Disembarking in Copenhagen

[whw]

On May 21 I finished the Baltic cruise in Copenhagen on the Royal Princess. As usual, I purchased the transfer to the airport and was waiting in the elite lounge for my group to be called, only to hear the dreaded words that there is a problem with the coaches and that there are no taxis. The new terminal in Copenhagen is a disaster. It is serviced by a single street with one lane of traffic in each direction. By 8:30am there was complete gridlock with no buses going in or out. Needless to say, I along with many others missed our flight.

 

The great disappointment was that Princess left us completely on our own to figure out what was going on. I was able to find a new flight at a huge expense and fortunately a hotel for the night. The Platinum insurance with Princess covered just over half of the cost which I have received. After my return the Princess customer rep told me that I would be put "right" after the insurance claim was completed. Needless to say in my opinion I was not. What I was offered was half the additional cost as a credit to be applied to a future cruise. To me, I should have been reimbursed for my out of pocket expenses. Spending thousands more to receive a few hundred is not good economic sense to me. I have had to pay double for all my cruises as a single traveller. Princess new of the problem at the terminal but advised no one to my knowledge. I have always held Princess in high regard as to customer service, but I feel that I have been totally let down by them. I think the customer relations person misled me. I was told that this is just part of travelling. This was an event totally outside my control and totally within the knowledge of Princess. It is not my decision to dock at a terminal that is not capable of servicing the ship.

[alolewis]

Sorry you had a problem and agree Princess should make it right. We disembarked in Copenhagen June 3 and had no issues. We did not use the Princess transfers and had a late disembarkation (I think it was 9:30) but were delayed a few minutes as there was a line for taxis. One of the nice things about a late time was very little luggage in the terminal and easy to find ours.

 

We used the city bus and was quick and easy, the stop is right across the street from the terminal. The biggest issue on the city bus was one of the next stops was a ferry terminal and lots of people there getting one with luggage (as we did) and the area for luggage on the bus filled quickly. On embarkation day, traffic was slow and a long line but the bus went around some of the traffic. But no traffic on disembarkation day.

Edited July 28, 2014 by alolewis

[CI66774]

I, also, was on this cruise. I posted about the horrendous disembarkation on CC right after I returned. I didn't fly out until the next day but, you're right, the traffic was gridlocked for hours. However, I blame Copenhagen for the inadequate infrastructure. Additionally, a couple other large ships were docked and that contributed to the gridlock. Hope this is resolved to your satisfaction.

[Coral]

Was your air booked with Princess? I couldn't tell from your post. That may make a difference in how your claim was covered.

 

I am surprised that the Princess rep assured you everything would be covered, considering the insurance company is a different company.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Coral

[whw]

The Princess rep said that they would "put me right" after the insurance claim was dealt with. In other words I thought make up the difference. What I was offered was a credit for half the amount.

[Coral]

The Princess rep said that they would "put me right" after the insurance claim was dealt with. In other words I thought make up the difference. What I was offered was a credit for half the amount.

 

I am curious if your air was purchased through Princess. If not, you really are not covered by Princess insurance for the air portion and anything they do is "above and beyond".

 

That is why I am curious if you purchased your air through Princess. If so, they should pay for all of it. Or, more importantly, they should have rebooked you and made the arrangements.

 

If not, the fact that they are covering anything is impressive.

 

It is too bad the original airline you booked through didn't step up and just re-book you on a later flight. Did they offer to do this?

[whw]

No I did not have my air with them, but the Platinum coverage covers trip interruption and that is how they classified this. Princess did provide a letter confirming that they could not get me to the airport on time. During my conversation with the rep it became apparent that they were expecting the problem and had contacted the city authorities to assist.

 

Surely a cruise line does not dock at a port without first checking out the facilities and how the ship is to be serviced.

[Coral]

No I did not have my air with them, but the Platinum coverage covers trip interruption and that is how they classified this. Princess did provide a letter confirming that they could not get me to the airport on time. During my conversation with the rep it became apparent that they were expecting the problem and had contacted the city authorities to assist.

 

Surely a cruise line does not dock at a port without first checking out the facilities and how the ship is to be serviced.

 

Princess insurance has $1500 limitation on Trip Delay post cruise. Maybe you hit this limit. If so, I doubt there is anything that can be down.

 

I am actually surprised they covered this. I figured once you got to the port, your coverage ended.

 

For future reference, you may be better off in the future buying 3rd party insurance such as Allianz. Their coverage is usually so much more comprehensive.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Coral

[whw]

I think that even for those who had no insurance, Princess has to accept responsibility for disembarking that does not have the facility to meet the needs of the passengers, How am I or any one else able to prepare for this eventuality. That is surely the responsibility of the cruise company.

[jacketwatch]

Very sorry for your problem. I would have to ask;

What was the reason for this gridlock? Was it just normal :eek: or was there a reason like road work, accidents, etc.

 

What other choices, if any were there to dock?

 

I do agree about getting private insurance. This would have covered your loss most likely in its entirety.

[Coral]

I think that even for those who had no insurance, Princess has to accept responsibility for disembarking that does not have the facility to meet the needs of the passengers, How am I or any one else able to prepare for this eventuality. That is surely the responsibility of the cruise company.

 

Honestly, this is why we buy insurance, for those things we can not prepare for.

 

A few years ago there was a strike at one of the European ports. If I remember correctly, a RCCL ship could not dock for a day or so (this was unexpected). They only took care of those who booked air with RCCL. Everyone else was on their own.

 

I agree with Jacketwatch - if you had booked private insurance to cover your cruise and your air combined, you most likely would have been covered. I have dealt with Alllianz and they have a number to call when you are having problems and they will assist with booking flights (I dealt with it with a medical issue). Or, if you had bought Princess Air, they would have rebooked you as opposed to you booking yourself with a large airline cost.

 

I rarely go with Princess insurance as it just doesn't cover that much. The cool thing about Princess insurance is the "cancel for any reason" but I just don't ever use that. Allianz has a free business package with the policy I buy from my agent that if my boss says I can't go, I am covered. In every category, they are so much better than Princess insurance.

 

I actually think you are lucky as you did get something for your Air and you didn't have Air covered through your insurance. Expensive travel lesson but most of us have had expensive travel lessons and now are more prepared for them (thus buy insurance to cover more).

Edited July 30, 2014 by Coral

[jacketwatch]

Completely agree with above about Allianz. We were very happy with them when we had a claim for my wife's hospitalization in Bangkok. She's fine now and they were great

[Babr]

Did you book this with a credit card? In the US, credit cards often provide trip cancellation/trip interruption which is secondary to other insurance you may have.

 

It doesn't solve your problem with Princess, but it may offer some additional coverage that you hadn't thought about.

[caribill]

Allianz has a free business package with the policy I buy from my agent that if my boss says I can't go, I am covered. In every category, they are so much better than Princess insurance.

 

 

Except cost for the policies when cost is based on age and the passenger is youth challenged.

[Coral]

Except cost for the policies when cost is based on age and the passenger is youth challenged.

 

Honestly, if I was older, I would be afraid to leave the country with Princess's $20,000 medical coverage. As someone in my early 40's, I am afraid to leave the country with $20,000 medical coverage.

 

My health insurance does not pay well outside of the US. A few years ago, in the US, I spent 3 days in the hospital and my insurance paid out around $50K, of course charges were significantly more.

 

I would hate to be outside of the US, have Princess medical coverage of $20K and have something serious happen. That scares me even more than the cost of travel insurance.

 

Medicine in many places is very $$$$.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Coral

[wrtmlt]

Besides the poor ending how was the rest of your cruise? Did you do the land tour before cruise?

[smtcan]

I cannot speak for the original poster, but we disembarked from Royal Princess on 19 August in Copenhagen. We had no problem getting to the airport - we took Princess transfers, others in our party who had a 10:30am flight took a cab and the remaining group, with a late flight, used the bus. There did not appear to be any congestion that day.

 

We had a wonderful cruise. The only disappointment was Gothenburg, where we had to pay $16pp for a shuttle into town because we were not allowed to walk in the commercial port. When we reached Gothenburg, everything was closed up because it was Sunday. We only had half a day there, so we had to leave soon after the shops and cafes opened.

 

The weather was warm and mostly dry. We did a two day tour with SPB in St. Petersburg which was wonderful, and the rest of the ports we did walking tours arranged privately or explored independently. We booked our own three day stay in Copenhagen before the cruise.