Air panic 3 months out!

[gojirra]

23 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

23 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

If you can find such a provision in the Terms and Conditions, please post them.  For there is nothing along those lines.  In fact, what you have is:

 

In providing air arrangements, Silversea acts only as an agent on the guest’s behalf and does not operate, control or supervise any airline and will not be held responsible for carriers failing to meet schedules whether or not air schedules / tickets were issued by Silversea.

 

In other words, if your flights don't get you there, we are not responsible.

In https://www.silversea.com/lp-air-program.html
Under : QUESTIONS RELATED TO AIR TRAVEL RESERVATIONS:

Q. What protection is provided when I purchase an air ticket through Silversea?

A. Guest purchasing airline tickets through Silversea air programs who experience travel disruptions receive assistance from our dedicated team to ensure that you will make it to the ship. There is also an Emergency Afterhours hotline provided in the event you experience delays at the airport while our offices are closed.

>>>>>>>>

so they are responsible  to ensure you will make it to the ship, no??

Edited August 8, 2022 by gojirra

[Gourmet Gal]

…but then there’s this..

 

Q. What protection is provided when I purchase an air ticket through Silversea?

A. Guest purchasing airline tickets through Silversea air programs who experience travel disruptions receive assistance from our dedicated team to ensure that you will make it to the ship. There is also an Emergency Afterhours hotline provided in the event you experience delays at the airport while our offices are closed.

 

I think this is what CC’ers have referenced when there are problems.  This is in the Q&A section of the document quoted above by FlyerTalker.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Gourmet Gal

[FlyerTalker]

9 minutes ago, gojirra said:

so they are responsible  to ensure you will make it to the ship, no??

 

I am not a lawyer....but lawyers I have chatted with say that the legal terms and conditions override any marketing lingo.  Note that the two documents are in conflict with each other.  Guess which one SS will say is the applicable one in case of a claim?  Plus, you can't claim that you weren't aware of the legal T&C when they are clearly available for inspection on that page.

 

Further thought:  If there really was such an "assurance", wouldn't it be spelled out in the T&C?  You will find nothing along those lines.  In fact, you won't see any reference to that "dedicated team" or whatever service they may provide.  Curious omission of an important component, wouldn't you say?

 

Now, it is entirely possible that SS, or any cruiseline, may decide to go "above and beyond" their obligations under the T&C.  There are anecdotal reports of such.  However, I don't believe that anyone should expect those exceptions to come their way, nor expect them to be a part of normal business practice.

 

Overall, I am not saying "don't buy cruiseline air".  What I am saying is "be aware of just what you are buying".

 

Caveat emptor.

 

 

[broker1217]

Caradara--yes, you should always watch your flights.

Make sure you sign up for automatic notifications of flight changes---you may have to sign up for a frequent flyer # with that airline. 

We always sign up for text and email notifications for all flights (do this for each leg). We do this for both of us (under each FF#) to ensure that we know if there are any changes. We do this even if we are not flying on our preferred airline where we both have status.

 

Make sure you also download the airline app so you can easily follow your bags and get notifications of changes and automatic notification of baggage carousel. Redundancy is your friend.

 

Ahead of flights---educate yourself on alternate flights/routings in the event your flight is cancelled due to crew/equipment/weather issues. Always know your options, even if you have a TA or you booked air via the cruise line.

 

Personally, we find it easier to handle these things ourselves even though we book through a TA (which we only do for the OBC).

 

 

[cruiseej]

Like many companies in many industries, the cruise ship terms & conditions are written by lawyers to try to protect them from as many contingencies and circumstances as possible. That doesn't preclude them from doing what their marketing says they will — but it means if they can't deliver for whatever reason, they are probably protected.

 

For instance, it says the will "ensure you make it to the ship." That's a promise they probably do deliver on most of the time — but they really can't guarantee it in all circumstances. If you're going on a cruise in the Mediterranean and you miss your flight to the city of embarkation, they will try to get you to the next port stop the following day. If you're going on a cruise in Antarctica, and you miss your flight to the gateway city, and the only flights are the next day, and those flights are too late to get you to the ship, there may be nothing they can do to get you to the ship. And in these turbulent time for the airline industry, when there's a missed flight (whether cancelled, weather related, or whatever the reason), there may simply be no available seats to get you where you need to go within a day or two or three. We've read on this forum of people who missed flights to Alaska and they simply couldn't get there until 3 or 4 days later, which wasn't practical for a 7-day cruise. So "ensure you make it to the ship" really means "we will do our best to get you to the ship on the day of embarkation, or a later date in a different port city, if any of those options are actually doable."