Flights changed now arriving at 2pm using Flights by Celebrity

[ScottC4746]

On 8/24/2022 at 2:55 PM, yvrbos said:

So Delta just rescheduled me to a flight that has me arriving in at 2pm. Much too close for my comfort. I used Flights by Celebrity for my air and I am past final payment. My TA called and then said they could book me into the day before but it would take a week to get it approved. Does this sound reasonable? Or should I call again. I don’t leave until Nov 12th. Has anyone rescheduled their flights after final payment?

 

Thanks for your answers

This is why we never ever fly in the day of our cruise.  

 

Nearly 15 years ago we were to fly from Las Vegas to San Francisco via Los Angeles connection on Reno Air -- that tells you how long ago THAT was.  Los Angeles got socked in by fog as did San Francisco.  Our flight was delayed but we got to the cruise terminal about 1 1/2 hours before closing the cruise.  Two mega Princess ships side by side boarding at the same time.  What a nightmare.  Boy did we need a drink when we got on board.

[RickT]

On 8/24/2022 at 8:25 PM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

I've seen so many posts about disappointing bookings and changes when booking FBC I would never do it.

This year alone, all 3 flights I’ve taken to date have had changes.  These three were not cruise related and dealing with the airline ranged from simple to difficult.  My upcoming cruise has air booked with FBC and I expect there to be some sort of change in routing.  At this point I blame the airlines and doubt having my flights booked by FBC will be any worse.  

[gfkcruiser]

On 8/24/2022 at 10:42 PM, Host Anne said:

I've only used FBC once about four years ago.  After my flight was booked, I worked directly with Delta after that.  Things may have changed since then but I had complete control of my Delta flights once they were booked.  Have you tried calling Delta direct?  Hold times can be long right now unless you call early in the morning (or late at night but I much prefer the folks working the phone lines early in the morning).  

 

Good luck....we have had lots of flights changed in the past four months.  It's a sad reality.  I often check my flights multiple times each week as we have both business and personal flights to follow.  

 

 

This has also been my experience. 

[Loracpin2]

On 8/24/2022 at 6:24 PM, roysue said:

 The FBC agent told me if I wanted flexibility in the future, I should book directly with the airline.

 

For the agent to make this comment is laughable. Customers who choose this service most likely expect that, should issues like this arise, FBC would assume the responsibilty of making the appropriate changes. 

[sapphireblue]

I recently returned from my first cruise with Celebrity, and while I normally book my own flights, I ended up booking FBC when their airfares were 1/2 the amount I typically pay I decided to give it a go this time.  I flew into Barcelona and out of Venice, and was able to work with the agent booking flights  3 days before the cruise and 3 days after the cruise.  I booked about 10 months in advance and was able to handpick my preferred airlines and flights.  

 

Fast forward to 2 weeks prior to  my first flight.  I received notice from FBC that one of our LH flights via Munich was cancelled (something I was anticipating due to airport issues in Europe).  They promised to have new flights for me within 48 hours.  And they did.  Excellent. 

 

We were now flying via Frankfurt.  The new flights had a 'legal" connecting time which I know from previous experience would be very difficult to happen.  I requested another connecting flight with them and was told it would take about 7 to 10 days.  That was frustrating as I felt it was cutting it way too close to travel time.   I called them several times, hoping to expedite my request but nothing ever happened. I was asked to continue to wait.  I decided to let it go.

 

Then, one day before departure, I learned that there would be a one day strike by ground crew in Germany on the day we were to arrive and then connect to Barcelona.  I called FBC and asked about my flights  Because they had not received any notice from the airlines yet, they couldn't do anything about it. 

 

At 12:30am. the day of my flight, an email came in from LH that my flight out of Frankfurt was cancelled due to the strike. I called LH - couldn't get through. I then called FBC  (twice ) - the first agent was not willing to look further into anything for me.  I hung up and called again. This agent was amazing.  I provided the email info that I'd received from LH and then, she and her supervisor worked for me to find flights with another airline (not connecting in Europe) to get me there.  

 

Interestingly, my outbound LH flight to Frankfurt was still expecting me to board.  I could have flown but would have had issues upon arrival with continuing on to Barcelona.  And I absolutely did not want to deal with that there, jetlagged and worrying about finding a new flight (would I be limited to only LH flights? would I need to fly the next day?  what about a hotel?  where is my luggage? etc)

 

What did I learn? 

1.  Booking my flights to arrive several days before my cruise was crucial, especially this summer with all the issues that transpired.    

2.  Celebrity promised they would get me there - and they did.  This is where they shone - in my case.

3.  If you don't get the assistance or help you are needing, hang up and try again. There is a mix of experience on the other end of the line.  Just need to try again to find a better match.

 

Will I use FBC again?   Maybe.   Things worked out well in this case.  It was 'freaky' timing that the strike happened the ONE DAY were flying through.  Had the strike not happened, I would probably have been fine.  There were several connecting flights after the one they had booked me one and I would have likely been on one of them - which is fine.

 

This was the only hiccup of our entire trip.  It was resolved well and I was fully aware that we were travelling during an unprecedented time with all the airport issues.  

 

And now.... on to planning the next one.  

 

[Mississippian]

On 8/24/2022 at 6:30 PM, cruiserchuck said:

I have a non-cruise related flight scheduled with Delta.  I get an email about once a month informing me of flight changes.  So the flight changes have nothing to do with FBC.  

When Delta makes a substantial change to your flight they give you the opportunity to make changes, often at no charge. It takes about five minutes online, no need to talk to anyone. I get the Delta emails about flight changes, and often they are a 10-minute change. Far different than being told you are going to arrive four hours later than your original reservation.

[ScottC4746]

5 minutes ago, Mississippian said:

When Delta makes a substantial change to your flight they give you the opportunity to make changes, often at no charge. It takes about five minutes online, no need to talk to anyone. I get the Delta emails about flight changes, and often they are a 10-minute change. Far different than being told you are going to arrive four hours later than your original reservation.

As long as you do so before final payment if using Flights by Celebrity.  We are First Class and we tried to change our return so that we were not stuck in Seattle for 12 hours after docking, after final payment date.  Flights by Celebrity quoted me penalties and change fees comparable to round trip coach for us.  We told them to leave it like it was.

[Mississippian]

2 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

As long as you do so before final payment if using Flights by Celebrity.  We are First Class and we tried to change our return so that we were not stuck in Seattle for 12 hours after docking, after final payment date.  Flights by Celebrity quoted me penalties and change fees comparable to round trip coach for us.  We told them to leave it like it was.

That's why I like booking direct with the airline. I've never used a cruise line's air service.