Air2Sea; Flights by Celebrity

[39august]

I have now used this service for 3  domestic flights. Very pleased with the experience, great phone service, and great help when my flights were changed to unacceptable times for me. Got all the changes I asked for at no cost. One of these 3 flights was actually less than on the airline website. The last two were a bit higher, but since booking thru' this service means your cruise travel insurance also covers your air, it is worth it to me to pay just a little more. For my latest booking I am using the "Buy Now, Pay Later" option. My price is guaranteed not to go up, but if the airline price goes down, I can call and get a lower price. As soon as I booked, the representative was able to select seats for me. So no waiting until flight is paid. Has anyone every really gotten a lower price? The rep I was speaking with said it actually does happen occasionally.

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for your post.   I've  not used the Buy Now, Pay Later option but look forward to try it soon.

[SFCAcruiser]

24 minutes ago, 39august said:

.... Has anyone every really gotten a lower price? The rep I was speaking with said it actually does happen occasionally.

 

Generally, the lower prices are found when booking a one-way flight for transatlantic or transpacific cruises. 

[39august]

I am aware that better prices are found for these cruises. I am talking about getting a lower fare AFTER booking with Air2Sea. I will be monitoring closely and will post if it should happen.

[bkbarrym]

50 minutes ago, 39august said:

I have now used this service for 3  domestic flights. Very pleased with the experience, great phone service, and great help when my flights were changed to unacceptable times for me. Got all the changes I asked for at no cost. One of these 3 flights was actually less than on the airline website. The last two were a bit higher, but since booking thru' this service means your cruise travel insurance also covers your air, it is worth it to me to pay just a little more. For my latest booking I am using the "Buy Now, Pay Later" option. My price is guaranteed not to go up, but if the airline price goes down, I can call and get a lower price. As soon as I booked, the representative was able to select seats for me. So no waiting until flight is paid. Has anyone every really gotten a lower price? The rep I was speaking with said it actually does happen occasionally.

We booked through X and don't have to pay until final payment. However, the agent can't select seats until we pay. If we want seats now we can get them through the airline but for a fee. If we wait we can get free seat selection. I keep checking seat maps for our flights and so far it's wide open so will wait. I monitor the fares for price reductions or flight alternatives.

[39august]

We booked on Delta. The rep said they have an "agreement" with  Delta. So I guess it depends on which airline you are booking. Good idea about monitoring for flight alternatives. Hadn't thought of that. 

[DUTRAVEL]

10 hours ago, 39august said:

I am aware that better prices are found for these cruises. I am talking about getting a lower fare AFTER booking with Air2Sea. I will be monitoring closely and will post if it should happen.

Yes, we booked flights for our November transatlantic a couple of months ago and I called yesterday and got a $550 per person price reduction. We have also been able to select our seats and payment is not due until final payment for the cruise. The only irritating thing is you can’t look online to see if the price has gone down; you have to call. 

[PhoenixCruiser]

Do you still get points from the airline using this service?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[bkbarrym]

24 minutes ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Do you still get points from the airline using this service?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Yes.

[waterbug123]

19 hours ago, 39august said:

 using the "Buy Now, Pay Later" option......As soon as I booked, the representative was able to select seats for me. So no waiting until flight is paid

 

18 hours ago, 39august said:

We booked on Delta. The rep said they have an "agreement" with  Delta. So I guess it depends on which airline

 

Seat selections are technically seat "requests."  They can and do change and are never actually guaranteed.  This is true regardless, but given that you haven't yet paid for your flight, I would not be surprised if your seats change.

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, bkbarrym said:

 I keep checking seat maps for our flights and so far it's wide open so will wait.

 

Seat maps are a poor indicator of actual seat availability.   1.  There could be a lot of seats sold that don't show on the seat map because specific seats haven't been selected.   2.  Seats that have been selected can change for a multitude of reasons.

[Fogfog]

We booked and paid in full for flights through Flights By Cel. back in the fall for a  one-way Biz after a TA

The price from Flights by Cel was much lower than through Kayak (delta)

 

Months later we called to make a flight change and the price of the flights had dropped significantly. We had to pay a $200 pp penalty for the change..yet in the end because of the flight price dropping--the additional fare we had to pay was about $100 pp

Worth it to us with airport change (closer to home)

 

We were able to book the seats immediately (because it was paid in full--was prior to Celebrity's new book/pay later promo)

 

From another thread I read about luggage fees and lack of accruing miles/points etc. There is nothing on our booking information from Air/Celebrity indicating code.

 

Can we expect that booking Biz class and no fees for seats etc that we will get miles? They did ask for our FF #s at time of booking

TYIA

 

[bkbarrym]

8 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

We booked and paid in full for flights through Flights By Cel. back in the fall for a  one-way Biz after a TA

The price from Flights by Cel was much lower than through Kayak (delta)

 

Months later we called to make a flight change and the price of the flights had dropped significantly. We had to pay a $200 pp penalty for the change..yet in the end because of the flight price dropping--the additional fare we had to pay was about $100 pp

Worth it to us with airport change (closer to home)

 

We were able to book the seats immediately (because it was paid in full--was prior to Celebrity's new book/pay later promo)

 

From another thread I read about luggage fees and lack of accruing miles/points etc. There is nothing on our booking information from Air/Celebrity indicating code.

 

Can we expect that booking Biz class and no fees for seats etc that we will get miles? They did ask for our FF #s at time of booking

TYIA

 

You should get your frequent flyer miles. Worse case the you can add it through the airline. You should have their locater number.

[Lastdance]

On 3/9/2019 at 9:07 AM, 39august said:

I have now used this service for 3  domestic flights. Very pleased with the experience, great phone service, and great help when my flights were changed to unacceptable times for me. Got all the changes I asked for at no cost. One of these 3 flights was actually less than on the airline website. The last two were a bit higher, but since booking thru' this service means your cruise travel insurance also covers your air, it is worth it to me to pay just a little more. For my latest booking I am using the "Buy Now, Pay Later" option. My price is guaranteed not to go up, but if the airline price goes down, I can call and get a lower price. As soon as I booked, the representative was able to select seats for me. So no waiting until flight is paid. Has anyone every really gotten a lower price? The rep I was speaking with said it actually does happen occasionally.

 

I guess you could choose your seats due to the flights being domestic.  Unfortunately. mine were international business, so I was not allowed that option according to the Celebrity agent...I am glad to know that it worked for you...mine were with United!

 

I noticed that someone above was able to book their seats without paying for a Nov. TA.  My TA is in November also on Reflection!  Hmmm..I will definite call once again, but the price was fantastic!

Edited March 10, 2019 by Lastdance

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Fogfog said:

We booked and paid in full for flights through Flights By Cel. back in the fall for a  one-way Biz after a TA

The price from Flights by Cel was much lower than through Kayak (delta)

 

Months later we called to make a flight change and the price of the flights had dropped significantly. We had to pay a $200 pp penalty for the change..yet in the end because of the flight price dropping--the additional fare we had to pay was about $100 pp

Worth it to us with airport change (closer to home)

 

We were able to book the seats immediately (because it was paid in full--was prior to Celebrity's new book/pay later promo)

 

From another thread I read about luggage fees and lack of accruing miles/points etc. There is nothing on our booking information from Air/Celebrity indicating code.

 

Can we expect that booking Biz class and no fees for seats etc that we will get miles? They did ask for our FF #s at time of booking

TYIA

 

We always fly business and have never been charged for either seat selection nor baggage.    We have always gotten ff points.

[Jim_Iain]

32 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

 

I guess you could choose your seats due to the flights being domestic.  Unfortunately. mine were international business, so I was not allowed that option according to the Celebrity agent...I am glad to know that it worked for you...mine were with United!

 

I noticed that someone above was able to book their seats without paying for a Nov. TA.  My TA is in November also on Reflection!  Hmmm..I will definite call once again, but the price was fantastic!

I have purchased both domestic and international business class on United and never had a problem logging onto United's site and selecting seats.   I was also told by Celebrity they could not do it.   All you need is your United confirmation number (not choice air's confirmation number)

[DUTRAVEL]

Maybe it depends on the airline and/or class of service. We just selected our biz class seats on Lufthansa - the Flights by Celebrity agent chose them for us while I was on the phone with him and they now appear on our reservation with the airline.  

[Solution]

It really depends on the knowledge level of the rep. I booked the Premium Economy to fly from Toronto to Honolulu for my April 29 cruise. The first time I called the rep told me I could not select any seats until ticketed. So I request ticketing. After a few days, I still cannot find my booking from AA site, so I called again. This time the rep told me he could select the seats for me. I grabbed the last dual seats in the PE class.

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have purchased both domestic and international business class on United and never had a problem logging onto United's site and selecting seats.   I was also told by Celebrity they could not do it.   All you need is your United confirmation number (not choice air's confirmation number)

 

I am going to call them about this.  My tickets do not have to be purchased until my final cruise payment date because they are totally refundable and changeable until that time, so that may be why...so many little details that make a difference with communication.  I do like the flexibility with this idea, but if others have the exact same international biz class tickets then I would love to do my seats too!

 

 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Lastdance

[DUTRAVEL]

I also have the tickets that do not have to be paid until final payment - I have changed them three times. I was surprised when the agent asked if I wanted to select my seats. It doesn't hurt to call and ask.

 

 

 

[Lastdance]

19 hours ago, Lastdance said:

 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

I also have the tickets that do not have to be paid until final payment - I have changed them three times. I was surprised when the agent asked if I wanted to select my seats. It doesn't hurt to call and ask.

 

 

 

 

 

Update...Update...Update:  Well, I spent a lot of time trying to get everything to work, and I am happy to report that it did.  I have always been able to make my seats in the past with lots of European flights, but after Celebrity's agent told me no, but after I paid, I guess I let my guard down and actually believed him!  Many thanks to all of you who allowed me to come to my senses...I now have all of my seat reservations with great biz class too...never believe what anyone tells you until you check it out for yourself!

Edited March 11, 2019 by Lastdance

[Jim_Iain]

Great to year your good news.

[39august]

Today, just 3 or 4 days after my initial air booking, I found a lower fare on the Delta web site, called Flights by X and sure enough, I saved $75 off each ticket! By the way, this price was lower than the posted price on the Delta site.Again, these are thru' the Buy Now Pay Later program. I can pretty much do anything I want with these tickets up until final payment. Could I be lucky enough for the price to go down again!

[Lastdance]

Life is a game...rules and information are power, along with Cruise Critic!

[Sbert]

I recently booked cruise and air (thru Celebrity Flights) for a December 2019 cruise including air from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale. .  2 weeks after booking I found the same flights on Expedia for $80 less, called Flights by Celebrity  and they matched no problem.  Happy sailing!