Princess air left us stranded!!!!!

[Colo Cruiser]

[quote name='Colo Cruiser']What??

What if someone can't get off from work an extra day and have to fly in the day of the cruise?
Maybe they had to PLAN it that way.

It is a lesson in buying insurance. :rolleyes:[/quote]


Still a lesson. :cool:

[Chat Noir]

[quote name='steponboard']I have over 50 cruises and have never taken out travel insurance. The premiums I've saved would easily cover a missed cruise as in this scenario.[/quote]

You are very lucky. I've only been on six cruises, and the most recent one I required on-going care from the shipboard medical team for an illness that began 2 days into a 7 day cruise. I disembarked directly to the emergency room from the ship. My bill near $2,000 and my personal insurance company refused to pay, out of country, out of network. The travel insurance I purchased was the best $40 I've ever spent.

We didn't purchase insurance for our first 4 cruises, then our son required hospitalization immediately prior to the 4th cruise. At that time, cruising was least of our worries but we still figured we'd lost a couple of thousand dollars in cruisefare and airfare. Luckily he was discharged 2 days before sailing. I knew I'd never sail without insurance again.

Funny thing is, we don't have a 'sick' family... but both incidents happened right when we had a cruise booked.

Hope you have continued good luck!

[iancal]

The funny thing about cruise air-at least NA-is that the cruise lines charge full bore for the ticket, have the nerve to sometimes give you a crap routing and a poor ticket code.....then have the nerve to charge you a service fee and ticket delta for turning into a reasonable routing with a poor ticket code. Go figure that some people seem OK with paying this so called 'deviation' fee.

[houch]

In Nov 05 as an oversite (dah) I didn't book an overnight before the cruise. We were delayed in Mpls because of storms in Atlanta. When we finally got to Atlanta our connecting flight had left. The airlines had scheduled another flight for us before we got off the plane. It was going to be close for sailaway so I called Princess and told them what was happening, with us and another couple on our flight, and gave them our new flight info. She thanked me and said not to worry as the ship would wait for us. We were walking down the hall to our cabin as they were announcing muster drill in 10 min. I know I won't forget to go out a day ahead again.

[Live4Vacay]

[quote name='Toto2Kansas']When you book Princess air, they are 'providing' you with your air tickets, it is not using 'their air', they are just the third party here booking flights for you. They do not guarantee flight times, or that a flight will not be cancelled. Just like if you booked the airfare yourself. They will assist you in catching up to the ship if a delay indeed occurs. They will not refund your cruise, air or anything you paid for without having some type of insurance. And if you decide you are going to miss the ship and will have to catch up at the next port, Princess will help with the flights. But without insurance, they will not pick up the expenses while you are waiting for your catch up flight.
Princess can not force passengers to purchase insurance, but they recommend that every passenger has some type of insurance whether it be purchased through the cruise line or independently. In fact, we received an email around final payment time directly from Princess stating the importance of insurance for ALL passengers, and explaining fully Princess responsibility in cases such as this.

In this case, the OP reports that Princess would fly them to Bermuda but they would have to stay in NYC for two days until the flight. Princess was attempting to assist them in catching up with the ship, but they decided not to go. They will now be considered a 'no show' and will not be reimbursed for any of the costs of this trip. Insurance would have covered it all, but it sounds like they decided they didn't need it.

It's a very expensive lesson learned. But the OP doesn't have a leg to stand on in this case I am afraid. Princess had nothing to do with the cancelled flight, or that the OP decided not to continue on to join the ship, as Princess suggested.

Yes, I agree, it's very sad. But IMHO, the OP needs to look in the mirror for partial blame on this one, and then look to the airlines for the rest. Princess did what they could to assist, and they won't do anything else. :( I would guess there will be absolutely no type of refund for this type of complaint, sorry to say.

Please don't misunderstand, I do have a heart. But Princess can not charge insurance to passengers and then reimburse those that didn't purchase insurance out of the kindness of their heart, it just doesn't work that way.[/quote]


While technically correct you continue to support Princess's sometimes callous policies without waver. Show a little compassion - geez! Not everybody is a travel pro and maybe, just maybe, Princess could do a better job at the SERVICE aspect of their business. Afterall, they are in the SERVICE business. My advice to Princess is to get out of booking flights alltogether. Then they would not be looked at as the devil when stuff like this happens. When booking directly with the cruise line, people feel like they have the line's assurance they will not "miss the boat!" [Yes, the air is not direct so let's not play symantics.] Isn't that, at least in part, the reason why people pay more for tours direct with the cruise line, to feel assured they won't get left behind if something were to happen?

[awhcruiser]

Huh???

 

 

 

While technically correct you continue to support Princess's sometimes callous policies without waver. Show a little compassion - geez! Not everybody is a travel pro and maybe, just maybe, Princess could do a better job at the SERVICE aspect of their business. Afterall, they are in the SERVICE business. My advice to Princess is to get out of booking flights alltogether. Then they would not be looked at as the devil when stuff like this happens. When booking directly with the cruise line, people feel like they have the line's assurance they will not "miss the boat!" [Yes, the air is not direct so let's not play symantics.] Isn't that, at least in part, the reason why people pay more for tours direct with the cruise line, to feel assured they won't get left behind if something were to happen?

[MarinaDCA]

I didn't book Princess Air simply because of price.

 

They wanted $400 per person to book our flights... so $800 total. I booked our flights on Friday at a total cost (inclusive of all taxes and fees) for $472...non-stop arriving the night before. For $328 extra, I didn't know why I would want to give up being able to book my own choice of flights and have control over when I would come in.

[Live4Vacay]

Huh???

 

What don't you understand?

[Toto2Kansas]

While technically correct you continue to support Princess's sometimes callous policies without waver. Show a little compassion - geez! Not everybody is a travel pro and maybe, just maybe, Princess could do a better job at the SERVICE aspect of their business. Afterall, they are in the SERVICE business. My advice to Princess is to get out of booking flights alltogether. Then they would not be looked at as the devil when stuff like this happens. When booking directly with the cruise line, people feel like they have the line's assurance they will not "miss the boat!" [Yes, the air is not direct so let's not play symantics.] Isn't that, at least in part, the reason why people pay more for tours direct with the cruise line, to feel assured they won't get left behind if something were to happen?

 

I agree with the previous poster............................. HUH?

 

You're comparing Princess tours in port to Princess booking flights?

 

Your bolded statement above says it all. 'People feel like they have the line's assurance they will not "miss the boat?". There is no place on Princess that says that booking air through Princess guarantees they won't miss the SHIP. Many passengers allow Princess to book their air for convenience, but in no way does Princess guarantee anything in writing or verbally, and there is no way for Princess to sway the way passengers interput any part of the contract.

And I must add, Princess air is not always more expensive then you can find yourself. (our next cruise to Tahiti is case in point, which is much less expensive then what was offered to the public).

Also, Princess flight choice if fully explained if you prefer different flights to what they have chosen for you. Passengers make the decision if they want different routing than Princess has booked for them, they do have that choice.

 

Because some feel this is a true statement (a guarantee to make it to the ship on time) does not make it so. The passenger not being informed to how Princess books flights does not make it Princess fault if an airline cancels or delays a flight and they miss the ship. :rolleyes:

[iancal]

We do our own air, insurance, hotel, and tranfers. The savings more than pays for our 2-3 day pre cruise stay. We end up with better flights, better hotels, better insurance, and faster transfers.

[corkpopr]

never have a cruise line book your air! we always travel at least the day before so we are totally unwound before we start the cruise!

[Shogun]

Hi All,

 

flights are about the only thing we get a better deal with Princess on this side of the pond than you do.

 

We buy a complete package, price of cruise includes flights, any transfers, any over night in hotel etc, which means we are Princess's problem from the minute we check in, they have to get us to the ship.

 

 

yours Shogun

[DocM4]

We booked the whole trip through Princess last year for our Panama Cruise -flight,hotel package, transfers. We flew into L.A. the day before were swiftly transferred to the Mariott hotel -spent a restful afternoon and evening and were on our way at 1 a.m. to the ship. No problem with backage - easy breazy - thats the way to go as far as I'm concerned - and, we always buy insurance.

[Colo Cruiser]

We booked the whole trip through Princess last year for our Panama Cruise -flight,hotel package, transfers. We flew into L.A. the day before were swiftly transferred to the Mariott hotel -spent a restful afternoon and evening and were on our way at 1 a.m. to the ship. No problem with backage - easy breazy - thats the way to go as far as I'm concerned - and, we always buy insurance.

 

 

1 AM? :eek:

[Joy R]

Hi All,

 

flights are about the only thing we get a better deal with Princess on this side of the pond than you do.

 

We buy a complete package, price of cruise includes flights, any transfers, any over night in hotel etc, which means we are Princess's problem from the minute we check in, they have to get us to the ship.

 

 

yours Shogun

 

I agree. Even so, it's sometimes cheaper to book through Princess US (via an American travel agency) and arrange your own flights and hotels, transfers, etc. plus you get all the benefits from an American travel agent, such as passing on price reductions. And you have a choice of hotels. and don't have to use the one Princess arranges. But when it's complicated, such as flying to one place and coming home via another, or involves stopovers, it's better to buy the package from Princess UK. When we do that Princess always build in the delay factors, etc. by giving you hospitality, either day or overnight, and everything is included.

[Pam in CA]

I dealt with a very good TA for a number of years. When we first started cruising she strongly advised against cruise air if was simply return fare to the same destination, and any form or travel agent sold or cruise line insurance (she favored insurance but advised us that we could get a much more comprehensive and less expensive policy directly from an insurer). When I asked her about cruise air she laughed and told me that in her opinion the cruise line air tickets were usually the bottom of the barrel when it came to changes or interline. She also told it us that it was a myth about the cruise lines moving heaven and earth to get someone to a missed departure-they follow standard airline policy and are OFTEN hampered because of the class of ticket that they normally purchase (consolidator). Not certain if this is true or not but to this day we always do our own air, transfers, and insurance.

IMHO, your TA did you a disservice by failing to explain exactly what cruise air is (they book through air consolidators) and rather than make fun of it, they should have explained it. I wouldn't touch a TA who did what yours did with a 10-foot pole because while there are sometimes problems (as there are even when booking your own air), most of the time it works well and you get a better fare. For those who say, "Never book cruise air," remember the saying, "Never say never" because there are times when it not only makes sense but can also save you a substantial amount of money. As stated previously, I've used Princess air quite a few times and never had bad flights nor any problems other than the one time due to weather. And, people I know who have cruised with me have had similar experiences. They just don't post their good experiences on CC.

 

Plan. Plan intelligently. That is the key. The cruise line, nor your travel agent, can control the weather, air traffic, or overbooking of flights. Take some responsibility for yourself and stop blaming everyone else.

Even when you plan diligently and intelligently, "stuff" happens. The only time I've missed the ship was when I was flying into San Juan the day before the cruise and the entire Eastern seaboard was shut down for 24 hours, from Maine to Atlanta, due to an ice storm. All those flights from a lot of airports had to be re-booked the next day on the few seats still available. There's no way to anticipate this. Boston was supposed to get rain, not ice or snow. Also, some people are unable to fly in the day before; it's just not possible for them. It's easy to say "woulda, coulda, shoulda" when it's not you.

[sultan_sfo]

The anti-cruiselineair are in full force! But very few of them have posted their own specific experience. It is all what someone (TA or Father-In-Law's brother's daughter's boyfriend?) has told them or what they read on the virulent anti-cruiselineair posts in the other forum! Most self-booked international one-way or open jaw are also consolidator fares and that is why they are cheap. Those consolidator fares have the same problems as cruiseline air. Cheap domestic fares are alsio very very restricted.

[Colo Cruiser]

The anti-cruiselineair are in full force! But very few of them have posted their own specific experience. It is all what someone (TA or Father-In-Law's brother's daughter's boyfriend?) has told them or what they read on the virulent anti-cruiselineair posts in the other forum!

 

 

Same holds true for bad onboard experiences too. ;)

[PescadoAmarillo]

never have a cruise line book your air! we always travel at least the day before so we are totally unwound before we start the cruise!

Sorry, but this statement is misleading. Cruise line air can be a great deal, particularly for international open jaw flights. And some cruise lines loyalty programs offer free air customization, and that makes it particularly worth comparing to open market pricing.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry, but this statement is misleading. Cruise line air can be a great deal, particularly for international open jaw flights.

 

 

Yes they can. ;)

[georoc01]

And as I posted earlier, they put me in First Class on a holiday flight to the cruisewhich certainly put me in a stronger situation when dealing with the airline, not a weaker one.

 

The return was in coach and not as good, but at that point it really didn't matter. I got home when I did.

[Times Prince]

I didn't book Princess Air simply because of price.

 

They wanted $400 per person to book our flights... so $800 total. I booked our flights on Friday at a total cost (inclusive of all taxes and fees) for $472...non-stop arriving the night before. For $328 extra, I didn't know why I would want to give up being able to book my own choice of flights and have control over when I would come in.

Be thankful that living in Washington D.C. you are near to a major airline hub with great service. This is certainly not true for many of us.

 

For domestic flights one can typically find cheaper fares, however we have encountered situations where there are no available independently booked flights, whereas Princess was able to accomodate us with flights, as they apparently reserve some blocks of seats coming into FLL.

 

Same for international flights - our cruises with "open jaw" flights to/from have all been less expensive when booked through Princess, and our flight to/from Rome (starting in the middle of Texas) could only be booked via Pincess as the flights were full otherwise.

 

As with any travel purchase, the savvy shopper willing to spend time to research alternatives can probably get something cheaper. It is more of a question of what one is willing to pay for convenience. We like the idea of our flights being included under our Princess Travel Care Platinum trip insurance, especially when weather may be a major factor.

 

I am happy for you being able to find a deal that satisfied you.

 

Princess airline scheduling and flights have satisfied us a great many times.

[kooljamming]

Is it me or what? I don't get how people can have one "bad" experience and come on the boards and tell us "don't ever do.........." and advise the daylights out of us. One bad experience does not warrant a warning. Several (of the same kind) is but not one.

 

I would say YES! These threads act as a reminder to the less experienced, sophisticated, knowledgeable, travelers what can so wrong before we get on deck. It only takes one bad experience for some to be tainted for ever. It has never taken several of the same kind of disaster before I decide enough is enough. In the end we can use the information to make decisions that will work best for us. If no one shared, good or bad, then there would be no point to a travel board.

 

"Fool/Screw me ONCE, shame on you. Fool/Screw me TWICE shame on ME";)

[Megsdad]

From my point of view it must be a difference in culture;)

[MarinaDCA]

Be thankful that living in Washington D.C. you are near to a major airline hub with great service. This is certainly not true for many of us.

 

For domestic flights one can typically find cheaper fares, however we have encountered situations where there are no available independently booked flights, whereas Princess was able to accomodate us with flights, as they apparently reserve some blocks of seats coming into FLL.

 

Same for international flights - our cruises with "open jaw" flights to/from have all been less expensive when booked through Princess, and our flight to/from Rome (starting in the middle of Texas) could only be booked via Pincess as the flights were full otherwise.

 

As with any travel purchase, the savvy shopper willing to spend time to research alternatives can probably get something cheaper. It is more of a question of what one is willing to pay for convenience. We like the idea of our flights being included under our Princess Travel Care Platinum trip insurance, especially when weather may be a major factor.

 

I am happy for you being able to find a deal that satisfied you.

 

Princess airline scheduling and flights have satisfied us a great many times.

 

 

Oh we are lucky in this area, with 2 international and 1 national airport within quick driving difference :)

 

I bet the price difference would be bridged on longer flights (we are going only to ft. lauderdale), especially internationally. I don't mean to suggest Princess Air will also more expensive, only that how it turned out for us.

 

:)