EZ Air - not so Easy

[Nāmaka]

I have cruised with Princess many times and decided I wanted to get my parents into cruising. I booked them on a Alaksa Cruisetour, and the good news is they really enjoyed cruising and would be interested in trying it again.

 

Now for the frustrating and disappointing part of the trip.... We purchased EZ Air through princess in order to make their first cruise experience as seamless and easy as possible... Or so we thought. The outbound flight prior to the cruise had no issues, it was coming home.

 

The flights were on Delta, and I had confirmation from Princess that the flights home were booked. 24 hours prior I received an email from Delta advising it was time to check in. When I went to Delta's site I was able to see their itinerary, and selected seats; however was unable to check them in as their tickets "could not be validated and to see an agent at the airport".

 

My parents get to the airport to see discover their seats had been booked, however Princess apparently DID NOT actually pay Delta for the flights. In order to get home and not be stuck for at least 24 hours, they had to pay almost $4000 to purchase last minute seats on the sold out flights. One of the Princess greeters at the airport, advised that they just pay for the tickets to get themselves home and worry about refunds later.

 

So far I have spoken to Princess who assures they paid for the tickets and did everything correct on their end, however they will not contact Delta to investigate what had occurred and then decide if a refund can/will be issued.

 

At this point, I don't believe their should be any question about the refund... We booked through EZ Air to keep it Easy, not stressful. What a way to end a fantastic first cruise. I also expressed to Princess that we expect a full refund for the almost $4000 charge.

 

Has this happened to anyone else? If so, how was it handled and did Princess make it right in the end?

 

 

If the flights were SOLD OUT, how were they able to buy tickets? :confused:

[Level six]

I could not find ticket numbers on the itinerary for either outbound (Air Canada) or inbound flights (Delta), just airline confirmation codes. I used this code and was able to log into Delta and see the itinerary and select them seats. I find it odd that if the ticket was not paid for by Princess, that it would allow me to get this far in the process.

 

We just returned from Europe using EZair. It was stressful. First, they did keep changing our flights because they are not ticketed until 45 days ahead (and in my case only 14 days ahead!!). I would check daily for at least 2 months prior to the cruise and there were always weird changes.

 

First, the flight changes, then, seat changes. I would pick the seats and next time I would look, they had disappeared and I had to pick them again. It was stressful.

 

I never got a ticket number, just a confirmation like you did.

 

Finally, when I was checking in online in London, it said there was a problem and I would need to check in at Heathrow. I was getting pretty nervous at this point. But, we got there, checked in, flew home, no problem.

 

Sometimes they do have good deals, but unless it is spectacular, I will be booking my own flights from now on.

[flyboy88]

If the flights were SOLD OUT' date=' how were they able to buy tickets? [/b'] :confused:

 

 

According to Delta, they had their seats... Just they went paid for my Princess so they had to pay whatever those 2 seats were worth at that time... And since there was no other seats available they were paying the price of getting the last 2 seats on a place which is why the cost was so crazy. Princess is blaming Delta, and Delta blaming Princess... I should know more later today.

[Coral]

If the flights were SOLD OUT' date=' how were they able to buy tickets? [/b'] :confused:

 

Airlines (and cruise lines) sell tickets/cabins on sold out flights/cruises. They know a certain percentage will cancel and if not, it is cheaper to get someone else to switch to a different flight/cruise when others are willing to pay $$$ for that specific flight/cruise.

 

Cruises and flights consistently are oversold/overbooked.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Coral

[moki'smommy]

What I learned from Delta on my most recent EZAir booking.....

 

I booked, and had paid in full for the cruise + air. I went to Delta to do seat selection and found an automatic "selection" for one flight, none for the others. When I tried to select a seat, I got an error message suggesting that I wait 24 hours until the system processed my payment. Did that. 24 hours later, same error message so I called Delta. For the next 10 days or so, (3 calls), I was advised that although I had a "reserved space," Princess had not purchased our tickets and thus I could not make seat selections other than those which had defaulted.

 

SO I called Princess, asking why they had not purchased the tickets. They told me that they never purchase tickets until 45 days before the cruise--that is how they are able to keep the flexible rates. They said that if I completed a form (which they supplied), they would purchase the seats sooner. But at the time of purchase, the fare would lock in and become non-refundable. I needed seats as far forward as possible due to a mobility issue in one of our group, so discussed with my TA that we had travel insurance and I saw no reason to not book and get what we needed before they were gone.

 

After the form was faxed to Princess, the purchase took 24 hours. I now have a ticket number on the Delta web site along with seats. Any changes to the flight will come from Delta (which is possible), not from Princess. These would likely be nothing more than a few minute difference in flight time, but they can cancel a flight and rebook passengers completely. At that point, the passenger can legally argue with them to get a booking that is more in keeping with needs/desires. As noted above, prior to Princess actually sending the money to Delta, either Princess or the airline can change your flights for reasons that benefit them, not usually the passenger.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Not OK at all!! Thank goodness your parents have you to advocate for them! Good luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[lolane1]

The OP's parents should have called Princess at the first sign of trouble, not Delta. Princess would have been responsible for rebooking the flights.

 

My thoughts exactly. I never would hand over my credit card and rebook without calling princess.

Edited June 3, 2016 by lolane1

[flyboy88]

My thoughts exactly. I never would hand over my credit card and rebook without calling princess.

 

 

If I was there, that would have been what I would have done... However purchased everything through princess to make it easy and seamless. They wouldn't have thought to call and this was the first time they had airfare not directly purchased through the airline they were traveling (booked through a third party, like EZ Air).

 

In there defence they did go to speak to one of the Princess reps at the airport (I assume a greeter) and this person advised for them to just purchase the ticket with Delta and then call for refund afterwords. If this Princess rep would have advised them to call they would have, however in that moment they assume they were 'talking to Princess' as the person works for and wears the Princess uniform.

[Cruiser411]

If I was there, that would have been what I would have done... However purchased everything through princess to make it easy and seamless. They wouldn't have thought to call and this was the first time they had airfare not directly purchased through the airline they were traveling (booked through a third party, like EZ Air).

 

In there defence they did go to speak to one of the Princess reps at the airport (I assume a greeter) and this person advised for them to just purchase the ticket with Delta and then call for refund afterwords. If this Princess rep would have advised them to call they would have, however in that moment they assume they were 'talking to Princess' as the person works for and wears the Princess uniform.

 

Well, in reality, those folks don't work for Princess. They're contractors who might work for Princess one day and another line on the next. Their main function is to direct folks to busses for the next cruise.

[Nhsaltshaker]

Hoping things work out for you. I was considering EZ Air, now I'm not so sure.

[akswimmom]

This has given me second thoughts as well. Was considering EZair for our European cruise, now probably not!

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would caution against dismissing the idea of using EZ Air based on this one very bad experience. Many of us have used it quite happily; I've had one hiccup with it but it was not the show stopper the OP's parents experienced. The savings, in some cases, is quite large and, along with the flexibility it can offer, might justify the extra attention that needs to be paid to these reservations.

[cruisingram1]

I did not realize that the seats were not officially yours until 45 days out. I used EZ air and picked seats many months out on Alaska. I just assumed they were ours. And in fact, nothing changed. Not too much of an issue if there are just two people traveling. But consider a family of 6 with small children who book seats near each other and find out that they are switched to 6 middle seats along the way. I know there is never a guarantee that any airline might do that with a craft change ( that did happen to us!) but if you can't pick seats at all until 45 days that can be more of an issue. Something to consider when deciding on booking through the cruise line.

[moki'smommy]

I did not realize that the seats were not officially yours until 45 days out. I used EZ air and picked seats many months out on Alaska. I just assumed they were ours. And in fact, nothing changed. Not too much of an issue if there are just two people traveling. But consider a family of 6 with small children who book seats near each other and find out that they are switched to 6 middle seats along the way. I know there is never a guarantee that any airline might do that with a craft change ( that did happen to us!) but if you can't pick seats at all until 45 days that can be more of an issue. Something to consider when deciding on booking through the cruise line.

 

It wasn't a big issue for us. We knew that we needed far forward seats due to daughter's disability. We were happy with the price of EZ air and decided that securing the needed seats was a higher priority than the possibility that the price might be reduced. It was very easy to request that Princess purchase the seats, and they did it within 48 hours of getting the faxed form.

 

You don't need a reason to request that they purchase as soon as you've paid in full. You just need to understand that the price is no longer flexible once the request is made.

[cruisingram1]

It wasn't a big issue for us. We knew that we needed far forward seats due to daughter's disability. We were happy with the price of EZ air and decided that securing the needed seats was a higher priority than the possibility that the price might be reduced. It was very easy to request that Princess purchase the seats' date=' and they did it within 48 hours of getting the faxed form.

 

You don't need a reason to request that they purchase as soon as you've paid in full. You just need to understand that the price is no longer flexible once the request is made.[/quote']

 

If you pay for EZ air right away and it's not flexible, then the only advantage would be if the initial fare is less than going directly through the airline. Does that happen a lot? The big perk for me was flexibility. I took advantage of a small price drop. With that out of the equation, it would have to be a nice savings to chance something happening to our reservation.

[Kamloops50]

I did not realize that the seats were not officially yours until 45 days out. I used EZ air and picked seats many months out on Alaska. I just assumed they were ours. And in fact, nothing changed. Not too much of an issue if there are just two people traveling. But consider a family of 6 with small children who book seats near each other and find out that they are switched to 6 middle seats along the way. I know there is never a guarantee that any airline might do that with a craft change ( that did happen to us!) but if you can't pick seats at all until 45 days that can be more of an issue. Something to consider when deciding on booking through the cruise line.

 

Even if you buy tickets directly with airline. They don't guarantee your seats . You can be bumped if a disabled person requires your seat.

The only time you won't be bumped is if buy Business or First Class seats. Even Premium Economy seats can be bumped and the difference credited back to you.

[hpeabody]

I have recently booked EZ Air flexible fare for the first time in my approx 25 Princess cruises. This thread has me very worried. It seems we do not have a confirmed booking or seat until Princess purchases the said ticket 45 days prior to flight. Are we really just making a sort of request? So if the flight sells out even though you booked EZ Air many months in advance are you just out of luck and at the whim of Princess? This could end up being something horrible. I am booked on United not Delta and have selected my seats, but I suppose the same thing could happen between Princess and any airline. Now I think I understand better this concept of EZ Air flexible fare. I don't see commitment/confirmation to the potential passenger in it. Maybe I am not a flexible enough traveler as I will have other confirmed bookings in my city of arrival for a few days I would not want "messed up" The EZ Air fare is by far better than anything I could do otherwise, we are talking about a $1200.00 difference due to being open jaw. I have a very uneasy feeling now about trying EZ Air.

 

I wish the OP the best in getting this worked out with Princess

Edited June 4, 2016 by hpeabody

[bcnvcanada]

You can call Princess and asked for the ticket to be paid to the airline now, if you have paid in full. Also, you should check weekly with the airline directly on site, to check seat assignment, and if there is an electronic ticket number for each segment. We fly business, so get our seat assignments. So airlines, British Air, Cathy Pacific not until a couple of days out. It also helps if you have a FF number with the airline. When this is on the airlines site, we print it out and bring a copy with us. Can you have problems, yes, but even booking directly with the airlines, one has to also be careful. We have used EasyAir and have got very

good deals.

[moki'smommy]

We've done EZAir without problems, although I have learned a lot about how to make the system work for us.

 

One thing to consider--Princess took a lot better care of those passengers who had booked EZAir, transfers, and the cruise than those who had not booked "the whole package." (their term). When our cruise was delayed by 24 hours, those who had booked "the whole package" got a hotel and transportation paid by Princess. Those who had done their own transportation were on their own for their overnight arrangements....and hope they had travel insurance.

 

Actually, a call to Princess will result in them e-mailing you the form to request an immediate purchase of air tickets. You'll need to complete and fax the form back to get them actually purchased. At least that was our situation a few weeks ago.

Edited June 4, 2016 by moki'smommy

[hpeabody]

We've done EZAir without problems' date=' although I have learned a lot about how to make the system work for us.

 

One thing to consider--Princess took a lot better care of those passengers who had booked EZAir, transfers, and the cruise than those who had not booked "the whole package." (their term). When our cruise was delayed by 24 hours, those who had booked "the whole package" got a hotel and transportation paid by Princess. Those who had done their own transportation were on their own for their overnight arrangements....and hope they had travel insurance.[/quote']

 

Were you on the Crown 2014 cruise when we had to turn around and go to Nuku Hiva due to a crew member medical emergency? Or maybe on the Mexico (I believe) cruise after ours?

Edited June 4, 2016 by hpeabody

[moki'smommy]

Were you on the Crown 2014 cruise when we had to turn around and go to Nuku Hiva due to a crew member medical emergency? Or maybe on the Mexico (I believe) cruise after ours?

 

No, we were on a 7 night on Caribbean Princess out of Houston. The cruise was delayed by a day due to fog in the channel--the ship couldn't get in to disembark passengers, so obviously we couldn't board.

 

We spent all day sitting at the terminal waiting for a clearing....and about 6 they started arranging for hotel rooms for "some" of us. It was not pleasant, but the terminal personnel did everything they possibly could to make it as good as possible.

[hpeabody]

No' date=' we were on a 7 night on Caribbean Princess out of Houston. The cruise was delayed by a day due to fog in the channel--the ship couldn't get in to disembark passengers, so obviously we couldn't board.

 

We spent all day sitting at the terminal waiting for a clearing....and about 6 they started arranging for hotel rooms for "some" of us. It was not pleasant, but the terminal personnel did everything they possibly could to make it as good as possible.[/quote']

 

That does not sound like fun. I know there were a lot of problems due to fog and getting through the channel. In my case there was no compensation given at all, but we did get an extra night on the ship for just the gratuity. It was total chaos on the ship and communication was a real problem out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

 

OK, enough diversion/hijacking

[moki'smommy]

That does not sound like fun. I know there were a lot of problems due to fog and getting through the channel. In my case there was no compensation given at all, but we did get an extra night on the ship for just the gratuity. It was total chaos on the ship and communication was a real problem out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

 

OK, enough diversion/hijacking

 

Our biggest problem was food (or lack thereof). We had a crack of dawn flight, Houston airport, transfer to cruise terminal...so no real breakfast, of course thinking we'd have lunch on the ship. Princess did run a shuttle bus to an area where there were restaurants, but we had to take our carry on bags along....and with a walker and the bus not being accessible, we made the decision to just stay at the terminal. About 4 pm someone offered us a granola bar-it was about the best I'd ever tasted! We tried to order a pizza, but the police were not allowing anyone into the terminal area. But obviously, we survived and ultimately had a pizza delivered to the hotel.

[lolane1]

Even if you buy tickets directly with airline. They don't guarantee your seats . You can be bumped if a disabled person requires your seat.

The only time you won't be bumped is if buy Business or First Class seats. Even Premium Economy seats can be bumped and the difference credited back to you.

 

This is so true, particularly on DELTA, EZ air or no EZ air. I fly Delta all the time and it's inevitable that they change my seat selection. Sometimes it's due to a switch out of plane type and other times, who knows? The last time, in February, they changed my aisle seat to a middle seat. This was 3 weeks after major surgery, and I didn't want to have to climb over seats and people. I was miffed. Unfortunately, by the time I caught it, I had to pay for comfort seats to get an aisle seat, knowing full well that they could change that too.

 

Just FYI, I am flying EZ air to Barcelona ticketed by British Airways but in cooperation with American Airlines. (It's their plane) As soon as Princess paid, 45 days out, i went to AA to get a seat. All of the seats booked at the base fare were middle seats. To get an aisle seat, I had to upgrade and pay extra! Sigh. It never ends.

[lolane1]

If I was there, that would have been what I would have done... However purchased everything through princess to make it easy and seamless. They wouldn't have thought to call and this was the first time they had airfare not directly purchased through the airline they were traveling (booked through a third party, like EZ Air).

 

In there defence they did go to speak to one of the Princess reps at the airport (I assume a greeter) and this person advised for them to just purchase the ticket with Delta and then call for refund afterwords. If this Princess rep would have advised them to call they would have, however in that moment they assume they were 'talking to Princess' as the person works for and wears the Princess uniform.

 

I am so sorry for you and your parents and I hope that things work out. It is obvious that your parents are not seasoned travelers. Just a suggestion for anyone interested, carry a print out of air arrangements, from the Princess and airlines websites. Carry the Princess toll free numbers. Carry your travel insurance policy, including their numbers. If your cell phone does not work overseas, kindly ask the airlines to make a call to Princess using their phone. Ask to see a manager. Present paper trail.

 

It seems to me that the airline was brain dead not to follow up. If the plane was sold out, but their two seats were still available and not ticketed then something is rotten in Denmark. I probably might even had asked the Princess reps to use their phones! LOL And as another poster said, they are contracted workers who really don't have a great stake in the outcome.

 

In any event, I hope your parents have a favorable outcome and are not discouraged from future travel.