Silversea air, have you generally been pleased?

[TomBeckCruise]

We hope to fly to Rome and return from Athens using business class. We would also like to get to Rome 2 days before the cruise, and stay in Athens one night at the end of the cruise.

 

Any thoughts?

[Gourmet Gal]

We’ve been pleased w the SS air.  I noticed they’ve doubled the price but it is still much less expensive than booking it on your own.  Be prepared to pay extra for air deviation in case the flight options presented to you are not ideal.  The advantage is also in the event you have to cancel or change your flight.  You will get a refund or can rebook...perhaps someone else can comment on any charges imposed.  Not significant as I recall.

[nowornever]

The last time we did the air deviation - also to extend the pre-cruise days - it was $150 pp.  If you are working with a travel agent, have him/her find your best schedule & present it to the air dept. to see if they will book it since they don't have contracts will all airlines. Or you could do it yourself if you are not.  They don't always offer the most direct flights so it's worth asking for your best option.

[Lois R]

I have also used their air and been pleased.🙂  Now, I have a cruise booked for October Lisbon-Lisbon and still waiting for an update on my flight home.  Delta changed it and it is too early for me to feel confident about........leaves at 10am.  I may end up staying post cruise overnight and flying home the next day.....then I can catch an early flight without stressing over it.

[crusinbanjo]

17 hours ago, nowornever said:

The last time we did the air deviation - also to extend the pre-cruise days - it was $150 pp.  If you are working with a travel agent, have him/her find your best schedule & present it to the air dept. to see if they will book it since they don't have contracts will all airlines. Or you could do it yourself if you are not.  They don't always offer the most direct flights so it's worth asking for your best option.

Mrs Banjo and I always check with the airlines for schedules and pricing, (particularly for Biz Class), then compare to what SS is offering us.  The last time, they were able to books the flights I requested, after a few discussions, and it worked out great.  I wanted to fly direct from Boston to Hong Kong then from Singapore to Tokyo then direct to Boston.  SS wanted us to fly via Dubai which would have added 15 hours to our travel time.  If they had not been able to do this for us, I would have booked it myself.  So it always pays to be informed about what is available and the deviation fee is really a small price if you get the right flights.

[cruiseej]

I'd just add that in this era of rapid changes in travel rules, there may be an added incentive to book with the cruise line in case cruises are canceled or altered. The typical approach in the past has been to see the price and routing if you do it yourself and compare with what the cruise line is offering -- but in this time, there can be some comfort in having the cruise line handle it all in case there are late changes. (That said, we're in the process of booking a short Seabourn cruise in September and will likely book our own air!) 

[nowornever]

Our Silversea air routing to Venice from SEA was recently changed from direct CDG-VCE to a crazy routing but our TA found the nonstop Frankfurt & on to VCE & the Silversea air dept. changed it for us without any issue.  So if the air dept. books it & the airline  changes, you can request a better routing.  But you need to keep an eye on it - they don't.  As others have pointed out, if they book it & cancel the cruise, you don't have to worry about credits that you might never use or feel obligated to use because you have them.  We were to travel home from a cruise that ended in Reykjavik on the Whisper but it was canceled. If we had booked the air, I doubt we would have been able to use credits with Icelandic Air in a timely way so it would have been a hassle.   International Silversea business air is "usually" well priced if you're paying $ & not using miles.  I think our upgrade for the Sept cruise was about $1300 pp.

[caradara]

I've always done my own air but for my October South America cruise I'm sticking with the Silversea air just in case there's a Covid spike and Chile won't let us travel home.  I don't want to have to figure it out at the last minute and no one knows what lies before us.

[Lois R]

Good morning, if I may add something else.........on my cruises to Europe (except for this one to Greece coming up),  SS has offered an excellent price on a Business Class Upgrade.😃......so that is really why I book with them.   No way I could get a ticket for the same price they offer.