Flights by Celebrity - Missed Connections

[mahdnc]

3 hours 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.  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.

 

 

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.  🙂

 

I am glad that your situation has improved and you now have more margin of error to work with.  Thank you also for sharing your problem and resolution with us. I hope you enjoy your cruise.

[CruisinNole]

2 hours ago, greeneng said:

 

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. 

 

 

This is something else to consider when booking flights with a short connection time -- you may make your flight but your luggage may not. 

[paulh84]

3 hours ago, greeneng said:

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.

 

 

and 3.) if your cruise still has Cruise with Confidence protection and you are a US resident on a European cruise, they pay change fees + fare difference if you need to rebook due to quarantine. This is really the one and only reason I chose using FBC for our next trip.

[Lastdance]

The OP learned a valuable lesson, but was also able to get better flights...Have a grest cruise!

Edited May 23, 2022 by Lastdance

[BEAV]

Thanks to the OP for following up with an end to the story! We often don’t get that and are left to wondering how everything turned out! 

 

Have ve a safe, uneventful and on time flight to Rome. And a great cruise! 

 

 

[BEAV]

18 hours ago, odysee said:

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 !

 

Excellent point. EWR-FCO nonstop will definitely be on United. Don’t check-in with Lufthansa at EWR, but rather with United.