Problems booking ChoiceAir with a back to back cruise booking.

[teralin]

I am having great difficulty making an online flight booking on ChoiceAir's website.  I keep getting "ineligible - back to back booking" and cannot proceed any further.  I know, from this very helpful site, that it is possible to unlink the two bookings to allow flights to be booked and then relink them afterwards.  I really want to book the flights online rather than by phone as I know to my cost that the latter can be prone to errors.  So far, this is what I have done:

 

1. I phoned my TA to ask her to unlink the bookings to allow me to use ChoiceAir.  She came back later to say RCL advised me to phone ChoiceAir to book my flights.

2. I phoned the Crown and Anchor CS desk to ask whether unlinking the bookings was a viable option.  I was assured it was but I had to go back to my TA to do it.

3. Asked my TA to go back to RCL and insist that my bookings are unlinked.  She replied later to say that RCL had now unlinked the bookings but wait up to 24 hrs to take effect.

4. 24 hrs later bookings still linked.  I phoned C&A CS desk again who apologised and said the unlinking "had not been completed" and after consulting with resolution dept. came back to confirm that the bookings were now unlinked but I must wait up to 24 hrs to take effect.

5. 24 hrs later bookings still linked.  I emailed TA to ask her to sort it out.

6. 12 hrs later, no response from TA.

 

So I just wondered whether anyone else has had this frustrating experience and how, or if, they managed to resolve it.  ChoiceAir have some very good one way flights at the moment that I really want to book and if necessary, I will phone them, but I would much rather keep control of the whole process and do it myself online.  Any help or advice appreciated.

[Clarea]

All you can do is keep working with the travel agent.

 

Our travel agent has learned not to link the cruises until right before she makes final payment.

[hapster85]

Not to highjack the thread, but what's the point of linking the two bookings? We've only done one B2B, so our experience in that area is limited, but it went without a hitch, with no linking.

[Clarea]

Just now, hapster85 said:

Not to highjack the thread, but what's the point of linking the two bookings? We've only done one B2B, so our experience in that area is limited, but it went without a hitch, with no linking.

 

Linking indicates to the crew onboard that you are consecutive cruisers, which enables them to prepare for the second cruise: SeaPass cards, passenger count as disembarkation, letters to guests about changeover day, notifications to stateroom attendants, etc.  It also changes the invoices so the total cost of both cruises is listed on the second invoice.  Not sure why that is significant.

[hapster85]

3 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Linking indicates to the crew onboard that you are consecutive cruisers, which enables them to prepare for the second cruise: SeaPass cards, passenger count as disembarkation, letters to guests about changeover day, notifications to stateroom attendants, etc.  It also changes the invoices so the total cost of both cruises is listed on the second invoice.  Not sure why that is significant.

Interesting. Except for the invoice totalling, that all happened for us anyway. Our head waiter even approached us at the midpoint of the first week to ask if we wanted the same table for the second week. 

[grandgeezer]

I've probably done at least 15 B2B cruises and have never linked the two or had trouble booking air through Choice Air or whatever you want to call it. I do this strictly online, as I have no questions. We've never had any trouble on the turnaround day either.

Just pick out the first cruise, put in the day you want to fly in and for the return flight, put that date in. This also works if you want to extend your stay in the debarkation port. If you want to arrive a day or two early, just put that date in as the day you want to fly from home.

[lakelorain]

I've had success by booking the airfare based on the second cruise.  If I put in the first one, it doesn't work.  Just use the second cruise and change the date you want to fly to the port.  Hope it works for you.

 

[frank808]

1 hour ago, lakelorain said:

I've had success by booking the airfare based on the second cruise.  If I put in the first one, it doesn't work.  Just use the second cruise and change the date you want to fly to the port.  Hope it works for you.

 

Will try that.  Thanks for the hint.

[teralin]

Thanks for your replies.  I have tried every combination of dates to try to get ChoiceAir's website to continue with a flight booking but I keep getting "ineligible- back to back booking"  I too have booked many back to back cruises and ChoiceAir flights and never had this problem but I know from this site that some others have.  The solution is for Royal Caribbean to unlink the two cruises to allow me to book ChoiceAir and this is where the problem lies.  They say they have done it and they clearly haven't.  Very frustrating but I will continue trying to get a resolution.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, teralin said:

Thanks for your replies.  I have tried every combination of dates to try to get ChoiceAir's website to continue with a flight booking but I keep getting "ineligible- back to back booking"  I too have booked many back to back cruises and ChoiceAir flights and never had this problem but I know from this site that some others have.  The solution is for Royal Caribbean to unlink the two cruises to allow me to book ChoiceAir and this is where the problem lies.  They say they have done it and they clearly haven't.  Very frustrating but I will continue trying to get a resolution.

 

Perhaps they have unlinked the cruise and there is a different issue altogether.  As others have posted they have been able to book flights with cruises linked it would appear that unfortunately there is a different issue.

 

It is frustrating but to assume they are lying to you will just make it more frustrating.

[teralin]

Just to be clear, nobody mentioned lying.  I am sure their intentions were good but it simply hasn't resulted in the bookings being unlinked.  I have emailed ChoiceAir for an explanation.