Downgrade fairy strikes!

[Tina G]

:( Princess called us 6 days before our cruise to Alaska to tell us that they had overbooked and couldn't give us our guaranteed J cabin. They offered us $50 to switch to a lower grade cabin. Greedy DH accepted, but I am disappointed. I have never heard of this happening before. Our fare was rock bottom, and I couldn't really expect an upgrade, but a downgrade? Is this something new?

[caribill]

Not new, but $50 is way too low to let Princess off the hook for not giving you the GTY cabin you booked.

 

You could have refused the offer.

 

Then Princess would either have made the offer to someone else or come back to you with a better offer.

[ASeaPrincess1]

I was once offered a downgrade from my coveted Emerald Deck mini (E731) to an Aloha Deck balcony........and $1,000.........

Are they NUTS????:D I declined..........

[Tina G]

Not new, but $50 is way too low to let Princess off the hook for not giving you the GTY cabin you booked.

 

You could have refused the offer.

 

Then Princess would either have made the offer to someone else or come back to you with a better offer.

I thought so, too. Husband was only thinking green. One inside cabin is as good as another - unless it's on the Dolphin deck above the theater! I refused the first two locations they suggested. This will be our 11th cruise with Princess, and we've one more booked in August. HAL is sounding good for next year.:mad:

[jnc411]

I have not seen this happen personally, but I do know that they overbook sometimes, but usually they make a better offer I think , sorry about that , and I do hope you still have a wonderful trip.

Cori

[chloe kitty]

:( Princess called us 6 days before our cruise to Alaska to tell us that they had overbooked and couldn't give us our guaranteed J cabin. They offered us $50 to switch to a lower grade cabin. Greedy DH accepted, but I am disappointed. I have never heard of this happening before. Our fare was rock bottom, and I couldn't really expect an upgrade, but a downgrade? Is this something new?

 

Over a year ago Princess overbooked a ship that we were on. I volunteered to give up our cabin and book another time. They offered us a tremendous deal that we couldn't refuse. You should have waited for a better deal.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

I thought so, too. Husband was only thinking green. HAL is sounding good for next year.:mad:

 

This happens...our Panama Canal partial transit was overbooked at Xmas and we were offered an incredible deal to switch to the FULL transit - they were willing to give a flight credit (small...only $150) but the second fare was to be completely free! (Only pay for one person!) Unfortunately due to the time of year and the sailing dates we couldn't do it - had to be back at work. Just like when an airline is overbooked and they're offering vouchers for someone willing to switch - no one forces your hand. Don't blame Princess...if there's a downgrade fairy it's your husband!

[sunsetbeachgal]

I thought so, too. Husband was only thinking green. One inside cabin is as good as another - unless it's on the Dolphin deck above the theater! I refused the first two locations they suggested. This will be our 11th cruise with Princess, and we've one more booked in August. HAL is sounding good for next year.:mad:

 

Tina...don't know why you are upset at Princess and thinking HAL sounds good...you could have said no...BTW, I have friends who just left for Europe on a Med cruise on Regent...TA called them twice earlier this week as ship was oversold (and Regent is a luxury line with small ships) And Regent was making offers up to $7,000..they said NO!!...all cruise lines overbook!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

:( Princess called us 6 days before our cruise to Alaska to tell us that they had overbooked and couldn't give us our guaranteed J cabin. They offered us $50 to switch to a lower grade cabin. Greedy DH accepted, but I am disappointed. I have never heard of this happening before. Our fare was rock bottom, and I couldn't really expect an upgrade, but a downgrade? Is this something new?

50$ was not cool ...

[framer]

This is simple. You were in control and agreed to the change. I see no problem.

 

framer

[cherylandtk]

I thought so, too. Husband was only thinking green. One inside cabin is as good as another - unless it's on the Dolphin deck above the theater! I refused the first two locations they suggested.

I don't quite understand this last part...you booked a J Guarantee, which on your ship are all on Caribe and Dolphin decks, and the first two assignments were in this area? That is what you booked, but you turned down the assignment that you booked? You were lucky they worked with you and gave you a cabin in a location acceptable to you, much less a $50 price difference. Next time book a specific cabin if you have ANY limitations on location.

[caribill]

I don't quite understand this last part...you booked a J Guarantee, which on your ship are all on Caribe and Dolphin decks, and the first two assignments were in this area? That is what you booked, but you turned down the assignment that you booked?

 

OP did not say if the assignments that were turned down were in the booked category or not.

[MCC retired]

OP booked a GTY and turned down twice what was given .

 

No fairy involved here , just not understanding what a Guarantee is when they booked .

[Cruise Junky]

Why are you mad at Princess? Blame your husband for this one. They wouldn't have done it without your consent.

[FLACRUISER99]

OP booked a GTY and turned down twice what was given .

 

No fairy involved here , just not understanding what a Guarantee is when they booked .

My definition of a J GTY would be any cabin cat. J or better not a downgrade for $50. What is yours??

[RickEk]

PT Barnum said it best... :p The folks in Princess' moveover dept. must be doing high-fives that they found a su... someone to take such a low offer. Since you had a guarantee, you were "guaranteed" to get a J cabin or better. Your husband made the choice. He should have just said no and they might have come back with a better offer or an upgrade. Lesson learned.

[Mapu]

My definition of a J GTY would be any cabin cat. J or better not a downgrade for $50. What is yours??

 

That is also the Princess definition.

[swedish weave]

Why complain ? You got 50 bucks !! You could have rejected the offer, stayed where you were assigned, and got nothing. Would you be happy with that ?

[Mapu]

Why complain ? You got 50 bucks !! You could have rejected the offer, stayed where you were assigned, and got nothing. Would you be happy with that ?

 

You missed the point. The OP booked a category J guarantee which was not and could not be provided.

[Cruise Junky]

You missed the point. The OP booked a category J guarantee which was not and could not be provided.

 

Yes, but they didn't lose their guarantee, the were made an offer, they accepted the offer. Fault is with the husband, not Princess.

[Katie333]

You can't blame Princess for trying!

 

As the OP admits, her DH (or perhaps just H in this case :rolleyes:) was the one who took the offer.

 

Princess would have honored the original booking at J or better, had they not taken the offer, or they would have come back with something better.

[donaldsc]

:( Princess called us 6 days before our cruise to Alaska to tell us that they had overbooked and couldn't give us our guaranteed J cabin. They offered us $50 to switch to a lower grade cabin. Greedy DH accepted, but I am disappointed. I have never heard of this happening before. Our fare was rock bottom, and I couldn't really expect an upgrade, but a downgrade? Is this something new?

 

Not likely but those are the breaks (positive and negative) when you book a Guarantee. I never do a Guarantee but I select a specific cabin and specify "do not upgrade".

 

DON

[Tina G]

I've actually never had a bad cabin on Princess. I'm on the Plaza deck in a category L, which will be fine. I enjoy the convenience of the Plaza deck, and DH likes to be early in line for dinner. DH can stand for dear husband, or damned husband, depending on my mood. I had just never heard of Princess downgrading anyone before. I'm surprised and a bit offended. Oh, well. 10 days in Alaska for less than $900 pp isn't bad.

[Susie51]

Thanks for the warning. If that ever happens to me, I will make a counter offer.

[paddingtonbear]

I've actually never had a bad cabin on Princess. I'm on the Plaza deck in a category L, which will be fine. I enjoy the convenience of the Plaza deck, and DH likes to be early in line for dinner. DH can stand for dear husband, or damned husband, depending on my mood. I had just never heard of Princess downgrading anyone before. I'm surprised and a bit offended. Oh, well. 10 days in Alaska for less than $900 pp isn't bad.

 

I know a few other substitutes for DH! But honestly, who would know any better unless you were on this forum? If I had got a call I might have thought "I'm not going to be able to get on the cruise" & jumped at anything offered! You learn something new everyday. You can buy a couple of bottles of nice wine to celebrate the fact that at least you are still on the cruise. Have a great trip.