Can we discuss the benefits of booking with Celebrity Air?

[Georgia_Peaches]

Although I have been aware of Celebrity Air for a while, I've never used/considered this service before now.  I am looking a flights to LAX for a cruise in March and find that the Celebrity Air platform is currently offering the best price, albeit by using a combination of airlines for each leg of the trip.  Mock bookings for the exact legs directly on each airline's website comes out to more money.  I haven't booked anything yet and wanted to get input from fellow CC friends who have used the Celebrity Air service.  Are there other benefits besides possibly a better rate?  Please chime in with your experience. 

[mfs2k]

6 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Although I have been aware of Celebrity Air for a while, I've never used/considered this service before now.  I am looking a flights to LAX for a cruise in March and find that the Celebrity Air platform is currently offering the best price, albeit by using a combination of airlines for each leg of the trip.  Mock bookings for the exact legs directly on each airline's website comes out to more money.  I haven't booked anything yet and wanted to get input from fellow CC friends who have used the Celebrity Air service.  Are there other benefits besides possibly a better rate?  Please chime in with your experience. 

 

The main benefit is they will "guarantee" you make your cruise in the event of flight delays or cancellations. (to the best of their ability).  When you book on your own, you are on your own. 

[canderson]

... and not having to buck up for the airfare until final payment for the cruise is due.

 

They also sometimes have decent consolidator fares to Europe.

[jelayne]

Previously used CA only for international flights.  We used CA for flights to LA in December. Price was $110 pp less when we booked and nearly $200 less now.  We paid for the flights at final payment. CA was fine and now it is in the hands of the airline not to screw up.

 

We also booked  for flights April with CA, two different carriers and again will pay at final payment, saving $.

Edited October 3, 2022 by jelayne

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We also booked  for flights April with CA, two different carriers and again will pay at final payment, saving $.

Thank you!  I didn't know about the final payment thing.  So if I have used a TA for the cruise but Celebrity Cruise planner for the flights, do I pay for the air on the Celebrity site or through my TA?

[Jeremiah1212]

Cheaper refundable fares, potentially cheaper business class fares to Europe, no payment due until the cruise final payment (with some caveats).

 

Conversely, their customer service is horrendous. If you have day-of travel issues, despite what they tell you, work with the airline, not with FBC. There is no need to add another layer of calls or people. Dependent on the airline and ticket type you can't always preselect seats. 

 

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thank you!  I didn't know about the final payment thing.  So if I have used a TA for the cruise but Celebrity Cruise planner for the flights, do I pay for the air on the Celebrity site or through my TA?

 

Your TA will get notified and then add the cost of flights to your final invoice. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Dependent on the airline and ticket type you can't always preselect seats. 

Hmm...we book first or business class.  I wouldn't be happy if I couldn't preselect our seats...

[jelayne]

It seems to vary by airline.  We were able to select seats on United before final payment.  With AA we could not select a "preferred" seat until final payment as that is when CA tickets the flight.

British Air, for Business,  (possibly all classes of cabins) charges extra to select seats until just before the flights. and it is expensive.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

It seems to vary by airline.  We were able to select seats on United before final payment.  With AA we could not select a "preferred" seat until final payment as that is when CA tickets the flight.

British Air, for Business,  (possibly all classes of cabins) charges extra to select seats until just before the flights. and it is expensive.

We've been able to book seats on BA and others that don't allow online/charge by simply calling FBC and having them do it. 

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

It seems to vary by airline.  We were able to select seats on United before final payment.  With AA we could not select a "preferred" seat until final payment as that is when CA tickets the flight.

British Air, for Business,  (possibly all classes of cabins) charges extra to select seats until just before the flights. and it is expensive.

Were you trying to pay for a preferred seat on AA or were trying to use your status?

[jelayne]

25 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Were you trying to pay for a preferred seat on AA or were trying to use your status?

Status.  Without the flight being ticketed CA could assign us seats but not preferred seats.  Once flight was ticketed we chose our seats.  

Edited October 3, 2022 by jelayne

[alyssamma]

27 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Status.  Without the flight being ticketed CA could assign us seats but not preferred seats.  Once flight was ticketed we chose our seats.  

That must be the issue...interesting (and kind of makes sense) that status selection "doesn't work"...

[jelayne]

3 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

That must be the issue...interesting (and kind of makes sense) that status selection "doesn't work"...

'What I found interesting is we could book seats on United with the flight being ticketed and we have not flown United in over 20yrs, don't even have a frequent flyer #.with United.

[alyssamma]

17 minutes ago, jelayne said:

'What I found interesting is we could book seats on United with the flight being ticketed and we have not flown United in over 20yrs, don't even have a frequent flyer #.with United.

I've never booked seats based on status, but have booked on United, AA, BA, and AF, and Delta. In all cases I've been able to either pick my seat online, or call FBC and have them do it.

 

But status usually involves and upgrade from whatever seat comes with the fare you purchased so it makes sense it needs to be fully ticketed.

 

And, I've only done business on BA and AF, so unsure how economy would work with them.

[Jeremiah1212]

They all work differently but on AA, until it's ticketed, you can't use your status to get Preferred Seats or Main Cabin Extra seats. If you book Premium Economy international, you're also entitled to a Preferred or MCE seat on domestic legs and you also can't select those seats until it's ticketed. 

[Virginia100]

Here’s a negative:  over three weeks ago Jet Blue canceled my returning flight 11/12 from San Juan (2pm) and replaced with an un doable 9am. Immediately contacted FBC to change to 11:18 am flight on Jet Blue that works. Now 22 days later this change has still not been completed. Have made numerous calls. Promised by tomorrow, I will see. Jet Blue said they could not change as booked by a travel agent, if done direct it would have been changed immediately. Be aware!

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

Immediately contacted FBC

What/who is FBC?

 

7 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

Jet Blue canceled my returning flight 11/12 from San Juan (2pm) and replaced with an un doable 9am.

Exactly the kind of info I was looking for in making a decision to book flights this way.  Thank you.  Still not sure what we are going to do.  Sometimes saving a little money isn't worth the hassle in the end.

[alyssamma]

14 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

What/who is FBC?

 

Exactly the kind of info I was looking for in making a decision to book flights this way.  Thank you.  Still not sure what we are going to do.  Sometimes saving a little money isn't worth the hassle in the end.

FBC  = Flights by Celebrity

 

And while I don't doubt @Virginia100's experience, I think it is an outlier. You'll find the vast majority of people have had positive experiences and contacting FBC has been easy and helpful.

 

Not having to pay for a flight upfront + (almost always) cheaper price + "guarantee" of getting you to the ship far outweighs the few bad experiences that will occur with *any* transaction.

[jagoffee]

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Status.  Without the flight being ticketed CA could assign us seats but not preferred seats.  Once flight was ticketed we chose our seats.  

 

6 hours ago, alyssamma said:

That must be the issue...interesting (and kind of makes sense) that status selection "doesn't work"...

When I book CA on AA, I go into the reservation (can find with record locator provided) and enter my FF number into the reservation.  Then it shows under My flight, which allows me to do whatever I wish.

Edited October 4, 2022 by jagoffee

[Jim_Iain]

I've used FBC but recently been finding fares on my legs to be much higher than I can do on my own.   The main reason is that most of the fares they are now offering are fully refundable.   One example is checking a flight From  SFO to LA -   On Alaska they are quoting $436 pp First Class -  Alaska Airlilnes quotes $169.    Tried from my closer airport San Jose and they offer nothing.

 

I also checked on SFO to Singapore today and The rate they are quoting the same rats as the airlines.

 

There are advantages to booking with FBC that you don't have to pay for reservation until final payment but the negative is that even on a fully refundable fare if you make a change after final payment they charge a $100 pp service fee.

[RichYak]

5 hours ago, alyssamma said:

You'll find the vast majority of people have had positive experiences and contacting FBC has been easy and helpful.

Interesting. We've clearly read different reviews of FBC from those who've needed assistance.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

Interesting. We've clearly read different reviews of FBC from those who've needed assistance.

I went back and read some reviews after your comment. It does seem like if there is a problem, it can be difficult dealing with FBC.

 

I guess I'm a little jaded in that whenever their is an air problem, the airlines seem just as difficult to deal with.

 

Anyway, in all things, YMMV...

[shirazcruiser]

I just read "Beyond Live(ish) B2B, Barcelona-Rome and Rome to Barcelona September 24 and October 3, 2022"  where the OP advised " After reading several horror stories on Cruise Critic about FBC not ticketing flights even after final payment, I called them in April and asked for our electronic ticket numbers.  And surprise, they had not been ticketed.  According to the agent, you have to REQUEST for your tickets to be ticketed…even if paid in full.  This makes no sense to me since Celebrity has all of the ticket money".  I have never used FBC and have future flights.  What are the normal steps to take after final payment to get your tickets?   I have confirmation numbers and seat assignments on all of my flights.  Thank you 

[CNSfromHI]

We booked flights for our cruise in late-August via Celebrity. We did our online homework and found the fares competitive enough that the guaranteed "we'll get you there" thing Celebrity promised proved the tipping point. (I still picture Lucille Ball arriving via helicopter-sling on that episode where she misses her boarding, though 😆)

 

Anyway, our (direct) flights from Chicago to London, and vice versa, were trouble free, so I have no idea how readily Celebrity might have solved a travel issue.

 

That said, we still arrived 24 hours early in London just in case something might occur that would prevent us from boarding the cruise we'd looked forward to for almost a year.

 

We're already booked on another Celebrity cruise in March 2023 and, while we haven't booked airfare yet, I'm certain we'll consider Celebrity's offering again if it's competitive.

 

We still plan to arrive in Miami a day early, just in case, so I suspect whatever "savings" we encounter on airfare is probably more than offset by an additional day's lodging/dining...

 

cjr

[cruzzzinma]

YMMV. My experience with Celebrity Air flights cancelled by the airlines as we were arriving at the airport was being told by Celebrity Air that the airlines were responsible for rebooking and that they’d only get involved if the airlines couldn’t resolve it.

 

After a lengthy discussion with the airport Delta agents refusing international economy seats after we’d paid for international business class, they engaged a supervisor and got us rebooked with an extra connection in Amsterdam but everything was business class for the same price on the same day.