Beware of taxi company serving port of Barcelona

[jonikal]

Beware of using airporttaxistransfers for a pick up at a port.  They only allow the driver to wait for 10 minutes before they leave you stranded. In our case we had a very disorganized and delayed disembarkation in Barcelona, caused by the local authorities, and were left stranded at the dock. We had paid in advance and the company refuses to reimburse. Interestingly, the taxis are allowed to wait for 60 minutes for airport pick ups, which seems to be more reasonable and should be applied to port pick ups.

[capriccio]

If I am reading this correctly, your warning is about a Barcelona transportation company.  If so, it would be better posted on the Spain Ports of Call board where it will be seen by more cruisers investigating transportation in Barcelona:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/465-spain-ports/

 

PS.  Make sure you re-title the thread heading to include Barcelona!

[shipgeeks]

It is for reasons like that that we've always used the cruiseline transfers for something as important as getting to the airport while overseas.  Same in Montreal, where our cruise terminated downstream of the port.  Our airport bus was there, but no taxis or private shuttles in sight.

[jonikal]

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

If I am reading this correctly, your warning is about a Barcelona transportation company.  If so, it would be better posted on the Spain Ports of Call board where it will be seen by more cruisers investigating transportation in Barcelona:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/465-spain-ports/

 

PS.  Make sure you re-title the thread heading to include Barcelona!

I did actually post it on the Barcelona specific port.  Unfortunately this taxi company, based in London, services multiple ports not only in Spain.

[jonikal]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

It is for reasons like that that we've always used the cruiseline transfers for something as important as getting to the airport while overseas.  Same in Montreal, where our cruise terminated downstream of the port.  Our airport bus was there, but no taxis or private shuttles in sight.

Yes, normally that is also what we have done in the past. In this case the reason we chose a taxi service was because we had an early flight back to the States.  In order to arrive at the Prat airport within the 3 hours required for check in etc, it would not have worked since the ship's scheduled airport transport did not depart in time and we would have risked being too late..

[shipgeeks]

11 minutes ago, jonikal said:

Yes, normally that is also what we have done in the past. In this case the reason we chose a taxi service was because we had an early flight back to the States.  In order to arrive at the Prat airport within the 3 hours required for check in etc, it would not have worked since the ship's scheduled airport transport did not depart in time and we would have risked being too late..

Interesting, as when our cruise ended in Barcelona, the cruise shuttle passengers were the first priority in disembarking the ship and claiming our luggage.  Our flight was also through the cruiseline, however, so the flight was not overly early (noon, as I recall), as that service does not book early flights.

[jonikal]

We did early self-disembark and opted to make our own air reservations, departing at 11:35 am, since the cruise line's itinerary offered did not work as well for our onward Stateside connections. 

Celebrity's crew was extremely upset at the delay caused by Spanish authorities to get the gangways organized.  In fact, had it not been for their inefficiency and resulting delay for early departing passengers we would have had no problem getting the taxi we booked.

[ldubs]

That would be very frustrating, especially with tight flight times.  We also like the cruise transfers to the airport.   The few times that wouldn't work, we would use early disembark and the taxi rank.   

 

Too bad you are out-of-pocket.   I would think at least a partial refund would be appropriate.  

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, jonikal said:

this taxi company, based in London, services multiple ports not only in Spain.

That would be my first danger signal.  Why book with an agency based in another country?

The company that you mention in the original post is not a taxi company but a booking agency.

[VMax1700]

6 hours ago, jonikal said:

airporttaxistransfers

as i mentioned on your other thread, this is not a taxi company, but a booking agent, which is not even located in Spain.  Why would you book with them?

[tony s]

Why book a cab or car in advance in Barcelona. It is quicker and either the same or cheaper to grab a cab at port.

[mom says]

Your title appears to be misleading/confusing. It would seem that your complaint is not  about  taxis at all;  since you noted that taxis were available and were allowed quite a long wait time in the port.  It seems your complaint was about prebooked car services. And not in all ports, but only with the port of Barcelona. And even then, it seems to have been an unforseen incident. At least I've not seen previous reports that a delay in disembarkation  there is a common occurrence.  Stuff happens, but I don't think that warrants a warning against using car services at every port. 

[ollienbertsmum]

Taxis were always plentiful at around 7 am the times we did early disembark in Barcelona.  
 

We always skipped going to breakfast on that day.  We had pre planned snacks in our room (yoghurt and bananas from previous day’s buffet).  

[jsn55]

On 5/6/2023 at 3:22 AM, jonikal said:

Beware of using airporttaxistransfers for a pick up at a port.  They only allow the driver to wait for 10 minutes before they leave you stranded. In our case we had a very disorganized and delayed disembarkation in Barcelona, caused by the local authorities, and were left stranded at the dock. We had paid in advance and the company refuses to reimburse. Interestingly, the taxis are allowed to wait for 60 minutes for airport pick ups, which seems to be more reasonable and should be applied to port pick ups.

So is this a website or what?  "airporttaxistransfers"  Sounds like a broker or umbrella organization.  What's the name of the company that operates the taxis for the Barcelona port?  That's who sets the waiting deadline, and who is responsible for your missed ride.  Unless they stated this rule when you booked ... doubtful because a cruiseship is not like an airline; you have no way of knowing how long it will take to get off the ship.  Much better to try to book local services if possible.  

[Hlitner]

On 5/6/2023 at 10:10 AM, jonikal said:

I did actually post it on the Barcelona specific port.  Unfortunately this taxi company, based in London, services multiple ports not only in Spain.

This is a problem with the Internet.  There are many companies (both transportation and tour) that have nice web sites and encourage pre-booking.  But, in nearly all cases, these are simply third party consolidators who take your money and than arrange for your transport through a company that is actually in your port location.  So, you are not really dealing with a taxi company that is all over Europe, but what is basically a booking agency.  When things go wrong it is nearly impossible to get your money back since the local taxi company will tell you to go back to the booking company and the booking company will either ignore you or tell you to talk to the real taxi company.

 

We have long recommended that when folks want to book a tour or taxi/transport they deal directly with a local company (the real provider).  This sometimes takes a little more work/time, but is usually time well spent.

 

Hank

[-Lew-]

Regardless of all the reasons why booking with this agency may not be advisable, they do offer one hour wait time which was not honored.  My suggestion is to contact your credit card institution to request full credit for the amount you paid.

 

This is a screen shot from the booking site...