Info for Hal's Flights

[Hflors]

We are planning on a cruise to Europe next spring. My question is for anyone who has used Hal's "flight ease" (I think that is what they call it.) Anyway what I want to know is.

 

Were the prices competitive with booking directly with the airlines?

 

Did you have to fly home the day the cruise ended (our sailing starts in Ft. Lauderdale) so we only need a one way flight?

 

Were the flights the "most direct" or did they put you on one of those "round the world" flights?

 

If you can stay a few days after the cruise do you need to fly home from the city the cruise ended or can you fly home from another city?

 

BTW: one of the cruises we are looking at ends in Copenhagen the other ends in Rotterdam, but we would like to be able to fly out of Zurich.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

[mskaufman]

For this summer in Europe we booked air through HAL. We pretty much got to select our flights and it was several hundred dollars less expensive than the same booking on the common search engines. We are arriving at our departure point several days before and that was not a problem.

[richwmn]

We are planning on a cruise to Europe next spring. My question is for anyone who has used Hal's "flight ease" (I think that is what they call it.) Anyway what I want to know is.

 

Were the prices competitive with booking directly with the airlines?

 

Did you have to fly home the day the cruise ended (our sailing starts in Ft. Lauderdale) so we only need a one way flight?

 

Were the flights the "most direct" or did they put you on one of those "round the world" flights?

 

If you can stay a few days after the cruise do you need to fly home from the city the cruise ended or can you fly home from another city?

 

BTW: one of the cruises we are looking at ends in Copenhagen the other ends in Rotterdam, but we would like to be able to fly out of Zurich.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

On my upcoming cruise from FLL to Montreal I asked if HAL could do the return flight out of Ottawa 3 days after the end of the cruise and was told they could only book the flight from Montreal.

[D-Town]

I'm booked on a B-T-B Med Eurodam Cruise in April.

I fly out of Orlando on Air Canada (MCO) to Toronto. From there, Air Canada directly to

Barcelona.

The return is 21 days later from Venice on Delta to JFK and JFK to MCO.

I checked with various web sites and couldn't beat/match Hal's air fare.

I'm flying into Barcelona one day prior to cruise and extending in Venice one day post cruise.

No problems from Hal with these air arrangements.

[jerseygirl3]

We are planning on a cruise to Europe next spring. My question is for anyone who has used Hal's "flight ease" (I think that is what they call it.) Anyway what I want to know is.

 

Were the prices competitive with booking directly with the airlines?

 

Did you have to fly home the day the cruise ended (our sailing starts in Ft. Lauderdale) so we only need a one way flight?

 

Were the flights the "most direct" or did they put you on one of those "round the world" flights?

 

If you can stay a few days after the cruise do you need to fly home from the city the cruise ended or can you fly home from another city?

 

BTW: one of the cruises we are looking at ends in Copenhagen the other ends in Rotterdam, but we would like to be able to fly out of Zurich.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

My advice? DON'T DO IT!!!

 

We booked a one-way First Class ticket through Flight Ease on American Airlines. We got very good pricing ($1200/pp) for a one-way nonstop flight from Philadelphia to Barcelona. I was concerned that every time I checked our reservation, it said "ticket pending...call your Travel Agent to pay for this ticket." When I questioned my TA, she called HAL who said they don't ticket until 45-50 days prior to the flight." I was still concerned, but HAL assured my TA that this was standard. I might add that I used FF miles to get my sister and a friend who are also cruising with us seats on the same flight.

 

Well, lo and behold, the flight was cancelled by AA (btw, HAL never contacted my TA nor me to let me know this). I called AA to switch all four of us to a different flight and while it was no problem switching my sister and my friend since they were using FF miles, they could not switch DH and me because our "ticket was never paid for." This involved 4 hours on the phone with AA. Ultimately I had to pay to purchase more miles to get us on the same flight as my sister and my friend (since they couldn't switch the flight over through HAL, I decided to use miles). Now the issue was getting a refund back from HAL.

 

Thankfully I have an awesome TA who called HAL first thing this a.m. Since HAL acknowledged that they had never paid AA, they are refunding my money ($2,400).

 

I have to tell you, the angst involved in dealing with this last night was so stressful. Planning a trip should not be this aggravating. Lesson learned, it's dicey when you book your air through a cruiseline. We had a similar issue last year with Celebrity's Choice Air whereby our reservation (not the flight). Nobody at Choice Air had an explanation for it, but my guess is they never paid for the ticket either and AA cancelled us.

 

So, although the fare I got through Flight Ease was excellent, I'm not sure it was worth the years it took off my life through the aggravation!

[chefestelle]

I had big problems on my flights booked through flightease that I had never had booking independently and it was a bit more expensive. However, it was just from west coast BC to San Diego. If you read the thread, it will show you all the much better experiences others had. From my experience, I think you can easily tell them what day you want to go and just do one way. They will not deliberately put you on a milk run but will pick the cheapest seats even as between incompatible airlines. You can read the thread and insights from experienced CCers on Doing It My Way and then the outcome on the beginning part of Feliz Navidad. Bear in mind some people have had similar experiences with their TAs and with booking on their own. I never have. One bad experience does not an agency make. However, it should give you a bit of a look at how it works (and when it doesn't). If you give yourself flexibility of time then I'd say go for their reduce cost.

[jtl513]

We've only done one booking under FlightEase - Orlando to Copenhagen (changing planes at Frankfurt) and NYC to Orlando after the T-A cruise. IIRC the fare was about $300 pp less than anything we could find on our own, and we picked the flights. We flew over one day early but returned the same day the cruise ended.

[dakrewser]

I was concerned that every time I checked our reservation, it said "ticket pending...call your Travel Agent to pay for this ticket." When I questioned my TA, she called HAL who said they don't ticket until 45-50 days prior to the flight."

 

No, the cruise lines don't actually ticket you until after final payment date. Why? Because before that you can cancel with full refund but they are still on the hook for the air if they'd bought & paid for a non-refundable ticket.

 

AS to trying to coordinate a cruise line's air with other air (especially FF air) on the same flight - that way lies madness. If you want to be sure everyone is on the same plane, book them all together. But don't worry if your on different flights - it's just a few hours out of a wonderful vacation.

[SabreSailor]

No, the cruise lines don't actually ticket you until after final payment date. Why? Because before that you can cancel with full refund but they are still on the hook for the air if they'd bought & paid for a non-refundable ticket.QUOTE]

 

Not completely true. I just checked with HAL to make sure my understanding is correct.

 

When you book with FlightEase, you have a choice of whether to pay for the flights now or wait up until final payment. As soon as you pay, the flights are fully confirmed and non-refundable. I have just checked on my flights with Delta and Alitalia, and both show as confirmed and non-refundable. If you wait until final payment, you are correct that the reservation is pending and the cost can fluctuate - rarely going down. The negative to paying up front is that should you cancel, the tickets are non-refundable. But then again, presumably you are canceling for a reason covered by your travel insurance and you'll be covered that way.

 

We are doing an October transatlantic Rome to FLL. The cost for an open jaw itinerary is well over $2000 through the airlines, yet around $700 through FlightEase.

[ksqueak]

For my cruise this past September my TA found the flights and then asked HAL to add them to their system for me. I had no problems or issues. I flew into Amsterdam a few days ahead and then home the day we docked. So, I would use Flight Ease again. And I did wait to pay when final payment was due.

[croozer]

I just booked a Transatlantic on the Eurodam ending in Barcelona April 10. The cheapest fare I could find online was on Aeroflot that would take 23 hours to get home to Los Angeles, including a 6-hour layover in Moscow. Oh joy. I talked to HAL and the person on the phone gave me many different options, including the one I chose which was a lovely afternoon Delta flight to NY with a 1 1/2 hour layover then on to LA. It was several hundred dollars less than the Aeroflot flight, and $1800 cheaper than booking that exact same flight through Delta, Expedia or any of the search engines. Oh, and I'm staying on in Barcelona for three days and they were able to accommodate me with the flight after my stay.

[jerseygirl3]

No, the cruise lines don't actually ticket you until after final payment date. Why? Because before that you can cancel with full refund but they are still on the hook for the air if they'd bought & paid for a non-refundable ticket.QUOTE]

 

Not completely true. I just checked with HAL to make sure my understanding is correct.

 

When you book with FlightEase, you have a choice of whether to pay for the flights now or wait up until final payment. As soon as you pay, the flights are fully confirmed and non-refundable. I have just checked on my flights with Delta and Alitalia, and both show as confirmed and non-refundable. If you wait until final payment, you are correct that the reservation is pending and the cost can fluctuate - rarely going down. The negative to paying up front is that should you cancel, the tickets are non-refundable. But then again, presumably you are canceling for a reason covered by your travel insurance and you'll be covered that way.

 

We are doing an October transatlantic Rome to FLL. The cost for an open jaw itinerary is well over $2000 through the airlines, yet around $700 through FlightEase.

 

Ummm....not true, at least not with American Airlines. I paid the day I booked the flights (11 months in advance mind you). HAL required it to ensure the price not fluctuating. But THEY NEVER PAID AMERICAN AIRLINES! HAL required that we pay in full the remaining balance on the cruise as well as the air if we wanted to ensure the price of the air not changing.

 

In reading the difference experiences here, it seems HAL needs to get their act together and be more consistent in the information they impart to their customers. Fortunately, because they never paid AA (and therefore I never had an actual reservation), I was able to get a full refund from HAL.

[just_cruising_along]

I have booked my flights via HAL (both directly where I can monitor flight details myself and by using a travel agent, who monitors my trips for me) using Flight Ease. Because some times we start and end up in different ports, HAL has competitive pricing versus me booking the same flights on my own. Even if the flights were round trip, we have always found a competitive price for the exact flight we wanted.

 

If you want to ensure your place on the plane, you can pay for it upfront (nonrefundable) and you can purchase travel insurance (cancel for any reason) if you are concerned. If it is not a big as concern, you can wait to pay for it along with the rest of your cruise. I have always been able to pick the exact flight and the exact seat using Flight Ease. And yes once the airlines changed the flight times, but I was notified via Flight Ease.

 

You can fly in early, fly out late. In fact we sometimes fly in early, stay at a hotel of our choice and then the last day move to the HAL hotel if we find getting to the port problematic.

 

HAL does state the following:

Air Schedule Changes

Due to potential last-minute schedule changes, we recommend contacting your airlines directly to reconfirm your flights prior to travel. If schedule changes occur after tickets are issued, Holland America Line may adjust your itinerary or air carriers accordingly.

[Tampa Girl]

 

Ummm....not true, at least not with American Airlines. I paid the day I booked the flights (11 months in advance mind you). HAL required it to ensure the price not fluctuating. But THEY NEVER PAID AMERICAN AIRLINES! HAL required that we pay in full the remaining balance on the cruise as well as the air if we wanted to ensure the price of the air not changing.

 

In reading the difference experiences here, it seems HAL needs to get their act together and be more consistent in the information they impart to their customers. Fortunately, because they never paid AA (and therefore I never had an actual reservation), I was able to get a full refund from HAL.

 

Perhaps part of the problem here is the merger of US Airways and AA. Flights cancelled, routes changed, etc., etc. We are FF with AA, but since October I can find no direct or one-stop FF availability in Business or economy class. Now it is three flights from Tampa to Rome. HAL may have gotten caught up in this mess, as well.

[BrendiniOne]

We used HAL's Flightease for our upcoming trip to the Mediterranean. Our cruise is one way from Rome to Venice and HAL's price beat anything we could find by about $400 per person. We are flying into Rome several days early and have an extra night in Venice as well. HAL was very helpful and let us choose our flights.

 

As for ticketing. I upgraded our outbound seats on United right after booking. However, the return flight on Air France would not let me upgrade until the tickets were actually issued by HAL. I called Flightease after final payment and they ticketed the flight right away so I could upgrade the seats.

[pmcubed]

 

We have used flight ease a few times. The price is right AND we paid right away and the tickets were confirmed right away. I was also able to go into delta's website and upgrade us to delta comfort for our long flights.

 

no problems and there are benefits to using their program (such as mechanical problems with the plane, weather delays, etc)

 

Pat

[chefestelle]

 

 

 

We have used flight ease a few times. The price is right AND we paid right away and the tickets were confirmed right away. I was also able to go into delta's website and upgrade us to delta comfort for our long flights.

 

 

 

no problems and there are benefits to using their program (such as mechanical problems with the plane, weather delays, etc)

 

 

 

Pat

 

 

That's what we did. Booked, paid and then paid for comfort seats on all six segments. Then they changed the flights and I had to do it again two more times. Couldn't get comfort seats except on one segment. They booked us with airlines that had marginally acceptable connection time but were not compatible with each other. So when we missed our flight in San Francisco, flightease required us to exhaust our own efforts to get on a connecting flight before they would step in. As a result, we were unable to get on the last flight out, couldn't get on a competing airline and had to forfeit our San Diego hotel. Then we were not reimbursed for it because we had travel insurance and they wanted us to make a claim that way. This was entirely their error booking on flights that had little prospect of connecting! So I won't do that again..

Edited February 22, 2016 by chefestelle

[pmcubed]

 

 

Chefestelle, what a bummer. The mechanical difficulties I mentioned that happened to us: they also told us to work on getting another flight - which couldn't happen. But we were reimbursed for everything - the Westin in FL and the Westin on Grand Cayman while we waited for the ship to arrive two days later. Spending two days on 7 mile beach - we couldn't complain and all we really missed was Half Moon Cay and the first formal night.

 

And although Delta has changed our flight times for this summer's cruise - we still have our delta comfort seats for the long flights. so, fingers crossed they don't change again!

 

Pat

[DaveOKC]

That's what we did. Booked, paid and then paid for comfort seats on all six segments. Then they changed the flights and I had to do it again two more times. Couldn't get comfort seats except on one segment. They booked us with airlines that had marginally acceptable connection time but were not compatible with each other. So when we missed our flight in San Francisco, flightease required us to exhaust our own efforts to get on a connecting flight before they would step in. As a result, we were unable to get on the last flight out, couldn't get on a competing airline and had to forfeit our San Diego hotel. Then we were not reimbursed for it because we had travel insurance and they wanted us to make a claim that way. This was entirely their error booking on flights that had little prospect of connecting! So I won't do that again..

 

It is VERY common when you book your flights far out (over 4 months) to have them changed at least once by the airline, as they finalize their schedules. In fact, I have had this happen almost every time on the major carriers.

 

One thing to remember - if the airline changes your flight and you do not like the new one they put you on, you can normally have them change it to what you want without charge.

 

The airlines are pretty accommodating on this. A couple of times I have booked a flight with less that optimal times to save significant money. Then later, after the airline changed the segments' times, I had them rebook me on the flight I really wanted for no extra charge! Just keep this option in mind.

[epixx]

 

Whoa, that's REALLY tight for International to Domestic connection. Best of luck.

[chefestelle]

It is VERY common when you book your flights far out (over 4 months) to have them changed at least once by the airline, as they finalize their schedules. In fact, I have had this happen almost every time on the major carriers.

 

 

 

One thing to remember - if the airline changes your flight and you do not like the new one they put you on, you can normally have them change it to what you want without charge.

 

 

 

The airlines are pretty accommodating on this. A couple of times I have booked a flight with less that optimal times to save significant money. Then later, after the airline changed the segments' times, I had them rebook me on the flight I really wanted for no extra charge! Just keep this option in mind.

 

 

Unfortunately, it was Christmas time and the options were understandably limited. I would have flights that tight for domestic legs. And airlines that have understandings between them. Having usually done my own flights in the past, this was a new and unpleasant experience. However, as you can see, others have been adequately compensated when things got botched for them!

[jerseygirl3]

 

Perhaps part of the problem here is the merger of US Airways and AA. Flights cancelled, routes changed, etc., etc. We are FF with AA, but since October I can find no direct or one-stop FF availability in Business or economy class. Now it is three flights from Tampa to Rome. HAL may have gotten caught up in this mess, as well.

 

The problem isn't with AA. They've simply stopped the PHL to BCN nonstop run. Happens with airlines all the time. The problem was that since HAL never paid for my ticket when I paid HAL, I was never technically ticketed. My ticket was pending. I had seen that on my reservation at one point and questioned my TA, who in turn called HAL. HAL said they don't pay for and ticket until 45 days prior to the cruise. That in turn created a problem with AA being able to transfer my "reservation" to another flight when the original flight was cancelled. They said they cannot transfer a non-ticket, non-purchased reservation.

 

Fortunately, HAL refunded my airfare in full, so now I'm using just FF miles and got us First Class (technically Business Class, but on the retrofitted 777, Business Class is First Class. So since AA stopped the nonstop PHL to BCN run, we're booked PHL to MIA to BCN. I'm threw dealing with the cruiselines air. It was a problem with Celebrity and now a problem with HAL. The pricing is fabulous, but not worth the stress.

[jerseygirl3]

 

We have used flight ease a few times. The price is right AND we paid right away and the tickets were confirmed right away. I was also able to go into delta's website and upgrade us to delta comfort for our long flights.

 

no problems and there are benefits to using their program (such as mechanical problems with the plane, weather delays, etc)

 

Pat

 

Paying for them right away does NOT ensure you are actually ticketed! We paid right when we made our reservation through Flight Ease. When I went to AA website, it showed our reservation and even the seats I selected. However, WE WERE NOT TICKETED! We would not be ticketed, according to HAL themselves, until final payment for the cruise was due (we paid for air and cruise balance at the time we made the air reservation in December, but it wasn't actually due to be paid until August). So just because you pay HAL does not mean that they are paying the airline. They withhold payment to the airline until final payment is due. As someone else mentioned earlier in this thread, the reason for that is because a customer can cancel their cruise without penalty any time up until final payment. But if HAL pays the air before that and the customer cancels the cruise, HAL is on the hook to the airline.

[RMLincoln]

We are planning on a cruise to Europe next spring. My question is for anyone who has used Hal's "flight ease" (I think that is what they call it.) Anyway what I want to know is.

 

Were the prices competitive with booking directly with the airlines?

 

Did you have to fly home the day the cruise ended (our sailing starts in Ft. Lauderdale) so we only need a one way flight?

 

Were the flights the "most direct" or did they put you on one of those "round the world" flights?

 

If you can stay a few days after the cruise do you need to fly home from the city the cruise ended or can you fly home from another city?

 

BTW: one of the cruises we are looking at ends in Copenhagen the other ends in Rotterdam, but we would like to be able to fly out of Zurich.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

OP: If you want to Do It Yourself and you decide to fly home from Zurich, IcelandAir has some good one-way prices and Zurich is one of their cities, we used them last fall, Boston - Zurich, change planes in Iceland (of course) before a cruise out of Venice. I'll also mention that if you choose to spend a day or more, up to 7 days, in Iceland there is no additional charge for the flights... just for everything else in Iceland! But we enjoyed Iceland, and we enjoyed extra time in Zurich too, easy city to get around. Happy Planning, m--

[Hflors]

Wow! Thanks everyone for all your help. Since we were "on the fence" on two different cruises I called HAL last night and talked to them. The only information they could give me was that I need to wait until after June 4th to book the flights. After my call I printed out the two itineraries for the two different cruises I had been telling to dh about. Then after reading over each he told me the one he liked. Either one is fine with me now that the palace in St Petersburg that I really wanted to see is closed until 2018. Anyway he really wanted to go to Rome so we chose that one. It originates in Ft. Lauderdale and ends in Rotterdam and we will be on Rotterdam, one of my favorite ships.

 

I am already looking forward to the trip even though it is next year. With all the ports this is going to be a lot of planning.

 

RM Lincon - thanks for the tip on Iceland air. That sounds interesting.

 

Chefestelle - how did you 'upgrade" to "comfort seats" and what is the difference between them and regular seating?