Princess EZ Air: do they really "get you to the ship"??

[Fleur25]

Hello Princess Cruisers:

 

Just booked a Christmas cruise (Southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale) on the Sky Princess and for the first time we're considering EZ Air. We always fly Delta and there's not a huge price difference so that's not an issue. We also always get travel insurance just be be safe. We're pretty laid back travelers....things happen and you roll with it. We just assume something is going to go wrong so we try to take as many precautions as possible like always arriving a day early to the port city. We live in the upper midwest so driving to a port is not a reasonable option for us.

 

Obviously, anyone crazy enough (🤣) to travel these days has to expect problems: cancelled flights,  delays, slow response times for customer service, etc. That's why we're considering EZ Air because if, despite our best efforts, we still miss the ship their promo says, "the reassurance that we'll get you to the ship."

 

So given the state of air travel today.....

 

• What's been your experience...especially in the last year or so?
• Will they really get you to your ship if you have flight issues beyond your control?
• Has anyone had a Princess EZ Air fail? What happened?
• Ultimately, do you really get the peace of mind you're promised when you chose EZ Air?

 

Thanks so much for your insights. Much appreciated!

 

 

 

[Esprit]

I'll find out this Saturday if British Airways cancel our flight from Heathrow to Rome for embarkation on Regal later that day🤞🙏 

[Fleur25]

Oh no! I'm crossing  my fingers too that you make it to the port on time! 🤞🤞

 

Do you use EZ Air regularly or did you decide to use it because of how difficult travel is these days?

[Potstech]

Yes they will get you there.  Family members had a missed flight experience and Princess got them to the next destination..

[Rick&Jeannie]

Take that "promise" with a big grain of salt!  We missed a connecting flight in ATL back in March and thus missed our transatlantic embarkation in Fort Lauderdale.  "In theory" they would have gotten us to the next port...but in this case that would have been the Azores 6 days later!  Half the cruise lost.  BUT...as it turned out the ship had to BYPASS the Azores due to weather.  Another 4 or 5 days gone...but we would have been stuck in the Azores.  No clue as to whether or not they would have stepped back in and gotten us wherever...but by that time the cruise is LONG past ruined!  It all depends on the itinerary as to whether that "guarantee" is worth anything.

[Retirement2016]

2 hours ago, Fleur25 said:

Hello Princess Cruisers:

 

Just booked a Christmas cruise (Southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale) on the Sky Princess and for the first time we're considering EZ Air. We always fly Delta and there's not a huge price difference so that's not an issue. We also always get travel insurance just be be safe. We're pretty laid back travelers....things happen and you roll with it. We just assume something is going to go wrong so we try to take as many precautions as possible like always arriving a day early to the port city. We live in the upper midwest so driving to a port is not a reasonable option for us.

 

Obviously, anyone crazy enough (🤣) to travel these days has to expect problems: cancelled flights,  delays, slow response times for customer service, etc. That's why we're considering EZ Air because if, despite our best efforts, we still miss the ship their promo says, "the reassurance that we'll get you to the ship."

 

So given the state of air travel today.....

 

• What's been your experience...especially in the last year or so?
  •        
• Will they really get you to your ship if you have flight issues beyond your control?
•   
• Has anyone had a Princess EZ Air fail? What happened?
•  
• Ultimately, do you really get the peace of mind you're promised when you chose EZ Air?

 

Thanks so much for your insights. Much appreciated!

 

 

 

 

Our experience happened two weeks ago.

 

Our flight situation:  E-Z air flight was cancelled, then rebooked on a co-shared airline 26 hours later.  The second flight was delayed another 24 hours. We would have arrived in LHR at 1 pm, with ship leaving Southampton at 4 pm (it takes 2 hours to get to Southampton).  I called Princess Enroute department.  The rep stated they will have Princess rep meet us at LHR and provide transportation to Southampton.  He also stated seats were aailable on UA, arriving LHR 11:30 am., but E-Z Air Dept. was closed, to call back next day at 8 am.  Called at 8:01 am (this is Friday, ship sailing on Saturday), on hold for 3 hours, the UA seats were already taken.  WHY HAVE AN ENROUTE DEPARTMENT OPENED, BUT E-Z AIR DEPARTMENT CLOSED, DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

 

I could have booked 3 business class tickets on UA, paying $10,000 in hope of reimbursement from Princess. (not likely)  After being at the airport two days, 12 hours total, we were not interested in forking out the additional money, the trip was not that important.  The only peace of mind is the fact that Princess will issue us FCC in the full amount (cruise + airfare).  Hopefully, we will have time to use it in 2023. 

[skynight]

Yes, Princess will try to get you to the next foreign port of call. Don't forget airline seats to that port may also be very limited with those flights also subject to cancellations or delays.

EZ Air is an air consolidator. They are at the mercy of airline schedules, delays and cancellations which at this time is the worst I have ever seen it. Who knows at Christmas? Their phone lines are also very busy. I would not count on the next port promise for an enjoyable cruise. I would arrive at the port at least one day early or sooner. If close enough I would drive. 

[beaglesandducks]

We had a fairly good experience with ezair     my husband's flight from Reno to SFO was delayed and he did not make the connection to ft lauderdale   It was 10 pm at night   I called ezair and they located 3 flights that would get him to ft lauderdale for cruise the next day   He made it to the pier for lunch in mdr     the only glitch was that he was originally booked in first class, which was not available on the other flight     After speaking with princess (took a couple phone calls and emails and a month or so) princess reimbursed him $250 plus $200 for each of us in fcc    

[geoherb]

On my February cruise, a lot of passengers missed flights to Fort Lauderdale--even the ones who had booked flights a day or two before--due to a winter storm and the consequent flight cancellations and delays. One woman on our roll call wrote about how Princess was going to fly them to catch up with the ship in Costa Maya. But then the plan changed when she updated us that they could not do that flight due to Covid regulations in Mexico at the time. They missed the whole cruise.

That said, I booked the air for my cruise next month through EZair. I'm on the first direct flight to New York the morning of the cruise. There are several other direct flights with the same airline that would get me to the ship on time plus more than a dozen possibilities with the same airline with connecting flights. I also looked at the number of flights from New York to the next two ports (in Canada). I'm hoping if there is a problem, EZair will live up to the late-arrival protection: "Rest easy that you'll make your cruise if flights are delayed or canceled and get home if you miss flights because of your cruise or transfer."

[AZjohn]

4 hours ago, skynight said:

 

EZ Air is an air consolidator.

Exactly!

Thank you for saying this as it seems a lot of people either don’t understand what a consolidator is.

[Steelers36]

13 hours ago, Fleur25 said:

Hello Princess Cruisers:

 

Just booked a Christmas cruise (Southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale) on the Sky Princess and for the first time we're considering EZ Air. We always fly Delta and there's not a huge price difference so that's not an issue. We also always get travel insurance just be be safe. We're pretty laid back travelers....things happen and you roll with it. We just assume something is going to go wrong so we try to take as many precautions as possible like always arriving a day early to the port city. We live in the upper midwest so driving to a port is not a reasonable option for us.

 

Obviously, anyone crazy enough (🤣) to travel these days has to expect problems: cancelled flights,  delays, slow response times for customer service, etc. That's why we're considering EZ Air because if, despite our best efforts, we still miss the ship their promo says, "the reassurance that we'll get you to the ship."

 

So given the state of air travel today.....

 

• What's been your experience...especially in the last year or so?
• Will they really get you to your ship if you have flight issues beyond your control?
• Has anyone had a Princess EZ Air fail? What happened?
• Ultimately, do you really get the peace of mind you're promised when you chose EZ Air?

 

Thanks so much for your insights. Much appreciated!

 

 

 

You can also book your fave airline (DELTA) using EZ-Air.  As you have seen, don't expect to save much - if anything - domestically.  What you may gain is flexibility to change flights or book a fare drop that you may not get with direct airline ticketing. 

 

You can enter your Skymiles numbers and earn points.  Once you have gone to Delta website and entered your booking code, make sure your profile is in there and recognized.  If you have Delta status, you can select better seats, etc. 

 

The best situation with EZ-Air is for overseas flights are they don't have the one-way super surcharges the airlines slap on if booking one way.  Often you might find the best deal flying over and back on two different carriers, for example.  Or you only need one-way since sailing the other direction.

 

Example, I have rebooked multiple times for our October voyages.  We have been on an incredible business class deal with Air France for a while now, but my original booking was 2x the cost.  And even that original cost was less than the airline (AC).  Now, our return is on BA/AA combo and again, an incredible business class rate that is less than the Prem Econ rate I had us on with LH/AC coming back home. 

 

Business class for two of us together is about $1,700+ USD each way.

 

[wowzz]

15 hours ago, Esprit said:

I'll find out this Saturday if British Airways cancel our flight from Heathrow to Rome for embarkation on Regal later that day🤞🙏 

I hope you make it.

If not, hopefully you will pick up the ship later in the week. At least you will be able to go home until a flight becomes available.  

We always travel at least a day in advance of any cruise (even if no flying is involved) but I appreciate that this is not possible  for  everyone.

[triple7tahoe]

On a semi recent (Feb-March) TA on the Regal, many folks were going to be late due to weather in the North East. They held the ship for 4 hours but still about 50 folks missed the ship. One member of our travelling party is in a wheelchair and uses a service dog. He was travelling with his Mother  (coming from a different state so she was aboard.) Princess flew him, and his dog to our first stop in the Azores. Put him up in a hotel and paid for his mother to go to the hotel in a private car. I would say that was a benefit of using EZAir.

 

[clueless2]

The only thing on here that concerns me about EZAir is that they are not available 24x7.   I've used them pre-pandemic for international flights and used them for a cross country flight this fall (the price was the same as booking directly but I wanted flexibility in case we decided to cancel if covid got bad),  I may rethink using them unless it's international where the price is too good to pass up.   Years ago there used to be a number where you could access them directly but I guess that's no longer possible.

[wowzz]

The thing to remember is that seats cannot be conjured out of thin air.  

So, EZair can help, but if a flight is cancelled, just because you are booked with Princess does not give you priority for the next available flight.

[Retirement2016]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The thing to remember is that seats cannot be conjured out of thin air.  

So, EZair can help, but if a flight is cancelled, just because you are booked with Princess does not give you priority for the next available flight.

 

Yes, you are absolutely correct.  But, when E-Z Air is closed and Princess Enroute cannot get access to available flights, what are you supposed to do?  In my case, I was told to call back the next day.  I knew then, the chances of us making the cruise was very very slim.  We allowed 2+ days to board, but it wasn't enough.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Retirement2016 said:

 

Yes, you are absolutely correct.  But, when E-Z Air is closed and Princess Enroute cannot get access to available flights, what are you supposed to do?  In my case, I was told to call back the next day.  I knew then, the chances of us making the cruise was very very slim.  We allowed 2+ days to board, but it wasn't enough.

Absolutely,  and I sympathise with your situation.

However, some people seem to think that EZ Air is some sort of magic carpet,  that will waft them to the ship, regardless of weather conditions,  ATC strikes, and general bad luck.

Your experience shows that is not the case.

[Retirement2016]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Absolutely,  and I sympathise with your situation.

However, some people seem to think that EZ Air is some sort of magic carpet,  that will waft them to the ship, regardless of weather conditions,  ATC strikes, and general bad luck.

Your experience shows that is not the case.

 

E-Z Air did not offer flight to next port of call which was Skjolden, Norway two days later. 

[Fleur25]

On 7/5/2022 at 10:35 AM, Esprit said:

'll find out this Saturday if British Airways cancel our flight from Heathrow to Rome for embarkation on Regal later that day🤞🙏 

I'm crossing my fingers that you made it!!

 

 

Thanks to everyone for your helpful information and insights into EZ Air. Traveling these days, and especially at Christmas, is just going to be a "hope for the best, plan for the worst" situation, I think.

[Jeter02]

7 minutes ago, Fleur25 said:

I'm crossing my fingers that you made it!!

 

 

Thanks to everyone for your helpful information and insights into EZ Air. Traveling these days, and especially at Christmas, is just going to be a "hope for the best, plan for the worst" situation, I think.

Honestly I look at booking with easy Air even if it's a little bit more than booking on your own as a safety net of some form. It's better to have some form of net then no net.

[dreaminofcruisin]

On 7/6/2022 at 5:24 PM, Retirement2016 said:

 

E-Z Air did not offer flight to next port of call which was Skjolden, Norway two days later. 

 

Loved Skjolden....but so very small I don't think it has an airport.....

[Retirement2016]

1 hour ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

Loved Skjolden....but so very small I don't think it has an airport.....

 

No airport in Skjolden.  Closest is Sognadal Airport which is 1.5 hours away.  I checked on the flight.  LAX to Copenhagen to Oslo to Sognadal, total 22 hours.  The airfare was listed at $8500 per person (business class) one way, plus hotel stay, plus taxi fares.  We may have taken the flight if offered.

[Diver2014]

We used EZAir for our Great Britain cruise and had no problems at all.  I guess we were 'special' or just lucky. 

[BarbRN]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:58 AM, Potstech said:

Yes they will get you there.  Family members had a missed flight experience and Princess got them to the next destination..

In my case it’s 5 days to first port.