FSU Girl

1 hour ago, john watson said:

The Princess transfer back to the airports are pretty good I think.  They have a large number of coaches leaving with top priority.  As I said previously they do London Gatwick, London Heathrow, split into flight times and also different terminals at Heathrow.  Usually Transatlantic British Airways is Terminal 5 and often US carriers Terminal 4.  Everyone knows their flight arrangements and terminal you just got to get the appropriate coach. The alternative is self-disembarkation carrying your own luggage, but then you must have a pre-booked private taxi of some sort booked. A random taxi off the rank to London is going to be ridiculously expensive.

 

Regards John

For checking into the flight does princess help with that or we just use the internet on the ship? I think if the airline doesn’t move our flight time around the ship transfer would work well

1 minute ago, john watson said:

 

They took our passports for a Japan/China cruise and gave us photocopies for some ports.  We did a Southampton and France cruise recently and I am sure they took them for that cruise.  It is not a big deal you get them back penultimate day.  They put a sticker on the back cover with your name and cabin number on.  Steward delivers them in person to you at your cabin, they are always handed back to you personally in my experience. It is a distinct possibility and nothing to worry about. I think it is dependent on the itinerary and how the different countries set their regulations.

 

Regards John

ok, at least it sounds organized. It makes me nervous to have such an important document out of my position, but I wouldn't really have much of a choice so I'll try not to stress lol. 

4 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

If you arrive from the USA (and it is never stated that you do, but likely)  you will go through Customs and Immigration at the airport as you arrive.  If you embark at Southampton and do a round trip cruise Princess will likely retain your passport for the duration until nearly last day.  Some British Isles cruises also have people starting their cruises in Le Havre or Dublin and starting their cruise in the middle of your cruise on the same ship.  Everyone had their passports taken last similar Princess Cruise we did.  I think this is so the authorities can look into peoples identities more closely prior to arriving at the next country.  If you need passport in a port the cruise line tells you and returns them but often they suggested we take Government Issued Photo ID e.g. a driving licence where a passport ashore was not a requirement.  If authorities ashore need to identify you it's cruise card plus this photo ID.  Prior to reaching Southampton the Princess Patter will arrive with a form for you to outline your disembarkation arrangements request.  You just got to fill in when you want to disembark, usually there are boxes to tick for each airport e.g. London Gatwick LGW or London Heathrow LHR with subdivisions of say noon to 2pm flights or 2pm or later flights.  Princess also do airport transfers and generally offer these on board too.  Some of these transfers include sightseeing tours e.g. Windor, Stonehenge etc. for people with late evening flights.  As you disembark at Southampton the luggage hall is very efficient and getting through customs and immigration there, usually nobody is visible and you all walk through.

 

Whether the United Kingdom is in or out of the EU will not affect US citizens as they will always be non-EU citizens as will the majority of nationals from all other parts of the world.

 

Regards John 

Princess takes the passports? I've done two cruises in Europe and have never had that happen before I always put it in my safe. Is this a new procedure? 

33 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

No, the 2:30pm one should be just fine.  I've made a 12:15 and 12:45 flight out of LHR using cruise ship transfers from SoTon.  That was pre-Brexit but I still think you'll be just fine.  Traffic was supposedly "horrible" according to the bus driver (had to laugh at that - he has not seen CA traffic) and I still made it in under 90 mins.  At least in the past, once the ship docs, you are off VERY quickly.

Thanks! That's good to know, especially since some plans like to move up there times a bit. 

30 minutes ago, CCFC said:

As The UK and Ireland are not in the Schengen zone it would make sense for them to drop Le Havre and go straight to Southampton from Edinburgh if there are any issues with customs with the French. 

 

I did the British Isles cruise in June and didn't have to go through customs. Its up to the French if they want to be fussy but it would be their loss if they made a passport inspection necessary.

We are getting off in Southampton so we wouldn't have to go through customs to go on our excursion in France would we?

4 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

Wait we were talking about disembarking in Southampton, not Le Havre...?  There will be passengers disembarking in Le Havre also though. 

Sorry if that wasn't clear, yes we are getting off in Southampton, one day after stopping in Le Havre. 

2 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

Did you do a google search for Heathrow check in times?

Usually it's three hours for international, but 2 1/2 is only just under that. And that's with a worse case scenario of having a crazy long time to get off the ship. I'm trying to decide if its worth the stress of having the earlier flight and worrying about delays or having the stress of having the last flight out and issues with that lol. I guess pick the lesser of two evils, just not sure which one that is. 

14 minutes ago, cabin4three said:

Nobody knows what the new arrangements will be post-brexit, there is a lot of speculation here in the UK about "worst case scenarios"  I would err on the side of caution and allow plenty of time to disembark.  

If the ship docks at 5am and clears for debarking at 7am and it takes three hours (ugh) for customs we would leave at 10am and get to the airport at 12pm. Is 2 1/2 hours not enough time for an international flight? I'm just worried about taking the last plane out and something happens and we have no way of getting home. 

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

The minutes will be in your name. Create the account and then let your Fiance log in with your credentials. There is no way to know who is using the minutes. You can't both be logged in at the same time but the minutes are available on multiple devices using the account login credentials. Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks!

Can the internet minutes go on a phone of a person not platinum, but in the platinum room? I'm platinum and my Fiance has never sailed before, but he would actually use the internet minutes and I wouldn't. 

24 minutes ago, rockdoctor said:

I don’t remember any Customs when we took the trip but with Brexit, I wouldn’t take the chance. 

Could customs with Brexit really be that bad? If we did express walk off first thing in the morning I can't see it taking longer than an hour? I'd like to not book the last flight out, but I guess if it could potentially take a long time to get off the boat we should

12 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

I wish we had a direct flight.....we did for the past 23 years in Miami.  Now we have to go to Charlotte NC to get flights to Hilton Head Island from anywhere.  12p from Heathrow will be cutting it close, regardless.  (my DH is the FSUGuy)

Good man lol. Maybe consider doing a private car transfer instead of ship. Then you can do the express walk off first thing when the ship is cleared. I think it takes 2 hours to get to Heathrow? So if the ship clears at 7am you'd get there by 9am. 

8 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

FSUGirl, also you might want to know that if you do the ship transfer you have to put your luggage out in the hallway the night before.  Then you either reclaim it in the port and take it to the bus yourself or they will have it already on the busses for you.  I've read SH reviews with both scenarios.  Otherwise if you do a private transfer (like Smith's for Airports) you would keep your luggage with you and carry it off yourself in the morning.  They would meet you at whatever time you specify.  

A private transfer might be better. That way I know they will be there early. I like the idea of keeping our luggage with us and doing the express walk off in the morning. 

19 minutes ago, Diver2014 said:

British Air has changed our flight from 2:00p to 12 noon now.  They say allow 2.5 hours from Southampton so if we 'walk off' I'm sure we'll make it in time to Heathrow- we're using the Princess transfer.  But, if everything goes haywire, there are later flights - our connecting flight in the US doesn't depart until 10:30pm eastern time. You just have to roll with the punches when you travel and always have a plan B.  All part of the 'journey'.

I am worried about them doing that, but if the ship arrives at 5am 12pm would still be doable I think. We will be doing a direct flight.

36 minutes ago, capriccio said:

You should put your independent flight information in your Cruise Personalizer under Travel Arrangements.  You can also put in a transfer request on the same page.

Thanks!! So if my flight leaves at 2:30 would they leave the ship to get people there 3 hours before the flight or do they just leave as early as they can to get you to the airport? Also do they provide any info on the last night of where to go and what to do to find the transfer?

1 minute ago, Coral said:

Last year (and am planning on this year) using ship's transfer. They have it broken down per terminal. So everyone on my bus was going to the same area. 

 

I am using Princess's air and it let me book the 2:05 flight.

So if we book air outside of Princess is there somewhere to tell them what flight we are doing? Right now I have no transfer selected, but could change to using the ship transfer. If I click that does it ask for that info? 

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I have a June cruised booked and my flight is at 2:05. 

 

I had plenty of time last year at the airport. They got us off the ship at 7.

Did you use the ship transfer or a private transfer to get to the airport? 

2 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

We are doing that cruise in June and aren't flying home until the day after disembarkation, just in case of any delays or issues. If you have to fly home that day, I would go with the latest flight possible.  I had forgotten about the whole Brexit thing and the timing of that.  We could end up with customs when disembarking at SH.  

If the boat arrives at 5am. How long would customs take do you think? I think in the US if it's really busy it can take an hour. If you do a cruise transfer so they have you get off in a different line than the rest of the people going through customs? I've never done a cruise transfer so I'm not sure if that would help or hurt us getting to the airport on time. I would rather stay another day, but my Fiance's daughter has a dance recital the following day that we cannot miss. 

Googled it and it looks like they will be leaving in March. Since they are visiting Ireland and France then I'm guessing they will have to go through customs. Would I be safer taking the 4:30 flight or will 2:30 still be okay? I just don't like that it's the last flight out so if there is any issues we could get stuck and we have to get home in time for an event the following day. 

The cruise leaves on May 13. England is leaving the EU? There is a 4:30 flight, should we do that one instead? 

Since the British Isles cruise goes to France do you have to go through customs when it docks in Southampton? Would a 2:30pm flight be safe to make?

39 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

The official website is www.coopculture.it.   We used this one. 

Thank you! 

I saw a lot of websites pop up when looking to book a tour of the Colosseum. I was wondering which one is a reputable website to book through. I'd like to do the tour that goes underground. 

16 hours ago, rtkenmore said:

 

You can usually save a bit if you book in advance but you can also wait till you're on board and do a free tour usually just to see everything that is offered as well.

That's good to know! Thanks! 

1 minute ago, rtkenmore said:

 

I would think just call your TA or PCC and let them know to mark the reservation as a honeymoon trip.  Also, make your fiancé/husband buy you a Thermal Suite pass for the short trip.  The Epic has the BEST Thermal Suite in the company in my opinion.  I love laying out on the lounger's or day beds on the back of the ship in the thermal suite.  

Thanks! And I'll pass the Thermal Suite idea along 🙂

One other question. Is there anywhere online I can mark that this is a honeymoon? Or do I need to call to have that noted on the reservation? I can't find it online so I'm thinking I'll have to call?

31 minutes ago, ColinIllinois said:

The lunch and dinner menus are different.  Just do a quick Google search and you'll find plenty of menu examples.

10 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

Typically the lunch and dinner menus are always different in the restaurants..  If you do a google search, be sure you try and location Mediterranean menus and not menus for their Carribean season.  Sometimes they do differ between locations.

Thanks I'll do that! So we'll probably only do two Specialty restaurants for dinner so we can try the Haven out. Now we have to decide on which two lol.