Just back from a 26 day T/A on the Crown...

[EightFurryPaws]

This was the most unusual cruise I have ever been on thanks to Mother Nature.

Embarkation was from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale with a turnaround in

Southampton for the last half of the trip..

 

The first 2 weeks were perfect weather wise, with great ports including the Canary Islands.

 

When we arrived back in Southampton to change passengers, we were informed by the Captain a terrible storm was in our path and we would be

in port at Southampton for 3 days. And we were. This caused us to miss

3 ports, including Le Harve for Paris and Normandy, Vigo and the Azores.

Wow, everybody was upset!! Some acted like Princess planned this on purpose.

 

Unfortunately, there was nothing anyone can do. The sad part was that many

Veterans were on board to visit Normandy. One gentleman brought American flags to put on graves. I didn't want to miss Paris as well.

However, Captain made the correct decision. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

Although we only able to visit 2 ports in 14 days, the Cruise Director, Kelvin Joy, and his staff kept things on board fun with lots to do. Princess gave each

passenger a FCC of one week fare based on the amount they paid for their cruise. My husband and I each received $1080.00. Considering Princess didn't

have to compensate anything because of weather conditions, I thought that was very generous to them. Figuring each of the 3000 passenger's received approximately $1000.00 and the three days in port the casino, stores and no shorex's took place, I figure it could have cost them about 4 Million.

[Crzn-Life]

We were on the same cruise and agree the right decision was made. You said you received money back. Was this a credit on your account or a future cruise credit listed in your Princess account? We received the letter stating we would be given a 50% refund but so far have received nothing.

[shastatroy]

I'll be on the Crown in 4 weeks, glad to hear the Captain puts his passengers safety first.

[EightFurryPaws]

The FCC shows on your Cruise Personalizer as a Voyage Goodwill under your cruise credits. Ours was there the days after we received the letter on board.

[luvcdays]

Some people just don't get it. These same people would be complaining if the captain didn't stay in port and they had rough seas!!

 

Also, that was definately a great gesture from Princess :D

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

The storm killed a number of people in England before moving into Europe causing more deaths,

 

 

Captain made the right call to stay safe, those that say put to sea in any condition have never been in a real storm , I have,the Captain

ordered passengers to bed, and were told us to hang on, our ship got tossed about like a fishing boat, the insides were smashed, etc

 

 

Princess has also gone above what is normal in giving compensation

 

yours Shogun

[suntan]

I'll be on the Crown this coming Saturday - can't wait!!:) We were once on a Princess cruise where the seas were rough and we missed one port of call because the Captain slowed the ship down for the safety and comfort of the passengers, and he decided at another port that the water was too rough to lower the life boats down to take the passengers ashore. Boy oh boy were people unhappy. Some people just find excuses to complain. We were compensated with free drinks and refunds of port charges and most people were ok with that. Better to be safe than to get into a bad situation.

[simok99]

We were a few hundred yards from port in Cornerbrook after leaving Quebec and the wind was really wild, we had booked a day trip with a local family who was taking 20 of the CC gang and had made us all pack lunches, we just waved to shore and had to leave!! Could see it but never docked.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[caribill]

We were a few hundred yards from port in Cornerbrook after leaving Quebec and the wind was really wild. Could see it but never docked.

 

 

Some of our "few hundred yards" experiences:

 

Unable to get to Inchon, South Korea because it was too foggy to see to enter the lock into the port area.

 

Unable to dock at a port in Iceland on a beautiul day because it was too windy to dock (ship would have pulled the dock away from the shore) or tender.

 

Unable to drop anchor for a port in Greenland because an iceburg was positioned where the ship had to be...and the iceburg refused to move out of the way.

[Ren1216]

So sorry that you and other passengers (especially the vets) missed some of your ports. That's disappointing, for sure.... but obviously a good decision was made. That storm was a killer, certainly not one to take lightly. You'd think everyone could grasp that reality. It's nice to hear that PCL gave you all such a nice credit, good for you, hope you enjoy using it! Sounds like you had a good time, despite the circumstances. It's good to know that the CD and staff put forth good effort to keep everyone entertained.

 

Better luck on your next one - cheers!

[Keith1010]

Hopefully weather will be better on the next cruise.

 

You just never know with Mother Nature.

 

Keith

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

That was sad but fair ....

[psklak]

We also were on the Crown for the TA.

However disappointed we were about the missed ports, we appreciated the Captain's decision. Princess was very generous with a future credit when they had to do nothing!

The staff made us very comfortable for ALL those sea days. So comfortable, in fact, that we booked another TA for this spring. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this time;).

Congrats to the Captain and staff for making lemonade out of lemons.

[boomerone]

This was the most unusual cruise I have ever been on thanks to Mother Nature.

Embarkation was from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale with a turnaround in

Southampton for the last half of the trip..

 

The first 2 weeks were perfect weather wise, with great ports including the Canary Islands.

 

When we arrived back in Southampton to change passengers, we were informed by the Captain a terrible storm was in our path and we would be

in port at Southampton for 3 days. And we were. This caused us to miss

3 ports, including Le Harve for Paris and Normandy, Vigo and the Azores.

Wow, everybody was upset!! Some acted like Princess planned this on purpose.

 

Unfortunately, there was nothing anyone can do. The sad part was that many

Veterans were on board to visit Normandy. One gentleman brought American flags to put on graves. I didn't want to miss Paris as well.

However, Captain made the correct decision. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

Although we only able to visit 2 ports in 14 days, the Cruise Director, Kelvin Joy, and his staff kept things on board fun with lots to do. Princess gave each

passenger a FCC of one week fare based on the amount they paid for their cruise. My husband and I each received $1080.00. Considering Princess didn't

have to compensate anything because of weather conditions, I thought that was very generous to them. Figuring each of the 3000 passenger's received approximately $1000.00 and the three days in port the casino, stores and no shorex's took place, I figure it could have cost them about 4 Million.

I am pleased to see the support Princess is receiving in this thread. What bothered me most about the decision to remain in Southampton was the negative reaction of those who have no clue about how rough and dangerous heavy seas and high winds can be. After spending a large part of a Navy career at sea I have witnessed first hand the kinds of conditions we would have faced had we ventured out into the Atlantic as scheduled. It would not have been pretty with terrified, panic-stricken passengers wailing about the conditions and the decsion to press on into the storm. The integrity of the ship and crew and passenger safety would have been in jeopardy and obviously a number of people did not understand that situation. Captain Yeomans and the Princess Operations Department deserve kudos for their decision. Kelvin Joy and his Cruise Director Staff also deserve praise for giving us many entertainment, self-enrichment, and contest options during our time inport and sailing across the ocean. The future cruise credit we received is beyond generous and with time I hope those who were unhappy come to the realization that they got a great deal. Passengers placing blaming on Princess for staying inport due to the weather is akin to Princess blaming the passengers for scheduling their holiday during a storm! It makes no sense whatsoever. The conduct of some who had the shore excursion officer cornered near the future cruise sales desk was appalling and undeserved. I admire the professionalism she and the Purser's Desk staff exhibited under duress. Our cruise credit has already been gratefully applied to our next cruise on the Emerald. The only mistake I thought Princess made during the event was publishing the terms of the the future cruise credit prior to our arrival in Bermuda. High winds and a very narrow channel into West End has caused a number of port visit cancellations in Bermuda. I shudder to think how some of the passengers would have reacted had Captain Yeomans been forced to skip Bermuda as well.

[flamomo]

I was also on both of these cruises, and happily the Canary Islands segment went off without a hitch. Not so on the T/A, as Mother Nature showed her ugly side, and the itinerary was essentially decimated.

 

I totally agree that Captain Yeomans and Princess Operations made the correct decision for the safety of the passengers, crew, and the ship.

 

I appreciated Captain Yeomans efforts to keep us informed of the changes and the reasons for them.

 

I appreciated that a free shuttle to the shopping area in Southampton was arranged so we could get off the ship for a while if we chose to, during our forced prolonged stay.

 

I certainly appreciate Princess' generous compensation, and have already applied it to a cruise for 2014.

 

Thank you for doing the right things for all involved, Princess.

[e71465]

I'll be on the Crown in 4 weeks, glad to hear the Captain puts his passengers safety first.

 

We're on the Crown in 4 weeks too and I'm glad to hear the Captain put safety first!