Booking Airport Transfers Onboard

[ihopfar]

I am planning on booking our transfers back to the airport as soon as I get on board vice having them added to our booking ahead of time.  That way I can use on-board credit for them.

 

Has anyone ever found out that they transfers were sold out and they could not do this?   Is the price different on board than ahead of time?

 

There will be 2 of us disembarking a Princess ship in Southampton and flying out of Heathrow.  I am under the impression that this is a rare port where ship transfers are more reasonable for the distance to the airport.

 

Thanks!

Brad

[Lady Arwen]

Our next cruise is also disembarking in Southampton to LHR.  Most importantly, to use the ship’s transfers make sure your flight is not before 1 pm.  Our flight is 2 pm.  We’re pre-booking our transfer to be safe and will request an early bus when onboard.    To be honest, it’s usually more convenient to pre-book a private transfer, but this time we’ll use the ship’s bus.  I know you want to use your OBC and if you’re not concerned about the possibility of not having a bus available at your required time, then go for it.  If you have a late flight, then you would have no problem getting whatever bus they have available.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I personally would not gamble like this...waiting to book a transfer.  I consider it to be a part of my total trip and like to have all "transportation related" items nailed down well before I even leave for the port.  Once I arrange my flights, booking the transfer is usually my next step.

 

Are you sure that you can even do that on board?  I've never heard of anybody doing that, but given how I operate (described above) I've never had any reason to look into that.

[Mud_Shark]

We did it last minute onboard, to use up some OBC, but it was just Fort Lauderdale so we knew we could get a taxi if there was a problem.

 

Price was the same onboard as it was pre-cruise.

 

Don

[Lady Arwen]

57 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I personally would not gamble like this...waiting to book a transfer.  I consider it to be a part of my total trip and like to have all "transportation related" items nailed down well before I even leave for the port.  Once I arrange my flights, booking the transfer is usually my next step.

 

Are you sure that you can even do that on board?  I've never heard of anybody doing that, but given how I operate (described above) I've never had any reason to look into that.

Yes, you can book onboard, but they only have a certain number of buses for each disembarkation.  If you wait, the buses could be all booked except for the ones that leave last.  If you prebook, you have given them your flight times, so they know which bus you need to be be on.  We always verify our bus times as soon as we board.  I’m like you……..get as much done as possible way before sail date!

[patrickmoran]

Pre-Covid, it was no problem booking transfers from Southampton to London. I don't know when your cruise is, but if later in the season, check the boards closer to departure for latest experiences. You can add transfers up until sailing.

[ihopfar]

19 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Yes, you can book onboard, but they only have a certain number of buses for each disembarkation.  If you wait, the buses could be all booked except for the ones that leave last.  If you prebook, you have given them your flight times, so they know which bus you need to be be on.  We always verify our bus times as soon as we board.  I’m like you……..get as much done as possible way before sail date!

 

Thank you everyone!

 

I know that our luggage tags will be based on our flight times, but I did not realize you were assigned a specific bus/time.  Is that true?  I assumed they just filled up the airport transfer busses as folks came out of the terminal.  

 

Thanks!

Brad

[Lady Arwen]

11 minutes ago, ihopfar said:

 

Thank you everyone!

 

I know that our luggage tags will be based on our flight times, but I did not realize you were assigned a specific bus/time.  Is that true?  I assumed they just filled up the airport transfer busses as folks came out of the terminal.  

 

Thanks!

Brad

You will be given a time and a bus number along with a ticket that you present to the bus driver.  It’s pretty well organized.

[ontheweb]

Just a suggestion, instead of the basic Princess transfer from Southampton to Heathrow, we booked the one that had a tour of Canterbury. It was not only wonderful, but it also made it seem like we were still having part of the cruise experience after disembarking from the ship.

[billco]

When filling out the form for disembarkation I check the block that asks if i want transportation to the airport. Never had a problem. In fact, when I have asked about it at the excursion desk I have been told to wait until I get the form. Just my experience.

[susancruzs]

I rarely book in advance.  I sign up with the form that comes to the cabin as previous poster stated, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Southampton, always worked fine.

[FlaMariner]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:09 AM, ihopfar said:

There will be 2 of us disembarking a Princess ship in Southampton and flying out of Heathrow.  I am under the impression that this is a rare port where ship transfers are more reasonable for the distance to the airport.

 

I agree with this.....We are only paying $59 each (pre-cruise) for our Southampton to Heathrow bus ride on 3/28.  

 

(if I had extra OBC, I'd wait to buy it and take the rare chances that the price would be higher or it would be full....there seems to always be an extra seat on the buses)

 

Not sure when you cruise but I can give an eyewitness account the first of April!

[john watson]

3 hours ago, ihopfar said:

 

Thank you everyone!

 

I know that our luggage tags will be based on our flight times, but I did not realize you were assigned a specific bus/time.  Is that true?  I assumed they just filled up the airport transfer busses as folks came out of the terminal.  

 

Thanks!

Brad

 

Southampton normally has the Heathrow bus service and the Gatwick bus service.  There is often an early flight times bus and a later flight times bus. The buses depart according to the service they are providing.  You get allocated disembarkation tags based on which bus is appropriate for you.  In addition where cruise excursions which go to Windsor or Stonehenge then drop you at the airport for evening flights.

 

Regards John

.