Princess transfers - worth it?

I'm doing the Canada/New England cruise in October, leaving from NY (Red Hook, Brooklyn). I booked airfare with Princess from DC to LaGuardia (got an insanely cheap rate - thought it was a typo at first). Is it worth it to get the Princess transfer from LaGuardia to the port? I'm not sure how much it is - I didn't see the price on the Princess website. Alternatively, I may use Uber.

Worked for us last October. Gt off the plane onto the bus and straight to the ship. Same coming back. Not sure what we paid.

Princess doesn't post the cost of their transfers anywhere that I know of. We've always had to call and ask, particularly if there was more than one airport in a city.

Worth it? In my experience, they have always cost more than Uber or a shuttle. However, you get the advantage of their luggage handling (give it to the Princess person at the airport or hotel, next see it at your cabin) and the fact that they know where they are going--no getting lost on the way to the terminal, etc.

Uber or taxi should be cheaper but there is a convenience factor having Princess handle it.

Having said that we rarely will use the cruise lines transfer

On our Canada/New England cruise next October, we're getting a Princess transfer from Newark Airport to the Brooklyn cruise port and it is costing us US$29pp each way.

While there are always less expensive ways to get from the airport to the ship, we always take the Princess Shuttle.

1) You hand over your luggage to the Princess rep at the airport and don't see it again until you're in your cabin (No schlepping your luggage down the taxi line and no need for bag fees or extra tips for taxi/Uber or dockside porters)

2) From the minute we check in with the Princess rep at the airport, we're "in Princess' hands" so no more worries about missing the ship. We can relax. We feel like we've started the cruise!

To us, it's worth the extra cost.

While there are always less expensive ways to get from the airport to the ship, we always take the Princess Shuttle.

1) You hand over your luggage to the Princess rep at the airport and don't see it again until you're in your cabin (No schlepping your luggage down the taxi line and no need for bag fees or extra tips for taxi/Uber or dockside porters)

2) From the minute we check in with the Princess rep at the airport, we're "in Princess' hands" so no more worries about missing the ship. We can relax. We feel like we've started the cruise!

 

To us, it's worth the extra cost.

I absolutely agree.

When I booked the Alaska cruise this morning,I booked the Princess transfer from the ship to the Airport for $29.00 each. It's about the same as the last time in Alaska with a car pick up.

While there are always less expensive ways to get from the airport to the ship, we always take the Princess Shuttle.

1) You hand over your luggage to the Princess rep at the airport and don't see it again until you're in your cabin (No schlepping your luggage down the taxi line and no need for bag fees or extra tips for taxi/Uber or dockside porters)

2) From the minute we check in with the Princess rep at the airport, we're "in Princess' hands" so no more worries about missing the ship. We can relax. We feel like we've started the cruise!

 

To us, it's worth the extra cost.

Agree with you! NY is the only port we get the Princess transfers and well worth it.

Our last Princess shuttle was a nightmare. They picked us up at LAX and took us to the Sheraton hotel due to a delay in boarding. We sat at the hotel for 5 hours. They kept bringing in people to sit and wait. They had coffee, tea, and pastries while we waited. Finally with people complaining they loaded us up to take us to the ship. They would not let us off the bus and we parked quite a ways from the terminal. We sat on the bus for another 2 hours!!! There were 8 other buses waiting to unload. The line to the terminal was backed up,. There were no restroom facilities on the bus due to the driver not having a key to the restroom. We had several handicapped people on board the bus. One seated behind us had to use the restroom in a bad way. The driver refused to move the bus closer to the terminal. I got off the bus with my cell phone in hand and gave the driver 2 options. Either she moves the bus to the terminal or I will call 911 and tell them we are being held hostage. Take your pick lady. She hopped on the bus and wheeled us over to the terminal. We were already checked in at the hotel and all we had to do was get our S&S card. We were on the ship within 5 minutes. So, when you do a Princess transfer you are no longer in charge of your destination or what happens from the time they pick you up at the airport and drop you off at the terminal. Never again!

Our last Princess shuttle was a nightmare. They picked us up at LAX and took us to the Sheraton hotel due to a delay in boarding. We sat at the hotel for 5 hours. They kept bringing in people to sit and wait. They had coffee, tea, and pastries while we waited. Finally with people complaining they loaded us up to take us to the ship. They would not let us off the bus and we parked quite a ways from the terminal. We sat on the bus for another 2 hours!!! There were 8 other buses waiting to unload. The line to the terminal was backed up,. There were no restroom facilities on the bus due to the driver not having a key to the restroom. We had several handicapped people on board the bus. One seated behind us had to use the restroom in a bad way. The driver refused to move the bus closer to the terminal. I got off the bus with my cell phone in hand and gave the driver 2 options. Either she moves the bus to the terminal or I will call 911 and tell them we are being held hostage. Take your pick lady. She hopped on the bus and wheeled us over to the terminal. We were already checked in at the hotel and all we had to do was get our S&S card. We were on the ship within 5 minutes. So, when you do a Princess transfer you are no longer in charge of your destination or what happens from the time they pick you up at the airport and drop you off at the terminal. Never again!

The late boarding had nothing to do with your transfer. Everyone had late boarding.

If you had taken a cab to the ship instead of the Princess Transfer, you would have been sitting in the waiting room or standing in lines at the pier for 5 hours instead of sitting at the Sheraton drinking coffee and tea and eating pastries.

I'd guess it was a pretty bad day for everyone that day whether you were on a Princess Transfer or not.

Can there be problems with a Princess transfer? Yes Can there be problems with other forms of transfer? Yes. But in the long run both will normally get you to your ship in a decent manner. I have used Princess transfers in several ports and , luckily, have had no problems.

When I booked the Alaska cruise this morning,I booked the Princess transfer from the ship to the Airport for $29.00 each. It's about the same as the last time in Alaska with a car pick up.

For my two Alsaka cruises later this month the transfers between Whittier and Anchorage (either Airport or Egan Center) are $54 each way. I presume your Alaska cruise was from Seattle so you were not technically transferring "in Alaska".

Princess doesn't post the cost of their transfers anywhere that I know of. We've always had to call and ask' date=' particularly if there was more than one airport in a city.

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While you are correct in the sense that there is no way of knowing the cost of airport transfers for your particular cruise prior to booking (other than maybe asking on Cruise Critic) once you are booked you can see the price and purchase them under the 'Travel Arrangements' tab in the Cruise Personalizer. So can be done without calling--though I have read that if you booked through a TA this option may or may not be available.

 

As to the original question: LGA to Brooklyn pier is a 40-45 minute ride if there is no bad traffic. If there is the taxi meter just might exceed the cost of two seats on the transfer coach (the cost of which perhaps the OP will check their Personalizer and share with us). Otherwise the East Coast Departures board has many recommendations of private car services; the cost of their convenience may balance neatly with the savings you achieved on the airfare.

Uber should cost you around $40 (between LGA and Red Hook) although it varies depending on surge pricing. Based on that cost you can call Princess, get the cost of their transfer and make your decision. We are big Uber fans because we can grab our luggage, go outside, summon our ride and usually be on our way within 5 min. With a cruise line transfer you will generally need to wait until there are enough folks to fill the vehicle (which can range from a van to a bus). Sometimes the cruise ship transfers work well, and other times you might find yourself waiting for a long time.

Hank

Our last Princess shuttle was a nightmare. They picked us up at LAX and took us to the Sheraton hotel due to a delay in boarding. We sat at the hotel for 5 hours. They kept bringing in people to sit and wait. They had coffee, tea, and pastries while we waited. Finally with people complaining they loaded us up to take us to the ship. They would not let us off the bus and we parked quite a ways from the terminal. We sat on the bus for another 2 hours!!! There were 8 other buses waiting to unload. The line to the terminal was backed up,. There were no restroom facilities on the bus due to the driver not having a key to the restroom. We had several handicapped people on board the bus. One seated behind us had to use the restroom in a bad way. The driver refused to move the bus closer to the terminal. I got off the bus with my cell phone in hand and gave the driver 2 options. Either she moves the bus to the terminal or I will call 911 and tell them we are being held hostage. Take your pick lady. She hopped on the bus and wheeled us over to the terminal. We were already checked in at the hotel and all we had to do was get our S&S card. We were on the ship within 5 minutes. So, when you do a Princess transfer you are no longer in charge of your destination or what happens from the time they pick you up at the airport and drop you off at the terminal. Never again!

My guess is that this had nothing to do with your transfer, but rather it was based on something that was happening at the port. We had a similar experience where the Princess reps had been instructed to hold us at the airport. No fun.

On a different cruise, we were being held on a bus at Port Everglades....the bus situation was horrible but that's another story. They announced that smokers could get off the bus to smoke, but the rest of us were supposed to continue to sit on the bus and just wait. I grabbed my daughter's hand and said "Let's go." At that time we walked the very short distance to the terminal, checked in, and boarded.

Is it worth it to get the Princess transfer from LaGuardia to the port?

First make sure you have not already booked the transfers. Unless you decline having them, the normal booking process includes the transfers as the default option.

We are doing the New England/Canada Cruise out of Red Hook between 22-29 Sep 2018 and the price from the airport to the ship and ship back to the airport after the cruise is $34/person to EWR (Newark Airport).

We don't normally take Princess transfers, but will in certain circumstances. For instance, in January after a red-eye flight to Buenos Aires, it was just simpler and easier to go with Princess; cut the stress of finding transportation in a strange city while terribly tired and out of it. It worked well and wasn't really much more expensive than finding a taxi or other transportation.

In most cities we have been to before, or those easy to maneuver, taxi, Uber or sometimes a shuttle works just fine.

If we are familiar with the airport and the port where we are boarding we will take an uber or taxi. If we are new to the area we will take a Princess transfer.

We normally get the Princess transfers from the ship to the airport and plan to do this on our upcoming cruise as well. We've never had a problem.

My only complaint is the overt request for tips.

We don't normally take Princess transfers, but will in certain circumstances. For instance, in January after a red-eye flight to Buenos Aires, it was just simpler and easier to go with Princess; cut the stress of finding transportation in a strange city while terribly tired and out of it. It worked well and wasn't really much more expensive than finding a taxi or other transportation.

 

In most cities we have been to before, or those easy to maneuver, taxi, Uber or sometimes a shuttle works just fine.

A few years ago we had the exact same situation with a Celebrity cruise out of BA...so we booked the Celebrity hotel package and transfers (most of the cruise lines use the same land providers). When we landed at BA we were met by the transfer company rep who told us that another flight had been delayed by 1 1/2 hours and they were going to hold the transfer bus for that next flight. They suggested we spend the 1 1/2 hours in the airport coffee shop.

So we hired a taxi (at our own expense) to get to our hotel. Once at the hotel, DW and I went out to a nearby restaurant for a very nice breakfast. After breakfast as we returned to the hotel, our transfer bus was just arriving. That was the last time we booked a transfer with any cruise line :).

Hank

... Unless you decline having them, the normal booking process includes the transfers as the default option.

This is certainly not the case for our bookings. You may have changed something in your profile to make that the default setting.

Jim

A few years ago we had the exact same situation with a Celebrity cruise out of BA...so we booked the Celebrity hotel package and transfers (most of the cruise lines use the same land providers). When we landed at BA we were met by the transfer company rep who told us that another flight had been delayed by 1 1/2 hours and they were going to hold the transfer bus for that next flight. They suggested we spend the 1 1/2 hours in the airport coffee shop.

 

So we hired a taxi (at our own expense) to get to our hotel. Once at the hotel, DW and I went out to a nearby restaurant for a very nice breakfast. After breakfast as we returned to the hotel, our transfer bus was just arriving. That was the last time we booked a transfer with any cruise line :).

 

Hank

Wow how annoying is that. Sorry it happened to you

I would tip anyway. The driver, whether it's taxi, bus or Huber is handling my luggage, and that deserves a tip. None of them are getting rich from salary or tips.

If we are familiar with the airport and the port where we are boarding we will take an uber or taxi. If we are new to the area we will take a Princess transfer.

Agree..although not tech savvy enough to do Uber !

When we visit somewhere 'new' to us, (South America in January 2018) and we are unsure of city, we book Cruiseline hotel with transfers. When we leave from a port we are familiar with, we book our own.

Booking with Cruiseline takes the strain of the unknown away. Breakfast is usually included. Rooms are usually lowest grade. There is usually a Cruiseline host based at the hotel for a day or so, pre and post cruise for help with tours...although concierge will help with directions and recommend cheaper tours. We book Cruiseline transfers to port.

We find we pay more for hotels when booking with any Cruiseline. They are going to take a 'cut' . Passengers are prepared to pay for this service, so sadly it's a case of supply and demand.

Bon voyage!