diff --git a/cluster/gce/util.sh b/cluster/gce/util.sh
index 35689b86020..8f55e8c4c5a 100755
--- a/cluster/gce/util.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/util.sh
@@ -401,12 +401,12 @@ function detect-master() {
   if [[ -z "${KUBE_MASTER_IP-}" ]]; then
     local master_address_name="${MASTER_NAME}-ip"
     echo "Looking for address '${master_address_name}'" >&2
-    KUBE_MASTER_IP=$(gcloud compute addresses describe "${master_address_name}" \
-      --project "${PROJECT}" --region "${REGION}" -q --format='value(address)')
-  fi
-  if [[ -z "${KUBE_MASTER_IP-}" ]]; then
-    echo "Could not detect Kubernetes master node.  Make sure you've launched a cluster with 'kube-up.sh'" >&2
-    exit 1
+    if ! KUBE_MASTER_IP=$(gcloud compute addresses describe "${master_address_name}" \
+      --project "${PROJECT}" --region "${REGION}" -q --format='value(address)') || \
+      [[ -z "${KUBE_MASTER_IP-}" ]]; then
+      echo "Could not detect Kubernetes master node.  Make sure you've launched a cluster with 'kube-up.sh'" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
   fi
   echo "Using master: $KUBE_MASTER (external IP: $KUBE_MASTER_IP)" >&2
 }