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SOS: Will she or won't she make it to the ship on time?

WhereIBelong

By WhereIBelong,
in Princess Cruises

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WhereIBelong

WhereIBelong

Posted
Posted

Hi Everyone,

 

A good friend of mine had a nasty experience with an airline and ended up missing her flight to Venice to Board the Grand (today) for her 12 day cruise.

Turns out, the ship spends tonight in Venice and leaves tomorrow at 1pm (Venice time) for Greece.

 

Her re-scheduled flight is due in at 11:50am tomorrow. Her TA has notified Princess who emailed the ship a request for an escort from the airport to the ship (yes, she purchased the transfer).

 

What her chances of making the ship?? Has this happened to anyone before? Will the Grand wait for her??? She's sending out an SOS . . .

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MaryPoppinz

MaryPoppinz

Posted
Posted

If it was me, I'd be glued to the window during the landing!

 

I'd also be (in spite of the assurance that she got that someone would meet her) on my cell phone to Princess' port agent the minute we touched the ground. Can you get that from Princess and communicate it to her via email?

 

I don't think the airport is far from the pier....

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

Posted
Posted

Tell your friend that she has a whole cruise board routing for her!

 

If she doesn't get on the ship, when is the next port?

 

Out of curiosity, which airline was she on? I know NW and Delta have been changing a lot of schedules lately. This probably is somewhat common at the moment.

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WhereIBelong

WhereIBelong

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I think the airline was KLM, but she was jostled around between several airlines--something about Italia passing her off to KLM due to a schedule change and telling her she could show at the gate to pick up an electronic ticket. Wrong! The ensuing chaos caused her to miss her flight. The she was rebooked through NWA and sat on the runway until her flight was cancelled and she it was too late to get another flight out. Lesson learned: have a paper ticket!?! (I think she was flying on a frequent flyer ticket too.)

 

Thank you all for your good thoughts. I'm throwing all my good karma her way. And Mary Poppinz: thank you so much for the info on the the port agent! I will send her an email in hopes she gets it. If I can track her flight info, I'll even email the port agent. (I should have thought to ASK her!)

 

Does anyone know how close the port is to the pier? How about customs in Venice? Is there any chance that the Captain will hold the ship if she's late? I've only seen it happen once on my cruises....

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MaryPoppinz

MaryPoppinz

Posted
Posted

KLM=NWA, same company. Is her connection in Amsterdam? Maybe there's an earlier connection to Venice?

 

I believe the port is only about 20 minutes from the airport by taxi (not water taxi.)

 

Maybe call the port agent in the morning (7 hours ahead of CST?) and see if anyone there is in a positio to plead her case? They have the ability to be in contact with the captain, and if it's just a matter of minutes (which it sounds like it will be), maybe he will hold off...

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imsulin2

imsulin2

Posted
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I think the key to the whole thing is the frequent flyer ticket. I also know that the charge for paper tickets these days is about $50.00 plus, and I haven't even seen one for several years! The airlines seem to treat you preferentially while you are earning those frequent flyer miles, but once you show up with a claimed ticket, you are unofficially deemed "steerage". Or so it seems.

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GloriaF

GloriaF

Posted
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I think the key to the whole thing is the frequent flyer ticket. I also know that the charge for paper tickets these days is about $50.00 plus, and I haven't even seen one for several years! The airlines seem to treat you preferentially while you are earning those frequent flyer miles, but once you show up with a claimed ticket, you are unofficially deemed "steerage". Or so it seems.

 

WhereIBelong, I am also sending positive vibes to your friend. Please let us know when she makes it onboard!

 

The more I hear about airline sponsored frequent flyer miles the less I like it. :( We have a points reward system with our credit union credit card - and glad of it! No blackout dates, fly any airline, e ticket issued not showing ff miles. :)

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
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Did she have Princess Air or did she book the air on her own?
Donna... sounds like she booked on her own using frequent flyer miles.

 

My experience with booking via Princess Air and a flight that was cancelled due to weather is that they did get me on another flight and I was met at the airport by a Princess agent who took my luggage and got me to the ship. They couldn't have been nicer.

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stacysch

stacysch

Posted
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Sounds like Princess is aware of situation and will advise port agent to have someone meet her. With customs and time needed to get to the ship it will be close! The ship usually will not wait for one or two passengers. If she had booked Princess air the ship is a little more likely to wait. Port agent is in radio contact with the captain and will advise once the plane has landed and his progress of getting her to the ship. If the ship needs to wait a few minutes they are more likely to hold the ship. If they have to wait too long the ship may sail without her.

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WhereIBelong

WhereIBelong

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Hi Everyone,

 

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. The reason for the delay is that I haven't heard from her. But I think that's good news, because if she hadn't made the ship I know she would have called by now.

 

I took your advice and emailed the Princess port contact. Tried to phone them too, but I must have been dialing wrong, because I never did get a good connection.

 

I also followed the bridge cam on the Grand and (if it was accurate and real time) it appeared that the ship left the dock more than an hour and a half late.

 

Again, I know she would have called if she missed the ship, so I'm assuming she'll email as soon as she can get internet access.

 

So... thank you all for the keeping your fingers crossed. It appears to have worked! As soon as I hear the full story I'll post again.

 

P.S. The problem ticket was a ff ticket which she did not purchase through Princess.

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woodofpine

woodofpine

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What an exciting way to start a cruise! Personally, I'd go a couple days in advance of the cruise - especially leaving Venice - especially using my own air arrangements. Excitement like that - good grief! But I know a lot of folks don't have much flexibility...

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

Posted
Posted
What an exciting way to start a cruise! Personally, I'd go a couple days in advance of the cruise - especially leaving Venice - especially using my own air arrangements. Excitement like that - good grief! But I know a lot of folks don't have much flexibility...
Agreed. Well, it'll be a cruise to remember, that's for sure!
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