What is EZ FLY and is it a good thing to do?

[libbieb]

Is EZ FLy through NCL or through your particular airline ie. Delta. Is this a good thing to do or not? How do you sign up for it?

[Terre]

It was a great thing! For $20 per person, you check all of your luggage and you will get special luggage tags for your luggage. You pack up everything except what you will need the next morning, put your luggage outside your cabin just like usual and NCL takes your luggage directly to the airport. You don't see it again until you get to your home airport.

 

We kept a tote bag for the last minute stuff we used the next morning. This works great if you plan to spend the last day at Pearl Harbor because you can't take any bags, not even a purse inside the memorial. We checked the tote bag and my purse ($3.00 each) and kept our wallets, passports and tickets in our pockets. It was so nice not having to carrying luggage around the airport. You can go straight to the security line when you get to the airport. It's well worth it.

[libbieb]

That sounds like a great thing to do. Do you sign up on the ship? Any thing else we need to know about EZ Fly?

[wmbjr]

That sounds like a great thing to do. Do you sign up on the ship? Any thing else we need to know about EZ Fly?

 

You do sign up on the ship. They pass out the forms a few nights before the end and then the night before will pass out the luggage tags you will use.

 

The only other thing is that EZ Fly is not guaranteed. A bunch of people using Delta on my cruise were denied. Also, on a cruise a friend took not too long after ours, the husband was approved but the wife was denied. So things can happen. Just have a back up plan in case.

[libbieb]

Does the ship let you know that you were denied before you leave the ship or are you just out of luck when you get home and no luggage??

[Terre]

The only other thing is that EZ Fly is not guaranteed. A bunch of people using Delta on my cruise were denied. Also, on a cruise a friend took not too long after ours, the husband was approved but the wife was denied. So things can happen. Just have a back up plan in case.

 

When we got our tags and tickets, all of mine was approved but only the second leg of my husband's was approved. This didn't make any sense and we went to the desk to ask. They told us that he was denied for some reason; we kept pushing that this didn't make sense to approve him for the connecting flight, but not the first. They said they'd refund his $20 and we could get his at the airport. The whole reason for using the Easy Fly was so we wouldn't have to go to check-in at the airport! We asked them to check again and after 30 minutes he had tags and tickets for our flight to Atlanta. All they did was get on Delta's website and print off his original boarding pass and gave him luggage tags. So I'm not sure about this "being denied" thing.

[wmbjr]

You can most definitely be denied. We had a group on our cruise and were all denied. Trust me, no matter how much we pushed it was not a matter of getting stuff approved for one leg of our journey. We also flew into Atlanta without any stops so there should have been no problems there. I am glad you got things worked out, but I know for certain and probably can find the letter if I try hard enough to verify that we were denied.

 

As for when you get notice, you get it the same day you would otherwise get luggage tags. Basically, we received VIP tags and a letter saying we were denied the same time others received their tags based on ship floor or based on the easy fly.

[Terre]

You got a letter saying you were denied? DH didn't get anything saying he was denied, just didn't get the boarding pass or luggage tags.

[wmbjr]

You got a letter saying you were denied? DH didn't get anything saying he was denied, just didn't get the boarding pass or luggage tags.

 

Yep. We got an envelope like everyone else, but we had a letter basically saying we are sorry but you have not been approved to use EZFly service, enclosed were the VIP luggage tags which entitled us to leave whenever we wanted to and our luggage would be stacked closest to the buses/shuttles at the pier. I took the letters down to the desk and asked for an explanation and was told we were denied by the airlines. I called Delta and they said sorry, but there was nothing they could do. It was not our fault, but sometimes people get denied. I never could get more from either NCL or Delta. The letter also stated they would refund us our money or take it off our final bill. I made certain the amount was deducted before we paid our final bill.

[whale-watcher]

Not all airlines participate in EZ fly... for example, NWA does not. We ended up booking a tour with Grayline to PH our last day partly for luggage management...this was a good option as well, and only cost $12/pp. EZ fly does give you the most flexibility, however...we probably would have done this instead given the choice.

[CC Help Michell]

Yep. We got an envelope like everyone else, but we had a letter basically saying we are sorry but you have not been approved to use EZFly service, enclosed were the VIP luggage tags which entitled us to leave whenever we wanted to and our luggage would be stacked closest to the buses/shuttles at the pier. I took the letters down to the desk and asked for an explanation and was told we were denied by the airlines. I called Delta and they said sorry, but there was nothing they could do. It was not our fault, but sometimes people get denied. I never could get more from either NCL or Delta. The letter also stated they would refund us our money or take it off our final bill. I made certain the amount was deducted before we paid our final bill.

 

I explained this someplace else (at least my semi-educated understanding of it) elsewhere, but the quickie version is this. When a program like this is permitted (and they are very limited, hence the fact that only U.S. domestic flights are included, etc.) the cruiseline is acting as the "agent" of the airline and the Department of Homeland Security in performing the normal "ID" and bag stuff that goes on at the airport. That's why you have to give them the photo ID information like you would if you were checking your bags curbside at a US airport.

 

At any US airport a certain percentage of travelers are selected on a random basis for "special security screening," and those folks have a "SSSS" designation on their boarding pass. DHS/TSA MAY pull those folks for a thorough bag match, screening, and questioning -- or not. For more information, here's a recent link and if you google "SSSS" and air travel you'll see a ton more -- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/10/24/TRGLA9BUS11.DTL

 

But basically folks who have won that particular "lottery" for random selection wouldn't be eligible for express baggage handling, even if ultimately they weren't made to undergo the special screening.

 

For the convenience the EZ Fly program offers, I think it's worth the risk -- heck, even if someone is declined it's possible your group could at least stick the heaviest/largest bags with those who were approved and lighten your "last day" load by a lot of weight/bulk.

[Toivola]

Not all airlines participate in EZ fly... for example, NWA does not. We ended up booking a tour with Grayline to PH our last day partly for luggage management...this was a good option as well, and only cost $12/pp. EZ fly does give you the most flexibility, however...we probably would have done this instead given the choice.

 

 

You keep saying this, yet it says NWA does participate in the NCL book and on NCL's online site, as well as some people that have used it. :confused:

[jwmcq]

I just got off the Pride of Hawaii this past Monday and had planned to do East Fly. When we checked on it, we were told that it was not available for this sailing. I don't know if it was because only part of the ship was disembarking after 7 days (the rest stayed on for the final sailing to LA). They did not elaborate but to say that the program was not available this week.

 

So, you might have a plan "B" working for the luggage. I was able to change my HNL car rental to a mini van to account for the extra luggage. Fortunately we found out early in the week so we had several days to make a new plan.

 

PS - had a GREAT cruise on this final sailing of the POH. I will get my review done soon. There is just SO much to do after returning from a trip that has to be done first!

[whale-watcher]

You keep saying this, yet it says NWA does participate in the NCL book and on NCL's online site, as well as some people that have used it. :confused:

Unless things have changed in the past month, NWA no longer participates in the easy fly program. The NCL book is not correct and not up to date. They did participate at one time, and perhaps will again in the future, but as of January, this was not an option for NWA pax. We were disappointed, as we had planned to use this option when we cruised, and needed to make alternate plans.

 

by the way...I drove through Toivola yesterday!:D

[Toivola]

Unless things have changed in the past month, NWA no longer participates in the easy fly program. The NCL book is not correct and not up to date. They did participate at one time, and perhaps will again in the future, but as of January, this was not an option for NWA pax. We were disappointed, as we had planned to use this option when we cruised, and needed to make alternate plans.

 

by the way...I drove through Toivola yesterday!:D

 

 

Yeah I bet you did?!! IF you did - why would you have been going through Toivola?

[Toivola]

Unless things have changed in the past month, NWA no longer participates in the easy fly program. The NCL book is not correct and not up to date. They did participate at one time, and perhaps will again in the future, but as of January, this was not an option for NWA pax. We were disappointed, as we had planned to use this option when we cruised, and needed to make alternate plans.

 

by the way...I drove through Toivola yesterday!:D

 

That's a bummer that NWA doesn't participate - oh well guess we'll rent a car then to haul our bags around!!!

 

Yeah sure you did! :eek: IF you did - why were you going through Toivola?!?!:rolleyes: