Princess passengers using Southest air...and WIFI

[serene56]

I get us EB seating for the wayhome only- yes you can buy it one way.

I am not always by a computer at exactly the 24 hour mark. and last vacation completly forgot about it until an hour after check in time-- which gave me a C boarding number. I will always buy the EB seating for the way home

[curlerguy]

We flew from Detroit to San Juan for an RCI cruise last month. Our flight out of Detroit was delayed because of mechanical issues and as a result we missed our connection in Orlando. They were able to rebook us on a later flight. Not a big deal since we were flying in a day ahead of time.

However. when the ticket agent rebooked our second leg they completey cancelled our entire reservation. When we got to the San Juan airport to fly home we had no reservation! The ticket agent was of little help so I asked for a supervisor. She was on break and didn't show up for another 25 minutes. When she finally showed up she was able to get 6 of our group of 8 on alternate flights but two were going to be stuck behind for 3 more days! Finally another gentleman showed up and was able to force a flight into an over sell situation to get our last two home. We had paid for early bird check in but that was of no use when we had no reservation whatsoever! Needless to say I won't be in a hurry to book with Southwest again

[Colo Cruiser]

We flew from Detroit to San Juan for an RCI cruise last month. Our flight out of Detroit was delayed because of mechanical issues and as a result we missed our connection in Orlando. They were able to rebook us on a later flight. Not a big deal since we were flying in a day ahead of time.

However. when the ticket agent rebooked our second leg they completey cancelled our entire reservation. When we got to the San Juan airport to fly home we had no reservation! The ticket agent was of little help so I asked for a supervisor. She was on break and didn't show up for another 25 minutes. When she finally showed up she was able to get 6 of our group of 8 on alternate flights but two were going to be stuck behind for 3 more days! Finally another gentleman showed up and was able to force a flight into an over sell situation to get our last two home. We had paid for early bird check in but that was of no use when we had no reservation whatsoever! Needless to say I won't be in a hurry to book with Southwest again

 

I would think that could happen on any airline.

I would rather fight it out with S/W then some of the other mainstream airlines.

[curlerguy]

I would think that could happen on any airline.

I would rather fight it out with S/W then some of the other mainstream airlines.

I get the original delay due to mechanical problems but to cancel our return reservations?? That makes no sense.

Edited March 18, 2014 by curlerguy

[bdjam]

This kind of hassle is one reason I choose not to fly Southwest.

[mmckm]

I use early bird and ez luggage. Princess prints my boarding passes bagge tags and takes my luggage and we get off the ship with carry on only. it;s worth every penny. My luggage I don't see till my home airport.

[rdsqrl]

This kind of hassle is one reason I choose not to fly Southwest.

Mm,hm. No seat assignments; pushing and shoving in lines instead of being able to be comfortably seated in the departure lounge, clowning around while doing safety announcements . . . it's so rinky-dink. Plus, the most inexcusable: they don't even have the cheapest fares any longer. I've checked them for three trips I have to make this spring and for all three, they're higher, even than UA which is always the Neiman-Marcus of airline fares. No, thank you.

[caribill]

Mm,hm. No seat assignments; pushing and shoving in lines instead of being able to be comfortably seated in the departure lounge Actually I have found the Southwest method to be more civilized than what happens at UA, Delta, AA, etc. You are comfortably seated until the announcement is made to get in an organinzed line in numerical order. This orderly line then boards. At the other airlines, passengers pay no attention to the boarding order and everyone gets up at once and tries to get in line to get on the plane.

 

 

Plus, the most inexcusable: they don't even have the cheapest fares any longer. I've checked them for three trips I have to make this spring and for all three, they're higher. Very true, not always the least expensive anymore. Of course, once other airline's luggage fees are added in, they become more competitive.

 

 

UA which is always the Neiman-Marcus of airline fares. At least Southwest still gives you peanuts. which UA has not done for a while.

 

See above in red

Edited March 19, 2014 by caribill

[gooch47]

My only complaint with Southwest is that they have so many 1/2 hour layovers on the flights we frequently take. I'd much prefer a little more padding.

 

I also don't mind the lining up to board. It is a stampede even when people do pay attention to boarding groups on other airlines.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Southwest is the most user-friendly airline operating in the US today, and we choose to fly with them whenever possible. For example, just today I cancelled two flights for this afternoon. Within seconds, my FF points were returned in full and my 9/11 security charges refunded. No penalties. It's almost shockingly good service.

 

Has anyone used EZ Check without purchasing Early Bird Check in? We are going to do that in ten days, and wonder if our boarding priority is assigned by EZ Check or by checking in 24 hours in advance. (And I'll come back to this thread with our experiences). We think we stand a good chance of getting bumped, and if we do, we lose Early Bird for the rescheduled flights; hence, don't want to waste $25.

 

There has been a final day 15 minute Internet package for $9.95 available on the Emerald Princess all winter. RC allows you to check in online at no charge; it's a nice service and I wish Princess would do the same.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree, we use S/W when we can find a good fare and there are a few from Denver as they have lots of flights.

Saving the bag fees really help as well.

I don't like the open seating either but I agree about the boarding process being way more civilized then the other big carriers. There is no pushing and shoving.

[Typhoon1]

To avoid this, I paid for the "Early Bird" service from Southwest. They check you in 36 hours before the flight, 12 hours before anyone else. You are all but guaranteed Boarding Group 1. At $12.50 per person, each way, it seemed the best way for us to ensure that we get to sit together with our children.

 

This is definitely the solution to your problem. As a regular SW flyer, checking yourself in at the 24 hour mark could have your group seated anywhere on the aircraft

[gooch47]

I'm also getting extremely fed up with the people who pay for one early bird service and then get on and save seats for others. On one of our recent flights, one woman saved a total of five other seats.

 

Darn ... probably shouldn't give others ideas.

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

I'm also getting extremely fed up with the people who pay for one early bird service and then get on and save seats for others. On one of our recent flights, one woman saved a total of five other seats.

 

Darn ... probably shouldn't give others ideas.

 

Maybe it's just me, but that makes me want to sit in those seats that much more. It would be difficult for me to choose another seat if I saw someone doing that.

[beg3yrs]

Maybe it's just me, but that makes me want to sit in those seats that much more. It would be difficult for me to choose another seat if I saw someone doing that.

 

I understand your feelings, they're similar to the feelings I get regarding chair hogs at the pool.

 

However, you then sit next to at least one person who is angry at you for the whole flight. The people for whom the seats are being saved are likely to have words with you as well. With SW having 3+3 seating you'll likely have another angry person next to you.

 

Is that what you really want?

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

I understand your feelings, they're similar to the feelings I get regarding chair hogs at the pool.

 

However, you then sit next to at least one person who is angry at you for the whole flight. The people for whom the seats are being saved are likely to have words with you as well. With SW having 3+3 seating you'll likely have another angry person next to you.

 

Is that what you really want?

 

I guess it all depends on the situation. Would I want to ruin the end of a vacation that way, no.

[MrSnarkyPants]

I've never paid much attention to the details of the internet packages because I usually prefer to stay away from it while on a cruise, however this year were are flying home on Southwest Airlines and to get seats together on the trip home, we need to "check in" 24 hours before our flight. We will be at sea the last day, can I just turn on my iphone and use it to check in online quickly? How will I be billed for that? Or is it better/cheaper to use the internet cafe's computers and do it that way? If it matters, I'm an AT&T customer.....

 

Leaving tomorrow and this just occured to me. Thanks for any advice!

 

Probably too late for you, but for everyone else:

 

Purchase Early Bird boarding from Southwest when you book. For an extra $25 or so they will automatically check you into the A group and then you don't have to worry about getting online to get a boarding pass 24 hours ahead of time.

 

If you've already purchased your ticket but you're more than 24 hours before departure you can still add early bird, either online or on the phone.

[beg3yrs]

I guess it all depends on the situation. Would I want to ruin the end of a vacation that way, no.

 

Exactly! No offense to SW either, but flying home on a no-frills airline after a nice cruise is already bad enough.

[caribill]

Exactly! No offense to SW either, but flying home on a no-frills airline after a nice cruise is already bad enough.

 

Southwest has more frills than United.

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Southwest has more frills than United.

 

Ain't that the truth. I regularly hve to fly to the UK for work and you don't get much of anything on the domestic or the international legs of the trip (and you have to pay for baggage).

[ar1950]

We flew from Detroit to San Juan for an RCI cruise last month. Our flight out of Detroit was delayed because of mechanical issues and as a result we missed our connection in Orlando. They were able to rebook us on a later flight. Not a big deal since we were flying in a day ahead of time.

However. when the ticket agent rebooked our second leg they completey cancelled our entire reservation. When we got to the San Juan airport to fly home we had no reservation! The ticket agent was of little help so I asked for a supervisor. She was on break and didn't show up for another 25 minutes. When she finally showed up she was able to get 6 of our group of 8 on alternate flights but two were going to be stuck behind for 3 more days! Finally another gentleman showed up and was able to force a flight into an over sell situation to get our last two home. We had paid for early bird check in but that was of no use when we had no reservation whatsoever! Needless to say I won't be in a hurry to book with Southwest again

 

Sounds like more of an issue with the travel agent. They should have known (if they had any experience with Southwest) that if all of the flight segments are under one booking number and one of them is cancelled it cancels the entire booking. Southwest tells you that if you deal directly with them. If the mechanical issue was on a Southwest plane and it was part of the booking for the entire trip Southwest would taken care of making the changes if you had talked to them.

The possibility of needing to change one segment or another of my trip is why I book each way (going and coming back) under separate booking numbers. A little unwieldy maybe, but, it works for my needs. :cool:

[dcrow72]

for those southwest folks, If there are 2 of us on the same purchase with early bird, can we get different numbers to line up? I ask because I'm flying with my 10 year old granddaughter and wouldn't want to leave her alone for a second. I had one bad SW experience years ago and never flew them again, but the prices were just too good to pass up (over $100 cheaper than others and free bags!). Thanks

[ar1950]

for those southwest folks, If there are 2 of us on the same purchase with early bird, can we get different numbers to line up? I ask because I'm flying with my 10 year old granddaughter and wouldn't want to leave her alone for a second. I had one bad SW experience years ago and never flew them again, but the prices were just too good to pass up (over $100 cheaper than others and free bags!). Thanks

 

You probably will get consecutive numbers. Even if you don't, and the numbers are a few apart, there is no reason that the person with the lower number can't go back in line and board with the person with the higher number (hope that makes sense). :cool:

[dtb55]

for those southwest folks, If there are 2 of us on the same purchase with early bird, can we get different numbers to line up? I ask because I'm flying with my 10 year old granddaughter and wouldn't want to leave her alone for a second. I had one bad SW experience years ago and never flew them again, but the prices were just too good to pass up (over $100 cheaper than others and free bags!). Thanks

 

 

I've always gotten consecutive numbers when on the same booking.

 

 

Denise

[Colo Cruiser]

for those southwest folks, If there are 2 of us on the same purchase with early bird, can we get different numbers to line up? I ask because I'm flying with my 10 year old granddaughter and wouldn't want to leave her alone for a second. I had one bad SW experience years ago and never flew them again, but the prices were just too good to pass up (over $100 cheaper than others and free bags!). Thanks

 

 

Even if you did they would not seperate you at the gate.