BVE Southampton

Hi

I've been working my way through the Princess forum and rather like the BVE package idea. Please could you let me know if this is offered to UK cruise ship departures.

Two Princess ships are sailing out of Southampton this summer and we are booked to go on the Emerald in October. It would be a lovely gesture to book and pay for our friend to have lunch onboard as she's kindly offered to drive us to the port.

Pj

Call Princess Customer Service - 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237) . BVE is not offered on every sailing. If it is available, you can't book until 120 days out. But, you can get your friend pre-registered and when it becomes available call in and purchase it. Be advised, if offered, it is limited to 50 BVE guests . . . Slots go fast, so have it all set up in advance.

For those who don't know what this is:

The Bon Voyage Experience is an innovative new program harkening back to the nostalgic tradition from the early days of cruising, allowing passengers the opportunity to invite family and friends aboard your ship on embarkation day. The program's new twist also allows cruisers new to Princess to see the inside of a Princess ship and experience the excitement of cruising first-hand -- even if they're not affiliated with booked passengers.

Guests will spend up to four hours onboard before the ship sets sail, where they'll enjoy a four-course dining room lunch (including wine), a guided ship tour, and a souvenir photo! Plus, the $39 per person cost of the program can be applied toward a future cruise with Princess. Only 50 guests are able to participate in the Bon Voyage Experience on any given embarkation day, so make sure you make your reservations soon!

To learn more about Bon Voyage Experience reservations and availability near you, please contact your Travel Agent or call 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237) as long as it is not within 7 days of sailing.

US only and even then, only some US embarkation ports, not itinerary ports. Thus, definitely not Southampton.

BVE packages used to be offered in the UK (I did one on Sea Princess in 2006) but were stopped about 5 or 6 years ago "security issues" being the reason given when I asked Princess about it.

I tried it do a BVE in Southampton earlier this year and was told definitely not offered in the UK!

Thanks for all your replies.

Shame it's not offered at UK ports:(. We have been lucky over the years to do free ships visits with lunch while in Southampton but I was hoping we could pay for our friend to come on board.

Our last visit was on a Silversea vessel, absolutely beautiful.