Reviews

Review Details

• Review frompaige E

  Date: 08/17/2023

  1 star

  paige E

  Date: 08/17/2023

  ************************* was in charge of booking our flights in and out of the ** to board an Oceania Cruise around the Mediterranean. She booked one of our international flights a half hour after a previous flight was supposed to land. As expected, the flight left without us. Not a big deal, we were able to get rebooked. On our flights supposed to be returning to the US, they got cancelled due to the ******** wildfires. As a travel agent, we were hoping that ***** would be able to help us, but after informing her of our dilemma she replies with an email stating this: "It wouldn't have mattered if I'd gotten through to the air desk anyways, they are not taking calls due to so much going on with air. The wildfires in Canda have caused chaos with flights. Our headquarters in ******** has been closed since Tuesday because of the smoke. Serious situation. Many flights are cancelled and it affect everywhere. Oceania said we need to leave it to them, as they are the only ones to fix it. We couldn't get through to any air department today. Good luck with everything. The phone numbers: XXXXXXXXXX." It was honestly scary how okay our travel agent was with leaving us in ********, ******. After taking matters into our own hands, I got in contact with Cruise Specialists to try to make them aware about my less-than-satisfactory experience with one of their agents. That inquiry and follow up email was sent June 14 and June 18, respectively. I am writing this review on August 17th and have heard nothing from them. I know ***** and the cruise company received some commission off of our bill but were nowhere to be found and of absolutely no assistance when we needed them to be the most.

  Cruise Specialists

  Date: 08/19/2023

  Dear *****,
  
  Thank you for reaching out to us and we apologize that you had a bad experience. The wildfires in ****** had a significant impact on flights in and out of North America in June.
  
  Regarding the short layover on your flights to board your Oceania cruise, these flights were booked by the cruise line and were provided well in advance and approved by your family member who made the reservation.The shortest layover was 1 hour on the outbound flight, and the cruise line wouldn't have issued the ticket if it wasn't a legal connection. That said, we know its stressful to miss a connection and were glad to see Oceania step in quickly and book you on a later flight so you could make it to your Mediterranean cruise.
  
  As to your returning flights, we were in communication with the designated family member on record and when made aware of the new flight arrangements, she informed us that those flights didnt work and that she would make her own arrangements to get home from ********.
  
  Here is the communication from your family member regarding the air issue: "*****, I appreciate your help! We will get this figured out eventually. xxxxxx."
  
  On Saturday, June 10, ***** received the following message from the her:"We have contacted the concierge on the ship and called the Oceania hotline. We also called Air Canada and were placed on hold for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and then they hung up on us. The cruise was amazing. The flights to and from the cruise ship didn't go well." At this point, ***** informed her that our attempts to reach the air department at the cruise line were also unsuccessful, and she advised the client to work with the onboard staff as they were better positioned to be able to help having made the flight arrangements to begin with.
  
  We did receive your email about this issue. Our team had been working with your family member regarding the air situation. We apologize for the communication wires getting crossed.
  
  We are sorry for the unsatisfactory experienced and would be happy to answer any questions or assist you in any way we can. Please contact us at ************ or contact our sales manager at ********************************