Air/cruise with Princess

[Inches]

HI All....just an FYI. We booked our air/cruise with Princess last year. Thought we would try it, but never again. When we finally got our flights (after we paid our final payment) the times were crazy so in order to change flights each of us had to pay another $75.00. Then when we left Detroit via United Airlines we were charged for any luggage over 1 bag. Princess did not inform us of this charge as all our literature from them stated we were each allowed 2 pieces of luggage. Our TA and us sent a letter asking for re-imbursment for the extra costs and basically it was "sorry about your luck". This has left us with a very bad taste for Princess. We loved our cruise to Alaska but their public relations need to be improved. I will never never have them book flights for us again, I would stay the night before so I wouldn't worry about missing the ship. Just our opinion...just be aware.

[paul929207]

Unfortunately, Princess does not give you your air arrangements until final payment is made and it is too late to book your own flights. They will always pick the lowest fares flights, not necessarily those that are best for you.

[cruiseryyc]

Sorry you had a bad experience but if you had done some homework prior booking you would have known all of this. Most people on Cruise Critic would NOT book their flights through Princess (there are always threads on this subject). Also the extra baggage charge is something nearly all US carriers announced in the spring, nothing Princess could do about it. This information was all over the news media, so again, keep yourself informed.

[Colo Cruiser]

Using air with Princess is a crap shoot for flights and convience.

It is always best to book your own. ;)

[chrysalis]

The $75 you were charged is their standard "Deviation Fee"...and can be well worth it if you want to pick your own flights or routing.

 

One area that Princess flights can be very cost effective, is if you are not flying a round trip, but need open-jaw tickets. As an example, if you are taking a trans-atlantic cruise, and need to fly to Rome and then return from Lauderdale.....or a cruise between Cape Town and Singapore and required flights to and from those cities. Oftern, in those cases, their fares can be very competitive, and the $75 can be worth it if you want a particular airline, routing or wish to fly earlier.

[dimidgi]

Princess booked our flights for our cruise in the Baltics we took in July. We missed the flight to Copenhagen and lost 2 days of the cruise. We didn't purchase trip insurance, but as it was explained to us, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Princess claims no responsibility. We met a family from Knoxville, in Chicago O'Hare, who was on the same cruise and missed the Copenhagen flight, too. I wonder how often this happens?? It has left a lasting impression on us, we question whether we will book Princess again, we have a HAL cruise scheduled in the Fall and we booked our own flights. Live and learn, I guess.

[gertz]

We booked Princess air once, long time ago. would only do it again as last resort.

Love the cruises tho.:)

GERTZ

Princess Elite

Next Tahitian 9/18 Vancouver to Honolulu

Coral 4/12 FLL to LA

Island 8/17 Back to Alaska 4th time w/grandson:D

[mindy2]

We booked our cruise several months ago and went with Princess Air. I am able to cancel the air portion up until final payment. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with some less desireable flights, but the princess air is at least half of what it would cost to book our own flights. With four of us, that adds up to quite a lot.

 

I have been continually checking for seat sale fares but I'm pretty sure that xmas is unlikely to go on sale much, if at all. I also know that we will surely be paying the extra baggage fees.......I've done all the homework. Although I'm looking very forward to this cruise, in the future for any travelling I will certainly consider the west coast as the flights are easier to book with far less connections, etc.

 

It is important to do all the homework and investigating of options well before you travel.

 

M

[Toto2Kansas]

HI All....just an FYI. We booked our air/cruise with Princess last year. Thought we would try it, but never again. When we finally got our flights (after we paid our final payment) the times were crazy so in order to change flights each of us had to pay another $75.00. Then when we left Detroit via United Airlines we were charged for any luggage over 1 bag. Princess did not inform us of this charge as all our literature from them stated we were each allowed 2 pieces of luggage. Our TA and us sent a letter asking for re-imbursment for the extra costs and basically it was "sorry about your luck". This has left us with a very bad taste for Princess. We loved our cruise to Alaska but their public relations need to be improved. I will never never have them book flights for us again, I would stay the night before so I wouldn't worry about missing the ship. Just our opinion...just be aware.

Sorry you had such a terrible time on your flights.

One thing this teaches you is to pay the deviation fee which gives you more control over the airline and the flights you end up on. Without paying the fee, you are literally at the mercy of whatever flights they assign you.

Remember, Princess isn't assuring you that you will make it to the ship on time, they are only the middle man selling the flights. So, always plan to arrive a day prior to your cruise departure, especially in this age with cancelled and delayed flights more so the norm then those that go as scheduled.

Once the price is compared that Princess gives you, plus the deviation fee, most times you can book the flights that you would like to be on for about the same cost.

[Pia1913]

Princess booked our flights for our cruise in the Baltics we took in July. We missed the flight to Copenhagen and lost 2 days of the cruise. We didn't purchase trip insurance, but as it was explained to us, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Princess claims no responsibility. We met a family from Knoxville, in Chicago O'Hare, who was on the same cruise and missed the Copenhagen flight, too. I wonder how often this happens?? It has left a lasting impression on us, we question whether we will book Princess again, we have a HAL cruise scheduled in the Fall and we booked our own flights. Live and learn, I guess.

 

Since I'm on a Copenhagen flight next week out of Atlanta, your missing it is of great interest to me. We booked our own air on Delta, but what happened that you missed your flight? Where was the delay and how major was it?

 

Pia

[Pam in CA]

I'm sorry that your flights weren't what you wanted but Princess has no control over airlines changing their policy and charging for bags. That's been all over the news so I'm surprised you weren't aware of that.

 

For dimigi, I'm sorry too that you had flight problems. If you'd bought insurance, you would have been re-inbursed for your expenses. I have no idea where you got the idea that it wouldn't have made any difference. Not getting insurance, particularly if you're flying to the embarkation port the same day, is really taking a gamble. Unfortunately, you lost. :(

 

Sometimes I use cruiseline air, sometimes I don't. It all depends on the itinerary and my own research. I add the air when I initially book but then do my research and if I can find a better rate, I cancel that and book my own. I've used cruise air many times and never had a problem or a weird connection and almost always, it was less than I would have paid buying air on my own. The important thing is to do your research.

[chasetf]

The only time we would ever book Princess air is when there are very little options or the savings are very significant. The only time I can remember going with them was our Tahiti cruise. All others we do on our own, get a great price and can pick our departure times / cities and legs. For instance, going cross country, I would never pick a route through Denver in the winter.

[Inches]

We had indeed purchased insurance but that didn't seem to matter, plus we were in touch with Princess prior to the trip (yes we do read papers and watch the news) and were aware of the baggage issues but Princess kept saying and sending info stating 2 bags pp.

I agree we should have done more investigating regarding this issue but our TA didn't explain to us that we could pay the $75.00 and have more choices that were better suited to our travel times. If this thread can reduce stress regarding this issue then I'm pleased.

[dimidgi]

Our flight was delayed because of weather, a plane that had to be re-routed to Dayton to get us, and a runway problem at O'Hare. It's true, we didn't research our options well enough, and the one thing we would have done that probably would have made a difference was to fly a day earlier, and stay in a hotel in Copenhagen. Also, we learned to book our own flights, and not let the cruise line do it. It helps if you have a direct flight. We flew out of Dayton, a small airport and had a connecting flight at O'Hare. This is the first time a missed flight has caused us to miss boarding a cruise ship. We have done 15 cruises, five of them in Europe. We enjoy cruising and have learned from this experience. I guess you're never too old to learn. :)

[Pia1913]

Our flight was delayed because of weather, a plane that had to be re-routed to Dayton to get us, and a runway problem at O'Hare. It's true, we didn't research our options well enough, and the one thing we would have done that probably would have made a difference was to fly a day earlier, and stay in a hotel in Copenhagen. Also, we learned to book our own flights, and not let the cruise line do it. It helps if you have a direct flight. We flew out of Dayton, a small airport and had a connecting flight at O'Hare. This is the first time a missed flight has caused us to miss boarding a cruise ship. We have done 15 cruises, five of them in Europe. We enjoy cruising and have learned from this experience. I guess you're never too old to learn. :)

 

Thanks for the response. We're flying into Copenhagen 2 days early, so we do have some flexibility. Even though we're a week away from departure, all this potential hurricane talk still makes me nervous.

 

Good luck with your future reservations. Only once did we use a cruise line for air; couldn't find anything as low as their price to Beijing. However, we did pay the deviation upcharge and chose our own flights.

 

Pia