Kellyann

My upcoming cruise is close to my 20th but my second on Princess and my last. My 1st Princess cruise was almost 20 years ago when you could talk with a person who was probably an American speaking English, someone who knew what they were doing and truly cared about customer service. Not only is Princess the worst to deal with on the phone, but their ap is horrible. And you're in for a real treat if you attempt to use Princess EZ Air. Someone suggested that Princess is losing business due to their horrible customer service and they have lost me for sure. Right now on their web site it won't accept my airline reservation for my transport from port to airport, they cancelled my dinner reservations that I made shortly after booking so to get the time I wanted. I hung up on EZAir before I booked a flight with them because I could see how they could mess that up. There is nothing Princess could do that would make me book another cruise with them. Princess should ask themselves if the cost savings using offshore "help" is worth the potential business they are losing.

I'm not sure about the availability of getting a tour at the port. We are taking a 5 hr tour visiting Vila Franca and other small villages along the south coast, then on to Furnas to see the hotsprings, lunch and finishing up with tour of Ladoa do Fogo. This is costing us 70 euros each for up to 7-8 people. I'm told there's another couple from our ship, Caribbean Princess, on this tour with us on May11. We are not allowed to post the names of tour companies but it has "Green" in the name of company.

Do cruise ships offer the ability to exchange dollars for euros or pound sterling? Traveling on a Princess ship.

We have the Plus package so how will we know when ordering drinks, that it is not covered with our package? Do I rely on bartender to tell us or should we ask each time we order? Does anyone know the $limit that goes along with Plus package drinks?

I'm looking at my receipt for 5/19/24 transfer from Southampton port to LHR and the cost is $56. I wish somebody would answer my request as to where the Princess shuttle delivers us at the airport. My American flight leaves the next day from Terminal 3. I don't have the stamina to call Princess because it may not be in their script.

I'm taking the Princess shuttle from Southampton to LHR. Has anyone taken and knows where they drop you off. We're staying in Aerotel near Terminal 3 to be close to our American Airlines departure the next day.

I always play Let It Ride both at land casinos and my past two cruises. Half the time you had to stand to wait for a seat. Don't know why you would make such a comment. I hope the $5 minimum is in effect when I board in May, 2024.

We booked transfers to Heathrow at the same time we booked our cruise. Port to LHR was $56 but I wish I knew where the shuttle drops you off. It's a huge airport. We're staying at Aerotel which is convenient to Terminal 3 for departure the next day.

Not sure if you got your answer yet; but Princess does have a shuttle from Southampton port to Heathrow. We booked it directly on their site for $56 pp. for the end of our Transatlantic on 5/19.

We are taking the Princess shuttle from Southampton port to Heathrow at the end of our cruise. Since our American Air flight leaves out of terminal 3, we're considering staying at the Aerotel Hotel at Terminal 3 for convenience. There are no decent flights on Sunday, 5/19 which is why we elected to stay over so we can get a direct flight to PHL on Monday. Do you know where the shuttle takes you once it gets to the airport? Does it stop at different terminals? It would be very difficult for us to be dealing with luggage if we had to board trains, the tube or busses. One more question....is there any place to grab a quick bite for dinner and breakfast in the morning near terminal 3? Thanks for help.

Yes, I meant to say Terminal 3. Thanks for your assistance.

Has anyone ever taken the shuttle from Southampton cruise port to LHR. Do you know which terminal it drops you off at LHR? Our American Air to PHL is leaving 5/20 from gate 3 but we'll be staying overnight on 5/19. That brings me to another question which is how close is Aerotel from Gate 3? I know there are fancier hotels but after a 15 day cruise, I just need a place to get refreshed for a long flight home. Thank you for all your help. P.S. Don't suggest I ask Princess about their shuttles because I don't want to subject myself to their "Customer Service"

Wouldn't it be nice if a Princess executive posted on C.C. why on earth they have employees who hardly speak the language and can only read from a script like a robot. I had only sailed Princess once 20 years ago and decided to book their trans-Atlantic in May. I called the number posted not realizing they also had Cruise Planners who spoke English and cared about their clients. It doesn't matter how wonderful the upcoming cruise is, I will never cruise with Princess again. If there are so many people complaining about their offshore agents, then why in God's name do they even have them. They cause more aggravation and frustration and I wonder how many others will never sail with them again for this reason. They are awful and after spending hours trying to book a cruise (tears and all), I am so done with Princess.

I couldn't agree more with you. Technology is not something I grew up with and I find it like a foreign language (actually, it is). I know how to download my mutual funds and stock and I know how to use a magic marker to cover my account #, but have no idea how to move that piece of paper to an e-mail, an ap or whatever. I don't know what "take a screen shot" means. It's so distressing that the twenty-somethings that come up with these new ideas could care less about the population who are not computer savvy. I'm hoping that one of my grandchildren can help me because it's a 15-day cruise with a perk of $250. Please don't write a response telling me how easy this process is because to me it's a technology nightmare.

Thanks for the response but am I to believe that if I sit down in these 2 places it becomes something special that they are giving as a perk on the Plus plan. On Carnival ships if you were given 2 free specialty restaurants, it was not for a slice of pizza and a burger, but for the Steak house and an Italian restaurant. I know I'm offending all the dedicated Princess sailors but they seem to have 3 levels of eating. I'm booked on Caribbean Princess 15 day TA. Please tell me why I shouldn't be disappointed.

I just printed this and I wish I had seen it before getting the Plus pkg. I need to do a better job at reading the fine print on Princess's web site because I thought the steak house and Italian restaurants were part of the Plus deal. Never seen so many confusing ways to eat. How can the Salty Dog and pizza be both free and casual. This info certainly makes the plus pkg a whole lot less appealing.

A few have asked why I didn't just book online. I have never done a TA and was trying to find out the cost of airfare because I didn't want to book a cruise only to find out that the airfare was too expensive. They couldn't provide the answer about air unless I booked it first. It just got crazy because I was accustomed to booking my own cabin or dealing with people who knew what they were doing. I was intimidated by a 15 day cruise, TA, Europe, what airport, how do I get there....yes, I was overwhelmed. The heads of many big corporations who have call centers with people that can hardly speak English and keep repeating the same spiel should try navigating thru this maze to see what we sometimes have to deal with. Sorry to get off topic. Looking forward to trip and Cruise Critic has been my "go to" place for answers for many years. Thank you all.

Thank you all for great info. I must have been dealing with the Call Center because too many of them were clueless. I don't know what a CVP is or how to reach them. I have a booking so would a CVP help me change cabins, add insurance and cancel air? Please tell me the Phone # to reach a helpful person.

I've only been on one Princess cruise many years ago but I've been on 15 cruises. Booking this Caribbean Princess for a May 4 fifteen-day TA was the worst experience I ever had. I was so stressed by the incompetence of the many Princess staff that I was reduced to tears at one point. I ended up choosing a balcony on the Baja deck just to make the 2 1/2 hours end. I want to change to a lower deck and I dread talking with those people again. My final payment is not due to 2/4/24 so please tell me if there is an easier way and what are my chances of getting another cabin. I talked to so many people that day trying to book cruise and air so I don't know who I spoke with.

We have a similar issue with cost of our TA arriving in Southampton on 5/19/24 and needing to fly home to PHL. First of all there were no non-stop flights on 5/19 so we had to get a hotel near Heathrow in order to get non-stop on 5/20. We had an American price of $980 for one-way each and then we went thru Princess cruise on their EZAir web site and our price is now $562 non-stop to PHL, which I know is not a bargain but it beats flying to Chicago or Boston and spending up to 20 hours doing flights. Good luck.

Thanks for info. I didn't plan to use room service but now I know I can get bottled water at bar.

What a great job you did by informing us of all things near Amber Cove. We booked a Carnival tour to see the cigar, rum and chocolate factories in 2 weeks. We enjoyed the Amber Cove water park at the port last year and it was wonderful so we just wanted to see more of the Dominican life. I've been to Punta Cana a number of times and truly love the country and its people.

We just booked a Carnival tour which included the cigar factory as well as Rum and Chocolate factories for our cruise in 2 weeks. Check out the positive reviews on their web site. I don't like that it's a very long day (5 hours leaving at 8 AM). We were in Amber Cove last October and it was wonderful but wanted to check out some Dominican culture. If anyone has done this tour, did you like it and was there time to hang out at the pool area?

If you have the Cheers Package, is bottled water covered? Can you get bottled water to take with on port stops?

Thank you for the update. Now my only worry is the number of and intensity of the hurricanes rumbling up the East Coast.