Air2Sea May Not Be For Me

[RCCL Fan]

 

I know "ship happens" when traveling and so I typically fly in the day before a sailing.  I also typically book my own airfare.

 

Infact I don't think I've flown in same day for a cruise since 1996. lol

 

Anyway....

 

When we booked Adventure out of Nassau this summer, I decided I wasn't too keen on spending the night in Nassau the night before the cruise.

 

We live in Dallas and American Airlines had a 8am direct flight to Nassau, and a 12pm direct  after that which we could use as a backup.   

 

We booked the 8am through Air2Sea, to have the arrival "insurance" that they would help us if somehow we missed the ship.

 

Well a few weeks pass....

 

As luck would have it, American Airlines cancelled the 8am direct flight and moved us to the 12pm which would land at 5pm.

 

Now, yes, I would still get there, but now I don't have a backup flight, and I'm missing the first evening on the ship,  first dinner, all that.

 

As a frequent flyer with American, and a Dallas/Fort Worth resident I'm very familiar with American's policies. 

 

When they cancel your flight ahead of time due to a schedule change, then you're entitled to switch to any other flight that day free of charge without having to pay a difference in fare.   If none of the other available flights work for you, then you can change to a flight the day before or day after, without paying anything.

 

I called American.

 

The agent helped me pick out new flights I was happy with. We were going to fly in a day earlier and stay the night afterall.  However, when she went to confirm the change she said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I can't change these flights, because your ticket is owned by Celebrity/Royal Caribbean.   You will have to call them to make the change.   

 

She gave me all the flight numbers and everything for my first and second choice flights.

 

I call Air2Sea.  They tell me, "No, If you want to leave the day earlier, you have to pay a change in fair, and it's an additional $412 per person."  (It would have been more than i paid for the tickets to begin with)  I explained American's policy about cancellations on their end.

 

Air2Sea said, well we can request it of American, but it will take 3 business days.

 

Me.... "uh, ok?"

 

So I wait the three business days.

 

Call back.

 

Nope, American denied your request, I'm told.

 

I was reassured that the ship doesn't leave until 9pm so 5pm arrival is fine... and if I did miss the ship they would fly me to the next island.

 

I reminded them the next island is CocoCay  for two days in a row.  then a sea day.   If I miss the ship, you'd have to fly me to Cozumel and I would miss the first 4 days of a 7 day cruise.   I need more of a cushion than that.

 

I called American to find out why they denied my request.  

 

American says, "That change is 100% within our policy, there's no reason to deny it, we can approve it, but we don't own your ticket"

 

So, I'm caught in this back and forth with American and Air2Sea  on what would have been a very simple fix I could have done online in 2 minutes if I booked directly with American.

 

Air2Sea now suggests putting me on a 5am departure same day, that would connect in Miami before getting me into Nassau early afternoon.   

 

5am departure will be fun getting my 7year old up at 3am....  she's going to be a disaster come dinner time.  But apparently it's do that, or pay $1600 more to go the day earlier.

 

Morale of the story for me.... don't try to fly the same day....    and it appears easier to book airfare yourself directly with the airline and not have Air2Sea as the middle man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[poocher]

Might I suggest you set up a conference call with Air2sea and American Airlines?  Perhaps with all three parties on the call, your problem could be fixed.

[CruisingHogFan]

21 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

I know "ship happens" when traveling and so I typically fly in the day before a sailing.  I also typically book my own airfare.

 

Infact I don't think I've flown in same day for a cruise since 1996. lol

 

Anyway....

 

When we booked Adventure out of Nassau this summer, I decided I wasn't too keen on spending the night in Nassau the night before the cruise.

 

We live in Dallas and American Airlines had a 8am direct flight to Nassau, and a 12pm direct  after that which we could use as a backup.   

 

We booked the 8am through Air2Sea, to have the arrival "insurance" that they would help us if somehow we missed the ship.

 

Well a few weeks pass....

 

As luck would have it, American Airlines cancelled the 8am direct flight and moved us to the 12pm which would land at 5pm.

 

Now, yes, I would still get there, but now I don't have a backup flight, and I'm missing the first evening on the ship,  first dinner, all that.

 

As a frequent flyer with American, and a Dallas/Fort Worth resident I'm very familiar with American's policies. 

 

When they cancel your flight ahead of time due to a schedule change, then you're entitled to switch to any other flight that day free of charge without having to pay a difference in fare.   If none of the other available flights work for you, then you can change to a flight the day before or day after, without paying anything.

 

I called American.

 

The agent helped me pick out new flights I was happy with. We were going to fly in a day earlier and stay the night afterall.  However, when she went to confirm the change she said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I can't change these flights, because your ticket is owned by Celebrity/Royal Caribbean.   You will have to call them to make the change.   

 

She gave me all the flight numbers and everything for my first and second choice flights.

 

I call Air2Sea.  They tell me, "No, If you want to leave the day earlier, you have to pay a change in fair, and it's an additional $412 per person."  (It would have been more than i paid for the tickets to begin with)  I explained American's policy about cancellations on their end.

 

Air2Sea said, well we can request it of American, but it will take 3 business days.

 

Me.... "uh, ok?"

 

So I wait the three business days.

 

Call back.

 

Nope, American denied your request, I'm told.

 

I was reassured that the ship doesn't leave until 9pm so 5pm arrival is fine... and if I did miss the ship they would fly me to the next island.

 

I reminded them the next island is CocoCay  for two days in a row.  then a sea day.   If I miss the ship, you'd have to fly me to Cozumel and I would miss the first 4 days of a 7 day cruise.   I need more of a cushion than that.

 

I called American to find out why they denied my request.  

 

American says, "That change is 100% within our policy, there's no reason to deny it, we can approve it, but we don't own your ticket"

 

So, I'm caught in this back and forth with American and Air2Sea  on what would have been a very simple fix I could have done online in 2 minutes if I booked directly with American.

 

Air2Sea now suggests putting me on a 5am departure same day, that would connect in Miami before getting me into Nassau early afternoon.   

 

5am departure will be fun getting my 7year old up at 3am....  she's going to be a disaster come dinner time.  But apparently it's do that, or pay $1600 more to go the day earlier.

 

Morale of the story for me.... don't try to fly the same day....    and it appears easier to book airfare yourself directly with the airline and not have Air2Sea as the middle man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are having the same issues with flight changes. We still have early day of arrival but our departure flight now leaves a 6:30 the day before for 18 hours of travel....  I was told by Air2Sea we could make a one time change with no issues and went over flight options day of and coming in the day before (work won’t allow that option) I still haven’t  made a change as I still don’t like our options. Hoping more flights are added in the next couple weeks otherwise we may just cancel the cruise. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by CruisingHogFan

[RCCL Fan]

11 minutes ago, poocher said:

Might I suggest you set up a conference call with Air2sea and American Airlines?  Perhaps with all three parties on the call, your problem could be fixed.

 Tried that....  They would not agree.

[Tapi]

Was your airfare substantially cheaper by booking through Air2Sea? I’ve played around, making mock bookings, and Air2Sea is literally a fraction of what booking direct would cost for the same exact flights for the Bermuda sailings. 
 

Thanks for the heads up. It’s good to understand that I’d be giving up some freedoms and flexibility for the sake of a cheaper airfare. Kinda like booking that ultra basic economy fare on a flight that saves you money, but which can screw you big time if you need to make changes. 

[CruisingHogFan]

15 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Was your airfare substantially cheaper by booking through Air2Sea? I’ve played around, making mock bookings, and Air2Sea is literally a fraction of what booking direct would cost for the same exact flights for the Bermuda sailings. 
 

Thanks for the heads up. It’s good to understand that I’d be giving up some freedoms and flexibility for the sake of a cheaper airfare. Kinda like booking that ultra basic economy fare on a flight that saves you money, but which can screw you big time if you need to make changes. 

Ours was couple hundred each cheaper since it’s a special promotion for the cruises out of nasssu. 
 

We have a option to arrive at 3:30 the day of but it still makes me nervous!

[Jimbo]

Cancel Air2sea and book on your own. That way you have ALL the control.

[RCCL Fan]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Cancel Air2sea and book on your own. That way you have ALL the control.

 

I've made final payment.  Am I able to cancel the Air2Sea booking?  I didn't pay extra for refundable flights.  I assume I am stuck with them.

 

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

I've made final payment.  Am I able to cancel the Air2Sea booking?  I didn't pay extra for refundable flights.  I assume I am stuck with them.

 

Oh !!! that I'm not sure off, others on here should know.....Only time I used them, was a refundable tickets and before Final payment when I canceled, that was done with no fees of anykind.

[CruisingHogFan]

Just now, Jimbo said:

Cancel Air2sea and book on your own. That way you have ALL the control.

 

 

1 minute ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

I've made final payment.  Am I able to cancel the Air2Sea booking?  I didn't pay extra for refundable flights.  I assume I am stuck with them.

 

 

Normally you can’t after final payment but you might be able to since it’s from a schedule change? Also if you cancel the cruise under the cruise with confidence they will refund from what I’ve been told.

 

We thought about canceling our flights since we do refundable but current prices are 500 more a person across all airlines 

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

I've made final payment.  Am I able to cancel the Air2Sea booking?  I didn't pay extra for refundable flights.  I assume I am stuck with them.

 

The change / cancel fee will be listed on your A2S flight booking

[Jimbo]

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-i-cancel-my-flight-booked-through-the-air2sea-program

 

[RCCL Fan]

It's $200 per ticket to cancel, $800 total.  

 

I won't be doing that.

 

It's just so frustrating that I can make such a simple change on my own with the airline but not with Air2Sea.

 

I'm back on the line with American asking them to intervene. 

 

Just wanted others to know about this little "hiccup" I've found so you know what you'd be dealing with in case you wound up in my boat.

 

Love Royal, but this part needs some attending to.

Edited April 29, 2021 by RCCL Fan

[CruisingHogFan]

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The change / cancel fee will be listed on your A2S flight booking

I understand the fee if you just want to cancel for no reason but since this is due to the airline change I would hope the fees are waived...

[Baowen]

That's good info to have. I've never thought about that scenario. I saved a ton of money by booking my airfare from Heathrow back to Seattle first class on Virgin. It was around $4K and with Air to Sea it was around $1,100. Cheaper than directly booking economy!

[CruisingHogFan]

38 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Cancel Air2sea and book on your own. That way you have ALL the control.

We would consider but it’s the cost now. Would be double. Plus with all the uncertainty I like the air2sea to help if issues.

 

We do have a 3:30 arrival  day of cruise but that still worries me. I wanted to be in Nassau by at least 1:00 with back up flights like the OP.

[Sunshine3601]

30 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

It's $200 per ticket to cancel, $800 total.  

 

I won't be doing that.

 

It's just so frustrating that I can make such a simple change on my own with the airline but not with Air2Sea.

 

I'm back on the line with American asking them to intervene. 

 

Just wanted others to know about this little "hiccup" I've found so you know what you'd be dealing with in case you wound up in my boat.

 

Love Royal, but this part needs some attending to.

It probably has to do with the special pricing a2s arranged with AA.  Maybe for certain flights, not every flight option.

If you go to the quick pricing option on the choiceair website do you see any of the other flights that AA mentioned to you?  If they show up there then you should be able to switch to one of them.

[AF-1]

I thought once you have paid in full;  then the cruise line has paid for your airline ticket;  which means you should be able to deal directly with the airlines.  But what do I know;  just thinking out loud here.

[smokeybandit]

I had a similar situation with the massive AA schedule change, but I didn't switch days.  Air2Sea had to submit the change to AA but it was approved.

[xpcdoojk]

I know, that Nassau sucks, but Atlantis is really nice and is worth a trip on its own.

 

I will never knowingly book a flight the day of the cruise for any reason, never.

 

just saying never....

 

Especially in this time and age when flights and everything is just completely subject to the whims of the world.

 

JMHO and YMMV

[CruisingHogFan]

2 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

I reminded them the next island is CocoCay  for two days in a row.  then a sea day.   If I miss the ship, you'd have to fly me to Cozumel and I would miss the first 4 days of a 7 day cruise.   I need more of a cushion than that.

I also asked this question and was told that Cozumel would probably be the next port but the agent couldn’t tell me 100% for sure but said there’s not a way to get massagers to the private island.

 

I would possibly feel different if worst case happened and we could meet up the next morning with the ship in Cococay since insurance would pay but 4 days is not worth it! 
 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by CruisingHogFan

[3kidsncats]

Thank you for sharing your experience, as I’m on the verge of doing our Nassau flights on air2sea (first time using them). I was already planning on  flying in a day before, but am now leaning towards two days and doing an Atlantis day if all goes well.  But we will definitely book our days/times with plenty of buffer.  If only SW would open up flights to Nassau again.

[RCCL Fan]

4 hours ago, Tapi said:

Was your airfare substantially cheaper by booking through Air2Sea? I’ve played around, making mock bookings, and Air2Sea is literally a fraction of what booking direct would cost for the same exact flights for the Bermuda sailings. 
 

Thanks for the heads up. It’s good to understand that I’d be giving up some freedoms and flexibility for the sake of a cheaper airfare. Kinda like booking that ultra basic economy fare on a flight that saves you money, but which can screw you big time if you need to make changes. 

 

i was about $125 cheaper with Air2Sea, which was FANTASTIC!!  I was thrilled.

 

[RCCL Fan]

1 hour ago, 3kidsncats said:

Thank you for sharing your experience, as I’m on the verge of doing our Nassau flights on air2sea (first time using them). I was already planning on  flying in a day before, but am now leaning towards two days and doing an Atlantis day if all goes well.  But we will definitely book our days/times with plenty of buffer.  If only SW would open up flights to Nassau again.

 

Air2Sea gave me a great deal, but yes I would not recommend flying in the same day.  You need the buffer, because changing flight schedules has soured my experience.

[RCCL Fan]

2 hours ago, CruisingHogFan said:

I also asked this question and was told that Cozumel would probably be the next port but the agent couldn’t tell me 100% for sure but said there’s not a way to get massagers to the private island.

 

I would possibly feel different if worst case happened and we could meet up the next morning with the ship in Cococay since insurance would pay but 4 days is not worth it! 
 

 

 

My only "benefit" is that I like to think if I'm flying in the same day with Air2Sea and am delayed, they'll hopefully be more prone to wait for me, knowing they can sail to Coco cay in a few hours.