Tips on EzAir?

I have read the Princess info and several threads on this but am still a bit confused. We will make final payment in early October for our cruise in December to the Mexican Riviera. We have bought our air through EzAir - as $350 direct r/t from DC to LAX (departure is 730 am morning of the cruise, arriving 950 am)is very reasonable.

Would you recommend that I ticket as soon as I pay? What are the advantages? Any disadvantage?

Anything else experience with EzAir has taught you that you could pass along?

TIA...

Not so much EZAir but flying and cruising have taught me (and many others) to fly in the day before the cruise.

Yes, your timing looks good if all goes well.

But, you are flying in Dec which means the possibility of bad weather in DC.

I have had personal experience where flights were late because in one case there was a cracked window and in another case, the plug attaching the plane to the terminal fused itself to the plane and they couldn't disconnect it.

As for EZAir, the only reason I can see for not paying now is that the price might drop. Or, as in our case on an upcoming cruise, the airline changed the flight times (this was for going home) and now the times no longer worked. If you haven't paid you have the flexibility of changing airlines/flight times.

We have used EZair many times. We have not had any problems, so far. There are some threads in the Cruise/Air Board and on this Board that show a wide range of experiences both good and bad. My read is travel problems heading to a cruise are not a frequent occurrence, so it's hard to know how effective Princess EZair staff performs when trouble strikes. It's also really hard to get facts on how effective the EZair staff is the event of a problem.

We are doing the Mexican Rivera cruise out of San Francisco. We will wait until the final payment to pay and switch flights if a better one or price becomes available. I am also checking the airline website price. I missed out a couple of weeks ago locking in a lower price by purchasing the ticket.

One tip: We have found when we factor in the baggage fees, upgrading to first class with its free baggage is not always prohibitively more.

RB

Change your outgoing flight to the day before and stay in Long Beach. That's what we did this past April. The port is a short Uber ride away.

I just kept checking the prices and at one point it went down $85pp so I called and changed it. When I then saw that the price kept going up, I had Princess ticket it. Then my return flight changed and because I was already ticketed, I was able to work directly with Delta to find an alternate flight.

Back when I used to fly in the day of, we were really delayed and luckily we had booked Princess transfers. They met us at the airport and held the ship until all of us who were on that flight boarded. For my flight to SFO in January, I'm going in 2 days early as my husband has never been there before but even with that, I chose a flight with a long connection time since weather could be an issue.

We have used EZair many times. We have not had any problems, so far. There are some threads in the Cruise/Air Board and on this Board that show a wide range of experiences both good and bad. My read is travel problems heading to a cruise are not a frequent occurrence, so it's hard to know how effective Princess EZair staff performs when trouble strikes. It's also really hard to get facts on how effective the EZair staff is the event of a problem.

We are doing the Mexican Rivera cruise out of San Francisco. We will wait until the final payment to pay and switch flights if a better one or price becomes available. I am also checking the airline website price. I missed out a couple of weeks ago locking in a lower price by purchasing the ticket.

One tip: We have found when we factor in the baggage fees, upgrading to first class with its free baggage is not always prohibitively more.

RB

I've seen mixed reviews as well but I had occasion to see it in action this spring and I was impressed. I was on a cruise this past April and with a couple of days till the end of the cruise the captain decided that he needed to change course in order to avoid a bad storm. This meant that instead of arriving in the early morning we would be delayed in arriving by a few hours and would arrive in the afternoon. I had no problem with this (in fact I enjoyed the mid day arrival very much - it was a bonus that I wouldn't have experienced in the same way if we had arrived on time) - I was staying on a few days anyway. Naturally there were many people who had flights to catch that very day who would be affected. Those who had made independent travel arrangements were scrambling to change their flights and - no surprise- many were quite stressed and it was a shame that a lovely cruise had to end on that note. Those who had booked via EZAir had all the arrangements taken care of by Princess and didn't have to worry at all. I was speaking to one woman who told me that Princess had arranged a new flight and a hotel for the night as well as all the transfers. She was very relaxed as well and felt very lucky because her travel agent had made the arrangements and booked with Princess Air and she didn't even know it!

Camelia

Yes, ticket as soon as you're pretty sure the price won't go down. Pay it off, then request it to be ticketed. Lock in your seat selection if you haven't already.

Best advice with EZAir: monitor it! Watch for price changes before you ticket it, then watch for itinerary, plane, timing changes up until you fly. If a change occurs that you can't work with, then ask your TA to call and make a change to one that does work for you. (Have 2-3 options that do work for you ready).

Carmelia,

This is good to hear. I know the EZair program has evolved. But even as of two years ago there are some alarming stories. I always go in a day early in case there is an issue. Generally the airfares have been great.

Hopefully it continues to improve. Especially with overseas flights, the fares are VERY reasonable. With my upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise, EZair is over $250.00 higher which does not make sense to me. Hopefully more people will share their stories.

RB

I've seen mixed reviews as well but I had occasion to see it in action this spring and I was impressed. I was on a cruise this past April and with a couple of days till the end of the cruise the captain decided that he needed to change course in order to avoid a bad storm. This meant that instead of arriving in the early morning we would be delayed in arriving by a few hours and would arrive in the afternoon. I had no problem with this (in fact I enjoyed the mid day arrival very much - it was a bonus that I wouldn't have experienced in the same way if we had arrived on time) - I was staying on a few days anyway. Naturally there were many people who had flights to catch that very day who would be affected. Those who had made independent travel arrangements were scrambling to change their flights and - no surprise- many were quite stressed and it was a shame that a lovely cruise had to end on that note. Those who had booked via EZAir had all the arrangements taken care of by Princess and didn't have to worry at all. I was speaking to one woman who told me that Princess had arranged a new flight and a hotel for the night as well as all the transfers. She was very relaxed as well and felt very lucky because her travel agent had made the arrangements and booked with Princess Air and she didn't even know it!

 

 

Camelia

We now pretty much always use ezair but always always fly in a day early

I used EZ Air for the first time booking Delta RT from Orlando to Seattle next May, and it saved me about $120.00 PP over Delta's site, using Flex. I picked my seats, and confirmed the seats with Delta. No problem.

I didn't realize my price could go up. We're booked on Delta next May at a really good fare from LHR to FL with seats assigned. I didn't want to ticket till final in January. Should I ticket now to avoid a fare increase I can't afford?

I've never had a price go up.

I never pay for mine ahead of time. I always wait until final payment and have always received the seats I requested. I book first or business class and I have never heard of someone having an issue with the price going up before they paid.

So my question to the OP is "have you ever heard of winter weather, snow, ice storms?" and "Have you ever heard of DC area (DCA, BWI and Dulles) airports closing for hours or even a day due to winter storms. Or canceling thousands of flights (in a single day) because of a major winter storm somewhere else?

Would we fly-in the day of a cruise during the winter? No. But if you must do this then make sure you have insurance that will give you some coverage if you miss the ship.

Hank

I just kept checking the prices and at one point it went down $85pp so I called and changed it. When I then saw that the price kept going up, I had Princess ticket it.

I based my worry about fare increases on Suekei’s saying the price kept going up. I probably misunderstood what she was saying.

I assumed Princess has a contract with various airlines for bulk fares. Of course that would mean the fare wouldn’t change. So how are the fares arrived at?

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I never pay for mine ahead of time. I always wait until final payment and have always received the seats I requested. I book first or business class and I have never heard of someone having an issue with the price going up before they paid.

Well, I replied and asked a question, but it posted on the previous page!!!

Dadgummit I was hoping for an answer!

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This is my first time using EZair for my cruise in Oct. so no tips from me but I would highly recommend flying a day or 2 early especially in December.

I based my worry about fare increases on Suekei’s saying the price kept going up. I probably misunderstood what she was saying.

s

What Suekei was saying is that after getting the low price, she continued to monitor the pricing hoping it might go down even more. Instead, it only went up, but her price did not go up.

Just like your cruise fare. As supply drops, your type cabin might go up in cost for new bookings, but your price will not increase.

What Suekei was saying is that after getting the low price, she continued to monitor the pricing hoping it might go down even more. Instead, it only went up, but her price did not go up.

 

 

 

Just like your cruise fare. As supply drops, your type cabin might go up in cost for new bookings, but your price will not increase.

Duh!

My brain was taking a nap.

I don’t want to stretch my budget till it snaps, so I leaped to the wrong conclusion.

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I based my worry about fare increases on Suekei’s saying the price kept going up. I probably misunderstood what she was saying.

I assumed Princess has a contract with various airlines for bulk fares. Of course that would mean the fare wouldn’t change. So how are the fares arrived at?

 

 

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Yes, I was monitoring it to see if it went down further. Sorry I wasn't clear!

Well, I can't find the terms and conditions/contract for EZair bookings. The last time I saw them I thought that until you pay for the flight the price can change for the unrestricted fares. In most cases, it never changes unless the flight is cancelled but I think I have seen cases reported here on cc where it has gone up. We try to pay at final payment time, if the rate is so good for the air then we would pay ahead of time. JMHO

I've seen mixed reviews as well but I had occasion to see it in action this spring and I was impressed. I was on a cruise this past April and with a couple of days till the end of the cruise the captain decided that he needed to change course in order to avoid a bad storm. This meant that instead of arriving in the early morning we would be delayed in arriving by a few hours and would arrive in the afternoon. I had no problem with this (in fact I enjoyed the mid day arrival very much - it was a bonus that I wouldn't have experienced in the same way if we had arrived on time) - I was staying on a few days anyway. Naturally there were many people who had flights to catch that very day who would be affected. Those who had made independent travel arrangements were scrambling to change their flights and - no surprise- many were quite stressed and it was a shame that a lovely cruise had to end on that note. Those who had booked via EZAir had all the arrangements taken care of by Princess and didn't have to worry at all. I was speaking to one woman who told me that Princess had arranged a new flight and a hotel for the night as well as all the transfers. She was very relaxed as well and felt very lucky because her travel agent had made the arrangements and booked with Princess Air and she didn't even know it!

 

 

Camelia

Thanks for the story, it makes me realize how valuable EZAir can be. Could someone explain exactly what Princess/EZAir covers in regards to the "extra" costs involved in a situation like this. In this case, Princess handled the re-arrangements, including a new flight and a hotel, but it was my understanding that they will only pay for the flight changes, and if you have to stay overnight in a hotel because the ship is late in arriving back, then the passenger pays for the hotel?

Change your outgoing flight to the day before and stay in Long Beach. That's what we did this past April. The port is a short Uber ride away.

We don’t have that luxury- our son will not be done with college exams until Friday late.

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We're flying in on the same day we board. We got the earliest flight out. Leaves plenty of time to get on other flights if something were to happen to the one we booked. I just ticketed yesterday, got my seats, and ready to go. We booked EZair as we got in on the free gratuities and free air deal. I've read all the horror stories, but out flight is only 1-1/2 hours. Trip insurance, and through EZAir Princess guarantees to get us there. We're retired and if it turns into a big adventure, we will have another story to tell others here. No way would I chance it if we were flying across country, but I have friends who red eye it and make it.

If I read the Flex terms right, the fare can only go up if the taxes go up, not the fare itself.