Silversea Air Screws Up Again

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

For those who have used Silversea booked air and missed their connecting flight back home due to incoming flight delays or being delayed in customs/immigration, how did Silversea handle your dilemma?  Were you on your own to rebook a new flight and did you pay for it or did Silversea cover the expense? 

[les37b]

3 minutes ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

For those who have used Silversea booked air and missed their connecting flight back home due to incoming flight delays or being delayed in customs/immigration, how did Silversea handle your dilemma?  Were you on your own to rebook a new flight and did you pay for it or did Silversea cover the expense? 

 

On the Moon in January, we were due to fly home from Guayaquil but couldn't because of quarantine. We had no idea when we would be getting off and if our mobility passes for Chile would come through in time. (If it didnt, we would have had to stay on until Montevideo.)

 

Guest Relations on the ship helped us sort those visas and our SS rep in London sorted our new flights from Santiago and we disembarked in Valparaiso with a taxi laid on to get us onto our 12.30 flight which we made in good time. We had booked with inclusive air and transfers.

 

Can't praise them enough for this.

[Catlover54]

3 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

On the Moon in January, we were due to fly home from Guayaquil but couldn't because of quarantine. We had no idea when we would be getting off and if our mobility passes for Chile would come through in time. (If it didnt, we would have had to stay on until Montevideo.)

 

Guest Relations on the ship helped us sort those visas and our SS rep in London sorted our new flights from Santiago and we disembarked in Valparaiso with a taxi laid on to get us onto our 12.30 flight which we made in good time. We had booked with inclusive air and transfers.

 

Can't praise them enough for this.

 

It was a relief to hear you had gotten home ok, after that eventful and anxiety-provoking cruise, which as you know we were also on.  Most pax were avoiding each other as much as possible due to fear of getting quarantined in a third world country after country-mandated asymptomatic Omicron screening tests.

 

In addition to your having had inclusive air and transfers, I have to wonder if your having made a bit of a fuss about it on social media (you were posting live on CC about the  problem issues after the quarantine) helped shake up management (initially less than responsive)  a bit.   The complaining was more than justified, of course, and I would have done the same.

Though we always try to avoid negative  interactions as best possible (e.g., by paying more to avoid them if at all possible, e.g., fly business class, use lounges, have a TA to fight for us) we have found that  it often helps to have at least one of the two people traveling together to have a personality to be able and willing to speak up (politely of course, but firmly).

 

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

1 hour ago, les37b said:

 

On the Moon in January, we were due to fly home from Guayaquil but couldn't because of quarantine. We had no idea when we would be getting off and if our mobility passes for Chile would come through in time. (If it didnt, we would have had to stay on until Montevideo.)

 

Guest Relations on the ship helped us sort those visas and our SS rep in London sorted our new flights from Santiago and we disembarked in Valparaiso with a taxi laid on to get us onto our 12.30 flight which we made in good time. We had booked with inclusive air and transfers.

 

Can't praise them enough for this.

but what happens when your connecting flight is missed (assuming you don't have a direct flight back home)?  Silversea's contract flights have tight connection times, as many on this thread, including myself, have noted.  Who pays when you can't get to your connecting flight in time?  I just wondered if anyone has experienced this and what Silversea did or didn't do...

 

[jpalbny]

Air travel is a complete mess right now. I always book my own air just to "keep control" but it's been such a headache lately. Have spent a busy few weeks keeping up with itinerary changes.

 

We fly to Finland next month. Last week KLM suddenly canceled the last leg of our journey, from AMS to HEL. So now we have an 8-hour layover in AMS to look forward to. And we get to Helsinki 6+h later than we thought we would. Well, I guess Schipol is lovely this time of year... If we could trust that we could get back in on time we'd hop the train to the city for lunch. But I'm not confident about that plan.

 

And today I got an email about the air we've booked for our March cruise, Bali to Singapore. Korean Air has changed the flight schedule of their JFK-ICN leg, so our nice connection from JFK-ICN-DPS just evaporated, and now we have exactly zero minutes to make the connection in ICN. Guess that won't work very well!

 

Luckily AMEX was efficient today and it only took 20 minutes on the phone to get that changed. But instead of a leisurely 12N Saturday departure from JFK, we now have to finish work Friday, drive to JFK that night, and leave at 12:50AM Saturday (late Friday night). And now we have a 10-hour connection in ICN. Oh well. We get to Bali 90 minutes earlier than we were originally scheduled...

 

I'm checking things frequently because I'm sure that these will not be the last changes. 

[les37b]

On 10/12/2022 at 6:44 PM, Catlover54 said:

 

It was a relief to hear you had gotten home ok, after that eventful and anxiety-provoking cruise, which as you know we were also on.  Most pax were avoiding each other as much as possible due to fear of getting quarantined in a third world country after country-mandated asymptomatic Omicron screening tests.

 

In addition to your having had inclusive air and transfers, I have to wonder if your having made a bit of a fuss about it on social media (you were posting live on CC about the  problem issues after the quarantine) helped shake up management (initially less than responsive)  a bit.   The complaining was more than justified, of course, and I would have done the same.

Though we always try to avoid negative  interactions as best possible (e.g., by paying more to avoid them if at all possible, e.g., fly business class, use lounges, have a TA to fight for us) we have found that  it often helps to have at least one of the two people traveling together to have a personality to be able and willing to speak up (politely of course, but firmly).

 

 

I genuinely think my rep in London just did a great job with Silversea Air. I honestly doubt they are too bothered about negative comments, of which there was also a fair bit of praise and positive comments.

 

The initial quarantine problems were ignore by the HD but when Vicki got out of jail, she resolved that straight away. And I don't honestly understand why it was such a difficult task to resolve. Incinerated shoes to end quarantine was just crazy, but hey we can laugh about it now. (But don't tell the wife! lol)

 

You are right about one thing there. Don't lose your rag and keep calm. That infamous flight I mention in this thread missing a 4 hour connection in Atlanta. The desk just dismissed us and told us to leave the airport and come back tomorrow and see if they could get us on a flight then. I simply requested to speak to a manager who I suggested may be able to help. The trump card wasn't the fact it was my wife's birthday and both her and the kids were crying their eyes out - but the fact I had reported my sons illness and medication - which I told them they needed to retrieve my bag as he needs it this evening. Perhaps a little exaggeration and drama added for effect, but it worked. He checked the booking and medical information to confirm and we got booked on the next flight. Had we been shouty or anything other than calm and appealing for their help, I expect we would have been shown the door. I always remember a fly on the wall airline and airport documentary and learned well that the shouty ones got zero and the polite ones they tried to help. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by les37b

[FlyerTalker]

On 10/12/2022 at 5:02 PM, jpalbny said:

Air travel is a complete mess right now. I always book my own air just to "keep control" but it's been such a headache lately. Have spent a busy few weeks keeping up with itinerary changes.

 

I'm checking things frequently because I'm sure that these will not be the last changes. 

 

You, and others, may find this post informative.  It can help to explain why you keep getting schedule changes that take your nice perfect plans and toss them up against the wall.

 

 

[les37b]

On 10/8/2022 at 7:06 PM, les37b said:

The only option out of ANC we’ve been given on any effort has been 10.00 on Alaskan Airways. Personally I’d prefer a later time, but it’s not an issue, plus I’ve struggled to come up with other options.

 

The 6 hour connection, isn’t a problem and it has been suggested as an option. The issue is that was over 2 weeks ago and my flights haven’t been changed so as it stands I’m still on a 1 hour connection. Ordinarily I’d be confident it will be done, but this has been ongoing for 3 months and no changes have been made on either.

 

The outward was with JAL but only 1 hour connection. They had offered to use KLM via Amsterdam., but I’ve requested an earlier LHR first leg.

 

What keeps happening, is they make the change to one flight, but forget the other which we’d already said yes to and we go back to square one.

 

To make things a tad worrying, I’ve seen that KLM are planning to loose some of their long hauls and Osaka. Something to keep my eye on. This is an April 24th departure.

 

And 4 months on we still haven't got our flights sorted. 

 

The outbound JAL/BA code share was changed to KLM and we were happy with the early morning flights given. Unfortunately, KLM will be losing several long haul routes and Osaka is one expected to go. 

 

So we asked if we could have the earlier JAL flight leaving LHR at 09.40.

 

Tbey replied no as they have no contracts with JAL. So ii gave them the equivalent BA code share number and they insist they can't supply BA flights operated by JAL..... So I have asked how did they originally give me a late departure JAL/BA flight if they can't do it. 

 

I await their reply, but clearly that reply is not being truthful. 

 

The return flight, I reluctantly accepted a 6h10m connection in Seattle after being told it was that or the 1h7m connection which can never work. 

 

Another guest on my cruise was also on my original flight and told the 1h7m connection was the only option  they could have. After I had my offer, they went back to their TA and they got given a Virgin flight which has a 4 hour connection and definately preferable to what we were given. So I requested the same as them. They have responded stating they don't have contracts with virgin as the flight comes from Canada. The flight comes from Anchorage to Seattle and on to London. I'm not sure flying over Canada makes it a Canadian flight. They also claimed the guests must have booked independant flights. The guests have confirmed the flights were allocated by SilverAir. They did however confirm that the flights are operated by Virgin but on a Delta codeshare. You would think those involved with flight planning would be aware of this. 

 

My TA has said they are really difficult to deal with and wasn't convinced that on the odd occasion they were able to speak that they took in what they'd been told and suggested it was probably a language issue. Are SilverAir out based? 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by les37b

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

37 minutes ago, les37b said:

My TA has said they are really difficult to deal with and wasn't convinced that on the odd occasion they were able to speak that they took in what they'd been told and suggested it was probably a language issue. Are SilverAir out based? 

Our Miami Florida based Silversea CC indicated they are "down the hall from him", however he cannot talk to them face to face, nor can he call them on the phone.  All flight requests need to be typed out on their system for tracking purposes.  I'm not sure if TA's can actually talk to a live person in Silversea's Air Dept. or if they also have to send all communication to them via email.

[les37b]

24 minutes ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

Our Miami Florida based Silversea CC indicated they are "down the hall from him", however he cannot talk to them face to face, nor can he call them on the phone.  All flight requests need to be typed out on their system for tracking purposes.  I'm not sure if TA's can actually talk to a live person in Silversea's Air Dept. or if they also have to send all communication to them via email.

 

It is the same...... They have to email, but my agent said she has spoken with them. Are all flights done in one office in Miami? 

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

41 minutes ago, les37b said:

Are all flights done in one office in Miami? 

Not sure.  I will ask my CC the next time I'm successful in getting him to return my phone call.  

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

22 hours ago, les37b said:

Are all flights done in one office in Miami? 

les37b, I spoke with my Silversea CC.  He confirmed Silversea's Air Department is based in the Miami office and they handle all air requests for guests worldwide, not just in the US.  Their department also handles requests coming in from Travel Agents who's clients choose to have Silversea arrange the flights.  My CC lamented once again of his inability to just pick up the phone and talk to them.  Apparently TA's can call them directly, but the Silversea CC's are limited to email only.  He did tell me they will not be working this Thursday or Friday in observance of the US Thanksgiving holiday.

[les37b]

4 hours ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

les37b, I spoke with my Silversea CC.  He confirmed Silversea's Air Department is based in the Miami office and they handle all air requests for guests worldwide, not just in the US.  Their department also handles requests coming in from Travel Agents who's clients choose to have Silversea arrange the flights.  My CC lamented once again of his inability to just pick up the phone and talk to them.  Apparently TA's can call them directly, but the Silversea CC's are limited to email only.  He did tell me they will not be working this Thursday or Friday in observance of the US Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Thanks for your reply. I didn't get my promised call so I chased again and once again promised a call back. Once again, it hasn't happened. I did however ger a further email which effectively said speak to your TA.... And we can just keep on ignoring. They have told the TA an outright lie for both the outbound and inbound. 

 

Interestingly though, I have finally spoken with my new SS cruise consultant and he is escalating within. I expressed my frustrations and told him my TA had suggested the flights might be out based. He assured me they weren't. I asked if they had a central office in Miami dealing with them, but he insisted that wasn't the case and the Silver Air staff (for the UK at least) were in the same London office and office just a few doors away from him. 

 

Yet more conflicting "facts". 

[Daveywavey70]

2 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Thanks for your reply. I didn't get my promised call so I chased again and once again promised a call back. Once again, it hasn't happened. I did however ger a further email which effectively said speak to your TA.... And we can just keep on ignoring. They have told the TA an outright lie for both the outbound and inbound. 

 

Interestingly though, I have finally spoken with my new SS cruise consultant and he is escalating within. I expressed my frustrations and told him my TA had suggested the flights might be out based. He assured me they weren't. I asked if they had a central office in Miami dealing with them, but he insisted that wasn't the case and the Silver Air staff (for the UK at least) were in the same London office and office just a few doors away from him. 

 

Yet more conflicting "facts". 

Conflicting facts seem to be something that SS specialise in these days. I Tried to book onto a January sailing 10 days ago. I’ve been waiting ever since. I Was told at the time there was availability on the cruise. The website shows availability.  I Chased it up on Saturday and was told it was available. I Chased it up again today and was told it was waitlisted and had been referred to Monaco and they were awaiting availability. Maybe it’s time to follow my gut and book elsewhere. What on earth is going on there? 

[les37b]

7 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Conflicting facts seem to be something that SS specialise in these days. I Tried to book onto a January sailing 10 days ago. I’ve been waiting ever since. I Was told at the time there was availability on the cruise. The website shows availability.  I Chased it up on Saturday and was told it was available. I Chased it up again today and was told it was waitlisted and had been referred to Monaco and they were awaiting availability. Maybe it’s time to follow my gut and book elsewhere. What on earth is going on there? 

 

I got a reply, which basically said that she will pass over yet again what they've already been told by myself and the TA. Ultimately it would seem we are at the mercy of the people in Silver Air, which should be increasingly alarming to anyone about to book or awaiting flights to be assigned. 

 

I can get by with the options I have, but the responses given to why the flights preferred can't be provided is for want of a better word, a lie. That doesn't sit well with me. If I can no longer trust them to be honest, there is zero chance of another booking. Pre covid, I was happy to DIY flights and hotels, but I won't do this for anything long haul. Too much to lose, should SS make cruise changes. 

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

12 hours ago, les37b said:

I asked if they had a central office in Miami dealing with them, but he insisted that wasn't the case and the Silver Air staff (for the UK at least) were in the same London office and office just a few doors away from him. 

The same office just a few doors away?  Well, at least we know they are all singing from the same song sheet.  I've also been told that "management" (translated to the man behind the curtain) will get involved to escalate, yet here I am still waiting... They offered me an alternative flight going thru an airport closer to home with a 2 hour layover at a lower deviation fee than the one they tried to gouge us for before, but I reminded them I requested a 3 hour minimum layover.  Back to the waiting game. 

[jimdee3636]

All these recent postings make me glad I just cancelled our 2023 Cloud D2D Iceland-Greenland-Halifax sailing. I can only imagine the crazy air routes they would have given us, or the weeks (months?) of hassles trying to get them changed. 

 

 

[Luv2Cruise1016]

I don't post often but thought I would chime in with our recent experience.  I traveled my entire business life and upon retiring several years ago had many frequent flyer miles that had me making my own air arrangements for our cruises, primarily to Europe and always business class.  We have a Norway cruise booked for next summer. I now have insufficient miles for 2 business class flights so decided to use Silversea Air department for flights with business class upgrade.  Our experience has been nothing but GREAT.  At 275 days we were notified of our flights which include only 1 stop from home airport (STL) to Copenhagen and from London on return.  on the return the original booking only had 1:25 which we thought was tight.  I noted a similar flight 2 hours earlier and requested that flight to allow more connecting time.  Within 2 days I had an email confirming the requested flight.  Easy peasy!  Sorry others are having difficulties but that is nothing like our experience.  Hope this helps others understand there are good outcomes with Silversea Air too. 

[Accessor]

2 hours ago, Luv2Cruise1016 said:

Our experience has been nothing but GREAT.  At 275 days we were notified of our flights which include only 1 stop from home airport (STL) to Copenhagen and from London on return.  on the return the original booking only had 1:25 which we thought was tight.

 Until you get to t-minus 30 days and they change your flights. I don't recommend any praise until you actually get on the flights as things change very often with SS air...it's a terrible dis-service to SS pax.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

3 hours ago, Luv2Cruise1016 said:

there are good outcomes with Silversea Air too. 

I agree.  On our last cruise with Silversea this past spring, we got the flights we requested and they were changed with no deviation fees.  The connection times on those flights were tight, but it was at the beginning of the travel season before everyone decided it was safe to travel and the airports were not at full capacity.  We were satisfied with our experience and I commented about our satisfaction on this forum.  Fast forward several months into a post pandemic world and this time around, our outbound flight request was honored, but our return flight has turned into a disaster.  My goal is for a positive outcome, but it's sure taking a long time to get there.

[Capri73]

Just now, Capri73 said:

 

Davey are  you looking to book SS again? We have had nothing but issues so have decided to move on.Do not consider Taulk they were worse than a Carnival cruise.In the past Taulk was wonderful cutbacks since Covid were so bad we did not know it was a Taulk trip except for the price.

[Gourmet Gal]

What’s Taulk?  Never heard of it.

[AveSaloon]

41 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

What’s Taulk?  Never heard of it.

 

Probably meaning Tauck.

[Host Jazzbeau]

That's like cheese and chauk.  🤣

[Capri73]

11 hours ago, AveSaloon said:

 

Probably meaning Tauck.

Yes sorry for the misspelling.