Princess Air. I know it's a bit more expensive, but are there times it's worth it?

We may not be able to leave a few days before our January Crown Princess cruise out of San Juan so we took the Princess Air Montreal to San Juan the day of the cruise for $835.60 per person (CAN incl Tax) .

If there is a weather issue, will Princess really get us to the ship in St Thomas or St Kitts or is that a myth? (Also how does that Princess Air price $835.60 per person compare for others who've used it from Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal/Halifax?)

BTW If we can get an okay to leave early we'll do it, but we have up to 75 days before the cruise to cancel the Air if we want to, no cost.

Princess can only try to help you get to another port if you cannot get to SJ before they sail. They do not control the airlines. They would have to find flights with available seats.

Paul

Princess can only try to help you get to another port if you cannot get to SJ before they sail. They do not control the airlines. They would have to find flights with available seats.

 

Paul

But would they pay for the additional flights? Plus, the last time my air was delayed by weather, I had to take care of everything myself, took hours when I least had the time. I was wondering if Princess Air "would work" for you to get to the ship.....

Yes, the advantage is they'd take care of and pay for any extra flights to get you onto the ship.

Since you've had a bad experience, it's prolly worth it to you just for the peace of mind.

Yes, the advantage is they'd take care of and pay for any extra flights to get you onto the ship.

 

Since you've had a bad experience, it's prolly worth it to you just for the peace of mind.

Ya, it was the last big snow storm early March, took me 42 hours to get to New Orleans, but we had planned to go in two days pre-cruise to tour the city and we made the NCL Sun no problem, save the fact I spent 8 hours on the telephone with United and Air Canada. I was beginning to worry about having to get to Costa Maya (the ships first port of call) if we missed the boat.

Possibly having to fly in the day of the cruise in San Juan has me thinking maybe it'd be better to leave it with Princess.

Yikes. Yeah, sounds like it'd totally be worth it to you.

Living in California, I only worry about how the weather is doing at the end of my destination. If I take early morning planes, there's almost no chance for my flight to get delayed. So, as long as the weather's clear on the other end, I'm fine.

I only have had one weather scare ever, and it's cuz a stupid Hurricane wiped out my destination. Luckily, they got everything running a few days before I was scheduled to leave. Still, not fun worrying, especially since it was my honeymoon trip.

Two years ago I was scheduled to fly into Cancun, then Hurricane Wilma hit and I had to change all my plans. It was a stressful disaster.

So I booked through Princess air for my upcoming Sept cruise. I live in California, and while the weather is nice here all the time, I didn't want to take the chance that a hurricane would cancel my flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Peace of mind for me. I know I could have gotten a cheaper flight, but I just didn't want to risk it.

There are times when Princess air does make sense. If bad weather is a real possibility or connections tight, it makes sense. I've booked Princess air several times when it's been less expensive than trying to do it on my own. I used Princess air for my Alaskan cruise several years ago and I would have used Princess air for my cruise R/T from Southampton last summer except I wanted to fly during the day and arrive at night. Also, Princess air would have had me fly to NY first and then to Southampton and I wanted to fly directly to/from Boston. But, I paid more than I would have on Princess.

We have booked Princess air for the first time for our 2008 cruise. I thought the price was very reasonable since we'll fly from Orlando to London then from NY back to Orlando. We are now wanting to know about upgrading to Business class, does anyone have any experience booking business class with Princess, is it even an option? If it's not, we'll probably use FF miles and book the air ourselves.

You can upgrade to Business Class when booking Princess air but you'll pay the Business Class fare. Since the air isn't booked through normal channels, you can't call the airline directly and upgrade your flight using FF miles.

We may not be able to leave a few days before our January Crown Princess cruise out of San Juan so we took the Princess Air Montreal to San Juan the day of the cruise for $835.60 per person (CAN incl Tax) .

If there is a weather issue, will Princess really get us to the ship in St Thomas or St Kitts or is that a myth?

BTW If we can get an okay to leave early we'll do it, but we have up to 75 days before the cruise to cancel the Air if we want to, no cost.

If you book on your own they don't wait.

We've also found that Princess air fare is lower when flying to disconnected start/stop points (e.g. Tahiti/Hawaii, Barcelona/Istanbul). The flights are, however, more full. The LA to Tahiti flight was full for us on the day of sailing, but almost empty as reported by people who flew the previous two days.

But we agree - it is MUCH more relaxing to fly in the day before, then have a night's sleep and board the ship early on the day of sailing. It's like getting an extra day on board ship.

Yes, the advantage is they'd take care of and pay for any extra flights to get you onto the ship.

 

Since you've had a bad experience, it's prolly worth it to you just for the peace of mind.

Be careful with this one. They will only pay for extra flights if you have Princess Travel Care. Princess Air is just flights that Princess has arranged for you as part of your package. This happened to us last year on a return home from Galveston. When we booked our trip - we got Princess Air and Princess Transfers thinking we'd be in good hands with things Princess had arranged for us. Not the case. Ship was late getting back to port for one thing, and secondly our Princess transfer bus was stuck in traffic and we missed our flight home - no fault of our own. We had to make all the alternate arrangements ourself (rebooking flights; hotel at airport overnight etc...) at the airport, to get home and Princess did not assist us as we did not have Princess Travel Care Insurance.

If you do miss flights etc...then you have to arrange yourself and go through all the hassles initially, and then, if you have Princess Air - they will reimburse you any additional fees you have incurred. Otherwise you are out of luck, unless you have another insurance provider who will pick up the fees for you at a later date. Regardless you have to make all the arrangements and pay up front.

As far as getting you to the ship: depends on how many others from the cruise are delayed. If it is a large number they will probably delay sailaway to wait for you. If it is a small number, they may just have you travel to the next port and meet up with the ship there.

Regardless....enjoy your cruise!

You can upgrade to Business Class when booking Princess air but you'll pay the Business Class fare. Since the air isn't booked through normal channels, you can't call the airline directly and upgrade your flight using FF miles.

We found this out the hard way after being given the wrong information by a travel agent when we first decided to cruise in Australia several years ago. Princess buys the least expensive class of airline ticket when you purchase your air through the cruise line. These tickets can not be upgraded with ff miles no matter what. So upgrading to business is no deal, you will be charged accordingly. Usually less expensive to book business class on your own then through the cruise line, unfortunately. :(

Just a thought- if you do your own air for much less- then with the money you saved you could fly a day ahead and get a hotel room and not sweat getting to the ship on time.

We went with Princess Air, and because we have a long trip from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale, they are flying us the day before and paying for a nice hotel in what they call a forced overnight.

We are qquite pleased with it, and the cost wa a lot less than if we had booked it ourselves.

Julia

Princess Air is NEVER worth it. There is more risk. Flights are less flexible. If there are problems you have less time to solve them and more red tape. The price is not consistently lower. You cannot guarantee what airline you will use. You cannot efficiently accrue points on your favorite airline because they don't let you choose the airline.

There are no guarantees in the airline world any more. Frankly, none of the airlines are great. They are all equally cramped, crowded, and prone to delays. From Jet Blue to American to Frontier to United - service takes a back seat to price competition and profit.

The best thing to do is watch the fares, carefully choose the airline based on your destination and possible other flights you can be booked on if there is a delay. Then, if you must fly, go in a day ahead ALWAYS. It's even more important to go a day early if you have to travel with connecting flights or through the midwest during difficult weather.

And don't be lulled into thinkng insurance will cover you if there is a problem. The insurance has all sorts of ifs and buts about it - exclusions. Even with insurance, not all delays or canceled cruises are covered.

Why give up the control and customization of your flight to Princess? If there is a problem you will be at their mercy, and they have a reputation for putting people on flights at strange times, with either really long layovers or really short ones. And remember - they offer Princess Air because it's profitable for them, not because it's truly better for you.

I advise all travelers - do your research and book flights yourself. You have more control and over several trips you will pay about the same or even less. You'll have the benefit of being able to accrue points on a couple well chosen lines and you can use them in the future.

I fly alot. I've had 4 free trips in the last 2 years. I know what I'm talking about. I even go so far as to choose my flights based also on what kind of equipment they fly. Some planes have slightly wider seats and slightly more leg room. Some have different seating configurations that are more comfortable. And some small planes are more often delayed because of maintenance issues or weather problems (big planes can sometimes fly even in bad weather).

If you don't like taking control and doing your research, then you must live with the risks. Princess Air is a big risk. Taking control means you raise the chance that your flight will be comfortable and meet your needs. Giving up control lowers your chances.

One of the posters stated that Princess air was never worth using. In the past we have found this to be true and have booked our own air fare. However, our next cruise is from Hawaii to Tahiti. We will be leaving from Seattle. We have checked the air fares on our own and the cost would be twice what Princess is charging. I think this is because of having to fly into one destination and fly back from another especially when the one (Tahiti) has limited flights. In this instance, I feel that Princess air is the better deal.

If you book Princess Air and think Princess will take care of you in the event of a delay, read this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=527885

Just a thought- if you do your own air for much less- then with the money you saved you could fly a day ahead and get a hotel room and not sweat getting to the ship on time.

Yes, we always do, but the place where my wife works won't let her book the time off we need to fly into San Juan two days early at this point so we are hedging our bet by reserving with Princess Air.

She has plenty of hours in her vacation bank, they're just jerks about it.:mad:

One of the posters stated that Princess air was never worth using. In the past we have found this to be true and have booked our own air fare. However, our next cruise is from Hawaii to Tahiti. We will be leaving from Seattle. We have checked the air fares on our own and the cost would be twice what Princess is charging. I think this is because of having to fly into one destination and fly back from another especially when the one (Tahiti) has limited flights. In this instance, I feel that Princess air is the better deal.

We have found that open jaw flights (leaving from one place and arriving at another) always seem to be less expensive booking through the cruise line. That is about the only time we use Princess air arrangements. Any other flights, besides Tahiti, you can usually find better pricing on your own. Even R/T Tahiti, unless you plan to arrive several days early and also stay several days after your cruise, are usually cheaper through Princess then booking it yourself.

I disagree that Princess air is NEVER worth using. It also pays to shop around. We are using Princess air, again, and have our flight number and seat assignments (and we booked last December). WE chose the airline and the time we wanted to leave by paying the air deviation fee. Even after paying the air deviation fee, the price was close to what we would have gotten on our own but without the headache. Also, by going with Princess air, it is covered under the insurance since we purchased that too.

If you book Princess Air and think Princess will take care of you in the event of a delay, read this thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=527885

I wasn't going to bring it up, so not to confuse the subject, but we've also booked the Grand for Spring Break in March 2008 and have taken the Princess Air at this point too.

Reason: My wife has not officially been given the time off yet. From Montreal $ 526.72 CAN return isn't bad, plus we can cancel the whole thing, no penalty 75 days in advance of the cruise if they don't give her the time off.

If we booked a slightly cheaper rate online now, it's non-refundable.

All this to say, I really was interested in the idea that if we stuck to the P.A. and HAD to fly in the day of the cruise, I wonder if they'd really get us to the ship if all hell went wrong with the air schedule.

I wasn't going to bring it up, so not to confuse the subject, but we've also booked the Grand for Spring Break in March 2008 and have taken the Princess Air at this point too.

 

Reason: My wife has not officially been given the time off yet. From Montreal $ 526.72 CAN return isn't bad, plus we can cancel the whole thing, no penalty 75 days in advance of the cruise if they don't give her the time off. If we booked a slightly cheaper rate online now, it's non-refundable.

I wasn't going to bring it up, so not to confuse the subject, but we've also booked the Grand for Spring Break in March 2008 and have taken the Princess Air at this point too.

...

All this to say, I really was interested in the idea that if we stuck to the P.A. and HAD to fly in the day of the cruise, I wonder if they'd really get us to the ship if all hell went wrong with the air schedule.

As luck would have it, weather issues (not really that bad) caused the Captain to swap our first two ports. So the poor guy had to spend an extra day in Belize (bummer...) before the ship caught up with him. He spent the rest of his cruise grousing about the experience which rained on himself and everyone around him (including me, trying to enjoy a beautiful afternoon on the upper deck).

Moral of story - Princess will do their best to stand by their committments.

And to that other doubter who posted - I have seen departure delayed by about 45-50 minutes from the home port for as few as 10 passengers booked on Princess Air. We counted them as they boarded.