Booking air with cruise line

We are taking a trans Atlantic cruise with Princess in the spring. We have booked our air with them and have paid for the cruise and air. We would like to book better seats possibly using miles but Princess doesn't book the flights until 45 days before (flight can be cancelled without penalty up to 45 days before) even though payment is due 75 days before. I need advice whether to have Princess book the flight now so that I can try for better seats (which means there could not be a refund for cancelling) or just wait until they book the flights. Thanks ahead of time. Yes, I have insurance but that only counts for illness.

We are taking a trans Atlantic cruise with Princess in the spring. We have booked our air with them and have paid for the cruise and air. We would like to book better seats possibly using miles but Princess doesn't book the flights until 45 days before (flight can be cancelled without penalty up to 45 days before) even though payment is due 75 days before. I need advice whether to have Princess book the flight now so that I can try for better seats (which means there could not be a refund for cancelling) or just wait until they book the flights. Thanks ahead of time. Yes' date=' I have insurance but that only counts for illness.[/quote']

 

My experience not recent, air booked through cruise generally the airline will not do any thing for you.... for example, when I had air through cruise, I could not upgrade or even take advantage of a special offer at the airport for better seats for a fee. This was on American Airlines. Because of this, I no longer book air through cruise line. Even for a TA, I book with miles directly with airline to avoid high open jaw fees. Did a TA this year, booked a flight with miles to Barcelona; then a separate flight I paid for from Florida to California.

 

Check with the airline to see what you can do. Maybe someone else has recent experience.

Generally, only the higher-priced fare buckets are eligible for upgrade using miles - one of the reasons I've never done it as it ends up being a poor value.

Just understand the cruise company will book you the cheapest way possible. multiple stops, changing planes and short layovers not unheard of.

Unless you pay extra to choose your flights you can end up with some very sub-optimal flights from the cruise line because as mentioned they will book lowest fare flights. One of the reasons I prefer to book my own. This is one I want to have total control for.

Keith

Can I suggest that you seriously consider cancelling the flights, and not just for the ability to upgrade.

Cruise lines have their "preferred air partners" and regardless of whether other airlines offer a direct service they will use those airlines even if that involves convoluted & time-consuming dog-leg routing with changes of aircraft, worryingly-short or boringly-long layovers, tight timing, etc.

Hence some of the points made by jlp & Keith.

I don't know whether in the US the cruise line is liable if you miss your sailing due to the flights that they book for you, but there are certainly two down-sides to booking flights yourselves .......

- if your flight is cancelled or delayed & you miss the sailing that's your problem, not theirs. For that reason seasoned cruisers normally fly a day or two ahead.

- if for some reason the cruise is cancelled, they're not responsible for refunding airfares that you've paid.

Check out posts in the cruise air forum https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=128 where you'll find folk far more expert than me on the subject, and mebbe ask your question there. Also ask which airline Princess use, & check if that airline offers direct flights.

And of course check out the fares if you book direct - don't delay, fares may rise & availability may drop.

JB :)

Just understand the cruise company will book you the cheapest way possible. multiple stops, changing planes and short layovers not unheard of.

Not true, at least not on Princess. The customer picks the airline, flights and level of service.

OP - I don't know what airline you are flying or whether you have status in its loyalty program but this is my personal experience with Princess EZ Air and United Airlines. I will confirm that in our experience you can't add miles for a seat upgrade.

My husband and I are premier gold status on United which entitles us to premium economy seats for the price of regular economy. Last October on flights from Fort Lauderdale to Newark to Rome I made the reservations more than 10 months ahead with Princess and chose economy seats. I then called United right away and they changed our seats to premium economy seats (bulkhead no less) for no additional costs. We were also on the free upgrade lists but didn't make the cut (and didn't expect to since the price of your ticket and when it was paid for are additional upgrade criteria in addition to status).

Right now we have reservations for round trip Washington, DC to Seattle this summer with Princess EZ Air for us, our 2 children and spouses and our granddaughter. I made the reservations last October (as a placeholder) and DH and I were upgraded, as expected, to Premium Economy and I was able to pick out economy seats for everyone else (I was filling out the EZ Air request for everyone). One of the perks of premier gold status is that a traveling companion can be upgraded to premium economy for free. I called United and they confirmed 1) the seat assignments I had made for everyone (which I had watched on line change from available to occupied when I made the initial reservations) and 2) said we could upgrade 2 of the travelers once we paid for the seats. So at final payment that's what we'll do.

If you are using EZ Air Flex.....you should already have a reservation number (it will usually show on your cruise personilizer. Just log-in, go to your future cruise and click on "Flight Schedule." It should list your flights and next to each flight there will be a "confirmation" number. Then log into the airline's own web site and try to pull up your reservation by using your name and that Confirmation number. With many (not all) airlines this will bring up your flights and you may be able to choose seats. We recently did this with some China Air and American Airlines flights booked through EZ Air.

Hank

At the time of this writing, UA doesn’t have premium economy.

At the time of this writing, UA doesn’t have premium economy.

Well, they do offer what Untied calls "Economy Plus" which is anything but :). You do get a few extra inches of legroom....but one would have to stretch the truth to call it "premium" anything.

Hank

I have used Princess EZAir a number of times for international flights to and/or from cruises in Europe, and have always found more reasonable fares than I could find on my own, whether thru a specific airline or using something like Orbitz.

Almost all of my flights have been on Delta, and once booked I have been able to go on the Delta website and choose seats right away. A few times I have decided that the price offered for Delta Comfort was acceptable to my travel budget, and have been able to upgrade to that category of seats online right on the Delta website.

I especially like that by booking using EZAir's flexible option, if I find that the fare has gotten lower, I can choose to cancel the existing booking and rebook at the lower fare, with no change fee, up till 45 days before the flight. There have been times that I have done this 3 or more times, saving myself several hundred dollars.

At the time of this writing, UA doesn’t have premium economy.

Well, they do offer what Untied calls "Economy Plus" which is anything but :). You do get a few extra inches of legroom....but one would have to stretch the truth to call it "premium" anything.

 

Hank

Quite true I didn't remember the name. United did announce just this week that they are adding premium economy to their overseas flights so I must have that name on the brain :p. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/united-to-introduce-premium-economy-cabin-in-2018-445024/

What can be frustrating is that the term "Premium Economy" really has little meaning these days. Economy has become so awful that Premium can sometimes be nothing more then what we used to get with regular Economy...or even worse. But some airlines have what is true "Premium Economy" which can even be better than Business Class on some other airlines (such as Domestic United). Consider that Air New Zealand (a favorite of ours) offers 41 inches of pitch (leg room) and an 18 inch width seat. Compare that to Delta Comfort Plus....which only has 35 inch pitch in a 17.2 inch seat. Its seems like the International Standard for Premium Economy is becoming something close to 38 inches of pitch and 19 inches of width.

When we take really long flights we prefer to book Business (lay flat) for overnight flights and real Premium Economy for day flights. We find this the best compromise. But once you get into domestic aircraft all the standards really bet blurred. Delta will sell you a First Class seat that has 39 inches of pitch and 20.5 width which is less pitch than some premium economy seats!

For us, this means doing research (before booking) on Seatguru.com.....which is a terrific site for figuring out just what you are getting for your money.

Hank

Unless you pay extra to choose your flights you can end up with some very sub-optimal flights from the cruise line because as mentioned they will book lowest fare flights. One of the reasons I prefer to book my own. This is one I want to have total control for.

 

Keith

Agree, when we used cruise line we paid extra for specific flight, but cruise books at lowest fare... so better book your own air as others have said.

Have to disagree with most of you. Have booked with Princess ezair several times with a choice of dozens of flights. Just booked with RCL air2sea one way to Barcelona in November, 10-12 airlines to chose from, dozens of daily flight options, choice of economy, economy plus and business class. Picked and paid for our flight, called the airline to change our seats, upgraded from economy to business class. Prices from LAX to BCN were from mid $200.00 economy to $675.00 pp one way, for business class and we booked a direct flight. happy cruising