Silversea Air Screws Up Again

[FlyerTalker]

Unless you are spending at least $50k per year on tickets, or are a corporate travel decision maker at a large corporation, forget you even heard of Concierge Key.  Even then, just outright spend won't get you that status, as it also needs to be high-yield travel, combined with a pattern of loyalty to AA.  As mentioned, it is invitation-only and there are probably less than 15,000 in the world.  Similar programs at UA and DL are known as Global Services and 360 respectively.

[silkismom]

Well, no wonder I never heard of it.😉 Thanks for the explanation. The only time we fly is to a cruise or the Caribbean.

[saminina]

Which is why anyone would mention it on here is beyond puzzling.  

[taxatty]

Here's another person who would never use SS Air.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

Or the real-life Tom Stuker, who has over 22 million miles flown with United. 

[les37b]

On 12/2/2022 at 5:50 PM, silkismom said:

Thanks Stumblefoot, no we don't have Concierge Key, we really haven't been flying enough, I do have 97,600 miles and they say I am Platinum.  Silversea HAS to get you there, don't they???

So about 9,902,400 to go then! lol

[FlyerTalker]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:50 AM, silkismom said:

Silversea HAS to get you there, don't they???

 

No they don't.

 

Read the actual terms and conditions of ANY cruiseline air program and you will find them full of exclusions, disclaimers and a lack of any kind of guarantee.

 

If you buy a ticket through a cruiseline, you will get a ticket.  Period.  You don't get some kind of super-duper, magical "we'll make seats and flights appear so you make the ship" guarantee, which many folks think is the big benefit of cruiseline air.

 

Caveat emptor.

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Caveat emptor.

Amen.

[silkismom]

Well, I guess I've learned a lesson. I sure won't book air with SS again. With all the cancellations, changes of ports etc the past several years, I just thought it would be best.

[silkismom]

BTW, my TA still hasn't heard from SS about canceling leg one from DEN-LAX, price wouldn't change, but if we didn't take that leg the whole thing would cancel--at least that's how it worked in the past. 

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, silkismom said:

BTW, my TA still hasn't heard from SS about canceling leg one from DEN-LAX, price wouldn't change, but if we didn't take that leg the whole thing would cancel--at least that's how it worked in the past. 

 

If a ticket has multiple segments, missing one segment will normally void the remainder of the ticket.

 

The only exception that I know of is if the airline is aware of the reason for missing a segment, approved that deviation, and has made the proper notations and amendments to the ticket.  For example, you are in Chattanooga and have a segment that goes from Chattanooga to Atlanta, connecting to a further flight from ATL.  There is an airline-caused cancellation of your first flight and the next flight they can get you on would have you miss your connection.  With the airline's approval, they can note that you are renting a car to drive to ATL to catch your next segment, rather than wait for their own flight arrangements.  Only with their explicit approval, and ticket amendment, can you miss that first segment and still have the rest of your ticket be valid.  And that is only under extraordinary circumstances.  They will NOT let you do this just for your convenience or to allow you to avoid their ticketing and fare rules.

[silkismom]

I doubt if SS has actually ticketed anything yet--I've heard its only 60 days prior to the flt. Our trip is in Apr.

[Gourmet Gal]

8 minutes ago, silkismom said:

I doubt if SS has actually ticketed anything yet--I've heard its only 60 days prior to the flt. Our trip is in Apr.

Don’t depend on that.  I’ve had tickets issued much earlier than that by SS.  They are consistently inconsistent.

[les37b]

Hmm… whilst we are unofficially now been placed back on the 08.00 from Anchorage and 6 hour connection in Seattle, we are still awaiting confirmation despite chasing this nearly two weeks ago.

 

In the meantime, the roll call has brought in a huge problem which I certainly didn’t see coming and do wonder if SS are even aware. 

 

In my.silversea we’ve got the Seward to Anchorage train transfer from port to airport (via hotel)….. We arrive in Seward on 11 May (where obviously the next voyage starts too.)

 

The train service doesn’t start until the 15 May.

 

Japan still hasn’t officially opened for cruises yet, which I was hoping would be the final obstacle removed, but now this. I’ve never experience a more stressful booking than this one.

 

Apparently there are no coaches that can be booked either at the moment, though I suspect this would be the option chosen rather than Taxi. I could have sworn the device actually started in April, but the railroad website seems to confirm this.

 

This train journey was something we were really looking forward to.

 

Call me a cynic, but I just spotted that these voyages (along with probably all Seward voyages) now have a 20% discount with a non refundable port to port fare promotion. (It probably brings the fare in line with what it would have been prior to the price hikes to force Door to door.)

 

Of the 3 remaining bookings I gave with SS, this is definitely the one I’m most looking forward to, but just get that sinking feeling it’s just never meant to be.

Edited December 16, 2022 by les37b

[silkismom]

Les, I feel your pain. You might try to rent a car for the drive--it's beautiful and you can stop along the way (we do drive on the other side of the road😉) 

 

I think our air situation is finally settled--unless it changes. We are now flying DEN-LAX on our own and catching a later JAL flt to Haneda, then Osaka. We will still have to transfer our bags from AA to JAL, but we have 4 hours to do it. It shows in MySilversea and Checkmytrip--so it should be accurate.😜

[les37b]

2 hours ago, silkismom said:

Les, I feel your pain. You might try to rent a car for the drive--it's beautiful and you can stop along the way (we do drive on the other side of the road😉) 

 

I think our air situation is finally settled--unless it changes. We are now flying DEN-LAX on our own and catching a later JAL flt to Haneda, then Osaka. We will still have to transfer our bags from AA to JAL, but we have 4 hours to do it. It shows in MySilversea and Checkmytrip--so it should be accurate.😜

 

Its all done to test us! lol

 

I finally got the PNRs confirming the flights we are scheduled with, so hopefully no further changes until ticketed - unless its to reduce the 6h10m layover. We'll survive. We were ok with that amount of time (in preference to 1h7m which is impossible IMHO.), so its back to square one. The PNRs are all ok thankfully.

 

I did call the TA who suggested that Alaska Railroads probably hadn't published their timetables yet - which of course they have as the service starts 4 days after we want to travel. She then suggested that SS have probably hired the train for those embarking and disembarking and as wonderful as that sounds, I know its not feasible. I'd hate to think the cost of hiring the whole train for the day! Bless - she said "but its part of the contract and its on your invoice! If only it were that simple and contracts were't stacked against the consumer. I certainly don't want a refund so its all very mute on what I can do except accept whatever they come up with.

 

Anyway, she said they probably haven't even got round to looking at the booking hotels and transfers yet so maybe they are unaware. I reminded her that was why I was flagging this up.

 

I appreciate this is no longer SilverAir (I think) dealing with this stuff - but hey ho. As we know from the flight changes airlines do on a whim, I think I'd hate to be involved in planning and booking now. Makes a past job of diagramming locomotives and  train crews for engineering and freight trains look so damned easy!

 

On that note, I do recall a flight I'd booked with an identical Gatwick departure time and choosing to take "the better airline". BA contacted us to tell us we were now travelling to Catania 12 hours later, which we declined and was refunded...... and then had to pay more for cheapo Easyjet tickets we could have booked if we hadn't looked at BA being better.

 

[boccenana]

Maybe we just lucked out but our Silverair Flights went perfectly. A little crazy getting to Athens via Chicago and Frankfurt. Beware disembarkation from plane in Frankfurt. High steps outside no ramp. Bizarre and dangerous with carry-ons.

Returning from Dubai on Emerites with one stop in Houston was the best flight we have ever taken.

 

[silkismom]

Here we go again. On Dec 21 my TA sent a new "check my trip" showing our seats LAX-HND-KIX and it said to ticket by Dec 22 or it would be canceled without warning.   Guess what--today our flts don't show on checkmytrip, UA (return shows) or on JAL website.  This is getting freaking ridiculous!!😠 Yes, I sent an email to my TA.

[alithecat]

@les37bwe were on the Muse this summer ending in Seward. Yes, Silversea does hire the train to Anchorage. They go from ship to airport in the morning and the reverse in the afternoon. The train is included if you book D2D. If you book P2P, Silversea takes you on a bus which is included in the fare or you can book the train for additional cost. Hope this helps. Silversea doesn't explain this very well. 

[les37b]

49 minutes ago, alithecat said:

@les37bwe were on the Muse this summer ending in Seward. Yes, Silversea does hire the train to Anchorage. They go from ship to airport in the morning and the reverse in the afternoon. The train is included if you book D2D. If you book P2P, Silversea takes you on a bus which is included in the fare or you can book the train for additional cost. Hope this helps. Silversea doesn't explain this very well. 

Many thanks for this. We are on D2D and it has always shown up in my.silversea as train. The issue was that the Alaskan Railroad Timetable doesn’t start running until after we arrive. (I wasn’t aware until it was posted in the roll call which is what caused the confusion. What I wasn’t aware of was the service provided for cruise ships is a charter which connects the port to the airport. With that knowledge it’s feasible it will be as suggested. However, I have also seen that SS do also use coaches to transfer. Hopefully only when more than one ship in port. We are the only ones so fingers crossed it remains as a train charter transfer…. And the sun shines! 
 

Still waiting for the confirmation which should be easy to get unless there is doubt it will be.

 

What’s also a little strange. There are late flights from Anchorage we could have caught but instead we have an overnight in a hotel with an early start which I’m guessing is at increased cost to us. I’ve no idea, we were just told that’s what was happening.

 

The flights remain still as the latest iteration and thankfully my alertness to KLM dropping Osaka turned out to be accurate.

[Dolcevita Diva]

On 12/13/2022 at 12:17 PM, FlyerTalker said:

Unless you are spending at least $50k per year on tickets, or are a corporate travel decision maker at a large corporation, forget you even heard of Concierge Key.  Even then, just outright spend won't get you that status, as it also needs to be high-yield travel, combined with a pattern of loyalty to AA.  As mentioned, it is invitation-only and there are probably less than 15,000 in the world.  Similar programs at UA and DL are known as Global Services and 360 respectively.

 

On 12/13/2022 at 12:59 PM, silkismom said:

Well, no wonder I never heard of it.😉 Thanks for the explanation. The only time we fly is to a cruise or the Caribbean.

 

On 12/13/2022 at 7:45 PM, saminina said:

Which is why anyone would mention it on here is beyond puzzling.  

 

Although those top-tier programs require substantial travel and spend on the respective airlines. AA does have a Five Star service program at select airports that you can purchase for a few hundred dollars. Some airports (Heathrow comes to mind) have similar "VIP" programs. AA's Five Star program has a few different options, but essentially you'll be assigned a representative who will meet you and assist with check-in, take you to the front of security line, assist with gate transfers, etc.   

[cruiseej]

I didn't want to jinx things by saying anything earlier, but I'll now say that our Silversea Air arrangements worked perfectly for our Antarctica cruise which concluded last week. With all the disasters that get reported here, I figured it was worth a positive report when everything works correctly. 😉

 

Last spring, the initial booking SS created had crazy bad connections, but as soon as our travel agent reached out, they corrected it to the flights we had originally requested, which included flying one day early and adding a night at Silversea's pre-cruise hotel. We had business class bookings on American, from PHL to MIA to SCL and back. The flights SS booked stayed locked in leading up to the cruise, American made only minor schedule adjustments when they finalized their December schedule, and all our flights were on time and fine (not that the latter has anything to do with SS). That was our first time booking air with SS, and our experience was a good one. Going forward, we'll evaluate booking on our own versus through SS once we see the costs, flights available, and potential complexity of the location.  

[bubbulz]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

I didn't want to jinx things by saying anything earlier, but I'll now say that our Silversea Air arrangements worked perfectly for our Antarctica cruise which concluded last week. With all the disasters that get reported here, I figured it was worth a positive report when everything works correctly. 😉

 

Last spring, the initial booking SS created had crazy bad connections, but as soon as our travel agent reached out, they corrected it to the flights we had originally requested, which included flying one day early and adding a night at Silversea's pre-cruise hotel. We had business class bookings on American, from PHL to MIA to SCL and back. The flights SS booked stayed locked in leading up to the cruise, American made only minor schedule adjustments when they finalized their December schedule, and all our flights were on time and fine (not that the latter has anything to do with SS). That was our first time booking air with SS, and our experience was a good one. Going forward, we'll evaluate booking on our own versus through SS once we see the costs, flights available, and potential complexity of the location.  

This is so good to hear. I just booked my first SS cruise to Antarctica today. Given all the (non-SS related) horror stories I've been hearing about people getting to where they need to be for their Antarctic cruises, I opted for door-to-door with SS. I figured that at least if things get hosed up, they'll be helping to get it straightened away. Also, all of the fares I was seeing right now are pretty crazy. Fingers crossed for a good first experience later this year.

[les37b]

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

I didn't want to jinx things by saying anything earlier, but I'll now say that our Silversea Air arrangements worked perfectly for our Antarctica cruise which concluded last week. With all the disasters that get reported here, I figured it was worth a positive report when everything works correctly. 😉

 

It’s only fair when being critical of things you report praise when due. We had a fair few issues last January on the Moon, but had nothing but praise by the end with our experience on board and with the late flight and changes forced by Covid. It was SS at its best in the end.

 

I am still waiting on the flights for march to Bridgetown to be locked in, but it’s not been a difficult one and has a direct flight from London and confident it will be concluded next Monday.

 

Muse in April has been problematic because of the limited options on the table. The flights we now have and agreed on, could and should have been better, but overall I’m ok with the outcome.

 

I finally got the PNR numbers and the ref tally’s with the airline, though know it’s not ticketed yet. Hopefully there’s won’t be further surprises. (And I refer to flight changes, not forced changes because of Covid issues, which are still a concern with new raised figures.

 

The train journey transfer from Seward mentioned in my last post still doesn’t have a confirmation. My.silversea still shows it as train, but Alaskan railroad hasn't started running when we arrive. We know it’s usually a charter, but the fact that trains haven’t started running yet, puts it in doubt. It’s now been over 3 weeks since I asked and follow up not even acknowledged. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think this is disappointing.

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by les37b

[Lois R]

Hi,  thought I would bring this back up and post about my most recent booking. I know many of you no longer book your airfare through SS but when I go to Europe I have always booked through  them and can't recall many issues......maybe I have just been lucky? And the price for the Business Class upgrade has always been a major factor for me.

 

In any case, I am going to Greece in April and just got my flights.  The return flight home was in place for leaving Athens at 11:15am.....well, I just received an email from Delta that the flight has been pushed back to 10:20am🙄.....I have a feeling that is way too early to make!!!! Unless we get in at 6am and I can be off the ship at 7....thing is, I have my transfers through the cruise line. 

 

I have an email in to my gal at SS about it and will speak to her tomorrow as well.  Hopefully things will work out! Will let you know what happens.