if princess air misses cruise do i get a refund? or should i purchase insurance?

[BJS]

confused -- what is an 'air deviation'?

Air deviation (or flight choice) is where you pay Princess a fee ($75 pp for international flights & I think domestic is $50 but have never used Princess air for domestic flights) and get to choose your flights as early as 320 days before your cruise. This way you get the flights, connection times, airlines and seats you want.

 

If you select flights early enough it is possible to find them without paying a higher price for the tickets. If you wait the flights you want might be booked at the booking class Princess has and then in addition to the $75 pp you would have to pay more for the tickets. It is very easy to discuss your options with Princess flight department if you book directly with them - or your TA can- and there is no charge for this unless you want them to go ahead and book the flights.

 

If you fly in the day of the cruise - have Princess air and there are many others on your flight that are on the same ship frequently the ship does wait but there is no guarantee.

Not doing that puts a whole different spin on things......in other words if you have to fly out the day before, you might as well book your own air, presumably at a savings.

Flying in the day before there shouldn't be a problem reaching the ship so booking with Princess wouldn't accomplish anything even if the ship would wait. It is always wise to check out air fare booking your own when it is cheaper. If you want Princess hotel package and transfers you still can book your own air. As you are reading flying to a cruise on embarkation day is never a good idea because there are so many things that can happen to delay your flights.

 

 

 

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[TinaLee]

Note that they can only do this if you have a passport. Otherwise, you won't be allowed to fly out of the country.

 

This isn't true. You can fly OUT of the country without a passport, but not INTO the country without one. So far as I know, Jamaica does not require a passport for entry, so you could conceivably fly TO Jamaica but not out of Jamaica and back to the US. :)

[caribill]

This isn't true. You can fly OUT of the country without a passport, but not INTO the country without one. So far as I know, Jamaica does not require a passport for entry, so you could conceivably fly TO Jamaica but not out of Jamaica and back to the US. :)

 

 

Don't count on the airline counter personnel to know all of the fine points of this. They may not let you board without a passport.

[Coral]

This isn't true. You can fly OUT of the country without a passport, but not INTO the country without one. So far as I know, Jamaica does not require a passport for entry, so you could conceivably fly TO Jamaica but not out of Jamaica and back to the US. :)

 

Is this sort of like the guy who got stuck at the French airport for years?

[Dale]

The “myth” came true for us, but I’m pretty sure purchasing air and insurance from Princess had a big part to play in our “great adventure” in getting to the ship on our first Baltic cruise. Princess handled all the details after we were unable to leave for our cruise as scheduled. Princess representatives met us each time we arrived at an airport or hotel.

Here’s the story.

 

During takeoff from Miami the inboard engine on the right wing of our 747 exploded. We then had to fly out over the ocean for a couple of hours to dump fuel. After returning to the airport we were taken to a hotel for the night. We were given meal vouchers for breakfast and lunch the next day. When we returned to the airport for our flight to London the next day, you can imagine our surprise when we found we had been rebooked in Business Class. Upon arrival in London, we were taken to a hotel, given a room so we could shower, take a nap and wait for our next flight that would take us to Hamburg, Germany. Upon arrival in Hamburg, we were taken to a hotel to await the arrival of the ship. Again we were given meal vouchers including two extra for dinner, for friends that we were planning to visit while we were in Hamburg. After having a wonderful cruise we returned to London. Again we were pleasantly surprised to find we had again been rebooked in Business Class for our return to Miami. We also received a full refund for the time we missed on the cruise.

 

I must add this was a cruise that was taken about 10 years ago. I doubt if any of this would happen now.

[shipscat]

A few years back at March Break we were on a cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale. We had taken Princess air. We knew we were in trouble as soon as we left Toronto...the plane had to be de-iced and that took ages. We had a very short connection time and missed the plane by minutes (our bags probably would not have made it even if we had been on schedule). By this time we had realized that other people were also on the same cruise. We were all put on different flights getting into Fort Lauderdale. I know we had long cab ride to a Washington DC airport. By the time we arrived in FL the ship had left. We were put up in a hotel and the next day flew out to join the ship at Princess Cays. Fortunately we were on an early flight so were able to get some time on the beach there, others in that group did not get in until just before the ship was about the leave. While we had to make the alternative flight arrangements ourselves, we were eventually reimbursed by Princess and they did give us hotel/food vouchers. However, from that experience we now (1) always take air deviation so that we never have to face those ridiculously short connection times that Princess is known for, and (2) try to get to the place of departure the day before.

 

It will still be a tight connection even if you are on time, but at least you will have cleared US customs in Toronto and can get your bags sent straight through to San Juan. That saves time and if you are lucky there will be no terminal changes in Newark and the gates will be close to each other. Good luck!

[Pam in CA]

This isn't true. You can fly OUT of the country without a passport, but not INTO the country without one. So far as I know, Jamaica does not require a passport for entry, so you could conceivably fly TO Jamaica but not out of Jamaica and back to the US. :)

Technically you are probably correct but if you are flying out of the country, they will almost always require a passport to leave just in case you don't catch up with your ship (that is NOT guaranteed) and have to fly back or on to another country. This is one of the reasons why Princess and every other cruiseline strongly recommends that you have a passport. There have been quite a few posts by people who missed the ship and weren't allowed to fly to the next country to catch up with the ship without a passport.

[sultan_sfo]

If one buys Princess Air, then the Princess Insurance premium covers the air without any additional cost. But Princess Insurance must be purchased by full payment date.

[greatam]

That's all very interesting.....I was under the impression that if you flew with Princess (or any other cruise line) they guaranteed to get you there, or they would wait for you. Not doing that puts a whole different spin on things......in other words if you have to fly out the day before, you might as well book your own air, presumably at a savings.

M.

 

EVERY cruise line has wording in their cruise contract to the effect: "We book air, hotels, excursions, etc. as a CONVENIENCE. We are NOT responsible for third party vendors." Here's the Princess Contract of Carriage. Please check out Section 15, subsection F.

http://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp

 

And cruise air tickets are booked in CONSOLIDATOR class. They have NO value to another airline. So if something happens to your flights, you will NOT be placed on another carrier. You will have to wait for space available on the originating carrier. You definitely could miss some or all of your cruise and technically/legally, the cruise line does not have to refund anything except the airfare/hotels/excursions, NOT any of the cruise fare.

[ht_dave]

Ok, I must be missing somethere here....but if you are going to pay for air deviation to choose your own flights, what is the advantage as opposed to just booking the flight yourself?

[Coral]

Ok, I must be missing somethere here....but if you are going to pay for air deviation to choose your own flights, what is the advantage as opposed to just booking the flight yourself?

 

Ironically - there are some benefits. Imagine (outside the US) the ship is 8 hours late getting to port and everyone misses their flights. If you booked with the cruise line, they have a whole team of people who are re-assigning flights verses if you book on your own, you are fighting to use the internet to communicate with the airline to rebook your flights.

 

Secondly, a few years ago I went to book a Baltic cruise out of Copenhagen (I ended up not going). I wanted to fly home right away after the cruise. I was booking this in January for a July cruise and booking my own flights would have cost me 2x as much as the price through Princess. Plus, Princess seemed to have all the good flights leaving Copenhagen in the afternoon on the airline that is most convenient for the city I live in. If I booked on my own, I would have paid $2600, through Princess for the flights I wanted, $1300.

 

Open jaw flights are sometimes much cheaper through Princess then on your own.

 

Just some examples, some rare but they are real examples.

[Ron n Jon]

Speaking to friends we are beginning to understand that there are two conditions that apply here. One, you can have Princess book your flight itinerary to get to their ship for which they are not responsible for whatever befalls you in not making the departure. That is no different than having any agent or organization book your flight. The onus is on you to either get there or have insurance coverage to obtain a full refund should you be unable to do so.

 

But when a cruise line offers a cruise package that includes the cruise, airfare and all the ground transportation, then the conditions change. Booking this "package" certainly makes the supplier liable for any interruptions or failures that prevents you from joining the cruise. That is why we have seen passengers safely arriving and embarking well after the scheduled departure time of the ship. Also that is why we see passengers embark at ports after the initial sailing. Princess will fulfill the contract that you had purchased as a "package".

 

If anyone has information that makes these points invalid we certainly would like to hear from them.

[Coral]

Speaking to friends we are beginning to understand that there are two conditions that apply here. One, you can have Princess book your flight itinerary to get to their ship for which they are not responsible for whatever befalls you in not making the departure. That is no different than having any agent or organization book your flight. The onus is on you to either get there or have insurance coverage to obtain a full refund should you be unable to do so.

 

But when a cruise line offers a cruise package that includes the cruise, airfare and all the ground transportation, then the conditions change. Booking this "package" certainly makes the supplier liable for any interruptions or failures that prevents you from joining the cruise. That is why we have seen passengers safely arriving and embarking well after the scheduled departure time of the ship. Also that is why we see passengers embark at ports after the initial sailing. Princess will fulfill the contract that you had purchased as a "package".

 

If anyone has information that makes these points invalid we certainly would like to hear from them.

 

As stated above on an earlier post:

 

EVERY cruise line has wording in their cruise contract to the effect: "We book air, hotels, excursions, etc. as a CONVENIENCE. We are NOT responsible for third party vendors." Here's the Princess Contract of Carriage. Please check out Section 15, subsection F.

http://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp

[greatam]

 

But when a cruise line offers a cruise package that includes the cruise, airfare and all the ground transportation, then the conditions change. Booking this "package" certainly makes the supplier liable for any interruptions or failures that prevents you from joining the cruise. That is why we have seen passengers safely arriving and embarking well after the scheduled departure time of the ship. Also that is why we see passengers embark at ports after the initial sailing. Princess will fulfill the contract that you had purchased as a "package".

 

If anyone has information that makes these points invalid we certainly would like to hear from them.

 

Your assumption is incorrect. The supplier, in this case Princess, is NOT liable for anything EXCEPT when you are on the ship or in the tenders. Princess will TRY to get you to another port. They MAY be able to hold the ship for late arriving pax. But they certainly don't have to, nor do they have any liability.

 

Please read the Princess cruise contract, paying SPECIFIC attention to Paragraph 15, Subsection F. Hotels/Air/Ground transportation is booked as a CONVENIENCE. Princess goes so far as to deny liability for DISAPPOINTMENT, as well as the "normal" stuff- delay, damage, injury or death. You are not even protected at the Alaska Princess lodges. They may be owned by Princess but they are operated by "independent contractors". Read the fine print.

 

http://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp

[Toto2Kansas]

I have to agree with Coral on this one. The cruise line might be selling you a package deal at times, but it is through third party carriers. And again, the contract covers all that good stuff so it actually does not hold them liable without insurance.

 

It is like reading the fine print of an insurance contract. If you don't read it, or don't understand it, they don't care. As long as they are covered against being held liable, that is all that matters to them.

[mindy2]

When I booked my (first) cruise just this past February for xmas 08, I had hoped to use my airmiles to fly to Ft. Lauderdale. My agent had booked the cabins and also Princess Air in the event that I was unable to get the airmiles flights. Well, sure enough I was unable to book 4 flights through airmiles. I checked flight prices on my own and found at this point, they were at least $400 more pp. So, the Princess air was a better price. Also, by purchasing the Princess Air, they include the hotel room the night before - actually two hotel rooms as we have another cabin booked for my kids.

However, I want to spend an additional 3 nights in Ft. Lauderdale when we return, and they do charge $100 pp for the air deviation.

Oh.......and then I tried booking hotels using my airmiles, and what do you know, my dates were not available for just about every hotel I tried. Was able to get the Crowne Plaza Sawgrass Mills.....hope it's okay. I seriously thing the airmiles thing is just a pathetic scam. Yes, I'm kind of bitter as this happens every time I try to use the airmiles.