Unacceptable handling of missed cruise by Celebrity

[Bo1953]

5 minutes ago, bigdawgs said:

We booked with Choice Air for a flight from MIA to PRG via FRA, prior to a Greek Island Cruise a few days later out of Rome. CA feels that a 1 hr. Connection time in FRA is sufficient. We disagree and CA will not agree to book us on a later flight. However, since there is another flight one hour later, I presume that if we miss our connection, that the airline will book us on the later flight without penalties.  Is my thinking correct?

 

Larry

 

Call the airline directly to sort out, more often than not they may agree with you and make the change, gratis.

 

bon voyage

[cruisestitch]

No guarantee that they will book you on that next flight -- it may be fully booked!  But Choice Air kicks in to find you alternatives to get you to your cruise.  

[jelayne]

Why won’t Choice Air book you on a later flight?    Are you trying to book online or are you speaking with a agent?  We have used  Choice Air many times & we have always selected the flights. We research the flights ourselves on  airline & other booking sites.  The flights shown on CA site are not the only flights.   Once booked we watch for changes in status on the airline website and don’t rely on CA to notify of us changes.

 

bigdawgs, my concern with your thinking that if you miss your flight you will be booked on the next flight is that the next flight may be full.  If your incoming flight lands on time but you can’t make it to the next gate in time to board (distance between gates, delay in getting off the incoming flight, etc)  it wouldn’t trigger an automatic rebooking.  

[hiccups]

Choice Air can have some great prices for international flights (we booked business class for half of what booking directly with the airline would be), but it requires due diligence to make the sure the connection times are sufficient.  What is a valid connection time by the airport standards may not leave you comfortable, so check out all the options Choice Air offers.

[Turtles06]

Shall we take bets on how long this thread will go on before the OP comes back to add the missing details?  (I think never is a good bet.) 

[bubbie1]

11 hours ago, SunNFunCruzer said:

 

 

What?  Did they not offer you a hotel and a flight to the next port?   Curiosity is killin' this cat.

We did question the connection time and were assured that it would not be a problem. After we were at home I checked with AA and was told that the MCT is 1 hour and 15 min for this itinerary.  We have used CA before and never had a problem, we trusted their arrangements. We did not use a travel agent. I have dealt with Celebrity mostly online and phone conversations. We did buy the insurance thru Celebrity.  The flight from DCA was delayed due to the fact that the crew was late and then couldn't take off because the door wouldn't close.  The repair crew had to be called in..We left DCA 5 min before we were to land at JFK.  We immediately called Celebrity to tell them what happened.  They offered 2 seats to get us to Buenos Aires the next day and catch up with the ship the day after.  We were 4 people, 2 seats.  Who would not be going?  Then we were offered the following night to go to Buenos Aires and then catch up with the ship late Sunday night, 5 days later.  When I asked about who would be meeting us at the airport and what arrangements would available I was told (with quite a nasty attitude) we have to get you to Buenos Aires and then we will worry about further arrangements.  I told her we don't speak the language and have no way of getting in touch with Celebrity once we arrive.  This is not the kind of treatment we expected, especially since we bought the insurance.  We went home.  This would have been our 9th Celebrity cruise out of a total of 20 in the last 10 years.  We like Celebrity, also have watched several services/amenities be canceled over this time frame, also have commented to them that the menu for dinner has not varied in the last ten years either, however, we think Celebrity is still a bit better than other cruise lines.  If we had missed the flight from DCA it would have been our fault and we would not have made a claim, however, CA sold us an itinerary that didn't work.  Lesson learned as to MCTs, never again.  I am not sure how this Community Board works, hope all who commented can see this one.

[cruisestitch]

What I am reading is that it was your choice not to take what was left of the cruise, with many days of time in which to arrange for airport to cruise transportation.  I'm sorry that you felt that the answer Choice Air was giving you was sufficient, but it still was your choice.  I'm not sure that Celebrity owed you anything, and 57% seems quite generous to me.

 

Many people land in Buenos Aires not speaking the language and manage to get to their hotel or to the ship and I am sorry that you felt that was too daunting a task.  

[Bo1953]

Well, all of my questions have been addressed.

 

My thoughts still stand.

 

bon voyage

[Turtles06]

18 minutes ago, bubbie1 said:

We did question the connection time and were assured that it would not be a problem. After we were at home I checked with AA and was told that the MCT is 1 hour and 15 min for this itinerary.  We have used CA before and never had a problem, we trusted their arrangements.

 

I appreciate that you have returned to this thread and expanded on what happened. And I am sorry all this happened to you.  If the airline itself told you the connection time booked by CA was not sufficient, perhaps that was a big red flag.  Also, did you have an option initially to arrive the day before your cruise?  You had two flights, one connecting to a long international flight. ...

[RickT]

2 hours ago, bigdawgs said:

We booked with Choice Air for a flight from MIA to PRG via FRA, prior to a Greek Island Cruise a few days later out of Rome. CA feels that a 1 hr. Connection time in FRA is sufficient. We disagree and CA will not agree to book us on a later flight. However, since there is another flight one hour later, I presume that if we miss our connection, that the airline will book us on the later flight without penalties.  Is my thinking correct?

 

Larry

 

A couple questions.  Did you question the 1 hr connection time prior to booking the flight?  If not and the flight has been booked it would probably incur a penalty to switch to the later flight.  CA is no different than any other TA in that they will show you every legal connection (regardless of whether or not it's a safe connection). 

As far as FRA, I agree that 1 hr is probably not enough time.  We had a 90 minute connection a few years ago and did not make it.  In my case all flights were on Star Alliance Airlines and we were booked on the next flight to reach our destination.  Keep in mind there has to be room on the next flight...

 

If I were you I would call the airline and see if they will move you.  Probably not but it can't hurt to ask.

[cruiserchuck]

2 hours ago, bigdawgs said:

We booked with Choice Air for a flight from MIA to PRG via FRA, prior to a Greek Island Cruise a few days later out of Rome. CA feels that a 1 hr. Connection time in FRA is sufficient. We disagree and CA will not agree to book us on a later flight. However, since there is another flight one hour later, I presume that if we miss our connection, that the airline will book us on the later flight without penalties.  Is my thinking correct?

 

Larry

 

 

If it is the same airline on both flights, and there is space on the later flight, then your thinking seems correct. If there is no space, then you could be delayed for some time, even overnight.

Edited May 10, 2019 by cruiserchuck

[Ma Bell]

I can't imagine that someone who has taken 20 cruises would book a flight like this. If we're going on a cruise we would never take an international flight arriving the same day as departure of the cruise, much less one with a short connection time. So sorry this happened to the OP but I'm amazed.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for coming back with more details.  Your experience is valuable to others.  The cruise/air insurance either through the cruise company of a private insurance company always has limitations and exclusions.  It can not do the impossible.  Hopefully, they did explain the options that you had once things went wrong i.e. continue on to meet the ship or get a certain amount of compensation (some policies actually offer nothing if you do not continue on).

 

Regarding the original connection time,  "they" make think it is legal but the traveler has to make it or take the consequences of not making it.  That is why many have suggested that you go early or at the least analyze what you can do to help not having to rely on the insurance policy.

 

The original flight could have been booked better.  But the Celebrity insurance probably provided exactly what was promised.  Tough lesson for us all.

[bigdawgs]

Thank you, all. When we booked with Choice Air, the later flight was not being offered. Some time after we booked, the later flight was offered. Our present flight departs FRA to PRG at 9 AM. The later flight departs at 10 AM. After that one, there is an afternoon flight. All flights are with Lufthansa. Our flight from MIA to FRA is scheduled to arrive at 8 AM, giving us one hour to clear any inspections. But if our MIA flight is delayed for any reason (after all, September is hurricane season), then there is no way we would be able to make the connection. I do plan to call Lufthansa and ask what their policy is. Again, thanks very much for your input,

 

Larry

[wpgcycler]

Even before my first cruise, I recognized the danger of planning a same day arrival for a cruise. Do folks become bolder? Nonchalant? Dumber? after 20? Even with "insurance" there are still major risks. Flummoxed.

[bubbie1]

We have never left a day early and has never been a problem, maybe just lucky up until now.  I have a friend who is retired and sold her travel agency.  She told me that any booking that does not meet the MCT is rejected and the agent has to purposely override the booking, ie, that is most likely what happened with CA.  Everyone is different, we have traveled alot, however, we try to make arrangements so that we are covered for such a situation.  We do not like being on our own in a country where we do not speak the language.

[barbette165]

Doing a trial booking on Lufthansa.com, they also offer the 1hr connection time.

I've changed planes a few times in FRA, often with short connection times.

Where connections are really short, LH will often meet passengers at the plane door and shuttle them directly to their next flight.

They are also very efficient at keeping you up to date, via text, as to the status of your connecting flight (gate etc). If you need to be rebooked, that will probably be done while you're in the air.

[wpgcycler]

5 minutes ago, bubbie1 said:

We have never left a day early and has never been a problem, maybe just lucky up until now.  I have a friend who is retired and sold her travel agency.  She told me that any booking that does not meet the MCT is rejected and the agent has to purposely override the booking, ie, that is most likely what happened with CA.  Everyone is different, we have traveled alot, however, we try to make arrangements so that we are covered for such a situation.  We do not like being on our own in a country where we do not speak the language.

 VERY lucky, I'd say. Out of the 100 flights I was on last year at least half were late to some degree - many of them significantly so. Some were outright cancelled.

[mayleeman]

5 minutes ago, bubbie1 said:

We do not like being on our own in a country where we do not speak the language.

I sympathize--no one wants to feel isolated. This might be a situation where a credit card with a travel assistance desk could help. I would also think any major hotel would have an English speaking concierge whio could get you oriented.

[msmayor]

The lesson here is that if you question the connection time, your gut is telling you it might be a problem.  

 

I do not consider myself a frequent traveler by any means, but knowing the state of air travel today there isn't a single airport anywhere in the world I would consider 40 minutes an acceptable connection time, and would press any travel provider for a different flight.  Most flights now begin the boarding process 45 minutes before departure (to allow all that carry-on luggage to be stowed properly) so the last thing I want is to be touching down/heading to a gate knowing that my ongoing flight is already boarding.

 

We're traveling from Philadelphia to Vancouver to catch a cruise in October and I believe our layover in Toronto is about four hours.  Coming home from San Diego we have another 4-5 hours in Chicago.  I'll hate that it will take us so long to get home, but feel secure that even if there is an hour or two delay somewhere, we'll still have time to make the connection.

[K12Guy]

1 hour ago, Ma Bell said:

I can't imagine that someone who has taken 20 cruises would book a flight like this. If we're going on a cruise we would never take an international flight arriving the same day as departure of the cruise, much less one with a short connection time. So sorry this happened to the OP but I'm amazed.

Along those lines... I have a sister who loves to take the red-eye the night before a cruise with her husband, because it's the cheapest fare for the cheapest seats. She says they just sleep during the flight and then wake refreshed, ready to board. Of course I don't believe it for a second. Even with lie flat beds on international flights there is no way the sleep is the same value as at home or in a hotel. And, like you, we arrive at least a day before and may leave a day or so after the cruise. Life is too short to worry about tight connections, right? Unless one is repairing a garden hose, of course.

 

[citronella]

13 minutes ago, wpgcycler said:

 VERY lucky, I'd say. Out of the 100 flights I was on last year at least half were late to some degree - many of them significantly so. Some were outright cancelled.

 

Agree. I have had numerous delays or cancellations - wind, snow, fog, thunderstorms, mechanical problems, flight staff injured during turbulence, passengers escorted off flights - I almost expect not to arrive at appointed time.

[bEwAbG]

A new one for me was last summer: pushed back from the gate and sat a long while because the plane that was next to us had some sort of fuel oopsie.  We could have left except that the hazmat vehicle responding to that situation parked directly behind our plane, and we had to sit there until the driver was ready to move it.  I've always had good luck at DCA (my local airport) on departures but very often have had to sit parked out of the way while they ready a gate upon arrival.  Their baggage claim operations are also slower than molasses. 

 

Modern air travel is glorious when there are no problems but things can quickly spin out of control so always better to be conservative than not.  The airlines have pared down flight choices so much that the days when you could kind of wing it are long over.  

[wpgcycler]

I sat for an hour on a plane while they struggled to remove a pallet of fresh BC salmon which got stuck in the cargo hold. ANY number of snafu's can delay a flight - expect the totally unexpected.

 

[Quo Vadis?]

It's amazing that no matter what the problem is that has been created by Celebrity's handling of reservations or flights that some people will always support Celebrity.

 

Celebrity likes to point out, on their website:

 

Flights For Your Cruise

Low Fares 24/7 Service Flight disruption protection All flights compatible  with your scheduled cruise.   But when they mess up they will not give you real "service", or give you "protection" nor always offer "compatible flights"   We were once scheduled for connecting flights at Charles DeGaulle with what we thought was insufficient time.  We called Celebrity several times only to be assured there was enough time.  If the plane had not arrived nearly an hour early due to a strong jet stream, we would never have made the connecting flight.  I'm with the OP.  As always, I'm disappointed with the cheerleaders and their lack of empathy for people who actually have had the experience of imperfect Celebrity "service".