Any way to explore other Flight by Celebrity options online after booking flights?

[Stockjock]

I booked fights via Flights by Celebrity quite a few months ago.  I was curious as to whether there might be better/cheaper flights now available.

Obviously, I could call them, but I tried to explore this online but didn't see a way to do so.  It showed us as "already booked flights", thus no apparent option to explore current pricing and options.

Any other way of checking the options without calling?

[Josie2]

You can’t look by using your reservation.  You have to do a new mock booking of the cruise. 

[Stockjock]

49 minutes ago, Josie2 said:

You can’t look by using your reservation.  You have to do a new mock booking of the cruise. 

Would it show you the flight options if you don't actually book?

[Josie201]

Yes.  Just look up any cruise. 

[mahdnc]

11 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Would it show you the flight options if you don't actually book?

 

Yes, because Celebrity gives you the option to book your airfare at the same time you book your cruise on line for those that like to do one-stop shopping.

 

Do a search for your sailing in Celebrity's reservation system, click on the "View Itinerary" button instead of the "Book Now" button, scroll all the way to the bottom of the itinerary page until you see the screenshot below.  Click on "Get A Quote" and you are on your way.  The only thing you have to be aware is that any FBC promotions that are in effect will show up in your quote which may have been different than when you actually booked.  Fortunately, the discounts from the promotions are usually spelled out pretty clearly in the air fare.

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by mahdnc

[GeorgiaRetiredCruisers]

Are the flights any cheaper when booked thru Celebrity?  I always book our own, I like having full control over seat and section selection, as well as making sure I get my FF miles.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaRetiredCruisers said:

Are the flights any cheaper when booked thru Celebrity?  I always book our own, I like having full control over seat and section selection, as well as making sure I get my FF miles.

For me, I think the flights were slightly cheaper but...

No money paid until final payment and fully refundable up until final payment.

Plus, Celebrity Air gets me to the ship if a problem arises.

Worth it to book through them, imo.

[cruisin lady ca]

4 hours ago, GeorgiaRetiredCruisers said:

Are the flights any cheaper when booked thru Celebrity?  I always book our own, I like having full control over seat and section selection, as well as making sure I get my FF miles.

In the past, I found that coach tickets were not cheaper when booked through Flights by Celebrity. However, the savings on Business Class tickets has been significant. Being able to cancel or change flights prior to final payment, and not having to pay for the airline tickets until final payment has been a big reason for purchasing airline tickets through Flights by Celebrity. We have been able to connect the reservations to our frequent flyer accounts and select seats through the airline website too. It has worked well for us in most respects. The only downside for me was not being able to use my airline credit card to pay for the tickets because my TA doesn't accept AMEX. But I can live with that minor issue. 

[Stockjock]

6 hours ago, cruisin lady ca said:

In the past, I found that coach tickets were not cheaper when booked through Flights by Celebrity. However, the savings on Business Class tickets has been significant. Being able to cancel or change flights prior to final payment, and not having to pay for the airline tickets until final payment has been a big reason for purchasing airline tickets through Flights by Celebrity. We have been able to connect the reservations to our frequent flyer accounts and select seats through the airline website too. It has worked well for us in most respects. The only downside for me was not being able to use my airline credit card to pay for the tickets because my TA doesn't accept AMEX. But I can live with that minor issue. 

I get 5x Amex Reward Points for flights, but I think this bills as "Celebrity Cruises", which would not trigger that 5x multiplier.  So I suppose that would be another slight negative.  But for me, the pros outweighed the cons.

[cruisin lady ca]

14 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, because Celebrity gives you the option to book your airfare at the same time you book your cruise on line for those that like to do one-stop shopping.

 

Do a search for your sailing in Celebrity's reservation system, click on the "View Itinerary" button instead of the "Book Now" button, scroll all the way to the bottom of the itinerary page until you see the screenshot below.  Click on "Get A Quote" and you are on your way.  The only thing you have to be aware is that any FBC promotions that are in effect will show up in your quote which may have been different than when you actually booked.  Fortunately, the discounts from the promotions are usually spelled out pretty clearly in the air fare.

 

In some situations, the “Get a Quote” approach doesn’t work, as I just discovered  this week. Two of my upcoming cruises are not showing up on the celebrity website so the “Get a Quote” doesn’t work. You can only see flights by working through your cruise reservation’s “Manage Reservation” link. I am wondering whether, once flights have been added to your reservation, the only way to “see” new alternative flights is to call Flights by Celebrity.  I hope that isn’t the case. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 hours ago, cruisin lady ca said:

In the past, I found that coach tickets were not cheaper when booked through Flights by Celebrity. However, the savings on Business Class tickets has been significant. Being able to cancel or change flights prior to final payment, and not having to pay for the airline tickets until final payment has been a big reason for purchasing airline tickets through Flights by Celebrity. We have been able to connect the reservations to our frequent flyer accounts and select seats through the airline website too. It has worked well for us in most respects. The only downside for me was not being able to use my airline credit card to pay for the tickets because my TA doesn't accept AMEX. But I can live with that minor issue. 

 

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

I get 5x Amex Reward Points for flights, but I think this bills as "Celebrity Cruises", which would not trigger that 5x multiplier.  So I suppose that would be another slight negative.  But for me, the pros outweighed the cons.

 

You should apply for a card with generous travel rewards...Even if you never shop at Costco, thanks to the popularity of Costco you get some great rewards and no annual fee with the Citi Costco...4% back on gas and 3% back on BOTH travel and dining

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

37 minutes ago, cruisin lady ca said:

In some situations, the “Get a Quote” approach doesn’t work, as I just discovered  this week. Two of my upcoming cruises are not showing up on the celebrity website so the “Get a Quote” doesn’t work. You can only see flights by working through your cruise reservation’s “Manage Reservation” link. I am wondering whether, once flights have been added to your reservation, the only way to “see” new alternative flights is to call Flights by Celebrity.  I hope that isn’t the case. 

 

On our next sailing, there's only me and my girl, we both have flights by celebrity booked and can still search different flights when logged in.  We can also use the "view itinerary" option if not logged in.  I'm WAG ("Wild A$$ Guess") is we cannot actually book them online and would need to call

Edited April 27, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[Stockjock]

43 minutes ago, cruisin lady ca said:

In some situations, the “Get a Quote” approach doesn’t work, as I just discovered  this week. Two of my upcoming cruises are not showing up on the celebrity website so the “Get a Quote” doesn’t work. You can only see flights by working through your cruise reservation’s “Manage Reservation” link. I am wondering whether, once flights have been added to your reservation, the only way to “see” new alternative flights is to call Flights by Celebrity.  I hope that isn’t the case. 

I think I figured out how to do this.

Search for your cruise, but don't click on "book now".  Instead, click on "view itinerary".  Scroll to the bottom and you should see an option for exploring flights.

I did this and looks like the prices have increased by about $400-$500 for the two of us.  While I don't love the crack of dawn departures, I'll probably just stick with what I booked.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Stockjock

[NutsAboutGolf]

15 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, because Celebrity gives you the option to book your airfare at the same time you book your cruise on line for those that like to do one-stop shopping.

 

Do a search for your sailing in Celebrity's reservation system, click on the "View Itinerary" button instead of the "Book Now" button, scroll all the way to the bottom of the itinerary page until you see the screenshot below.  Click on "Get A Quote" and you are on your way.  The only thing you have to be aware is that any FBC promotions that are in effect will show up in your quote which may have been different than when you actually booked.  Fortunately, the discounts from the promotions are usually spelled out pretty clearly in the air fare.

 

 

Visual aid since the X made the button transparent/easy to miss for some reason...

 

[cruisin lady ca]

7 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

 

You should apply for a card with generous travel rewards...Even if you never shop at Costco, thanks to the popularity of Costco you get some great rewards and no annual fee with the Citi Costco...4% back on gas and 3% back on BOTH travel and dining

 

And generous shop card for bookings made with or transferred to them (within 30 days of booking online). 

[NutsAboutGolf]

 

13 minutes ago, cruisin lady ca said:

And generous shop card for bookings made with or transferred to them (within 30 days of booking online). 

 

Yes but bookings with them are excluded from MoveUp...Unless something changed, you do not need a costco membership to apply for the Citi Costco Credit card

Edited April 27, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[NutsAboutGolf]

One interesting datapoint, we were considering flying in from different locations due to a work trip.  We searched international flights by X which defaulted to two adults, found a flight we wanted for me...Realizing it for two, we dropped it to one adult hoping for the same per person price, nope!  The outbound flight was 3x and the return was 2x, yet X recommended different flights as they were cheaper

 

We did wonder but did not try, what if we booked the 2 adults with the lower fare online and call X to cancel one, what would the price be?  You can cancel flights by X flights within 24 hours for a full refund without a cancel/change fee

Edited April 27, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[cruisin lady ca]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

On our next sailing, there's only me and my girl, we both have flights by celebrity booked and can still search different flights when logged in.  We can also use the "view itinerary" option if not logged in.  I'm WAG ("Wild A$$ Guess") is we cannot actually book them online and would need to call

Thank you! I will try that approach. In the past, after I booked flights, I still wanted to see if something better/cheaper came available. So the ability to create a quote was useful.

 

I never had a cruise (actually two cruises) disappear from the website before. So, that has me scratching my head. 

[cruisin lady ca]

50 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

One interesting datapoint, we were considering flying in from different locations due to a work trip.  We searched international flights by X which defaulted to two adults, found a flight we wanted for me...Realizing it for two, we dropped it to one adult hoping for the same per person price, nope!  The outbound flight was 3x and the return was 2x, yet X recommended different flights as they were cheaper

 

We did wonder but did not try, what if we booked the 2 adults with the lower fare online and call X to cancel one, what would the price be?  You can cancel flights by X flights within 24 hours for a full refund without a cancel/change fee

When actually booking flights through the “Manage Reservation”, you have to select the passengers so you could book flights for one passenger at a time. 
 

if you book flights that say “no risk”, you can cancel anytime prior to final payment and no money is owed. If you make final payment and then cancel flights, I believe the penalty if $200 pp. 

[cruisin lady ca]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

 

Yes but bookings with them are excluded from MoveUp...Unless something changed, you do not need a costco membership to apply for the Citi Costco Credit card

 

[mahdnc]

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Visual aid since the X made the button transparent/easy to miss for some reason...

 

 

Thanks

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

5 hours ago, cruisin lady ca said:

I am wondering whether, once flights have been added to your reservation, the only way to “see” new alternative flights is to call Flights by Celebrity.  I hope that isn’t the case. 

 

It wasn't a problem for me--after booking flights with FBC, I was still able use the procedure I described to check on flight prices and flight options.  

[jagoffee]

On 4/27/2023 at 1:35 PM, cruisin lady ca said:

Thank you! I will try that approach. In the past, after I booked flights, I still wanted to see if something better/cheaper came available. So the ability to create a quote was useful.

 

I never had a cruise (actually two cruises) disappear from the website before. So, that has me scratching my head. 

Did you try the re-emerging your cruise reservation number?

[cruisin lady ca]

On 4/28/2023 at 7:40 PM, jagoffee said:

Did you try the re-emerging your cruise reservation number?

I am not sure what you are asking

I can see my reservations in my account when I am logged in. And I can search for flights by accessing Flight by Celebrity through “Manage Reservation”.

 

However, it is no longer possible to get to Flights by Celebrity through a “dummy booking” or the Flights by Celebrity link without accessing my reservation. In the past, I aaa able to search for flights without actually being in my reservation, which was important when I was trying to check on flight availability and pricing after having booked flights. 

 

I am guessing that this is a result of the cruise being sold out/oversold.  But I don’t know whether that is, in fact, the explanation. 
 

Has anyone else been unable to access Flights by Celebrity from the website when the cruise isn’t visible on the Celebrity website and you aren’t logged in your account and without creating a dummy booking.

[rodndonna]

On 4/27/2023 at 1:41 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

 

Yes but bookings with them are excluded from MoveUp...Unless something changed, you do not need a costco membership to apply for the Citi Costco Credit card

 

Are all bookings through any agency (all non-Celebrity direct bookings) exempt from MoveUp?