Emerald - Disembarkation Debacle

[diamondsparkling]

This is a copy of our letter to Princess regarding Emerald disembarkation to UK.

 

This is being sent on behalf of our fellow passengers, who will also be making their feelings known and to advise future UK passenges flying to Europe to make sure the system has changed or you find your own flights, which may involve an overnight stay in a hotel.

 

 

Emerald Princess E714 Venice to Barcelona 17th May 2007.

 

We have just returned from a wonderful cruise on Emerald Princess, where the staff, crew, facilities were brilliant.

 

We traveled on Golden Princess last November and traveled by British Airways scheduled flights whereby the disembarkation was a nightmare. Having been “dumped” at Rome airport at 0900 hours waiting for a flight to UK at 1700 hours.

 

Reading the information re the Emerald flights they were now luxury charter flights, Titan Airways. Let me firstly say that the planes are better than the standard charter with good food and service, but as they are a small company and the airspace in the South of England is in great demand they will always be put back behind the “bigger airways” and therefore be late.

 

After a couple of days on board we enquired re the disembarkation procedure as we didn’t want the same fiasco as on Golden as our plane didn’t leave until 1815. The only miserable and unhelpful staff were in fact the Customer Service staff who didn’t want to listen to our concerns but said wait until the information was available the last but one day of our cruise.

 

When the documentation arrived we were pleased that we could stay on the ship or in fact, visit Barcelona on a day pass, until 1400 hours when we would be taken to the airport. As the airport is only 20-30 minutes away we would still be one and a half hours early for our check in at 16.15. The contact at the airport advised that we would be checking in at gates 94-96 so we, all 200+ passengers stood in 3 lines. There were no seats and when the check in staff arrived there were only 2 and the 3 lines then had to become 2 and check in began at approx 16.30, after waiting, standing for over one and half hours, with no refreshments.

 

We were told to go to area 4 which was very busy and at approx. 1800 hours were told that the plane would be leaving from a gate on the floor below and would we go there. We all trooped down the stairs and were then told that the plane was running late and arrival expected at 1832. There were not enough seats here either, obviously they just wanted to get rid of us off the main floor.

 

We saw the plane arrive and at approx. 1840 and at 1855 we were cleared for boarding and thus boarded a bus to take us to the plane. There was approx. 80+ people standing on this bus where we waited , and waited, and waited a good 15 minutes. The bus then took us to the plane where we could see that the previous luggage was still being unloaded, the catering trucks not yet loaded and still there together with the cleaners on board.

 

It was now 1905 and we were now in the sun with no fresh air, breathing the stale air from our fellow passengers as the doors were closed and there were no windows to open waiting to board. At approx. 1930 a young lady boarded the bus and said it would be another 5 minutes to which we asked if the doors could be opened and we would stay in the bus but we needed fresh air. The general consensus of the passengers was that “cattle would be treated better than us” !.

 

The driver then opened the doors but it was now 1945 and we were still on the bus. A passenger decided to board the plane and complain on behalf of all of us. As she did this the driver got angry and closed the doors. Due to her intervention the Captain allowed us onto the plane despite the catering trucks not yet in place and some luggage still to be loaded. We had now been on this bus for 50 minutes. It was an horrendous experience.

 

Once on the plane the Captain apologised for the delay but said this was a knock on effect from an earlier flight being delayed and explained that he had to give authorisation for embarkation to the terminal and he had not done so and he would be complaining to the Barcelona authorities forthwith. Why if that was the case, and he knew we were waiting on the concourse he didn’t send us back to the terminal?

 

The plane subsequently took off at 2015 hours a full 2 hours after the scheduled time.

 

We arrived in Manchester at approx. 2240 and by the time we had got back to the hotel to collect our car for our onward journey home of 3 hours, it was too late and we were too tired so had to stay for an extra night at the hotel incurring further costs.

 

Whilst at this hotel we met some airline pilots who advised us that Titan Airways DO NOT guarantee times as they were a small company and they were always being put behind every one else, this happened on our outward journey to join the ship, whereby we were ready to take off and were delayed an hour due to problems in the South England airspace which is given to bigger companies and Titan knocked back.

 

As Princess only use the one plane for both Gatwick and Manchester inward and outward flights they must have known of the delays and subsequently could have left us on the ship until a later time to save us all the hassle we encountered, or take us to a hotel where we could get refreshments and wait in comfort for the delayed plane.

 

We are Captains Circle Platinum members and took advantage of the refreshments and lounge offered for disembarkation. Why were the refreshments taken away at 1000 when we and other passengers were still using this facility? Obviously the next passengers were embarking and the ship wanted to be rid of the previous passengers, so we ended up in the Casino where we were told to meet, surely a lounge could have been set aside for us and we wouldn’t have looked out of place as we were in the Casino. We were then led out by the back entrance to collect our luggage. This really made us feel unwelcome.

 

We have sailed on NCL, Thomson, P&O and thought Princess was in the same class as P&O. Whereas the ships are beautiful, the crew and staff excellent the disembarkation process for UK passengers bears a lot to be desired and unless we get a satisfactory explanation and assured something like this wouldn’t happen in the future we will not be traveling Princess again. We are regular cruisers having 3 cruises booked with P&O for this year and we only took the Emerald cruise at short notice from a mailing from yourselves, and reading the reviews on Cruise Critic website, where we will posting a review in the next couple of days.

 

There were approx 460 UK passengers on the ship, we spent over $2000+ on the ship. If this is more or less an average spend then it is a sizeable amount of money being spent by UK passengers and for us to have been treated in this manner on the homeward journey is deplorable. In fact you had our money and then you abandoned us.

 

This is the first time we have complained in this manner, we did not complain regarding the fiasco at Rome Airport mentioned earlier, but feel that you needed to be informed that there is a major problem in the way you are moving people from the UK and back and after talking with the pilots at the Manchester hotel, and they are the experts, this problem will not be resolved unless you use 2 planes or go back to a scheduled airline.

We look forward to hearing from you in due course

[cruiseryyc]

That's why I always make my own flight arrangements, don't want to be at the mercy of airline schedules provided by Princess.

[MercedMike]

My goodness, you are Platinum members and have not yet learned to make independent air arrangements? Princess, or any other cruise line, seems to only book air from Hell.

 

A good full service TA will help you a great deal to find the best flights on the best airlines. Get an expert on your side. Don't leave yourself at the mercy of the cruise line. ;)

[piper28]

To be honest, other than the issues at the airport with the plane (which I'm not really sure should be blamed on Princess), I'm not really sure that it sounds that bad. I'm actually fairly impressed that they let you stay on board late. Yeah, they probably should have had an area that was put aside for you folks (although did they make you go to the casino? Or could you have parked yourself in any given bar at that point?). As far leaving from the back of the ship making you feel unwelcome, I have to say it seems a little unreasonable to me that you might expect to go down the main gangway that they're using to bring the new passengers on board, that'd just cause confusion.

 

As for the stuff at the airport (which like I said, I'm not convinced is really Princess' fault), about the only real bad thing there was the wait on the bus. That definitely shouldn't have happened. The rest sounds a lot like normal traveling problems that sometimes crop up. I don't know of any airline that guarantees flight times (maybe it's different in europe?). A couple hours of flight delay unfortunately isn't really that uncommon these days. (Heck, trust me, it could be "sorry, you're not making it out tonight, find your own hotel and come back tomorrow").

 

I'm sure I'm coming across harsher than I really mean to be in this post, I just think that in the grand scheme of things, the problems you describe are just not all that bad. Heck, my last travel to and from a cruise makes this look like a walk in the park :).

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry to hear about your problems, I agree with the comment on booking your own air. :)

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

Sorry to hear of your problems, this is not an airline I know, have always used Princess for flights, these have always been chartered flights.

 

Last year we did the Grand round the med, Princess used a Qantas Jumbo, the captain put out a call saying sorry that all the onboard movies were longer than the flight.

 

We got five star service all the way, we had major problems on the return flight home due to a bomb scare.

 

Now we thought we would miss our conecting flight back home, but when we arrived Princess had a bus waiting to rush us to the other termial so we could catch our flights, for this reason we will still use Princess to fly us to our cruise ship.

 

On long haul Princess have flown us with Virgin which was very good and Thomas Cook which was OK.

 

 

yours Shogun

[lynn21]

Thanks Shogun for the warning. We are booked on the Emerald on 22 June. The cruise only price was £5 (about $9) less than the full package which tells me they want us to use their flights. We are going out with them at 7am but decided to stay on in Venice to avoid being taken to the airport too early. On one occasion we were going home from Miami and Princess took us to a hotel for lunch and were taking everybody to the airport at 3pm for a flight at 10pm. We stayed by the pool and took a taxi to airport at 6pm.

[Shogun]

Hi Lynn21,

 

You must tell us about the Emerald as we sail on her for Christmas,

 

Because we had an early flight like you last year Princess put us up in a nice hotel, we had a bus waiting for us I think it was 4.00am, everything was well organised, ques at check in were long, I think the whole plane must have thought get there early to avoid the ques.

 

The best bit was some folk took a short cut through the barriers, the Princess bloke spotted them and took them out of the que , not to where they had come from but all the way to the back.

 

When we were in Venice we were allowed to stay on the ship until we were called, again the Princess side of things went well.

 

Have you sailed into Venice before, if not it will be a highlight not of this cruise but of any holiday you have ever had.

 

 

yours Shogun

[peterv]

My goodness, you are Platinum members and have not yet learned to make independent air arrangements? Princess, or any other cruise line, seems to only book air from Hell.

 

A good full service TA will help you a great deal to find the best flights on the best airlines. Get an expert on your side. Don't leave yourself at the mercy of the cruise line. ;)

 

My goodness, perhaps you did not notice that this was about UK passengers?

 

We who book over here do not normally have the luxury of booking cruise only and making our own air arrangements, getting price cuts, or receiving our deposits back if we cancel before final payment. Even if we did make our own arrangements the fare still includes the flights.

 

It has nothing to do with how smart or experienced people are.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[PTC]

Shouldn't the poster be sending a letter to the airline complaining and copy Princess on the communication? Why only send letter to Princess? Please explain.

 

PTC

[Pam in CA]

My goodness, perhaps you did not notice that this was about UK passengers?

 

We who book over here do not normally have the luxury of booking cruise only and making our own air arrangements, getting price cuts, or receiving our deposits back if we cancel before final payment. Even if we did make our own arrangements the fare still includes the flights.

 

It has nothing to do with how smart or experienced people are.

Peter, I don't often agree with you but in this case, I do. :)

 

My other comment is that flight schedule disruption, being left on the tarmac, etc. is nothing new and not limited to small charter companies or even to continents. This happens all the time -- it happened to me last week flying from SNA to BOS where we were left sitting on a plane on the tarmac in the sun for almost two hours before we were allowed to take off.

 

I'm sorry you had such a poor experience. I sure would have loved to have walked in the door last week at 9PM instead of 2AM but I considered myself lucky that I was able to even make it home on alternative flights over a holiday weekend. Many people missed weddings, family get-togethers, etc. and were stuck in airports for days.

[chasetf]

Thanks for reminding me why I book my own flights. They are nothing but a cattle call when there are a large number of cruise ship passengers all headed out for the same flight.

 

We have never had good luck with any of the very few flights we took through the cruise line. Especially coming from the west coast to the east coast, we always got a red eye.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for reminding me why I book my own flights. They are nothing but a cattle call when there are a large number of cruise ship passengers all headed out for the same flight.

I just booked flights through Princess for my November cruise for over 40% less than I could have booked the SAME flights on my own. Yes, the exact same flights: same airline(s), flight #s, airports, times, etc. And yes, I double-checked the flight costs on about ten different websites, including the airline websites, plus I called directly. I guess if there's any kind of delay I get to blame Princess rather than Lufthansa or United. Maybe I should have paid the extra $$$ and felt better (but poorer) that I booked them on my own.

[stellalimelight]

Sorry to hear about your horrible experience. I too also hope you wrote the airline regarding there policy. I understand the process for UK people booking their air is different and you do not have the luxury of booking your own air.

 

I had a similar instance on a cruise to Tahiti on Regency when it was Radisson. We were book on Air Tahiti Nui through the cruise line. This airline couldn't work it's way out of a paper bag with directions regarding ground operations. The boarding was so bad that the only reason the flight was 2 hours late, is that the people on the ground were stupid. Now I worked for an major airline for 15 years and so I try to be understanding, but they were horrible. The funniest part was once we were on board the service was perfect. When we left Tahiti, same problem. Flight was 3 hours late as the ground crew were stupid too.

 

Anyway, I think you are trying to say that maybe Princess should think about using another airline, if this one is so bad. In regards to waiting on the ship. I am sure the reason you had to move to the casino was to get the ship ready for departure. It never hurts to relay information to any company to try improve the situation.

 

Don't let this stop you from cruising Princess again. Next time it might go well. I have had both excellent and poor disembarking issues, but its the actual cruise itself that keeps me going.

 

 

Shelley

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

For those of you on the other side of the pond almost all cruises that are sold in UK include the air fare, when we tell them we want to make our own way there they give you a silly amount of money off, so it is almost always cheaper to take there flights most again are charter flights.

 

Today a mate is flying to join a RCI ship the discount she was offered if she booked her own flights was $16.

 

Now you know why we fly with Princess. When the charter flights are full then prices do change.

 

yours Shogun

[spongerob]

My goodness, you are Platinum members and have not yet learned to make independent air arrangements? Princess, or any other cruise line, seems to only book air from Hell.

 

A good full service TA will help you a great deal to find the best flights on the best airlines. Get an expert on your side. Don't leave yourself at the mercy of the cruise line. ;)

Mike, I think they're platinum because of their history of cruising with P&O, which Princess recognizes. I think too that some packages offered in the UK require passengers to use the charter air - it's an inclusive deal.

 

We've gone through exactly this same thing booking our own air. We had a fairly early flight but weather forced delays and cancellations. And the airport (Dorval, in Montreal) was entirely unequipped to handle the rush of passengers who began arriving around 9 AM. I can understand the OP's frustration. It really puts a damper on what has been a great vacation. The question is, who to find fault with.

 

I think the biggest problem here is the fact that the big airlines get to jerk the little guy around...I thought the UK and Europe had FAIR business practices, equality and all that. Guess I was wrong, it's not different than the US. Look at how these people suffered for no reason. Put the blame where it should be, with the authorities who allow this to happen.

 

Sounds like Princess was aware of these problems and did try to help a little, but clearly they need to do a little more. There really aren't many options when the new passengers are due to begin arriving and the old group needs to be disembarked. Hopefully someone will be able to think up a contingency plan. Sounds to me like Barcelona is NOT the place to end a cruise.

[Shoalwater]

....Sounds to me like Barcelona is NOT the place to end a cruise.

 

We just ended our 17-May Emerald sailing from Venice to Barcelona, and have no issues wth disembarkation there. We did elect to stay 2 extra nights to enjoy a fascinating cty, and so were not trying to make a flight out. Actually, most of the passengers left at O-dark thirty to make USA connections, so by the time we went to the dining room at 0800 for breakfast the ship seemed 75% empty. No crowded public areas like in other experiences of past in other ports. The terminal was fine, although we did overwhelm the taxis and the queue was about 45 min to get a taxi. The airport is modern and spacious. can't speak to the charter flight issue, but it would be a shame for people to by-pass Barcelona because of this PAX bad experience. Its an alive, vibrant city that assaults your senses in a positive way.

[Jacqueline]

Not for nothing, but this story pales next to what has been happening, at least from my experience, here in the US. Out of three trips this year, not one went off as planned, Delays, weather (the pilot showing up late because she was stuck in traffic) are just the highlights. I had to fly into an entirely different city in Mexico and make my way ON MY OWN with all my luggage to a city 3 hours away , including a one hour ferry riide.

My last leg, I was delayed on the way out of Cozumel. arrived in Dallas too late to make my flight. Then DFW was shut down due to weather. My flight was on standby for hours. I arrived home at 2am in the morning having started my day at 10am.

On my cruise in March, my airline cancelled our flights rebooked me TWO DAYS later due to weather problems here in the North East (and of course it was the wrong port, the rebooked flight had 3 stops and connections). It took a flight to SJ and a private plane to St kitts to meet the cruise two days late. Yes, I had insurance but it was exhausting and stressful Of course none of the flights to were on time. Our flight to St Kitts was nearly canceled due to a VOLCANIC eruption in Mounserrat.

Even booking flights on your own as we do does not assure that your experience will be one iota better. Air travel takes enormous patience.

[lynn21]

Booking your own flights is a risky business when going on a cruise. You have to allow at least another 24 hours for delays. My DH and I had a 3 day trip to Rome last year and we arrived 22 hours late due to two planes going tech. Our first night was spent in a hotel in Manchester airport! A ship won`t wait for you and it could be costly trying to catch up.

 

We can book cruise only here in the UK. We`ve don it twice with Celebrity -once to the Caribbean and last year to South America.

[peterv]

Thanks Pam.

 

We are going on the Caribbean Princess next Sunday, and have a charter flight that is leaving at 08:30 UK time to FLL, arriving at about 13:00 EST, how is that for a same day flight? :eek:

 

Since the entire planeload is going on the cruise, I would imagine no matter what they would probably hold the ship. Especially since the first stop is Princess Cays, does not take long to get there from FLL.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[Shogun]

Hi There Peter,

 

Princess are masters at getting you to the ship just on time, have flown a few times with them same day as sailing, most times we are almost if not the last to board.

 

Have a great cruise, need to wait until December before I get to Princess cays, but its not long before I am back again after that, as will be there in January as well.

 

yours Shogun

[pretenda]

Hi there

You aren't alone - we were on E713 and had the same kerfuffle on the way back from Venice. Same old wait in the casino and wait in Venice airport. No communciation from either Titan nor Princess to say that the plane would be delayed - we were over two hours late too. Not too bad for us as we were parked at Crowne Plaza and could drive the couple of hours home. One couple who were waiting by the courtesy phones had just missed their last train (by 12 minutes) and had to pay £105 for another overnight in an hotel as the next train didn't leave until the next morning. Needless to say it makes for a very stressful end to an otherwise fantastic holiday and it has put us off fly-cruising slightly.

Sorry yours was horrendous too. Hope that you get some satisfactory outcome.

[phillipahain]

This debacle highlights the totally different way passengers in the UK are able to book cruises and are treated versus our cousins in the USA

 

In the UK once you book thats it ......no cancellations ...no refunds ...you loose more and more of your deposit /cruise price the closer you get to sailing

 

As said you get little choice in airline because the INFLATED price includes air by whatever cut price cheapskate airline Princess can find

 

If you try to book your own air the cruise only price is only a few dollars less

All of this is in stark comparison to booking in the USA where you can cancel right up to final payment without penalty

the prices are much much cheaper and you can choose your own air

 

That said its common for cruise disembarkation to be 10 am or before and flights out of the USA are frequently not till the evening because of the long flights and the landing times restrictions in the UK

 

Manys the day we have stood in various USA airports unable to check in and where seating is virtually NEVER available check in side

 

Even airside the seating at the gate in USA airports leaves a lot to be desired and often at 8pm in the eveing all the food concessions , duty free etc are closed

 

Whereas London Airport has quite a bit of seating before check in

[muffydawg]

I learned quite a bit about some of the cruise only - air inclusive differences between what USA and UK passengers are afforded...what a racket! ...but I guess I'm not surprised. Having never been on a charter flight I can't speak to the "majors" taking precedence over the "little guys". I hope the travel industry over there becomes more customer friendly to its UK cruise passengers....

 

Not meaning to get off topic but the check-in / queue process in US airports is just so drastically different than the European airports I've been in. Post cruise check in at the Continental counter at Gatwick for coach passengers was chaotic...no "queue ropes" like they have in US airports. You know? Those black "tens-a-bar" ropes? We were in business class on that trip and thanked our lucky stars we didn't have to deal with the long line. Gatwick has a separate checkin for biz / first class on CO.

 

Post cruise at El Prat was no picnic and we were flying that 1pm Delta flight to ATL....in coach this time. No "queue ropes"..just a mingling of passengers ( a Six Sigma BB would have come in handy). Same thing at Schipol. My flight from Budapest to Schipol arrived too late for me to catch my CO flight to IAH, so "they" sent me to a KLM counter for rebooking. No "queue ropes" again...just 400 or so passengers in a giant "blob" fighting to get to an agent...it took me 5 hours to work through the group and see an agent...and I had a biz class ticket, too. No special lines for biz / first class passengers like in the US...

 

Makes me thankful for the domestic US flying experience and US airport checkin organization. And now that we know the "conditions" at checkin for some international airports, we know what to expect and can plan accordingly...

[Jacqueline]

Getting to and from the cruise is the worst part for many of us. No question. And this is true no matter who books you. For those of us in the US using Princess air Princess will take difficult flights with tight connections as well as buying the tickets at the lowest code, making those pax the first people to be bumped off a given flight.