Disappointed 1st Timer - haven't even cruised yet!

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Four days ago, my husband and I booked our first cruise on Ruby Princess in August. I have been sooo excited :) (up until a few hours ago) and was reading these boards avidly to get hints and tips in order to make the most of our holiday.

 

Have now dropped back down to earth with a bump :( and was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences or had any thoughts they could share.

 

At the time of booking we were told the flight times to Rome and back from Venice weren't available, but as it is only about 3 hours away from Manchester, UK, we weren't too concerned and booked anyway - probably an indication of our naivety! (but am starting to learn fast!!)

 

Anyway, have now found out flight times and they are indirect - on the way out we have to change at Paris with a 2.5 hour wait time & total travel time of 5.75 hours; and the way back is even worse, we have to hang about at Frankfurt for 4.5 hours and total travel time is 7.5 hours!

 

Worse even than this annoyance, the timings mean that we will completely miss out on seeing Rome/Venice. The ship doesn't get to Venice until 10pm the night before disembarkation and we will need to leave at 8am on the day to get to the airport in time to check in etc.

 

So, tried to get around this by suggesting the following via our booking agency to Princess:

 

Alternative 1: We would fly from any other UK airport if direct flights are available.

Answer: No other direct flights available from any airport

 

Alternative 2: We would pay extra to go down to Rome the day before and stay in Venice the day after.

Answer: No availability to do this as all booked up.

 

Alternative 3: We would get direct flights ourselves, which I have checked on the Internet and which are available, and change our holiday to cruise only with a corresponding reduction in price.

Answer: As Princess Cruises have changed their terms and conditions, we are not able to change our holiday once booked to a cheaper alternative and cruise only would fall into this category.

This is the point that annoys me the most – we were not made aware of the full facts at the point of booking our cruise, had we known the flight times then we would not have booked at all.

 

We are of course able to book the flights ourselves independently, but with no reduction in the price of the cruise, we will be out of pocket.

 

Am seriously considering cancelling and losing the £460 we have paid as deposit, but this is not a nice thought :mad:

[skellis2]

Get yourself a good better travel agent, tell Princess that you want to use the ew travel agent and then have him/her change the flght arrangements. Princess has not, in any of the 26 cruises I have done with them and the numerous changes I have made, refused to make the changes, or refused to refund the deposit. Travel agents get a lot more leeway than first time cruisers. I also never book directly with the line, as I shop on cruise compete.com (I am not sure there is a UK equivalent), go to my travel agent (whose price is usually one of the lowest) and they match the price. Try to look at pricing the booking on line as you may also find a fare where you save the $460 so that it costs nothing for the change. I find Princess's flight costs to be significantly higher than the online fares, and if you book your own, flying within Europe you shouldn't have much trouble finding a flight that will get you plenty of time before the embarkaton. Also I have heard plenty of complaints on this forum about the quality of the "charter planes" that all of the cruise ships use from the U.K.

 

Good luck and don't pass up your cruise if there is any way around it. Princess is wonderful or I wouldn't be returning so many times, and sailing out of or into Venice is something not to be missed.

 

Also call Princess about their cancellation policy or look on the website, as you may be within 90 days. If all else fails you could use the difference as a cabin upgrade and still book your own flights, so youwill at least get some value for the money, instead of forfeiting it.

[Ethel5]

Skellis2

 

Please keep in mind that bookings in the UK are different from that in the USA.

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Thanks for your reply. I did do all this through a travel agent and complained about the flight arrangements through them. They just passed on my queries to Princess, and these were the answers that I got.

Probably won't decide to cancel but looks like I have to "like it or lump it" (is that an English-only saying? :confused:) Not a good start, though, to what I was hoping to be a dream holiday....

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

When crusing never expect to see the port that you start or finish your cruise in unless you are getting in a day early or staying a night before you leave.

 

As to Princess never accept anything they tell you, as everytime you speak to them the story changes.

 

As to flying half way around the world to get to where you want this is normal, first offer, just do not accept it.

 

Check airlines yourself , look at only companies that Princess uses like BA,

 

once you find what you want just go to your TA and tell them what you want, do not expect them to do the work for you.

 

Have had same problem as you many times Princess, they always move but you have to do all the work, expect to have to fly out on a very early flight and have to pay for a hotel overnight in London or that yourself.

 

Did you book direct, did you book with a big name high street TA

 

 

Do not give up, Princess UK is not the same as Princess US so do not take advise from folks that do not know UK rules, some do.

 

One tip get a friend to call Princess direct and say they want to book the same cruise as you get quote but ask about flights, if they get odd flights get them to say sorry no good would book if direct etc and see what is offered note details then call Princess yourself or get TA to do it and just say I want my flight moved to .

 

 

 

yours Shogun

[cb at sea]

"Like it or lump it" was a favorite saying of my mother, whenever we moaned and groaned!

[bubbadog]

My tip for you is,never book airfare with any cruisline,you are better off booking it yourself,so you can get seats and the times you want,and fly in a day or 2 early,and is usually cheaper in price,oh well,just go with it

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Hi There,

 

When crusing never expect to see the port that you start or finish your cruise in unless you are getting in a day early or staying a night before you leave.

 

As to Princess never accept anything they tell you, as everytime you speak to them the story changes.

 

As to flying half way around the world to get to where you want this is normal, first offer, just do not accept it.

 

Check airlines yourself , look at only companies that Princess uses like BA,

 

once you find what you want just go to your TA and tell them what you want, do not expect them to do the work for you.

 

Have had same problem as you many times Princess, they always move but you have to do all the work, expect to have to fly out on a very early flight and have to pay for a hotel overnight in London or that yourself.

 

Did you book direct, did you book with a big name high street TA

 

 

Do not give up, Princess UK is not the same as Princess US so do not take advise from folks that do not know UK rules, some do.

 

One tip get a friend to call Princess direct and say they want to book the same cruise as you get quote but ask about flights, if they get odd flights get them to say sorry no good would book if direct etc and see what is offered note details then call Princess yourself or get TA to do it and just say I want my flight moved to .

 

 

 

yours Shogun

Hi Shogun,

 

Thanks for the great tips! Was more or less resigned to our fate... but now will put action plan in place tomorrow to get things changed! (too late for today!). Had already sent princess an email voicing my frustrations, so perhaps that might get somewhere!

 

I realise now that it would have been better to have a day in Rome before and a day in Venice after... just one thing to put down to experience, I suppose. As I said in my OP I am obviously VERY naive :-) But am learning a lot from spending hours on these forums each day :-)

 

Will know for future, if we decide to book a second cruise.

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

"Like it or lump it" was a favorite saying of my mother, whenever we moaned and groaned!

Cool! I never know what is common between us Brits and Americans, separated by a common language, or whatever the phrase it (can't remember that one!)

[Cuizer2]

Four days ago, my husband and I booked our first cruise on Ruby Princess in August. I have been sooo excited :) (up until a few hours ago) and was reading these boards avidly to get hints and tips in order to make the most of our holiday.

 

Have now dropped back down to earth with a bump :( and was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences or had any thoughts they could share.

 

At the time of booking we were told the flight times to Rome and back from Venice weren't available, but as it is only about 3 hours away from Manchester, UK, we weren't too concerned and booked anyway - probably an indication of our naivety! (but am starting to learn fast!!)

 

Anyway, have now found out flight times and they are indirect - on the way out we have to change at Paris with a 2.5 hour wait time & total travel time of 5.75 hours; and the way back is even worse, we have to hang about at Frankfurt for 4.5 hours and total travel time is 7.5 hours!

 

Worse even than this annoyance, the timings mean that we will completely miss out on seeing Rome/Venice. The ship doesn't get to Venice until 10pm the night before disembarkation and we will need to leave at 8am on the day to get to the airport in time to check in etc.

 

So, tried to get around this by suggesting the following via our booking agency to Princess:

 

Alternative 1: We would fly from any other UK airport if direct flights are available.

Answer: No other direct flights available from any airport

 

Alternative 2: We would pay extra to go down to Rome the day before and stay in Venice the day after.

Answer: No availability to do this as all booked up.

 

Alternative 3: We would get direct flights ourselves, which I have checked on the Internet and which are available, and change our holiday to cruise only with a corresponding reduction in price.

Answer: As Princess Cruises have changed their terms and conditions, we are not able to change our holiday once booked to a cheaper alternative and cruise only would fall into this category.

This is the point that annoys me the most – we were not made aware of the full facts at the point of booking our cruise, had we known the flight times then we would not have booked at all.

 

We are of course able to book the flights ourselves independently, but with no reduction in the price of the cruise, we will be out of pocket.

 

Am seriously considering cancelling and losing the £460 we have paid as deposit, but this is not a nice thought :mad:

 

Just another reason not to use cruise air.

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

Lets us know how you get on, if using a TA get them to phone Princess flights while you are there and listen in to the call, do not let your TA

 

just take the details and get back to you,

 

you will get better service if you go to TA first thing in morning as by afternoon they get busy.

 

yours Shogun

[unklez]

Cool! I never know what is common between us Brits and Americans, separated by a common language, or whatever the phrase it (can't remember that one!)

 

Not much is common. The Brits speak the real English. The Americans have just copied and made a mess of the language and insist on calling it English. They should call it Americanish.

[Cuizer2]

Cool! I never know what is common between us Brits and Americans, separated by a common language, or whatever the phrase it (can't remember that one!)

Britain and America, two countries separated by a common language.

[Northender]

All Princess Reps are trained at the Department of Motor Vehicles:D

[Cuizer2]

All Princess Reps are trained at the Department of Motor Vehicles:D

Do they have motor vehicles in Britain? :confused:

[Shogun]

Hi there,

 

 

Just a thought if you can not get the flights you want get your booking moved to another cruise, if a good TA there might not be a fine , if there is it should only be £100, or do an open holding booking until you find a cruise that you want,

 

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

Is that the department thats being renamed Department of Fiat

 

 

yours Shogun

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Hi There,

 

Lets us know how you get on, if using a TA get them to phone Princess flights while you are there and listen in to the call, do not let your TA

 

just take the details and get back to you,

 

you will get better service if you go to TA first thing in morning as by afternoon they get busy.

 

yours Shogun

Hi Shogun,

Its probably another indication of my inexperience, but we booked the cruise through an on line company, having done some (but probably not enough) research on line. Saw the same cruise with a VERY well known UK holiday company (begins with a V (I know we're not meant to advertise on this site!)) which was £2500 per person more expensive, for same cabins etc. (but probably had better flights ;-) )

 

So only option is to call TA and then be put on hold while they talk to Princess. The TA has been OK so far, called me back when they said they would etc. But obviously can't listen in to their calls to Princess.

 

Will do some more research on line, have already found direct flights from Heathrow to Rome and from Venice back that are BA and are available and not unreasonable times of day to travel. Only 2.5 hours to Rome from London. At the moment we are booked on Air France, so will also look at theirs.

 

Once again, thanks for your help, it is appreciated and invaluable.

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Of course we do, we all drive round in Rolls Royces - none of that American rubbish ;-)

[newport dave]

hi there,

 

is that the department thats being renamed department of fiat

 

 

yours shogun

 

lol :d:d

[Shogun]

Hi Again,

 

Tip for the future, if you see a cruise you like book on line or over the phone with Princess, wait a few months and go around TA.s till you find on that will beat the Price by 10% or more get the TA to take over the booking. That way if Price goes down you can get the benifit, if you book with a TA and price drops there is nothing they can do unless price drop is big enough to cancel you pay the fine and re book.

 

yours Shogun

[Redland81]

You can fly to Rome and Venice from Bristol with Easyjet if that's any help

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Hi there,

 

 

Just a thought if you can not get the flights you want get your booking moved to another cruise, if a good TA there might not be a fine , if there is it should only be £100, or do an open holding booking until you find a cruise that you want,

 

 

yours Shogun

Hello again,

 

What is an "open cruise"? Is it like having a credit, so that if we don't go on this one we can look for a different one at another time? (or am I being really thick here?)

 

If so, we would struggle with this as DH's (see, I'm getting into the lingo!) job means that he can only have set holidays as determined by his workload...

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

I have had Princess hold money paid for one cruise that I cancelled for 18 months until I found a cruise I wanted to book.

 

yours shogun

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

You can fly to Rome and Venice from Bristol with Easyjet if that's any help

Thanks! Through my research on the Internet you can fly direct to Rome and Venice from almost any airport in the UK, but seems that Princess don't seem to be aware of this fact!

 

TA said it was because Princess are looking for good deals for customers to keep costs down. Personally I would rather pay a couple of hundred quid extra and not spend 6.5 hours of my life hanging round Paris & Frankfurt airports!

 

But if I can't change it, will have to make the most of it, there's always the duty free shops etc that I can spend time in ;-) Don't suppose there is much point in getting too depressed about it...