Princess EZ Air does not offer one way flights?

My husband and I are scheduled on a Princess TA cruise next Oct., our 35th cruise. We have not cruised from Europe before. We are new to using a cruise line flight program. Reservations for EZ air will open up in about two weeks. We would like to take a one way flight to London using Princess EZ Air due to the significant savings in cost. I have been told by both my roll call and Princess reservations that passengers cannot book a one way flight using the Princess EZ air program, it must be round trip. Hard to believe as other cruise lines allow it. Is there any way around this? We live on the west coast and the TA goes from South Hampton to FLL. We would like to purchase one way to London and then make our own arrangements home from FLL.

The issue for us is that the airport in our town does not qualify as a “gateway city” which creates scheduling problems.

While I would be very surprised if EZ Air didn't offer one-way air from your home airport or one nearby, there are lots of other options. One pretty simple one is to get a one-way awards ticket on AA - and if you don't have any AA miles, either get a credit card with a welcome bonus and/or buy the miles (they often have purchase bonuses, so wait for one of those).

While I would be very surprised if EZ Air didn't offer one-way air from your home airport or one nearby, there are lots of other options. One pretty simple one is to get a one-way awards ticket on AA - and if you don't have any AA miles, either get a credit card with a welcome bonus and/or buy the miles (they often have purchase bonuses, so wait for one of those).

Or for residents of the Pacific NW, Alaska Airlines has one-way redemptions using partners.

Just checked airfare for your dates from SEA. I'm seeing Icelandair for $453.20 on most dates in October. Don't think you'll do much better than that.

Icelandair is one that we are considering, but our preference would be British Airways.

Icelandair is one that we are considering, but our preference would be British Airways.

Apply for the BA Visa card here with a 50,000 avios bonus: https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/ba/affiliates?AFFID=b0m612OIXPc-0ow5CMaVE9t1nVKmElLw4g&pvid=F517953115&jp_cmp=cc/296439/aff/3-10002091/na

You need to spend $2,000 in the first 3 months to get the full bonus, but you can do this by paying for your cruise with the card... :)

One-way SEA-LHR is 25,000 avios +$275.

Icelandair is one that we are considering, but our preference would be British Airways.

I totally,absolutely detest British Air. Bet you've never flown them.;)

I totally,absolutely detest British Air. Bet you've never flown them.;)

Can you tell us why? I've flown them and had no problems.

I totally,absolutely detest British Air. Bet you've never flown them.;)

I, for one, fly them regularly. As an American Airlines/OneWorld frequent flier, they are usually how I end up getting to Europe multiple times each year (and also to further places via London, such as India, Middle East and South Africa), since I'd prefer to avoid Iberia and Air Berlin (the latter is fine for leisure trips, but no thanks for business trips). I've never had an issue with British Airways in the many, many, many times I have flown them. They're not great, don't get me wrong, but few airlines are. I never have qualms about recommending BA for both business and leisure travelers.

Maybe I missed something but if you are coming home TA...Princess won't book oneway air? They have for us in the past. As for British airways, they seem to tack on some "extras" that other airlines don't when you are flying on FF miles. We inquired once, and they still wanted about $400 in "taxes and fees" IN ADDITION to our FF miles. Not the case with other airlines.

Maybe I missed something but if you are coming home TA...Princess won't book oneway air? They have for us in the past. As for British airways, they seem to tack on some "extras" that other airlines don't when you are flying on FF miles. We inquired once, and they still wanted about $400 in "taxes and fees" IN ADDITION to our FF miles. Not the case with other airlines.

Were those other flights via London Heathrow? If not, there's your problem - London Heathrow's higher taxes.

I am the OP. The flights for my cruise were posted today and yes you must book both ways. They do not offer a BA flight any longer from Seattle to Heathrow. They do not offer Icelandair either. These are the two that we are looking at. Our interest is in the shortest flight time possible. Long story short, we ended up booking on our own, Icelandair to LHR (economy comfort) and UAL coming home from FLL. I looked at booking business class on all offered flights on EZ Air and we would have paid more than $1000 pp for the cheapest than booking on our own.

What surprises me in all of this is that I looked at Celebrity air program just to compare and they offer BA economy plus at $773 one-way Seattle to London.

I am very disappointed in Princess. (We are Elite.) I chose this cruise because we felt that it had the best TA itinerary to suit our needs.

Were those other flights via London Heathrow? If not, there's your problem - London Heathrow's higher taxes.

Let's be clear. Taxes (levied by governments) are the same regardless of airlines. In the case of the UK (not just Heathrow) there's a UK departure tax (called "Air Passenger Duty") that applies to all passengers who depart the UK after a stay of 24 hours or more (or if the ticket originates in the UK.) APD rates vary by the distance flown by the departing flight and by the cabin one occupies - economy is at one level, premium economy, business and first class at a higher level. On flights departing to the US or equally distant destinations, the APD can range from £134 (economy, £268 other classes) to £188/376 for further destinations, such as SE Asia or Australia.

APD and other taxes are included in purchased tickets but paid for separately in mileage/award tickets.

British Airways, on the other hand, also levies a "fuel surcharge" on award tickets that is NOT a tax but instead just money that BA extracts from passengers who use points/miles for tickets on BA planes. The fuel surcharge is also included in the bottom line for paid tickets, but like taxes is added to the dollar "cost" of award tickets. This fee can be much higher than the taxes (including APD) and can easily exceed US$1000 on business-class round trips paid with miles. The effect, of course, is that the value of the miles being redeemed is greatly reduced - it's not unusual for the total "cost" of an award ticket on BA actually exceeds the cost of buying the same ticket for money, while saving the miles.

Other airlines do NOT levy these fuel surcharges, e.g. American Airlines when one uses AA miles on AA-operated flights.

For what it's worth, the BA practice of levying these fuel surcharges is the subject of a big lawsuit in US federal court, and if I were a betting person I wouldn't be betting on BA to prevail.

I am the OP. The flights for my cruise were posted today and yes you must book both ways. They do not offer a BA flight any longer from Seattle to Heathrow. They do not offer Icelandair either. These are the two that we are looking at. Our interest is in the shortest flight time possible. Long story short, we ended up booking on our own, Icelandair to LHR (economy comfort) and UAL coming home from FLL. I looked at booking business class on all offered flights on EZ Air and we would have paid more than $1000 pp for the cheapest than booking on our own.

 

What surprises me in all of this is that I looked at Celebrity air program just to compare and they offer BA economy plus at $773 one-way Seattle to London.

 

I am very disappointed in Princess. (We are Elite.) I chose this cruise because we felt that it had the best TA itinerary to suit our needs.

Did you by chance book the Icelandair flight that allows a 6-8 hour layover? If so, they have well scheduled trips to the Blue Lagoon. Well worth your time. I have been there twice (the last time just two weeks ago). It is totally surreal and well worth the time if you have it.