Princess EZ Air

[spunkie4]

I posted on the air section, but wanted to post here also.

 

Has anyone used this service? We are interested in using this for our TA next April, but have a few questions. We receive one answer for the travel agency and another from Princess.

 

First question: We want to drive to Ft. Lauderdale, but fly back from Copenhagen to Jacksonville, FL. We were told we could only fly back to Ft. Lauderdale since we were not purchasing round-trip fare on Princess EZ Air. Does anyone have any insight into this?

 

Second question: Can the cruise be booked with FCC and the air paid for at time of booking without paying for the entire cruise?

 

Thanks.

 

Shirley

[phabric]

I would also be interested to hear about EZ Air.

 

I have read that-

 

- Flexible - can change & cancel - payment is at final payment

- Restricted - is non refundable, payment is Now

 

If the restricted is cheaper (which they sometimes happen) and you have to pay for it now. Do you have to pay for final payment for the cruise now also?

[hcat]

we have also been looking into this & wonder about getting seat assignments..???

[turtle tavern]

I would also be interested to hear about EZ Air.

 

I have read that-

 

- Flexible - can change & cancel - payment is at final payment

- Restricted - is non refundable, payment is Now

 

If the restricted is cheaper (which they sometimes happen) and you have to pay for it now. Do you have to pay for final payment for the cruise now also?

 

I picked restricted and had to pay at the time I booked, but did not pay the balance of the cruise at that time, only the flight.

[turtle tavern]

we have also been looking into this & wonder about getting seat assignments..???

 

 

When I used this service, I did not see the choice of seats. However I think you can call the airline directly after booking and choose your seat. I called the airline and changed my flight time without a problem. I had even picked restricted and changed the time without any fees. :)

[suzyed]

I purchased my fare from Princess.....Atlanta to Venice and then Ft. Lauderdale back to Atlanta.

My DH will be in Belgium, pre cruise, so he only needed airfare from Ft.Lauderdale to Atlanta. Princess told me that I couldn't just purchase part of the air. :(

[Aruba]

When I used this service, I did not see the choice of seats. However I think you can call the airline directly after booking and choose your seat. I called the airline and changed my flight time without a problem. I had even picked restricted and changed the time without any fees. :)

You're right. I just booked EZ Air today. It did not give me the ability to choose my seats. However as soon as I was done, I logged onto the airline's website directly, pulled up my flights, and chose my seats. Very easy.

[san diego sue]

I have been checking air for an upcoming booked cruise. Princess ez air only allows you to book both coming and going. On transatlantic's , I wanted to book my flight to Florida on my own and wanted one way home from Europe, can't do that.

Also why is Restricted more expensive than flexible, you would think it would be the other way around. The flight connections much better on restricted and prices are a few hundred more. I think the terminology they are using is confusing.

[MGAfhc]

I had booked through EZair a while ago and today I decided to make my seat selection. In the personalizer under 'add & modify flights/edit passenger options' you can do seat selection on the Princess site. My flights are on two different airlines and seat selection worked for American but would not work for USairways. I called 1-800-PRINCES but they were unable to explain it, so I went to USair website and used the confirmation number from Princess to select seats. It seems to have worked.

[Coracii]

When I used this service, I did not see the choice of seats. However I think you can call the airline directly after booking and choose your seat. I called the airline and changed my flight time without a problem. I had even picked restricted and changed the time without any fees. :)

 

Most of the flights don't seem to have seat assignments available on the website but I called Princess and the rep there arranged our seat assignments for all four legs of our upcoming trip in under five minutes (including getting us exactly the seats that I requested).

[phabric]

Can you upgrade from coach to Club?

 

We plan on going a couple days in advance to London for our cruise out of Southampton and returning day of disembarkment. If the price is the same if I book myself and Princess what is the advantage.? I will have insurance that covers the air fare.

[Mom33]

I posted on the air section, but wanted to post here also.

 

Has anyone used this service? We are interested in using this for our TA next April, but have a few questions. We receive one answer for the travel agency and another from Princess.

 

First question: We want to drive to Ft. Lauderdale, but fly back from Copenhagen to Jacksonville, FL. We were told we could only fly back to Ft. Lauderdale since we were not purchasing round-trip fare on Princess EZ Air. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Second question: Can the cruise be booked with FCC and the air paid for at time of booking without paying for the entire cruise?

 

Thanks.

 

Shirley

 

We were told the same thing on our recent TA. The Princess airfare one way home was the cheapest way back from Copenhagen. We rented a car in Ft.Lauderdale and drove home to St. Augustine for far less than doing the airfare by ourselves. Enjoy the cruise!

[greatam]

Can you upgrade from coach to Club?

 

 

You will not be able to upgrade on the majority of fixed price, restricted EZ Air tickets.

 

The fixed price, non refundable tickets are merely the same consolidator class tickets the cruise lines have been selling for years and years. Same restrictions-high change fees, NON ENDORSABLE, NON REROUTABLE.

 

Only difference-YOU do the work by picking your flights. Saved the land/sea dept oodles of dollars NOT having to do the work allocating tickets.

 

Why everyone thinks these tickets are any different than old style cruise air tickets is beyond me??? READ the fine print in your cruise contract. THAT wording supersedes ANYTHING on a website. Please note the wording on various websites related to EZ Air: "will try", "will assist". DOES NOT mean the cruise line will get you on a plane to your cruise if your original flight has problems. The tickets they sell (other than the flexible type) are HIGHLY restricted and cannot be used on airlines OTHER than the originating carrier.

 

What happens in reality if you mis-connect and have to fly to another port to meet the ship: Your airline ticket has residual value for the unflown portion. You are REQUIRED to turn in that portion of your ticket. At that point in time, the cruise line MAY or may not be able to use that value to get you on another airline to your port. If the price is MORE than the value, you will be asked to pony up the difference. The cruise line EXPECTS you to have travel insurance which would cover the difference. The cruise line premise is that you have spent NO additional money because the INSURANCE will cover it. Only problem with that theory is that YOU have to come up with the money NOW and wait for reimbursement.

 

Don't believe me-ask about 500 Star Princess passengers who TOTALLY missed their cruise due to the earthquake in Chile. Their cruise air tickets (due to the fare class, which is the same fare class as EZ Air) would NOT allow the tickets to be re-routed to various airports which WERE open. The only way passengers COULD be rerouted was to pony up between $550-1500 on the spot to totally rewrite their airline tickets.

 

Read through the fine print of the Princess Cruise Contract. Pay specific attention to Paragraph 15, subsection F. The ONLY thing the cruise line owes you on ANY air ticket they issue is a refund. They do NOT owe you a flight to your cruise nor are they liable or responsible for any damages you may incur.

 

http://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp

 

IF you buy STRICTLY on price, you could find yourself in deep doo doo. There is a lot more to an airline ticket than the price.

[Woobstr112G]

I'm very interested in using EZ Air. Can't wait till it open's up for my T/A.....:):):)

 

Bob

[spunkie4]

I am still receiving a conflicting answer from our travel agent. We are cruising beginning Sunday, so I will check with the Princess Circle Desk. Hopefully, I can receive a definitive answer. Will share whatever I find out.

 

It is correct that we cannot fly to Jacksonville. We will have to fly to ft. Lauderdale since this is where the cruise originates. I am find with that. Will just rent a car.

 

My problem is having to pay for the cruise in full in order to reserve the cheapest airfare.

 

Thanks to everyone for responding.

 

Shirley

[hcat]

When I used this service, I did not see the choice of seats. However I think you can call the airline directly after booking and choose your seat. I called the airline and changed my flight time without a problem. I had even picked restricted and changed the time without any fees. :)

 

thanks for your reply...we have done the air thing with Celeb & Royal C once each line & usually do our own since then--just wanted to explore how Princess does it...

 

prices are still too high RT London from JFK for next July any way we look at, it so if they don;t come down we will probably cancel our cruise....we have a few months for that option..

[technical writer]

What Princess is not telling customers is that when they book an eZAir flight through Princess and pay Princess directly or through their travel agent, they could be paying around $200 more for their flight per person then if they pay the airlines directly for the Princess booking.

[Astro Flyer]

What Princess is not telling customers is that when they book an eZAir flight through Princess and pay Princess directly or through their travel agent, they could be paying around $200 more for their flight per person then if they pay the airlines directly for the Princess booking.

I've seen it both ways...EZair less & more so still need to check other sources plus EZair to find the best price.

 

Nothing new...getting the best airfare is like gambling...sometimes you win, sometimes you loose.

 

Checking EZair pricing for this year to Quebec & returnIng from FLL it's much cheaper than I could find anywhere else...hope it's the same next fall.

[8 Bells]

What if you want to fly to your destination a few days before the cruise? Does EZ Air allow you to do that, or do you have to wait until the last minute?

[Coracii]

What if you want to fly to your destination a few days before the cruise? Does EZ Air allow you to do that, or do you have to wait until the last minute?

 

Yes, you can choose whatever day you desire to fly in. For our upcoming Australia cruise we booked EZ Air to fly in a full week before the ship departs from Sydney. And, our flights on Qantas were almost $700 less expensive each then anywhere else I've found the exact same flights. Going direct through Qantas would have cost us about $900 more each.

[navychop3]

What Princess is not telling customers is that when they book an eZAir flight through Princess and pay Princess directly or through their travel agent, they could be paying around $200 more for their flight per person then if they pay the airlines directly for the Princess booking.

 

And I reiterate, that did not happen with us. I was on the Internet while talking with the Princess rep, and got the exact same prices she did.

 

And we will fly in a day early, to avoid getting up at Oh-Dark-Thirty and rushing to the ship.

 

Very happy with EZ Air, might use them again. Very nice getting the guarantees and having them pick us up at the airport, again at the hotel and again back to the airport.

[piper61]

We have booked EZ Air on that TA from Copenhagen back to Daytona Beach with no problem. I found the fares much less expensive thru Princess.

[Cruise Junky]

What Princess is not telling customers is that when they book an eZAir flight through Princess and pay Princess directly or through their travel agent, they could be paying around $200 more for their flight per person then if they pay the airlines directly for the Princess booking.

 

That's totally not true on a lot of flights. For a Trans Atlantic it's far cheaper unless you want to book a charter.