EZ air not so easy

[G&T Cruisers]

We are sailing on the Caribbean Princess on Dec 23rd-Jan 6th and we booked our flights through Princess for the peace of mind of getting us there.We are flying out on the 22nd at 4:40pm on Delta and arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 1:00am on the 23rd,we booked the cruise and the flights in May.

So just for the heck of it I looked up our flight schedule on Delta's web site and see our 4:40 flight is canceled and leaves at 12:30pm we both work that day and can't make that flight.

I call Princess and they didn't even know the flight had changed and now I have been told there are no flights going at the time we had and basically I have to find flights on my own.

When we booked the flights they were the flexible flights and when I called Delta they said Princess hadn't paid them yet for the flights that they were just on hold and I am out of luck.So here I sit scrambling to find flights at almost double the cost with only 54 day's to go.The search continues.:mad:

[cruisequeen4ever]

I'm afraid this could have happened if you had booked directly through Delta, too. I know it's frustrating, and the issue of work really makes it bad, but it happens in the airline world. We had amazing flights booked 11 months out on Delta, and they canceled the flight out of Ft. Lauderdale, so now we will be hopping across the country. I hope you find a flight that will allow you to work that day; good luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[goofy559]

Since you are past final payment did you pay for your flight? If you did then princess should be working with you to find a new flight. I suggest you call back. I had a similar issue where a flight was cancelled and 2 people flying together ended up on different flights. They worked with me and fixed it.

[Doug R.]

Stories like this is why I always make my own airline reservations.

[G&T Cruisers]

Yes we did pay for the flights.

[thinfool]

Since you are past final payment did you pay for your flight? If you did then princess should be working with you to find a new flight. I suggest you call back. I had a similar issue where a flight was cancelled and 2 people flying together ended up on different flights. They worked with me and fixed it.

 

I agree here. If you are past final payment, you must have paid the EZAir price for your flights and Princess is going to have to get you to the ship in time to sail for no extra cost.

 

Their failure to pay is not on you, you have (likely) paid for seats.

 

Put the monkey on their back.

 

I suggest calling the Captains Circle number. Regular CSR's often leave a lot to be desired for service.

Edited October 30, 2016 by thinfool

[chloe45]

I found a flight for your days with American non-stop. 6:30pm - 10:13pm for $286 on Travelocity. Sounds like a pretty good price to me. I paid over $400 for 2 one-way tickets from LA to Ft Myers and I booked it months ago.

[Colo Cruiser]

Certainly not the fault of Princess.

Delta is notorious for flight changes/cancelations.

[thinfool]

Certainly not the fault of Princess.

Delta is notorious for flight changes/cancelations.

 

While this is true, Princess has the responsibility and obligation to make sure that air travel is in place for a passenger who has booked thru EZAir.

 

Note this from the EZAir page,

"Passengers who book air travel through Princess Cruises will be automatically enrolled in the Princess late arrival protection program. If guests miss or will miss their original port of embarkation due to airline delay or an airline service disruption, such as flight cancellation or flight re-routes, Princess will work with the airlines to find a reasonable alternative to provide flights to the next appropriate* port at no additional air cost to the guest.

 

According to the above, the OP does not have to find something himself. EZAir does.

[chloe45]

Certainly not the fault of Princess.

Delta is notorious for flight changes/cancelations.

 

It just happened to me. I originally had a Delta flight at 1:45pm out of LAX to RSW and they put us on a 3:30 flight and one of us had a middle seat. Plus the flight didn't get us home until after 1am. I will not fly in a middle seat. DH and I get side by side aisle seats. I found a 12:30pm flight which gets us home around 11pm. About a half hour early than my previous flight. Also got aisle seats.

[Colo Cruiser]

While this is true, Princess has the responsibility and obligation to make sure that air travel is in place for a passenger who has booked thru EZAir.

 

Note this from the EZAir page,

"Passengers who book air travel through Princess Cruises will be automatically enrolled in the Princess late arrival protection program. If guests miss or will miss their original port of embarkation due to airline delay or an airline service disruption, such as flight cancellation or flight re-routes, Princess will work with the airlines to find a reasonable alternative to provide flights to the next appropriate* port at no additional air cost to the guest.

 

According to the above, the OP does not have to find something himself. EZAir does.

 

 

Not if the change was just made and the notice was not sent out yet.

[cherylandtk]

It is unfortunate. I hope the OP finds suitable flights at a good price. Others should learn two things from this experience.

1. Flexible fare EZ flights are not ticketed until after the 45 day period unless you both pay for the fare and ask for early ticketing (which turns your flights into Non refundable status early)

2. Flexible fare flight prices are not guaranteed until ticketed. Most of the time the price you select does not change; but as OP found out, until ticketed it means nothing. When an airline deletes a flight routing before ticketing occurs, you are at the mercy of whatever is left at whatever price is available. Even after you have made final payment.

 

There are many more discussions of these issues over on the Cruise Air board.

[san diego sue]

Going through EZair is not the problem, it is the airlines.

Delta not the only one that makes changes.

Couple of days ago AA sent us notices that both going and coming home flights have changed. We booked direct. Lucky for us , not a problem

but they were drastically changed. We also will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale.

[DougandEric]

Going through EZair is not the problem, it is the airlines.

Delta not the only one that makes changes.

Couple of days ago AA sent us notices that both going and coming home flights have changed. We booked direct. Lucky for us , not a problem

but they were drastically changed. We also will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I agree - I had booked AA flights back in February for our cruise November 19 and had changes made 4 times that required me to call AA to get them rescheduled. I used a TA but the air tickets were booked with miles so I called AA direct.

 

An alternative to booking direct with Princess and having to deal with them for the air is to use a TA so they can deal with Princess to get the flights straightened out.

[RDC1]

While this is true, Princess has the responsibility and obligation to make sure that air travel is in place for a passenger who has booked thru EZAir.

 

Note this from the EZAir page,

"Passengers who book air travel through Princess Cruises will be automatically enrolled in the Princess late arrival protection program. If guests miss or will miss their original port of embarkation due to airline delay or an airline service disruption, such as flight cancellation or flight re-routes, Princess will work with the airlines to find a reasonable alternative to provide flights to the next appropriate* port at no additional air cost to the guest.

 

According to the above, the OP does not have to find something himself. EZAir does.

 

However, the OP has specific requirements due to working prior to the flight departure time. EZAir finding a flight, does not mean that it necessarily meets the OPs requirements. From his post EZAir apparently had him on a 12:30 flight.

[Woobstr112G]

We are sailing on the Caribbean Princess on Dec 23rd-Jan 6th and we booked our flights through Princess for the peace of mind of getting us there.We are flying out on the 22nd at 4:40pm on Delta and arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 1:00am on the 23rd,we booked the cruise and the flights in May.

So just for the heck of it I looked up our flight schedule on Delta's web site and see our 4:40 flight is canceled and leaves at 12:30pm we both work that day and can't make that flight.

I call Princess and they didn't even know the flight had changed and now I have been told there are no flights going at the time we had and basically I have to find flights on my own.

When we booked the flights they were the flexible flights and when I called Delta they said Princess hadn't paid them yet for the flights that they were just on hold and I am out of luck.So here I sit scrambling to find flights at almost double the cost with only 54 day's to go.The search continues.:mad:

 

Thinking good thoughts that you will be able to get new flights that will allow you to enjoy your cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[seafish]

All airlines make flight changes impacting times, equipment, seating, etc. This is particularly true when booking early with as many as 4,5,6 flight changes. But - when booked directly with the airlines you are in control - you can check and manage your bookings online. For example - Delta makes changes on Saturday - so a quick on-line account check alerts you of any changes. You also will receive an email alert from the airline - but that may take a few days. If needed call the airline for assistance. If not satisfied with the updated itinerary you are eligible to change flight(s) at no extra cost. If the flight time change is more than 1 hour +/- the airline will honor the same arrangements. JMO but considering all the pros/cons of booking EZAir - do-it-yourself bookings direct with an airline is a much better choice for control, convenience, peace of mind, preferred routing, flight selections and often price.

[roamerfromtexas]

We often book through thru EZ air if the price is better. Knowing that all the airlines change flight times and can change itineraries as well, I always check the flight directly on the airline's website often. Princess many times does not receive notice of a change until ticketing. If the airline has made a change I am not happy with, I call them directly, tell them they have made a change and ask for another flight. Of course I have already looked at the available flights and know what I want. I did this with Delta this summer and yes it was not yet ticketed but the agent made the change. I also make sure the airline has my info for notifications. Some are better than others at doing it.

[BEAV]

I've yet to use EZ Air, but is the OP in the situation they are because they selected the flexible option?

[satxdiver]

I've yet to use EZ Air, but is the OP in the situation they are because they selected the flexible option?

 

In a small way, yes. However in the OP's case even if the ticket had been paid for, their original flight was canceled and Delta would have put them on another flight on Delta which would cause a problem since the OP said that they cannot leave earlier. The flight Delta would have rebooked them on probably would have left earlier causing the OP to not work that day.

 

Everyone needs to be aware that airlines change flight times or cancel flights routinely. Every quarter they readjust their flights to maximize seats sold as any business does. One needs to always start communicating with the airline giving them their email address and other personal data so that they can be notified of any changes. Remember EZair finds out about the changes at the same time the airline passengers find out.

 

Everyone also needs to be aware that the tickets are not actually purchased until after the final payment is made. This can mean different results depending on the airline.

 

I would like to believe that EZair will rebook the OP on another flight at the amount paid. However the OP may be disappointed in that the new flight conflicts with their wish to work that day.

[Colo Cruiser]

I've yet to use EZ Air, but is the OP in the situation they are because they selected the flexible option?

 

 

Flight changes/times/cancelations have nothing to do with booking flexible or restricted EZ Air.

[BEAV]

Flight changes/times/cancelations have nothing to do with booking flexible or restricted EZ Air.

 

Sorry, I should have been more specific with my question. Of course airline flight changes have nothing to do with EZ Air... Had the OP purchased restricted EZ Air, is payment due immediately upon booking which in turn gets ticketed simultaneously? In that scenario, would the OP have likely been notified of the schedule change and been able to make/request any necessary changes?

 

Just trying to understand the differences between flexible and restricted EZ Air when it comes to situations such as this with schedule changes, flight cancellations, etc.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry, I should have been more specific with my question. Of course airline flight changes have nothing to do with EZ Air... Had the OP purchased restricted EZ Air, is payment due immediately upon booking which in turn gets ticketed simultaneously? In that scenario, would the OP have likely been notified of the schedule change and been able to make/request any necessary changes?

 

Just trying to understand the differences between flexible and restricted EZ Air when it comes to situations such as this with schedule changes, flight cancellations, etc.

 

 

We have booked both ways and have had flight time changes which were sent to us as a notification from Princess.

Either way the passenger should still be notified at some point. Especially if the flight was canceled.

 

Flexible air gives one the option to change or cancel the air up to 45 days prior to the cruise with no fees.

 

Restricted is what it is and you are at the mercy of the airline.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[G&T Cruisers]

Well try as hard as I did they would not budge on the amount of the flights we paid for and how much more the new flights would be and that we had to pay the difference,I even read out the line about the no extra charges to me and how it was their responsibility to get us to the ship (thank you thinfool)but still no go.

So we had to cancel our flights with EZ air and we found flights on our own on Air Canada that leave at 6:40pm with a layover in Toronto till 6:00am and then to Fort Lauderdale at 9:30am.These tickets cost us 1000$ more for the 2 of us,lets just hope we don't have bad weather.

We also bought extra travel and flight insurance.This trip is costing more $$$ and more.

[caribill]

Well try as hard as I did they would not budge on the amount of the flights we paid for and how much more the new flights would be and that we had to pay the difference.

 

When Princess offers flights at a certain price, that price often only applies to some of the flights possible on the airline involved.

 

However, since the airline made the change, the airline should have been willing to change the booking to an acceptable flight at no additional cost from you.

 

Whether or not Princess had paid for the ticket yet should not matter.