transfer questions

[sloth]

We have one Princess cruise under our belt and are HOOKED! Have booked another one for next January on the Grand. I have questions about transfer from the pre-cruise hotel to the ship, as all our arrangements last time were taken care of for us, and I have no idea how they went about it.

We met in the hotel lobby (Marriott North-FLL) with a large group of other Princess ( I assume) cruisers, filled out our norovirus document, deposited our luggage on the sidewalk,and waited for a charter bus to take us to the port. Arriving at the port, we got in a relatively short line, went thru security, and got in line to check in for boarding. This all went very smoothly. Can transfers like this be arranged by our TA?

 

My husband swears there was a huge line of people waiting to board, with all their luggage in tow, while we breezed thru the process in a separate line. He assumes these were people who took either a cab or a hotel shuttle to the port. Is he right?

 

Can our TA arrange a transfer for us like we had last time?

 

Thanks for helping a newbie!

Cindy

[cb at sea]

Call your TA and ask! The "transfers" are usually booked thru the cruiseline---if you used a TA, they'll have to do it for you.

We've always found a taxi to be the fastest and easiest way, and we weren't checking in at the same time a whole busload of folks were!

[NthernLgts]

Yes the transfers can usually be arranged by your TA. Some hotels will run a shuttle to the cruise terminal. And yes there were people who likely took a cab or otherwise arranged their own transportation. We have done it both ways. I doubt your boarding line at Ft. Lauderdale was shorter because you had a transfer. Transfers take some of the thought process out of getting from point A to B (especially the first time or two). You find the bus & get on. End of story. Transfers give you one less thing to think about on travel days, and they usually arent overly expensive, but people do both.

[captainron]

Hi,

I can use Los Angeles as an example.

 

When we departed on the Golden last May for our LAX/YVR voyage, we arrived at the airport with the intention of taking Super Shuttle to the pier. The cost in a packed Super Shuttle minibus would have been USD $17 per person which equates to USD$34 for the two of us.

 

When you arrive at the pier you have to disembark with your luggage and find a porter (hauling your luggage), if you're not intending on just using carry-on luggage. Any carryon luggage must be able to fit through the X-Ray machine at walk on security during the embarkation process. All luggage (not carryon) must be left with a porter for loading on the ship. They say that all luggage is X-rayed for security purposes before loading onboard and delivered to your stateroom.

 

This may or may not be gospel (that they're all X-rayed) as I took on 3 bottles of liquor and a diving knife the last time and all were delivered to my stateroom unopened and unharmed.

 

The Princess transfer to/fm LAX was USD$25 per eprson. Yes USD$8 more each, but we had nothing to haul around and carry on except the wife's bag and my small backpack. All our luggage was delivered to our stateroom prior to sailaway.

 

As others have indicated, your TA, whether online or in the local office, can arrange these transfers for you, the additional cost being added to your booking final payment. If you are coming from a hotel (pre-cruise) that transfer bus may run around several hotels (or not) and even go to the airport at FLL enroute to ensure that seats used are maximized and buses are full for transferring pax to the pier.

 

If you have no intention of spending time locally at destination, a Princess transfer is advantageous, as your disembarkation colour/time will be reflected by your departure flight time for home. I have found that it is so much simpler than hauling all your luggage through the terminals and seeking a cab (although they are numerous).

 

Hope this helps in the decision making process. Enjoy your cruise and "Escape Completely' on your Grand voyage with Princess.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[caribill]

We met in the hotel lobby (Marriott North-FLL) with a large group of other Princess ( I assume) cruisers, filled out our norovirus document, deposited our luggage on the sidewalk,and waited for a charter bus to take us to the port. Arriving at the port, we got in a relatively short line, went thru security, and got in line to check in for boarding. This all went very smoothly. Can transfers like this be arranged by our TA?

 

Was that time one where Princess had arranged for the hotel as part of a pre-cruise package? If so, then the xfer to the pier was included in the package.

 

If you have booked a hotel on your own, it would be highly unusual for Princess to offer a xfer from the hotel to the pier.