Be Careful When Selecting ChoiceAir

For our first Azamara Cruise, we booked through ChoiceAir because of the credit. Since that time we have received three itinerary changes, all more inconvenient that the original. When I called to ask about the reason for the changes, I was told that the airline schedule had changed. However, when I checked on ita, I found our original flights are still scheduled. I'm guessing we were bumped to make room for higher paying passengers. Quite frankly, if the modified schedule had been initially presented, I would have rejected it. Additionally the price on ChoiceAir was $300 higher than what I could book independently; still with the discount, I could save $200 per ticket. We are unable to make seat selections on Air Canada until 24 hours prior to flying as we are booked through United. Long story, short; sometimes, it's worth the additional cost for peace of mind.

I am working on flights for Feb. 2015 cruise out of Bali -- one of the hardest places I have ever booked flights to. Booking without air was just about $3000 cheaper so that was my budget. Running it through Choice air one time I got $8,000 then I got inconvenient flights (2 overnights with only 2 hours in layover for Tokyo) and a 33 hour duration:eek: Now booking on my own using ITA. I have a 12 hour flight then 26 hour stop over (I need to recover some) and then 8 hour flight that will allow a flight to where I really want to be Yogykarta to be added separately Coming back is a non-stop 12 hour flight and the cost? $1,259 or so (different on different days:) ) I also get 2x miles on the flights and if I am lucky to choose a credit card deal I might get it for taxes and fees. Free air is great but not if the flights kill you off before you get to the ship! I have done maybe 15 sets of air for cruises in the last 10 years and I have never NOT beaten the cruise lines' price on air. The same goes with pre cruise hotels. AND to make the game fair it must be the SAME flights or hotel that the airline uses or BETTER. Plus I must admit I get this euphoria of "Yes I AM SO GOOD!". (Downside is I obsess and spend hours trying various combinations to get what I want!)

For our first Azamara Cruise, we booked through ChoiceAir because of the credit. Since that time we have received three itinerary changes, all more inconvenient that the original. When I called to ask about the reason for the changes, I was told that the airline schedule had changed. However, when I checked on ita, I found our original flights are still scheduled. I'm guessing we were bumped to make room for higher paying passengers. Quite frankly, if the modified schedule had been initially presented, I would have rejected it. Additionally the price on ChoiceAir was $300 higher than what I could book independently; still with the discount, I could save $200 per ticket. We are unable to make seat selections on Air Canada until 24 hours prior to flying as we are booked through United. Long story, short; sometimes, it's worth the additional cost for peace of mind.

Have you or your TA tried contacting Choice Air ? We've heard reports of them being accomodating, when you see better options available. Of course, none of us can judge your flight arrangements or available inventory, but I'd think it's worth a call from you (or your TA if you've used one) to see if they can come up with a better solution for you.

Sorry you are having issues, but overall, most folks seem to be very happy with the Choice Air experience. Good Luck in resolving your issues, and have a wonderful cruise !

The one great advantage to using choice air is that they try really hard to get you to the ship on time. We ended up in the worst blizzard Charlotte NC had in over 20 years and I got on the phone to choice air, the girl worked on it for 45 min, while I was on the phone and they rerouted me for the day following and I actually got to the destination 10 minutes earlier than I would have on the original flight;

This is our first Azamara cruise and we booked through Choice Air since we received a $1,000 credit on the cruise. I selected the flights from the ITA softeware and communicated them to Choice when I called. They were the same price plus a $25 booking fee. We leave from NYC and are going to Europe open jaw. The flights I wanted did not appear on the Choice website so I called and the agent took care of it over the phone.

I booked choice air Air Canada flights and my TA was able to get us up-graded premium seats for an extra fee of course but to me it is worth paying to get the seats we wanted. Air Canada will not deal with you directly if you booked thru a third party.

This is our first Azamara cruise and we booked through Choice Air since we received a $1,000 credit on the cruise. I selected the flights from the ITA softeware and communicated them to Choice when I called. They were the same price plus a $25 booking fee. We leave from NYC and are going to Europe open jaw. The flights I wanted did not appear on the Choice website so I called and the agent took care of it over the phone.

We did exactly the same. We wanted the $1,000.00 credit on the cruise, so found what we wanted using ITA software and called Choice Air. We paid the $25.00 pp service fee, got the exact flights we wanted and received mileage. In our case we had to call because we departed a day early (as well as flew in a couple days early).

Same here. We just found the flights we wanted and paid the $25 fee. It was the same price as booking ourselves and we got the $1000 credit.

Perhaps it is the combination of a new TA and cruise line that has created a perfect storm for me. For some reason, my first request was denied and I settled for the itinerary offered. Since that time the itinerary has changed three times, each time successively lengthening our journey until 11:30 p.m. When I spoke to the woman at ChoiceAir who was barely fluent in English, she informed me that until one is on the plane, he can not be assured of a flight or seat number; seemingly content that notification of the new flights had fulfilled her obligation. When I have dealt directly with the airline, I have always been given the opportunity to reroute when there was a schedule change. As I mentioned above, the original flights which I deemed acceptable are still scheduled; just unavailable to us.

Out of frustration, I again called Air Canada today and reached a lovely agent who was able to book us in premium economy for an additional fee--thanks to my own initiative. My concern was that the successive notifications from Choice Air showed two different booking numbers for the Air Canada flights. I was unsure whether we had one, two or no seats on the plane. Also spoke to a United Agent who again was very helpful and provided me with the Air Canada number.

Apparently, there remain some in the service industry who are concerned enough about customer welfare to make the effort to insure returning patrons. As we all know, you have only one opportunity to make a first impression.

Oceania has been our cruise line of choice and quite frankly there is no comparison to the pre-service experience offered by Azamara. I'm spending approximately $10,000 per person (cruise, airfare, insurance) and printing my own documents? Does this strike anyone else as a tad bit tacky? I'm hoping the onboard experience will erase the previously encountered anomalies--kind of like childbirth. ;-)

Same here. We just found the flights we wanted and paid the $25 fee. It was the same price as booking ourselves and we got the $1000 credit.

So we save $1000.

Oceania has been our cruise line of choice and quite frankly there is no comparison to the pre-service experience offered by Azamara. I'm spending approximately $10,000 per person (cruise, airfare, insurance) and printing my own documents? Does this strike anyone else as a tad bit tacky? I'm hoping the onboard experience will erase the previously encountered anomalies--kind of like childbirth. ;-)

This is our first cruise on a line other than Oceania. I was a little surprised as well that you had to print out your own documents and request luggage tags given the cost of the cruise. I booked knowing the shore side of Azamara could and should be a lot better but look forward to the ship side experience.

This is our first cruise on a line other than Oceania. I was a little surprised as well that you had to print out your own documents and request luggage tags given the cost of the cruise. I booked knowing the shore side of Azamara could and should be a lot better but look forward to the ship side experience.

I know you will enjoy the shipboard experience. Other than the rather (IMO) run-down cabin furnishings, it was a wonderful experience on both our Azamara cruises. And, unlike Oceania, Azamara always supplies shuttles where needed!:D

I usually book air separately. For my next cruise, choice air was a good price. I had no problem booking it online including arriving early and doing a miultitrip booking. As many have already suggested, shop around. Airfares are constantly changing. Know what you are willing to pay. When you see a decent fare with convenient flights, book it. Whatever you do, get your air before the final payment is due on your cruise. Also, booking choice air provides some help should planes get delayed or camceled.