deltaqueenie

I just received my full refund from Iceland Everywhere (IET), it was such a pleasure to work with Dodo and Sigi. Some of these ports were canceled on a moment’s notice, and I was constantly canceling and rebooking these tours while onboard the Sky….I HIGHLY recommend this company!

5 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Princess built the Royal class ships with two propellers and a standard rudder to save a few bucks.  Almost all others ships this size have azipods that make them much more maneuverable in high winds.  This is the reason they can't sail the Inside Passage going out of Vancouver and frequently have to approach Ketchikan from the north.  Many of Iceland's ports have difficult approaches in windy weather.  While I expect to miss a few ports here and there when cruising and put up with rough seas, I truly resent that Princess knew they would have problems getting into ports with these ships, but went with the cheaper design anyway.  I have no desire to sail on any of the Royal class ships.  
 

You can read the pilot's report here:  https://krbd-org.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/SEAPA_VLCS-v2.pdf

 

News article is here:  https://alaskapublic.org/2019/04/22/southeast-alaska-pilots-raise-concerns-over-royal-princess-megaship/

 

It seems to amaze me what fellow CC members know, thank you for the info. While onboard, I actually spoke to Passenger Services about this, and they didn’t know if the Sky was a more difficult ship to maneuver.  After we were missing so many ports, I asked why we didn’t substitute another port- I inquired about the Shetland Islands or Faroe Islands (we sailed by them twice), was told ‘it couldn’t be arranged’..From past experience when missing ports, we usually had another port substituted. Maybe this azipod issue was a factor. It looks like the Royal Class ships are: Royal, Regal, Majestic, and Sky. So why would Princess use one of these ships on this difficult Iceland itinerary?

18 hours ago, Nicole&Pete said:

I think this is a very good point.

 

Someone’s perception of a massive change in itinerary is very much dependent on their circumstances.

 

We have limited vacation days, we have to fight for time off work for the dates that suit us, we have to spend weeks leading up to the cruise fretting about getting our work finished or handed over to someone on time, we have to book ahead and we would have saved/ made a big sacrifice elsewhere to go on such an amazing itinerary and as a result of it being so important for us we would have planned everyday out to absolutely maximise our time in a place we are unlikely to visit again. 
 

This would have not just been another cruise or even an annual vacation, it would have involved a significant financial and time sacrifice for us and would involve probably 3 years of cheap holidays to counter the cost of this one cruise. It is also therefore very likely that if we were given the FCC we wouldn’t be able to use it.
 

My parents on the other hand go on multiple cruises a year, they often book last minute and if something doesn’t work out they don’t care because they have the next cruise to look forward to and would definitely go back to any places they missed. They would probably be saying they prefer the FCC to visiting those ports anyway because they could put it towards another cruise in a few weeks time or one they have already got booked, no worry about time off, lots of kids future inheritance to spend so easy peasy.

 

I get what people are saying that you can’t guarantee that a cruise will dock, and it is not the cruise lines fault (if they have made decisions on safety rather than financial that is) but one must understand that for some people the trip meant a lot more than for others and thus the disappointment and annoyance is justified. The FCC (whilst generous) is great for those who cruise a lot but does not compensate those people who are unlikely to use it or have to fork out more money to use it because they hadn’t planned on cruising in the next year anyway.

I think you did a great job explaining how people have different perspectives according to their own personal circumstances. I agree with your example of people who travel a lot probably have another trip just around the corner- so it may not be as upsetting. But, for the ‘once in a lifetime’ people- missing 3 out of 4 Iceland ports and only being compensated 20% (that they may never use) was not enough…as I’ve stated before, while the ‘goodwill gesture’ was appreciated- we all are entitled to our own opinions, and for me the 20% wasn’t even close to compensation for the planning and money that we invested in this trip.

On 5/29/2023 at 11:48 AM, vsgnorwich said:

Hello. I would be very grateful if people would like to post how they found Isafjordur, especially any trips, either Princess or independent. Thanks 

We booked with ArcticShorex/Wild Westfjords in Isafjordur. The company was wonderful to work with- we had to cancel while onboard due to missing ports (received refund in a day!) and because of further itinerary changes we needed to rebook. ArcticShorex, on a few hours notice, arranged our original 18psgr minivan tour to see the Westfjords, Dynjandi Waterfalls, and Villages
I think both 5hr excursions are similar:

ArcticShorex $140.00 per person (didn’t include lunch) approx 8:15am-1:30pm

Princess $384.95 per person 

The waterfalls, hike, and scenery were beautiful (we would be the red circle- to show you how huge the waterfalls are). Our guide was fantastic, and it was a great tour!

33 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

@Rick&Jeannie not sure how you usually do dinner if you do it in the dining room or not? I know I usually use the Estrella dining room Do they still have the two separate lines with signage for reservations and non reservation lines Do you know? I know the entrance is always been on the starboard side but then then they have the two separate lines typically. I know things change based on whoever the restaurant manager is on board and how they want to handle the crowd control.

I would say that surprisingly (3,550 psgrs onboard) both the Estrella and Soleil Dining Rooms have been great for us. We haven’t made reservations, and have been able to walk in, (request a table for 2 and be seated) between 6:00pm-7:30pm every night without waiting! I think they have the signs, but it doesn’t seem to matter- I’ve not seen anyone waiting with ‘beepers’.

I would highly recommend booking Iceland with these two tour companies: IET/Iceland Everywhere and ArcticShorex/Wild Westfjords, both companies are extremely reasonable. We exchanged emails daily due to the changing of the ship’s itinerary. Aukureyri was canceled at 7:30am, minutes before our tour was scheduled to begin. I had prepaid ALL Iceland excursions before leaving with the contracts including the phrase (‘refundable if your ship doesn’t dock’). ArcticShorex had already processed my refund in a day! Ironically, we did end up porting in Isafjordur (on a different day), and AcrticShorex organized two 18psgr mini vans on a few hours notice providing us our original Dynjandi Westfjords 5hr tour! Even though the contract says ‘refundable’…you really never know- most of these cancellations took place less than 24hours before, due to the Captain constantly canceling our itinerary.

9 hours ago, Teechur said:

We were on the Crown Princess in 2017, traveling around South America. The choice was to board in Rio, or the next port, Buenos Aires. We chose B.A. having already been to Rio.

 

Long after departing Rio, the Crown had to turn back due to a medical emergency. We sat at the B.A. port all day long with zero information. Finally in the evening, Princess reps. admitted the ship would not arrive until the next day and bused us to a 5-star hotel. No one had access to their luggage and no dinner vouchers were provided. We had everything we needed in carry-ons, but some didn't.

The next day were bused back to the port and boarded.

 

Next stop was Montevideo, Uruguay. Being a day behind, we had no empty berth to dock. We sat offshore and were refueled from a barge. In the evening when another ship departed, we were allowed into port. Our visit was two hours long in torrential rain. Most of us dashed to a liquor store, then back to the ship. No officials on board had the nerve to challenge us, toting cases of beer, etc.

The next day we were scheduled to water shuttle to the Falkland Islands. We skipped that port due to "weather". Actually, it was to get us back on our cruise schedule.

 

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we had a great time. Onboard was a huge group of English pensioners who had come on this trip specifically to visit the Falklands. They were livid and held meeting after meeting attended by ship's officers.

 

First, we were awarded 25% back. After more angry meetings, we were given 50% back. By the time we reached Chile, the captain announced that everyone on board would receive 100% back in future cruise credit and cash for port fees, etc.

 

We didn't deserve it (nor did Princess) because the debacle was caused by an old person who died enroute. We simply thanked the Captain and booked a Baltic Sea cruise a few months later. Both cruises were awesome! 👍

 

I hope we will be able to port, at least, in Reykjavik in September. If not, we will suck it up, and go somewhere else next time. I will not be saying "never again with Princess" for something outside their control. 😡

I’m so sorry this happened to you, it sounded very stressful….but, did you receive 100% of your entire “cruise fare” as an FCC? 20% and 100% are quite different…

10 hours ago, portiemom said:

Very sorry that you missed so many ports. We hope to get to Iceland eventually, and this thread is showing me just how difficult that may be, as it seems weather concerns are common on this itinerary! But I'm not sure what the National Holidays in Norway has to do with it. Weren't they already scheduled when you booked the cruise?

I assume they were scheduled but I wasn’t informed…I included the National Holidays issue because I learned something- I should have done more research prior to booking (checking Norway National Holidays) and realized 2 of the 3 Norway port days occurred during Holidays when everything was closed, just disappointing..

2 minutes ago, Glide said:

No we missed 2 out of 7 ports.

Just tough luck.

We actually missed three originally scheduled ports: Reykjavik, Aukureyri, and Grandarfjordur..

Just now, Wblotner said:

You missed half of the planned ports - they should give 50% FCC. Curious if other ships that were supposed to port were able to.

We actually missed 3 out of 4 of the original Iceland itinerary planned ports. Isafjordur was the ONLY original itinerary port we visited.. and even Isafjordur was cancelled on the date we should have been there (May 21) and was changed at the last minute to another date (May 22). 
 

However, as I mentioned earlier, we did go to all THREE ports in Norway….but there were National Holidays that occurred at TWO of those ports- nothing was opened..

To my fellow Cruise Critic members,

A big thanks to all of you who have expressed sympathy, I appreciate it 💕 and I hope this will not happen to any of you who plan to cruise Iceland…

Has anyone actually received FCC in this manner? This is the letter we received. It states a Future Cruise Credit of 20% of “paid cruise fare”..

My invoice from my travel agent reads:

CRUISE FARE $1,696 (20% of this is $340) 

NCF $700 (if this is added then my FCC is $480)

GOVERNMENT TAXES $350 (if this is added then my FCC is $550)

And I’m sure Princess is not going to reimburse me for airfare ($1,800) insurance or anything else…
It is a “goodwill gesture” and while I appreciate this effort, IMO $340 is not nearly enough for what we missed. Not to mention we had 8 Sea Days (originally had only 6) on a VERY crowded ship…

As far as weather conditions..really who knows? I chose the May dates because Iceland has less rain in May..Even though we have 25 cruises with Princess, this cruise has made me rethink ANY cruise itinerary…

Original itinerary:

Akureyri- canceled

Isafjordur- originally canceled, but we did go there today

Grundarfjordur- canceled 

Reykjavik- canceled 

So we made it to ONE port that was on our itinerary, and a substituted port, Seydisfjordur. In Seydisfjordur Princess Shore Excursions were unable to schedule ANY excursions, so we were on our own..

I imagine the Captain had his reasons for canceling, ☹️ but ironically enough, the weather on those days seemed fine…

Just a very disappointing expensive cruise to Iceland…

And I might also add that National Holidays occurred on 2 out of 3 ports in Norway- pretty much everything was closed….

We are missing Reykjavik, Grundarfjordur, and Aukureyri…and the captain continues to change our itinerary…I do understand that weather can affect a cruise, but this has been a HUGE disappointment. It seems every day I have canceled and rearranged private tours with IET, and ArcticShorex. Our original itinerary had 4 Iceland ports, and we had one substituted with Seydisfjordur.. IMO I would not do Iceland on a cruise- this has been a mess.

IMO ‘free internet for a specific amount of minutes’ used to be the BEST free perk for us.  Why? because back then, the internet usually worked! Now we’re paying (50% off) for a product that mostly doesn’t even work…that seems like a rip off to me.

In 2022 we only sailed the Discovery in July to Alaska- the ship was full capacity. All of the pre cruise Covid testing was too stressful, and we were denied sailing several itineraries due to vaccine/booster requirements. We had a wonderful time on the Discovery: received a balcony upgrade and were honored ‘as most traveled passengers’. It was a great cruise! We have 3 cruises booked in 2023: Caribbean, Panama Canal, and Iceland.

Uncle Sugar, I’m so sorry this has happened to you. I’m also sorry that people keep telling you to ‘just get the booster’ when you made it clear you are not- it is a personal choice. Just today the Princess site deleted 2 pages of ‘enhanced cruises’ (requiring a booster) and now only show a few…The Princess reps I spoke with said ‘enhanced cruises’ included everything on this list, but maybe it changed today? Even after talking to several Princess reps, I find it impossible to know what’s going on…

11 hours ago, billco said:

We don't use the pools. I do use the hot tubs. We don't go to the over amplified production shows. We spend the time in Crooners or the Piazza. We have early dining in the MDR after a few glasses of wine in the Platinum/Elite Lounge. We still bother to cruise. Have 4 Princess cruises and 1 NCL cruise booked. Avoiding the Melanoma Deck didn't help us. My DW still tested positive for Covid the last day of the cruise, Just got back to the states after 10 days of isolation and quarantine. Still like Princess, especially after looking at my recent booking with NCL and seeing how much I am going to be nickel and dimed on that cruise.

I’m curious…was DW actually sick those 10 days? Or what country did you disembark in that required 10 days quarantine?

Norman Love Chocolate Journeys! I wish they were available every night, only offered on formal nights on our last cruise.

On 8/4/2022 at 12:42 PM, ImperialLady said:

where did you go? Thanks

The ports visited on the Discovery JUL 24-31were: Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka (this replaced Skagway) and Victoria. Nothing was added to replace Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, we didn’t really get to see any glaciers, other than Mendenhall in Juneau. After seeing the pics of the ship using tenders on AUG 4th, I’m very disappointed we did not tender in Skagway- we had the train booked…

On Discovery JUL 24-31 Alaska, I was told by passenger service reps there were

3,300 guests onboard, and 3,600 was capacity. 

On 8/2/2022 at 2:10 PM, stevenr597 said:

When we recently visited Skagway on Discovery Princess we were told the since Skagway is in a fjord the waters are quite deep, too deep to drop and ancho,r which would rule out tendering passengers into the port, unless the ship wanted to constantly use its thrusters.

On the JUL 24-31 sailing, the letter from the Captain did not mention this. The passenger service reps didn’t seem to know when I asked them ‘why we didn’t tender’?

Thanks for the info.

On 8/2/2022 at 10:36 AM, Sea Hag said:

Did you go to Tracy Arm for Sawyer Glacier instead? That's what's supposed to happen if Endicott is too icy, but I suppose it could happen that both are too icy. 

We did not go to Tracy Arm..

We were on the Discovery Alaska JUL 24-31, internet was pretty much non existent, no matter where we were. Internet used to be free for Elites, now I’m paying for something that doesn’t work. All psgrs should be refunded- is the internet not working because of the Medallion? Or what has happened? I was told 3,300 psgrs were onboard.

On 7/30/2022 at 12:25 PM, Ptroxx said:

Word on the street is they are tendering pax to Skagway. 
 

 

We were on the Discovery July 24-31, and did not go to Skagway due to (landslide reason stated in a letter to psgrs. the day before we were to be in Skagway). Why didn’t we tender? I asked several staff onboard, no one had an answer..
We had booked the White Pass Railway and were looking forward to it! Sitka was OK, but we preferred Skagway. Our cruise missed Endicott Arm with Dawes Glacier (due to ice), also disappointing.