Flight dilemna - help!

[cruiseintoheaven]

We are using EZair for our upcoming B2B on the Regal in February (12-26). We are booked with AA under the flexible fare program, which means our last day to make changes to, or cancel, our flights is tomorrow.

 

Twice since we booked, AA has made changes to our flights, the first I only found out about when checking my booking - it was fine as it was a favorable change. The second change happened just a few weeks ago, and is not a favorable change. Our return flight has been changed to 9:40 a.m. on the DAY OF DEPARTURE! (I can hear the collective CC groan:-). I'm not even sure how this was allowed since Princess' own guidelines don't allow flights this early. When I asked the CSR at Princess, I got no real clear answer on that issue.

 

Anywho, we are fine with our arrival flights into FLL, and checking the one-way fares should we decide to decouple arrival and departure, we could keep the perks of EZair (I'm renaming this program to "sort-of-semi-maybe-EZair") for our arrival into FLL, and look for a one-way reasonable flight home the day of departure. So my question is, what would you do? Right now, the one-way return flights are very $$ and most of them get us in very late, which is also an issue we have to consider. DH needs to return to work on Monday the 27th, so spending another night in hopes of lower fares, or getting in really late are not options. So, roll with the 9:40 a.m. (and yes, be first walk off, hope for the best in term of customs, taxis, etc) under the premise that the EZair program will get us home eventually? Or, keep the outbound arrival flight, cancel the return flight and hope that return fares come down in the next few weeks and rebook?

 

Sorry for the lengthy post, just wanted to include as much info as I could....thanks!

[azbirdmom]

If all goes well, you should be able to make it. However, that is much earlier than Princess' published earliest flight guidelines and it seems like there's another glitch in the EZAir program to allow this to happen. You should contact Princess immediately to see if they can switch you to a flight that is within guidelines, at NO additional cost to you.

[-Lew-]

Have you contacted AA to see whether they can book you on a later flight out of FLL at the same fare? We've bypassed eZAir a couple of times and changed our flights with the airline directly when this has happened.

 

As you said, early walk-off and a taxi to FLL should get you there is plenty of time. You'll need to handle your luggage without assistance in that case.

 

Good luck...

 

[TracieABD]

I have flown out of FLL many times. This is what I would do... (and it is only based on my experience).

 

I would ask for the earliest walk off group possible. (normally between 6:30 and 7 am).

I would purchase internet so I could check in on-line the day before.

I would be prepared to carry my own luggage off the ship.

I would catch a cab to the airport (about 1 mile as the crow flies) It takes about 10 to 15 minutes and approx $14.

I would plan to get in line to check baggage and then head to the gate.

 

If (and only if) all goes well- You will be at your gate by 8 or 8:30.

 

Sit. Drink coffee. High 5 one another.

 

Good luck!

TL

[TracieABD]

Have you contacted AA to see whether they can book you on a later flight out of FLL at the same fare? We've bypassed eZAir a couple of times and changed our flights with the airline directly when this has happened.

 

As you said, early walk-off and a taxi to FLL should get you there is plenty of time. You'll need to handle your luggage without assistance in that case.

 

Good luck...

 

 

Hey Lew!

Great minds...

[cruiseintoheaven]

If all goes well, you should be able to make it. However, that is much earlier than Princess' published earliest flight guidelines and it seems like there's another glitch in the EZAir program to allow this to happen. You should contact Princess immediately to see if they can switch you to a flight that is within guidelines, at NO additional cost to you.

 

I like your plan.....but, when I brought this up with the Princess rep, they said they could change us to later flights, as long as we paid the (new) higher fares. Thanks for the reply though....I will keep working on this and hopefully get it resolved.

[cruiseintoheaven]

Have you contacted AA to see whether they can book you on a later flight out of FLL at the same fare? We've bypassed eZAir a couple of times and changed our flights with the airline directly when this has happened.

 

As you said, early walk-off and a taxi to FLL should get you there is plenty of time. You'll need to handle your luggage without assistance in that case.

 

Good luck...

 

 

Lew, thanks for the suggestion to call AA directly. Hadn't occurred to me as we are so used to having to work through our TA when we have questions. I'll try bypassing Princess and give them a call.

[lljost]

This happened to us once before this past year. I called American Airlines and explained the situation. They changed our return flight to a later time at no charge to us. Give it a try.

[cruiseintoheaven]

I have flown out of FLL many times. This is what I would do... (and it is only based on my experience).

 

I would ask for the earliest walk off group possible. (normally between 6:30 and 7 am).

I would purchase internet so I could check in on-line the day before.

I would be prepared to carry my own luggage off the ship.

I would catch a cab to the airport (about 1 mile as the crow flies) It takes about 10 to 15 minutes and approx $14.

I would plan to get in line to check baggage and then head to the gate.

 

If (and only if) all goes well- You will be at your gate by 8 or 8:30.

 

Sit. Drink coffee. High 5 one another.

 

Good luck!

TL

 

Hi Tracie Lynn....love your reviews:-) Thanks for the suggestions. We'll have internet, so checking in (and handling our own luggage) are not a problem. If I wind up going this route, I will have to get DH to use a crow bar to remove me from my bed at an indecent hour....oh well. Thankfully, as you pointed out the airport is not far.

[cruiseintoheaven]

This happened to us once before this past year. I called American Airlines and explained the situation. They changed our return flight to a later time at no charge to us. Give it a try.

 

Maddening....just called American...."can't make any changes because you booked through a 3rd party" and the only other available flights get us in quite late. I think it's down to cancelling the return portion and hoping fares on AA and other carriers drop, or, keeping current flights and hoping on a wing (ha, get it) and a prayer that we make it! Thanks for the reply.

[mybichon]

For my Regal cruise out of FLL in November my airline changed my flight times twice making our departure time from FLL at 10 am. Princess kept flagging my flight as too early and I got nervous and booked us on a later flight. We walked off the ship with our luggage in Group B and took a taxi to the airport. We ended up arriving at the airport at 7 am! Luckily I was able to get us back on the earlier flight. I think you will be fine making that flight.

[cruiseintoheaven]

For my Regal cruise out of FLL in November my airline changed my flight times twice making our departure time from FLL at 10 am. Princess kept flagging my flight as too early and I got nervous and booked us on a later flight. We walked off the ship with our luggage in Group B and took a taxi to the airport. We ended up arriving at the airport at 7 am! Luckily I was able to get us back on the earlier flight. I think you will be fine making that flight.

 

I'll keep this in mind! Thanks for the reply 😊

[ggprincess2004]

Do you have pre-check (TSA Trusted Traveler program)? If so, and all goes well with docking and customs clearance at the pier, this will help you clear the security lines at the airport more quickly. If you don't have it, you actually should have time to get it and add it to your passenger record with the airline so you have a pre-check clearance on your boarding pass. This should save you some time getting to your gate for the flight home.

[cruiseintoheaven]

Do you have pre-check (TSA Trusted Traveler program)? If so, and all goes well with docking and customs clearance at the pier, this will help you clear the security lines at the airport more quickly. If you don't have it, you actually should have time to get it and add it to your passenger record with the airline so you have a pre-check clearance on your boarding pass. This should save you some time getting to your gate for the flight home.

 

 

We haven't gone through the formal process of applying for the program, however 9 out of 10 times we get the TSA pre-check stamp on our tickets and are able to expedite the process. I'll look into it though - thanks for the reply!

 

 

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[TracieABD]

Hi Tracie Lynn....love your reviews:-) Thanks for the suggestions. We'll have internet, so checking in (and handling our own luggage) are not a problem. If I wind up going this route, I will have to get DH to use a crow bar to remove me from my bed at an indecent hour....oh well. Thankfully, as you pointed out the airport is not far.

 

Thank you for your kind words. I would probably vote for the "wing and prayer" option.

 

The last time I disembarked at FLL we were at the airport at 7:15 am with carry-on only luggage. Then we sat around and waited for our flight.

[C/Ocruiser]

I wonder if Princess customer service is saying Princess EZair Late Arrival Protection does not apply if the airline changes flight times. Anyone else had experience with Princess EZair Late Arrival Protection and changes in return flight times?

 

"Late Arrival Protection: we'll get you home if for any reason the cruise or Princess transfer cause you to miss your return flight"

[cruiseintoheaven]

Thank you for your kind words. I would probably vote for the "wing and prayer" option.

 

The last time I disembarked at FLL we were at the airport at 7:15 am with carry-on only luggage. Then we sat around and waited for our flight.

 

That's encouraging - I know it can happen - if everything lines up perfectly - not how I like to plan but thinking best option this time around - someday I hope to live within driving distance of a port!

[Colo Cruiser]

I wonder if Princess customer service is saying Princess EZair Late Arrival Protection does not apply if the airline changes flight times. Anyone else had experience with Princess EZair Late Arrival Protection and changes in return flight times?

 

"Late Arrival Protection: we'll get you home if for any reason the cruise or Princess transfer cause you to miss your return flight"

 

 

I would not see any reason why Princess would not cover any flights under EZ air, to or from. Whether its changed by the airline or not.

[-Lew-]

 

Do you have pre-check (TSA Trusted Traveler program)? If so, and all goes well with docking and customs clearance at the pier, this will help you clear the security lines at the airport more quickly. If you don't have it, you actually should have time to get it and add it to your passenger record with the airline so you have a pre-check clearance on your boarding pass. This should save you some time getting to your gate for the flight home.

If you're leaning toward applying for TSA PreCheck at $85, you may as well apply for Global Entry for $15 more. Global Entry includes PreCheck.

 

[ggprincess2004]

If you're leaning toward applying for TSA PreCheck at $85, you may as well apply for Global Entry for $15 more. Global Entry includes PreCheck.

 

 

Hi Lew,

I thought about recommending that as well, but depending upon where you are in the country, that can take much longer to get approved. Some places have interview times out many months....pre-check is faster to get approval for which is why I went that direction.

[-Lew-]

 

I thought about recommending that as well, but depending upon where you are in the country, that can take much longer to get approved. Some places have interview times out many months....pre-check is faster to get approval for which is why I went that direction.

True... We applied online last February while we were at Walt Disney World and were able to schedule our interviews for mid-March at the Orlando airport.

 

The wait is worth it though if you have the time. It's nice to be able to sail through immigration when returning to the US by cruise or air.

 

[ggprincess2004]

True... We applied online last February while we were at Walt Disney World and were able to schedule our interviews for mid-March at the Orlando airport.

 

The wait is worth it though if you have the time. It's nice to be able to sail through immigration when returning to the US by cruise or air.

 

 

You have reminded me that we really need to get those scheduled....when we got pre-check it was not included in with global entry, but we are at a point where global entry makes a lot of sense.

[Kenosha Cruiser]

Hi Lynn, just to let you know, Darlene and I have a Southwest departure the same day at 9:55 AM. This past January on the Royal we had a flight departure at 10:00 AM. We plan to do the first walk off again with luggage, it should be between 6:30 - 7:00 AM. In January we were at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport by 7:15. I see no problem for you and Tom making your 9:40 AM flight. Remember, the Regal is scheduled to arrive at 6:00 AM. So being one of the first off the ship will be a breeze through customs and cabs will be lined up waiting for you. I hope this helps your early departure decision.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

[azbirdmom]

I like your plan.....but, when I brought this up with the Princess rep, they said they could change us to later flights, as long as we paid the (new) higher fares. Thanks for the reply though....I will keep working on this and hopefully get it resolved.

 

I would ask for a supervisor if you don't want to risk it. Your new flight wouldn't even appear for selection if you were booking EZAir for the first time so I don't know how they can think the change is acceptable. But if you stick with your flight, I would also recommend downloading Mobile Passport to your phone as it should help you to get out of the cruise terminal that much faster.

Edited December 28, 2016 by azbirdmom

[cruiseintoheaven]

Thanks everyone (Hi Ken and Darlene)! - I think I'm feeling more confident in our ability to make the 9:40 flight.....even if I could change the flight for no extra $$, all the desirable flights are no longer available - so going with the "wing and a prayer plan" - will look into the pre-check and global entry this summer when we have a bit more time . Thanks for all the replies! [emoji4]

 

 

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