Question about transfers

[Vanilla]

I purchased transfers from the TA for our Caribbean Princess cruise in June, and I have been curious about them since thinking about it... We are going to be staying the night before at a hotel..does Princess transfer us to the hotel? Do they take care of our luggage? Do they come to the hotel the next day to pick us up? Are we just on stand by for whenever they decide to come or can we request a time for them to be there? I didn't have questions when we first booked the transfers because "we have just always done it this way" - however, now looking at how others get their own way to the ship and off again seems easier than purchasing the transfers. Any input you can give would be appreciated.. Thanks to all you that are "experienced cruises" for sharing your pros and cons with us newbies.

[chrysalis]

you can always do better yourself (pricewise and timewise) than booking princess transfers.....I presume that you have arranged your hotel thru princess as well?...if that is the case, you can do better (in some cases, much better) booking your own accommodations, also.

 

when I say "timewise", I mean gettting your own cab and not having to wait for the Princess bus to fill up with others who have bought transfers.

[2BCruising]

Assuming you have purchased a pre-stay at a hotel with Princess along with the transfer, yes...Princess will take you from the airport (you will have to collect your luggage at the baggage claim) to the hotel. There should be a Princess rep at the airport near the baggage claim area. This is assuming that Princess has your flight itinerary and knows when you are arriving. After your hotel stay, Princess will take you from the hotel to the ship (along with your luggage). At the hotel, the front desk personnel will have a Princess letter for you with instructions on how Princess will handle the transfer. Yes, there is a set meeting time in the hotel lobby when Princess will be picking the group up. We've done this in San Juan and in Ft Lauderdale. The process has been similar. We actually thought the Ft Lauderdale transfer was more efficient. It took us only 20 minutes to get from drop off at the pier, going through security and check-in, and to our cabin.

[Toto2Kansas]

They will alert you to the time of the Princess transfer bus from your hotel to the pier. This could happen early, late or inbetween. You can not request a transfer time, they will tell you the approximate time the bus will be there.

 

It is so much easier to make these arrangements yourself. No waiting around, less crowded, etc.

 

It sounds like you might have booked your air, hotel and transfers through Princess? This is something we seem to do mainly when cruising in a non-U.S. port, but always book our own air, hotel and transfers when cruising from Fort Lauderdale. Much cheaper, easier, and less time consuming then going through the cruise line.

[lovetosew]

We are coming into Milan for the land portion of our Grand Mediterranean tour September 10. After much thought, since we are coming in from London on a separate flight from that of Princess we had our TA book the transfer for us to the hotel from the airport. It was the same price as a taxi. Of course, all of us are staying at the same hotel for that two day stay in Milan. I did not trust the taxi system at the airport and wanted that security of the Princess transfer. I hope that this helps answer your question.