Princess’s Hotel Packages

[shiny1]

Has anyone used the hotel package option through Princess?

We’re sailing out of Brooklyn on 9/23/23 and I thought I had seen a post about a hotel package that included the hotel, transfers to the hotel and transfers to the port.

If anyone has any information it would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Ombud]

I used it once in Fort Lauderdale in December 2021. Although it was simple enough I wound up paying much more what it would have cost if I just booked transfers & hotel separately.  And more than I would have paid if I just booked hotel & uber separately.  But I'm a solo so it might not be as much of an overcharge for couples

 

Picked me up at airport -> dropped me off at hotel -> picked me up at hotel -> dropped me off for embarkation.  At disembarkation used same shuttle as others to airport 

 

Added:: Found my notes: 2 transfers + 1 night in hotel = $298. Hotel booked separately was $150. So simple but pricey JMHO

 

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Ombud

[2 cruises a year]

Pre-Covid we used EZ Air and Pre-Cruise Princess hotels exclusively.  I'm all for it.  Once I got to the airport, I was Princesses Baby until I was on the ship.  Transfers to the hotel and to the ship, baggage handling, hotel, usually, but not always breakfast, all arranged, and "insured".  If anything went wrong, Princess made any arrangements necessary.  Nothing ever did go wrong until a cruise shut down by Covid. Then EZ Air made plane reservations to get us back to SFO from Buenos Aires as the world was shutting down.  Airports were shutting down behind us.  It was stressful, but I didn't have to make the many calls trying to get reservations, again and again as ports kept changing until Buenos Aires allowed us in.  We had to have plane reservations in hand, and they put on a bus to the airport.  There were armed Military onboard to make sure we went from the ship to the airport without getting off in Argentina.

You will get a lot of negativity on the extra cost of the hotel, but after you add it all up, and factor in no muss no fuss, I think that it is definitely worth it.

On the Princess website, look under Destinations, then Departure Ports and Hotels.

[Dr. Peds]

We have done all three combinations--EZ air with hotel booked on our own, booked both air and hotel on our own, and EZ air with Princess Hotel Package.  All in all, we think that the hotel package was the best option for our sanity.  We had some glitches, but they were due to us getting used to how the system worked for transportation from airport to hotel and then hotel to port.  Having Princess representatives at both the airport and hotel to help with our needs was a big help.  That said, the hotel price was very, very high.  But the guarantees to get us where we needed to go were worth it as we were traveling in winter time.  Arranging our own transportation to the port was actually pretty nightmarish on our own in terms of hassle and fighting to get a transportation reservation, the luggage process at the port in Fort Lauderdale (we were extorted by the independent porters who we didnt have to deal with when we used Princess transportation), and having to schlep more of our luggage than using the Princess hotel transfer.  YMMV, but we liked using the Princess hotel option and would do it again if needed.

[skynight]

Everything is handled by Princess, pick up at the airport, transfer to the hotel, transfer to the pier. In our case pier transfers were at 1pm. Early boarding was not an option. Also the transfer stopped at the few hotels Princess was using. Hotels were high end. Pricing is per person. You can almost certainly find equivalent hotels and transfers at a lower cost. You should investigate both ways.

 

[Paula_MacFan]

Per the Princess website:

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/cruise-ports-and-hotels/

 

[memoak]

They are very expensive. We find it more cost effective to book on our own and use car services 

[Ken the cruiser]

I just posted this on another thread, so I decided to post it here as well. It summarizes our upcoming arrival the day before boarding the Diamond in Yokohama, Japan.

 

We are low stress cruisers and booked an overnight package through Princess for $359 per person, which seemed fair, for our upcoming Princess cruise starting July 10 out of Yokohama. We fly into the Haneda Airport the day before and look for the Princess rep after going through Customs and picking up our baggage. Then they put us on a transfer bus to our hotel which is the Keio Plaza Hotel, which also has a Princess Hospitality Desk, in the heart of Tokyo about 50 minutes from the airport. Then the next morning we get on the transfer bus again and head to the Yokohama port to board the Diamond which is about an hour away. Like I said, we’re low stress cruisers. 😁

[cjpj]

I'd say you need to consider a few things. One your comfort level being in a country where English is not widely spoken. Two the distance between the airport - hotel - port. The farther apart each are, the more  complicated travel options can be. You also need to consider the travel options available and your comfort level. Are you okay doing subway, buses, trains, booking these in advance or do you only want private transport. Add up the costs and see if it makes sense for you. The more nights you stay pre or post cruise, the more affordable the Princess Hotel packages are. And if you are arriving several days early, for example, Princess will provide a private car from airport to hotel.

If you want a no hassle, no planing, take care of me and get me where I need to be, the hotel packages are great. If you like to plan and handle all your own arrangements and deal with last minute changes or glitches, do it yourself. I've done the hotel package once, but it was a rare circumstance where it was the same price as doing it myself. I definately loved the no thinking or worrying about anything and would definitely consider it if I was traveling solo in a country I was not familiar with. But traveling to any port in the US, Canada I'd definately do it myself.

[Rick&Jeannie]

We have done this on a couple of occasions and also have 2 booked on upcoming cruises. Yes, you certainly can "do it for less" but we prefer to have Princess handle everything so that (in theory) we have one point of contact.  The convenience factor more than offsets the price as far as we are concerned. I particularly like the fact that your transfers are included, especially if you are in a port area that you've never visited before and are unfamiliar. 

[Yowman]

17 hours ago, memoak said:

They are very expensive. We find it more cost effective to book on our own and use car services 

 

This is what I'm doing next cruise.  Looked at Princess hotels and then decided to pay for my hotel pre cruise (3 nights) with CC points and I've arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport.  Will then take a cab to the cruise terminal.

[K922]

We are looking in to this for our British Isles cruise next summer.  I am very familiar with the UK so I know transportation options, it might come down to the convinces of  booking it all through Princess.  But we will also look at what it will cost on our own. We are planing to do 3 nights in London before hand. 

[2 cruises a year]

9 hours ago, cjpj said:

I'd say you need to consider a few things. One your comfort level being in a country where English is not widely spoken. Two the distance between the airport - hotel - port. The farther apart each are, the more  complicated travel options can be. You also need to consider the travel options available and your comfort level. Are you okay doing subway, buses, trains, booking these in advance or do you only want private transport. Add up the costs and see if it makes sense for you. The more nights you stay pre or post cruise, the more affordable the Princess Hotel packages are. And if you are arriving several days early, for example, Princess will provide a private car from airport to hotel.

If you want a no hassle, no planing, take care of me and get me where I need to be, the hotel packages are great. If you like to plan and handle all your own arrangements and deal with last minute changes or glitches, do it yourself. I've done the hotel package once, but it was a rare circumstance where it was the same price as doing it myself. I definately loved the no thinking or worrying about anything and would definitely consider it if I was traveling solo in a country I was not familiar with. But traveling to any port in the US, Canada I'd definately do it myself.

We've also found this to be true.  If we fly Domestically, we go one day early, which most people seem to do, and the flights all start arriving at similar times.  We were put on a bus, and waited until it was full.  A little frustrating, but not a deal breaker.  When we fly Internationally, we go four days early. (Gives us time to explore new Cities)  Seems no one else is arriving that early and we have had a Private Car.  This does make the Princess Hotel deal cost more, I do tip the Private Car driver.  😁😉  It sure is First Class treatment.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, K922 said:

We are looking in to this for our British Isles cruise next summer.  I am very familiar with the UK so I know transportation options, it might come down to the convinces of  booking it all through Princess.  But we will also look at what it will cost on our own. We are planing to do 3 nights in London before hand. 

I did London last year. We stayed at the Radisson Blu Edwardian and I liked the area. The room wasn't amazing but it was fine, breakfast was included and was quite good, lots of restaurants nearby, Boots pharmacy nearby and it was across the street from a tube station. I walked to British Museum and Big Ben from there. I think I spent 2 or 3 nights there.

[Dietemann]

On 6/30/2023 at 7:20 AM, skynight said:

Everything is handled by Princess, pick up at the airport, transfer to the hotel, transfer to the pier. In our case pier transfers were at 1pm. Early boarding was not an option. Also the transfer stopped at the few hotels Princess was using. Hotels were high end. Pricing is per person. You can almost certainly find equivalent hotels and transfers at a lower cost. You should investigate both ways.

 

I am curious how it works if you have airport wheelchair assist to the luggage and then to the meeting point with Princess people. DH walks with a cane but is very slow and cannot walk far. How would we get to the transfer bus?

[cjpj]

16 minutes ago, Dietemann said:

I am curious how it works if you have airport wheelchair assist to the luggage and then to the meeting point with Princess people. DH walks with a cane but is very slow and cannot walk far. How would we get to the transfer bus?

The transfer bus is usually right around the airport. I'd assume you could use the same wheelchair as you did from the plane and if not, I'm sure Princess know how to secure one. I'd just make sure you put a note in the booking that you need a wheelchair.

[Dietemann]

1 hour ago, cjpj said:

The transfer bus is usually right around the airport. I'd assume you could use the same wheelchair as you did from the plane and if not, I'm sure Princess know how to secure one. I'd just make sure you put a note in the booking that you need a wheelchair.

Thank you, that helps. We just had our first cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale using the assist after notifying Princess and it worked very well both going on and off the ship. I was concerned about how airport transfers could be managed and happy to see your reply. It's a learning process for us and we are very glad for any information we get here.

[SargassoPirate]

For us, it always pays to put the pencil to it and gauge our level of personal comfort and security.  Most of the time it's less expensive to book things independently. 

[roadster08]

Another factor to be considered in this decision is what if things go wrong? Unexpected delays can occur at every transfer point. If you do it on your own, you have to figure it out yourself.  If you do it with princess, they will ensure you get to where you need to go one way or another and that you're cruise will not be interrupted. So, some of the cost you can consider to be like trip insurance. 

[Reina del Mar]

We have used Princess transfers/ hotels and also sorted ourselves out with hotels and transfers.

 

The Princess packages are more expensive as they charge per person, but do take control of your arrangements. There are Princess reps at the airport and at the hotel which takes the stress off you.

 

When we are visiting a ‘new to us’ port, we tend to use the Princess package but if we are departing from somewhere we have been previously and know the ‘lay of the land’, we tend to do our own bookings.

[SargassoPirate]

We often combine land travel before or after a cruise and sometimes we will book a transfer from an airport to the ship just for the convenience.  All we have to do is get to the airport, no matter how much we travel before the cruise and where we stayed.

 

For example, for an upcoming cruise departing from Southampton, we will end our land travel at an airport hotel at Heathrow.  Then on departure morning, all we need to do is meet with the Princess staff at the airport and we are all taken care of from then on.

 

As I always say, put the pencil to it.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

We often combine land travel before or after a cruise and sometimes we will book a transfer from an airport to the ship just for the convenience.  All we have to do is get to the airport, no matter how much we travel before the cruise and where we stayed.

 

For example, for an upcoming cruise departing from Southampton, we will end our land travel at an airport hotel at Heathrow.  Then on departure morning, all we need to do is meet with the Princess staff at the airport and we are all taken care of from then on.

 

As I always say, put the pencil to it.

I completely agree - put a pencil to it.

 

I have booked some Princess hotels and when I do the pencil to it with transportation, it has actually worked out to do Princess hotels. I can't say it always does. I do multiple nights and maybe that is why.

 

I agree - do the. math. Don't just dismiss it as "it is always cheaper on your own".

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Coral

[PurpleHays]

Looking at the information for the hotel packages, I only have one question-is the price quoted per person or per couple? If per person, it's *really* expensive. If per couple, it's not bad.

[Yowman]

3 minutes ago, PurpleHays said:

Looking at the information for the hotel packages, I only have one question-is the price quoted per person or per couple? If per person, it's *really* expensive. If per couple, it's not bad.

 

As I understand it it's per person for first night and then per room on subsequent nights.  Which is why I booked my hotel myself

[PurpleHays]

1 hour ago, Yowman said:

 

As I understand it it's per person for first night and then per room on subsequent nights.  Which is why I booked my hotel myself

That kinda makes sense--one night at a higher rate to cover the transportation costs. I'll have to check it all out. I do have plenty of time--our next international cruise isn't until 2025.