Experiences with settlement of onboard damage claims and other compensation?

[columbuscruiser3]

I'm hoping some of you will have some experiences you can share regarding handling of claims for onboard damage of items and other related compensation. I know that these threads sometimes generate responses about entitlement, why folks think everyone else should be responsible for their problems, etc. but that's not what I am looking for. I am just seeking to understand experiences with the process and any helpful hints that they can share.

 

Quick background on the situation:

- we were booked in a PS suite on the Coral Princess, LA-FLL Panama Canal that disembarked today.

- you may have seen references in Pia's great "Live From" thread that there was a fire onboard during the cruise. While the fire was confined to a locker in the engine room and quickly extinguished, and there was no direct impact on the passengers, we were (to the best of our knowledge) the one exception to that

- right after the announcement from the bridge that called all crew members to their emergency stations, the sprinker in the bedroom portion of our suite went off. Besides the terror of being suddenly showered from the sprinkler (which didn't stop), and the immediate assumption that there was a major fire (since we assumed everyone else's sprinklers were going off as well), we had some collateral damage to our belongings. The sprinkler kept running for at least 30 minutes despite repeated efforts by crew to turn it off

- we have a list of items that are damaged beyond repair (electronics, etc.) and other items that were destroyed and can't be replaced (e.g. my wife's journal of our trip) and that report was being filed by the ship to be sent to Princess HQ

- every bit of our clothing was wet/dirty and had to be taken to the ship's laundry (it was returned over the course of the next day)

- the suite was flooded and required the removal and replacement of all of the carpeting. We were relocated from our suite for the last 3 days/nights of the cruise to a standard balcony room

- staff did try to provide all of the suite amenities in the much smaller room but there's obviously a huge difference in the rooms and the overall experience

- we were provided an onboard credit described as a "goodwill gesture" from the ship

- I was told that the claim for the damaged items would be handled with Princess HQ, as well as "compensation" for the inconvenience (their term, not mine)

 

So, I am wondering:

- has any one had experience with damage claims and have any insights or tips on the process. I just don't know what to expect in terms of timeframe, negotiation required (if any), etc.

- has anyone had a similar circumstance and received any "compensation" for the non-monetary damages. I am not seeking or expecting a refund of any sort but would think some future cruise credit would be appropriate

- there is certainly an economic difference in the value of the suite vs the balcony cabin for 3 days/nights of the 14 day cruise and I would expect that to have some value as well

 

Sorry for the long post but i thought that the more detail I provided the more likely that I would generate helpful responses. Thanks in advance!

[notentirelynormal]

I would think that before you try to figure out what you are entitled to and how to negotiate for it, that you would see what they offer you first. In the past I've found them to be very fair. You never know, you might be very happy with what they offer you. Of course you can't replace the journal but you can try to reconstruct it. It not like it's been a long time since you just got off the cruise.

[Loonbeam]

There's a difference between reimbursement value and effective value in a claim like this..

 

I would suspect they would offer reimbursement for damaged physical items in the form of replacement value. Some things may have emotional value over that and that becomes an area of discussion, as is what is 'replacement value'.

 

In terms of things like a different cabin, its harder to place a financial value (sure you can take into account the price of each cabin at the time of booking, but as you noted there are non-tangibles as well). In this case they have a lot more options - theoretically they could offer you only the cost difference in cash, or anything from a discount to a free future cruise.

 

Wait till they tell you their offer. That could take a couple of weeks as they have to consult with their own insurer unless they are self-insuring your claim.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Good luck and glad that you are Ok. Please get back and let us know if you are satisfied with their offer.

[VibeGuy]

First off, I hope you'll be able to reach a point where this becomes a hilarious over-dinner conversation. I cannot imagine the feelings of sheer horror and terror in such a circumstance, but it didn't stop me from laughing with the luxury of time and distance. My tale of travel woe only involves the antics of a drunk actress who did a guest turn on the Love Boat. You win. ;0)

 

As for the damage process, I had a call from a risk management person in Santa Clarita. Shortly thereafter they asked me for receipts for the replacement item and I had a check shortly after.

 

If the settlement is inadequate and you don't get traction, consider a homeowners claim and that the Princess compensation can go towards satisfying the deductible.

[Astro Flyer]

How frightening to be awaken by sprinklers & as others have suggested I'd wait to get a reply from Princess. It may take awhile for them to complete their investigation but I'd also periodically contact them requesting an update.

 

I recall reading that you got an $399/person upsell for your suite & that Pia got your aft facing mini-suite. I bet that you didn't know that your suite included an 'in-cabin shower'! ;)

 

Hope you can keep a sense of humor while dealing with this bad situation & that you enjoyed your suite before this incident.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Can offer some form of guidance,

 

Princess lost my bags, at the start of a 24 day cruise,

 

while still on the cruise I was requested to provide a list of all items and value

 

within days of getting back home a letter arrived with an offer,

 

no refund but a very large future cruise credit, enough to pay for a cruise

 

we accept the offer with out question as it seemed more than fair. What part was for the goods lost, and what was compensation it did not say,

this came from Princess UK

 

yours Shogun

[phabric]

Please keep us informed.

 

My sister and brother in law, were on a 30 day cruise to Australia. While on the ship, workers did not put wet paint signs up or were taken down too early and their jackets got some paint on them. As the ship they were on was going to P&O, near the end of the cruise, the crew was working stripping the ship in some areas. My BIL complained in writting to Princess and received $1,250/pp further credit.

[rkmw]

Please keep us informed.

 

My sister and brother in law, were on a 30 day cruise to Australia. While on the ship, workers did not put wet paint signs up or were taken down too early and their jackets got some paint on them. As the ship they were on was going to P&O, near the end of the cruise, the crew was working stripping the ship in some areas. My BIL complained in writting to Princess and received $1,250/pp further credit.

 

$1250 pp for brand new jackets, cant complain about that

[Caribensun]

First, congrats Shogun for getting a large compensation. We have had major issues with Grand Suites where could not be in room and or use balcony for days and hours and only small compsenation. We have 21 cruises all but 2 have been in PH or GS. So, don't expect much. Our recent issue was this year. We could not afford an inside cabin with our compensation or even for one person inside double occupancy. Our lesson; no more Grand Suites on Princess.

Good Luck!

[ONT-CA]

My only response is to congratulate the OP for his presentation of information, concise, detailed and without emotion. Every detail could not be misunderstood and as such any response should be direct and to the point. Well done.

[phabric]

$1250 pp for brand new jackets, cant complain about that

 

His main complaint was instead of the cruiseline waiting until the ship was docked and the passengers were off the ship before renovating the ship. The ship was being taken over by the P&O division and they were renovating and riping part of the ship while everyone was suppose to be enjoying a cruise. It was not a little repair here or there, it was a major renovation they were doing.

 

Since he was sending the letter he mentioned about the paint on their jackets.

[columbuscruiser3]

Thanks to all for the replies and suggestions thus far. I have every intention of waiting to see what Princess proposes and have no reason to believe it won't be fair. The process was not well described to me which was why I was seeking to better understand through the experiences of others. I will certainly share the results with the Cruise Critic community.

 

We did manage to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing. We did discuss the unexpected benefit of having a waterbed in the suite, although we didn't think of the large in-room shower as an additional feature. We did our best not to let this put a damper on our vacation :)

 

Thanks again to all

[Coral]

I had something small happen. I sent some items to laundry and one sweater did not come back. I had to go down to the Passenger Services Desk 3x and file a report, they later typed the report and had to sign the report. I had to list the price of the item. I gave up thinking anything would happen and it wasn't that big of deal, especially compared to what you had. About 3 months later, I received a check from a company other than Princess for the amount I claimed for the sweater. It seemed to come from an employment company.

 

Sorry about your cruise and your loss of items.

[Pansy2801]

You can also send a message to customerrelations@princesscruises.com , describing everything that happened, including the paperworks filled during the cruise. They respond and act quickly. This way you have also a confirmation that your "case" was not lost between the ship and the corporate office.

[johnmik1]

We had a situation occur in 2003 when Island was a new ship and we were sailing from San Francisco to Ft Lauderdale on the maiden canal transit with passengers.After the sailaway in Acapulco,we returned to our cabin to find water cascading out of the ceiling.A fresh water pipe had broken over our mini-suite and soaked everything in the cabin.Princess was outstanding in handling the situation and we were not overly stressed so everyone just worked things out.They cleaned and washed all of our clothing,all of which was wet.They moved us to the only available cabin which was a mini without a balcony.By the next day our original cabin was restored and ready for occupancy.The purser,who now is an old friend,came to our cabin and spent some time to address our concerns,which were few.The offered us some shipboard credit,which I told them was unnecessary,but he insisted.A few days later he called and explained that since we were so understanding,the captain,Giorgio Pomata wanted to invite us to the bridge for the full Panama Canal transit including breakfast and lunch.I have seen Captain Pomata many times since and he always asks if our cabin is flooded.We were very impressed with Princess and continue sailing with them.Don't worry,they will do the right thing.

[columbuscruiser3]

As the OP of this thread I want to again thank those of you who shared experiences and advice on the handling of my issue. As promised, I wanted to provide an update on how Princess has responded to this point.

 

Without repeating all of the original post, the key points of our issue were:

- we were booked in a full suite on the Coral Princess 14 day LA-FLL which disembarked on May 4th

- we took an upsell offer into the suite (had booked a mini-suite)

- the sprinkler in our room went off, flooding our room, soaking all of our luggage, clothing, and personal items, and damaging some items (including electronics) and

- we were forced to be relocated for the last 3 nights/days from our full suite into an standard balcony room (full suite midships to standard balcony aft)

- we were given an OBC of $515 while on the ship which was the equivalent of about 8% of the total cruise fees we paid

 

Today I received a letter from Princess Customer Service telling me that they were sorry for the inconvenience they created, but they were denying any additional compensation for being forced out of our suite or for the other inconveniences and loss of amenities from the room change as they believe the OBC provided onboard represented appropriate compensation.

 

There was no response included on the damaged items claim.

 

I am surprised and very disappointed by the response as I believe even a very conservative estimate of the "loss" associated with just the room category reduction for over 20% of the cruise would be valued more highly than the OBC offered. As a Platinum level cruiser I at least expected to be treated fairly and this doesn't feel fair to me.

 

I am not looking for something for nothing, but I believe this response from Princess is inadequate.

 

I appreciate the knowledge and perspective of the Cruise Critic community and ask for any feedback and advice on next steps.

 

Thanks again to all.

[BratDet]

apples to oranges...perhaps the 515$ sOBC should be expressed as what percentage when you compare it to the fare paid for just the three days lost....8% of the total price paid for a 3 day issue is not a fair comparison..

 

I really hope they answer you about the electronics....I would respond and ask specifically if the damaged items would be addressed...

I am hoping that will get handled for you..but probably separately

 

You paid 800$ extra for 14 days of a suite... 400 extra for 7 days.....

 

57$ per day upsell for a suite....so three days would be 171$ lost.....and how much was the extra charge for a mini suite v. a balcony (your downgrade) for those three days.....They only gave you 515$....

 

Seems it seems like you were compensated for $$$ lost, but nothing for the bad experience....

 

Bernadette

[columbuscruiser3]

Thanks BratDet. Don't disagree that the 8% of total cruise fee is not a direct comparison. It was provided mainly to give some context on the $ involved.

 

Lots of different ways to do the math but you could probably make the case - as you did - that what was provided in OBC was a "fair" settlement for the economic value of the difference in rooms for the 3 days. Just would have thought they would have offered something instead of a flat no.

 

Agree that the damaged items will likely be addressed separately. A bit troubled that they could say "no" very quickly on the inconvenience issue but aren't nearly as fast in addressing the true out of pocket items (like my wife's cell phone which was damaged beyond repair).

 

We just can't get past (but I'm sure we will) the fact that what should be remembered as the time we got to "enjoy a full suite and the Panama Canal" now feels like "the time we got flooded and forced out of a full suite and Princess didn't seem to worry about it"...

 

Thanks again.

[BratDet]

settlement....was trying to grasp Princess thought process...

 

since you ONLY had a balcony for 3 days...what was the cost from a balcony to a mini suite?? Did the difference between 515$ minus the 170 ish cover that cost?...if it washes...it seems they gave you nothing for the bad situation you were put in...

Nothing for "loss of experience"...

 

Now if they had given you the same type of stateroom....the 515$ would seem pretty nice for the inconvenience of moving and what happened...but to downgrade two levels for three days...

 

I would try to escalate your issue..and use my math to show them they did not compensate you for anything except the extra $$ paid for the difference from balcony to a suite.....

 

I was on the Hurricane Sandy cruise and everyone was given a 50% of fare paid, despite the fact, we were always safe, diverted to Boston for safety, and we were kept an extra two days, always had water and electricity (while back home there was nothing!)

and fed well, etc.....(it was only a 4 day cruise to Bermuda).

 

How much was your electronics claim?

Bernadette

[columbuscruiser3]

As promised, here is where I have ended up with Princess:

- the damaged items claim is still being worked on. It totals approximately $600 (primarily electronics)

- as to the broader issue of the "inconvenience", we had been given a $515 OBC on the ship, having been told it was a "goodwill gesture" and not intended to be compensation for having been moved out of a suite, etc.

- I received a letter from Princess Customer Service informing me that the $515 OBC was deemed an appropriate resolution and they would offer nothing further

- I sent an email to Jan Swartz (EVP of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service) this morning expressing my concern over the response. I was factual and simply noted that I felt they may not have understood the overall circumstances when it was reviewed. No threats, no demands, no whining...

 

I received a call from Princess this afternoon in response to my email informing me that they felt it had been handled properly and that they would do nothing else. Explanation was "you paid $798 for an upsell to PS suite and we gave you back over half of that", "we looked at the difference in price between what you paid and what the room you were moved to would have cost, and then bumped that up some to address the loss of suite amenities", and "it is hard to put a price on people's happiness so this is the way we do it".

 

I don't feel the resolution is at all in line with the impact we experienced. In hindsight perhaps I should have been more argumentative and less accommodating while on the ship. I actually believed that Princess HQ would be concerned with a fair resolution. Either my notion of fair is way off the mark or Princess just wasn't that concerned about how we feel about it.

 

I'll end this here. I do appreciate the comments and suggestions from others. This was just one more reason why I appreciate the Cruise Critic community. Thanks again!

 

Kevin

[notentirelynormal]

Sorry it was not what you wanted. Please take my next comment in the fashion it is meant. I'm not trying to be hard, but Princess does read these boards and perhaps coming here to ask how to get more before you were made an offer didn't sit well with them. Airing your dirty laundry, so to speak. In the future it might be better to wait until you finish dealing with a company before posting on a public board that you wanted advice on how to get more.

[SissasMomE]

As promised, here is where I have ended up with Princess:

- the damaged items claim is still being worked on. It totals approximately $600 (primarily electronics)

- as to the broader issue of the "inconvenience", we had been given a $515 OBC on the ship, having been told it was a "goodwill gesture" and not intended to be compensation for having been moved out of a suite, etc.

- I received a letter from Princess Customer Service informing me that the $515 OBC was deemed an appropriate resolution and they would offer nothing further

- I sent an email to Jan Swartz (EVP of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service) this morning expressing my concern over the response. I was factual and simply noted that I felt they may not have understood the overall circumstances when it was reviewed. No threats, no demands, no whining...

 

I received a call from Princess this afternoon in response to my email informing me that they felt it had been handled properly and that they would do nothing else. Explanation was "you paid $798 for an upsell to PS suite and we gave you back over half of that", "we looked at the difference in price between what you paid and what the room you were moved to would have cost, and then bumped that up some to address the loss of suite amenities", and "it is hard to put a price on people's happiness so this is the way we do it".

 

I don't feel the resolution is at all in line with the impact we experienced. In hindsight perhaps I should have been more argumentative and less accommodating while on the ship. I actually believed that Princess HQ would be concerned with a fair resolution. Either my notion of fair is way off the mark or Princess just wasn't that concerned about how we feel about it.

 

I'll end this here. I do appreciate the comments and suggestions from others. This was just one more reason why I appreciate the Cruise Critic community. Thanks again!

 

Kevin

 

The electronics issue aside, you paid $798 to upgrade to the suite for 14 (?) days, and lost 3 days use, and they gave you $515 back, so to speak. You paid approx $25 per day for use of the suite, for the days that you actually used it (if I understood correctly). I think they were fair to you. That's just my opinion! As for your electronics and whatever else you lost, I feel 100% they should reimburse you for that stuff.

[Coral]

I don't feel the resolution is at all in line with the impact we experienced. In hindsight perhaps I should have been more argumentative and less accommodating while on the ship. I actually believed that Princess HQ would be concerned with a fair resolution. Either my notion of fair is way off the mark or Princess just wasn't that concerned about how we feel about it.

 

 

I am not sure if you would have had better luck on the ship asking for more. Some friends had an incident happen and the Customer Services Desk handed them a card and said to contact the Corporate Office when they returned home as there was nothing they could do on the ship.

[columbuscruiser3]

notentirelynormal - not sure why I feel like I need to defend myself, but nowhere in my original post did I ask for advice on "how to get more". I shared the facts of my experience and that "I am just seeking to understand experiences with the process and any helpful hints that they can share." Thought was the purpose of this community and I don't think sharing what happened was sharing dirty laundry. No pun intended I'm sure about "dirty laundry", but we had to spend $120 on dry cleaning when we got home since our luggage hadn't completely dried out by the time we had to pack to go home and everything was damp. That will be out of our pocket, not Princess'. Also, it turns out that the water that comes out of the sprinklers is somewhat brown and rusty. We're still finding the stains on all sorts of things. Dirty laundry indeed :)

 

As to the other comments, I understand the math. You can look at it like we got to use a suite for 10 days for $25/day. Great deal unless it ended with the last 3 days of your cruise being spent dealing with a problem that you didn't create or contribute to. To Princess it was a math problem. To us it was a ruined cruise experience. Just try to imagine hearing the announcement about a fire onboard and then having the sprinkler go off in your room. Wouldn't it scare the living h--- out of you?

 

If the customer service staff on the ship had been honest when I asked them, "is this OBC based on your calculation of the difference in the rooms, and is this intended to be our compensation for this issue?", I'd probably be less frustrated with the whole situation. Instead they assured me one had nothing to do with the other and this was simply a "goodwill" gesture. I hadn't even asked anyone for anything. I was assured that Princess HQ would provide a resolution. They created an expectation of something that I should obviously never have expected.

 

I read many posts on here where people complain, whine, exaggerate, overstate, and threaten. All I did was share the facts of our cruise experience and express my disappointment in the outcome. I appreciate the helpful thoughts and perspectives from those who offered them.

 

My wife and I were talking about the fact that by now we would normally be all about planning our next cruise and getting excited about some new adventure. Instead we're just aggravated. I'm sure we'll regain our perspective about it all, but had Princess just been more honest with us on the ship, or shows some small measure of understanding of the impact this had on our overall cruise experience, I doubt I'd still be even talking about it.

 

Anyway, I've created enough drama and that's not my style so I'll end it here. Thanks again to all.

 

Kevin