question about a flight

[the col.]

This may sound stupid--but I don't know who to ask--I had the HAL lady who sold us our cruise to make our flights for us---this was about 2 weeks ago. I called the airline to see if we could change our seats---the airline told me they could not help me because HAL has not purchased the ticket yet The cruise is in May---how does this work---who can I call to find out about the airline ticket purchase? Sorry it-- seems odd to us--but have never have used HAL to do flight for us. Thanks in advance for any help that is offered--

[canadianbear]

Gosh, it’s been a few years now but we had booked our flight also through HAL and I seem to remember having to contact their HAL Flight Ease department.  I do remember they were very helpful.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

You haven't made your final payment yet, and cruise lines don't usually issue the ticket until final payment. You will get your flight, HAL has reserved a seat for you, but since it isn't paid for, you can't choose which seat will be yours. It's kind of like booking a guarantee cabin--you will get a cabin but you don't know which one.

 

I was in the same situation with Cunard. I am doing a westbound crossing, so I needed an eastbound flight. The price was great, and that was locked in when I made the choice of day/time/airline from what they had on offer. But I couldn't choose my seat. Because I hate being stuck in a middle seat, I did final payment early. The flight was ticketed the day after I paid and I could make my choice. So if you're very concerned, ask if you can do your final payment early.

 

Now, this part may not apply to you, depending on your airline. I had to pay to do seat selection because this was on British Air and with no frequent flyer status I wouldn't be able to choose a seat without paying the fee until 24 hours before the flight. Higher level frequent flyers could choose a seat for free at 14 or 7 days, so I figured the good seats would be gone by the time I could choose for free. 

[TAD2005]

We have used Flight Ease many times for domestic and international flights.  We have always been able to immediately select our seats, well over 9 months out.  We also received a record locator and we could log into the airline's website and change our seat selections.   We always wait to pay for the flights with the cruise fare.   We have used American, Delta, British Airways,  United, and Lufthansa and have always been able to immediately select seats.

The OP says "a HAL lady" sold her the cruise.  I assume the OP is referring to a HAL agent in Seattle and not a TA somewhere.   

Edited January 18, 2020 by TAD2005

[kazu]

OP, some airlines won’t let you do anything with seats until you have been ticketed.

 

HAL doesn’t ticket you until you pay for the flight and even then it can take some time.

 

I was told when I called that they wait for 30 days out.  I explained nicely that wouldn’t work since my cruise was 30+ days and I needed to get things arranged.  They ticketed me within the day and I was able to do what I wanted with my seats.

 

hope this helps.

[the col.]

Thank you all for your assistance--I will pay the balance tomorrow--I can't wait until 30 days out- my PTSD won't let me wait that long --so who do I call to make the ticket thing happen--thank you all for your help---

[TriumphGuy]

Would it make a difference depending on what level of  booking (Business, Premium Economy, Economy)? We reserved our flights last summer when we booked our airfare through HAL, (Delta/Air France) We booked Premium Economy and were able to pick our seats to FLL and return from Paris to Chicago. Just made our final payment last Monday. 

[kazu]

23 minutes ago, TriumphGuy said:

Would it make a difference depending on what level of  booking (Business, Premium Economy, Economy)? We reserved our flights last summer when we booked our airfare through HAL, (Delta/Air France) We booked Premium Economy and were able to pick our seats to FLL and return from Paris to Chicago. Just made our final payment last Monday. 

 

No, it makes no difference.

You can choose some seats with flight ease.  But some airlines you can’t and they will not allow you to book on their site until you are ticketed or upgrade.

My flights were biz class and one was all set but the other I had to get ticketed to choose seats.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I haven't used Flight Ease before, as my Europe cruises have all been on Cunard. But I'm thinking about a European cruise on HAL.  Will Flight Ease let me book an open jaw even if the cruise leaves and returns to the same port? It's Amsterdam, but I want to fly to London, few days there, then Eurostar to Amsterdam and then fly home after the cruise. 

 

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I haven't used Flight Ease before, as my Europe cruises have all been on Cunard. But I'm thinking about a European cruise on HAL.  Will Flight Ease let me book an open jaw even if the cruise leaves and returns to the same port? It's Amsterdam, but I want to fly to London, few days there, then Eurostar to Amsterdam and then fly home after the cruise. 

 

 

I think you are asking if you can book to arrive or depart from a different airport?

 

Yes, you can.  Just amend the Amsterdam to LHR or whichever airport you prefer.  As long as they are available on the Flight Ease menu, you can do it.  You can select to come earlier and to leave later as well.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I think you are asking if you can book to arrive or depart from a different airport?

 

Yes, you can.  Just amend the Amsterdam to LHR or whichever airport you prefer.  As long as they are available on the Flight Ease menu, you can do it.  You can select to come earlier and to leave later as well.

 

Thanks. When I was doing a little research I wondered how easily I could get from London to Amsterdam and it's VERY easy! I just have a hard time flying across The Pond and NOT going to England, even if it's just a few days in London.

 

It's the Ireland itinerary similar to the one I didn't do in 2018. I'm on Zuiderdam in a month, and I plan to make an appointment with the FCC and ask a lot of questions. 

[kazu]

Just now, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Thanks. When I was doing a little research I wondered how easily I could get from London to Amsterdam and it's VERY easy! I just have a hard time flying across The Pond and NOT going to England, even if it's just a few days in London.

 

It's the Ireland itinerary similar to the one I didn't do in 2018. I'm on Zuiderdam in a month, and I plan to make an appointment with the FCC and ask a lot of questions. 

 

 

Happy to help.  Yes, that is very do-able.  Very easy to get to Amsterdam from London indeed.  Heck we got from Rotterdam to Paris in just under 2.5 hours on the high speed train. 🙂 

Had I chosen to use Flight Ease, I could have flown out of Paris no problem even though we disembarked in Rotterdam, for example.

If I may, don’t put total faith in the FCC on board.  Some are really good but some have a lot of misinformation.  So glad you are doing that trip you missed in 2018.

[3rdGenCunarder]

55 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

 

Happy to help.  Yes, that is very do-able.  Very easy to get to Amsterdam from London indeed.  Heck we got from Rotterdam to Paris in just under 2.5 hours on the high speed train. 🙂 

Had I chosen to use Flight Ease, I could have flown out of Paris no problem even though we disembarked in Rotterdam, for example.

If I may, don’t put total faith in the FCC on board.  Some are really good but some have a lot of misinformation.  So glad you are doing that trip you missed in 2018.

 

My TA is wonderful. I'm going to ask her a lot of questions about pricing with and without promos, etc. before I go. I'll probably book onboard to get the OBC and give the booking to her. 

[senoragilbert]

Just did the Eurostar to Amsterdam from London this summer. Very civilized. Much better than dealing with airports, in my opinion. And the economy tickets were $49, hard to beat once you factor in the airport transfers!

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, senoragilbert said:

Just did the Eurostar to Amsterdam from London this summer. Very civilized. Much better than dealing with airports, in my opinion. And the economy tickets were $49, hard to beat once you factor in the airport transfers!

 

I couldn't believe the economy price. $49 would buy a tiny fraction of that journey on Amtrak.

[anaco_angler]

We are in a situation similar to the one the OP described. Yesterday we booked the TA on the Rotterdam sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam on Apr 6. Since we were within the final payment period we paid in full for the cruise. I then went to HAL's website, checked fares on Flight Ease and made our reservations and paid for the tickets. I was able to make seat assignment for our domestic flights on Delta from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale but not for our international flights on Lufthansa, Amsterdam to Munich to Vancouver. I called Lufthansa and was told they could not assign seats until the tickets were issued. So I called HAL in Seattle and was told tickets would not be issued until 30 days prior to the flights. Since I've paid for the cruise, and I've paid for the flights, that doesn't seem right. I've asked my TA to see if it can be sorted out Monday. This is the first time we've used Flight Ease (prices were good) but not being able to reserve seats would make me think twice next time.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Another flight ease question. If you book one of the "top ten" (after final payment) cruises, can you still get a flight with flight ease? I expect the price would be higher, but are there times when HAL doesn't have any flights available?

[kazu]

47 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Another flight ease question. If you book one of the "top ten" (after final payment) cruises, can you still get a flight with flight ease? I expect the price would be higher, but are there times when HAL doesn't have any flights available?

 

There are usually flights but they only have so many seats on each flight so if demand is high, there may not be much choice or as good pricing IMO.