Would you be concerned

[pyrogy]

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft a-gley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

Robert Burns

[California Native]

too much stress for me!

i've never, ever had an international flight leave on time

I wouldn't even fly from California to Seattle on the day of a cruise

but that's just me.

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

Nice to see some old CC mates dropping in, well can not change flights, not worried if Princess screw up I will get a free cruise or some thing,

 

so will just site back and worry , now big concern is the in flight movies with them using different airlines I might land up with the same movies on four flights I could not handle this, my little dvd player has a battery of only 4 hours so not long enough now I am realy worried Having to watch Happy Feet 4 times.

 

yours Shogun

[janetz]

Hi Folks,

 

Nice to see some old CC mates dropping in, well can not change flights, not worried if Princess screw up I will get a free cruise or some thing,

 

so will just site back and worry , now big concern is the in flight movies with them using different airlines I might land up with the same movies on four flights I could not handle this, my little dvd player has a battery of only 4 hours so not long enough now I am realy worried Having to watch Happy Feet 4 times.

 

yours Shogun

 

 

If you are flying Qantas, the NZ,AUS airline, they have about 50 choices for movies. Tons of food, FREE....and the seats go way back. Thats just economy class. Great airline. :D

[Aussie Gal]

Shogun,

 

We had three flights last year to Ireland from Oz and everyone of them left on time and we actually arrived early.

 

I am betting you will have a great trip down here with everything going to plan and that you actually make the ship.

 

If you are flying with Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qantas or Emirates you are in good hands. Just sit back and enjoy and remember you have lots of movies to watch on the planes.

 

Jennie

[PhoneGoddess]

Shogun,

 

You have such a wonderful sense of humor! I truly hope that everything works out for you, including your flights being on time and having a diverse movie selection, and more importantly, Santa finding you on time to deliver your presents, .:)

[kruisey]

Lol...Everyone panics when they get those close close connections plane to ship. I know it is not ideal, but I say relax and keep a positive attitude, and enjoy the adventure! From what I've read though, if you go thru Terminal 5 at Heathrow you may not see your luggage for several months! I hope they've gotten all that in order by now...

 

I've been through Terminal 5 twice this year transferring...This is how I handled it.While I am waiting for my second plane I go up to British Airways Customer Service Desk.....show them my baggage claim and ask if my luggage is on that second plane....They phone and its always been yes.

It makes me feel more relaxed and content.:D

[Cruisin' Chick]

This was the cruise we were considering (if we were able to do a cruise right now) and I think we would allow extra time before the cruise just in case something happened with the flights.

[Shogun]

Hi phonegoddess

 

Thanks, life to short to be sad, be happy, if others do not make you laugh then laugh at yourself if you do, others will soon join you.

 

yours Shogun

[happycruzer]

Hi Shogun...as a fellow Scot I had a panic attack just reading your travel plans. (We are on the Diamond Syd > Bangkok in 2010) but I'm sure the Princess blurb says overnight in Sydney then board ship.....We're not taking it anyway as hope to go out a week or so early.

 

But if your flights can not be changed there really isn't much sense in worrying.....I'd be concerned too re good old Santa....leave worries about flight to Princess...and get your letter off to Santa in plenty of time and just remind him of your estimated destination on the 'big day'

 

I look forward to your report/review on Aus and the Diamond and I'm sure with your great sense of humour it will make for great reading .Enjoy !!!

 

Happycruzer

[Solara]

Good luck Shogun, hope everything works out. You deserve it!

[chasetf]

My real concern would be how exhausted I would be after arriving. We did LA to Sydney (vice Auckland in your case), and with time differences, flight times, we still needed a day to recover. We arrived four days prior to give us recovery time, plus time to see Sydney.

 

Have a great trip.... we did. ;) And.... we can hardly wait to get back to Scotland. :D

[newmexicoNita]

Hi Folks,

 

We are spending Christmas on the Diamond down under, in NZ ansd AUS,

 

flight time around 30 hours three different planes, arriving 5 hours before ship sails. Yes 5 hours, these is really great planning, OK next port of call is close enough so if we miss the ship Princess will be able to get us to the Diamond, but if any one whats to start placing bets on will Shogun make or not then feel free.

 

PS, Once we finish our cruise we are spending a few days in AUS then flying back to Auckland to spend a few days that I wanted to do at the start of the cruise, why to the planning gods do this to me.

 

yours Shogun

As a TA, I hate to see clinets book air for arrival on the day of sailing even within our boarders. IF they do, I always hope they will use the air provided by the cruise line even if it is a little more. That being said, no way would I try what you are thinking of and allowing only 5 hours. I am not sure about your comments, is this what you are planning or are you booking through Princess? If you are doing it through Princess it is a little different, I still think it's crazy.

 

ok, I re-read and see it is a Princess package.

 

Nita

[DrivesLikeMario]

If there's anyway you can change your plans to arrive at least a day early, I'd change them ASAP. There are just too many things that could go wrong.

 

Either way, enjoy a fabulous, amazing journey! :)

[cruiseryyc]

Well since Princess feels that you'll make it in time, I guess we'll all just have to wait and see. Your friends at CC will be waiting with baited breath to hear how it turns out - and I'll put in an extra plug with Santa to make sure he knows where you'll be hanging your stocking.

[The Hoggys]

Hey shogun,

just to let you know we are flying cathay pacific out of lhr on 20th dec with princess air. We got our own edi-lhr flights out on the 19th dec as when we booked the cruise we were living in londonat the time.

I'm surprised princess have done this to you and as i am aware, cathay are still selling flights the same day as us...... im wondering if princess can't get you out of scotland to london on the saturday? ( i work in the airport and i know that those london flights are always full!).

I would phone and complain to them as you booked a pre and post cruise package, not 2 post package deals. maybe if they could get those cathay flights and you could always go down to lhr the night before and get a cheap hotel somewhere in the area?

I would certainly find out from princess what they are playing at......you know what the weather in bonnie scotland can be like at that time of year

:)

 

Ps- see you at the sail off, fingers crossed! :)

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

Was back at TA today,

 

again asked about moving flights etc, had Princess on phone for an hour or two, or was it three

 

well they said fuly booked, can not do etc etc etc. What about flying with no or what about .. no, fly to Aus first yes but can not get you back, what about flying to.... yes but no connection or ... thats full to..

 

So I said what about Cathy Pacific flights, do not do them with other air lines , I was told because of this and that etc,

 

Well then what about going out and back with them, was then told

 

what about ariving in Auckland a few days before you sail , then what about a stop over in Hong Kong on your way back

 

Is this not what I asked for in the first place all those weeks ago , and the price well thats gone down a little.

 

Princess can be hard work some times,

 

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi Hoggys

 

We are flying on the 17th, will keep the seat warm for you.

 

See you onboard

 

yours Shogun

[Aussie Gal]

Shogun

 

Thrilled that you could get good flights on Cathay. We are flying with them tomorrow to Vancouver and have always had good service. It will be a huge weight off your mind now and you can finally enjoy the anticipation of your wonderful cruise down here.

 

Jennie

[YoPhilly]

Wow, Shogun, if you're not worried, then you do live up to your CC name! I won't jinx you by betting against you. I've been so tempted to book that same cruise, but I kept adding vacation days to the cruise in order to allow plenty of travel time. I couldn't pull it off.

 

Good luck and have a fantastic trip!

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Hello-

We are on the Diamond - departing Auckland on February 10 - we are using FF Business Class miles - so didn't have much of a choice (!) as far as dates to travel. We currently leave LA on Feb 8 - arrive in Auckland on February 10 - Air Pacific - via Nadi, Fiji - 5 hours before the ship departs. We've decided not to worry about it - we booked Princess Transfers through our TA - neither TA or Princess seemed to be concerned with arrival time. I still call American Airlines every other day or so - trying to modify our departure date out of LA - but FF Business class seats are hard to get !!

I will be anxious to hear how your connections all go -

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE

[Shogun]

Hi there, Aussie gal

 

Never flown Cathy, understand all cabins are getting a make over , have a good flight and a great cruise.

 

 

yours Shogun

[The Hoggys]

great to hear that you have FINALLY got princess to sort your flights out. Im not sure what their big problem was since you are doing exactly what we were doing, ie flying to auckland a few days before and then flying out of sydney a few days after cruise! they booked us with cathay pacific from the beginning and our flights (as far as we are aware, are still the same). We phoned cathay pacific up to book our seats as you can't do them online. I suggest you do that to, shogun, as when we look now at the seating plan, i'm not sure if we would've got seats together or decent seats.

 

Great that you will be able to see a bit more of NZ aswell, im a bit jealous of that :)

 

Not long now!!!

[Shogun]

Hi Hoggys,

 

The problem As I understand it was Princess can only mix and match certain airlines, as such while getting back was not a problem only certain air lines where being picked for the way down. As you see we now fly in very early and now have a day in Hong Kong on way back so have added quite a few days.

 

yours Shogun

[Crown Prince]

Here is the way it works:

Once a year, Princess sits down with certain airlines, takes bids, negotiates, and signs contracts with those airlines for rates & routes for the coming year. Therefore, these rates are locked in and are usually best for international flights.

Not all airlines participate, nor all routes. That is why there is sometimes additional fare to fly on a particular flight number.

Princess can book you on any airline and any flight (if available). However, it may not be at the more desireable "Contract" rates.

See how it works??? ;)