Upset with Flights by Celebrity

[kbert92069]

We booked a cruise in Asia for next March and asked for business class round trip tickets from Celebrity.  They booked us on a reasonable itinerary at what looked like a good price.  Today I went online direct with the airlines to get seat assignments and discover that we are only booked in business class one way.  The return is main cabin.   Why on Earth would they do this without telling me?  Were they deceptive or just incompetent?  What recourse do I have and what should I do?

[CruiserBruce]

You can't cancel without penalty? Have you even talked to them?

 

Humans make mistakes.

[FlyerTalker]

There may not have been business class available to them for the return.

 

Maybe that explains the "good price".

[klfrodo]

Celebrity and all other cruiselines sell consolidator tickets. They agreed to buy X number of tickets at X price.

It's entirely possible Celebrity had no seats available in Business class on the return.

 

You can always cancel

[Bo1953]

What does your original booking confirmation show?

 

Surely it must be there...

 

bon voyage

[FlyerTalker]

Once again, the scourge of the missing original poster strikes.

[kbert92069]

7 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

What does your original booking confirmation show?

 

Surely it must be there...

 

bon voyage

Original booking shows only the flights and times.  It doesn't show the class, sadly

[kbert92069]

6 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Once again, the scourge of the missing original poster strikes.

I actually wrote a response thanking people for their input but it seems to have disappeared. "I'm not a scourge, you're a scourge." 😁

 

Truthfully I was looking for more sympathy and advice rather that explaining away their (to me) unreasonable behavior.  If I'm flying cruise line air it's not because I'm an expert flyer

Edited August 9, 2021 by kbert92069

[FlyerTalker]

All of which leaves us with exactly the same amount of information as before.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, kbert92069 said:

Original booking shows only the flights and times.  It doesn't show the class, sadly

Well, that is a challenge for sure.

I take it you looked for 'potential' codes for class of seating and etc...

At any rate, good thing you caught it now and can co-ordinate with X to figure out the reason(s) for what you thought was reserved and what was actually reserved.

 

Good luck with it all and let us know what happened as soon as you know.

 

bon voyage

[voyager1964]

On 8/7/2021 at 3:11 PM, kbert92069 said:

We booked a cruise in Asia for next March and asked for business class round trip tickets from Celebrity.  They booked us on a reasonable itinerary at what looked like a good price.  Today I went online direct with the airlines to get seat assignments and discover that we are only booked in business class one way.  The return is main cabin.   Why on Earth would they do this without telling me?  Were they deceptive or just incompetent?  What recourse do I have and what should I do?

Celebrity's website will sometimes give you a different class for the return leg, I saw this several times... Did you book using Celebrity's website or used an agent? The latter option might give you some leverage if you call them now and attempt to negotiate. Otherwise, you can continue checking flights by celebrity, perhaps you can get a better deal.

 

[CruiserBruce]

4 hours ago, kbert92069 said:

I actually wrote a response thanking people for their input but it seems to have disappeared. "I'm not a scourge, you're a scourge." 😁

 

Truthfully I was looking for more sympathy and advice rather that explaining away their (to me) unreasonable behavior.  If I'm flying cruise line air it's not because I'm an expert flyer

I asked questions I thought were valid, at least from my point of view. You haven't answered them. A rant doesn't help us help you. Guess you didn't want any replies unless they were sympathetic to your perceived position?

[kbert92069]

I am sorry that this information was in my disappearing post.  I dread calling because I am extremely hard of hearing.  I just wondered if anyone knew of options so I would be better prepared before calling.  Email is much easier for me but I cannot even find an email for them.

 

Indeed calling was difficult as their VOIP kept cutting in and out and over modulating but we got through the call.  The rep said he'd never seen that before (business over and economy back.)  So basically the outcome was to cancel the flights and rebook business class at retail price (same as direct with the airline.)

 

Oh and the new itinerary shows a $200 cancellation fee although there's no cancellation fee for the cruise itself.

[Bo1953]

On 8/10/2021 at 5:43 PM, kbert92069 said:

I am sorry that this information was in my disappearing post.  I dread calling because I am extremely hard of hearing.  I just wondered if anyone knew of options so I would be better prepared before calling.  Email is much easier for me but I cannot even find an email for them.

 

Indeed calling was difficult as their VOIP kept cutting in and out and over modulating but we got through the call.  The rep said he'd never seen that before (business over and economy back.)  So basically the outcome was to cancel the flights and rebook business class at retail price (same as direct with the airline.)

 

Oh and the new itinerary shows a $200 cancellation fee although there's no cancellation fee for the cruise itself.

kb sorry about the anxiety when having to call due to hearing.

 

Have you used a TA or booked direct with X the sailing?

 

Either your TA or CP can help with this, I Am sure, thus alleviating some of your angst over this.

 

It may take them a few times back and forth working with you on this, but ask them to assist.

 

bon voyage

[iancal]

One of the reasons we dropped our Aeroplan points card was similar. 

 

We would request Business class, pay the points for Business class, and then notice that the only Business class leg was the first one.  Four hours.   The second leg to Europe, 8-10 hours,  was economy class.  Exact same for points flights to Asia.   And the admin costs were out of sight.

 

  So we dumped the card and the plan. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by iancal

[FlyerTalker]

For the others reading this, remember that if you have a mixed class itinerary, just about every FF program will charge you the redemption level for the highest class utilized - even if it's the shortest segment.  There are a couple exceptions, but they are rare and are likely to disappear at any time.

 

Iancal:  As for Aeroplan, it's actually one of the better Star Alliance programs.  Last year's revamp (Aug 2020) brought a number of desirable changes, and their "fuel surcharges" are now gone.   If you don't want to earn Aeroplan miles with their credit card, know that you can transfer Amex, Chase, and Capital One points into Aeroplan for redemptions.

 

Here's an excellent rundown of the changes:

 

https://viewfromthewing.com/air-canada-reveals-new-aeroplan-program/

 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by FlyerTalker

[bennybear]

When we use Aeroplan we check very carefully that the long haul are in Business class,  we don’t mind a short hop in economy.   They point that out before you book.   In the past, they would upgrade you in the other legs if there was availability, not sure if that is still the case.  
 

We really enjoyed our last trip in Business to Japan, and hoping to get down under in Business as well.  
 

Unfortunately, The new program business class costs are absolutely astounding,   I had enough points for Downunder before the changes in Business class,  now I would need four times the amount.  Absolutely appalling! 

Edited August 15, 2021 by bennybear

[iancal]

There is an easy solution.

 

Book your own flights and forget about about cruise air.

[iancal]

On 8/14/2021 at 6:30 PM, FlyerTalker said:

For the others reading this, remember that if you have a mixed class itinerary, just about every FF program will charge you the redemption level for the highest class utilized - even if it's the shortest segment.  There are a couple exceptions, but they are rare and are likely to disappear at any time.

 

Iancal:  As for Aeroplan, it's actually one of the better Star Alliance programs.  Last year's revamp (Aug 2020) brought a number of desirable changes, and their "fuel surcharges" are now gone.   If you don't want to earn Aeroplan miles with their credit card, know that you can transfer Amex, Chase, and Capital One points into Aeroplan for redemptions.

 

Here's an excellent rundown of the changes:

 

https://viewfromthewing.com/air-canada-reveals-new-aeroplan-program/

 

 

 

We still have points though nothing like we used to.  Long haul looks better.  Short hauls the we previously are more expensive in terms of points and charges.