How do transfers work?

[DallasGuy75219]

7 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Did you book your cruise originally with a TA or directly with Princess?  If with a TA, that’s why you can’t do it yourself.

And to further confuse things, if you booked through Princess casino reservations they're considered a travel agent (at least for these purposes) and you have to book transfers through them, not online.

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Solved flight information problem. We have connecting flights. I entered both legs in both directions and website accepted them. Still refers to TA for transfer.

Did you book your cruise with a TA or directly with Princess? If you used a TA, you can’t do it yourself.  If you booked it yourself with Princess, then I’m at a loss as to what the problem is. 

[Tedferg]

5 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Did you book your cruise with a TA or directly with Princess? If you used a TA, you can’t do it yourself.  If you booked it yourself with Princess, then I’m at a loss as to what the problem is. 

I used a TA

[Lady Arwen]

Just now, Tedferg said:

I used a TA

And there you go…..mystery solved.  If you book your cruise with a TA you basically give up the ability to do anything yourself.  Princess, in many instances won’t even talk to you.  Sorry, this took so long to figure out!

[LibertyBella]

Well, I am definitely on a Princess cruise in Rome to Athens in July, and I never even thought about using Princess hotels for those cities, although I did use them for a Baltic cruise out of Copenhagen, and an Alaska cruise a few years ago.

 

What I remember was the convenience--they picked us up at the airport, they had a Princess rep stationed in the hotel, and she was also recommending (and selling) local tours, they transferred our luggage from the hotel directly to the ship in the early morning so we could spend part of the day touring before embarkation, and they were pretty organized with taking care of us.  

 

So why wouldn't I use them pre-or post-cruise this Summer? What I mainly recalled was that Princess chooses very clean but very modern hotels.  I had no complaints, but sometimes we really prefer a historic traditional grand hotel.  There are SO many choices in Rome that it can be a bit of a head-scratcher, but for those who like to research hotels, it is a really fun challenge.  

 

So before I book anything with Princess, I am looking at all my options. Will I end up spending less if I do it on my own?  Not necessarily, but I will certainly end up learning a lot more!

[EDDY0827]

8 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Did you book your cruise originally with a TA or directly with Princess?  If with a TA, that’s why you can’t do it yourself.  I’ve had no problem doing it at all.

TA

[Rick&Jeannie]

18 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

There are SO many choices in Rome that it can be a bit of a head-scratcher, but for those who like to research hotels, it is a really fun challenge.  

 

Not too long ago we booked (through Princess) Hotel Genova.  I would not say that it is "grand" or "historic" but it was perfectly adequate.  We're not too picky when it comes to hotels...we typically are just spending one night to board the ship next day.  There was a very nice "neighborhood-style" restaurant right across the street from the hotel.  We only had time to eat there once...but would probably have eaten there again if we'd had more time.

[nini]

On 3/19/2023 at 12:33 PM, Tedferg said:

Thanks, mine says "Princess offers convenient transportation to and from the ship – usually in the form of a motorcoach or van. This service can be arranged through your Travel Agent."

 

So I assume I have to go through TA, ditto for Hotels.

 

Correction your advice for hotels works.

 

Mine says the same thing. We have booked EZAir.

[BobAnne]

We added on a Princess hotel for our upcoming cruise. Will they reach out closer to time with details about the included transfers? We also don’t have any paperwork yet to facilitate our hotel check in. Again I’m hoping/assuming this will occur closer to time. 

 

Hoping someone in this thread may know more from experience.

 

Thank you in advance. ☺️

[Coral]

1 hour ago, BobAnne said:

We added on a Princess hotel for our upcoming cruise. Will they reach out closer to time with details about the included transfers? We also don’t have any paperwork yet to facilitate our hotel check in. Again I’m hoping/assuming this will occur closer to time. 

 

Hoping someone in this thread may know more from experience.

 

Thank you in advance. ☺️

Nope - you won't hear a thing. If it is before the cruise - someone will (eventually) be waiting for you at the airport. Make sure you have your flights in there if you are not using easy air. Both times, the person was not there immediately but did show up within 30 minutes or so. They will have a sign up with either Princess or your name. They will then take you to a car or van and transport you to your hotel. Once at the hotel, if your room is ready, you can check in. Otherwise, the hotel will tell you approx when you can check in. 

 

You will be asked to use a credit card at the hotel for incidentals. 

 

There are times  of the day when there is a Princess rep at the hotels. The Princess rep will have information about the transportation to the ship. Once the hotel gave it to me, another time, the Princess rep gave it to me.

 

I hope this helps.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Coral

[BobAnne]

49 minutes ago, Coral said:

I hope this helps.

This was most helpful. Thank you!!

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, BobAnne said:

This was most helpful. Thank you!!

Not sure what city you will be in but collect your luggage and go through Customs/Immigration and they will be where the private transfers are.