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Princess Air screw up


jonikal
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Living in the Tampa Bay area and in the direct path of the incoming hurricane, we were booked thru Princess air to London on Sept 10. BA canceled the flight due to the storm. When our agent called to change our flight to a later date so we could meet the ship at it's first port of call, the air person said that we had to fly out the day before the canceled flight. Given that we have to host elderly parents who are under mandatory evacuation orders we declined to leave them alone during the hurricane and declined Princess Air's offer. Our agent informed them clearly that we would not be able to take the earlier flight and despite that, we started getting notifications about that flight and that they would be departing later than scheduled. Concerned that our names were still on the passenger list, we contacted our agent who checked with Princess, and they told her that we HAD to take the early flight or we would be responsible for our own air arrangements. Does this seem a correct response? The original reservation we had was a contract between Princess and us, and we agreed to certain flights on a certain day. Would appreciate any thoughts as to how this should be handled.

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No it does not seem right, but given the circumstances and whatever wording is in the Princess Air contract anything is possible.

 

1) This is why you booked through a Travel Agent. Call them immediately and have them fix this for you or get specific information on why it has to be earlier.

2) Try calling the airline yourself. You don't say where the first available port is (and perhaps that is why Princess is saying you need to leave earlier) and see what the airline can do.

3) If the above fails, call Princess Air yourself and ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

Good luck with the hurricane and your travels. And I'll apologize in advance for the forum members wh will chastise you for booking Air through Princess.

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I don't care who you booked air through, but it's always more difficult when you can't deal directly with the airline.

 

I know absolutely nothing about your contract for cruise air, but your TA should be figuring this out for you.

 

But I do know that TPA is closing Saturday at 8:00 p.m., unless this changes, and will remain closed until further notice. Is the flight they want you to take before that time? I'm really not sure how you could take a later flight to catch up to the ship if the airports are closed in Florida.

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Well, nobody is going to know the correct answer because "Cruise Air" tickets come in many different flavours and types and we can't know what you have. You're going to need to get the fare details from either your agent or from Princess themselves and figure this out if you can't get the answer yourselves.

 

I hate to say, I told you so, but you have come across one of the pitfalls of "Cruise Air" bookings....The airlines are basically giving passengers carte blanche to do as they wish; refunds, rebooking from other origins on different dates, etc.

 

If you get completely stuck with Princess why not call BA and see what they can do. They might tell you to get stuffed but if Princess and your TA are of no use then it can't hurt.

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Living in the Tampa Bay area and in the direct path of the incoming hurricane, we were booked thru Princess air to London on Sept 10. BA canceled the flight due to the storm. When our agent called to change our flight to a later date so we could meet the ship at it's first port of call, the air person said that we had to fly out the day before the canceled flight.

 

But I do know that TPA is closing Saturday at 8:00 p.m., unless this changes, and will remain closed until further notice. Is the flight they want you to take before that time? I'm really not sure how you could take a later flight to catch up to the ship if the airports are closed in Florida.

 

So...we have an original flight booked on SUNDAY September 10th. BA cancels the flight on that date.

 

TPA is closing on SATURDAY September 9th at 8pm.

 

OP wants to fly out on a date AFTER Sunday, September 10th. Yet the airport is being closed indefinitely. NO commercial flights will be operating while it's closed. Just how does the OP plan to fly from a closed airport?

 

Toss in the usual about cruiseline-issued air tickets.

 

Draw your own conclusions.

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Wow, this thread really makes me want to book Princess Air!

 

I'm really impressed that in this situation Princess Air was able to reschedule you on the last flight out of TPA to LON to catch the cruise. I can only imagine, with the BA flight cancelled for 10 Sep and the airport closed indefinitely, how many other people scrambled to try to get on the 9 Sep flight but were unable to do so.

 

Kudos to Princess Air!

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Generally speaking, when one buys air from the cruise line, there is some kind of verbiage that says that if your original flight is canceled or severely delayed, they will "work with" the airlines and do whatever is "reasonable" to get you to the ship. Their goal is to get you to the ship on time if at all possible, as that's probably less expensive (i.e. more "reasonable") than covering your expenses for several days and/or getting you to some alternate port that may be more difficult to reach. Their goal is NOT to accommodate whatever other needs you may have come up in the meantime, aka hosting your parents at your house during an evacuation. That's the kind of thing that falls on YOU. They want to get you to the ship on time and you deciding no, you don't want to do that, isn't their problem.

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Yes, in no way was this a "Princess Air screw up." They got OP on a flight before the airport closes, and one that would allow them to make their cruise.

There are no later flights in the foreseeable future. I think Princess Air did a very good job.

 

OP's other thread about these tickets:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53642659#post53642659

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....Just how does the OP plan to fly from a closed airport?....
But, but, but, cruise air is supposed to get us to the ship on time. I thought cruise air had control of mother nature? You mean they're not in charge of closing airports either? ;-)

 

OP: "Does this seem a correct response?"

 

Yes. They only thing that will be leaving Tampa on Sept 10 is submarines. What exactly do you expect Princess Air to do to solve the situation?

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But, but, but, cruise air is supposed to get us to the ship on time?

If you had bothered to read the thread (rather than offer a childish reply) you'll see that Princess Air DID make arrangements for him to get to the ship on time, they unfortunately would require the OP to depart early and he wishes to take care of his elderly parents before departing.

 

Maybe what the OP wants can't be accommodated but he is asking....

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Florida airport closures:

 

http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/AirportLookup.jsp?q=Tpa&go=1

 

TPA is projected to reopen Sept. 11 @ 6:00 p.m., but no one really knows.

 

I'd be very surprised if this happens. NHC puts the eye a bit north of TPA at 2am on the 11th, with their track directly through the airport. And who knows what kind of condition the airport/terminals will be in.

 

Of course, I would also expect that BA wouldn't dispatch an aircraft from London unless TPA was open, so any departing flight would have to await the incoming aircraft to arrive.

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I'm thinking the original question is pretty much moot at this point since the airport has been closed and probably will remain so long enough to satisfy the requirements for cancelling the trip. Unless of course, they say you were offered an earlier flight regardless of the approaching storm.

 

I'm interested to see how this works out because most travel policies address the terms for cancellation for a hurricane at your destination, not your point of departure. As long as your house is intact, the roads are passable, and the airport is open, they expect you to go. Trip delay coverage would probably apply, and after the storm you could cancel if the house is uninhabitable.

 

 

I have seen language in the credit card coverage (Chase, maybe) that says "weather that would cause a reasonable person not to proceed." That surely applies in this case.

 

 

I wish you well, in any case. We just endured Harvey.

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  • 1 year later...

I think EZ air did everything it could, its the passengers who cant fly the day before that is not the cruise or the airlines fault but a choice they have made. They should have seen this comming and got the "elderly" some where in advance, not waiting for last minute.

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Yes, in no way was this a "Princess Air screw up." They got OP on a flight before the airport closes, and one that would allow them to make their cruise.

There are no later flights in the foreseeable future. I think Princess Air did a very good job.

 

OP's other thread about these tickets:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53642659#post53642659

 

It looks like an unhappy passenger from 45 days out if you read the attached post, so why not slam Princess or the air line.

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