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I used Air2Sea for the first time


Matt

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4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I just tried it on a completely different computer on a different network, same thing.

 

I finally was able to find a link that would work out of a PDF google search result. Manually typing the link didn't work, I had to click through.

 

 

My TA couldn't access CruisingPower at all earlier today.  It seemed to be down for a spell.  Not just the A2S portion, the entire site was down.  It has since come back online apparently.

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45 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

Is this group cruise still open?

Nope, called off March 30. Next day Royal cancelled Anthem sailings. In place are UK resident only ocean getaway sailings.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/03/31/royal-caribbeans-anthem-of-the-seas-will-sail-uk-summer-2021

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/04/07/new-anthem-of-the-seas-summer-2021-cruises-uk-available-book-now

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As a frequent business traveler, I have enjoyed using A2S for my RCL cruises.  I appreciate the service they provide and confidence knowing if there are any problems along the way, they will support those unexpected travel issues.  I have 4 airports accessible and they don't mind checking fare from each. 

Their only shortfall is when you ask them to "work around" the airline's system.  Example: My last cruise was a TA to Barcelona.  A one-way ticket home was twice a r/t price booking a return leg under false pretense never to use it.  They would not allow me to book it with the intent of throwing away the return segments which were outside the bounds of my cruise itinerary.

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On 4/22/2021 at 8:28 AM, TXCoastPatriot said:

As a frequent business traveler, I have enjoyed using A2S for my RCL cruises.  I appreciate the service they provide and confidence knowing if there are any problems along the way, they will support those unexpected travel issues.  I have 4 airports accessible and they don't mind checking fare from each. 

Their only shortfall is when you ask them to "work around" the airline's system.  Example: My last cruise was a TA to Barcelona.  A one-way ticket home was twice a r/t price booking a return leg under false pretense never to use it.  They would not allow me to book it with the intent of throwing away the return segments which were outside the bounds of my cruise itinerary.

My guess would be because the deal they have with the airlines wouldn't allow them to, and irritating a couple of customers would be better than pissing off AA, BA, Qantas, etc. ?

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I just used Air2Sea for the first time too this morning for my Allure December 2021 sailing that I am really hoping I can go on.  It was $20 more (total) compared to Delta direct.  Fully refundable though, so a no-brainer to pay $20 more. 

My TA confirmed that it is an easy re-price should the price go down.

And I was able to pick seats on my Delta app immediately afterwards!  So painless.

My only complaint is what I have always experienced as a problem with Air2Sea, and that is that online, I cannot access all the flight options, especially the non-stop options.  My TA had to call them to access that.

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12 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

Is the pricing any "better" than booking directly with the airline? I like the $20 for the non-refundable @Lovetocruise2002 (not as an option just more), but flying into MIA is super expensive from STL or SGF unless using Southwest.

In my case, going from DTW-FLL, the pricing for Air2Sea was $20 (in total for two of us) more compared to if I booked through Delta directly.  And that is comparing apples to apples.  Same class of ticket, same flights.  The only difference was that Delta direct was non-refundable and the Air2Sea rate was refundable.  If I booked refundable through Delta direct, it would have been about $400 more than Air2Sea.

Sorry, as I was typing this, I realized that I making it more confusing than it needs to be lol.

Apples to apples...refundable booked directly from Delta is $400 more expensive than Air2Sea refundable.

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I just used Air2Sea for the first time too this morning for my Allure December 2021 sailing that I am really hoping I can go on.  It was $20 more (total) compared to Delta direct.  Fully refundable though, so a no-brainer to pay $20 more. 

My TA confirmed that it is an easy re-price should the price go down.

Yes, basically you can call in and they can cancel and rebook with the new price.

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

And I was able to pick seats on my Delta app immediately afterwards!  So painless.

 

I've also had luck picking seats for Air2Sea flights booked on Delta and on SAS.  Not sure if it is as easy on other airlines.

If you re-price and they rebook you, you need to go pick you seats again.  I actually had to go into the "old" reservation, move my seats, and then go into the new reservation and pick those seats I wanted again.  Cancelling it on the Air2Sea system didn't seem to cancel it on Delta's system immediately.  

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

My only complaint is what I have always experienced as a problem with Air2Sea, and that is that online, I cannot access all the flight options, especially the non-stop options.  My TA had to call them to access that.

It is a terrible website.  Sometimes I'll just play around with the search criteria and the flights I want eventually show up. 

 

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The worst part I've found about Air2Sea so far is that if the airline changes your flight, Air2Sea doesn't tell you.  It was thanks to a tip from this board to check my flights and sure enough they changed.  I changed them again to get back to the schedule I wanted, that much was fine and the Air2Sea reps were very helpful. But Air2Sea's website still shows my very original itinerary.

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13 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

The worst part I've found about Air2Sea so far is that if the airline changes your flight, Air2Sea doesn't tell you.

I only fly Delta, and the flights loaded onto my Delta app almost immediately so hopefully if a change happens, I will get a notification from Delta.

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@Scoular, after you get to the main page, you’ll have a big region on the left for searching flights with a booking number. But there’s a tab at the top of that block you can click to just get sample quotes. Click on that, then enter the cruise line, ship, month/year, and departure date. That’ll let you find the available options without being able to actually book.

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On 4/16/2021 at 8:13 PM, Mrs. RoyalMoyal said:

I was not able to pick seats... I'll ask Sharla for help. On Monday. I don't have to bother her with this on a Friday night!! It's a December flight, there is no hurry.

Sharla (MEI) took care of it! I did not pester her until yesterday afternoon, this morning it was all done. Like magic.

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On 4/24/2021 at 3:03 PM, smokeybandit said:

In this case it was American, in which I haven't gotten flight changes for non-A2S reservations in the past either.

I've an AA-loyal frequent flier and have been since 2007ish. AA emails me 100% of the time with schedule changes. Heck, they even email me if a flight number changes but the times stay the same (which always results in a slight head scratch until I realize that AA1234 has become AA4321 but everything else remains the same). I am wondering if there's some setting in your AA profile or email that's keeping them from being sent or being delivered? 

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thanks to all, we booked Air2Sea and got about $200 per person off vs expedia and airline site plus some protection/assurance of arrival included for our August Adventure of the seas out of Nassau. I can happily say it's not the super saver fare, but the main cabin and you can pick your seats, super convenient. I still can't pay to upgrade to preferred or main cabin extra as my reservation still shows pending on AA but it's only been 24 hours since I booked. Anyways thanks to the posters for the tips. Last year we had a European cruise cancelled, we bought the flight and the cruise insurance, not only were they worthless and didn't pay, we didn't even get the insurance ( sold by MSC and UAL) refunded when the cruise and airline gave us refunds independent of the insurance. They wouldn't even take our calls. Maybe these rates are just for these initial cruises but Air2Sea may have gotten me as a customer for life. I get an actual person in 3 minutes to answer my questions and I pay less than websites? What is not to love? TA couldn't have been more sweet, price was unbeatable and I'm happy. That is the art of customer service!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was wanting to search on my own for flights before calling Air2Sea. I don't see the website to do this. I did stumble onto one Cruising Power website but you have to create an account.  So when I went to create an account you had to be a travel agent to do so. Is this the site? If not please forward link to site.

Thank You!

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13 minutes ago, Ellen Gesell said:

I was wanting to search on my own for flights before calling Air2Sea. I don't see the website to do this. I did stumble onto one Cruising Power website but you have to create an account.  So when I went to create an account you had to be a travel agent to do so. Is this the site? If not please forward link to site.

Thank You!

http://www.choiceair.com

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm taking a moment to share my (ongoing) experience with Flights by Celebrity,  which is really the same service.

On my flight home from Celebrity millennium, the flight from Miami was cancelled. American airlines hasn't been real helpful. They insisted the best we can hope for is a flight on Monday. They offered hotels,  but said there are none available. 

I  booked the flight through Flights by Celebrity. So, I called there emergency service at 1am last night.

Lisa picked up the phone and tried her best. She got us a hotel at Celebrity's expense. She also got us on the standby list for 8:30 today. Fingers crossed that we will make it

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4 hours ago, steverk said:

I'm taking a moment to share my (ongoing) experience with Flights by Celebrity,  which is really the same service.

On my flight home from Celebrity millennium, the flight from Miami was cancelled. American airlines hasn't been real helpful. They insisted the best we can hope for is a flight on Monday. They offered hotels,  but said there are none available. 

I  booked the flight through Flights by Celebrity. So, I called there emergency service at 1am last night.

Lisa picked up the phone and tried her best. She got us a hotel at Celebrity's expense. She also got us on the standby list for 8:30 today. Fingers crossed that we will make it

This is why we’ll be using Air2Sea for our Alaska and Holy Land/Greece cruises in 2022

We used Southwest out of Orlando to San Juan 2 years ago and it was great but Alaska and Italy are big ticket/bucket list trips and I’m not risking it

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On 4/20/2021 at 8:31 AM, smokeybandit said:

Is the Air2Sea website dead for anyone else?

I have had issues with it, but last week I was able to book a flight for Mar '22 (after several interrupted attempts).    Sometimes the link to connect would not be available, or if available, allow for viewing of flight, but issues selecting.  Could always call the number, but I prefer shopping flights myself and not have a person trying to create a route for me.   

It may be a loading issue when too many are trying to access at a given time.  I also found difficulty finding direct offerings when shopping when flights first open up for sale.   I know the direct offerings exist because I always check on the airlines website at the same time to verify flights, times and compare cost.   Seems some of the better flights (shortest duration) are withheld until closer to the cruise, then the prices become elevated.   Direct flights are a must for us even though we travel the day before the cruise.

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