EZ Air/Early Ticketing

[Cruzin Grandma]

I was under the impression that if you book EZ Air and request early ticketing, you could then deal directly with the airlines should flights be changed or canceled.  Can anyone confirm (or deny) this?  I cannot find anything specific on the Princess website FAQ.  Thanks in advance!

[trvlwrld]

early ticketing basically lets you choose your seats

[latebloomer56]

34 minutes ago, trvlwrld said:

early ticketing basically lets you choose your seats

Would you know how far out early would be? We are 114 days out and site didn't let me. Is it after final payment?

Thanks

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, trvlwrld said:

early ticketing basically lets you choose your seats

Yes, but your EZ-Air booking changes from Flexible to whatever the airline rules are for the fare class you booked, including any change and cancellation fees.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Cruzin Grandma said:

I was under the impression that if you book EZ Air and request early ticketing, you could then deal directly with the airlines should flights be changed or canceled.  Can anyone confirm (or deny) this?  I cannot find anything specific on the Princess website FAQ.  Thanks in advance!

Yes, but you need to pay for the flights first - i.e., have the funds on account to cover the airfare cost and then request ticketing.  Your then becomes subject to airline rules and policies so you cannot just find another better flight or price on EZ-Air and switch.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, latebloomer56 said:

Would you know how far out early would be? We are 114 days out and site didn't let me. Is it after final payment?

Thanks

AFAIK, as soon as you are willing to pay for the flight(s).  I have done this in the past.

[Cruzin Grandma]

Thanks for your replies.  

[nini]

18 hours ago, trvlwrld said:

early ticketing basically lets you choose your seats

Actually, that is not true. I have been able to.select our seats as soon as I book which is typically when the flights become available- 300 days before the cruise itself.

[CruizinSusan70]

Can EZ Air flights be paid for with Princess gift cards?   Can you reserve a one way ticket to lock in a great rate on the day that reservations open and then reserve the return ticket 14 days later for a 14 day cruise?

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Can EZ Air flights be paid for with Princess gift cards?   Can you reserve a one way ticket to lock in a great rate on the day that reservations open and then reserve the return ticket 14 days later for a 14 day cruise?

Yes, you can pay anything due to PCL with their gift cards.

 

You can do the two one-ways if you booked the 14-nighter as two 7-nighters.  With a single booking for 14-nights you have to book return airfare in one booking and not separately.  You won't even be allowed to book the outbound when the eligible date arrives on the calendar because the booking is timing the availability of flights to the end of the cruise.  

 

99% of the time, I am booking each voyage separately and not as a "logical" single voyage.  There would need to be a very good price advantage for me to not book separate voyages.

 

[SomewhereGirl]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Can EZ Air flights be paid for with Princess gift cards?   Can you reserve a one way ticket to lock in a great rate on the day that reservations open and then reserve the return ticket 14 days later for a 14 day cruise?

The FAQs say gift cards cannot be used towards EZ Air but I'm past the point of being able to test that.  Cruise Gift Cards – Princess Cruises - Princess Cruises

[dog]

7 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Can EZ Air flights be paid for with Princess gift cards?   Can you reserve a one way ticket to lock in a great rate on the day that reservations open and then reserve the return ticket 14 days later for a 14 day cruise?

 

3 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

The FAQs say gift cards cannot be used towards EZ Air but I'm past the point of being able to test that.  Cruise Gift Cards – Princess Cruises - Princess Cruises

This is correct:

please read the conditions for use and the exceptions.

Says gift cards cannot be used for Land tours or EZ Air.

 

if Steelers knows better, then please show your source.

[beg3yrs]

4 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:

The FAQs say gift cards cannot be used towards EZ Air but I'm past the point of being able to test that.  Cruise Gift Cards – Princess Cruises - Princess Cruises

I'll test it on the 28th when I'll be paying for our next trip which includes EZ Air.

 

It's interesting as I read the complete terms and conditions which are silent on the subject of EZ Air as well as Land Tours. They do have a list of items for which they can be used and that includes a Princess Booking. Could one argue that EZ Air is part of your booking? When I look up my booking number it shows both the cruise fare and the travel fare. FAQs are only interpretations of the Ts&Cs. Anyway, as I said above, we'll find out for sure in a few days.

[dog]

3 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

I'll test it on the 28th when I'll be paying for our next trip which includes EZ Air.

 

It's interesting as I read the complete terms and conditions which are silent on the subject of EZ Air as well as Land Tours. They do have a list of items for which they can be used and that includes a Princess Booking. Could one argue that EZ Air is part of your booking? When I look up my booking number it shows both the cruise fare and the travel fare. FAQs are only interpretations of the Ts&Cs. Anyway, as I said above, we'll find out for sure in a few days.

Click on link for F&Q.
Q: are there any restrictions using gift cards?

A: yes, land excursions & EZ Air.

 

easy to miss, but it is there.

 

maybe it has changed.

let us know.

[beg3yrs]

10 minutes ago, dog said:

Click on link for F&Q.
Q: are there any restrictions using gift cards?

A: yes, land excursions & EZ Air.

 

easy to miss, but it is there.

 

maybe it has changed.

let us know.

I didn't miss that. As I said earlier, FAQ answers are not binding but are merely interpretations of the Terms and Conditions. Granted the author of the FAQ works (I hope) for Princess but the Terms and Conditions take precedence over FAQs.

[dog]

20 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

 

[dog]

giftcardsupport@princesscruises.com

 

rather then speculate or believe F&Q I will  check with Princess 

[dog]

On 6/25/2022 at 12:51 PM, dog said:

giftcardsupport@princesscruises.com

 

rather then speculate or believe F&Q I will  check with Princess 

I contacted at this address: 

answer today:

 

gift cards cannot be used for EZ Air or land excursions.

 

followed by:

for EZ Air flexible fare you can call Princess to apply gift card.

This cannot be done online.

 

 

[beg3yrs]

Reporting back in after using mega-gift cards to pay for a B2B2B with EZair at both ends.

 

Results are inconclusive. My TA said he's never had a problem using gift cards for EZair but ... we didn't have enough gift cards to cover everything so I can't tell if they worked or not.

 

Regardless, we maxed out our allocation with the discount provider for June and July. We'll start stocking up next month if they're still available. What a deal!

[suekel]

On 6/12/2022 at 8:05 AM, latebloomer56 said:

Would you know how far out early would be? We are 114 days out and site didn't let me. Is it after final payment?

Thanks

I can always choose my seats immediately after booking on Delta, United or American.  You need to go to the airline website with your air confirmation number.  Any other airlines, I have no idea if you can do that.  

[CruizinSusan70]

8 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

 

Regardless, we maxed out our allocation with the discount provider for June and July. We'll start stocking up next month if they're still available. What a deal!

If you're getting five 500.00 cards pp via AARP, that's 10,000.00 worth of cards for June and July.

[beg3yrs]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you're getting five 500.00 cards pp via AARP, that's 10,000.00 worth of cards for June and July.

That's what we did. DW and I each got the five $500 cards over two months for $10,000. They're all spent so we still need more for our next cruises.

[Steelers36]

On 6/25/2022 at 7:37 AM, SomewhereGirl said:

The FAQs say gift cards cannot be used towards EZ Air but I'm past the point of being able to test that.  Cruise Gift Cards – Princess Cruises - Princess Cruises

I confess to not checking T&C's for GC's, nor the FAQ"s of late.  Although, I doubt this is a new policy.

See more below.

 

On 6/25/2022 at 11:24 AM, dog said:

 

This is correct:

please read the conditions for use and the exceptions.

Says gift cards cannot be used for Land tours or EZ Air.

 

if Steelers knows better, then please show your source.

Almost missed this since you didn't properly tag me as @Steelers36.  😉

Keep reading....

 

On 6/25/2022 at 12:10 PM, beg3yrs said:

I'll test it on the 28th when I'll be paying for our next trip which includes EZ Air.

 

It's interesting as I read the complete terms and conditions which are silent on the subject of EZ Air as well as Land Tours. They do have a list of items for which they can be used and that includes a Princess Booking. Could one argue that EZ Air is part of your booking? When I look up my booking number it shows both the cruise fare and the travel fare. FAQs are only interpretations of the Ts&Cs. Anyway, as I said above, we'll find out for sure in a few days.

You may be on to something.  Keep reading to below.

 

On 6/25/2022 at 12:28 PM, beg3yrs said:

I didn't miss that. As I said earlier, FAQ answers are not binding but are merely interpretations of the Terms and Conditions. Granted the author of the FAQ works (I hope) for Princess but the Terms and Conditions take precedence over FAQs.

 

4 hours ago, dog said:

I contacted at this address: 

answer today:

 

gift cards cannot be used for EZ Air or land excursions.

 

followed by:

for EZ Air flexible fare you can call Princess to apply gift card.

This cannot be done online.

 

 

Seems like you got conflicting responses.  First, NO to EZ-Air, but then YES to Flexible fares.  (Aside:  Does anyone actually booked restricted with EZ-Air?  What would be the point of that as cuts you off from price drops?)

 

3 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

Reporting back in after using mega-gift cards to pay for a B2B2B with EZair at both ends.

 

Results are inconclusive. My TA said he's never had a problem using gift cards for EZair but ... we didn't have enough gift cards to cover everything so I can't tell if they worked or not.

 

Regardless, we maxed out our allocation with the discount provider for June and July. We'll start stocking up next month if they're still available. What a deal!

Your report seems to match my situation.

 

We have four voyages in October.  First three are B3B on REGAL.  All three REGAL's have FCD deposits.  The first voyage also has our FCC's from Covid cancellations (we had never paid those in full).  There was not enough FCC to fully pay for the cruise portion or the airfare.  This first voyage also has our outbound EZ-Air flight (Flexible naturally).  Gift cards paid off the balance owing recently and there was no question nor issue about using them to pay the balance. 

 

Other gift cards were applied to Regal 2&3, and small balances were charged to Visa.  No air on those cruises.

 

Our final voyage is on ISLAND, and it includes our return flight (also Flexible EZ-Air).  I have also applied final $2,000 in GC's as a partial payment on the account balance.  Deposit was FCD's.  The GC amount does not cover the cruise fare, but would cover the airfare.  This booking is not yet paid in full, but I might request early ticketing before FP Date.  If I do, I can report back since the airfare has to be fully paid in order to ticket early and the only way it could be considered paid today is if the GC amount was accepted as payment. 

 

[dog]

Regarding gift card- I would call to do the booking, & payment to avoid surprises.  

[Steelers36]

I would sit on any GC's until time for Final Payment.  That way less risk of cancelling and dealing with getting back GC amounts.  

 

Always save the GC number and PIN until voyage is completed.