EZAir experiences

[Nancy R]

Hello Cruisers!

We need to fly to our next cruising destination but have never used the EZAir option.  We're hesitant as we've heard horror stories about problems with cancelled flights which makes me wonder, is this an industry problem or problems specific to certain cruise lines.  So please share your experiences with EZAir and if you've had to deal with a flight cancellation and how Princess handled it.

Thank you!

Mike & Nancy

[Sea Hag]

We've only used EZAir once, and that was on our most recent cruise. No problems at all. This was a round trip Seattle sailed, where we flew out on Alaska and back on Delta. If you're flying back from Seattle and have Princess transfers, I think Delta is the way to go. They have a check in/baggage drop right down in the drop off area so you only need to shlep your bags a very short distance, rather than down the hall, up the elevator, across the walkway and through the airport.

 

I'm editing this to add the fact that our 11:15 am flight was outside allowable times for Port Valet. So we were very happy to be on Delta on miss all that luggage shlepping through the airport.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Sea Hag
more info

[georgemoe]

Following. We will probably be using EZAir for our British Isles cruise out of Southampton in 2023. It is available to us on October 10th. It will be our first time using it.

[LACruiser88]

We have used EZair many times over the years for our international flights and (knock-on-wood), we have never experienced any problems.  We usually book Business Class and sometimes First Class depending on price.  We have not found cheaper flights anywhere else.

[wowzz]

Interesting stories on another social media forum about 22 passengers who had booked flights to Athens from the UK using EZair. The aircraft arrived late, and the ship left without them. Eight passengers managed to get seats to fly to the next port and join the ship there, but the other 14 had to make their own arrangements to return to the UK, 

By all accounts the support and assistance from Princess was non-existent. 

The moral of the story is just because you book through Princess, do not assume that if things go wrong you will somehow be magically transported to the ship. 

[2theship]

As with anything, you are your own best advocate. Before you start looking at EZAir, check out the flight options and pricing as if you'd be booking on your own. That way you'll have a point of comparison when you check out EZAir. When flying internationally, we've found some spectacularly good deals on business class but domestic flights are often on par with booking directly with the airline. We've never needed assistance from the cruise line while flying to the port and I sincerely hope it stays this way.

 

One feature I've liked, especially in the current travel/health environment, is that air booked through EZAir is cancellable and changeable up to 45 days before the cruise. We've been able to monitor flight costs and change to a lower price.

[MileHighAko]

The only benefit I see to EZAir is being able to defer the purchase cost of your flights until final payment is due on your cruise. I don't think counting on EZAir to "get you to the ship" is a reasonable expectation (I realize that is part of their sales pitch, but I think people need to take a little more personal responsibility).

 

I've only used EZAir one time for our upcoming September cruise. So far it has worked fine for us. We ALWAYS travel in at least 1-2 days early, and usually will stay overnight on disembarkation so we can take the morning flight the next day. With years of heavy travel experience behind me, I prefer morning flights that are less likely to be delayed or cancelled. Anyway, for our cruise coming up in a few weeks, we booked EZAir when the flights were first made available, over 300 days ago, and we booked first class seats at a very good price. Since that time the flight times have changed 9 times, not by EZAir, but by the airlines with all of their schedule adjustments.  My flights were finally ticketed by EZAir some time back and everything is on schedule for our departure.

 

So far, I wouldn't hesitate using EZAir again if I wanted the benefit of deferring the cost of the flights, but otherwise would tend to book on my own so I have full control.

[Ombud]

I've had 2 troublesome EZAIR flights. (1) BA canceled flights worldwide & American Airlines let me switch to them. Intransit office not involved. Princess shuttle was waiting for me at Heathrow.  (2) Delta messed up my return flight. I was supposed to catch a connection in TX less than 30 minutes after my flight would get in from Fort Lauderdale.  Texted my CVP as I landed for my cruise. Before I collected my luggage my CVP had me on a nonstop flight. 

 

So 2 issues: 1 I fixed / 1 they fixed. Have used EZAIR for all flights ex 1 (that went from SF / home base) boarding my 40th Princess cruise tomorrow 

 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Ombud

[Denmal]

We use EZ air alot but I will say the normally we book American Airlines via EX air and American is easy to deal with if there are cancellations.   We are booked via EZ air on Lufthansa for our upcoming Med cruise and we had a small problem with a cancelled flight by the airline which resulted in an 11 hour layover BUT that is not princess fault.  I check my reservations at least 3 times a week for changes and then correct issues...so with the 11 hour layover. There is not another flight so booked a day hotel room in Munich Airport To sleep while waiting..still happy with EZ air

[partybarbie]

We normally fly Southwest for domestic flights and book EZ Air for international.

 

Ten years ago, my husband lost his passport somewhere between SFO and JFK.  I will say that everyone at JFK, from the ticket counter people at Italia Airlines, the rental car agency, the flight cleaning crews that searched the plane, the Princess travel emergency line, the CVS in Connecticut, the Connecticut Passport Office, etc., went above and beyond to help us obtain new flights and a new passport. 

 

It was nothing short of a miracle that he joined me the following day on the ship in Naples, new passport in hand.

 

Since then, we have always used EZ Air for our international flights. I only book non-stop, or flights with 2-3 hours between transfers.  If we have to transfer planes in the winter, I try and find airports that aren't known for being snowed in.  Yes, sometimes the flight times change, but that is the airline, not Princess.  So far, everything has been good, but it has been almost three years since we last booked an international flight. 

[Cruzinnana47]

Have used EZ Air several times and are pretty satisfied so far.  Only once we had an issue with luggage being lost...but that was the airline's handling, not the fault of Princess.  Right now, we are booking non-stop flights only to avoid any problems.

[Nancy R]

21 hours ago, Ombud said:

I've had 2 troublesome EZAIR flights. (1) BA canceled flights worldwide & American Airlines let me switch to them. Intransit office not involved. Princess shuttle was waiting for me at Heathrow.  (2) Delta messed up my return flight. I was supposed to catch a connection in TX less than 30 minutes after my flight would get in from Fort Lauderdale.  Texted my CVP as I landed for my cruise. Before I collected my luggage my CVP had me on a nonstop flight. 

 

So 2 issues: 1 I fixed / 1 they fixed. Have used EZAIR for all flights ex 1 (that went from SF / home base) boarding my 40th Princess cruise tomorrow 

 

 

Hi Ombud, Thank you for the insight, much appreciated!  Enjoy your 40th cruise, I loved sailing out of SF when we lived in Concord, CA 😊.

[Nancy R]

22 hours ago, georgemoe said:

Following. We will probably be using EZAir for our British Isles cruise out of Southampton in 2023. It is available to us on October 10th. It will be our first time using it.

Hi Georgemoe, We are also doing a British Isles cruise in 2023 but in June and the EZ Air option has already popped up.  This will be our first time to Europe and using EZ Air.

I have learned a lot from the responses to my inquiry, here are my take-aways:

1) EZAir is usually very reliable and cost competitive, at least on international flights. 

2) After booking check your flights frequently for changes/cancellations.  I honestly had no idea this was an issue, so glad it's been brought to my attention!

Enjoy your cruise!

[Nancy R]

Hello Everyone!

Thank you all SO MUCH!  You have given me some good, solid examples of what to look for and what to expect.

I have learned a lot from the responses to my inquiry, here are my take-aways:

1) EZAir is usually very reliable and cost competitive, at least on international flights. 

2) After booking check your flights frequently for changes/cancellations.  I honestly had no idea this was an issue, so glad it's been brought to my attention!

 

Thanks again and Happy Cruising!

[mjmalino]

We have used EZ Air in the past without incident, and are using them for our cruise in February. The good thing about it is that we generally book our flights as soon as they become available (assuming the cruise is already booked) and we were scheduled to cruise South America this past February, but the season was cancelled in August or September. Because we had booked flexible flights through EZ Air, our flights just went away with the cancelled booking. 

[roxievegas]

We used EZ Air for your cruise in June,  no problems

 

Currently on a cruise.  Used EZ Air to get from California to NYC and will return in 3 weeks NYC to California.  I would check our flights with American Airlines at least once a week to make sure that everything was staying the same - no one changed our flights or if times were changed.  This is a problem with the airlines and not EZ Air.

 

If you get a change (which we did in the very beginning of the booking)  call EZ Air and get them to change you to a flight time that works better for you.  We were changed from a stop in DAllas to a direct flight home but we would never make it to the airport in time (on the return).  I called EZ Air and got a flight leaving around 1:00p and stops in PHX, which is closer to home.   No charge for changing the flight

 

[georgemoe]

6 hours ago, Nancy R said:

Hi Georgemoe, We are also doing a British Isles cruise in 2023 but in June and the EZ Air option has already popped up.  This will be our first time to Europe and using EZ Air.

I have learned a lot from the responses to my inquiry, here are my take-aways:

1) EZAir is usually very reliable and cost competitive, at least on international flights. 

2) After booking check your flights frequently for changes/cancellations.  I honestly had no idea this was an issue, so glad it's been brought to my attention!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks Nancy. I hope you enjoy your trip. As was suggested previously in this thread, we have reviewed nonstop flight options that work for us and look forward to what EZAir offers.

[geoherb]

EZair has worked fine for me. It was a lot less expensive for our cruises that started from Southampton than booking airfare on our own. We did have a slight problem of not being able to choose seats together on our flight from RDU to Toronto before our last transatlantic cruise. But that was OK. We survived being apart for less than 3 hours. 

I used EZair for my cruise last month from New York without any problems. I'm using it again in November for a cruise from Fort Lauderdale. 

 

[Coral]

If you have watched the news - airlines are having a lot of problems. Cancelling flights, weather, lost luggage - it happens if you book your air independently or through Princess. If you run into any problems - I would do the same thing as if you had booked independently - work with the airlines. If that doesn't help - call EZ Air but the airlines will rebook you accordingly. Yes - there are people who miss cruise ships and have problems flying home - again, this would happen with or with out EZ Air. Princess has no control over with AA, United, Delta does.

[teecee60]

Have used EZ Air on 9 out of 9 Princess cruises... Panama Canal, transatlantics, transpacifics, and Alaska... never had even a minor hiccup. Fares for international flights are significantly cheaper than through the airlines. (domestic flights... not much of a better deal)

 

Booked EZ Air 5 days ago for yet another transatlantic on Enchanted in March. Initial quote from Tucson to Fort Lauderdale, and from Barcelona back to Tucson was $702pp. Have already rebooked at only $549pp. 😁

 

You get to pick the flights that suit you the best. I get two free bags on Delta so usually pick them even if those flights are a little more because we save $200 on luggage fees. ($50/bag times four times two)

[Thrak]

On 9/1/2022 at 7:38 AM, georgemoe said:

Following. We will probably be using EZAir for our British Isles cruise out of Southampton in 2023. It is available to us on October 10th. It will be our first time using it.

 

We've used EZAir multiple times. For international travel I was amazed at the cost. We needed to fly from Sacramento to London and I decided on Virgin Atlantic. I checked every discount flight site and found that one way in cattle class was something like $5,300 per person. I was shocked. Then I checked EZAir. The exact same flights cost $500 per person. Slightly less than 10% of the cost anywhere else. For local travel I use EZAir because it's easy and convenient. For international travel I don't think the cost can be beat.

 

As to issues with flights:  I have had issues with some EZAir flights but it was due to the airline making changes and not the fault of Princess EZAir. In May my flight was changed to arrive a day and a half after the cruise left. I called and got it corrected. One time Delta changed our flights from Sacramento/Seattle/Fairbanks to Sacramento/Los Angeles/Minneapolis/Fairbanks. The reason for the change was that the first leg was now leaving 10 minutes earlier. I had fun on the phone fixing that but, again, it wasn't the fault of EZAir.

[Kay S]

We have done EZAir a few times.  The price is usually better than booking independently.  I have a question, though.  How late after the cruise can you book the return flight?  We want to hang out in the area after the ship docks (Southampton, UK) but how long can we do that before the EZAir option is not available?

[ldubs]

23 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We've used EZAir multiple times. For international travel I was amazed at the cost. We needed to fly from Sacramento to London and I decided on Virgin Atlantic. I checked every discount flight site and found that one way in cattle class was something like $5,300 per person. I was shocked. Then I checked EZAir. The exact same flights cost $500 per person. Slightly less than 10% of the cost anywhere else. For local travel I use EZAir because it's easy and convenient. For international travel I don't think the cost can be beat.

 

As to issues with flights:  I have had issues with some EZAir flights but it was due to the airline making changes and not the fault of Princess EZAir. In May my flight was changed to arrive a day and a half after the cruise left. I called and got it corrected. One time Delta changed our flights from Sacramento/Seattle/Fairbanks to Sacramento/Los Angeles/Minneapolis/Fairbanks. The reason for the change was that the first leg was now leaving 10 minutes earlier. I had fun on the phone fixing that but, again, it wasn't the fault of EZAir.

 

On the flight issues, are you getting the changes/fixes through EZAir our working directly with the airlines?  

 

BTW, thanks for sharing this experience.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, Kay S said:

We have done EZ-Air a few times.  The price is usually better than booking independently.  I have a question, though.  How late after the cruise can you book the return flight?  We want to hang out in the area after the ship docks (Southampton, UK) but how long can we do that before the EZ-Air option is not available?

Not long ago, I would offer an answer - or at least an estimate.  Over this year, I have seen variable number of days open for pre-cruise and post-cruise.  Suffice to say, you CAN stay after the end of the cruise and still travel with an EZ-Air booking.  When you go to check into flights, click on the date field (which defaults to disembark date) and the calendar will indicate the available days you can choose from.  I should think you could get a week's time at least.  I am not sure you can even count on the same number of days being available for the same port.  If your voyage is not yet open for booking air, you can "shop" a similar voyage on Princess.com where flights can be booked and then use the flight link to "shop" for airfares and you can get a sense of how much time is allowed.

 

[kiwimum]

We are disembarking a TA In Southampton on April 30 and independently traveling the British Isles as we will never do another 7 day BI cruise.   We are booked to return to San Diego June 4.  Bookings are thru EZAir.