Advice on using Seabourn Flightease Programme please

[EbonyJ]

Hi everyone.  Looking for some advice for those of you who have booked flights via Seabourn.  

 

We will be disembarking Seabourn Quest in Montreal and our flight home is at 11pm.  Has anyone had experience of how Seabourn will handle this on the day?  E.g.  Do they use a day room at an airport hotel?  Would there be somewhere to store luggage?    

 

We are trying to work out if we should try and get an earlier flight or if we should make private arrangements to get to the airport and book a private excursion.  

 

Any suggestions or advice most welcome. 

[Woodrowst]

22 minutes ago, EbonyJ said:

Hi everyone.  Looking for some advice for those of you who have booked flights via Seabourn.  

 

We will be disembarking Seabourn Quest in Montreal and our flight home is at 11pm.  Has anyone had experience of how Seabourn will handle this on the day?  E.g.  Do they use a day room at an airport hotel?  Would there be somewhere to store luggage?    

 

We are trying to work out if we should try and get an earlier flight or if we should make private arrangements to get to the airport and book a private excursion.  

 

Any suggestions or advice most welcome. 

We were in a similar situation in Buenos Aires coming back from the Venture in Antarctica.  Seabourn has chartered a plane from Ushuaia that landed in B.A. at 1:00pm.  Seabourn took those of us who had late night flights and had booked air through Seabourn out to dinner at a very nice restaurant.  They got us back to the airport at 5:00pm.  Of course I do not know if my situation applies to your Montreal disembarkation but it does show that in at least some situations Seabourn makes provisions for late departures for those who booked at through the cruise line.  To know for sure you may want to ask your TA to check with Seabourn.

[stan01]

 

You'd want to check with your travel agent or Seabourn.  We've found that information about Flight Ease arrangements is hard to come by and we've had to call to get details in advance.  We aren't the type of people who accept "trust us, its all taken care of, you don't need to worry" so we ask questions and have them explain to us what will happen.  That said, you may still be more than six months away from disembarking in Montreal so Seabourn might not have all the details arranged yet and you may need to check back in again about 30 days prior to get more information.

 

[johng75370]

2 hours ago, EbonyJ said:

We will be disembarking Seabourn Quest in Montreal and our flight home is at 11pm.  Has anyone had experience of how Seabourn will handle this on the day?  E.g.  Do they use a day room at an airport hotel?  Would there be somewhere to store luggage? 

We’ve had a similar situation (returning to SFO from MIA on an 8pm flight booked through FlightEase).  Seabourn arranged a car to an airport hotel, a day room and food credits, and then a car to the airport.  We’ve also had a group room for example out of Barbados or San Juan where there are several Seabourn FlightEase passengers waiting for mid or late afternoon flights; in those cases they have a hotel conference room for the group to hang out in along with a lunch.  They also usually offer a local tour followed by airport drop-off, depending on flight times.  

 

The only thing I don’t like about FlightEase is that these details require a call to Seabourn to find out what they are.  The final document should have these details (or preliminary even should), but I don’t think it includes it.  The FlightEase service is good, but the communications are not.  

[MarciAnn]

We re also doing the Antartica cruise out of BA in January 2025.  Seabourn rep.  just told me that the flight from Ushuaia doesn't land in BA until 5 pm and thus they are advising not to book a flight home before 8 PM.  Has anyone heard differently?

[skybluewaters]

On 2/24/2024 at 7:59 AM, johng75370 said:

We’ve had a similar situation (returning to SFO from MIA on an 8pm flight booked through FlightEase).

 

I'm wondering why you had an 8PM flight when there are several earlier ones.  Was this your preference or did FlightEase schedule this despite an earlier preference on your part?  I'm trying to get a handle on how flexible FE is.  Thanks

[johng75370]

13 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:

I'm wondering why you had an 8PM flight when there are several earlier ones.  Was this your preference or did FlightEase schedule this despite an earlier preference on your part?  I'm trying to get a handle on how flexible FE is.

In that specific case it was right before the Christmas holiday (Dec 22nd) and the only first class MIA-SFO available was on the 8pm flight at a great price, and we thought why not enjoy some of the day in Miami.  We definitely could have chosen earlier.  Overall we've found FlightEase to be very flexible in letting us choose the flights, even with choosing business one way and economy the other way.  If you've got a booking on hold you can access FlightEase, so even before committing to a deposit you can get a sense of what flights might be available.  Most of the time we've found FlightEase to be less expensive than booking directly, but sometimes it is more.  

Edited March 29 by johng75370
typo

[CLOU]

I have another FligthtEase question.  We have booked through Seabourn before when it was the same price or cheaper than we could get on our own.  Now, since it is online, it is very easy to compare flights and prices.  This time, we got a great business class fare ten months in advance.  I was able to monitor it until we had to pay in full, and it never went down.

 

My question is that this time we have a connection heading to Lisbon.  We are arriving the day before, so we have wiggle room for any snafus.  However, since we booked through Seabourn, if we have any issue with the connection, I believe they are responsible for making sure we get to our final destination.  My question is, if there is an issue, who do we contact?  While I am from the east coast, both my travel agent and Seabourn are on the west coast, and our connection time in Europe would be before either office is open on a Monday morning in the western US.  We travel enough that we know we can talk to the airlines to reschedule, but I was wondering if there was a FlightEase protocol.

 

Thankfully, we have a direct flight home, so no issues.

[Vineyard View]

3 hours ago, CLOU said:

I have another FligthtEase question.  We have booked through Seabourn before when it was the same price or cheaper than we could get on our own.  Now, since it is online, it is very easy to compare flights and prices.  This time, we got a great business class fare ten months in advance.  I was able to monitor it until we had to pay in full, and it never went down.

 

My question is that this time we have a connection heading to Lisbon.  We are arriving the day before, so we have wiggle room for any snafus.  However, since we booked through Seabourn, if we have any issue with the connection, I believe they are responsible for making sure we get to our final destination.  My question is, if there is an issue, who do we contact?  While I am from the east coast, both my travel agent and Seabourn are on the west coast, and our connection time in Europe would be before either office is open on a Monday morning in the western US.  We travel enough that we know we can talk to the airlines to reschedule, but I was wondering if there was a FlightEase protocol.

 

Thankfully, we have a direct flight home, so no issues.

Good question. I hadn’t thought of that….someone will know! Thx for asking 

[Kane]

I would suggest that you CAREFULLY read the documentation.

 

We have been through this issue.  The cruise line say they will help you (coordinate) if the airline screws up and you don't make it to the ship in time for embarkation.  They DO NOT say they will wait for you or make you financially or emotionally whole.  Basically, if the airline screws up, the cruise line will not bear responsibility for such screw up.

 

 

[Vineyard View]

But if that happens, who does a person call who uses flightease given the time/hour question OP  is worried about during the connection, should things go sideways during off hours for SB customer service and TA with time differences. 

[johng75370]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

But if that happens, who does a person call who uses flightease given the time/hour question OP  is worried about during the connection, should things go sideways during off hours for SB customer service and TA with time differences. 

 

@Vineyard View I’ve been given a FlightEase direct phone number before and I just called it tonight.  It connects to “Enroute Travel Services” (or so the voice recording said) and after punching a couple buttons was connected to a real human.  That’s at 10:30pm Pacific.  My assumption is they have a 24/7 operation given the global nature of the flight arrangements and ship departures.  

Edited April 3 by johng75370

[CLOU]

Thanks for the info, Johng.  As pointed out, I do not expect Seabourn to make me financially or emotionally whole, but only what to do about a missed connection, which could be due to many things, not necessarily and airline screw up.  I will make sure I have the FlightEase direct phone number for Enroute Travel Services before my trip.

[FlyerTalker]

This discussion is missing the most important factor.

 

If you have ANY kind of disruption, misconnect or cancellation -- the FIRST point of contact is directly with the carrier involved.  In many cases, arrangements have already been put into place to handle a reroute for you and your bags.  Even if it hasn't, the airline is the entity that will ultimately get you to your destination - not FlightEase, the cruiseline, or any kind of emergency number.  Those "resources" are for when you can't get any kind of satisfaction from the carrier itself.

 

Thought problem....if you have a misconnect, will introducing an additional layer of communication and process make your rebooking go any faster or smoother? 

 

What every savvy traveler should do is to well research, in advance, all of the airports you will be passing through, so you are not frantically trying to figure out things on the ground.  One should also have a set of back-up contingency plans with alternate airlines and routings to get you to your destination.  Don't just be saying "well, get me there".  The more you can help with alternatives, the better.

 

Put the apps for the carriers you are flying onto your phone so you have that resource available.

 

And don't just call FlightEase and wait for them to figure things out for you.  While you are waiting, alternative seats are going to the folks who are proactively working to solve their issues.

 

Finally, recognize that FlightEase or any such program, does not have people "monitoring" all flights.  Nor do they have standby seats and aircraft just waiting to handle irops.

 

Caveat emptor.

[Kane]

I've never put this in writing but here is the wrap on how these fiascoes get worked out.  Flight Ease is only a mechanism to allow you to get a booking and then go and try to beat the price by making your own arrangements.  Once final payment date arrives, if you stay with their offer, your deal is now between you, the airline, and cruise line.

 

We did this on a Seabourn Antarctica voyage that got mucked when United dropped the ball in Newark and we missed the flight to Buenos Aires to meet the Quest.  United (sort of) fixed it by routing us to Montevideo via Lima on LATAM one day late to meet the ship.  Our luggage, with all our Arctic clothes, did not make it.  Think about that, aboard a ship headed for Antarctica with no clothes, winter or otherwise.  We were not happy campers and just wanted to go home.

 

This is where Seabourn takes over.  They pay for a hire car to take us to a shopping center for a couple of hours to "clothe" ourselves (with our own money).  This was a nice gesture.  They also give us $100 in shipboard credits to spend in the on-board shop ... that, at least, gave us something to chuckle at.

 

After sailing, the first port was Stanley in the Falkland Islands.  We spent the day in the combo supermarket/department store where Stanleyites feed and clothe themselves.  Not up to "formal night" standards but we were pretty much able to get ourselves outfitted for Antarctica.  The ship provided or loaned us the rest.

 

Our luggage caught up with us in Ushuaia after Antarctica.  On return home, we spent months filing claims with the airlines.  In the end, we did get refunds from them.

 

Ours might have been and extreme case, but Seabourn most likely deals with such incidents on a regular basis.  We were not made whole, but I must say that it could not have been handled much better than it was.  Being a Karen and pounding on the desk will not make an impossible situation disappear.  One needs to work toward and live with the best possible outcome.

[marazul]

I agree with @Kane.

We were caught in the great European travel snafus of June 2022.  We got our flights through Flight Ease.  We stayed in Lisbon for three days after the cruise.  Our flight to the US got canceled repeatedly on the day that we were supposed to leave.  Seabourn was out of the picture since we were no longer on the cruise.  The airline put us up on a hotel and we got rerouted the next day.  We did our own research on new flights and told the airline the flights we preferred.  At one point we tried to call Flight Ease, but we had already found good alternative flights on the airlines app.

 

After we returned we also spent months filing claims with the airline and Seabourn Shield.  Everything was resolved eventually, but it was not the end of the trip we had envisioned.

 

Just be prepared to fend for yourself. 

[highplanesdrifters]

19 hours ago, Kane said:

I've never put this in writing but here is the wrap on how these fiascoes get worked out.  Flight Ease is only a mechanism to allow you to get a booking and then go and try to beat the price by making your own arrangements.  Once final payment date arrives, if you stay with their offer, your deal is now between you, the airline, and cruise line.

 

We did this on a Seabourn Antarctica voyage that got mucked when United dropped the ball in Newark and we missed the flight to Buenos Aires to meet the Quest.  United (sort of) fixed it by routing us to Montevideo via Lima on LATAM one day late to meet the ship.  Our luggage, with all our Arctic clothes, did not make it.  Think about that, aboard a ship headed for Antarctica with no clothes, winter or otherwise.  We were not happy campers and just wanted to go home.

 

This is where Seabourn takes over.  They pay for a hire car to take us to a shopping center for a couple of hours to "clothe" ourselves (with our own money).  This was a nice gesture.  They also give us $100 in shipboard credits to spend in the on-board shop ... that, at least, gave us something to chuckle at.

 

After sailing, the first port was Stanley in the Falkland Islands.  We spent the day in the combo supermarket/department store where Stanleyites feed and clothe themselves.  Not up to "formal night" standards but we were pretty much able to get ourselves outfitted for Antarctica.  The ship provided or loaned us the rest.

 

Our luggage caught up with us in Ushuaia after Antarctica.  On return home, we spent months filing claims with the airlines.  In the end, we did get refunds from them.

 

Ours might have been and extreme case, but Seabourn most likely deals with such incidents on a regular basis.  We were not made whole, but I must say that it could not have been handled much better than it was.  Being a Karen and pounding on the desk will not make an impossible situation disappear.  One needs to work toward and live with the best possible outcome.

 

For any expedition travel I always pack the must haves or hard to replace items in my carry-on.

[markandjie]

2 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

For any expedition travel I always pack the must haves or hard to replace items in my carry-on.

 

Agreed. We did the same on our last Antarctica trip as we knew we were cutting it close on the flight. Fortunately it all worked out, but if our checked bags didn't make it we would've been able to make do (with almost daily use of the onboard laundry facilities).

[CLOU]

I am an experienced enough traveler to know that the airlines are my main point of contact and I always research what later flight options are available in case I am delayed. Plus, I always go out a day early.  However, since FlightEase is supposed to get involved if there are issues getting to the ship on time, I thought I should know how to contact a representative.

[markandjie]

6 hours ago, CLOU said:

I am an experienced enough traveler to know that the airlines are my main point of contact and I always research what later flight options are available in case I am delayed. Plus, I always go out a day early.  However, since FlightEase is supposed to get involved if there are issues getting to the ship on time, I thought I should know how to contact a representative.

 

Agree completely. Especially when it's 1am, United just cancelled your flight, and the line for the service counter at O'Hare looks like this:

 

[highplanesdrifters]

13 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

Agree completely. Especially when it's 1am, United just cancelled your flight, and the line for the service counter at O'Hare looks like this:

 

 

 

Oh my!  Thank goodness we have a great TA.

[FlyerTalker]

And notice....not a single person in that line is on the phone to UA.

 

Amateurs.

 

 

[CLOU]

Often, even quicker than the phone is the airline lounge if there is one and you have access.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, CLOU said:

Often, even quicker than the phone is the airline lounge if there is one and you have access.

 

True.

 

Order should  be:

 

App

Phone

Lounge

Service Desk

 

And one can always multi-task three of them at once.

 

 

[CLOU]

Another FlightEase issue to be aware of that is new.  If you book through FlightEase you wll not get credit for the miles in the airline's frequent flier program.  We discovered this for our upcoming flights on United to Lisbon and home from Amsterdam.  Since my husband and I have lifetime Gold status, we do not need the miles to qualify for that level of elite status but we will not get the actual miles, which we never seem to use despite having hundreds of thousands.  I had heard that American was going to this model, but I did not know that United had already done so.

 

Since we tend to go out at least one day before the cruise, and stay at least one day after the cruise ends, we do not get the FlightEase benefit of transfers to and from the airport. Also, since at least this time, the prices listed on the Seabourn website matched what I could get for myself online, the only benefit for me going forward using FlightEase is to be able to book early but not pay until the cruise payment is due.  This allows one to book and continue to see if the price goes down.  In my case this time, I booked ten months in advance of the flights and the prices did nothing but go up.