Last Passengers on Board – they held the ship!

[silvercruiser]

No, they don't necessarily wait just because you've bought your air from the cruise line. Last year in Vancouver there was a whole group of people whose plane was a little late and the cruise line (can't remember which one, but seem to think it was H-A) sailed without them. The people were very surprised, having believed that they were safe because they'd purchased their transportation and transfers through the cruise line.

[horseymike]

This is a wonderful story. I am very happy that Princess took such great care of you. Give credit where it is due. Hope you have many more great cruises.:)

[Princess Chatterer]

but hotel/flight availability and cost made the Princess travel our best option for this cruise. Flights were from Austin TX to Atlanta GA, connecting there to Fort Lauderdale, scheduled arrival at 2:38PM. Plenty of time to make a 5:00 PM sailing, right?

 

Plenty of time to make a 5 pm sailing? I don't think so. I'm glad Princess went above and beyond the call of duty but YOU probably put yourself at great risk of missing the ship.

 

Don't ever miss the ship rule one: Always go to your embarkation point a day early no matter what the hotel/flight availability and cost.

[Queenston]

What a great story with a happy out come. I have to admit I cheered reading you post:) And to have your luggage get on board as well, that almost brought tears to my eyes. That is so great.

 

Now granted I like to make sure that my arrival time to the city I am leaving at is in the morning because we like to be one of the first on the ship but to be honest I have never been upset over the ship leaving late. I disagree with the poster who commented

 

I disagree that anyone was upset over departing late. Out of 16 cruises at least 10 of those cruises did not leave on time, one left as late as 7 hours late out of FLL and not once was I upset for not leaving on time. I think this is a very heart warming story that I am sure made for this to be a start to a great Christmas cruise. I for one am glad to hear stories such as this.

 

 

Well, I guess I would have been--I can't be in two places at once: watching the sailaway and being seated for the early traditional dinner! Those of us who come from the frozen northland at great expense and several days early like our comforts, so I expect that explains alot! But at least it was not a sailaway from a really spectacular port such as Venice. I actually saw a similar situation "almost" happen last year when I was trying to get from Frankfurt to Venice, and there were a bunch of frantic delayed American passengers also trying to get on that flight to reach their ship in Venice a few hours before departure. Fortunately they made it, but just by the skin of their teeth as the saying goes. I thought one chap was going to have an M.I. on the plane, he was so rattled.

 

In the absence of a poll of those on the ship who were caught in a variety of predicaments, we will never really know what inconvenience was caused. But clearly this is not the fault of the late arriving passengers who went on "faith" with the Princess Travel program, but rather that of the TA used by Princess. This story has convinced me that I will NEVER use Princess Travel!

[ljandiernp]

You have inspired me to look up that delay phone number in my answer book and add it to my cell phone contact list right now, before I forgot again. I am traveling on embarktion day this time too; although it is my preference not to, I had no choice this time. We have about a 3 hour window between arrival at FLL airport and sail time though, so I am hoping for the best.

Thank you for sharing such a great story! Laurie

[Sandytoes]

Times Prince --

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Bravo to Princess....

 

 

~~~~~~~

Just to let you know, I always fly in day of departure and never have I had a problem.. Everything goes smoothly.....I guess I'm one of the lucky ones....:)

[Globaliser]

When you book a cruise, you sort of expect things to happen when the cruise line said it would.

Expecting the ship to sail on time is as foolish as expecting the ship to wait for you if you're late. All sorts of things can happen to delay your sailing - sometimes even something as trivial as the fact that there are other ships in port whose scheduled sailing times are also at exactly the same time as your ship.

 

I'm glad that everything went well for the OP, and that Princess did so much more than they expected.

[dforeigner]

I totally disagree with this idea. Honestly, you are not guranteed the ship will wait for you even if you purchased your flights and insurance through Princess. It is an old myth that just doesn't seem to want to die. And many read responses like this and think they will hold the ship for them no matter what happens and then are furious when their flights are late and the ship sailed without them, it just isn't true in most cases. Princess will assist you in catching up with the ship, but they will not necessairly hold the ship until you get there. Lots of different things come into play here when they hold up a ship, and booking Princess air and insurance are at the bottom of the list.

 

 

This is true. Princess has left many behind in Canada (sailing north to Alaska) even though most of the passengers left behind had booked their air travel through Princess. I believe this had to do with the sea tides at the port.

[donna travels]

I think Princess made a huge mistake getting you in at 2:32pm on embarkation day. Do you think it helped at all that you had been a past passenger and this made your 10th sailing. I thought the story was great and a lesson on being prepared for anything when the unexpected happens. I was on Celebrity and they waited in Ft Lauderdale for 2 people that arrived at the 5:15pm we watched the 2 people get out of a limo driven car running to the ship, we all cheered when as they were running up the last gangway, we felt good that they made it. I think delaying the ship has a lot to do with the port and the city of departure. I am leaving Friday for my ship and since we have 3 flights, glad we are leaving the day before, also booking a January flight from Philadelphia could also be a problem. ACAPULCO here I come.

[cynbar]

I along with so many others was so pleased to hear your happy ending --- we get so many complaints on these boards, it was really refreshing!! But I also hope that other cruisers won't get the idea that they can cut it too close and the ship will probably wait, because it doesn't always happen even with Princess Air (we then hear about it here in great detail.) To the OP, you don't mention whether your TA tried to get your flights changed when he/she saw the schedule you were assigned. A good TA would work on this before departure, since the original plan was precarious at best. It might not be possible to alter your flights, but you didn't mention whether there was any talk of this pre-cruise. You may have had to pay a deviation fee, but the stress saved may have been worth it. I have never booked air through Princess ---- does anyone know how early the info on your flights is available???

[Queenston]

Expecting the ship to sail on time is as foolish as expecting the ship to wait for you if you're late. All sorts of things can happen to delay your sailing - sometimes even something as trivial as the fact that there are other ships in port whose scheduled sailing times are also at exactly the same time as your ship.

 

Excellent point! I guess I have been spoiled by my first three cruises on Princess-and here I thought I had finally found a mode of travel where one could have expectations re departure and arrival times--unlike today's air travel! Mind you, I also expect airlines to depart on schedule and show up so I can get on the plane on the chance that they actually will!

 

But this situation is nothing compared to what those poor folks on the QM2 experienced a couple of years ago when they sailed away from Fort Lauderdale and then had to turn around and come back when the propeller was damaged as they went through the channel on the way out. We were at the hotel where some of these passengers had stayed when they returned, and we gathered from the staff that they were not happy campers! Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "delayed departure"!

[notentirelynormal]

FASCINATING--But, what about all those other thousands of passengers who were looking forward to that scheduled departure time? Perhaps they had romantic events planned ? When you book a cruise, you sort of expect things to happen when the cruise line said it would. I would feel rather guilty about having deprived a few thousand people of their dreams and indeed, "fun"!

 

We always travel three days ahead to be sure our luggage arrives before we leave on the cruise. Perhaps that is because of our experience of several decades of business travel where we realize that you can never rely on airline travel to go as expected. Your experience just goes to show that Princess is making travel arrangements that are totally unrealistic given today's travel environment.

 

It think its great that you have the luxury of traveling 3 days ahead but for many of us that simply is not an option. For me, it is unrealistic TO travel 3 days ahead. The additional cost is just part of the problem. Many of us only get 2 weeks of vacation a year and to take 3 extra days just in case simply is not always possible.

 

As far as disappointing those that want to see the sailaway and have to choose between that and dinner... I admit I love that part but I'm not so selfish as to think that my seeing us leave a port is more important than waiting extra minutes for others to get on the ship. I guess I know how bad they would feel to miss it and don't consider it a sacrifice. Its a matter of choice which is more important, watching the sunset or eating.

[geoherb]

I was on this cruise and am glad to hear the "rest of the story" now. It's great that it ended well.

 

When we were on the Star Princess heading to Alaska from Seattle, the captain announced we'd be leaving late, waiting for a group of passengers. It turned out Cookie Lee had chartered a plane from California with a huge group and it was late. Everyone cheered as the buses pulled up to the terminal. We were about an hour late leaving, which was fine for us since we had second seating. I'm sure some of the other passengers with early seating missed their dinner to see sailaway from Seattle.

 

Our Golden Princess cruise leaving from New York City also left late. I never found out why on that one. Lots of people skipped their assigned early seating that night to watch sailaway past the Statue of Liberty. It made for chaos in the "Anytime" dining rooms. That was our first and only time trying "Personal Choice" dining.

[silvercruiser]

When we use Princess air we pay the $75 deviation fee so we can choose our own flights. Princess put one couple from Arizona on a 45 min. connection in Atlanta last fall for a flightto Venice. They made it to the plane, but had everyone chewing their fingernails worrying about them.

[Queenston]

It think its great that you have the luxury of traveling 3 days ahead but for many of us that simply is not an option. For me, it is unrealistic TO travel 3 days ahead. The additional cost is just part of the problem. Many of us only get 2 weeks of vacation a year and to take 3 extra days just in case simply is not always possible.

 

Unfortunately, the "luxury" came only at the age of 60--in the previous 40 some years, we were too busy working (both doctors) to even consider taking a winter vacation! But I do understand your point!

 

I am just so grateful now to be able to do this--and get out of the minus 40 degree weather. So my yearning to get to Princess Cays is based on never having had a winter holiday in my youth! It is very interesting to find with our university students these days that they expect us to run the exam schedule around their "winter holidays"--something that is quite surprising to us old professors!

[Queenston]

It think its great that you have the luxury of traveling 3 days ahead but for many of us that simply is not an option. For me, it is unrealistic TO travel 3 days ahead. The additional cost is just part of the problem. Many of us only get 2 weeks of vacation a year and to take 3 extra days just in case simply is not always possible.

 

Unfortunately, the "luxury" came only at the age of 60--in the previous 40 some years, we were too busy working (both doctors) to even consider taking a winter vacation! But I do understand your point!

 

I am just so grateful now to be able to do this--and get out of the minus 40 degree weather. So my yearning to get to Princess Cays is based on never having had a winter holiday in my youth! It is very interesting to find with our university students these days that they expect us to run the exam schedule around their "winter holidays"--something that is quite surprising to us old professors!

[dforeigner]

It think its great that you have the luxury of traveling 3 days ahead but for many of us that simply is not an option. For me, it is unrealistic TO travel 3 days ahead. The additional cost is just part of the problem. Many of us only get 2 weeks of vacation a year and to take 3 extra days just in case simply is not always possible.

 

Unfortunately, the "luxury" came only at the age of 60--in the previous 40 some years, we were too busy working (both doctors) to even consider taking a winter vacation! But I do understand your point!

 

I am just so grateful now to be able to do this--and get out of the minus 40 degree weather. So my yearning to get to Princess Cays is based on never having had a winter holiday in my youth! It is very interesting to find with our university students these days that they expect us to run the exam schedule around their "winter holidays"--something that is quite surprising to us old professors!

 

This is why it is important to get trip insurance. Although I am not sure if the policies are the same outside the US.

[cruze610]

 

This is why it is important to get trip insurance. Although I am not sure if the policies are the same outside the US.

 

 

I wonder if the ship would have waited if they didnt have trip insurance. They had a decision to make, do we wait maybe an hour or so, or do we pay back possibly thousands of dollars, not to mention potential loss of revenue from on board purchases. hmmmm.

[Host Anne]

It's been ten years but we had a VERY similar experience on one of our all time favorite Princess cruises. Princess arranged our flights and had us scheduled on a flight that was supposed to arrive in FLL around 2:00 PM for a 5:00 PM sailing. Our plane had mechanical problems and we were three hours late, arriving at the airport in FLL after our scheduled ship departure.

 

We had talked to our travel agent who told us they would probably not hold the ship and we'd have to likely fly to St. Thomas to meet the ship (a real bummer to miss the first two days at sea). To our surprise, we saw the ship (Crown Princess) still in port. The flight attendent came on the intercom and asked people to remain seated so the seven people trying to catch the Crown Princess could disembark first. Shocked again, people actually stayed seated and clapped as the seven of us rushed off the plane.

 

Princess got our luggage on the tarmac (probably couldn't do any longer) and had staff at the gate to meet us. We flew through the airport and as soon as we boarded the ship was moving. We got to know the crew very well on that cruise (we were in our mid-30s with the only child on the ship) and were told that they definitely held the ship for the seven folks on our flight. Don't know why crew (the Capt) would have told us that if it weren't true. We've always been grateful to Princess (and Capt Romano) but I will tell you that it was the last time we've ever used the cruiselines' air arrangements.

 

We have since made it a rule to arrive in any port a day early as way too many things can go wrong. And yes, I'd never cruise without insurance.

 

I'm glad to hear after all these years that good endings still happen at Princess!

[Times Prince]

I along with so many others was so pleased to hear your happy ending --- we get so many complaints on these boards, it was really refreshing!! But I also hope that other cruisers won't get the idea that they can cut it too close and the ship will probably wait, because it doesn't always happen even with Princess Air (we then hear about it here in great detail.) To the OP, you don't mention whether your TA tried to get your flights changed when he/she saw the schedule you were assigned. A good TA would work on this before departure, since the original plan was precarious at best. It might not be possible to alter your flights, but you didn't mention whether there was any talk of this pre-cruise. You may have had to pay a deviation fee, but the stress saved may have been worth it. I have never booked air through Princess ---- does anyone know how early the info on your flights is available???

We are amazed at the readership this thread has gotten, as well. There have been a lot of really positive replies and great advice.

 

Our TA got the fax from Princess with our flights on 11/12/07 for the 12/16/07 cruise, so there was a little over a month lead time.

 

I can tell you there were no good flights from Austin to FLL that day - Princess picked the best possible. There was one earlier flight leaving at 6 AM, but still connected with the same flight at Atlanta. Both the ATL-FLL flight we were originally scheduled on and the one we were rebooked on with the 4 AM call left very late within 5 minutes of each other. All other flight combinations were scheduled to arrive after to 4:30PM.

 

Our TA did look at independent booking however the airlines wanted about 2X the cost, seeing as it was the Christmas season, with no real benefit in flight schedule. We did investigate flying in the day before, as the Sunday departure allowed me to fly on Saturday without using a vacation day, however there was some major boating parade event in FLL that had hotels booked up, in addition to much higher airfare costs.

 

It's been ten years but we had a VERY similar experience on one of our all time favorite Princess cruises. Princess arranged our flights ...

Host Anne, It's nice to hear that lightening can strike twice in the same place. If this only happened once it would be just a nice thing. Happening more than once is great customer service.

 

Bob

[sunsetbeachgal]

Bob,

 

I have really enjoyed reading this thread, and your detailed & positive account of the events. Lessons to be learned for even the most experienced of cruisers! I enjoy happy endings and positive posts-so many of the threads and reviews lately have been "gripe sessions" , and I enjoy seeing someone take the time to point out the positive! ;)

 

Carole in NC

[fathercop]

WOW! My heart was racing from reading your post! I am glad that it worked out for you and I believe that Princess, as with other similiar cruise lines, will do its best for their customer. (So far they have for me, with only one exception.)

 

Great story and an even better ending.

[Host Anne]

Bob ~ it definitely helps build customer loyalty (which is really hard to do these days). Even after all these years, we are still grateful for the courtesy shown to us by Princess and the crew on Crown Princess. It definitely keep us coming back! Happy sailing to you....and everyone else.