Early Ticketed EZ Air and Princess Cancellations

[lderochi]

I'm still not completely sure how my EZ Air will be handled. I had it ticketed early for reasons that made sense at the time, but probably shouldn't have done that in retrospect. I know that they treat it differently once the airline has issued a ticket. I think I may end up getting an airline-specific credit rather than a refund. But I don't know. Guess I'll try to call tomorrow and be prepared for a wait.

[azbirdmom]

I had done the same and do not think that the air portion was part of the preliminary refund that I received.  But I am still in the queue of reservations that were cancelled in March and will find out when I finally can see the FCC in the Personalizer.  There is also an air holding account and our TA is trying to find out if that's where the EZAir cost landed.  I tried calling Princess a couple of weeks ago to find out how they calculated the refund that I received but they could give me no information because I booked through a TA and that she would have to get a breakdown from Princess, but then Princess told her that they are working on it.  Unless you booked directly through Princess, it would not be worthwhile to contact them.

[retrembl]

I contacted my TA to discuss EZAIR.  She contacted Princess for their policy.

If the traveler cancels their cruise and have EZAIR, the travelers will have to suffer a penalty for airfare.

If Princess cancels the cruise as they just announced the they are doing through 30 June, the traveler will be refunded their airfare.

Based on that information, I book EZAIR for our up coming cruise scheduled for Nov 21st this year.

[azbirdmom]

They took the info down that was out there for the 60 day pause but this is under the "Cruise with Confidence" section:

 

 

Flexible turns into Restricted once it is ticketed which is why it may be handled differently.  But again, we will have to wait and see how this plays out.

[lderochi]

Thanks, I remember seeing that somewhere but couldn’t recall where. 

[Thrak]

• What if I have Princess EZair^® on my booking? Is that covered too?
  The following guidance applies to guests in North America who purchased air via the EZair^® program.

  It depends; for Flexible Air, any outstanding cancellation fees will be added to the Future Cruise Credit. For Restricted Air, there may be a credit issued by the airline, which will become a separate Future Air Credit for that airline that can be used when booking your Princess Cruise (the credit only applies to that airline). The balance of the air cost paid will be added to your Future Cruise Credit.

  For guests in Australia & New Zealand where air credits are not available, applicable air cancellation fees will be added to your Future Cruise Credit instead.

[Lucky TGO]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

• What if I have Princess EZair^® on my booking? Is that covered too?
  The following guidance applies to guests in North America who purchased air via the EZair^® program.

  It depends; for Flexible Air, any outstanding cancellation fees will be added to the Future Cruise Credit. For Restricted Air, there may be a credit issued by the airline, which will become a separate Future Air Credit for that airline that can be used when booking your Princess Cruise (the credit only applies to that airline). The balance of the air cost paid will be added to your Future Cruise Credit.

  For guests in Australia & New Zealand where air credits are not available, applicable air cancellation fees will be added to your Future Cruise Credit instead.

Thanks Thrak for the info.

Tony

[fluffybunny22]

This morning Princess told my TA that the penalty we were assessed last month for cancelling our restricted air would be refunded and that it would take 60 days. I'm not holding my breath but will take an air credit.

[sawtooth]

I re scheduled my May cruise for 2021.

I had EZAIR and did early ticketing 

I cancelled the air on 2/27, paid a hefty penalty.

Then rebooked the cruise for next year.

I made many subsequent inquiries both to my TA and direct with Princess regarding my 3400+ refund.

I finally turned it over to AMEX with all the supporting documentation.

They have refunded the money to my card and are handling it now.

[Hlitner]

Unfortunately for many, this has now become one of those "I told you so" situations.  Many of us have posted, for years, to not pay for things early or ever request early ticketing.  In either case it puts the consumer at a big disadvantage if anything goes wrong.  How the cruise lines ultimately handle air that has already been ticketed is now a big question.  EZAIR becomes complicated once the flights are actually ticketed as the leverage switched from the cruise line to the airline.  And the airlines are now in big trouble and may not want to cut any breaks to the cruise lines or their customers.  

 

What ultimately happens might also depend on whether the consumer or cruise line actually cancelled the cruise.  The cruise lines tend to be more helpful when they do the cancelling.  And the consumer might have some leverage via their credit card companies since they can try and dispute the charge.  But if the consumer cancels the booking then it might turn out to be a mess with the airline only agreeing to a voucher and wanting their change fees.  And airline vouchers usually come with lots of restrictions which can vary from airline to airline.

 

Folks are going to need to wear their patience hat....but also be assertive and politely persistent in seeking refunds.

 

Hank

[lderochi]

I called Princess and a very nice and patient man tried to answer my question re a flexible ticket that had been ticketed early. He never really got it, unfortunately, I don't think his script was detailed enough. I tried to ask the same question several different ways -- he told me that because I had originally booked flexible air, my airfare would be refunded. If there were a cancellation penalty, my vacation protection would pay for it. But they he also said that I would get an air credit in the amount of the penalty. That doesn't make sense, I don't plan on getting fully refunded AND a flight credit. I tried, but I'm not sure I know the answer any more than when before I called. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.