EZ Air Question

[wrongwaywatson]

Hello!  We have a cruise booked, Nov 19th on The Enchanted.  We held off on airfare at the time of booking (mistake) and now we are looking to book.  We would like to go into FLL the day before, due to all of the airline concerns.  However, we both work still and we have flown in Day Of several times in the past, with no issues.  If we did a Day-Of fly in, we would book it thru Ez-Air, to give us somewhat of a comfort level.  

 

Has anyone on here booked Day-Of thru EZ Air and had their flight delayed or cancelled and Princess had to jump in to get you to your cruise?  Could you tell us what they did for you and how it worked out?

 

Also, we do realize that flying in the day before is the BEST scenario.  We are just looking at this option and are looking for experiences that people have had.   Thanks!

[skynight]

No experience. But here are some thoughts.

If you really have to work Friday then try to schedule a flight on Friday evening to FLL or Miami to provide you with some cushion. You can do this through EZ Air.

Airlines are delaying and cancelling flights like crazy.

A few hour delay can make you miss the ship, scheduled to sail at 4pm.

It's Saturday. Heavy flight day.

If you miss the ship Princess says it will get you to the next port. Of course there has to be a flight.

Very next port, assuming the seas are good, is Princess Cays on Eleuthera Island, Bahamas. Check flights to there. Are there any easy connections?

The next port is St Thomas. I don't think you are allowed to board in St. Thomas and then disembark in Fort Lauderdale. There could be a possible PSVA violation.

Then you are looking at the next ports. 

[zogrand]

Well, I can give you our daughter's experience.  Booked through EZ Air, they (4 of them) were flying to Barcelona from Boston via Paris and were due to arrive in Barcelona day before cruise.  Morning of flight out of Boston the flight out of Paris was cancelled.  Called EZ Air.  On hold for about 20 minutes.  Representative and her manager spent at least 30 minutes trying to find another flight.  Best they could do was book her on same flight the next day (day of cruise departure), meaning an overnight in Paris.  They took that option.  The next day, their new flight to Barcelona was cancelled.  Turns out Air France was on strike.  Called EZ Air again.  After another 30 minutes of effort, the representative got them on another flight on another airline, first class and they were able to make their cruise with a couple of hours to spare.  They were not charged any additional for the first class flight.  The representatives were very accommodating and helpful and my daughter had an excellent experience.  I'm sure you will also get horror stories about EZ Air but in our case, they saved the day.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I've learned my lesson!  We used to fly in day of cruise all the time...BEFORE pandemic.  Since the restart we have missed 2 cruises trying to follow the same plan.  We now ALWAYS fly in at least the day before...we just add it all together as the cost of the cruise.  We often will do a ship transfer even though we know a taxi/Uber/private car will usually be cheaper.  There is a bit more confidence that if you can at least get yourself to the Princess transfer pick-up point that you *will* get to the ship!

[Hlitner]

I think folks need to understand that there is no guarantee that EZ Air will get you to your ship.  Assuming you can get them to even answer the phone, they will try to help.  You would need to have a valid Passport and they would need to find you a flight…which is often not possible.  And there is the issue of additional expenses for hotels, meals, etc.

 

Hank

[wrongwaywatson]

I understand all of this, while they are all valid points, it isn't info that I don't already know.   In a perfect world, I would be sitting in Fort Lauderdale by mid-afternoon the day before, sipping a cocktail by the pool.   However, sometimes with various work obligations, taking off the day before isn't possible.   I was looking for actual experiences that people have had with EZ-Air.  

We did go ahead and book our flights through EZ Air, the day of.  We have a direct flight leaving Chicago at 5:15am, so it does give some time cushion.  Also, with it being a direct flight, we don't have to worry about a connection.  

One day we will both be retired and we can easily go the day before! LOL

[2theship]

The simple fact is that no one has a crystal ball. There are a finite number of planes and seats and an infinite number of variables that can make everything go wrong.

 

While cruise line air was not a factor, this example can give you an idea of what can happen. A few years ago we were taking a family cruise from FLL. My daughter and her now-husband were flying from Chicago Midway on Southwest. He had to work the entire day and they could not leave until the last flight of the day before the cruise. I begged them to figure out a way to leave earlier but it could not be done. As it turned out, there was a horrible snowstorm that hit Chicago that day and every earlier flight that day was cancelled and people were being re-booked two and three days later. Their flight was significantly delayed but still flew and they arrived at FLL in the wee hours of the night. If they had listened to me, they would have missed the cruise. Instead, they were just sleepy.

[Steelers36]

One time we added on A 5-night voyage in front of our existing 7-night booking out of FLL.  In order to do it, we had change flight to fly day of for the first segment.  I was resigned to fact that no Sanctuary was going to be possible as even with our early morning flight to FLL, we'd be at the Terminal after boarding had started. 

 

Well, wouldn't you know it there was a big delay that day and we arrived to a terminal full of waiting passengers and were checked in and ready to board before they opened it up.  I think it was around 2pm before anyone started to board.

 

It was also an early November departure as I recall, so less chance of a nasty ice or snowstorm.  But certainly was an exception case I wouldn't choose to repeat.

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Steelers36

[nini]

In addition to flights being canceled and eliminated, I would be concerned about the time of year; November.

 

We had EZAir for Seattle to Dallas Ft. Worth to London. The first flight was delayed and delayed...

This meant we would not make our connection to London. There really was not time to call EZAir but American Airlines got us on a different flight that allowed us to make our connecting flight ( the most uncomfortable flight ever).

And to the OP- Your non-stop flight may turn into needing a connecting flight just like ours did.

AA had eliminated their direct flights from Seatac to LHR. We could have changed, but by then, the rates had skyrocketed.