EZAir going up....will it come down?

[rothbear13]

We are doing a cruisetour, including the Star, starting next May 29th. I pulled up the EZair pretty much when I could and got a price. DH said that was too expensive and to wait since it is so far away. Well, now the price for the same route has gone up almost $200/person in the past 1.5 weeks! Is this usual so far in advance? I hope it will come down, but hoping we didn't miss our chance.

 

This trip is starting to cost a lot more than we had planned (and were told by the TA up front with his estimate to our group) and I'm afraid if the flight doesn't come down significantly we will have to cancel.

[eatdrinkfly]

Book the air as flexible and then you can cancel it and rebook if the price changes. this will at least prevent it from further climbing.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

They change all the time just as all airfares do. We always book the airfare when it gets to a price we are comfortable with then keep watching. It often changes daily, especially when you are so far out. We changed our EZAir on our upcoming Mediterranean cruise three times; once for a lower fare and twice for better times.

[CruisenOne]

We are doing a cruisetour, including the Star, starting next May 29th. I pulled up the EZair pretty much when I could and got a price. DH said that was too expensive and to wait since it is so far away. Well, now the price for the same route has gone up almost $200/person in the past 1.5 weeks! Is this usual so far in advance? I hope it will come down, but hoping we didn't miss our chance.

 

This trip is starting to cost a lot more than we had planned (and were told by the TA up front with his estimate to our group) and I'm afraid if the flight doesn't come down significantly we will have to cancel.

 

Book the air as flexible and then you can cancel it and rebook if the price changes. this will at least prevent it from further climbing.

 

You will pick your seats when you book your flight(s).

 

When you cancel and rebook at a lower fare, you will have to rebook your seats.

[Astro Flyer]

As said, with Flexible EZair there's no reason not to book flights & to continue to check regularly for a lower airfare & better flights.

 

There's no accurate way to predict future airfares but I can share my experience for our Fall cruise. Booked Flexible airfare as soon as it was available at about 330 days in advance for $576 to Barcelona from LAX. I regularly checked options & within 2 months we had better flights with a $241 Flexible EZair booking. Since then prices have increased for our flights but at final payment there are still some good prices & decent routings.

 

It's been my experience that domestic US airfares booked with EZair are similar to booking through other sources including directly with the airline. For flights internationally from the US I've never found a lower directly booked airfare...not even close.

 

Also check flights arriving at least a day before sailing because the savings more than paid for our pre-cruise days & not having to worry about arriving late on sailing day.

 

You didn't say where you're flying but some destinations have fewer available seats than between the US to Europe. And when there are a limited number of available seats then prices will routinely be more expensive.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[Astro Flyer]

You will pick your seats when you book your flight(s).

 

When you cancel and rebook at a lower fare, you will have to rebook your seats.

Although on many non-US carriers they charge a non-refundable seat reservation fee for a coach seat assignment before check-in.

 

That's why we waited until deciding that we had our best flight & airfare. About a month before our cruise's final payment we paid a reasonable fee to get our preferred seat assignments.

 

On KLM we paid them on their website to make our coach seat reservations before Princess pays them closer to sailing. I have read that some airlines will not allow seat reservations before Princess pays them. A friend recently had to pay for their flights before final payment in order to make their seat reservations.

[CruisenOne]

Although on many non-US carriers they charge a non-refundable seat reservation fee for a coach seat assignment before check-in.

 

That's why we waited until deciding that we had our best flight & airfare. About a month before our cruise's final payment we paid a reasonable fee to get our preferred seat assignments.

 

On KLM we paid them on their website to make our coach seat reservations before Princess pays them closer to sailing. I have read that some airlines will not allow seat reservations before Princess pays them. A friend recently had to pay for their flights before final payment in order to make their seat reservations.

 

I booked BA flights to LHR for our Cruise next month (Flex Fare).

 

Price went down three times.

 

I was able to refare and hurry to rebook our seats at no additional cost.

Did this on the Princess Site.

This was prior to Final Payment.

 

Granted all carriers are not the same with their regulations. .

[Astro Flyer]

I booked BA flights to LHR for our Cruise next month (Flex Fare).

 

 

 

Price went down three times.

 

 

 

I was able to refare and hurry to rebook our seats at no additional cost.

 

Did this on the Princess Site.

 

This was prior to Final Payment.

 

 

 

Granted all carriers are not the same with their regulations. .

 

Thanks...good to know.

[Colo Cruiser]

What port is the Star leaving from/returning to?

Where are you coming from?

Have you checked air price on your own?

I agree about grabbing the "flexible" air through Princess. You can cancel/change for free up to 45 days before the cruise.

[easyboy]

Also monitoring our EWR-FCO / BCN-EWR flexi rate for next May. Been constant the past 2 weeks

[trbarton]

My experience is to use EZ Air as soon as it's available. I use the Fexible Fare since you don't pay anything until final payment. You can always check on the fare & rebook if the price has gone down gown. This way you don't have to worry about any fare increases.

Remember if there are any delays they will take care of everything including getting you to the next port. There was a case this year where, because of weather, some people missed the ship & people with EZ Air they took care of everything. Other people were on there own. It's like having AIR insurance.

 

Tom😎

Edited July 31, 2017 by trbarton

[Astro Flyer]

My experience is to use EZ Air as soon as it's available. I use the Fexible Fare since you don't pay anything until final payment. You can always check on the fare & rebook if the price has gone down gown. This way you don't have to worry about any fare increases.

Remember if there are any delays they will take care of everything including getting you to the next port. There was a case this year where, because of weather, some people missed the ship & people with EZ Air they took care of everything. Other people were on there own. It's like having AIR insurance.

 

Tom

And with Princess insurance you don't pay for EZair coverage because the cost of the insurance is based on the cruise fare.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[Lucky TGO]

Also monitoring our EWR-FCO / BCN-EWR flexi rate for next May. Been constant the past 2 weeks

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

[wallyj]

My experience is to use EZ Air as soon as it's available. I use the Fexible Fare since you don't pay anything until final payment. You can always check on the fare & rebook if the price has gone down gown. This way you don't have to worry about any fare increases.

Remember if there are any delays they will take care of everything including getting you to the next port. There was a case this year where, because of weather, some people missed the ship & people with EZ Air they took care of everything. Other people were on there own. It's like having AIR insurance.

 

Tom😎

I had EZ Air for the Caribbean Princess Transatlantic this last April. DL cancelled flight to FLL from LAX as weather caused ATL to be shut down. EZ Air flew me to Bermuda to catch up with ship but did not pay for hotel or expenses to get to port. Was told if I had travel insurance it would have covered all of my additional costs. Had to pay for two nights hotel at over $200/night. Bermuda can be expensive. Taxi from airport to cruiseport in Bermuda easily over 50 USD. Princess did give me OBC for the missed days based on cruisefare paid.