New Luggage Disembarkation Service

[Coolmama_1]

Is it available in Ft Lauderdale? That sounds like heaven!! No sea of bags to dig thru after the cruise!

 

Amen to that!

[Ohio-C-Luver]

We had this service out of San Juan last Sept 06 with Delta. We did however have to claim our luggage in the terminal, then walk past customs and the airlines received just on the other side. We only had our luggage for about 5 mins and it was off. We had a flt to Atlanta and then another connecting flt. It was terrific. They gave us our boarding passes the night before and luggage tags-it's worth the money not to have to worry about getting the luggage to airport etc and then checking in, it's all done ahead of time. Just get on the bus/cab and go to the airport, the luggage is taken care of for you and it was! We were very pleased and would do it again in heartbeat!

[Eileen G]

We also used this service in San Juan last year but that was on RCCL. This year we are on the Crown out of SJ and I have not been able to find anywhere that Princess uses this option in SJ. I hope they will start later this year when the Crown returns to SJ. It was great not to have to check in at the airport.

[azsunshine]

Gosh I hope they have this in Ft. Lauderdale. Our flight doesn't leave until 4PM and we wanted to do some site seeing. this would be great not to have to go to the airport first, and then back to the location

[boricua2007]

I didn't used the service (SEA port -Alaska cruise Golden Princess), but I read the info and another thing it said was that your flight should be 1pm or after.

[Cruising Carol]

I didn't used the service (SEA port -Alaska cruise Golden Princess), but I read the info and another thing it said was that your flight should be 1pm or after.

 

For Vancouver, flight had to be after 10:30 am.

[MaderaMan]

For Vancouver, flight had to be after 10:30 am.

 

I could be mistaken, but I believe flights at Vancouver had to be after 11:30. Ours was 11:45 and I remember thinking we barely qualified.

 

BTW, we had almost 3 hours to kill at the airport.

[Coral]

Reminds me of my 1st 2 cruises, this service was included in the price. We thought all cruises were like that until we went on the Disney Magic.

 

They used to do this before 9-11.

 

Airline people would come (if they wanted to) and hand out boarding passes on the ship. Airlines had trucks outside of the ships and you could just hand them your luggage. Then 9-11 hit.

 

Recently, RCCL has been doing something similiar in Miami (and maybe San Juan?) and Vancouver has this program.

[spindrift]

We are doing Alaska in August. For those who have done this, will the program work for us in Houston? Seattle to Houston via Continental? That would be grrrreat.

[Cruising Carol]

I could be mistaken, but I believe flights at Vancouver had to be after 11:30. Ours was 11:45 and I remember thinking we barely qualified.

 

BTW, we had almost 3 hours to kill at the airport.

 

It must vary by ship and day. On July 7, off Diamond Princess, the first group (white A) was those with flights from 10:30 to 11:35. We were in the second group (White B) for those with flights from 11:36 to 12:30. We arrived at our gate at 9:45 for an 11:49 flight.

[Northender]

We also used this service in San Juan last year but that was on RCCL. This year we are on the Crown out of SJ and I have not been able to find anywhere that Princess uses this option in SJ. I hope they will start later this year when the Crown returns to SJ. It was great not to have to check in at the airport.

 

Please let us know if this is available from SJU. Our flight is in the afternoon (forget the time) we are flying American non-stop to Boston.

 

This would be great.

 

Thanks in advance:)

 

Another Eileen

[mii]

We used the service in Vancouver last Saturday coming off Diamond Princess. The boarding pass for the flight and abbreviated tags (flight designation and our name and debarkation color and letter were on the tag) were given to us the evening before arrival. When we picked up our luggage at Los Angeles Airport, it had an additional tag with flight designation and destination airport code on it. We left the ship at 7:45 and were at our gate in Vancouver airport at 9:45 for an 11:49 flight. And both of us get special screening when we beep the metal detector at security (it is those titanium knee replacements). We felt that the service was worth the cost. The last time we flew out of Vancouver (2000) and before knee replacements, we had to manhandle our luggage to the check in counter, then to airport fee counter, then to customs, then finally to baggage carousel to get it on the plane. My husband was exhausted by then. And we had 5 minutes before called to board the plane. Read the directions carefully and have the correct tags on and customs forms filled out and all goes very smoothly.

 

Did you have to buy a transfer from Princess besides the $15.00 fee? No one has mentioned that. I thought with this progaram you needed to buy a transfer and the additonal fee.

 

marilyn

[Coral]

Did you have to buy a transfer from Princess besides the $15.00 fee? No one has mentioned that. I thought with this progaram you needed to buy a transfer and the additonal fee.

 

marilyn

 

Yes.

[CABCruiser]

This might sound like a stupid question, but....(how many times do we start with that phrase here??)

 

How is luggage tagging handled if you have connecting flights to make? eg we're flying YVR--SLC then SLC-RDU. Are the participating airlines making up the luggage tags?

 

We flew YVR to Denver, then Denver to O'Hare. We had the same question. Our luggage tags seemed to only show Denver on them, and we could find nothing that suggested the bags were to go on to O'Hare. However, there must be something in the bar code or elsewhere. Our bags arrived at O'Hare when we did, with new tags indicating O'Hare as the destination. It really was worth the money.

[Ohio-C-Luver]

We had this service out of San Juan last Sept 06 with Delta. We did however have to claim our luggage in the terminal' date=' then walk past customs and the airlines received just on the other side. We only had our luggage for about 5 mins and it was off. We had a flt to Atlanta and then another connecting flt. It was terrific. They gave us our boarding passes the night before and luggage tags-it's worth the money not to have to worry about getting the luggage to airport etc and then checking in, it's all done ahead of time. Just get on the bus/cab and go to the airport, the luggage is taken care of for you and it was! We were very pleased and would do it again in heartbeat![/quote']

Yes, this was on RCI Adventure of the Seas! Did I say it wonderful!!!!! :D

We had not bought transfers with RCI, but after we gave Delta the luggage, just went outside and grabbed a cab and were just wisked to the airport. This fall we're sailing the Crown (Princess) out of San Jan with transfers, and are hoping they get the same deal-this is really great for us that are part of the older crowd!

[Jfeasel]

Last August we sailed on NCL's and they had a similar program but also provided us with our boarding passes! It was great. We put our luggage out the night before and got our boarding passes the day before and then walked right off the ship and headed to the airport. I wish Princess offered this.

[mii]

[quote name='Coral']Yes.[/quote]

Coral thanks alot.

marilyn

[Host CJSKIDS]

[quote name='Eileen G']We also used this service in San Juan last year but that was on RCCL. This year we are on the Crown out of SJ and I have not been able to find anywhere that Princess uses this option in SJ. I hope they will start later this year when the Crown returns to SJ. It was great not to have to check in at the airport.[/QUOTE]

Princess does not do this in San Juan, wish they did as it would be a God send. Other cruise lines participate out of San Juan, but not Princess.

[virgenia]

If you have the opportunity to pay the $15 and not have to go thru the hassel of claiming luggage, etc at the Vancouver airport, it is WELL worth the money. I was disappointed to read Yahtic's posting above as I would have thought the Vancouver airport might have improved the experience in the four years since our Alaska cruise. Our experience was exactly like his, only I think we stood in one line or another for four hours. Definitely the worst airport mess I have ever encountered and that includes flying out of Gatwick two days after the terrorist scare last July.

[trudzie]

Just came off the Coral Princess in Vancouver on July 16th. If you call Princess in advance (and I tried several people) they tell you it is only provided for planes arriving TO Vancouver(this is what their computer screens have for info). Of course this is not true! Finally got a Princess technical supervisor who clarified the eligibility requirements, which we met. Our flight was at 11:09am, Vancouver to Denver with a connecting flight from Denver to Boston. Upon embarkation, I went immediately to Passenger services who said that we would get paperwork delivered to our cabin IF we qualified. Having read the Port Authority rules and having been told by the Princess supervisor that we DID QUALIFY (we were on United and met all other requirements) including a flight that left after 11am, I asked Passenger services to verify that we were in fact eligible. They then said we were NOT because our flight was BEFORE 11:30am. When I mentioned that we were told 11:00am was the cutoff, they acknowledged that HAD been true "a few months ago" but too many people were missing their flights, so now the cut-off was 11:30am. We would need an exception to be made by the Princess Manager on board. Well we got the exception and did make our flight but even at that it took 2 hours before we actually made it to our gate. It took us probably 30 minutes to get to the Princess bus (They called White A, White B, Red 1, 2, 3 and 4, all at the same time!) The ship didn't dock until close to 7:30am so you are not working with a lot of time. After boarding the bus (around 8am)it took another 30 -40 minutes for the drive to the airport. Then you must be cleared by the Canadian Customs people who come on the bus and check everyones boarding passes, passports before the bus can be cleared. That took another 10-15 minutes and then about 9am we stood in line for another 45 minutes getting through the medal detectors. And we were on one of the earliest busses to leave the ship! Other busloads were arriving and the line was getting longer even while we were trying to get through. All and all a 2hour process. The extra $15 each was well worth not having to handle the luggage. We did have some plusses going for us that you should keep in mind. The Coral Princess was the ONLY ship disembarking in Vancouver (Monday to Monday itinerary which was a benefit in all 3 ports as there were either no other ships in port or one other). Weekend cruise departures can have as many as 5-6 ships in port and disembarking in Vancouver. I can't imagine the zoo Vancouver airport could have been had we come in on a Saturday or Sunday even with the expedited process. I doubt we would have made an 11:09am flight had that been the case. Also, the paperwork for this program has a fast turnaround. We received it on the second night of the cruise and it HAD to be returned to the purser's desk by NOON the next day. NO EXCEPTIONS. Our friends had wanted to do it but they neglected to read the paperwork until it was too late as they were seasick from the rough seas the night the paperwork was dropped off. They did make their 12:30 flight but had to drag their luggage they said for quite some time between Customs etc. before being able to check it in. Regarding the question about connecting flights, the tag that Princess gives for the luggage, will only say Vancouver, but they explained that the airline retickets it all the way through to your final destination. We picked up all 4 pieces of luggage and the original White A tag was on from Princess as well as the other luggage tag showing interim and final airports. Also, if you are approved, the paperwork we received on the final night (it's delivered between 6-7pm of the last night) included boarding passes and seat assignments for both flights along with the confirmation luggage tag numbers for all luggage checked. Sorry to write such a lenghly explanation but I found it very confusing and got many different answers from many Princess reps (including Passenger services). If you have an early flight, try to get an exception as soon as you embark (you may want to wait until after you sail). Also, we arranged our own flights, so in addition to purchasing the transfer, make sure to call in your flight information prior to leaving or bring it with you to Passenger services so they can enter it into your record otherwise you may not qualify as they won't have it in their system. I hope I have shed some light on the subject for those disembarking in Vancouver.

[cynton]

My husband & I took advantage of the Luggage Valet when leaving the Pacific Princess in Whittier. We put our bags out the night before and never saw them til we hit our final destination. Also, we were provided with special luggage tags & boarding passes the night before, so it was very smooth and worth the $15pp fee. Made walking all over Anchorage a lot more pleasant!!:)

[Hoyaheel]

Trudzie--thanks for the very detailed info--we already faxed our air information into Princess but I'll make sure I have a copy of the form with me. I think our flight is currently 12:50pm out of YVR (Delta has changed the flight time 3 times already--we started out at 1:45pm.....)But it sounds like we should be ok, and I'll remember to go to passenger services as soon as possible to request the information:p

Cynton--we're on the Pacific Princess too, but a southbound trip. Did Princess drop off information on the luggage valet or did you find out about it and request it on your own?

[Hlitner]

I am going to be a real skeptic...based on more than 30 years of extensive cruise travel. This sounds like a great idea, but in reality it is a recipe for major disaster. Lets assume you pay your $15 and all your luggage disappears from outside your cabin door. When you get home, you cheerfully wait for your luggage at the airline carousel and it never shows! Oh My. Now you go to the airline baggage claim office (already tired after a long day) and the airline says they haven't a clue about your luggage. So, you call the cruise line and they say, its the airlines fault. You go back to the airline and they say ...no, its the cruise lines fault. I hope you get my drift. Call me a worrier, but I prefer to personally track my luggage through the various steps so that I know where to turn when something disappears.

Hank

[frannie]

I have read in several posts where princess has the valet service where you pay 15.00 and put your luggage out at the end of the cruise and do not see it again til you get home . The princess web site says they have valet service with DHL for 90.00 per piece . Am I missing something . I e-mailed Princess and have not heard back yet . Big difference in mony

[kayguz]

We got off the Coral today in Vancouver. As of Tuesday, Sept. 4 there is no more U.S. Direct (don't know if it's seasonal.) We used the Princess bus transfer to the airport- like $15- they took our bags last night and we retrieved them at the Vancouver airport. Then we lugged them thru Customs. Definitely decreased some hassle, but we stood in line for over an hour waiting for our color and number to be called to claim our bag at the airport. They did have free carts to use to handle your stuff.

Kay