Selecting Seats on Flight Ease

[fsdj1097]

Good Morning All and Merry Christmas.  We are booked aboard Koningsdam for a June 11th, 2022 sailing to Alaska R/T from Vancouver.

 

Our PCC has also booked pre-cruise travel on Flight Ease.  After receiving our flight schedule, our PCC said that we could log into our HAL accounts on the website and select our seats for the flights.

 

However, when I attempt to do that, I'm getting a HAL website message saying that an error occurred and I should try again later.

 

Has anyone else had a similar experience when attempting to select seats on the HAL website?

 

Thanks, in advance, for your replies.

[triiip42]

Have you been able to get in yet?

I have experienced the same thing numerous times. Others have spoken of the same issue.

 

For me, I have hit the back arrow for the page. This takes me back to the manage flights button. Then I hit that.  Sometimes it works the first time but other times I have done this between 2 and 5 times and sometimes that will get me in.

I have logged completely off the site and logged back in. That has worked a couple of times. but not always.

If it still does not get me in, I will try back in a few minutes and that usually works. I have had a few times over the last year when I could not get in for a couple of days.

I have had my pcc on the phone at the same time and she could not get in either. I have had their IT on the phone and they saw the same thing and thought they fixed it, but nope.🙃

Don't know if any of this helps you...

Obviously they have a glitch, it could be user volume related but???

 

 

[IPB4IGO]

When I had that problem I went directly to the airline's web site, brought up my reservation, and did my seat assignment there.

[fsdj1097]

43 minutes ago, triiip42 said:

Have you been able to get in yet?

I have experienced the same thing numerous times. Others have spoken of the same issue.

 

For me, I have hit the back arrow for the page. This takes me back to the manage flights button. Then I hit that.  Sometimes it works the first time but other times I have done this between 2 and 5 times and sometimes that will get me in.

I have logged completely off the site and logged back in. That has worked a couple of times. but not always.

If it still does not get me in, I will try back in a few minutes and that usually works. I have had a few times over the last year when I could not get in for a couple of days.

I have had my pcc on the phone at the same time and she could not get in either. I have had their IT on the phone and they saw the same thing and thought they fixed it, but nope.🙃

Don't know if any of this helps you...

Obviously they have a glitch, it could be user volume related but???

 

 

Well, your trick with hitting the back arrow worked, after the third time!  Thanks for sharing that.

[fsdj1097]

6 minutes ago, IPB4IGO said:

When I had that problem I went directly to the airline's web site, brought up my reservation, and did my seat assignment there.

Thanks for your reply.  However, because HAL hasn't actually paid for the reservation yet, the airline website doesn't consider this as a 'ticketed booking', and it doesn't allow me to select seats.

[ski ww]

I had a problem trying to book our seats, so I called the air line direct gave then our flight number & booked our seats that way.

[StLouisCruisers]

It must depend on the airline whether or not you can choose seats on their website, whether "paid for" or not.  Delta allows me in to pick seats instantly after booking with Flight Ease or Princess's EZAir.

[Woofbite]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

It must depend on the airline whether or not you can choose seats on their website, whether "paid for" or not.  Delta allows me in to pick seats instantly after booking with Flight Ease or Princess's EZAir.

American let me do it on flights booked through Flight Ease through HAL as well.

Some carriers such as British don't even allow business class to book specific seats

without paying extra until within 24 hours of the flight.  Bah, humbug.

[Mandalay1903]

On 12/24/2021 at 7:09 AM, triiip42 said:

Have you been able to get in yet?

I have experienced the same thing numerous times. Others have spoken of the same issue.

 

For me, I have hit the back arrow for the page. This takes me back to the manage flights button. Then I hit that.  Sometimes it works the first time but other times I have done this between 2 and 5 times and sometimes that will get me in.

I have logged completely off the site and logged back in. That has worked a couple of times. but not always.

If it still does not get me in, I will try back in a few minutes and that usually works. I have had a few times over the last year when I could not get in for a couple of days.

I have had my pcc on the phone at the same time and she could not get in either. I have had their IT on the phone and they saw the same thing and thought they fixed it, but nope.🙃

Don't know if any of this helps you...

Obviously they have a glitch, it could be user volume related but???

 

 

I have had this problem a lot, and have had very similar limited success (and failures). Because of this I'm even prevented from booking my flights through the Flight Ease site, as well as checking for pricing updates. This can't be done through the airlines' sites.

 

I've also had the experience of having my PCC on the phone while trying this. In my case, the PCC could navigate to my flight through Flight Ease but I still got the error message.

 

One other procedure that I've used was to log in to the HAL website using the cruise booking number rather than my username/password. I've had better success with this. Basically, go to hollandamerica.com without logging in, select Already Booked/Manage My Booking. Then enter your booking number, first/last name, and answer the security question. This works sometimes.

 

Sure wish they would recognize and fix the problem...

[xjust4fun]

4 hours ago, Mandalay1903 said:

I have had this problem a lot, and have had very similar limited success (and failures). Because of this I'm even prevented from booking my flights through the Flight Ease site, as well as checking for pricing updates. This can't be done through the airlines' sites.

 

I've also had the experience of having my PCC on the phone while trying this. In my case, the PCC could navigate to my flight through Flight Ease but I still got the error message.

 

One other procedure that I've used was to log in to the HAL website using the cruise booking number rather than my username/password. I've had better success with this. Basically, go to hollandamerica.com without logging in, select Already Booked/Manage My Booking. Then enter your booking number, first/last name, and answer the security question. This works sometimes.

 

Sure wish they would recognize and fix the problem...

I’ve been having this issue for several weeks. Even called my TA because I wanted to change my flights on one booking to only be told that the flight I wanted did not exist, today out of pure frustration in not being able to access any of my bookings to book flights I ended up calling Flight Ease and they were able to get me the flights on wanted for my first booking.  The rep told me I would need to contact Reservation to get them to fix our issue.  I wished HAL would fix their booking system,  We have 5 bookings for 2022….

[Hlitner]

On 12/24/2021 at 10:55 AM, fsdj1097 said:

Thanks for your reply.  However, because HAL hasn't actually paid for the reservation yet, the airline website doesn't consider this as a 'ticketed booking', and it doesn't allow me to select seats.

This will vary by airline and class of service.   And nobody is worse than British Air who will not even allow most Business Class ticket holders to choose seats unless they pay an extra fee (which is more than $100 per ticket) or wait until within 24 hours of their flight.  For this reason and some of their awful seat maps we avoid BA like the plague unless it is the only reasonable option.

Hank

[Mandalay1903]

13 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

This will vary by airline and class of service.   And nobody is worse than British Air who will not even allow most Business Class ticket holders to choose seats unless they pay an extra fee (which is more than $100 per ticket) or wait until within 24 hours of their flight.  For this reason and some of their awful seat maps we avoid BA like the plague unless it is the only reasonable option.

Hank

Yes, I'm avoiding BA as well when possible. I'm shocked about the extra fee for business class...  We're faced with the extra fee for premium economy, but fortunately it's only a small cost because it only impacts our short segments of LHR/EDI and LHR/AMS. Probably no refund if you buy the seat fee on BA and then have to cancel the flight through HAL's Flexible Air.

[Mandalay1903]

21 minutes ago, xjust4fun said:

I’ve been having this issue for several weeks. Even called my TA because I wanted to change my flights on one booking to only be told that the flight I wanted did not exist, today out of pure frustration in not being able to access any of my bookings to book flights I ended up calling Flight Ease and they were able to get me the flights on wanted for my first booking.  The rep told me I would need to contact Reservation to get them to fix our issue.  I wished HAL would fix their booking system,  We have 5 bookings for 2022….

This problem persists for me after clearing cookies, and using four different browser types, four different devices (laptop, desktop and iPads), wire or wireless, and even occurs using my iPhone with cell service. To me and seeing that other HAL Mariners are also struggling, that rules out any problems on my end.

 

Similar to you, we have 9 future bookings in 2022 and 2023.

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, Mandalay1903 said:

Yes, I'm avoiding BA as well when possible. I'm shocked about the extra fee for business class...  We're faced with the extra fee for premium economy, but fortunately it's only a small cost because it only impacts our short segments of LHR/EDI and LHR/AMS. Probably no refund if you buy the seat fee on BA and then have to cancel the flight through HAL's Flexible Air.

Great point.  I do not believe Flex Air even accommodates the extra seat fee so one would need to do that direct with BA once you got a reservation # thought Flexair.  We actually broke down and had a partial booking with BA (through HALs system) on a flight from the east coast to Tokyo.  We could not avoid BA on the first segment from IAD to LHR and get the very good deal offered through the cruise line.  But that cruise was ultimately cancelled (by HAL) so we avoided the BA seat issue.   I am a huge fan of the system used by HAL, Princess, Seabourn and Cunard (all through the same sub contractors) which often has Business/First Class fares at amazing prices (1/3 the regular price in not uncommon).  I once made the case that it would pay to book a short European cruise on HAL or Princess just to get the airfares.  This is one more reason why when wanting to spend some time in Europe we will often combine it with a cruise booking.  In some cases, we saved so much money on Business Class that it more then covered the entire cost of the cruise :).  We have an upcoming Seabourn cruise from Miami to Monte Carlo and then plan on spending a few weeks running around Europe (post cruise).  We decided to book return air from Prague and the cruise line actually had Business Class (lay flat seats) for less than $1000 (one way).  HAL offers similar fares.

 

Hank

[Mandalay1903]

18 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Great point.  I do not believe Flex Air even accommodates the extra seat fee so one would need to do that direct with BA once you got a reservation # thought Flexair.  We actually broke down and had a partial booking with BA (through HALs system) on a flight from the east coast to Tokyo.  We could not avoid BA on the first segment from IAD to LHR and get the very good deal offered through the cruise line.  But that cruise was ultimately cancelled (by HAL) so we avoided the BA seat issue.   I am a huge fan of the system used by HAL, Princess, Seabourn and Cunard (all through the same sub contractors) which often has Business/First Class fares at amazing prices (1/3 the regular price in not uncommon).  I once made the case that it would pay to book a short European cruise on HAL or Princess just to get the airfares.  This is one more reason why when wanting to spend some time in Europe we will often combine it with a cruise booking.  In some cases, we saved so much money on Business Class that it more then covered the entire cost of the cruise :).  We have an upcoming Seabourn cruise from Miami to Monte Carlo and then plan on spending a few weeks running around Europe (post cruise).  We decided to book return air from Prague and the cruise line actually had Business Class (lay flat seats) for less than $1000 (one way).  HAL offers similar fares.

 

Hank

"It never hurts to try!"

 

Thanks so much, Hank for the great comments about Business Class with Flight Ease. I was (finally) able to open Flight Ease for my upcoming booking to Spitzbergen in June and re-check the airfare deals. I was booked in Premium Economy round trip. By adjusting the flight search settings I was able to re-book the outbound in Premium Economy and the return in Business Class for only about $90 pp. Seat assignments are all confirmed.

 

Thanks!

[westcoastsue]

On 12/24/2021 at 7:47 AM, IPB4IGO said:

When I had that problem I went directly to the airline's web site, brought up my reservation, and did my seat assignment there.

I did the same thing. It was quite easy.

[Woofbite]

I also like the ability to book into or out of any port served by HAL within 30 days before or after a cruise so you can combine a ground tour with a cruise.

[0201002914]

I have a cruise booked for June and booked my seats for the outginig flights, but can't book seats for the return. Spent hours on the phone and have found out HAL only tickets your flight 45 days prior to

 the date of your flights. Could book outgoing only because their contract with the Airlines for my outgoing flight date was up for renewal, so the ticketed those flights early.

If I was aware of their policy, I would have canceled my filghts and booked directly with the Airline, won't use themever again.

[SusieKIslandGirl]

I was able to book a flight for after our cruise in December. I know the website says something to the effect that flights can be booked 330 days before the last day of the cruise. One time I waited until 330 days before the cruise started but couldn't book for another 10 days because it was a 10 day cruise.

[Mandalay1903]

25 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

I was able to book a flight for after our cruise in December. I know the website says something to the effect that flights can be booked 330 days before the last day of the cruise. One time I waited until 330 days before the cruise started but couldn't book for another 10 days because it was a 10 day cruise.

I always check with my HAL PCC when I book the cruise, and she'll give me the date that flights will be available on Flight Ease. I can usually get seat assignments when I book my flights--even 10 or 11 months out. The exception may be airlines like British Air, which may require making seat assignments through their site for an additional fee. So I try to avoid British Air.

[terrydtx]

10 hours ago, Mandalay1903 said:

I always check with my HAL PCC when I book the cruise, and she'll give me the date that flights will be available on Flight Ease. I can usually get seat assignments when I book my flights--even 10 or 11 months out. The exception may be airlines like British Air, which may require making seat assignments through their site for an additional fee. So I try to avoid British Air.

I agree about British Air, we had flights booked through Flight Ease for a cruise from Venice last year that was eventually cancelled by HAL. We had business class seats and had to go to the BA website and pay a $150 to pre book our BC seats, which is non refundable, even after HAL canceled the cruise and flights. We will never book or fly BA again.  We used Flight Ease for our rebooked Greek cruise this year from Venice.  The best BC fare on the site was on Delta but used an ITA flight number for the Atlanta to Venice leg on a Delta flight. We booked this flight last month but we couldn't get seats assigned on the ITA flight (even though it was a Delta flight) when we booked, for some reason yesterday I was able to book the seats online on the Delta website as the seat maps became available.  Why we use Flight Ease you may ask, the RT business class tickets on Delta cost $2770pp in January today if we direct booked with Delta the flights cost $5100pp we saved a ton of money is why.

[StLouisCruisers]

10 hours ago, Mandalay1903 said:

I always check with my HAL PCC when I book the cruise, and she'll give me the date that flights will be available on Flight Ease. I can usually get seat assignments when I book my flights--even 10 or 11 months out. The exception may be airlines like British Air, which may require making seat assignments through their site for an additional fee. So I try to avoid British Air.

 

Me, too!  With Atlanta as our home airport, Delta is always the best choice for us and we can choose seats immediately at no charge.

[terrydtx]

29 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Me, too!  With Atlanta as our home airport, Delta is always the best choice for us and we can choose seats immediately at no charge.

We much prefer Delta over using American Airlines here in Texas. Too many AA flights to Europe use connections with BA in Heathrow and we refuse to fly BA. We live in San Antonio, and we do get good connections in Atlanta with several direct flights each day. Our other choice in United as we can get good connections through Houston to Europe. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by terrydtx

[Mandalay1903]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Why we use Flight Ease you may ask

And, equally as important, the Flex Fares are cancellable and changeable for no fee up to point near the cruise final payment date.  If you change, you may have a higher--or lower--base fare.

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, Mandalay1903 said:

And, equally as important, the Flex Fares are cancellable and changeable for no fee up to point near the cruise final payment date.  If you change, you may have a higher--or lower--base fare.

Correct that is another great reason. We have changed flight several times for past cruises. With so many cruises being canceled since 2020 if we had booked directly with the airlines, we could have been holding a lot of flight credits that would be expiring at the end of this year, instead of getting 100% refunds from FE. The one time we didn't use HAL for booking flights was from San Antonio to FLL we had to take a flight credit that expires at the end of this year and the airline will not extend the credit.

Edited February 27, 2022 by terrydtx