EZAir honored their guarantee

[DallasGuy75219]

Long story short... I was stuck in United's fustercluck of delays and cancellations at Newark last week.  Flight was about 3.5 hours late arriving in London.  It was about 3:00 pm when I got through immigration and customs and collected my luggage and the ship was scheduled to leave Southampton at 5:00 pm.  The last Princess transfer had long since left.

 

Called EZAir and they said to take a taxi to the ship and Princess would reimburse me onboard.  It was almost 5:00 pm (and an almost $400 taxi ride) by the time I got to the ship (thanks to the ship docking at a different dock than Princess indicated online) and at first the port agents told me the manifest was closed.  They made a call though and the ship let me board.  Had to run all my bags through the carry-on baggage scanner and hustle aboard with them.  In the hustle no one checked my passport though, and I got out of the muster drill😁

 

Point of the story is though that it took a few days,  but yes Guest Services reimbursed the almost $400 taxi ride, as others have said when their late flight caused them to miss the last Princess transfer and EZAir would have otherwise had to fly them to the next port.

[nnzz]

• Thanks for reporting.  The problem with boards like this is we only hear "horror stories" and
• not enough from the silent majority that have gotten great outcomes like yours.  Hope you have
• a fabulous cruise!

[PacnGoNow]

20 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Long story short... I was stuck in United's fustercluck of delays and cancellations at Newark last week.  Flight was about 3.5 hours late arriving in London.  It was about 3:00 pm when I got through immigration and customs and collected my luggage and the ship was scheduled to leave Southampton at 5:00 pm.  The last Princess transfer had long since left.

 

Called EZAir and they said to take a taxi to the ship and Princess would reimburse me onboard.  It was almost 5:00 pm (and an almost $400 taxi ride) by the time I got to the ship (thanks to the ship docking at a different dock than Princess indicated online) and at first the port agents told me the manifest was closed.  They made a call though and the ship let me board.  Had to run all my bags through the carry-on baggage scanner and hustle aboard with them.  In the hustle no one checked my passport though, and I got out of the muster drill😁

 

Point of the story is though that it took a few days,  but yes Guest Services reimbursed the almost $400 taxi ride, as others have said when their late flight caused them to miss the last Princess transfer and EZAir would have otherwise had to fly them to the next port.

Great to hear!  Another example where it was best to use EZAir.  
Have fun!

[pompeii]

That's awesome!  Had you booked the Princess transfer as part of your transportation?  I wonder how it would have worked out if you hadn't and were planning to take a private transfer to the port...

 

When we have to fly in the day of the cruise, we always book EZAir and the Princess transfer, just in case of a situation like this.  In that scenario, I want all transportation to be through Princess.  

[antsp]

Transatlantic flight and connect onto a cruise on the same day. Wow

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, pompeii said:

That's awesome!  Had you booked the Princess transfer as part of your transportation?

Yes

[Mike07]

51 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Yes

 

 

That didn't hurt. Looking at the logistics of the Southhampton transfer, I would have done the same.

[tml1230]

2 hours ago, nnzz said:

• Thanks for reporting.  The problem with boards like this is we only hear "horror stories" and
• not enough from the silent majority that have gotten great outcomes like yours.  Hope you have
• a fabulous cruise!

very well said ....and very true!

[DallasGuy75219]

2 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

That didn't hurt. Looking at the logistics of the Southhampton transfer, I would have done the same.

Exactly.  It's not like flying into FLL and calling an Uber for the 10 minute drive to the cruise terminal. 

 

The distance is too far and there are too many things that could go sideways (besides just the flight) for me to book flights and transportation independently and not put Princess on the hook if something fell through.  Besides I got great airfare for premium economy and Princess' transfer was reasonably priced.

 

I have an annual travel insurance policy with 6 hour trip delay coverage and bought a backup policy with 3 hour trip delay coverage just for this trip, but that wouldn't have paid for the taxi (and the taxi still wasn't a guarantee that I'd make the ship in Southampton).  Without Princess' guarantee I would have had to just stay in London, miss at least 3 nights of the cruise, meet the ship in a downline port, and claim all those expenses with insurance. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

Wow, I’m so glad you made it to the ship! Kudos for them following their policy. 

[cr8tiv1]

I do believe in EZ Air, even when my last fiasco was very dramatizing.  Thank you for the reassurance that I am doing the right thing by booking with EZ Air.  What a nail biter.

[Barbara B]

We are doing the same on Thursday. Taking an overnight flight from Pittsburgh direct to London and transfer to the ship (Princess transfer) in the morning at when we arrive Friday at 10:00 a.m.. Ship sails at 5:00. We did EZAir, which was a great way to go because of the flexibility, ability to cancel--and the guarantees that Princess offers. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

[antsp]

8 hours ago, Barbara B said:

We are doing the same on Thursday. Taking an overnight flight from Pittsburgh direct to London and transfer to the ship (Princess transfer) in the morning at when we arrive Friday at 10:00 a.m.. Ship sails at 5:00. We did EZAir, which was a great way to go because of the flexibility, ability to cancel--and the guarantees that Princess offers. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Think it's mad, maybe maybe risk it in the summer, to much can go wrong though 

[LeeW]

Last time we flew to London the plane was over 6 hours late and immigration had mostly left, causing a 2 hour processing time.  Missed our planned extra half day in London but sailing wouldn't have been a problem.

[emmak8]

What ship was it? I use EZ air each time for Southampton cruise. The Princess transfer definitely worth the stress free connection. Thank you so much for posting your positive experience.

[DallasGuy75219]

5 hours ago, emmak8 said:

What ship was it?

Island

[Barbara B]

10 hours ago, antsp said:

Think it's mad, maybe maybe risk it in the summer, to much can go wrong though 

Flying nonstop Pittsburgh to London. We're going directly to the ship. Unless we are very, very late in taking off, we should be ok

[cr8tiv1]

52 minutes ago, Barbara B said:

Flying nonstop Pittsburgh to London. We're going directly to the ship. Unless we are very, very late in taking off, we should be ok

Hope you used EZ Air or have good insurance.  Good Luck. 

[antsp]

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Hope you used EZ Air or have good insurance.  Good Luck. 

Why not go a day earlier 

[Barbara B]

The timing is perfect, we couldn't go a day earlier. I think there's enough of a buffer so it will be fine. No connecting flights and taking the Princess transfer to the shp. All book through the cruise line.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I've never booked EZAir, but we have learned our lesson in regards to not going in at least a day early!  We missed a transatlantic sailing last year that departed from FLL.  This was when the Southeast got that bad cold snap and many flights were delayed.  Delta (in its infinite wisdom) felt that they did NOT need to check their de-icing equipment in view of the upcoming weather event.  We made it to ATL 4 hours late but missed the last possible connecting flight to FLL that would get us to the ship.

 

We will NEVER AGAIN try to go in on the day of embarkation!