Al54

Thanks a lot! Sorry for the flowers : five weeks without rain in Ireland?! How unlucky you were![emoji4]

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

Totally agree, very easy to go by train to Lucca : I did it last year and had a very good day. As all the taxis at port were booked in advance, I took a bus to the station (but it was 7h30 am at the beginning of may, maybe some taxis came later). If you really want to visit Lucca by taxi, it would probably be better to book in advance, specially if you're on a big ship.

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

So sorry to hear about this. Hope all is well. I have booked the Princess excursion to Powerscourt Gardens.

Thank you, she's better now. I hope you'll have a good cruise and tell us on this thread how your Powerscourt excursion was.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks, I was booked on your cruise, and had made a lot of homework about it; but, unfortunately, I had to cancel a few days before departure because my 88 years old mother suffered from a stroke and was in hospital (happily, she's better now). I followed your cruise with the ship's webcam, (weather seemed to be nice!) but I'm very happy to participate a little, reading your review : thanks again!

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

If I recall wasn't Nice the one where the ship got damaged and you had a number of B2B2B and just got booted off while the ship went into dry dock for repair. As I remember in that case Princess did get the people to the end port for those finishing, but anyone booked on the canceled cruise had to fend for themselves during the time the ship was out of commission.

I was on a B2B (transatlantic Southampton/New York/Southampton, when the QEII was damaged in Bar Harbour. Cunard booked rooms for us in good NY hotels, offered to all passengers a complimentary return flight (some passengers refused to fly on Virgin airlines, and Cunard booked flights on British airways, with connecting flights for all the UK or continental airports needed). We were helped by a Cunard representative in Heathrow, on a Sunday morning and, of course, we received a full refund for the missed transatlantic New-York/Southampton and two (generous!) vouchers for future cruises. Yes "those were the days!"

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We were caught out in that same incident but we were on the QE2, Cunard put us all on a chartered ferry to Portsmouth then buses to Southampton all very well organised.....how times and T&C have changed !

Yes, those were the days...........

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We were to embark in LeHavre. We took a ferry from Lehavre to Portsmouth at 5 pm on the 30th. We did not receive any assistance from Princess. Had to research and make our own arrangements.

I'm shocked and so sorry for you. Hope Princess won't use their "read your passengers contract : we are responsible for nothing" argument (as some posts did on this thread : very strange how some "afficionados" are always ready to defend their beloved cruiseline.......specially when they are not personnally concerned!) and will remember that it's sometimes better to loose some money by paying compensation to the left-behind Le Havre passengers, than loosing future passengers and cruiseline-reputation!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you AI54 for your help! I am sure other Princess cruisers in 2018 would want to know this information as well. Looking forward to getting your information and review after your May cruise. My cruise will be June 30.

I come back late to this thread and hope you'll be able to read it : unfortunately, a few days before my cruise departure, my 88 years old mother had a very serious health problem and I had to cancel my cruise because she now needs a permanent help and survey : so, I won't be able to send you "first hand" British Isles cruise tips. Hope somebody else will be able to help you : have a safe and nice cruise!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm not that familiar with the UK's and EU's "package holiday" provisions

other than those folks whinge about the higher prices they pay because

of them.

 

 

But the rest of us agreed to Princess' standard Passage Contract

 

Perhaps you clicked right by that without reading?

Wow, thank you so much! What an honest cruiseline : they even write in their contracts that they are not reliable! After all, if so many people are satisfied by the "we are responsible for nothing", why should Princess care about it?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

If you had Princess Air, Princess was paying for air arrangements and you had choice of flying home from SOU or Paris, or of flying to Paris if that was part of your EZAir. They also are supposedly reimbursing all incidental costs like pre-paid train tickets, lost hotel nights, etc. but only if you had the Platinum Vacation Protection. Luckily, we had both.

 

 

 

Princess made really odd air arrangements, though, routing some people through Zurich to Paris, others via Moscow, Oslo, etc. and most not getting there till midnight or so on the 30th. We were supposed to get an early flight on the 1st to Paris, but they gave us a late afternoon instead and had us stay in our cabin for the additional night. But we were booked to Southampton with a pre-approved route sector deviation to disembark in LeHavre, so our cabin was available for us.

 

 

 

If you didn't have Princess Air or insurance, you were on your own. People were scrambling to make arrangements.

 

 

 

Princess ferried about 200 of the 300 embarking passengers over from France on the night of the 30th. Not sure why they didn't do it for those of us stuck in UK and needing to get to Paris.

What did the 100 not ferried did?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

If you have Princess Air and Platinum Vacation Protection, they do!

Passengers living in France don't take plane to go to Le Havre! The cruise was sold in France from Le Havre.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Exactly! Princess would need to get you on and off the ship at your booked embarkation/disembarkation port. If that port is missed, they would need to get you back to that port. And I also wonder how they would handle missing an embarkation port...I guess they would get you to the next port of call? It will be interesting to see if this happens this summer with the passengers embarking in Le Havre.

I would like to know too, as I was supposed to be on the next cruise from Le Havre, but needed to cancel a few days ago because of my mother's very serious health problem. Not sure I will rebook next year!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

It is one thing to jump on a problem when you are on land with an array of communication options.

 

 

 

It is another thing when you are on a cruise ship when many passengers need to jump on a problem and communication options are limited and in big demand or expensive.

Totally agree with you. And it's also another thing when you have to embark and the ship is not at the pier! I should be curious to know how people embarking in Le Havre managed this incredible problem. And I absolutely refute the argument (seen a lot on this thread) that, if you didn't take plane or hotel with Princess, they are perfectly right to ignore you : it should be right if people had missed their independently booked plane, but not if the ship missed the disembarking/embarking port. The cruise was booked with Princess, and the way you were supposed to go to port has nothing to do with the fact that the ship was not here while YOU were!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

That is interesting because they do have winter schedules. I took it two years ago in early April.

 

When did you check the schedule? On the one I use the days drop off after departure and it only displays for the next 6 months.

You're probably right, I suppose I had a look at the timetable (Le Havre-Portsmouth), after the dayly departure time, the calendar was still there (french website) but not the departure : sorry, a senior moment!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I thought the ferry would have been an option - do you mean Portsmouth instead of Plymouth? It’s about 150 miles from Southampton to Plymouth!

I had a look to the ferry timetable : the first trip of the season was may 4! But a very good idea for next cruisers : who knows!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Having recently gotten a "deviation" here is the actual process and language. You should make the request (pre cruise) from Princess which can be done directly or through a cruise agent. If Princess agrees to your deviation (early disembarkation) they will send you a completed form which is titled "REQUEST FOR DEVIATION FROM SCHEDULED CRUISE ITINERARY." And the first item on this form says the following: "Princess Cruises is not responsible for missed cruises or any expenses incurred getting to or from the next port of call if the ship does not arrive at the requested port of embarkation or disembarkation, or if the ship is delayed for any reason."

 

Enough said :).

 

Hank

Again and again it was NOT a deviation but a cruise itinerary booked from or/and to Le Havre, so nobody had to ask for any "deviation" because passengers had booked a perfectly "official" cruise itinerary, with a reference number different from the Southampton/Southampton cruise, advertised, published and sold by Princess in those terms from/to Le Havre : so, sorry, but no "deviation rule" applies, neither for this cruise nor for the next ones. Every British Isles cruise, during the 2018, season was advertised, published and sold either from Le Havre to Le Havre or from Southampton to Southampton, so Princess didn't "simply" miss a port of call, but an embarking/disembarking port, and the only "rules" that should apply should be those concerning the fact that Princess didn't assume responsibility for taking passengers to the embarking/disembarking port they have "officially" booked and paid for. I perfectly understand that the captain was obliged to change itinerary, for safety, but Princess had the duty to book any transport to bring passengers to/from Le Havre.

"Enough said" (whatever it means!)

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Totally agree with you.

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

I was booked on the may 12 british isles cruise departing from Le Havre, and NO it is NOT a "deviation" : the cruise was sold from Le Havre to Le Havre, Le Havre is an "official" embarking/disembarking port for British Isles during the whole 2018 season and, in France, Princess made a lot of publicity about it.

I was very sad because, a few days ago, I had to cancel my cruise for a very serious health problem. This cruise should have been my first with Princess, but reading this, it will be my last booking with them too : I'm horrified by the way they handled the problem. I was on the QEII when she had an accident in Bar Harbour : Cunard immediately organized everything for passengers (complimentary hotel nights, complimentary plane return to London and future cruise vouchers). What a lack of class and respect toward passengers from Princess! All my sympathy to passengers who should disembark/embark in Le Havre.

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

The Victor Hugo house is a must see. It's walkable from the pier. There is a tourist center across the street to the left of the pier. There are lots of neat gifts in there, as well as maps and information. It is on the way to the Victor Hugo house. Also there is a great outdoor fish and chips place right at the end of the pier.

Unfortunately, Victor Hugo house is closed until spring 2019.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank a lot : very good news for us!

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

Thanks a lot, 2curious : they updated their site in english (fares too) but.....not the french one (I checked yesterday, maybe it was still the winter timetable). Timetable is better, but 2 hours in Honfleur are still too short. Thanks again for sharing.

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

Hello 2curious, I don't know if you travelled yet but maybe this will help some of you. I don't know if you heard about it but there is a touristic bus company named Bee Le Havre where you can book a little bus. I know that they are going to Honfleur, maybe you can contact them to know more about it ?

 

Have a nice day and I hope that you will appreciate Le Havre, it is a beautiful city !

Unfortunately, Bee Le Havre offers just one tour, departing at the beginning of the afternoon, and staying a very short time (2 hours) in Honfleur : I really think it's a pity just to stay 2 hours in Honfleur. Fares are 15€/pp. and you have to take the shuttle bus to reach the pick up place.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Do you think it doesn't apply to France? I didn't get any e-mail from Princess, and nothing in my Captain club account.

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

Wow! Gorgeous. But seeing your picture, I think Princess excursion should be very frustrating for a photo addict like me, because the only (short!) stop is Glenariff forest café! There's nothing I hate more when I'm on an excursion, than being trapped in a bus passing such a landscape and trying to take pictures through greenish moving windows!

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums

HAL sent me a mail beginning with "We'd Hate to See You". As I never travelled with them, I cancelled the mail without reading further or opening it, because I thought it was phishing, I couldn't imagine a cruiseline sending a mail like this. Finally, a CC member explained me it was a message about EU GDPR program (The complete message was " We'd Hate to See You Go") : wonder how many people understood what it was about! [emoji4]

Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Forums