Princess NOT Honoring Sale Brochure Price!!

[mikjr]

This past Monday, I just received the new Princess sale brochure advertising savings of 60% OFF!

 

So... I looked for our annual Hawaii Cruise, and sure enough, there was one offered for $1899.00 for a balcony.

 

BUT, when I called Princess on Monday, they couldn't find the sail date, and at first couldn't even find the sale brochure!! The rep asked for our Princess Club number so they could find the brochure that was sent to me, and finally found the brochure, but she said the sale date was wrong and they pulled the offer

 

Today, I had my TA and had her call... she had the same problem. The Rep couldn't even find the offer at all... and I gave my TA the OFFER CODE and Club number!!

 

This is not the first time this has happened... I receive a mailer, have my TA call, only to have the Princess rep tell her they CAN NOT find sale price!! This has happened several times, and even my TA is getting tired of the issue.

 

What is up with Princess? Are they using Bait and Switch tactics??

[Cruisin' Chick]

I remember calling Princess after reading in a CC quarterly that those with holiday bookings would get free champagne and a photo. The CSR didn't know what I was talking about, even though I did tell her which issue and even what pages (it was mentioned twice). She put me on hold and supposedly asked someone in the promotion dept. She then asked me if I would fax her the pages, but I didn't have a working fax machine at home and didn't feel like paying to have Kinkos send them something that they should be able to access right away. So I xeroxed the pages and mailed to them. No response. Sent another set. Then I emailed the page numbers and info. Finally got a response that it was a capacity controlled offer (there was nothing saying that -- not even any fine print) and it was filled. They did put coupons for a free photo and wine in our cabin anyway. But it just made me wonder why wouldn't they have the issue available for answering questions.

 

As for those mailings, I imagine by the time the items are printed and sent bulk mail, the "capacity" is filled. I look at the prices just out of interest as the sailings they're for, I can't go on.

[dforeigner]

This past Monday, I just received the new Princess sale brochure advertising savings of 60% OFF!

 

So... I looked for our annual Hawaii Cruise, and sure enough, there was one offered for $1899.00 for a balcony.

 

BUT, when I called Princess on Monday, they couldn't find the sail date, and at first couldn't even find the sale brochure!! The rep asked for our Princess Club number so they could find the brochure that was sent to me, and finally found the brochure, but she said the sale date was wrong and they pulled the offer

 

Today, I had my TA and had her call... she had the same problem. The Rep couldn't even find the offer at all... and I gave my TA the OFFER CODE and Club number!!

 

This is not the first time this has happened... I receive a mailer, have my TA call, only to have the Princess rep tell her they CAN NOT find sale price!! This has happened several times, and even my TA is getting tired of the issue.

 

What is up with Princess? Are they using Bait and Switch tactics??

 

Please read the fine print in order to verify that there aren’t limited to a certain number of rooms. If that is not the case, then feel free to file a claim with BBB.org. Princess will get a hold of you in order to fix the complaint you have filed. It may work, it may not. I did this with a major computer company. I received a brochure indicating a certain price; they would not honor it stating that it was sent out as a mistake. I filed complaint with BBB, my State's Attorney General's office, the Post Office Investigation division, along with other Federal Agencies (being that I received the advertising via the US mail). At the end, I got the computer at the advertised prize.

[mikjr]

Please read the fine print in order to verify that there aren’t limited to a certain number of rooms.

 

The only thing it said in the FINE print was that the special price was limited to ONE sailing date, which was fine with me. But, they couldn't even tell what that date was because they couldn't find the offer.

 

The Princess Rep asked for my Captains Club number so she could FIND what brochure was sent to me. That leads me to believe that DIFFERENT offers are sent to different people. Can that be right?? Does that mean that new cruisers get one brochure with a sale price... Platinum members get a different brochure... and price, and Elite get another?? If that's the case... it's no wonder they can't keep track of their offers!!

 

I plan on calling Princess tomorrow and speak with a supervisor. Maybe they can explain what the problem is.

[Astro Flyer]

Many offers are based on where you live so it's not a surprise to me if they don't know about every promotion. Some of the Princess agents are home based which is great for the employees & the environment but not necessarily for having a fully informed rep who may have never taken a cruise.

[mikjr]

Many offers are based on where you live so it's not a surprise to me if they don't know about every promotion. Some of the Princess agents are home based which is great for the employees & the environment but not necessarily for having a fully informed rep who may have never taken a cruise.

 

Really?? home based? wow... that's very interesting. Astro... I assume you know this to be fact?

[Astro Flyer]

Really?? home based? wow... that's very interesting. Astro... I assume you know this to be fact?

Yes, I've had Princess reps tell me they worked from home. I don't see that as a problem because I doubt if reps in a call center would know everything either...good luck with your situation.

[mikjr]

Yes, I've had Princess reps tell me they worked from home. I don't see that as a problem because I doubt if reps in a call center would know everything either.

 

you are probably right... but given this is not the first time it's happened, there is obviously a problem somewhere in there ability to communicate the correct information through the proper channels.

 

After I speak with Princess tomorrow, I'll post their answer. Hopefully I can speak with a supervisor that isn't talking to me while dressed in her/his robe and house slippers! :D

[rtlk]

We are elite's and have had our daughters who have cruised once, get better pricing than we got for the same type of cabin on the same cruise. Even after much complaining they basicly said "Tough Luck". They do as they please, even if it upsets the core of the customer base... Who says "the Customer is always right", not Princess....:mad:

[dog]

this offer thing has happened to me several times, but once in a while it's worth the call

[fishin' musician]

These offers have the term "capacity controlled", in the fine print, which simply means the plug can be pulled on the offer at any time.

[Loonbeam]

A couple of notes - targeted marketing as describe not only happens, its common. Status is only one factor in deciding who gets different offers, they look at things like type of cabin normally booked, onboard spend, excursion spend... Geography can play an issue, number of cruises already booked, time since last cruise...

 

For example, if someone consistently books an inside, they may get mailings with deals on OV or Balcony to try to get them to move up. Someone who books a lot of ship tours may get better deals on a cruise where ship tours are more profitable. Real example, when we sailed AK I did all ships tours for a number of reasons. After AK I got TONS of mailers. For the PC I did all independent and had an AA mini. Lot less mailers.

 

As far as at home reps, this is more and more common. In addition, those reps may not serve only Princess. I know one person who works for both a tech company and an adult chat line (and is very diligent about not crossing them up). Its a very cost effect method, but training is ALWAYS an issue.

[skynight]

What I would do is verify you are correct about the ad and the pricing. If you are as I expect, write to:

California Department of Consumer Affairs

1625 North Market Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95834

Att: Consumer Relations Dept.

 

Mention that Princess has False Advertising and Questionable Business Practices by failing to honor the ad which you enclosed. Include all the details and a copy of the actual advertisement, all pages, including the fine print. (This agency will not respond back to you, but you should get a response from Princess once they know they have been reported)

 

Send a copy of the letter to

Corporate Legal Department

Princess Cruse Lines

Santa Clarita

 

And also a copy to your TA.Then have your TA follow up.

 

I had to use this method for an issue I had back a few years ago. I received a phone call directly from the Princess Lawyer, who was very unhappy about the response given to me by Princess Customer Relations, as my documentation was 100% accurate. Good Luck

[mikjr]

I spoke with a Princess Customer Relations Supervisor this morning. He apologized for the problem.

 

He said that he noticed a mis print in the ad and notified their marketing department. The ad shows a sale price for a 10/16, but there was no sailing for that date. The correct sale date was December, which is too late for us.

 

He did mention, that sometimes when a new brochure is sent, it's not in their computer system yet, making it difficult for the REPS to find the specials. I told him it had happened many times before, so he gave me his name and direct extension, which I thought was nice...

 

we booked for October... so all is well!

[zacc]

We are elite's and have had our daughters who have cruised once, get better pricing than we got for the same type of cabin on the same cruise. Even after much complaining they basicly said "Tough Luck". They do as they please, even if it upsets the core of the customer base... Who says "the Customer is always right", not Princess....:mad:

 

I find your post very interesting. Why would you remain loyal to a cruise line long enough to become elite when that line doesn't care about the customer?:confused: Plus it looks like they cared enough to satisfy the OP since they booked an Oct. cruise.

[Astro Flyer]

I spoke with a Princess Customer Relations Supervisor this morning. He apologized for the problem.

 

He said that he noticed a mis print in the ad and notified their marketing department. The ad shows a sale price for a 10/16, but there was no sailing for that date. The correct sale date was December, which is too late for us.

 

He did mention, that sometimes when a new brochure is sent, it's not in their computer system yet, making it difficult for the REPS to find the specials. I told him it had happened many times before, so he gave me his name and direct extension, which I thought was nice...

 

we booked for October... so all is well!

I'm glad you were able to resolve your situation & are happy enough to have booked a cruise to enjoy. As a 1st step I make a company aware of a problem & see if there's an equitable resolution to it before considering the other steps suggested. Every employee at every company doesn't always reflect the company's policy accurately & glad that you were able to find someone to take care of your situation. :)

[BassettMom]

I found this post interesting since my parents had a similiar issue.

 

My parents and I booked the same cruise on the same day using the same brochure which offered OBC for booking prior to a cut-off day, and we booked well before the cut-off day. Both my cruise personalizer and their cruise personalizer showed the OBC.

 

The day before we flew out, Princess called with an upgrade and provide the new cabin number. The day after we embarked, I advised my dad to check his on-board account just to be on the safe side to make sure all our OBCs were reflected. His military credit was there, but the Princess OBC ($100) was not--mine showed up on my account so I got it, but he didn't for some reason. We thought it was probably due to the change in cabin and that it just didn't transfer (although his military OBC did transfer).

 

We sent to Passenger Services Desk, showed them the brochure (my dad had brought it), and showed them the printed screen shot of his Princess Personalizer (which my dad had also printed and brought with him). He also had the email from his TA listing all the OBC.

 

PSD scanned it in and attached it to an email to headquarters. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.... Each time we checked PSD said they didn't have a response from headquarters, and would send another email (it was 4 emails before PSD got a response). Finally, at the end of a 16-day cruise, my dad had a message that they couldn't find any OBC and that if he had any other questions, he should contact headquarters after we returned and provide a copy of the brochure (gee, I thought we had already done that :rolleyes:).

 

OK, so after returning home, he emailed customer service and attached a scanned copy of the brochure as well as the screen shot of his Princess Personalizer showing the OBC.

 

The response? They say his TA must not have requested the OBC when booking (even though it had been credited previously and was clearly listed), they don't show any record of it (even though we had a printed screen shot of the Personalizer showing OBC, as well as his TA's email listing all the OBC), and there is nothing more they can do. So, pretty much, the response was...too bad.

 

My parents, who are platinum, have now said that they don't trust any brochure from Princess or the cruise Personalizer when it comes to OBC since they could wipe it out/erase it and then simply say sorry, we don't have a record of it. I know that lots of people have said to print everything out so they have a record, and my dad did have everything, but since Princess' computer records couldn't verify that information, it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.

 

We had planned to cruise together again later this year/early next year, but now my dad says he won't cruise with Princess. I have never had anything short of excellent customer service from Princess so I hate to see this happen since I'd like to continue to cruise with Princess. But know that I'll have to listen to my dad if I do book another cruise--so I'm stuck in the middle of all of this. I do see my dad's point of view since he had all the documentation, and I also see Princess' point of view since they had no record in their computers and screen shots would be easy to "create" but I'm not sure it's really worth the hassle on both sides.

[ONT-CA]

Many offers are based on where you live so it's not a surprise to me if they don't know about every promotion. Some of the Princess agents are home based which is great for the employees & the environment but not necessarily for having a fully informed rep who may have never taken a cruise.

 

Rest assured that the home based rep. (and we have dealt with one) is in total communication with the main Princess data base and what one employee can call up for verification in the Princess California offices another can do likewise from his three bedroom bungalow in New Mexico. (example)

[oratheeexplorer]

I found this post interesting since my parents had a similiar issue.

 

My parents and I booked the same cruise on the same day using the same brochure which offered OBC for booking prior to a cut-off day, and we booked well before the cut-off day. Both my cruise personalizer and their cruise personalizer showed the OBC.

 

The day before we flew out, Princess called with an upgrade and provide the new cabin number. The day after we embarked, I advised my dad to check his on-board account just to be on the safe side to make sure all our OBCs were reflected. His military credit was there, but the Princess OBC ($100) was not--mine showed up on my account so I got it, but he didn't for some reason. We thought it was probably due to the change in cabin and that it just didn't transfer (although his military OBC did transfer).

 

We sent to Passenger Services Desk, showed them the brochure (my dad had brought it), and showed them the printed screen shot of his Princess Personalizer (which my dad had also printed and brought with him). He also had the email from his TA listing all the OBC.

 

PSD scanned it in and attached it to an email to headquarters. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.... Each time we checked PSD said they didn't have a response from headquarters, and would send another email (it was 4 emails before PSD got a response). Finally, at the end of a 16-day cruise, my dad had a message that they couldn't find any OBC and that if he had any other questions, he should contact headquarters after we returned and provide a copy of the brochure (gee, I thought we had already done that :rolleyes:).

 

OK, so after returning home, he emailed customer service and attached a scanned copy of the brochure as well as the screen shot of his Princess Personalizer showing the OBC.

 

The response? They say his TA must not have requested the OBC when booking (even though it had been credited previously and was clearly listed), they don't show any record of it (even though we had a printed screen shot of the Personalizer showing OBC, as well as his TA's email listing all the OBC), and there is nothing more they can do. So, pretty much, the response was...too bad.

 

My parents, who are platinum, have now said that they don't trust any brochure from Princess or the cruise Personalizer when it comes to OBC since they could wipe it out/erase it and then simply say sorry, we don't have a record of it. I know that lots of people have said to print everything out so they have a record, and my dad did have everything, but since Princess' computer records couldn't verify that information, it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.

 

We had planned to cruise together again later this year/early next year, but now my dad says he won't cruise with Princess. I have never had anything short of excellent customer service from Princess so I hate to see this happen since I'd like to continue to cruise with Princess. But know that I'll have to listen to my dad if I do book another cruise--so I'm stuck in the middle of all of this. I do see my dad's point of view since he had all the documentation, and I also see Princess' point of view since they had no record in their computers and screen shots would be easy to "create" but I'm not sure it's really worth the hassle on both sides.

 

 

I don't know if you are on facebook or not, but sometimes people direct Princess on their facebook page with problems and they get the ball rolling to get things resolved. Maybe you could try it? Although your cruise is over, maybe they would do something for a future cruise to compensate? Just a suggestion....

[caribill]

OK, so after returning home, he emailed customer service and attached a scanned copy of the brochure as well as the screen shot of his Princess Personalizer showing the OBC.

 

The response? They say his TA must not have requested the OBC when booking (even though it had been credited previously and was clearly listed), they don't show any record of it (even though we had a printed screen shot of the Personalizer showing OBC, as well as his TA's email listing all the OBC), and there is nothing more they can do. So, pretty much, the response was...too bad.

 

A. Did your Travel Agent go to bat for you on this issue? Either while on the cruise or after your return?

 

B. Did you take this issue to a supervisory level within Princess? At the right level, they should realize your father was due the OBC.

[Coral]

Really?? home based? wow... that's very interesting. Astro... I assume you know this to be fact?

 

Yes they have them. I spoke with one of them and it was mandatory that they worked at one of the call centers for a certain amount of time. I believe they must also live near their call center.

[nho9504]

We are elite's and have had our daughters who have cruised once, get better pricing than we got for the same type of cabin on the same cruise. Even after much complaining they basicly said "Tough Luck". They do as they please, even if it upsets the core of the customer base... Who says "the Customer is always right", not Princess....:mad:

 

It is the game of Gaining Market Share.

 

You are already Elite that means you would not leave Princess, may be stray once or twice but you would always come back.

 

Your daughter is new to Princess - in order to allure her come back again and again, they throw her a bone.

 

Virtually almost all big corporations do that.

 

Dont like it? Vote with your wallet and sail other lines. Though, unless you go to RCCL's camp you would still paying to Carnival Corp.

[lovevacadays]

you are probably right... but given this is not the first time it's happened, there is obviously a problem somewhere in there ability to communicate the correct information through the proper channels.

 

After I speak with Princess tomorrow, I'll post their answer. Hopefully I can speak with a supervisor that isn't talking to me while dressed in her/his robe and house slippers! :D

 

Aaahhh. I work from home quite often but never in my robe and slippers. I hope you have resolved your issue and it has benefited you.

[lovevacadays]

I spoke with a Princess Customer Relations Supervisor this morning. He apologized for the problem.

 

He said that he noticed a mis print in the ad and notified their marketing department. The ad shows a sale price for a 10/16, but there was no sailing for that date. The correct sale date was December, which is too late for us.

 

He did mention, that sometimes when a new brochure is sent, it's not in their computer system yet, making it difficult for the REPS to find the specials. I told him it had happened many times before, so he gave me his name and direct extension, which I thought was nice...

 

we booked for October... so all is well!

 

Nice to hear you got an explanation and also booked a cruise. Which ship are you sailing to Hawaii?