rwmiller Posted August 6, 2021 #1 Share Posted August 6, 2021 I just wanted to share that, after booking our next HAL cruise sailing in Europe, we priced out flights. We ended up going with Flight Ease as their price for business class seats for two was $2,500 less than we could find on our own. Great way to start the cruise. The flights are well timed with only one stop between San Francisco and Athens on the way out and Barcelona and San Francisco on the way back. Saving money always makes the vacation better. 😊😊😊 Bob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted August 6, 2021 #2 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Congrats! Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmiller Posted August 6, 2021 Author #3 Share Posted August 6, 2021 I know. Felt very lucky to get such a good deal. 9 months in advance may have helped. We also used it for our flight up to Seattle last week and we ended up paying a bit more than we could have gotten online. Rather win the big ones and lose the little ones. 😀😀 Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr. godfredo Posted August 6, 2021 #4 Share Posted August 6, 2021 The cost of international flights are usually a great deal with Flight Ease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted August 6, 2021 #5 Share Posted August 6, 2021 (edited) We’ve found one way flights for trans-Atlantics are much less expensive through Flight Ease. Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂 Edited August 6, 2021 by ger_77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted August 6, 2021 #6 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Same here. My return flight from AMS is a great bargain. Prepandemic sis and I were going to add a short HAL cruise to our itinerary simply to take advantage of their flight program Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalay1903 Posted August 6, 2021 #7 Share Posted August 6, 2021 I agree. I always book flights through Flight Ease for non-US cruises, and use domestic carriers for US departures. The cancelable/changeable bookings through Flex Fares are great, and help me get the best routeings and prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbiSox Posted August 6, 2021 #8 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Great deal! I also book flights through Flight Ease and have saved thousands over the years. I book all travel related things through HAL. They assume responsible for for canceled flights, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted August 6, 2021 #9 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Good to hear. Having used flight ease in the past we'll use it again for our cruise out of Athens next summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofbite Posted August 6, 2021 #10 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Even when they sometimes match price available on carrier, their fares being flexible are worth a fortune in this time of multiple cruise cancellations. Carrier fares are rarely refundable now when a cruise cancels and I've got so much future airline credit it will be hard to use it up before some of it expires. I've really learned to hate airlines. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Chris Posted August 6, 2021 #11 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Even on domestic flights, we’ve booked through Flight Ease with a better price for First Class. We advise the airline and flights we want, can select/change the seats we want, see the flights online on the air carrier’s website like any other flight booking, etc. These air programs have come a long way from earlier air/sea promotions where the client had very limited input or access to information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted August 6, 2021 #12 Share Posted August 6, 2021 Sssssh! If HAL reads this board they will have found another revenue source. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torquer Posted August 6, 2021 #13 Share Posted August 6, 2021 We used Flight Ease for flights from NYC to Venice last summer. The business class prices were much better than we could find elsewhere. Of course that trip was ultimately cancelled due to covid. We just made reservations for flights next summer from NYC to Amsterdam using Flight Ease. The business class prices were equal to what we found on Orbitz/Kayak. However, the selection was more limited and we could not book the best flight choice through Flight Ease. We still booked with Flight Ease for this 2022 trip due to the free cancellation/change policy. In these times, that benefit is really a necessity and makes Flight Ease a very good deal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGEDad Posted August 14, 2021 #14 Share Posted August 14, 2021 We just used Flight Ease for our first cruise (Domestic flight). Primarily because it is connected to the cruise, and if the cruise cancelled - so is the flight - and these days - that is important. We have a bucket of AA points saved up from the last two years of cancelled cruises - so will be using those for our next three TransAtlantic/TransPacific flights. We tend to pay cash for domestic flights (From DFW) to FLL and Seattle - hence the usage of Flight Ease. Once we consume the built up AA Points - will probably start to use Flight Ease for our international flights also. Prices seem better- or at least no worse than AA Published, and the cancellation int he event of cruise movement/cancellation seems to work much better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizer Diana Posted August 14, 2021 #15 Share Posted August 14, 2021 For years, we have used Flight Ease for most international flights/cruises, but have recently decided to book Delta Comfort+ for an October flight Seattle-Amsterdam-Rome. We were told by the agent at Flight Ease that HAL does not have a contract for booking Delta Comfort+. So, our options are main cabin or Business/First class. Huge price difference!!!! The Delta website says if you want to make any changes to your ticket, you must go through the original booking agent; Delta won't change your tickets or flight. After trying a chat (which ended/froze after I asked my question), I decided to talk to a Delta rep to determine if there was a way to upgrade to Delta Comfort+. I called Delta and hung up after waiting over two hours for an agent to take my call. Does anyone have experience with booking a Delta main cabin ticket (Seattle-Amsterdam direct flight) with Flight Ease and then later trying to upgrade to Delta Comfort+ ? Or... how to get an answer from them? Thank you for any thoughts on this. Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted August 14, 2021 #16 Share Posted August 14, 2021 @Cruizer Diana you may want to check HAL for Premium economy as BA would also fly this route out of Seattle Via London. Or look at KLM which I believe is a Delta partner. You any also get more ideas by posting on the Cruise Air forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted August 14, 2021 #17 Share Posted August 14, 2021 @Cruizer DianaCall Flight Ease. Those agents are very pleasant and thorough. About Delta comfort. I once booked Delta Comfort New Orleans to Athens through Delta, they overbooked and bumped me back to economy. That was the worst flight of my life and they would not repay the difference in airfare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizer Diana Posted August 14, 2021 #18 Share Posted August 14, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, bennybear said: @Cruizer Diana you may want to check HAL for Premium economy as BA would also fly this route out of Seattle Via London. Or look at KLM which I believe is a Delta partner. You any also get more ideas by posting on the Cruise Air forum. Thank you for your suggestions, but we selected "Premium Economy" when searching. No results. When we selected main cabin, we got results for Main Cabin and either Bus Class or First Class. We were specifically told that Flight Ease didn't have a contract for Comfort+ flights. This would include KLM. We had the same experience with Choice Air for an Azamara cruise. No Comfort+ flights. The reps couldn't help us---probably for the same reason. Delta/KLM has been the very best flying experience (in the last four years) we've had flying SEA to Europe direct. Lufthansa was our favorite until they changed our reservation multiple times the day of and day before our flight and moved me to a middle seat when I paid for a two-seat section. I refuse to fly BA. They have stung us too many times. They are not honest about additional fees when booking and make no effort to fix a problem--if you can even contact them. And, then there is flying through Heathrow....worst transit experience we've had. I'll try the Cruise Air forum. Edited August 14, 2021 by Cruizer Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted August 14, 2021 #19 Share Posted August 14, 2021 23 minutes ago, Cruizer Diana said: Thank you for your suggestions, but we selected "Premium Economy" when searching. No results. When we selected main cabin, we got results for Main Cabin and either Bus Class or First Class. We were specifically told that Flight Ease didn't have a contract for Comfort+ flights. This would include KLM. We had the same experience with Choice Air for an Azamara cruise. No Comfort+ flights. The reps couldn't help us---probably for the same reason. Delta/KLM has been the very best flying experience (in the last four years) we've had flying SEA to Europe direct. Lufthansa was our favorite until they changed our reservation multiple times the day of and day before our flight and moved me to a middle seat when I paid for a two-seat section. I refuse to fly BA. They have stung us too many times. They are not honest about additional fees when booking and make no effort to fix a problem--if you can even contact them. And, then there is flying through Heathrow....worst transit experience we've had. I'll try the Cruise Air forum. Dealing with airlines can be so frustrating, I understand. We fly often With BA and the flights are great and if you can transit in Terminal 5 it’s ok. But agree that their customer service can be hit or Miss. I don’t know how convenient Vancouver would be, but it would also allow West Jet or Air Canada for the long haul. Wishing you the best of luck, as we too like premium economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmiller Posted August 15, 2021 Author #20 Share Posted August 15, 2021 We originally booked our flight to Seattle on Flight Ease on Delta in Comfort +. We were able to upgrade our seats on one flight directly with Delta but we had to call as the app upgrade didn’t work. Not international but Delta. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizer Diana Posted August 15, 2021 #21 Share Posted August 15, 2021 2 hours ago, rwmiller said: We originally booked our flight to Seattle on Flight Ease on Delta in Comfort +. We were able to upgrade our seats on one flight directly with Delta but we had to call as the app upgrade didn’t work. Not international but Delta. Bob Thank you for that feedback. Our flight is a bit in the future, so will try to upgrade a little closer to the flight (and cancellation deadline). Last week I waited for 2 hours on the phone and gave up. Was there a particular phone number you used or do you think it was just random that they were so busy when I called? Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickerj Posted August 15, 2021 #22 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Anyone else unable to get any results through FlightEase? Every time I put in my departure airport, I get the error "We are unable to process your request. Please try again later or call us at the number listed on the page for assistance." (There is no phone number on the page, but I'd prefer not go that route anyway.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted August 15, 2021 #23 Share Posted August 15, 2021 42 minutes ago, strickerj said: Anyone else unable to get any results through FlightEase? Every time I put in my departure airport, I get the error "We are unable to process your request. Please try again later or call us at the number listed on the page for assistance." (There is no phone number on the page, but I'd prefer not go that route anyway.) Are you within 335 days of your return date? There are some circumstances where it is easier to call. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/pre-post-travel-cruise/flight-ease.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickerj Posted August 15, 2021 #24 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Just now, Mary229 said: Are you within 335 days of your return date? There are some circumstances where it is easier to call. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/pre-post-travel-cruise/flight-ease.html Yeah. Tried it last year (for the cruise that ended up canceled) too and had the same issue. I even tried some different departure cities in case they just didn't serve mine, to no avail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mary229 Posted August 15, 2021 #25 Share Posted August 15, 2021 43 minutes ago, strickerj said: Yeah. Tried it last year (for the cruise that ended up canceled) too and had the same issue. I even tried some different departure cities in case they just didn't serve mine, to no avail. I am curious, what airpot? I also have an issue where I need to call. I will fly home 14 days after the cruise from another city. I booked that early. Now it won’t let me go back and look at the first flights with a similar message you are getting. I know they fly from DFW. I am assuming that is their error message du jour regardless of the issue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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