So long Princess! They just don't care.

[OCruisers]

Princess has no trouble selling those Suites or those insides..they are happy to keep you under those conditions. If not, well, it was good while it lasted but don't expect them to make a concession because you are Elite. Your past doesn't really mean anything outside of onboard perks, Princess figures you got what you paid for in terms of accommodations and onboard amenities so being Elite is not worth extra concessions from them. (Yeah, none of us are as special as mommy told us we were ;) )

 

Love that Mommy told us quote. Too Funny! :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[ONT-CA]

I just can't imagine giving up all the Elite benefits just because a tour wasn't as expected and you were offered 50% back. I think you need to step back, take a breath and think about it more.

 

Some of us can't imagine Princess giving up a loyal Elite customer for the sake of a few bucks. But then again, that's Princess

[billie5]

Some of us can't imagine Princess giving up a loyal Elite customer for the sake of a few bucks.......

 

So a cruise line should give Elite customers whatever they want, no matter how absurd (which most respondents seem to agree is the case here)? Crazy, IMO.

[Near PDX]

We went on a bad tour in St Maarten that was supposed to have been an indepth tour of the French side. Our driver did not say a single word and when stopping at the photo stops would not let anyone off to take pix and dumped us off for 1 1/2 hours of shopping that was not supposed to be a part of the tour. Upon returning to the ship we stormed the tour desk in mass demanding full refund. Tour desk gave us 50% back with instructions on how to contact Corporate if we were not happy with that. I filed a request, not complaint, requesting an additional 25% laying out what had happened and what we were deprived of and why I thought my request was resonanable. I didn't once demand full refund nor threaten to never cruise with Princess again if I didn't get my request. In about three weeks I received a phone from Corporate apolgizing for what we went through and informing me that they had decided to refund 100% of our excursion cost. Now that is great customer service❗️

[ONT-CA]

So a cruise line should give Elite customers whatever they want, no matter how absurd (which most respondents seem to agree is the case here)? Crazy, IMO.

 

Penny wise, pound foolish

[Ethel5]

Some of us can't imagine Princess giving up a loyal Elite customer for the sake of a few bucks. But then again, that's Princess

 

Penny wise, pound foolish

 

If Princess gave 100% refunds then everybody would complain just to get reimbursed. It just kills me that the first thing out of some mouths is "Will I be compensated?" Suck it up people, life isn't perfect and we are here for only a short time.

[thinfool]

It's all a big plot. After our 5 day on the Ruby I came home convinced that Princess is trying to attract a younger, newer to cruising, crowd.

 

If true then room needs to be made for them...so irritating some upper loyalty passengers, enough to quit, will accomplish that. :rolleyes:

 

Oh...I agree....Charleston is in South Carolina. :cool:

[Amuse Bouche]

So a cruise line should give Elite customers whatever they want, no matter how absurd (which most respondents seem to agree is the case here)? Crazy, IMO.

 

I so agree with you billie5!!

 

Ok, the rest of you, please don't get mad at me. I'm working on becoming Elite sometime in my life...

 

Now, realistically, a business would know that they can't change their product enough to not become stale to their frequent customers. I imagine they would try to keep people happy for as long as they can, but they know the elite will leave eventually. The only way to stay in business is to cycle people in and out. Keep giving the elite people everything that they have come back for, but know that they will go eventually...and entice the new people so that they will stick around long enough to become elite.

 

If you became elite, they already succeeded with you.

 

Just my opinion on what is logical. Of course, they aren't going to project this...and they will accept what they can from someone they know thinks they are special and entitled. That's why they call them loyalty programs. And really? The benefits they offer on paper should be enough. Special individual VIP treatment is too much to ask. Even if a person cruises 3or 4 two week voyages a year, in the great big fish bowl of customers...they aren't even a tiny dent.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Amuse Bouche

[sashas_mom]

Another example: a HAL tour in Tunesia. We were driven three hours to an oasis for a 3-hour camel ride in the desert. No bus, we were distributed to 4WD vehicles, four passengers per car. I was in the front seat next to the driver. He didn't speak English, played Arabic music and played with his privates for the whole drive. My friend in the back asked, "Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Yup. Pretty disgusting. When I got back on the ship, I went to the Shore Excursion Desk. Their only response was that this was the only time they were offering this tour so there was nothing they could do.

 

Pam, you're quite a gal and I look forward to seeing you again in March.

 

OP, if you, like us, enjoyed Princess enough to become Elite, like others have said, you might think about the fact that you are expecting too much under the circumstances.

[lovey1103]

Took an island tour on St Thomas and the driver was higher than a kite.

We received an apology and our money back pronto, no questions asked.

What's disturbing is we saw the same driver in an open air truck the next year driving passengers around the island. Can't imagine why he did not get fired. Perhaps he cleaned himself up?

[Pam in CA]

Pam' date=' you're quite a gal and I look forward to seeing you again in March.[/quote']Can't wait to see you!

 

I had more fun in HB last night... went bowling with friends for the first time in decades. Last time I bowled, there were pin boys. So much fun! :)

[rubrrick]

Don't think any more about it! Move on to another cruise line, as Princess has moved back to the West Coast, and we are liking them, and love to cruise in either the largest or second largest suites.

 

You can have ours on Royal Caribbean!:D

 

You can't be serious about moving to another cruise line over $100.00?

 

My DW was on an "Around the Horn" cruise on the Mariner of the Seas. At one port stop, she and her mother had signed up to see Iguassu Falls, and it was a $900.00 excurision. It was supposed to be a charter flight, not a regular flight.......and Royal Caribbean lied from start to finish.......and the hilights could not be viewed, and they were given $400.00 back.....no more, because they got to fly there and back, and viewed some of the falls, but not what they went for. I fought for a better refund, and lost. So, that is water under the bridge, and we still cruise Royal Caribbean.

 

We are Elite with Princess....but not at the top of the ladder as we are with Royal Caribbean. We will continue to cruise with many lines, and have not every decided to quit one line.........over a trivial matter, as I would consider this.

 

But, then again.........this is 2014!!;)

 

Rick

Edited January 13, 2014 by rubrrick

[The Big Booper]

Don't think any more about it! Move on to another cruise line, as Princess has moved back to the West Coast, and we are liking them, and love to cruise in either the largest or second largest suites.

 

You can have ours on Royal Caribbean!:D

 

You can't be serious about moving to another cruise line over $100.00.

 

My DW was on an "Around the Horn" cruise on the Mariner of the Seas. At one port stop, she and her mother had signed up to see Iguassu Falls, and it was a $900.00 excurision. It was supposed to be a charter flight, not a regular flight.......and Royal Caribbean lied from start to finish.......and the hilights could not be viewed, and they were given $400.00 back.....no more, because they got to fly there and back, and viewed some of the falls, but not what they went for. I fought for a better refund, and lost. So, that is water under the bridge, and we still cruise Royal Caribbean.

 

We are Elite with Princess....but not at the top of the ladder as we are with Royal Caribbean. We will continue to cruise with many lines, and have not every decided to quit one line.........over a trivial matter, as I would consider this.

 

But, then again.........this is 2014!!;)

 

Rick

 

For those who don't know RCI, Rick is a Pinnacle which means over 700 nights. He is one of the few original NOOTS who still stays off the big girls.

 

I think what sent the OP into a rage was the secondary charge by Princess after Amex reversed the original charge. She looks on that as malicious.

[delidan]

.Just for the record, AmX. refunds without contacting Princess or who ever the company is. so princess didn't appprove it, that's why they recharge you.

[billie5]

Penny wise, pound foolish

 

I think most MBAs will tell you it entirely depends on the business model. For a Walmart or mom-and-pop, yes. For an airline, cruise company, any large company dealing with complex situations, sticking strictly with a set of rules is pound wise, period.

Edited January 13, 2014 by billie5

[satxdiver]

We went on a bad tour in St Maarten that was supposed to have been an indepth tour of the French side. Our driver did not say a single word and when stopping at the photo stops would not let anyone off to take pix and dumped us off for 1 1/2 hours of shopping that was not supposed to be a part of the tour. Upon returning to the ship we stormed the tour desk in mass demanding full refund. Tour desk gave us 50% back with instructions on how to contact Corporate if we were not happy with that. I filed a request, not complaint, requesting an additional 25% laying out what had happened and what we were deprived of and why I thought my request was resonanable. I didn't once demand full refund nor threaten to never cruise with Princess again if I didn't get my request. In about three weeks I received a phone from Corporate apolgizing for what we went through and informing me that they had decided to refund 100% of our excursion cost. Now that is great customer service❗️

 

When you protest a product etc, sugar will attract while jumping up and down and throwing a 2 y/o temper tantrum will get you nowhere in a negotiation. You did it correctly and had a good outcome. Congratulations.

Edited January 13, 2014 by satxdiver

[IdahoCruises]

If Princess gave 100% refunds then everybody would complain just to get reimbursed. It just kills me that the first thing out of some mouths is "Will I be compensated?" Suck it up people, life isn't perfect and we are here for only a short time.

 

Gotta agree with you....cruise lines are in the business to make money. If they did not....we would not have the cruise experiences we have had.

[caribill]

50% back is probably the best that could be hoped for. (My guess that is what the tour companmy would have received and Princess just withheld it from them.)

 

From the OP's viewpoint I can understand the frustration with not receiving the promised tour.

 

I take cruises to see the world. I realize that sometimes I may miss a port and not get to see what I had planned on.

 

But if the ship makes port I expect to see what was promised on an excursion, be it a Princess tour or an independent tour. As it says in the Princess shore excursions booklet as a benefit of booking a Princess excursion:

"Quality – All tours are carefully selected and provided by reputable tour operators who meet the high standards of Princess and we monitor prices to ensure that you receive good value."

Now I do not know how much time was promised at each site on the OP's tour. (The shore excursion information on the Princess web site does give this information.)

o If the tour provider did not provide the listed time at each site, then the tour did not deliver the quality that Princess promised.

o If the tour did provide the amount of time listed, then the tour did deliver what was to be expected, even if it was not enough time to properly see the sites.



I was on a ship's tour (not Princess) in Malaysia and time was growing short to include all of the promised sites and we were a good hour from the ship. Our guide made sure that we did get to see everything and answered every phone call from his supervisor at the dock by saying we would get there when we could, not that he would cut the tour short to meet the return time. That was a tour company which delivered what was promised.

[brobin111]

OP here - Thanks for everyone's comments. Couple of clarifications. Sorry about the NC/SC typo. We didn't blame Princess for the cold weather and we weren't at all angry about it but even Princess agreed that they should have done the cruise a week earlier.

 

Charleston wasn't cold at all and the tour took us to the first site and gave us only 45 minutes to be back on the bus then had us sit in the parking lot with no explanation for almost an hour before taking us to the second site where we arrived 10 minutes before closing. So on a half day tour we had less than an hour at the sites and saw far less than half of what we had been told we would see.

 

Note also that we weren't the only ones complaining - there were three coaches on the tour and by the time I got to the tour desk to complain there were already dozens others there doing the same thing - and demanding full refunds.

 

As for the credit, AMEX DID resolve it in my favor and issued the credit and then, two months after the cruise, Princess charged my account for it again! They're not giving up so why should I?

 

As to the thought that no other cruise line would issue a complete refund, that's just not so. On Azamara I was given a full refund for a tour that went awry without even asking and even Princess issued a full refund on a more costly Alaska tour that I thought actually deserved at most 50%.

 

But what really frosted me here is that once the dispute was resolved in my favor Princess just charged me again. Elite or not, I just won't do business with a company like that. We've been booking Azamara a lot more lately and been extremely pleased with them.

[pablo222]

Charleston is in SC not NC.

 

There wasn't enough time in the tour stop to cover that.

[WendyG]

There is one interesting note here - under most credit card merchant agreements, if the CC finds against you and issues the chargeback, you are not allowed to resubmit it without new information.

 

You can dispute any charge with your credit card and the merchant has 30 days to respond with supporting documentation for the charge. Once they do, amex can andwill reverse the initial credit they issued. Princess did not 'recharge' it.

 

OP - you're actually saying over $50 you're done with princess? I wonder how you handle genuine disappointment in your life?

 

Sit back and focus on all the positives about your cruise and let the petty stuff go. It's really not worth your aggravation is it? We've all had crappy tours, it's not the end of the world.

 

Dont worry be happy! :D

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using Forums mobile app

[Coral]

OP here - Thanks for everyone's comments. Couple of clarifications. Sorry about the NC/SC typo. We didn't blame Princess for the cold weather and we weren't at all angry about it but even Princess agreed that they should have done the cruise a week earlier.

 

.

 

Princess has always run that repo cruise late and they will probably continue to do so. I did a similar trip in 2009 and we had a snow storm in Quebec and missed the next port due to weather.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We had a shore excursion that spent too much time at the first and second stop, and we ended up with maybe a half hourr..in Dublin...not happy but we got a 50 percent credit...and I'm still cruising Princess...and happy. :p

 

Far easier to go back to Charleston than Dublin!!

Edited January 13, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[Pia1913]

We had a fiasco a few months ago in Italy, where four buses of passengers were placed in dangerous situation. Entire tour should have been cancelled, but wasn't. We were refunded 25%; should have been more. Have we decided not to sail Princess? Of course not! The good far exceeds the occasional bad.

[Loreni]

We had a problem with Princess. I was charged twice for the same drink, the charges went through about 5 minutes apart. When I went to the purser for a refund of the second charge, he went through all of the receipts for the evening THREE times. He was trying to prove that I had signed for both drinks. He finally triumphantly produced a second receipt asking "Is that your signature." It wasn't. It wasn't even my name or the right drink or the right amount. So he went through the stack of receipts AGAIN. Finally, he said that I was mistaken. I had not been charged in error for the second drink. It was the first drink for which I had been charged in error and he tersely said that I would be refunded for the first charge. No apology. And this took twenty minutes.

 

So...the next evening when I was sitting in the piazza and a bartender came by, I cringed. Then I considered if the enjoyment of the drink would be (potentially) worth either paying double for or standing in line for twenty minutes while being treated like a liar and not even being offered the courtesy of an apology when it was determined that I was, in fact, not a liar. Well, I hadn't consciously decided to "get even" with Princess by not ordering anymore drinks, but Princess had actually conditioned me to have an aversion to ordering drinks...being treated like a liar (and by extension, a thief) is extraordinarily offensive to me.

 

But it actually worked out great. It saved me money and calories. I did not gain any weight on this cruise. I rarely drink at home, so I wondered why I would need to on vacation, where there should be even less stress. So I did not order another drink for the rest of the cruise or on any cruise after that. I have never gained weight on any cruise since then.

 

While the amount of money involved was much less than the OP is dealing with, I think I would have been less offended by her situation. Still an alternative solution could be to keep sailing with Princess, but not use their shore excursions. The OP might both save money and get better excursions. Of course, she might be even less likely to get a refund if something goes wrong.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Loreni