Flights by Celebrity, delayed payment and changes

[garyl62]

The flight availability window has recently opened for an upcoming trip. I'm looking at Flights by Celebrity and it seems I have the option to book now but pay at final payment time for the cruise. It also states there are no cancellation or change fees, so if I book now and lock in a rate but keep monitoring airfare I can cancel and rebook with no penalty if prices drop in the future? Anyone have experience with this? Just seems to be too big of a change from normal airline ticketing policies.

Edited April 20, 2019 by garyl62
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[PaulS]

We used this option on an upcoming cruise on the Equinox. Before final payment for the cruise and the air, changes were permitted without a penalty. I, in fact, called to see if we could change to different flight going to Florida. The change was made without any penalty. You would, however, have to pay any difference in airfare if the new flights are more expensive.

 

by the way, this is not so new. Princess has offered this option for quite some time.

[FloatSomeMore]

Just used this option for flights to South America in 2020.  Our invoice stated there would be a $400 per person cancellation charge.  However, Choice Air confirmed that if pricing decreased we could capture the savings.  Did not ask about changing the flights.

[Member123]

I used Choice Air for a purchase of a one-way flight to Rome from Miami on Alitalia. Since the flight is a red-eye, I am really concerned for the seat assignments as I don't want to be next to a stranger while I'm trying to sleep, just a personal quirk of mine. The air craft is a 2-4-2 arrangement so I really wanted to make sure that the seat assignments would be in the "2" rows.

 

I was offered the choice of waiting until my final payment to pay for the air. I was given the same exact information about being able to lower my price, etc. But, as I said, the seat assignments were a priority. The Choice Air reservationist informed me that she would be able to choose my seats for me, as well. That sounded like a "too good to be true" scenario, but I went along, made the booking, received my invoice, and then proceeded to check out the idea that I had seat assignments.

 

So, I went to the Alitalia site and was able to see my reservation; however, the seat assignment stated "Unassigned." So, I called Alitalia. They said that my seat wouldn't be able to be assigned until payment had been received. (I need to add another bit of information to this. Even though Choice Air told me that they don't sell those new Economy Lite tickets, I did have an issue with receiving an Economy Lite from them before; so as this is a transatlantic I wanted to make doubly sure that no Economy Lite issue existed. For Alitalia, Economy Lite means no seat assignment option, no luggage, and no upgrade ability... I really wanted to make absolutely certain I didn't have an Economy Lite ticket and not being assigned a seat made me suspicious, I admit). Anyway....

 

I called back to Choice Air and paid for my reservation. The price, by the way, was unbelievable! I don't care if it goes down another few dollars as it's cheaper than anything I've ever had to pay previously. We'll see how I like Alitalia! The reservationist made a request for seat assignment along with the payment. And, when I checked on the Alitalia website (right after the phone call), the seats were assigned.

 

To add a bit: the reservationist told me that if I paid for the reservation that I would incur a change penalty fee if I wanted to make any changes, at all... to the flight, the date, the price, etc.

 

Just to give a personal experience story to add a little to this message board in honor of the many posters who have helped with their comments and reviews.

Edited April 20, 2019 by Member123
had another thought

[son3cruisers]

Well, this just sounds too good to true!!!!

New to Celebrity, and would love this option for choosing flights. Our booking window just opened as well for March 2020. 

We usually book a base fare, which is always A NON REFUNDABLE FARE.   Maybe this option you are discussing is only for business class fares?  Or refundable options? Those fares are usually more expensive, so we book the least expensive, and pay to upgrade seats. Curious....

 

Edited April 20, 2019 by son3cruisers

[Lastdance]

I have flights booked for November’s TA on Reflection, along with my seat  assignments; have not paid a dime yet, as these are refundable and can be exchanged for a lower fare.  Two flights are business class and two in the US are not. I also have to pay 90 days before my cruise.  Great price for all of these flights!

[milkman55]

I just booked one way flights into Sydney and return from Auckand for our Oct-Nov B2B.  as has been mentioned, I could not get seat upgrades to the extra leg room rows without paying for the tickets, even though I could have waited until June at final payment date.  Choice Air told me the airfare was still refundable except for $200 cancellation fee even though I paid for the tickets before it was necessary.  Two days later, the American system was updated showing the tickets paid and I selected the extra leg room seats.

 

Its a great deal if you are fine with whatever seats are assigned, but to get the seat of your choice, you have to pay for the ticket or at least that is how it works on AA.

[39august]

I have used this twice. No charge to change flights or make any other changes before final payment. I was able to choose our seats immediately. Tickets are refundable after payment with either F$150 or $200 charge by the airline first. I have changed the current one 3 times, getting a lower fare every time. These are domestic tickets presently going for about $60 pp less than on the airline web site. 

[ohiolovescrusing]

We are just trying this for our September flights to Europe. Been monitoring prices for several months and Celebrity Air was very similar to carrier websites and expensive and non-refundable. This week flights dropped a lot on Celebrity but not on carriers sites and Celebrity was “pay later”. Reserved but don’t  have to pay until June.  Was then able to pick my seats on United site for all legs.  I’m happy so far!

[whitshel]

I just booked a flight for a couple clients using this option.  The flights were actually way cheaper through Choice air, LAX to Santiago, Chile.  $641 one way, over $1500 booking direct with AA.com or Latam.  They ended up booking business class for $1827pp again way cheaper than direct.  No seat assignments til paid and can cancel or rebook at anytime before final payment.  If you cancel or rebook after final payment, thats when the $200 fee comes in.  

 

So my clients booked during $20 for $20 sale, so they book the cruise and now the airfare for a whopping total of $40 for a cruise next year 🙂