Seabourn Hotel Reservation Problem?

[JMB56]

Please help someone who is planning only my second cruise.

 

I booked an Antarctic cruise with Seabourn for this winter more than a month ago. The cruise included one night in a Buenos Aries hotel (Alvear Icon) before heading to Ushuaia. I wanted to leave a day early and spend an extra night in Buenos Aries. The travel agent then confirmed everything was booked, including our plane journey, but that Seabourn still had to add the extra night's stay at the hotel in Buenos Aries. A month later, the hotel still has not been confirmed by Seabourn.  The travel agent said not to worry; that Seabourn was notoriously slow when booking extra evening in hotels.

Should I be worried?  Will the price go up if the hotel hasn't been booked?

 

On another topic, we are flying from London to Buenos Aries in British Airways Premium Economy, booked by Seabourn.  However, I am unable to reserve seats (even at extra cost), either via the BA website (says seats will be allocated at check-in) or through the Seabourn website (says seat selection is not available at this time).  Will I ever be able to choose seats (once I have paid the balance of the cost) or will I have to live with whatever British Airways gives me? 

[dalliowner]

Usually, with BA you can book seats for free 24 hrs before departure .

[markham]

This is precisely why it is ridiculous to book directly with a cruise line, unless the cruise line performs as would a top TA. Of course, you are using a TA, and I hope that they are insistent on quality measures ie pleasing you. Or else you should select a better TA next time.

 

In my experience a cruise line be slow to book the hotel but if the TA confirmed a cruise line price for the hotel you will most probably be ok.

 

About BA, the cruise line must ticket you so you can use the airline locator number all the way to selecting your seats online (and pay for the seats). Until then the booking is not yours but is in limbo,  care of the cruise line. When do cruise lines ticket plane tickets? Usually 2-3 months before your flight, when the invoice is due, and this may mean the better seats are taken. You can ask your TA if you can pay now and then demand the cruise line ticket the air now. Is it worth it to you? If not then pay for the entire air/cruise package when due (according to the TA), 2-3 months before you go, and then book those seats.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[markham]

I hasten to add that this seating palaver may also relate to how BA does things and/or the class of seats. We seldom use BA via Seabourn as we prefer other airlines when available. This is one reason why. And whatever “was” in my experience is not as current as what you have just experienced.

 

Good luck.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Island2Dweller]

BA allow you to buy seats in advance.  EXCEPT if you are part of a group booking, in which case you can never buy in advance.  It's a limitation due to BA shonky IT.  As all the group booking will be under the same reservation number, if they allowed you to reserve it would show all the names on that reservation number (which would be in breach of data protection rules).  So it is never allowed.

You'll be able to choose seats when check in opens 24 hours before departure, but obviously you'll only be able to choose whatever is unallocated at that point. 

[2SailingNomads]

We have flown BA biz from Heathrow several times and have one more booked and likely more to come as a non-stop to LAS is very convenient but the whole crap of having to pay extra on top of already pricey biz class tickets for a pre assigned seat does not sit well with me, even when I book it thru American who code share the flight.  Much prefer KLM for many reasons but they only fly nonstop a few days a week and that involves AMS.