Princess Air

[habita]

Should I book my air with Princess,or am I better off doing my own air ?

[oskidunker]

If I was going to europe at the last minute, maybe Princess would be cheaper.Don't know if they still give you a good price at the last minute. Maybe someone who has done this can tell us.

[chipmaster]

IMHO always better to do it yourself. You have control over flights, connections etc.

 

If you are indeed doing some last minute thing and/or dont' mind doing crazy connects etc. or paying a bit more and let someone else worry, than go with Princess.

 

Should I book my air with Princess,or am I better off doing my own air ?

[Potstech]

My experience earlier this year for a cruise was it was a whole lot cheaper to do it yourself. I could have paid for the cruise for the price Princess wanted for 2 of us to fly to San Juan. Ended up round trip from Dulles to San Juan was around $340 per person. Princess wanted a figure around $1000.00/pp. Sorry but will never use Princess Air unless there is no other way.

[roda]

I chose my flights and princess paid for them. even with a price increase by princess my flights to europe are still cheaper with them.

[DGSFlorida]

If you have booked a cruise last minute, and particularly if you need to fly international, Princess Air will likely be cheaper. Personally I would take a look through Kayak and compare to Princess before booking the cruise or the flight. Sometimes that bargain cruise fare gets inflated greatly by last minute flight arrangements.

[caribill]

It really depends. Sometimes they are the lowest price you can find, sometimes there are better prices elsewhere.

 

You really need to check both Princess and other sites to get the best deal.

 

Princess does not include all airlines. For example, depending where you live, Southwest Airlines might be the best option for you, but Southwest is not included among the Princess airline choices.

 

Also consider that the Princess site may not give you the best options to choose from for connections.

 

Recent experiences:

 

a) One way from Rome to Texas. Princess was, at the time we booked it, about 50% of the best rate we could find elsewhere booking a round trip and throwing away the 2nd part. It was about 33% of the best rate we could find booking elsewhere the one way. (As it got closer the cruise time, the best Princess rate we found was four times what we had paid via Princess, so timing is important.)

 

b) Round trip Texas-Europe with open jaw in Europe. Princess pricing was within $50 of the best we could find elsewhere.

[COMBOY]

You need to do a side by side comparison by doing Princess air vs independent air. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. If you do independent air make sure you fly in the day prior to the ship's departure. The one night hotel cost is insurance alone in getting to the ship in time and you have control over your carrier and flight times. If your flight is delay and you miss the ship you are on your own to fly on down to the next port and board the ship at your own expense. I'd do Princess air if I must fly in the day of departure and/or the air cost is better/cheaper with Princess; however, I'd pay the extra and do an air deviation fee and work with Princess on arranging your air schedule. If you don't do an air deviation Princess might route you on the least convenient flight schedule which you won't know until 60 day before departure. At least with the Princess air if you miss the ship Princess' air department will arrange you to get the following port should your flight be delayed. You will still have to pay for air & hotel, but would be offset by a refund of missed cruise days. Travel insurance should cover any difference. Any way you look at it I'd highly advise you to purchase trip delay and cancellation insurance and fly in the day prior to departure.

[shepcookie]

We booked our flights through Princess Air for our cruise next month leaving from Venice. Princess was cheaper than the other airlines. Also, we were given many, many different flight options. Before the current program, they did just assign you to a flight. With the new program, you have more control over which flights. When I checked prices on my own, I never found a schedule better than the one we booked with Princess.

 

I realize this will not always be the case, but for our cruise, Princess Air was the best option all around.

[caribill]

I'd do Princess air if I must fly in the day of departure and/or the air cost is better/cheaper with Princess; however, I'd pay the extra and do an air deviation fee and work with Princess on arranging your air schedule. If you don't do an air deviation Princess might route you on the least convenient flight schedule which you won't know until 60 day before departure. At least with the Princess air if you miss the ship Princess' air department will arrange you to get the following port should your flight be delayed. You will still have to pay for air & hotel, but would be offset by a refund of missed cruise days.

 

Things have changed since you did this. With EZAir, you no longer have air deviation fees and have to work with their flight scheduling people (who probably no longer exist).

 

With EZAir you get your pick of available flights that Princess has arrangements for. This can also be several days before the ship's embarkation date and after the ship's disembarkation date.

 

If you end up with the most inconvenient schedule this way, then it is because you selected it. However, the most convenient schedules shown may not be the most convenient schedules you could find on your own.

 

Also a change if your EZAir flight does not make it to the port in time:

 

Next Port Protection – If you miss your cruise embarkation due to an airline delay or service disruption, Princess will work with the airline to provide flights to the next appropriate port at no cost to you.

[Stevesan]

Things have changed since you did this. With EZAir, you no longer have air deviation fees and have to work with their flight scheduling people (who probably no longer exist).

 

With EZAir you get your pick of available flights that Princess has arrangements for. This can also be several days before the ship's embarkation date and after the ship's disembarkation date.

 

If you end up with the most inconvenient schedule this way, then it is because you selected it. However, the most convenient schedules shown may not be the most convenient schedules you could find on your own.

 

Also a change if your EZAir flight does not make it to the port in time:

 

Next Port Protection – If you miss your cruise embarkation due to an airline delay or service disruption, Princess will work with the airline to provide flights to the next appropriate port at no cost to you.[/quote]

 

You can do that yourself. Probably with a better result.:p

[flamomo]

I just used EZAir last month for a flight from FL to SeaTac and back for a last minute booking made 8 days before sailing.

Princess was able to save me almost $300 as compared to anything I could find, and I was able to choose my flights for the best connections.

 

EZAir is so much better than the "old way" Princess did it, and depending on one's situation, can be very beneficial. IMO, it pays to check it out as an option when booking one's flights.

[Woobstr112G]

You definitely have to compare. It also depends on when you book. For our October cruise (booked business class air in late Nov 2010) I used a consolidator site and found a way better deal than Princess was offering. This was even after I paid for insurance for the tickets. I have also been doing phantom bookings from time to time for the cruise and have continued to note that EZ-Air has always been quite pricey compared to what I can find on my own.

 

Bob

[Pam in CA]

IMHO always better to do it yourself. You have control over flights, connections etc.

I disagree. As the others have correctly pointed out, it all depends. Sometimes it's cheaper to book on your own, sometimes it's cheaper to use EZAir. If you're flying from NY to FLL, then usually it would be cheaper to book air independently. But if you're flying to Europe, Asia, Australia, South America or even Alaska, it's definitely worth checking EZAir pricing. With the new system, you have far more control over flight choices than you used to.

[cherylandtk]

The one thing nobody has yet mentioned is that with EZ Air you are most likely buying a consolidator class ticket, especially if the pricing is better than what you can find elsewhere. That's OK as long as you understand what a consolidator ticket is and you accept that it has little flexibility and lowest priority in terms of re-booking if flights are delayed, cancelled or missed.

 

Consolidator ticket discussions:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1425224

 

Short version:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29378165&postcount=57

[t60]

We have just got a reimbursement for the Princess transfers we won´t be using, as we´re flying in a few day early before the cruise and back a few days after, so we are arranging our own transfers.

They didn´t offer our TA had to ask.

 

Sandy

[akozlosk]

My daughter did our August 20th Grand Med on the Ruby as a surprise for me! Normally I am the airfare QUEEN, but she did a great job - $1080 RT from Sacramento. When I checked Princess EZ Air, they were only $35 more. We try to travel on Star Alliance carriers such as United, US Air, etc so our miles accumulate quicker. One part of our journey was considerably more expensive if we booked through Princess though - Pre-cruise hotel in Barcelona. When I called Princess yesterday they quoted me

[caribill]

One part of our journey was considerably more expensive if we booked through Princess though - Pre-cruise hotel in Barcelona. When I called Princess yesterday they quoted me

 

If you book a Princess pre-cruise hotel package, it includes transportation from airport to the hotel and from hotel to the port.

 

Even so, it is usually more expensive than doing it on your own.