Flights by Celebrity

[Spiritedcharm]

I’m planning to fly in to Miami the day before my cruise departs in September. Is there any reason to book through Celebrity versus on my own? There are more options and slightly better prices/flights if I book them elsewhere.

[waterbug123]

Booking with Celebrity offers some assurance that if you don't make the cruise due to flight issues, they will make all reasonable effort to get you to the next port, seat availability pending of course, to catch up to the ship. However, if you are planning to fly in the day before, you already have a built in cushion so that benefit is largely negated. Another big advantage is that sometimes you can find cheaper tickets through a cruise line, but that often comes with at a price, namely more ticket restrictions......when booking air through a cruise line, you MAY get tickets that have "hidden" rules and restrictions, particularly regarding rebooking. Not all tickets will be that type, and if there are no flight disruptions you may never know if your ticket was "different" or not, though there are some horror stories out there of people who found out otherwise when push came to shove.

 

In your case, you are seeing better prices elsewhere and you are flying in a day in advance so you already have a back-up plan (fly later that day or the next day) if flight disruptions occur. Unless the better prices you are seeing are from a 3rd party consolidator, which is probably also selling somewhat restricted tickets (again, you likely won't know up front what those restrictions might be), I'd book the cheaper non-Celebrity tickets.

[leaveitallbehind]

IMO, domestically there is no real advantage that I am aware of to using the cruise line to book air. We always book air separately and independently.

 

Internationally it is often the opposite and advantageous to book air through the cruise line for schedules and pricing.

[johhnnyt]

IMO, domestically there is no real advantage that I am aware of to using the cruise line to book air. We always book air separately and independently.

 

Internationally it is often the opposite and advantageous to book air through the cruise line for schedules and pricing.

 

I've found the same true. Generally European/Asian/Oceania round trip trip and single leg trips can save some good money in both coach and business classes (for example I just booked a one way to from Miami to Chile in 1st class for $1200 for 2019, and booked a one way first class from Rome to NY for $1050, and in both cases the price was 3x that through the airlines).

 

Occasionally I'll find a better deal on Air by Celebrity for domestic flights , but it's rare to find anything much better than you'll find on your own through one of the major online agencies

[dabear]

IMO, domestically there is no real advantage that I am aware of to using the cruise line to book air. We always book air separately and independently.

 

Internationally it is often the opposite and advantageous to book air through the cruise line for schedules and pricing.

 

Agree with this post, especially since there are so many more domestic flights to be put on in the event that your original flight is cancelled.

[Spiritedcharm]

Thanks everyone! Now I just need to figure out when to book for the best rates!

[sr4mjc]

Reading through the FAQs on Celebrity's page, it looks like they've made some changes to this program back in January.  It sounds like you can pick flights, but payment isn't due until cruise final payment date and changes can be made.  So the flights aren't actually ticketed when you book?   My MIL has booked flights through Flights by Celebrity already, but there's a much better itinerary and price if she leaves from a different airport, so I am trying to figure out if she can change (she's outside of final payment.)  She was told by rep that the flight was a 'reservation' and not final until they make payment.  But knowing how airline fares work, I am curious to how this is so.  It seems counter intuitive.  

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/company/customer-support/help-and-faqs/pre-cruise/flights-by-celebrity

 

"When you use Flights by CelebritySM to book your air travel, you have the option to book flights with no money down, and you’ll enjoy the flexibility of changing flights with no change fees when you book refundable airfares. You will enjoy the convenience of locking in your flights and the fare without having to pay for the airfare at time of booking. Pay for your flights at the same time as your cruise final payment."

 

Q.

I have purchased one of these fares and I need to make a change, how will this be handled?

A.

Guests/travel partners will contact the support desk who will make the requested change. Outside of final payment, no air penalties will apply. Guest will be responsible for differences in fare.

 

Q.

Are these fares fully refundable?

A.

Outside of final cruise payment air penalties will not apply and the fare is fully refundable. After final payment, $200 per person air penalty applies.

Edited April 4, 2019 by sr4mjc

[bkbarrym]

Booked through Celebrity for upcoming cruise in June (flights within N/A).  Did not have to pay until cruise final payment.  Could change and reprice until that time. Pricing for the flights were better than I could find through the airline and other search engines. Celebrity provided free seat selection that I would have had to pay elsewhere (although I could not pick seats until final payment was made).  Plus other protections. Would try them again.

[petefoss]

Flip side is I paid for our flights in full when I booked our cruise since the cruise payment was due.  Was a mistake because I couldn't change them without a $200/ticket change fee.  Ended up just sweating through a same day flight arriving at 1140 for a 330 sailing,  I would have changed to the day before if I could have.

[39august]

I also have used  "book now pay later". You may find that prices are different if you call Celebrity air,rather than go to their web site. I have booked twice with Celebrity on domestic flights and gotten rates less than booking with the airline directly. Also, if you are buying Celebrity's travel insurance, it will cover your Celebrity booked air fare as well.

[ak1004]

We got a very good pricing on business class flight from Toronto to Dublin through Celebrity. And if we sail on the Caribbean in winter and fly the same day, we always book through the cruise line. Of course if you fly a day before, it is different. 

[Beachin2]

Just booked San Diego to Buenos Aires on American Airlines one way business class through Celebrity.  Knew what flight options I wanted (B2B, couldn't use the site).  Agent looked up my different combinations and options and booked us quickly at less than half buying it direct from AA.  Air payment not due until final cruise payment.  AA record locator given, ressie is in their system and we have seats assigned.

 

Process is getting easier!

[jsf]

I've used Choice Air 3 times with 2 in the US and the 3rd from Barcelona,I couldn't beat their price online with the airlines. We're are flying to Honolulu for a cruise and I think we will book with Celebrity.

J.

[Silkroad]

3 hours ago, Beachin2 said:

Just booked San Diego to Buenos Aires on American Airlines one way business class through Celebrity.  Knew what flight options I wanted (B2B, couldn't use the site).  Agent looked up my different combinations and options and booked us quickly at less than half buying it direct from AA.  Air payment not due until final cruise payment.  AA record locator given, ressie is in their system and we have seats assigned.

 

Process is getting easier!

Thanks for this information. I thought that one couldn’t get seat assignments before cruise final payment. 

[bkbarrym]

3 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Thanks for this information. I thought that one couldn’t get seat assignments before cruise final payment. 

Would likely depend on Celebrity's arrangement with the particular airline and fare. In my case I had to wait till payment was made to get seat selection (Air Canada economy). 

[Silkroad]

5 minutes ago, bkbarrym said:

Would likely depend on Celebrity's arrangement with the particular airline and fare. In my case I had to wait till payment was made to get seat selection (Air Canada economy). 

Thank you. The airline in question was United. They must have similar rules, because the Flights by Celebrity rep told me I couldn’t get seat assignments until final payment.

[Munday]

We booked a return flight from YYZ to FLL for the end of Jan/20 when flights on Flights by Celebrity first opened up. On Mar 10, the non-refundable fare was $580 CAD cheaper than the exact same flights on Air Canada’s website. We were pleasantly surprised!

[bkbarrym]

32 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Thank you. The airline in question was United. They must have similar rules, because the Flights by Celebrity rep told me I couldn’t get seat assignments until final payment.

If you are concerned you should have the option of selecting seats before final payment directly through the airline, likely for a fee. Or you can pay for the fights. In our case I periodically checked the seat maps and availability and it was wide open so decided to wait until final payment.