Calling UK Tahitian Princess passengers

[stellaB]

Since the majority of posts on this site are from North America, who no doubt have different package options I would be interested to hear from any UK cruisers with experience of this cruise out of Tahiti. We have booked the basic fly/cruise package but have not had details of airlines or flight times yet and are anxious to secure the best options. The word is that flights to/from the UK are likely to be with American Airlines but we may have the option of British Airways which offers Enhanced Economy (at a supplement). We have flown this class with Virgin but not BA (who do not seem to offer as many perks) and wonder whether the upgrade is worth the money. BA would also offer us better connections to domestic flights in the UK but I am particularly concerned with the LA connection on the return flight. Our travel agent has suggested that showers are made available to us in LA but not neccessarily a full day room. Exacly what is offered as part of the package could make a big difference to our choice of airline (for timings) or the question of whether to shell out for a night in LA at additional expense. Having read of chaotic disembarkation/ transfer arrangements in Papeete we are seriously considering a 1 or 2 night post cruise stay there. On the one hand we don't want to spend too much more money on the whole trip but do not wish to ruin the experience by having a nighmare journey home. Any recommendations?

[terrierjohn]

We did the TP Hawaii to Tahiti cruise last June, you do not state which specidic cruise you are doing but I am assuming Tahiti only, therefore I can only comment on our return flights.

We flew Papeete to LA with Air Tahiti Nui on an overnight flight and then had a hotel day room to ourselves until we needed to return to the airport. The flight was LA to LHR on BA and again an overnight flight arriving UK late morning. You should be able to check your luggage all the way to your final destination from Papeete, but you will need to collect it at LA then take it to the luggage drop point.

Because of the 2 overnight flights and a long wait in LHR for our MAN flight, this was a very long trip back, but it's unlikely you will be able to shorten it if you take Princess air, and the cost is very high if you try to book the flights yourself.

Disembarkation in Papeete was painless, you will need to put your main bags out the night before you disembark and then you need to vacate the cabin early next morning. But you can put your overnight bag in storage (one of the speciality restaurants) and then you can use the ships facilities all day until your evening disembarkation, showers are available in the spa but they are limited.

Hope this helps.

[stellaB]

Thanks terrierjohn. Yes, our cruise is Tahiti only (we did Hawaii with NCL some years ago). The main problem I have with the disembarkation is not having access to main luggage from prior to dinner on the final evening until we reach Papeete airport (and even then many people say it is virtually impossible to open your cases easily there to offload used clothing from handluggage). The whole idea of having to cart around another set of clothing in handluggage, together with any other bits and pieces you might have needed overnight does not appeal. Given the very long journey home we would prefer to keep handluggage to a minimum - not to mention all the current security restrictions as to what you can and cannot carry. Very reassuring to hear about the dayroom in LA. All my American feedback has been to the effect that this does not exist but I suspect it is part of the European package only. How far away was this hotel, what time was your flight to Heathrow and how full was it? I have been hearing several stories recently of overnight trans-Atlantic flights being almost empty in which case it would seem a waste to go for the upgrade if we can stretch out in Economy.

Thanks again

[terrierjohn]

After several problems in recent years with missed flights and unplanned overnight hotel stays, we always take a reasonable sized carry on bag with us. However you will have plenty of time in the check in queue to add unwanted clothes to your main cases if you need to and if your cases are soft sided with lots of large pockets then you don't even need to open it fully.

Our flight was approx. 6:00pm from LA arriving LHR at noon the following day, however it was full as had been the earlier 3:30pm flight, so no room to spread out but we now find the legroom on BA economy to be quite reasonable, and I have been very critical of this in the past. The o/night flight from Papeete normally arrives around 9:00 or 10:00 am into LA.

[stellaB]

Unfortunately our cases are rigid and the type that open from the centre into 2 halves - not the easiest to get into unobtrusively! I think we have pretty much decided to stay 1 night in Papeete now anyway but thanks for the info on LA. Enjoy your 2 cruises - we loved the Panama Canal one.

[haggis]

We flew back from LA last year in March after a cruise on the Island Princess to Hawaii. We flew out United to precruise in Las Vegas. We could upgrade our seats but we couldnt prebook as Princess had apparently booked our seats on the outbound for us. We had very good seats and not complaints. Good flight both ways on Worldtraveler.

As terrierjohn says, there are two overnight flights by BA from LA to LHR, we were on the 1530 and arrived LHR (T3) at 0900hrs.

We did consider upgrading but it turned out fine. Loads of room.

Jimmy

[stellaB]

Thanks Haggis. There are now 3 flights out of LA with BA: 15.40, 17.45 and 21.45 (assuming Princess allow us to fly BA). Did you get a dayroom provided in LA and if so where? Did it have a bed or just shower facilities?

[haggis]

Yes, there was a day room provided but, just our luck, it was a Saturday we docked and the US immigration authority had decided that this was a good day to train immigration officers. They were pleasant enough mind you but very slow.The queue for non US nationals was horrendous and we were amongst the last off the ship, by the time we collected our cases and got out to the coach, it was too late to go to the hotel so we went straight to the airport and ate there. The system BA staff had at the checkins was vert proffesional and our cases were dealt with very quickly. You've to book them in and then you accompany an attendent and your cases to be X - rayed by security and once cleared he takes them back to the desk. No problem.

Jimmy

[stellaB]

Thanks again Haggis but what we have in mind is to actually retrieve our cases in order to take them to the hotel to change out of the wet rags we have just flown from Tahiti in! (Tahiti's airport apparently is not air-conditioned and check-in alone takes about 3 hours). I am guessing we will be in need of a shower and a change of clothes after that on top of an 8-9 hour flight to LA and another 2 flights to get home after that. Why do we put ourselves through this torturous travelling? Because we LOVE cruising!

[JPRLHR]

Nothing to add with regard to the cruise itself or the hotel but, with regard to BA's World Traveller Plus, the answer is yes, it is very definitely worth doing. I personally much prefer it to Virgin's premium economy but then I much prefer BA service overall compared to VS.

 

However, if money is a serious consideration then it would be worth sticking with AA as their economy seat pitch is anything from 33-35 inches depending upon the equipment used as compared to 31 inches in economy with both BA and VS. They are one of the few airlines that I'll put up with in economy.

[terrierjohn]

Thanks again Haggis but what we have in mind is to actually retrieve our cases in order to take them to the hotel to change out of the wet rags we have just flown from Tahiti in! (Tahiti's airport apparently is not air-conditioned and check-in alone takes about 3 hours). I am guessing we will be in need of a shower and a change of clothes after that on top of an 8-9 hour flight to LA and another 2 flights to get home after that. Why do we put ourselves through this torturous travelling? Because we LOVE cruising!

We may have been fortunate with the weather on our return journey because we had no problems with heat in the airport, from memory it seemed quite open around some sides and the air circulated quite well, also do bear in mind that they are late evening flights so it is generally cooler.

I still don't understand your desire to lug your main cases everywhere with you, we find that a standard size cabin bag, with wheels, carries all the clothing we need, after all you are in the tropics in Tahiti and for the rest you will generally be in a heated or air conditioned hotel or terminal building, and on the plane they do provide blankets.

[stellaB]

A big thank you to everyone who responded. We have now been overtaken by events as out TA and Princess have finally got their act together and have responded to our enquiries and requests. We have been allowed to fly BA which provides much better transfers with our domestic flights and they all go through the new terminal 5 which cuts down considerably on transfer times and enables us to check luggage through between the UK and LA. Initially they were going to charge an extra £200 for this but we have persuaded them to waive this! Some of the money we were going to spend on upgrading to enhanced economy we have decided to spend on an extra 2 nights in Tahiti and I have managed to get the same hotel much cheaper by going through Expedia instead of Princess (who said their package was sold out). The word is that subject to availability it may be possible to upgrade our flights much closer to the time at a reduced rate so we will gamble on being able to do that if we still have money to spare. Arriving at Papeete airport fresh from the hotel and the promise of a shower at LA (if time allows) will hopefully make for a more comfortable journey so all in all a good outcome finally!