Fall 2021 Cruise Booked, How About Airline Reservation?

[Kenosha Cruiser]

We have a Oct. 16, 2021 cruise booked on the Majestic Princess for a 7 day cruise to Mexico. Final payment is due July 18th. Would you book your flight tickets now not knowing if the CDC will open up cruising by then. Normally I book early to get a better flight and price, but this time I will wait it out. Anyone else in the same situation with a cruise booked, but stalling on flight reservations?  

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

[beg3yrs]

Not stalling here. The earlier you book the cheaper the fares. Just made sure everything is 100% refundable. Some with Princess EZ-Air and the rest with airline miles.

[chrysalis]

I would book thru EZAir, unless you can get an airline direct booking that is refundable

[Tak8]

Most airlines are still being flexible, I would book.

[franktown]

I booked flights using EZair as soon it was available.  You do not pay until your cruise fare is due and they are cancellable until 45 days out from your cruise.  I check the price once a week and just modify if the price has dropped.  Airfare seem to be only going up.  Always save considerable money using EZair.

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

Would you book your flight tickets now not knowing if the CDC will open up cruising by then.

 

We are sailing on the Majestic in November, and are flying Southwest because we can always cancel/change without a penalty. They don't refund your money, but you can use it to fly at a later date.

They just opened up booking dates to November 5th, the very same date we are flying into LAX. We'll have to book the return trip when they open up more dates later on.

[maggie777]

Use EZ AIR...no money down, automatic cancellation if cruise cancelled before final payment date

[Kenosha Cruiser]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

We are sailing on the Majestic in November, and are flying Southwest because we can always cancel/change without a penalty. They don't refund your money, but you can use it to fly at a later date.

They just opened up booking dates to November 5th, the very same date we are flying into LAX. We'll have to book the return trip when they open up more dates later on.

 

CineGraphic, I have been checking Southwest and usually fly them 90% of the time. Normally they have a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX, but not this time. I'll have to book a flight with a stop over in either Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. I guess I will book early and with the stop over it won't be bad because we are flying in the day before the cruise. I do like the fact if you have to cancel with Southwest you will get travel funds to use on another flight, no change fee, plus your bags fly free. From what I hear about EZair on cruise critic, people seems to complain about constant flight time changes. I'm glad to see from postings on here that many people do like EZair. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

[John99]

I recommend EZ air like many have suggested.  I gather from your comment you have not used EZ air before.  Try it you may like it.  Personally, I have used EZ air on many cruises with no problems.  Yes, I had a few time changes over the years but nothing major.  

 

[cr8tiv1]

11 minutes ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

 

CineGraphic, I have been checking Southwest and usually fly them 90% of the time. Normally they have a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX, but not this time. I'll have to book a flight with a stop over in either Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. I guess I will book early and with the stop over it won't be bad because we are flying in the day before the cruise. I do like the fact if you have to cancel with Southwest you will get travel funds to use on another flight, no change fee, plus your bags fly free. From what I hear about EZair on cruise critic, people seems to complain about constant flight time changes. I'm glad to see from postings on here that many people do like EZair. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

 

Southwest now flies into Long Beach (LGB).  Usual stop over in Las Vegas or Oakland.  Much smaller airport. Less hassle.  There are several good hotels around the airport with walking distance to food.

[CineGraphic]

19 minutes ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

CineGraphic, I have been checking Southwest and usually fly them 90% of the time. Normally they have a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX, but not this time. I'll have to book a flight with a stop over in either Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. I guess I will book early and with the stop over it won't be bad because we are flying in the day before the cruise.

 

This is exactly what we are doing, changing planes in Denver, and flying into Long Beach the day before. Southwest had no non-stop flights from Atlanta to either LAX or LGB, so we opted for LGB, since it's closer to port, and both flights were priced the same.

[racj846]

1 hour ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

 

CineGraphic, I have been checking Southwest and usually fly them 90% of the time. Normally they have a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX, but not this time. I'll have to book a flight with a stop over in either Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. I guess I will book early and with the stop over it won't be bad because we are flying in the day before the cruise. I do like the fact if you have to cancel with Southwest you will get travel funds to use on another flight, no change fee, plus your bags fly free. From what I hear about EZair on cruise critic, people seems to complain about constant flight time changes. I'm glad to see from postings on here that many people do like EZair. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

EZAir does not change the flight times.  The airlines do!!

Edited April 7, 2021 by racj846

[nini]

Booking through the cruise lines is great, especially when navigating through Covid waters.

[franktown]

1 hour ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

 

CineGraphic, I have been checking Southwest and usually fly them 90% of the time. Normally they have a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX, but not this time. I'll have to book a flight with a stop over in either Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. I guess I will book early and with the stop over it won't be bad because we are flying in the day before the cruise. I do like the fact if you have to cancel with Southwest you will get travel funds to use on another flight, no change fee, plus your bags fly free. From what I hear about EZair on cruise critic, people seems to complain about constant flight time changes. I'm glad to see from postings on here that many people do like EZair. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

The flight time changes are not of EZair doing but the airlines changing flight schedules.  This is especially true when you book many months out.

[jennybenny]

2 hours ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

 

CineGraphic, I have been checking Southwest and usually fly them 90% of the time. Normally they have a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX, but not this time. I'll have to book a flight with a stop over in either Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. I guess I will book early and with the stop over it won't be bad because we are flying in the day before the cruise. I do like the fact if you have to cancel with Southwest you will get travel funds to use on another flight, no change fee, plus your bags fly free. From what I hear about EZair on cruise critic, people seems to complain about constant flight time changes. I'm glad to see from postings on here that many people do like EZair. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Hi Ken, I would be careful with SWA. Not sure if there could be weather delays in October but while their cancellation policy is great, if you run into issues with weather delays (anywhere, you never know where a flight is coming from) you are stuck with paying for your own accommodations, if you get stuck. I used to fly them a lot for work, even got Companion pass status a couple of times, but I did get stuck 2 or 3 times in transit going home. I switched to first flight out AM each way and that usually got me to my destination without getting stuck, but gave an an extra night away from home, which was not ideal.
 

I would book another airline but check for a good refund policy. Not sure if any exists right now.

 

We usually prebook our air for cruises out of Florida and we almost always have to call and change flights when the airlines do their changes. It’s always free, and they help if we need to change airports or whatever we need to get back to times close to what we had before. EZ air may be the safest route right now? 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, jennybenny said:

Hi Ken, I would be careful with SWA. Not sure if there could be weather delays in October but while their cancellation policy is great, if you run into issues with weather delays (anywhere, you never know where a flight is coming from) you are stuck with paying for your own accommodations, if you get stuck.

 

Same is true with all other airlines. No airline pays for hotel rooms if the reason for the flight not going is weather.

[jennybenny]

11 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Same is true with all other airlines. No airline pays for hotel rooms if the reason for the flight not going is weather.

Maybe I’ve just been lucky with other flights. Other airlines have found alternatives to get me home, even on flights with their partner airlines. I’ve always felt the other airlines took care of me. SWA doesn’t have other partner airlines to rely on and so if you are stranded, you wait it out. 
 

At least that has been my experience.

Edited April 7, 2021 by jennybenny

[caribill]

5 minutes ago, jennybenny said:

Maybe I’ve just been lucky with other flights. Other airlines have found alternatives to get me home, even on flights with their partner airlines. I’ve always felt the other airlines took care of me. SWA doesn’t have other partner airlines to rely on and so if you are stranded, you wait it out. 
 

At least that has been my experience.

 

Very true.

 

A couple of past experiences I remember on other airlines,

 

a) Boston-Pittsburgh-Charleston (WV). Flight from Boston was delayed (forget the reason). They paged passengers with connecting flights in Pittsburgh to come to the counter. I listened in when someone came up to the counter and they told the person that they might not make the connection and they made a mark on the ticket to indicate that. My co-worker and I did not go to the counter. When we reached Pittsburgh we had missed our connection. When we went to the counter in Pittsburgh to ask for hotel rooms, they said we were told in Boston we might not make the flight. We said that we were not told. They asked for our tickets and saw there was no mark on them to indicate we were told. They then found us hotel rooms

 

b) Charleston (WV) to Chicago to Austin. Perfect weather in Charleston and flight was scheduled to be on time. I was told we might not make our connection in Chicago and did I still want to get on the flight. I asked if our flight was late and was told "no." I asked if there was bad weather in Chicago and was told "no." I asked then why was I being asked if I still wanted to fly and was told basically that anything could happen. I took the flight and had no problem making the on-time connection.

[Kenosha Cruiser]

13 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Southwest now flies into Long Beach (LGB).  Usual stop over in Las Vegas or Oakland.  Much smaller airport. Less hassle.  There are several good hotels around the airport with walking distance to food.

 

cr8tiv1, I didn't realize Southwest flew to Long Beach (LGB). I will have to check the flight schedules from Milwaukee, this will give me another option besides flying to LAX. I always try to get direct flights, but when booking a flight with a stop over to change planes, I try to get one with a longer wait time of at least two hours. Also taking a earlier morning flight does help. Like I mentioned before, I will fly in the day before the cruise to make sure we get on the ship. 

 

Jenny, you can say I have been very lucky over the years with Southwest. The only time I had a problem was in Albuquerque. The plane coming from Phoenix had mechanical problems and didn't arrive in time, so Southwest did pay for our hotel room and rebooked us back to Milwaukee early the next morning. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by Kenosha Cruiser

[Kenosha Cruiser]

13 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

This is exactly what we are doing, changing planes in Denver, and flying into Long Beach the day before. Southwest had no non-stop flights from Atlanta to either LAX or LGB, so we opted for LGB, since it's closer to port, and both flights were priced the same.

 

CineGraphic, I just checked fights to Long Beach from Milwaukee and back. Prices were higher for us to Long Beach than LAX, but coming home there was a real deal at $129.00 per person. I may grab the one way home and look for other options on different airlines leaving Milwaukee to Long Beach or LAX. How do you get to your hotel in San Pedro from Long Beach? I was thinking Super Shuttle or a cab, any idea what a cab may cost? We always stay at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

[gmjc2]

Daughter had a horrific experience with connections. She was flying from UK to Orlando on a connecting flight in Dublin. The plane from UK was delayed so she missed the flight from Dublin. Instead of putting her on the Miami run they sent her to New York in a blizzard. She was stuck overnight sleeping on a seat and was afraid to sleep incase some one stole her stuff. She asked for a hotel and was told they were all booked and they would not pay for it anyway. She was 19 and has been very nervous about flying ever since.

Since then we have never booked a flight in winter that connects through any northern airport.

 

[CineGraphic]

31 minutes ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

How do you get to your hotel in San Pedro from Long Beach? I was thinking Super Shuttle or a cab, any idea what a cab may cost? We always stay at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro. 

 

The last time we did this trip, we flew into LAX and since it was my wife's birthday, I opted for "black car service" which was expensive, but wonderful. Uber and Lyft are great options in Long Beach. The price should be the same or less than sharing a shuttle van.

[Sprocket]

We found an amazing deal on first class airfare from Seattle to LAX no change fees, 2 free bags and Lounge access if we can get in.

My understanding is that Super Shuttle is no longer, but by the time of your cruise I'm sure there will be other options.  We are planning on using Uber Black (I think that's what it is) to get to our hotel, and to the port.  Personal preference only but we do not care for shuttles.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Sprocket

[jennybenny]

6 hours ago, gmjc2 said:

Daughter had a horrific experience with connections. She was flying from UK to Orlando on a connecting flight in Dublin. The plane from UK was delayed so she missed the flight from Dublin. Instead of putting her on the Miami run they sent her to New York in a blizzard. She was stuck overnight sleeping on a seat and was afraid to sleep incase some one stole her stuff. She asked for a hotel and was told they were all booked and they would not pay for it anyway. She was 19 and has been very nervous about flying ever since.

Since then we have never booked a flight in winter that connects through any northern airport.

 

All it takes is one bad experience!! I too was stranded in New York in October during a winter storm. Too many flights arrived at JFK at the same time and customs and immigration took forever. Missed all connections home and was going to stay with one eye open watching my luggage. I cried, Seriously frightened. Then my husband convinced me that I needed to get a hotel even though I only slept for 4 hours. I avoid places with snow in the winter if I can help it

[jennybenny]

6 hours ago, Kenosha Cruiser said:

 

CineGraphic, I just checked fights to Long Beach from Milwaukee and back. Prices were higher for us to Long Beach than LAX, but coming home there was a real deal at $129.00 per person. I may grab the one way home and look for other options on different airlines leaving Milwaukee to Long Beach or LAX. How do you get to your hotel in San Pedro from Long Beach? I was thinking Super Shuttle or a cab, any idea what a cab may cost? We always stay at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro. 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Ken we prefer to fly into Long Beach over LAX but lately have been driving. 
We take Uber or Lyft, whichever is cheaper. The price for Uber varies on time of day and available cars. Those are the options right now, $73-124