Getting straight answers from p rincess

[Parrot Mom]

This is my first Princess Cruise.. and I would like to know with the transportation package they offer if the flight from Boston to Miami would be non-stop.. and visa versa.. If I want to make a change they want to charge us an extra $100.00. Their bills are very confusing (compared to Celebrity) and I seem to be nickled and dimed to death.. Making our own transportation to Manaus seems to be difficult and after I got a price on an "open jaw" ticket J may not have any choice. The price on the cruise is very reasonable, but everything else seems wacko

[spongerob]

If you choose to use Princess to book your domestic flights, there is no guarantee what your itinerary will be. You could get direct, or not-so-direct. They are consolidator tickets and if you want to book specific flights, you have to pay the deviation fee plus any difference in the cost (if any). I love Princess cruises but don't do their air.

 

The flight to Manaus is a charter, I believe, and is direct. That sound like it would be okay. I don't think you have to book all your air through Princess. Check with your travel agent if you used one for the real scoop. Hopefully someone who has been on a similar itinerary can provide more information.

[bbq]

Hi

 

I cruise half the year, about 40% on Princess and just calmly work through the details of my own flights vs. Princess. Princess has given me excellent "through flights" and horrible "around the world with long layover indirect flights". There's no way of knowing from them. The $100 fee per person is in addition to the additional ticket cost so be aware. If the dollars are significant I always go on my own air arrangements unless there's minimal service to the final destination. In the latter case Princess usually has the plane full of passengers and will wait for them to arrive in event of a delay. But regardless I always get schedules of different airlines servicing the destination so I can make my own changes at the airport should my original flights (princess or my arrangement) get cancelled. The airlines tend to drag their feet before putting you on a competitor’s flight to protect their revenue. If fact they claim no responsibility for weather delays and typically won't rescheduleor help at all. When I have difficulty with princess reservations, an odd situation or equiv., I always ask for a supervisor and eventually ask for customer relations. The latter are excellent and have all around knowledge. If they can't help you’re kind of stuck!

 

Good Luck!

[Colo Cruiser]

Flights to Manaus and places like that are the exact reason I would book air through the cruise line. :)

 

That is usually the way it goes, the price of the cruise is really good but getting there presents its own problems. :(

[paul929207]

Flying to places like Manaus can be expensive if you book on your own. Our solution is to go B2B from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus & back.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

Arrange your own flights RT to FLL. Book Princess air for the one way between FLL & Manaus. I'd plan to arrive FLL at least one day early. I've done something similar and it works well. You don't have to pay the deviation that way & you can make flight arrangements that work for you.

[Pia1913]

Flying to places like Manaus can be expensive if you book on your own. Our solution is to go B2B from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus & back.

 

Best idea and that's exactly what we're doing. :D

[Colo Cruiser]

Flying to places like Manaus can be expensive if you book on your own. Our solution is to go B2B from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus & back.

 

Good idea. :)

[BigGuy25]

I was snooping around the airline flights last night for our July Ruby Mediterranean cruise. Because it's an "open-jawed" ticket, we booked Princess air but have planned all along to keep checking prices on our own. The Princess fee was $3080 and currently I can find flights for about $2800 booking on our own. So, at the moment it's fairly close ... but booking myself allows me to pick the flights. On our Tahiti-Hawaii trip (also "open-jawed"), Princess air was over $1,000-each LESS than anything I could ever book myself. But remember, the price Princess quotes is no longer firm. It can/will change to whatever the price is when they finally book the tickets. Time was when the price quoted at booking never changed. Those days are gone.

[nschurr]

I was snooping around the airline flights last night for our July Ruby Mediterranean cruise. Because it's an "open-jawed" ticket, we booked Princess air but have planned all along to keep checking prices on our own. The Princess fee was $3080 and currently I can find flights for about $2800 booking on our own. So, at the moment it's fairly close ... but booking myself allows me to pick the flights. On our Tahiti-Hawaii trip (also "open-jawed"), Princess air was over $1,000-each LESS than anything I could ever book myself. But remember, the price Princess quotes is no longer firm. It can/will change to whatever the price is when they finally book the tickets. Time was when the price quoted at booking never changed. Those days are gone.

 

I am flying to Barcelona to start (return from Venice) my Med cruise. The cheapest I have found so far is Iberia airlines. $927 PP from Denver.

[BigGuy25]

nshurr ... we're also into Barcelona and return from Venice. Iberia doesn't serve Cleveland. The best I've found was a combination using lines like KLH, Alitalia and Continental.

[Jim Green]

If you book your flights independantly and then one of your flights is delayed and you miss the ship............It's down to you to arrange onward flights to catch up with the ship.

 

If you book your flights with Princess..........they will arrange everything.

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

I do feel sorry for you guys on the other side of the pond,

 

I see a cruise price I know it includes everything, bus links, may be over night in a hotel, charter flight out to my ship , no messing about , bus to the ship etc, if we get in to early to board ship, then a free tour, food etc.

 

yours Shogun

[Parrot Mom]

First.. all of you who are going to Barcelona...YIPEE. if you need the name of a reasonable hotel on La Rambla or a driver/guide write to me... We have flown Swiss Air, Aer Lingus and British Air.. and Aer Lingus is the best, we have been able to book our own fares for the trans-atlantics plus our hotel at a fraction of the cost. This is one time (first time going Princess) that we are thinking of using their airfare, because of trip to Manaus..but according to their reps there will/be a change or stop from Boston to Miami.. which doesn't seem for us to be ideal... so, that when they announce it our flights we can spend another $100.00 for a deviation fee. We would also like to spend an extra few hours in Ft. Lauderale where we disembark to visit a friend.. that seems to be a problem with Princess too..The big draw is the itinerary and the price.. I doubt if the price will come down for our cruise..according to people on the CC board.. the ship is not even 3/4 full

[bubbadog]

You are almost always better-off booking your own air,try leaving from different areas or airports,sometimes this helps:));)

[Pia1913]

First.. all of you who are going to Barcelona...YIPEE. if you need the name of a reasonable hotel on La Rambla or a driver/guide write to me... We have flown Swiss Air, Aer Lingus and British Air.. and Aer Lingus is the best, we have been able to book our own fares for the trans-atlantics plus our hotel at a fraction of the cost. This is one time (first time going Princess) that we are thinking of using their airfare, because of trip to Manaus..but according to their reps there will/be a change or stop from Boston to Miami.. which doesn't seem for us to be ideal... so, that when they announce it our flights we can spend another $100.00 for a deviation fee. We would also like to spend an extra few hours in Ft. Lauderale where we disembark to visit a friend.. that seems to be a problem with Princess too..The big draw is the itinerary and the price.. I doubt if the price will come down for our cruise..according to people on the CC board.. the ship is not even 3/4 full

 

The price already did come down; HUGELY! We're paying almost 2/3 less than when we first booked this cruise in March of 2007. I now consider this cruise one of the biggest bargains out there.

[Nan1052]

Missed flights or connections is why you need to purchase trip protection. THEY help you get to your ship, reimburse you for any hotel stays, food, transportation, etc. The airline is a middle-man and arranges air as a courtesy. If you're traveling any major distance, the best thing is to fly into the city where you are meeting your ship at least a day prior to better your odds of getting there in a timely manner. It also allows you to get rested up after a miserable flight and be fresh for your cruise.

[Nan1052]

This is my first Princess Cruise.. and I would like to know with the transportation package they offer if the flight from Boston to Miami would be non-stop.. and visa versa.. If I want to make a change they want to charge us an extra $100.00. Their bills are very confusing (compared to Celebrity) and I seem to be nickled and dimed to death.. Making our own transportation to Manaus seems to be difficult and after I got a price on an "open jaw" ticket J may not have any choice. The price on the cruise is very reasonable, but everything else seems wacko

Generally you aren't going to get you final flight schedule from the cruise line until about 30-days prior to departure. That's about when they issue tickets (mostly e-tickets). They will often issue a preliminary schedule. It's nice when they do so you can decide if that's something you can live with or consider paying the customization fee and additional air costs (if any) to deviate. As mentioned, cruise line air is not always the best way to go. I search on Kayak and Sidestep.