Use Princess for air or book your own?

[51st FMS]

Booked the cruise, now need the air to get there.  Pros and cons of each way.  Also if you book through Princess (or any line) can you upgrade to business or first class?

[Thrak]

I use Princess. When we flew to Heathrow for a recent cruise I wanted to fly Virgin Atlantic. They had better seats, better food, and free drinks (even in coach) than Delta, etc. I am not fond of Delta due to past issues pretty much every time we've flown that line. Using every "cheap" booking site I could run down as well as the airline site itself, a one-way coach ticket on Virgin Atlantic was going to cost me something like $3,500 per person. GAH!!! I booked the exact same flights for a bit over $300 per person using Princess EZ Air.

 

Although we just cancelled our Australia/New Zealand cruises for this winter (their summer) I had made EZ Air flight reservations. When I cancelled the cruises there was no issue, no hassle, nothing to cause a problem. I simply cancelled the flights with no penalty at all. I had actually re-booked the flights multiple times as costs changed and, again, there was no fee or penalty involved with making the changes.

 

If you want book Business Class or First Class you can do that right on the Princess site. Alternately, you can book and then go through the airline to upgrade your seats. I don't know if that would require a "firm" booking to do. If so, your change privileges would likely go out the window. I use the "Flexible Fare" option with Princess. It's less expensive and totally flexible. The "down side" is that, with domestic travel, you may not be able to pre-select your seats. When we book internationally I am able to select seats for the international segments but the local stuff (usually Delta) doesn't allow me to select seats until much later.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Thrak

[DUCHESSRN]

I am at present using Princess ...very reasonable prices . 

My main reason is if my cruise gets cancelled I do not have to deal with the airline ..3 cancelled so far and air was no issue .

[jennybenny]

I usually book my own airfare, BUT with how things are right now, if I were cruising in Europe, I'd probably use Princess.  That said, I won't be booking anything right now that isn't driving distance, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego, and likely will only do SF. 

[CineGraphic]

For a short hop from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, we book Southwest on our own.

For longer trips we use Princess EZAir and save lots of $$$.

[tillys mom]

The flexibility of Princess EZAir is so useful - if the price drops - rebook, if you find a better connection - rebook, if you have to cancel - just cancel with no penalty. You pay at final cruise payment, but you can still change flights until 45 days out.

[mevs904]

We had never used EZAir until our Baltic cruise last summer.  For that cruise we booked EZAir and were very pleased with the price and the flight on SAS.  We were able to choose our seats as soon as we booked.  It was a very positive experience  and we would’ve hesitate to use EZAir again in the future for international flights.  Unfo, we won’t be booking any cruises until Covid is well controlled.

[Roger88]

2 hours ago, jennybenny said:

I usually book my own airfare, BUT with how things are right now, if I were cruising in Europe, I'd probably use Princess.  That said, I won't be booking anything right now that isn't driving distance, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego, and likely will only do SF. 

The sad thing about it is that I doubt you will cruise Europe this year. Maybe a cross shore travel or just a cruise across the west shore like of the US. I wonder if local cruising is available these days (river cruises, lake cruises idk). Going to Europe will be very difficult for the US citizents unfortunately and if we get a second wave in Autumn we might even lose it till 2022  

[jennybenny]

3 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

The sad thing about it is that I doubt you will cruise Europe this year. Maybe a cross shore travel or just a cruise across the west shore like of the US. I wonder if local cruising is available these days (river cruises, lake cruises idk). Going to Europe will be very difficult for the US citizents unfortunately and if we get a second wave in Autumn we might even lose it till 2022  

Nope, not booked or planned at this time. You missed the  if we were cruising to Europe part to my message 😉 

[Roger88]

7 minutes ago, jennybenny said:

Nope, not booked or planned at this time. You missed the  if we were cruising to Europe part to my message 😉 

Europe will definitely be closed for us this year. Until we get a vaccine and have a few waves of vaccinations, such countries like Italy and France wont be that happy to invite us. I think that if there is a place in Europe where we will be able to travel first will be Russia, as they had as many covid cases as the US 

[LC1950]

4 hours ago, 51st FMS said:

Booked the cruise, now need the air to get there.  Pros and cons of each way.  Also if you book through Princess (or any line) can you upgrade to business or first class?

 

Can't speak for other lines but yes, on Princess EZ Air you can book business or first class (if offered on the particular aircraft).  I've used EZ Air a few times with no problems.  EZ Air give a good choice of airlines and dates and times of flights and their prices I've found to be much cheaper than other booking sites.  I've always been able to choose seats too.

[caribill]

For International flights, EZAir usually beats whatever you can find elsewhere.

 

For domestic flights, EZAir pricing may be about the same or even higher as booking other methods.

 

EZAir does not include all airlines and does not include all possible flights on the airlines it does have.

 

But the big advantage of EZAir, either domestic or internationally, is that if Princess cancels the cruise, your airline reservation is cancelled for you whether you had paid for it yet or not with no penalties or fees. If you book flights with other methods, unless you have paid for business/first class, if Princess cancels your cruise you are stuck with the tickets you have purchased which are non-refundable and usually have big charges to reuse for another booking.

 

Above posts have mentioned other EZAir benefits such as not having to pay for the flights until final payment time and being able to change reservations up to 45 days before your journey starts if you find a better flight schedule or a lower cost.

 

In "normal" times, I usually would not consider EZAir for domestic flights, but in these times with Princess likely to cancel or change many more scheduled cruises, EZAir is my first choice for domestic travel.

[Reina del Mar]

We have booked for ourselves and used Princess  flights...depending on which offers the better deal. We have usually found the flights we prefer and asked Princess to quote as a package.

 

However, in these uncertain times, IF we were booking a cruise, would definitely book through Princess for ease of cancellation..

[skynight]

Will you get your money back from the airline if the cruise is cancelled or if you decide not to go? EZ Air does this. What will airline flights look like from Nebraska at the time of your cruise? These are the kinds of questions you have to ask yourself to make the decision. You can book EZ Air up front. No money is due, and you can cancel up to 45 days before the flight without penalty. This provides you with flexibility.

In the past we have used both EZ Air and booked our own. Most airlines are included. You can select first/business or economy and for some airlines premium economy. On our last trip we could not upgrade on United from economy to premium economy until EZ Air paid the airline about 45 days before the flight. By that time most of the good upgraded seats were gone. United allowed the selection of seats in economy and business once booked with EZ Air. Some airlines do not allow this until payment received or a certain number of days before the flight and with Southwest as per their check in boarding groups. Airline frequent flyer credit cards that provide for no charge luggage may or may not be honored when booking via EZ Air. In the past we always received the free first bag luggage on United. This past winter United stopped this practice when booking via a consolidator (EZ Air). Thus the effective price/ticket was actually $30 higher/pp. 

 

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, DUCHESSRN said:

I am at present using Princess ...very reasonable prices . 

My main reason is if my cruise gets cancelled I do not have to deal with the airline ..3 cancelled so far and air was no issue .

We used EZ Air for the first time. The booking was made before the pandemic. After the pandemic hit and we were sure our cruise would never happen, we cancelled (Princess waited another month going past the original final payment date), and it was really an advantage that we did not have to deal with the airlines in cancelling.  Plus would the airlines (in our case British Airways out and Air France back) have tried to offer us future credits instead of a refund? And actually with no final payment made, only a refundable deposit, that fare payment was never made so no refund was needed.

[phabric]

I have EzAir booked Toronto, Canada to FLL for my March 2021 cruise.  I booked on the day they were released for $426/pp, the price has increased up to $577 with varies increase/decease in prices, today it is $457.
 

I watch the price and modify if a decrease.  With Flexible, I have not pay anything so when  final payment comes, I go the airline site and I compare EzAir and airline and take the best price.
 

The best part about EzAir you do not pay until final payment.  With the way the cruiseline are cancelling cruises, you have not lost any money or being struck with airline vouchers.

[-Lew-]

26 minutes ago, phabric said:

I watch the price and modify if a decrease.  With Flexible, I have not pay anything so when  final payment comes, I go the airline site and I compare EzAir and airline and take the best price.

 

If you make the eZAir vs airline direct decision at the time of final payment you're committing too soon.  You have until 45 days before sailing to change or cancel your eZAir itinerary.  Even beyond 45 days, if Princess were to cancel the cruise, your eZAir flights would automatically cancel with no penalty.   

[BigGuy25]

We generally find better fares on EZAir when traveling internationally. We had a great business class fare through Princess last October.  Domestic seems to be kind of a toss up.  Sometimes great ... sometimes not so much.  As others have said, the good thing about EZAir is that you don’t need to pay when you book the ticket and can cancel or make changes anytime you want up until payment is due.  

[Cruise Raider]

We've used EZ Air and also book flights on our own.  When we book them on our own, we nearly always use Southwest as they so they are very flexible with cancellations and changes.  

When we've used EZ air, it is usually for an international flight, which can save a lot of money.  And yes, you can book a first class ticket and if early enough, we've found that there is a refundable option so you aren't locked into that flight if you find something better. 

EZ air is also flexible in case you want to head to or from a different airport.  For example, we were booked to go out of Fort Lauderdale on our sailing but, since we were flying across country for the cruise, we booked our air to Tampa to visit family a few days ahead of the cruise.  Then, we just hopped on a Southwest flight (non-EZ air) to fly into FLL the morning of the cruise.  We flew directly back home after the cruise.  You will have to set up two one way flights on EZ air but, the flexibility worked out so much better for us.  

We also like it because your insurance premium from the cruiseline also includes the flight portion if you book it through EZ air.  

Now, I'm not trying to indicate it is without its problems.  They can and have changed our flights on us so many times.  They even changed ours when we were in a group and they put me (and only me) on a different flight than the rest of my travel mates, including my DH.  I finally got it all straightened out but, that was a huge pain in the butt.  But, that was as much the fault of the airline as anyone's.  Having EZ air just added an additional layer of complications but, in the end, it all worked out fine.  

[iancal]

We shop.  We find that it can be hit and miss with cruise air....Princess or other cruise lines.  Both return, and one way.    Most of the time we do better on our own-pricing and/or airline or routing.

[beg3yrs]

I didn't see anyone mention the EZ-Air next port guarantee. If you miss your sailing due to problems with the airline flights, EZ-Air will make sure you get to the next port for boarding. Of course if for some reason this would make your sailing illegal, i.e. a PVSA violation, you'll be taken care of financially.

 

EZ-Air will also bend over backwards to take care of you during your travel, handling any re-booking and/or re-routing as required.

 

Finally, as evidenced primarily by the pandemic shutdowns but also with ship problems of getting into ports late and so on, EZ-Air handles all your re-booking to get home as well with no extra fees. Passengers who don't have EZ-Air are stuck on their own, hoping they have a good TA.

 

[waltd]

I would say if you are looking at a flight out of the country and you can find a direct flight by all means look at EzAir.     We have used them twice, so far, for International Premium Economy and they were the best price going.   Book early.   

[fluffybunny22]

We use Princess because that way we can get pretty decent prices for business class. I managed to get business class for a little bit more than what I would have paid by booking economy on my own. Plus I don't have to pay for it right now. Right now Americans aren't allowed access to the countries my cruise is going to so who know what will happen by the time it's supposed to sail.

[donaldsc]

I check prices both ways.  I have zero brand loyalty so whatever is cheaper as long as the flight arrangements are good.  You need to do your own homework to see what is best for you.

 

DON

Edited August 30, 2020 by donaldsc

[Tak8]

I tend to book my own, except for British Isles.  Given the current additional pausing taking place having everything tied to Princess may not be a bad idea.