents because they were High Court) are appropriate to those considering claims against SS if they fail to provide a "luxury" holiday and customers are considering action if SS are unresponsive.

 

I posted about it some time ago and was asked for more detail which I provided.

 

If you're interested you can pick it up here ......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48856776&postcount=2363

 

..... and here ....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48863271&postcount=2369

 

...... and ...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48863548&postcount=2371

 

As I said before I always prefer to make my own arrangements and not through a TA so long as there is a decent travel buffer to accomodate suprises. But you also need to double check exactly what SS say they are providing because I can recall some posts where they say that they were simply offering a booking facility and not a package. And sometimes using miles provides a flexible ticket.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=51318284&postcount=4

 

..... and how I dealt with a last minute strike by BA when traveling to Wind under self-made arrangements... and some arguments why it can be better in making your own arrangements rather than using a TA or SS ....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=51331100&postcount=11

 

There is another argument that might well make some prefer to take an SS package rather than TA or self-organised.

 

The final issue in my mind is what happens when SS have arranged for many passengers to use a particular flight and it is delayed. Is it more likely that the captain will delay departure for a chunk of SS packaged travelers shen he wouldn't otherwise delay departure for a couple who have made their own arrangements and when he will not know when they are likely to "turn up".

 

Some further considerations to ponder ...

 

Jeff

Edited January 16, 2017 by UKCruiseJeff

[machotspur]

The final issue in my mind is what happens when SS have arranged for many passengers to use a particular flight and it is delayed. Is it more likely that the captain will delay departure for a chunk of SS packaged travelers when he wouldn't otherwise delay departure for a couple who have made their own arrangements and when he will not know when they are likely to "turn up".

 

Jeff

 

Jeff

 

Thank you for the additional information which I will no doubt study in the coming days.

 

Coincidentally I have had a live issue emerge just yesterday, regarding a booking we have with Silversea for Antarctica/Falklands/S.Georgia, details of which I will post separately. In short whilst I wish to make the internal flight arrangements through SS, the timing of the flight they are considering is frankly ridiculous !

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff

 

Thank you for the additional information which I will no doubt study in the coming days.

 

Coincidentally I have had a live issue emerge just yesterday, regarding a booking we have with Silversea for Antarctica/Falklands/S.Georgia, details of which I will post separately. In short whilst I wish to make the internal flight arrangements through SS, the timing of the flight they are considering is frankly ridiculous !

 

No probs.

 

The only other consideration I think there is in deciding whether to use SS or not, or the type of tickets when making one's own arrangements is the possible risk of SS changing the embarkation or debarkation ports which has emerged more often, although rare, more recently.

 

Jeff

[les37b]

The Iceland ash cloud situation of 2011 really focussed our mind. We had booked a cruise and air through Seabourn, only because the package price was good.

The ash cloud grounded most flights in Europe, at a time when we were due to fly to Venice to start our Seabourn cruise. We were unable to get a flight, and therefore weren’t able to embark on our cruise.

 

In the weeks after the ash cloud situation it became clear how badly informed travellers were with regards to refunds/liability. In short many of those that had booked cruise & air separately lost all their money. Those that had booked air/cruise as a combined ‘package’ had protection and the operator, in this case Seabourn, was legally bound to refund all monies paid. It took a few weeks of emails but eventually they refunded in full.

 

 

Minor point - it was 2010...... I remember it well!

 

We had spent 18 mights in Bali and on our way home. We had been in the air from Changi for 5h 30mins and approaching Pakistan when the captain made the announcement "due to volcanic activity in London we are turning back to Singapore" I was convinced it was a joke and was part of a prank - especially as I was watching 2012 and the bit where Yosemite blew!

 

Anyway - we had booked everything seperately and at different times. The insurance company we used proudly (it seemed) saying "act of god".... and the company we were going to use through my bank First Direct, proudly showed on their website "You are covered for the eruption" - but alas...

 

Passengers on Emirates were immediately taken to a hotel on arrival back in Singapore. We flew Singapore and we (through insistence) were one of 4 families taken at 11pm to a hotel - the rest camped at the airport over night. After 2 nights - Singapore Air were instructed by the government to stop embarrassing the country and get people hotels. Air France was the ONLY airline who did nothing to help their stranded passengers. The bill for food and hotel for our week stay in the two rooms needed came to £4000 - covered by Singapore Air luckily. You cant help feeling sorry for the airlines.... The ticket part of the anniversary promotion we used (ie taxes removed) was a mere £86 return from HRW to Denpasar - And they didnt even get all of that as we used an online agent! That must have hurt them!!

 

Anyway, my next cruise we have used SS for our air and hotel arrangements - many because the price was nearly 90% than direct with BA! The one after, I have taken the chance with Easyjet and Vueling. My logic is that if my plane gets affected, it wont be that difficult to get a different flight or worse to the next port. You wont have that luxury and dont think it worth the gamble.

 

On brighter notes.... Second is great. :D

Edited January 17, 2017 by les37b

[machotspur]

Anyway, my next cruise we have used SS for our air and hotel arrangements - many because the price was nearly 90% than direct with BA! The one after, I have taken the chance with Easyjet and Vueling. My logic is that if my plane gets affected, it wont be that difficult to get a different flight or worse to the next port. You wont have that luxury and dont think it worth the gamble.

 

Yes absolutely – I review the potential risk of each trip before deciding with whom to make the air arrangements. Prior to the Icelandic issue (in 2010 :D) we would just go ahead independently without thinking about it much. The ash cloud was to us and many others a wake up call.

Certainly with our forthcoming Antarctica trip we are being very cautious.

 

On brighter notes.... Second is great.

 

Yes amazing - the last few games at WHL have been terrific. Happy days :)

[wripro]

Thanks everyone, some very good points.

 

Some additional clarification:

 

- I can transfer my Silversea booking (paid a 25% deposit) to an agent without any negative repercussions within 30-days of original order and before I pay the total balance. Correct?

- A travel agent will be able to use my Amex Platinum benefits? Otherwise, I will just use Amex (unless this is a mistake).

-Do you have any recommendations for a reputable agent that has experience with Silversea? I am in Maryland.

 

Thanks

 

Any agent can get you the Amex Platinum benefits. It does not need to be an Amex agent.

 

We are now allowed to recommends TAs in this board.

[Host Dan]

Any agent can get you the Amex Platinum benefits. It does not need to be an Amex agent.

 

We are now allowed to recommends TAs in this board.

Yes, wripro is right. You can use any TA and still get the AMEX platinum perks. My TA has been getting me these perks for years, and has no affiliation with AMEX. And, no, please don't solicit a TA recommendation on these boards. It's not allowed. :)

[mdpa]

Appreciate everyone's feedback on these questions.

 

Ultimately, we transferred our reservation. This should give us more flexibility for the land portion of our trip, and with us arriving 5-days early, we should have a safety net with delays.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Appreciate everyone's feedback on these questions.

 

Ultimately, we transferred our reservation. This should give us more flexibility for the land portion of our trip, and with us arriving 5-days early, we should have a safety net with delays.

 

You are welcome. Enjoy your trip and do post again!

 

Jeff

[ltsally]

Hopefully it is'allowed' to point out that at least one of the national magazines devoted to travel does an annual round-up of "Best of...." that includes numerous travel agent recs, broken down by specialty - including cruises. Thtat's how I found the TA we worked with for our SS and SB travels...with always good results.