Changing Flights for Cruise with Flights included

[KeithMoon14]

Hi. I booked a cruise for our family of 4 which was advertised as flights included. However only once booked and paid for I found the choice of available flights was very limited, with additional costs for most - and felt was a bit of a case of false advertising. But got some free flights that were the best I could find.

 

However have since decided would like to extend vacation/holiday and have looked into options for doing this. Want to fly back 4 days later and found the flights available on a specific flight direct from the airline website at €900 for all of us. However when I checked to see if the cruise line would move our free flights (expecting to have pay for this) they quoted €1150 a person which is more than the airline wanted for all of us - this would be €4600. And on top of that said would have to pay €60 cancellation fee for each person as the flights have been ticketed. I know cruise companies can sometimes be poor value with shore excursions etc, but this is just scandalous and a blatant rip-off. It’s frankly unethical to recommend this.

 

I then said obviously we are not going to €4600 for something I can pay €900 for - but what if I just book independently through the airline and then just don’t catch the cruise booked return flight. They said to in order to do this we would still have to cancel the return flights and pay the €60 cancellation fee for each passenger as a no-show counts as a cancellation. I don’t understand the logic of this because how can I be charged a cancellation fee for something that was free? I understand from the airline’s website that you have to pay the cancellation fee to get money back, but in this case the flights were free so I don’t care about getting any money back?

 

Any thoughts or help would be very greatly appreciated.

Edited June 3, 2022 by KeithMoon14
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[Flatbush Flyer]

32 minutes ago, KeithMoon14 said:

Hi. I booked a cruise for our family of 4 which was advertised as flights included. However only once booked and paid for I found the choice of available flights was very limited, with additional costs for most - and felt was a bit of a case of false advertising. But got some free flights that were the best I could find.

 

However have since decided would like to extend vacation/holiday and have looked into options for doing this. Want to fly back 4 days later and found the flights available on a specific flight direct from the airline website at €900 for all of us. However when I checked to see if the cruise line would move our free flights (expecting to have pay for this) they quoted €1150 a person which is more than the airline wanted for all of us - this would be €4600. And on top of that said would have to pay €60 cancellation fee for each person as the flights have been ticketed. I know cruise companies can sometimes be poor value with shore excursions etc, but this is just scandalous and a blatant rip-off. It’s frankly unethical to recommend this.

 

I then said obviously we are not going to €4600 for something I can pay €900 for - but what if I just book independently through the airline and then just don’t catch the cruise booked return flight. They said to in order to do this we would still have to cancel the return flights and pay the €60 cancellation fee for each passenger as a no-show counts as a cancellation. I don’t understand the logic of this because how can I be charged a cancellation fee for something that was free? I understand from the airline’s website that you have to pay the cancellation fee to get money back, but in this case the flights were free so I don’t care about getting any money back?

 

Any thoughts or help would be very greatly appreciated.

And that cruise line would be......?

Not all cruise lines are created equal.

[KeithMoon14]

Celebrity - have to say am surprised as normally find them to have excellent customer service.  But not been at all impressed with them over this.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, KeithMoon14 said:

Celebrity - have to say am surprised as normally find them to have excellent customer service.  But not been at all impressed with them over this.

Expensive lesson learned? 
Celebrity has been trying to fill the “premium” void left by the sale of Azamara by appearing to become more “inclusive” of optional costs. But, it still nickel/dimes folks with the fine print. 

FWIW: for many years, a goodly number of unhappy Celebrity cruisers have eventually moved on to the true premium lines like Oceania and Azamara.

For example: Oceania is one that includes coach air in its O Life fare. If you don’t like the selected routing/airline, you can pay a deviation fee and get a custom booking (subject to fare differences as well). Sometimes it’s still a good deal though even Oceania will tell you to not book their bizclass tix. In any case, you know what you’re getting with their air department and you can choose to DIY for which you receive an air credit (we do this). 
 

[jsn55]

The only issue with booking directly with the airline for the new return date would be the airline catching a 'double booking' and cancelling everything ...   but since they are different dates, I would think that is unlikely.  I would call air desk at cruise line directly to see if they'll cancel the return but they might cancel the whole air booking "by mistake".  So I'd just book the new tix directly with airline and let the cruise line air return be a no show.  Cruise lines are not to be trusted to make air res, they always pick cheapest without regard to the traveller.  And the airlines love to be even more uncooperative these days, continually blaming everything on the 'virus'. 

[capriccio]

5 hours ago, KeithMoon14 said:

Celebrity - have to say am surprised as normally find them to have excellent customer service.  But not been at all impressed with them over this.

 

Have you posted this on the Celebrity Forum (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/16-celebrity-cruises/)?  If not, I suggest you do so because you will receive many more responses - hopefully with useful information/experiences - from Celebrity cruisers than this forum.

[KeithMoon14]

Thank You so much for all the replies. Will try posting on Celebrity as suggested. Also will look at the other lines for future - I hadn’t realised that.

[KeithMoon14]

Hi. I booked a cruise with Celebrity for our family of 4 which was advertised as flights included. However only once booked and paid for were the available flight options given.  I found the choice of available flights was very limited, with additional costs for most - and felt the free flights was a bit of a case of false advertising. But got some free flights that were not great times but the best I could find.

 

However have since decided would like to extend our vacation/holiday and have looked into options for doing this. Want to fly back 4 days later form the final destination port and found an ideal flight available direct from the airline website at €900 for all of us. However when I called Celebrity (who answered after a record for me of 3 and a half hours of being held in a queue) to see if it would be possible the to move our free flights (expecting to have pay for this) and they quoted €1150 a person which is more than the airline wanted for all of us - this would be a staggering €4600. And on top of that said would have to pay €60 cancellation fee for each person as the flights have already been ticketed. I know cruise companies can sometimes be poor value with shore excursions etc, but this is just scandalous and a blatant rip-off. It’s frankly unethical.

 

I then said obviously we are not going to pay €4600 for something that I can direct from the airline for €900 for - but what if I just book independently through the airline and then just don’t catch the cruise booked return flight. They said to in order to do this we would still have to cancel the return flights and pay the €60 cancellation fee for each passenger as a no-show counts as a cancellation. I don’t understand the logic of this because how can I be charged a cancellation fee for something that was free? I understand from the airline’s website that you have to pay the cancellation fee in order to get money back or vouchers in lieu to cover the cost, but in this case the flights were free so I don’t care about getting any money back?

 
I have usually found Celebrity customer service to be excellent, but been very disappointed with them over this (understatement).

 

Any thoughts or help would be very greatly appreciated.

[RickT]

Are the flights home at the later date with the same airline or with a different airline?  Not that it makes any difference but how can an airline (or Celebrity) charge you if you “miss” your return flights home?  

If it’s two different airlines I cannot see any issue.  If it’s the same airline you may need to ensure they don’t have some sort of policy that prohibits someone from having two different return flights.  Again, can’t see that being a problem but who knows. 
 

If you know a good TA perhaps they can give you some advice.  

[kay0522]

I had a similar incident.  We had a no cancellation flight through Celebrity.  My husband and I decided to make our cruise a B2B and called to change the airfare.  All they could do was cancel our first flight, no refund and charge us an additional $5,500 to come home a week later.  We did not take that option, but several weeks later I decided to try once again.  I talked to a lady named Maria after a 2 hour hold.  She told me there were absolutely no business class airfares available for up to three days after the B2B would end.  Celebrity had booked our original flight through British Airways so I contacted them about availability.  There were 15 different options to choose from.  I can certainly understand mistakes but I don't appreciate being lied to.  We have been loyal Celebrity customers for years and this cruise will make us Elite Plus.  That will probably change.  Best of luck to you, I am not sure if contacting your airline direct help as I am not sure about the contract they have with Celebrity, but I would sure try.  I can't believe the airlines would want to be misrepresented by the cruise line.  

 

[canderson]

15 minutes ago, kay0522 said:

She told me there were absolutely no business class airfares available for up to three days after the B2B would end.  Celebrity had booked our original flight through British Airways so I contacted them about availability.  There were 15 different options to choose from.  I can certainly understand mistakes but I don't appreciate being lied to. 

 

As a consolidator, Celebrity has access to a certain amount of inventory on any particular flight (though not all of them) at a given price.  Just because BA had seats available to them didn't mean that Celebrity had access to them. 

[KeithMoon14]

Same airline

[mom says]

If your new flight home is 4 days later than your current one, then just book it on your own and say nothing about the existing  reservation. With a 4 day separation, I doubt it would trigger an alert about double booking.

[Host Kat]

Howdy @KeithMoon14 

 

Since there is information for you in both of your threads on different forums, I have merged the two. Hope this will be helpful! 🤞

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

If your new flight home is 4 days later than your current one, then just book it on your own and say nothing about the existing  reservation. With a 4 day separation, I doubt it would trigger an alert about double booking.

 

It sounds like the system is forcing the OP to do exactly that.

[chemmo]

7 hours ago, canderson said:

As a consolidator, Celebrity has access to a certain amount of inventory on any particular flight (though not all of them) at a given price.  Just because BA had seats available to them didn't mean that Celebrity had access to them. 

Agree.

 

OP how near are you to cruising? If Celebrity has already paid for your ticket then they probably have little control over changes and change price.  Trying to change flights after ticketing (even if you have booked direct with the airline) can become difficult and costly. The seats booked are usually categorised as ‘none refundable and none changeable’ (hence the low price Celebrity got them at enabling them to use as a marketing tool) and you are trying to make a change…

 

Worth a phone call direct to the airline…nothing to loose. Alternatively….

6 hours ago, mom says said:

If your new flight home is 4 days later than your current one, then just book it on your own and say nothing about the existing  reservation. With a 4 day separation, I doubt it would trigger an alert about double booking.

I do understand your frustration but I think that Celebrity probably has little ability to make the change you want now…Personally I would try one more call to Celebrity and ask to speak to a supervisor, then I would call the airline direct then I would do the above…

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by chemmo

[KeithMoon14]

Thank You for all the replies.

 

I will have another call with Celebrity and then the Airline as suggested.

 

Am guessing will end up having to pay the cancellation or just leave having the extra days  - but can’t understand the logic of having to pay €240 to cancel something that was free, only for the airline to then be able to sell it to someone else and make money that they otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do. Just makes no sense in this case. From what I understand the cancellation fee from the airline’s perspective is normally to cover their costs and allow them to give vouchers or a refund against the original payment, or to transfer to another flight of equivalent value.

[DCPIV]

13 hours ago, KeithMoon14 said:

I will have another call with Celebrity and then the Airline as suggested.

 

I hope this all works out for you, but do keep in mind that you are not really dealing with Celebrity or the airline directly.  You're dealing with a consolidator.  That doesn't mean the Celebrity or the airline cannot help you, but there's only so much they can do.  

[jagoffee]

15 hours ago, KeithMoon14 said:

Thank You for all the replies.

 

I will have another call with Celebrity and then the Airline as suggested.

 

Am guessing will end up having to pay the cancellation or just leave having the extra days  - but can’t understand the logic of having to pay €240 to cancel something that was free, only for the airline to then be able to sell it to someone else and make money that they otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do. Just makes no sense in this case. From what I understand the cancellation fee from the airline’s perspective is normally to cover their costs and allow them to give vouchers or a refund against the original payment, or to transfer to another flight of equivalent value.

From my experience with today’s liberal Airline cancellation and change policies, the $200 change fee for a CA change is for CA and not the airline. (After final payment).  I recently paid this fee, which I would not have needed to pay if I had booked directly with the airline.

 

Also, I am not sure the flights were free.  They were probably just part of a bundle with the Air and the cruise fare. You probably have to split off the air and the cruise fare to cancel.  Cancel (pay cancellation fee to CA), rebook cruise, and rebook the Air.  

You should compare all the options and the associated costs.

 

Good luck.