Flights by Celebrity - Missed Connections

[islandnj]

Anyone here have any experience with how FBC has assisted with missed connections? 

 

My cruise is coming up this Saturday (with FBC-booked air), and yesterday, while figuring out seat assignments and other travel logistics, I came across the flight schedule history for my first-leg flight to Frankfurt (FRA), with a connecting flight to Rome (FCO).  My flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:10 a.m. and the connecting flight departs 1h35m later at 10:45 a.m.  This flight departs daily and its track record for the past couple weeks seems to point at the flight being late by an hour or more, on average.  The connecting flight gets to FCO at 12:35 p.m. and I have my check-in at the dock at 3 p.m. (3:30 is the last check in, I think?).  All of this cuts check-in very close, especially considering the drive time from the airport to the dock. 

 

Anyone have any experience with similar situations that could allay my anxiety?  🙂  Thanks in advance!

 

Edited to add: After doing another search through the forum, the opinion seems to be that arriving a day earlier is the correct plan of action.  With the flight being a few days away and having a friend coming in from out of town on flight segments not booked with FBC, leaving a day early isn't a possibility--we really hadn't anticipated any of this when we booked back in November.   Now we know for next time, but that doesn't help for this week...

Edited May 23, 2022 by islandnj

[mahdnc]

Tight connection in a foreign country on the day of the cruise. I'm getting anxiety just from reading this. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

Celebrity will "assist" and do what it can which is not much.

A 90 minute connection in Frankfurt will be difficult in perfect conditions.  Another hour is really needed.

There is a significant chance you would miss your ship.  It is an hour or more from FCO to the cruise dock.  Customs and immigration at FCO can take from 5 minutes to an hour or more.

Is there a reason you are flying in the morning of your cruise?  If not fly in a day or two early and enjoy not stressing over arrival times and get to see a bit of Italy.

[islandnj]

1 minute ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Celebrity will "assist" and do what it can which is not much.

A 90 minute connection in Frankfurt will be difficult in perfect conditions.  Another hour is really needed.

There is a significant chance you would miss your ship.  It is an hour or more from FCO to the cruise dock.  Customs and immigration at FCO can take from 5 minutes to an hour or more.

Is there a reason you are flying in the morning of your cruise?  If not fly in a day or two early and enjoy not stressing over arrival times and get to see a bit of Italy.

 

To be honest, it was the flights that were suggested to me when I was booking with the FBC rep.  The assumption was that their recommendations would take into consideration these constraints just from their own experience.  Obviously, that assumption was not grounded in any kind of reality... I'm seeing now that there are a couple direct flights to FCO on Friday night that would get us to Rome with multiple hours to spare.  I guess I have a call to make tomorrow.

[mahdnc]

40 minutes ago, islandnj said:

Anyone here have any experience with how FBC has assisted with missed connections? 

 

My cruise is coming up this Saturday (with FBC-booked air), and yesterday, while figuring out seat assignments and other travel logistics, I came across the flight schedule history for my first-leg flight to Frankfurt (FRA), with a connecting flight to Rome (FCO).  My flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:10 a.m. and the connecting flight departs 1h35m later at 10:45 a.m.  This flight departs daily and its track record for the past couple weeks seems to point at the flight being late by an hour or more, on average.  The connecting flight gets to FCO at 12:35 p.m. and I have my check-in at the dock at 3 p.m. (3:30 is the last check in, I think?).  All of this cuts check-in very close, especially considering the drive time from the airport to the dock. 

 

Anyone have any experience with similar situations that could allay my anxiety?  🙂  Thanks in advance!

 

Edited to add: After doing another search through the forum, the opinion seems to be that arriving a day earlier is the correct plan of action.  With the flight being a few days away and having a friend coming in from out of town on flight segments not booked with FBC, leaving a day early isn't a possibility--we really hadn't anticipated any of this when we booked back in November.   Now we know for next time, but that doesn't help for this week...

 

Your learnings that you posted in your edit are correct although that doesn't help you now. 

 

If everything goes well, you should make it to the ship. However, if you have one small hiccup, you will miss it. 

 

You may want to see if you can rebook on an earlier flight. Otherwise I would be thinking through contingency plans if you miss the ship. Good luck. 

Edited May 23, 2022 by mahdnc

[yogini06]

Just made a tight connection in FRA yesterday—1 hour 15 minutes.  We had to deplane via stairs, take a bus, and get through passport control.  We had plenty of time waiting at the gate for our flight to VCE. 
 

 

[Fly and Sail]

On day of departure or while en route the operating airline is responsible to get you to the destination.

 

90 min in Frankfurt is doable but I'd be more comfortable with 120-150 min. The flights suggested by the system are based on minimum connection times only which is 45 minutes (!!!) at FRA. An impossible task even under the best of circumstances.

 

It's the responsibility of the passenger to select an itinerary that's realistic and provides ample room to move. You can't rely on the GDS giving you such an option, they'll sell you the fastest connection but that isn't always the best. And arriving on day of embarkation is a dangerous game to begin with.

 

[odysee]

There is a fast track system in Frankfurt for tight connections :

 

https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/flights-and-transfer/easy-travel/fast-lanes.html

[islandnj]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Your learnings that you posted in your edit are correct although that doesn't help you now. 

 

If everything goes well, you should make it to the ship. However, if you have one small hiccup, you will miss it. 

 

You may want to see if you can rebook on an earlier flight. Otherwise I would be thinking through contingency plans if you miss the ship. Good luck. 

 

I guess I'm glad I made this post this evening.  FBC washed their hands of the matter and directed me to call the airlines.  Long story short, because there was a flight reschedule at some point since the original booking, Lufthansa was able to move me to a direct flight that arrives in Rome at 8 a.m. with no cancellation/rebooking fee.  Still is day-of arrival, but gives me six hours of breathing room instead of an hour and a half.  Whew.  Learned my lesson.

Edited May 23, 2022 by islandnj

[Fly and Sail]

1 minute ago, islandnj said:

 

I guess I'm glad I made this post this evening.  FBC washed their hands of the matter and directed me to call the airlines.  Long story short, because there was a flight reschedule at some point since the original booking, Lufthansa was able to move me to a direct flight that arrives in Rome at 8 a.m. with no cancellation/rebooking fee.  Still is day-of arrival, but gives me eight hours of breathing room instead of an hour and a half.  Whew.  Learned my lesson.

 

They rebooked you on a different airline?

[islandnj]

8 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

They rebooked you on a different airline?

 

The original booking was made through Lufthansa (via FBC) with codeshares with United and Air Canada.  I called Lufthansa directly and they put me onto a direct Lufthansa flight that also had a codeshare with United.

Edited May 23, 2022 by islandnj

[Fly and Sail]

2 minutes ago, islandnj said:

 

The original booking was made through Lufthansa (via FBC) with codeshares with United and Air Canada.  I called Lufthansa directly and they put me onto a direct Lufthansa flight that also had a codeshare with United.

 

That's how I understood it. What is your routing if you don't mind me asking?

 

Was the initial ticket a double connection in Europe or did they now book you on a USA-Rome flight?

 

FBC is a disaster, completely useless. The only benefit is that if your cruise gets cancelled then your flights are fully refundable.

[islandnj]

5 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

That's how I understood it. What is your routing if you don't mind me asking?

 

Was the initial ticket a double connection in Europe or did they now book you on a USA-Rome flight?

 

FBC is a disaster, completely useless. The only benefit is that if your cruise gets cancelled then your flights are fully refundable.

 

New outbound flight is EWR-FCO, instead of EWR-FRA-FCO.  Return is FCO-YUL-EWR.

 

Yeah, I will never use FBC again.  First rep I got a hold of put me on hold and then disconnected me.  Second rep told me to contact the airlines.  So, I called United.  They listened to my spiel and then directed me to Lufthansa.  Lufthansa then cautioned me that they may not be able to service the reservation because it was initiated through FBC, but, in the end, were able to.  Lots of headache, but I think this is an acceptable resolution, through no help from FBC.

[chemmo]

11 minutes ago, islandnj said:

 

New outbound flight is EWR-FCO, instead of EWR-FRA-FCO.  Return is FCO-YUL-EWR.

 

Yeah, I will never use FBC again.  First rep I got a hold of put me on hold and then disconnected me.  Second rep told me to contact the airlines.  So, I called United.  They listened to my spiel and then directed me to Lufthansa.  Lufthansa then cautioned me that they may not be able to service the reservation because it was initiated through FBC, but, in the end, were able to.  Lots of headache, but I think this is an acceptable resolution, through no help from FBC.

So pleased you have a good outcome. 

[odysee]

1 hour ago, islandnj said:

 

I guess I'm glad I made this post this evening.  FBC washed their hands of the matter and directed me to call the airlines.  Long story short, because there was a flight reschedule at some point since the original booking, Lufthansa was able to move me to a direct flight that arrives in Rome at 8 a.m. with no cancellation/rebooking fee.  Still is day-of arrival, but gives me six hours of breathing room instead of an hour and a half.  Whew.  Learned my lesson.

Note that although this has a Lufthansa number (codesharing) it won t be a Lufthansa operated flight.  Not that it would make a difference in your case.

Good outcome which takes the anxiety out of it !

[JeanieC,Aston]

Well done,enjoy your cruise.

[RickT]

Don’t blame FBC for the issue.  They booked you a legal connection and you accepted it.  Had you booked the flight through a TA or directly with the airline you would have also had the option of choosing that connection.  
 

To answer your original question FBC was very helpful when I missed a connection in FRA (as was Lufthansa). They provided multiple options that would get me to my final destination and outlined the potential risks associated with the different options.  They also notified the ship of my delay and I was allowed to board after the scheduled cutoff time.  
 

Glad you were able to reach out to the airline directly and came up with a satisfactory solution. 

[Fly and Sail]

1 hour ago, RickT said:

... To answer your original question FBC was very helpful when I missed a connection in FRA (as was Lufthansa). They provided multiple options that would get me to my final destination and outlined the potential risks associated with the different options.  They also notified the ship of my delay and I was allowed to board after the scheduled cutoff time.  
 

Glad you were able to reach out to the airline directly and came up with a satisfactory solution. 

 

As the OP described it here they provided scrap to her. Useless!

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

As the OP described it here they provided scrap to her. Useless!

 

The OP hadn't missed a connection yet. She was concerned about trying to make a tight connection and was hoping to change her flights before that happened. It sounds like @RickT got good service on an actual missed connection.

[terrydtx]

So happy to see that you got the flights changed, we are on the same EWR to Rome flights in August for our Reflection cruise with United, but we fly to Rome 2 days early.  We fly home from Venice in September on Delta direct to Atlanta. With all the current issues at major Europe airports, no way we want to make any connections there if we can avoid them.

Edited May 23, 2022 by terrydtx

[islandnj]

2 hours ago, RickT said:

Don’t blame FBC for the issue.  They booked you a legal connection and you accepted it.  Had you booked the flight through a TA or directly with the airline you would have also had the option of choosing that connection.  
 

To answer your original question FBC was very helpful when I missed a connection in FRA (as was Lufthansa). They provided multiple options that would get me to my final destination and outlined the potential risks associated with the different options.  They also notified the ship of my delay and I was allowed to board after the scheduled cutoff time.  
 

Glad you were able to reach out to the airline directly and came up with a satisfactory solution. 

 

I guess what it boils down to is that I incorrectly assumed that the FBC travel agents were taking those factors--short connection time, travel time from the airport to the dock, and last call for embarkation--into consideration when offering it to me.  Mea culpa.  That does not change, however, that I am now unlikely to use them in the future.  I normally do my own bookings and if I had seen things on paper, I may have thought differently when looking at all of my flight options.  My use of FBC for this trip was mostly due to my cruise companion wanting the assurance that we'd have some protection in case we missed the boat.  We had already purchased CruiseCare before we made the flight arrangements.

 

9 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The OP hadn't missed a connection yet. She was concerned about trying to make a tight connection and was hoping to change her flights before that happened. It sounds like @RickT got good service on an actual missed connection.

 

Just to clarify on the service I received when I spoke with FBC last night: they told me, more or less, that I would not be able to get assistance from them until I actually did miss the connection.  They added that they would not be able to change my flight since it looked like there were no other flights available--I'm certain that isn't their fault but due to restrictions on their ability to change bookings that the airline itself could handle with little problem. When I asked about what options I had right then, they had nothing to offer except that I contact the airline to see if they could change my reservation.

 

What would have happened had I actually missed my connection is now a mystery.  It's likely I would not have arrived in Frankfurt until after 10 a.m., missing the flight.  The only flight option at that point would be a FRA-FCO flight over an hour later that would get me into Rome around 1:30 p.m.  Getting through customs and to the cruise terminal before the boat set sail would be a real challenge.  I'm glad that I don't have to see how that would actually play out.

 

Also, separately and not directed at any one responder--I'm a he.  🙂

[paulh84]

23 minutes ago, islandnj said:

I guess what it boils down to is that I incorrectly assumed that the FBC travel agents were taking those factors--short connection time, travel time from the airport to the dock, and last call for embarkation--into consideration when offering it to me.  🙂

 

They take none of that into account. You have to tell them exactly what flights you want. For instance based on my last conversation, a 10:20am departure out of Rome is "legal" and bookable even for an international traveler. At the same time I cannot book a flight before 11:00am on a domestic departure from Fort Lauderdale where I can see the air terminal from the ship. 

[islandnj]

1 minute ago, paulh84 said:

 

They take none of that into account. You have to tell them exactly what flights you want. For instance based on my last conversation, a 10:20am departure out of Rome is "legal" and bookable even for an international traveler. At the same time I cannot book a flight before 11:00am on a domestic departure from Fort Lauderdale where I can see the air terminal from the ship. 

 

Right.  As I said, wrong assumptions.  Now I know.

[JamieLogical]

I have used Flights by Celebrity several times now and I have always chosen my flights ahead of time and just called or booked those flights through the website. I have never relied on them to choose my flights for me. I suppose if you are used to using a travel agent, you would be disappointed with the service FBC offers. I mostly have booked through them for the slight discount, the assurance that I would be refunded for my flights if the cruise is canceled (I have only been using them since the restart and with COVID, you just never know!), and the assurance that they might be able to do something for me on my day of travel if things go sideways.

 

I will say, when the airlines have changed some flight times on me, it has been annoying to have to call Celebrity and wait on hold and then have THEM contact the airlines for resolution, since I can't call the airlines directly. But I would have that same problem if I booked through any TA. Airlines are cancelling flights and changing times left and right, so this has happened to me more than once.

[greeneng]

For us, there are two advantages to using Flights by Celebrity:

1.   No payment until final cruise payment.

2.  Cancel the flight(s) with no penalty up to that time.

 

Also, possibly, a much lower fare on an international one way flight.  This was true in the past, but I have not had to check it out for a couple of years.

 

Never accept the flights the website offers without research.  Know what they will charge for the flights they try to sell you and do your own research on the other flights which can fit your schedule.  Then, call and tell them what you want to book and ask the price.  If not acceptable, ask the prices on your other options.

If you decide to book, be very sure to give them your frequent flier numbers for the booked airline.  That will expedite being able to make seat selection.  Make sure you get from them, before you hang up, the booking reference numbers for the selling airline, and for the actual flying airline.

Next, up until final payment, check the pricing for your alternative flights.  Until then, you can cancel FBC with no penalty and buy something else.  Up until leaving for the airport, check the flying airline for schedule changes.    Do not expect FBC to tell you, nor the selling or flying airline or your TA.  Even if you decline FBC and book flights independently, you should do this since they may not tell you either.  The earlier you find out about a flight change the easier it will be to make an acceptable change.

Personally, I have never had to use FBC or Air2Sea to make a change when the booked flight changed.  Calling the airline has always worked for me, but you again need to know the options. 

Bottom line:  Don't expect FBC, or an airline, or even a TA to tell you what to book, or to inform you when your booking changes. 

 

Personally, I never book international flights to board a cruise with less than two hotel days and never more than one for a domestic flight.  As a personal experience, flying in late the day before, my luggage was not on the carousel.  It arrived to our hotel about 4 AM of boarding day.  I was prepared for a few hours of intense clothing shopping before boarding time, but did not need it.