Am I a fool for considering EZ-air

[cruisequeen4ever]

How does this work. Normally, if I need to change a flight, the airline charges me a fee as well as any difference in price between the new ticket and the old one.

 

 

You can check current pricing on EZ Air, and if there's a lower price, just click "change flight" or "edit flight" on your booking in your cruise personalizer. There's no change fee if it's more than 45 days before departure AND you booked a Flex fare. It's awesome!!

 

 

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[Jessejo]

DH and I are booked on Ruby Princess to Alaska in August. We booked EZ-Air as the fares were identical if booked directly with AA. We used EZ-Air to Canada last fall and were very pleased with the process. We paid off the cruise and air early - AA website says we have no travel booked - does Princess hold our money until final payment date and then pay the airline? I'd like to select our seats now...

[RocketMan275]

I think I've read that if one chooses flexible fares that the fares can change until the entire cruise is paid for. Is this correct?

[BRANDEE]

I think I've read that if one chooses flexible fares that the fares can change until the entire cruise is paid for. Is this correct?

 

The entire cruise is usually paid in full 2-2 1/2 months before sailing. However, if the e z air drops before 45 days of flying, you still can get a refund back from Princess.

[coo359a2]

DH and I are booked on Ruby Princess to Alaska in August. We booked EZ-Air as the fares were identical if booked directly with AA. We used EZ-Air to Canada last fall and were very pleased with the process. We paid off the cruise and air early - AA website says we have no travel booked - does Princess hold our money until final payment date and then pay the airline? I'd like to select our seats now...[/quote

 

If you are just wanting to get regular economy type seats you should be able to select the seats using your confirmation number that is on your Princess Personalizer . I have regular seats selected for our flights to and from Japan this summer. I will be making my final payment in two weeks for our Japan cruise and our flights.

 

Since I want to get Comfort Plus seats on both Delta flights while these seats are still available, Princess needs to issue the final ticketing now. Delta won't let me purchase the Comfort Plus seats until there is an actual ticket paid for by Princess.

 

Princess sent me a form to use that requests final ticketing be done now and that I understand no further changes (price or dates) Can be made to our flight reservations. After I fax the form to Princess, they will issue tickets and Delta's records will show that everything is paid. Then I can contact Delta to purchase the Comfort Plus seats. I did this early ticketing when I used EZair for cruise to Australia.

[cruiselvr1]

I like and use EZair. However, when I flew to Canada, and home from Ft. L., I purchased my own tickets, United and Southwest, much cheaper.

 

 

 

Because my cruises are longer, not to the Caribbean, EZair makes sense for long one way flights, 2014 Heathrow, last year Barcelona and in May home from Denmark. I don't fly enough to have miles, no matter where I check, one way flights are cheaper on EZair.

 

 

I looked at EZ air for our CB cruise from FL. I didn't want a flight with 3 stops and 3 connections from Calif to Fl.

 

 

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[arizonaperson]

I like to look at potential cruise itineraries and use EZ air to get a quick estimate of the airfare might be. Lately some of the airfares Princess is offering look very good...better than I can find elsewhere. Usually, the itinerary is marked "new lower airfares." Has EZ-air been improved, I don't recall prices being so good in the past.

 

In the past when I have read comments about EZ-air, some people imply only a foolish, unsophisticated traveler would use it. These people tend to be frequent flyers who probably also post on flyer talk (I think that's what it's called). Anyway they list many reasons, that I won't repeat here, explaining why EZ air is not a good idea.

 

I don't have a particular destination in mind. This is a general question. Also, is it true that I won't get frequent flyer points if I use EZ-air...the prices are so good sometimes, maybe this doesn't matter.

 

Yes you can earn miles when you book ez air.

I just booked my 1st ez air flight,so I can't comment yet on the experience of the flight ,but the booking was super easy.

The price was very similar direct with the airline, but I like the fact that if the ship was pulling into port late ,I would probably be covered with the easy air protection.I'm only taking ez air after the cruise .

Julie

[caribill]

Thanks, OP, for asking the question - and for the replies. I haven't used EZ Air before, but we are considering it for our cruise to Hawaii in February. I know there are guarantees of getting you to the next port in some specific circumstances, but am curious - does anyone know if this applies to Hawaii as well? If something happens and we miss the ship leaving L.A.......then what? I can't imagine Princess putting us up in L.A. for a few days, or putting us up in Hawaii for a few days until the ship gets to the first port - maybe they do - I dunno! Looking for anyone's experiences with that. Thanks!

 

(my question is mostly academic - we're both flying in from separate cities on the East Coast, and are arriving the day before the ship leaves....but am still curious as to 'what if')

 

The bigger problem is that USA law prohibits a cruise ship from embarking you at one USA port (in this case Honolulu) and disembarking you at another USA port (in this case Los Angeles) without a stop at a distant foreign port which this cruise would not do.

 

On another thread a year or two ago a couple that missed the Los Angeles embarkation did get flown to Hawaii, but could not return to Los Angeles on the ship. They had disembark in Ensenada, Mexico when the ship made its necessary stop at a near foreign port.

[caribill]

Do you accrue airline miles as normal with the carrier you select?

 

Yes, but normal could mean reduced miles with reduced fares on some airlines.

[caribill]

How does this work. Normally, if I need to change a flight, the airline charges me a fee as well as any difference in price between the new ticket and the old one.

 

If you have the flexible fare with EZAir, you can make changes up to 45 days before the cruise (even after final payment) with no change fees.

 

If the new price is lower, you get the lower price. If the new price is higher, you will pay the difference.

 

Once that 45 day limit has passed, you are subject to all the normal airline reservation change restrictions.

[caribill]

If I understand you only have this flexibility until final payment, isn't that correct? Oh and u do have to book the flexible flight.

 

Correct only until final payment.

 

If you book the flexible fare, you can change the reservation (or have the price adjusted if it goes down) up until 45 days before embarkation.

 

Thus, you have this flexibility after final payment until that 45 day time is reached.

[caribill]

Does anyone know if you can change your flights directly with the airline within 24 hours (without going through Princess)? You know how some airlines (i.e. Delta) let you change your flight to an earlier flight within 24 hours for $50.

 

Do you mean change the reservation within 24 hours or making the reservation or changing it the day before the actual flight.

 

I do not know about the day before the actual flight, but normally if you used EZAir the airline requires you to go through Princess to make any booking changes.

[caribill]

YI like the fact that if the ship was pulling into port late ,I would probably be covered with the easy air protection.I'm only taking ez air after the cruise .

Julie

 

An excellent point.

 

There have been a number of posts about how using EZAir can help you catch up with the ship if your flight does not get you to the port city in time.

 

But for returning home Princess will take care of getting you a later flight at no cost to you if the ship is late.

[caribill]

I think I've read that if one chooses flexible fares that the fares can change until the entire cruise is paid for. Is this correct?

 

I have never seen a post where that (a price increase) has actually occurred. Of course the price could get lower and with flex fares you could ask and get the lower pricing if it is prior to 45 days before embarkation.

 

However, there have been some posts that Princess (not the airline) changed which flights you were on and the reason given was that the price had gone up for the selected flights, but was still available for the flights changed to.

[Times Prince]

There have been a number of posts about how using EZAir can help you catch up with the ship if your flight does not get you to the port city in time.

 

But for returning home Princess will take care of getting you a later flight at no cost to you if the ship is late.

Absolutely right. We once were on a ship that incurred about a 7 hour fog delay getting into port, and the announcement was that (paraphrased) "passengers with EZAir transportation will have new flights booked for them by Princess, and if a hotel stay is required it will be arranged for and covered by Princess. Passengers with independent arrangements are urged to contact their travel agent or airlines for alternative booking."

[Tak8]

Rather than start a new thread, I'd thought someone would know. I'm looking at booking a British Isles cruise. If I book with a travel agent, will I be able to look and potentially book my EZ Air on the Princess site or would I have to go through my travel agent.

[cruiseintoheaven]

Interesting thread. Thinking of using for our B2B next February. Just did a mock booking and looks pretty straight-forward, and the pricing is lower currently than booking direct. However, one thing I've not seen spelled out or addressed on the site is the issue of baggage fees? We are AA Advantage members, and usually use our credit card with them when we book to get free baggage. How does that work when you book through Princess EZ Air?

 

Thanks! And to previous poster - we used a TA to book this cruise, and the Princess site had no problem letting me do a mock booking, so unless something is different when booking international, then yes, you can book without involving your TA.

[coo359a2]

Rather than start a new thread, I'd thought someone would know. I'm looking at booking a British Isles cruise. If I book with a travel agent, will I be able to look and potentially book my EZ Air on the Princess site or would I have to go through my travel agent.

 

My cruises are with a travel agent and I call Princess whenever I see a lower price or better flight to have them update my flights. I ask Princess to send me an email showing the new flight arrangements. For our coming cruise, I called for a lower fare on a Saturday and had Princess rebook the flight and then noticed on the following Tuesday that the price had gone down again. Called Princess again that day and they did another change. Guess I could do all the changes myself but like to have Princess do it.

[cruiseri]

So as many posters here as noted something changed in the cost (more favorable) and the no. of flights available through EZ-Air, and this change was noticed maybe a year or so ago, begs the question what changed. Perhaps EZ-Air is actually booking flights through a different agent/consolidator/etc.

 

Anyone have any idea what happened?

 

SAS

[clueless2]

Do you mean change the reservation within 24 hours or making the reservation or changing it the day before the actual flight.

 

I do not know about the day before the actual flight, but normally if you used EZAir the airline requires you to go through Princess to make any booking changes.

 

I think "same day" means 24 hours. From Delta's website:

 

"You may request a same-day flight change up to 24 hours prior to the departure time of your original flight; however changes are limited to flights departing on the same day of ticketed departure."

[AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago)]

Rather than start a new thread, I'd thought someone would know. I'm looking at booking a British Isles cruise. If I book with a travel agent, will I be able to look and potentially book my EZ Air on the Princess site or would I have to go through my travel agent.

 

Yes, you can book the cruise through your travel agent, then go online any time and look at all of the options with EZair. Easy peasy, and a bargain as well.

 

Stan

[AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago)]

Interesting thread. Thinking of using for our B2B next February. Just did a mock booking and looks pretty straight-forward, and the pricing is lower currently than booking direct. However, one thing I've not seen spelled out or addressed on the site is the issue of baggage fees? We are AA Advantage members, and usually use our credit card with them when we book to get free baggage. How does that work when you book through Princess EZ Air?

 

Thanks! And to previous poster - we used a TA to book this cruise, and the Princess site had no problem letting me do a mock booking, so unless something is different when booking international, then yes, you can book without involving your TA.

 

Once you book your flight with EZ Air, go on the AA website, and add your Advantage numbers, get your seats, etc. Check in at the airport, show your credit card for luggage and early boarding privileges. At least that is the way it worked for Delta.

 

Stan

[schusterj]

We used EZ Air for our cruise to SouthAmerica and saved over 1000.00 for the two of us from the same itinerary on Delta for the same route. I would definitely select EZ Air if the price was better than booking on my own. We had no issues at all.

[azdmelani]

Correct only until final payment.

 

it's actually until 45 days before your flight.

[Jessejo]

Coo359a2

 

Princess sent me a form to use that requests final ticketing be done now and that I understand no further changes (price or dates) Can be made to our flight reservations. After I fax the form to Princess, they will issue tickets and Delta's records will show that everything is paid. Then I can contact Delta to purchase the Comfort Plus seats. I did this early ticketing when I used EZair for cruise to Australia.

 

Thanks for your answer. I will call Princess tomorrow and request that they pay AA fee. I'm also looking for my 50,000 AA miles to show up - have just charged my cruise and air to my new AA card :D