Why can't Silver Sky get us the flights we want?

[RELS]

We're going to on an Iceland cruise at the end of May. We will be flying from the west coast USA. We (our TA) went back and forth with Silversea on our flight reservations because we wanted the business upgrade but NOT Icelandair (not lay-flat seats -- closer to premium economy). We finally settled on an itinerary in October, with an upcharge to get what we want.

 

Of course Delta and AA have made changes to the itinerary. When we went back to Silver Sky to make modifications, they are only offering us back to Icelandair again. There are plenty of flights and itineraries that would do for us. I picked a couple and had our TA share them with Silver Sky. We are willing to pay an upcharge.

 

Why oh why won't Silver Sky book the itinierary we want and then just charge us the extra??? It's like they don't care at all?

 

Does anyone have any experience or hints to get what we want from Silversea? This is supposed to be a luxury cruise line? Where is the customer service here?

[Gourmet Gal]

They’ve definitely been more difficult and frustrating to work with lately.  On our next  cruise  we gave up on SS Air and took the credit and booked our own, unfortunately for thousands more to fly business.  If you can finagle it with SS the advantage is usually lower cost, even with deviation fees and better cancellation terms.

[jollyjones]

I always just take the non-used air credit and book my own flights. 
 

Life’s too short to put up with being messed around like this, and it is important to me that I get the flights (and, indeed, the seat) that I want. 
 

But each to their own. 
 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, RELS said:

Of course Delta and AA have made changes to the itinerary. When we went back to Silver Sky to make modifications, they are only offering us back to Icelandair again. There are plenty of flights and itineraries that would do for us. I picked a couple and had our TA share them with Silver Sky. We are willing to pay an upcharge.

 

Why oh why won't Silver Sky book the itinierary we want and then just charge us the extra??? It's like they don't care at all?

 

Well, AA is suspending service to KEF, so I'm not sure about there being service with them.

 

As to your question - do you want the answer you want to hear or the correct answer?  Correct answer is - when you buy air from the cruiseline, you are getting what is available to them THROUGH THEIR NEGOTIATED CONTRACT.  That is not the same as buying from the inventory made available to the general public.  Two totally separate and different things.  So even if you see DL flights that you like, you may not get them, unless they are covered by the contract.

 

Simple rule:  If there are carriers that you will or will not want to fly on, if there are routings that you will or not will want to fly on, if there is equipment that you will or will not fly on -- buy the ticket direct from the airline.  No cruiseline will guarantee that you get what you want, or even your second choice.

 

Yes, there have been many cases where folks got exactly what they wanted from the cruiseline.  Guess why - because it was covered by the negotiated contract.  And there are many cases where folks can't get what they want - because it wasn't covered in the contract.

 

Hard reality.  Take away from this that what you see as a customer buying directly from the airline is a different reality from what the cruiseline has available to sell to the customer.  And at what price.

 

 

[sherylc]

For our Antarctica trip, we ended up taking the air credit and booking ourselves for a few hundred dollars less than SilverSea's cost (business class) -- BUT we live in a small city with very few flights in and out, so choosing which flights to use was very important to us (there were many that took over 24 hrs one way!) We also booked the moment the air opened (approx 330 days before the flight) and hedged our bets with refundable fairs for only a little bit more.

Edited March 1, 2022 by sherylc

[WesW]

Silver Air is tough to deal with which is why I have our TA make our flight arrangements.  Yes, sometimes I have to pay an extra fee for the flights we desire (e.g, Delta) but still less than booking on my own or with my stash of miles. In most cases, Silversea Air with the right TA, is much, much better than you can do on your own.

 

An excellent TA will work the Air challenges for you as part of their service.  I have repeated this story a few times; but in March 2020 when the South Africa Government refused us docking (on the Silver Cloud) for five days.  On the Silver Cloud destination services hands were tied for five days as Silver Air in Florida was swamped trying to get World Cruisers home from Australia. And Silver Shadow guests home from Brazil.  Silver Cloud was told to wait until day five of our confinement,  before working guests air home.

 

On day one of our docking in the waters off Capetown, our TA stepped in (concerned that the US would soon close  and bought us on his nickel BC tickets home from Capetown.  And then for the next five days redid the tickets until the Government of SA allowed us to disembark only to go directly to the Airport.

[Gourmet Gal]

53 minutes ago, WesW said:

Silver Air is tough to deal with which is why I have our TA make our flight arrangements.  Yes, sometimes I have to pay an extra fee for the flights we desire (e.g, Delta) but still less than booking on my own or with my stash of miles. In most cases, Silversea Air with the right TA, is much, much better than you can do on your own.

 

An excellent TA will work the Air challenges for you as part of their service.  I have repeated this story a few times; but in March 2020 when the South Africa Government refused us docking (on the Silver Cloud) for five days.  On the Silver Cloud destination services hands were tied for five days as Silver Air in Florida was swamped trying to get World Cruisers home from Australia. And Silver Shadow guests home from Brazil.  Silver Cloud was told to wait until day five of our confinement,  before working guests air home.

 

On day one of our docking in the waters off Capetown, our TA stepped in (concerned that the US would soon close  and bought us on his nickel BC tickets home from Capetown.  And then for the next five days redid the tickets until the Government of SA allowed us to disembark only to go directly to the Airport.

That’s a good argument for having a great TA. I’m lucky to have an excellent TA as well and she still could not work with the few options SS was offering on my most recent booking.  SS Air can be a good perk or not.

[RELS]

2 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

That’s a good argument for having a great TA. I’m lucky to have an excellent TA as well and she still could not work with the few options SS was offering on my most recent booking.

 

We do have an great TA. She is really rattling the bars for us on this. Apparently Silversky only communicates via email, so she cannot actually speak with a person.

 

The flights are to Reykjavik and then home from Copenhagen, but now they're nothing at all -- our itinerary has been wiped clean. Buying our own flights would cost double what we paid extra back in October, so we're probably going to have to go with the Icelandic flights after all.

 

At least they're not landing us two hours before the ship sails, which is apparently happening to a lot of folks on another SS cruise.

[ronrick1943]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Well, AA is suspending service to KEF, so I'm not sure about there being service with them.

 

As to your question - do you want the answer you want to hear or the correct answer?  Correct answer is - when you buy air from the cruiseline, you are getting what is available to them THROUGH THEIR NEGOTIATED CONTRACT.  That is not the same as buying from the inventory made available to the general public.  Two totally separate and different things.  So even if you see DL flights that you like, you may not get them, unless they are covered by the contract.

 

Simple rule:  If there are carriers that you will or will not want to fly on, if there are routings that you will or not will want to fly on, if there is equipment that you will or will not fly on -- buy the ticket direct from the airline.  No cruiseline will guarantee that you get what you want, or even your second choice.

 

Yes, there have been many cases where folks got exactly what they wanted from the cruiseline.  Guess why - because it was covered by the negotiated contract.  And there are many cases where folks can't get what they want - because it wasn't covered in the contract.

 

Hard reality.  Take away from this that what you see as a customer buying directly from the airline is a different reality from what the cruiseline has available to sell to the customer.  And at what price.

 

 

Sounds right to me———which is why we purchase air from the airline or TA.

[RELS]

6 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

As to your question - do you want the answer you want to hear or the correct answer? 

 

Up until now we've only cruised Regent Seven Seas, and they have been very good about getting us the flights we request (through out TA). I guess I've just been spoiled.

[Gourmet Gal]

1 hour ago, RELS said:

 

We do have an great TA. She is really rattling the bars for us on this. Apparently Silversky only communicates via email, so she cannot actually speak with a person.

 

The flights are to Reykjavik and then home from Copenhagen, but now they're nothing at all -- our itinerary has been wiped clean. Buying our own flights would cost double what we paid extra back in October, so we're probably going to have to go with the Icelandic flights after all.

 

At least they're not landing us two hours before the ship sails, which is apparently happening to a lot of folks on another SS cruise.

So remember, if you go on your own you’ll get the upgrade credit plus the basic Econ credit back.  Closes the price gap a little more.

[FlyerTalker]

19 minutes ago, RELS said:

Up until now we've only cruised Regent Seven Seas, and they have been very good about getting us the flights we request (through out TA). I guess I've just been spoiled.

 

No, you have been lucky.  Your preferences happened to match the contracts that Regent had with various carriers.  Or Regent had a policy to also purchase tickets outside the contracts and charge you the spot price.

[DCPIV]

I'm just waiting on any flights at all.  We're inside 60 days of our next sailing, and we've heard nothing about flight or hotel arrangements.

[Gourmet Gal]

52 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

I'm just waiting on any flights at all.  We're inside 60 days of our next sailing, and we've heard nothing about flight or hotel arrangements.

Have you contacted SS?  I wouldn’t wait for them.

[bethtex]

I was disappointed that SS booked us on a flight arriving in Copenhagen only about 3 hours before cruise departure time.  And had us booked out of Heathrow only 4 hours after disembarkation at Southampton (over an hour drive and supposed to be at airport 3 hours before flight for international).  Doubtful we would have made the cruise on time or our flight home.  SS then charged us $300 (for 2) to adjust to better flights.   I think it is a racket to raise funds.  No reason for them to pick flights on such tight timelines.  

[RELS]

On 3/1/2022 at 8:30 PM, FlyerTalker said:

Or Regent had a policy to also purchase tickets outside the contracts and charge you the spot price.

 

I am fine with this policy. I wish Silversea had it. This still would still get me the door-to-door add-ons, which are value added, especially since I don't have to arrange them.

[MBP&O2/O]

I have just looked at an Alaska cruise with SS.

The credit for airfare offered is £1000 for two pax ..... the B/C upgrade is £8000 for two pax.

In simple terms they are charging £4500pp for B/C flights.

The current DIY fares are circa £5000 for two pax.

Just an observation🤔

[Gourmet Gal]

Not much of a savings but if you’re satisfied with the route and airline then the advantage is the SS cancellation policy instead of the airline’s.

[Georgiagirl1204]

Can someone help with advice please? We are a group of six women traveling from Atlanta to Athens for the Sept. 2, 2022 voyage to Greece and Turkey.  Our return flight is booked for 11:10 am. Since we debark around 8 a.m., would this give us enough time to obtain our bags, go through the ships terminal, get into the transfer vehicle to travel to the Athens airport, and go through security at the airport?  We are all booked for business class.  I'm afraid if we miss the flight, Silversea will have a tough time finding six business flights the day of our return.  I have reached out to our Silversea TA, but have had no response.  

[FlyerTalker]

15 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Not much of a savings but if you’re satisfied with the route and airline then the advantage is the SS cancellation policy instead of the airline’s.

 

And the disadvantage is the restrictive nature of the fare rules of the negotiated rate ticket.

 

Just because it's the same airline, flight and routing does not mean it is the same ticket.

 

Caveat emptor.

 

 

[Gourmet Gal]

16 minutes ago, Georgiagirl1204 said:

Can someone help with advice please? We are a group of six women traveling from Atlanta to Athens for the Sept. 2, 2022 voyage to Greece and Turkey.  Our return flight is booked for 11:10 am. Since we debark around 8 a.m., would this give us enough time to obtain our bags, go through the ships terminal, get into the transfer vehicle to travel to the Athens airport, and go through security at the airport?  We are all booked for business class.  I'm afraid if we miss the flight, Silversea will have a tough time finding six business flights the day of our return.  I have reached out to our Silversea TA, but have had no response.  

Looks close and possibly not doable but have you considered staying over another night or two?

[zqtchas]

24 minutes ago, Georgiagirl1204 said:

Can someone help with advice please? We are a group of six women traveling from Atlanta to Athens for the Sept. 2, 2022 voyage to Greece and Turkey.  Our return flight is booked for 11:10 am. Since we debark around 8 a.m., would this give us enough time to obtain our bags, go through the ships terminal, get into the transfer vehicle to travel to the Athens airport, and go through security at the airport?  We are all booked for business class.  I'm afraid if we miss the flight, Silversea will have a tough time finding six business flights the day of our return.  I have reached out to our Silversea TA, but have had no response.  

That sounds pretty tight. Especially if you are taking a bus and might have to wait for stragglers who have a later flight. There are too many people out there who have trouble showing up on time. The airport is at best an hour by bus in rush hour.

Edited March 3, 2022 by zqtchas

[Georgiagirl1204]

2 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Looks close and possibly not doable but have you considered staying over another night or two?

We are coming in three nights early, but will consider staying a night. But it seems to me they should recognize this wouldn’t work and put us on a flight that would work. Thanks for your reply. 

[Georgiagirl1204]

2 hours ago, zqtchas said:

That sounds pretty tight. Especially if you are taking a bus and might have to wait for stragglers who have a later flight. There are too many people out there who have trouble showing up on time. The airport is at best an hour by bus in rush hour.

I think so as well. We are taking the transfers from SS. thanks for the reply! 

[RELS]

@MBP&O2/O It all depends on where you are going and when you buy the tickets. With the help of our amazing TA, SS arranged everything to our satisfaction in October. Then the airlines changed the schedule of one flight, and suddenly the entire air itinerary collapsed. Getting back the itinerary we wanted from the airlines 90 days before the trip would have cost three times (!) what SS was charging us for -- more than $15K for 2. Even with all the refunds, it wouldn't get anywhere near break even.

 

I am sure that once we get on the ship, we'll forget all about this hassle. I am ready to cruise!