Canceling pre purchased transfers

[MTJtraveller]

I purchased transfers thru Princess from Southampton to Heathrow as I would like to get off the ship and to Heathrow in a timely manner. But my quote from An independent contractor was considerably less. Does anyone know if I can cancel the transfers once onboard and receive a credit?

[OttawaCA]

I cancelled our pre-paid transfers, a few days before our cruise, a couple of years ago.

 

it was after final payment, so they credited our on-board account.

[Pam in CA]

It's easier if you call your TA (or Princess) now and cancel the transfer. Once onboard, you can cancel but I've had mixed results in the past. Several years ago, they refused to credit the transfers; last year, all I had to do was drop them off at the Shore Excursion Desk. I'd recommend you call now to take care of it.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Do it now for sure! Even if it's the last minute, it's better to do it before you leave. Otherwise, you can usually cancel once onboard if it's within the first 2 days or so. So many people add transfers at the last minute with Southampton that it shouldn't be a problem, but it is still better to cancel farther in advance if you can.

[Maddle]

Yes, I would do it before you go on the cruise (with me! LOL)

 

I just went on the Emerald in March, and pre-booked post cruise transfers in FLL. The tickets were clearly marked "no refunds" - so you will want to be out in front of that before your departure.

 

Maddle

[MTJtraveller]

Thank you all, I will do that before leaving. Another question,

Can I request a disembark at say 7:30am so I can collect my luggage and meet a driver at 8am? I've never had any hurry before disembarking. How exactly does this work? I believe our ship is scheduled to be in early, off the top of my head 5am.

[Northender]

Thank you all, I will do that before leaving. Another question,

Can I request a disembark at say 7:30am so I can collect my luggage and meet a driver at 8am? I've never had any hurry before disembarking. How exactly does this work? I believe our ship is scheduled to be in early, off the top of my head 5am.

 

Yes you can request this. You will need to do a walkoff and take your luggage with you. We have done this once. They will give you a "ticket" so you can get in the (sometimes) long line. You will still have to go through Customs.

 

Also, keep in mind that if, for some reason, the ship has not been cleared by officials, you may not get off until later than 7:30.

[5326jan]

Thank you all, I will do that before leaving. Another question,

Can I request a disembark at say 7:30am so I can collect my luggage and meet a driver at 8am? I've never had any hurry before disembarking. How exactly does this work? I believe our ship is scheduled to be in early, off the top of my head 5am.

 

The only way you can do this is if you take ALL your luggage with you when you disembark. This just happened to us. We had a tour pick up at 9:30 (private), but couldn't handle all of our luggage down the gangplank without assistance, so we had to send our big bags the night before and wait for all the independent disembarkers and all the early Princess transfers to disembark before the first group was called. Even though disembarkation began before 7am and we were in the first group, we didn't get through customs and pick up our bag until after 9:30. (Luckily our guide waited until we got out there.)

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree leaving the ship that early will require you to carry everything off yourself.

[Pam in CA]

I agree leaving the ship that early will require you to carry everything off yourself.

And, you will need to be able to handle everything on an escalator and have one hand free or wait to use the elevator.

 

Often, at least on the cruises I've taken, the last of the self-disembarkers are called after the first of the "regular" groups. It's not always the case that regular disembarkation starts after all the self-disembarkers are off the ship.