FLIGHT: Go with Princess or Charter private?

[jayz]

There are a dozen of us booked for the Emerald. Travel agent advised that Princess will not guarantee that we all fly the same flight unless we pay a surcharge $50. Travel suggested we take the Princess flight and in the mean time keep our eyes open for a better priced charter that we know we can all travel on. This cruise is not for 11 months yet so I suppose its worthto see what is available come closer to sailing. Anybody been through this scenerio? We are flying from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.

( maybe we should rent a winnabago and drive?)

[Wilbo]

Grear flights out of Buffalo and very cheap. Parking is great.

Buffalo is less hassle than Toronto.

[MattInFLL]

I was under the impression, that if you take Princess Air, you can decline it up until final payment is due... as long as there is no penalty, it doesn't hurt to check on your own up until that time. You should have a lot of flight options Toronto to FLL, with WestJet now flying that route, and the usual Canadian charterers... and as Wilbo pointed out, you might save money driving into Buffalo. Either way, you should be planning to arrive the day before since a winter storm could delay your flights.

[sleeping_is_overrated]

There are a dozen of us booked for the Emerald. Travel agent advised that Princess will not guarantee that we all fly the same flight unless we pay a surcharge $50. Travel suggested we take the Princess flight and in the mean time keep our eyes open for a better priced charter that we know we can all travel on. This cruise is not for 11 months yet so I suppose its worthto see what is available come closer to sailing. Anybody been through this scenerio? We are flying from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.

( maybe we should rent a winnabago and drive?)

We were dealing with the same scenario. Our friends booked with Princess and we wanted to wait because of costs (spread out paying for cruise and wait a few months to pay for flights) When we tried to coordinate things it was a disaster. The bottom line for us was that our friends who booked with Princess were locked into a flight that they didn't know what time of day it was leaving, how many stops and what airline. We on the other hand were able to control all that. I was able to book multi-city through Orbitz landing in Sydney and flying out of Auckland for about the same amount our friends paid to have their flights completely out of their control. I'd keep checking the flights, you have lots of time, if it doesn't work out you can always take your chances with Princess

[jayz]

I was under the impression, that if you take Princess Air, you can decline it up until final payment is due... as long as there is no penalty, it doesn't hurt to check on your own up until that time. You should have a lot of flight options Toronto to FLL, with WestJet now flying that route, and the usual Canadian charterers... and as Wilbo pointed out, you might save money driving into Buffalo. Either way, you should be planning to arrive the day before since a winter storm could delay your flights.

 

good advice. May drive to Buffalo if there are substantial advantages.

If not I will keep an eye on charter sales up until the princess cut off date. There is lots of time.And I will arrive one day early and stay at a cheap motel.(if there is one there)

[UxbridgeCruiser]

We travelled from Toronto to FLL last March through Princess Air. It was awful. The flight down left at 6:30am and connected in Philly with an hour and a half layover. The return flight, although direct from FLL to Toronto didn't leave until 7:30pm. We had our kids with us so we ended booking a hotel room the day we disembarked to kill time until our flight left. We tried to change the flights but were unsuccessful due to it being March break. Keep in mind, you do not get your flight information until six weeks prior to departure. By then it's to late to change your flights and flight availability is minimal. We are on the Crown in August '07 and we have booked our own air and are leaving a day early to avoid arriving late etc. Buffalo is also another option. It's nearly half the cost flying out of Buffalo than from Toronto. If you are close enough, it's worth the drive.

[Crusin Texas Gal]

There are a dozen of us booked for the Emerald. Travel agent advised that Princess will not guarantee that we all fly the same flight unless we pay a surcharge $50. Travel suggested we take the Princess flight and in the mean time keep our eyes open for a better priced charter that we know we can all travel on. This cruise is not for 11 months yet so I suppose its worthto see what is available come closer to sailing. Anybody been through this scenerio? We are flying from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.

( maybe we should rent a winnabago and drive?)

 

I am booked on the Emerald Princess for 4/23/07. I am sailing with other couples..we found the airfare to be out of line..4 stops..our agent checked with airlines and found airfare $70.00 cheaper and we have one stop JFK going and coming back. We are all much happier with being on the same flights and for a cheaper price..so I would have my agent check and see what is available before it's taken by other cruisers.