Navigational map auction

[pcjty]

Hello,

I would like your thoughts and hopefully some advice on something that happened on our recent Princess cruise to New Zealand please.

We knew before the cruise that the navigational maps were auctioned for charity on the last sea day, and had decided that we would bid on the map as a present for my Dad's 80th birthday this year.

Having not cruised with Princess before, we were somewhat surprised to see two identical navigational maps, one on deck 6, and the other was on deck 12 near the bar, and we did discuss the possibility that they may do two auctions; but come the day of the auction there was only one map auctioned which was advertised as being a limited edition of one available, so we assumed the other would be filed with the ships records.

We won the auction, with a final bid of $550 and when my husband went to sign for the purchase the Assistant Cruise Director Phil, told him that the map on the previous New Zealand cruise only went for $450; but we were just happy that we’d won because the map would be a completely one off present for my Dad, and the money was going to the seaman’s charity.

After the auction we went to Deck 12 and the other identical map was still in situ, so we took some photos of our son in front of that map.

The next morning we were sitting on Deck 12 and the other map was still there, but then we went down to get our suitcases and when we went back up to Deck 12 to wait the 20 minutes or so before we could get off the ship the map had gone and some friends that we made on the cruise told us that they’d seen one of the other passengers looking at the map and then a young officer had come along, they’d had a quick conversation and then the officer had removed the map from behind the perspex, rolled it up and given it to the passenger, who walked away with it.

Obviously we are not happy with this, and we went straight to the Pursers desk and complained to a lady who told us the map would be different to the one we’d won – we told her it was identical in every way, and as we’d taken the photos the previous day showed her a photo to prove it; she then got an officer from somewhere out the back to come and talk to us, and he said that it definitely should not have happened and they would look into it…by then it was time for us to get off the ship, so we asked for someone to contact us and were told it would take a couple of days.

This was only last Wednesday 22nd, but so far nobody has contacted us, and we are still extremely unhappy about it; the one-off map for my Dad is not a one-off, and although we were happy to pay the $550 for the map when it was the only one available, we are obviously not happy that we paid that amount of money for something that somebody else was just given.

I don’t intend to let Princess just forget about this, and am hoping for some advice as to how we should proceed, and what, if any, outcome we should be requesting.

Thank you

Carol

[rkmw]

Hello,

I would like your thoughts and hopefully some advice on something that happened on our recent Princess cruise to New Zealand please.

We knew before the cruise that the navigational maps were auctioned for charity on the last sea day, and had decided that we would bid on the map as a present for my Dad's 80th birthday this year.

Having not cruised with Princess before, we were somewhat surprised to see two identical navigational maps, one on deck 6, and the other was on deck 12 near the bar, and we did discuss the possibility that they may do two auctions; but come the day of the auction there was only one map auctioned which was advertised as being a limited edition of one available, so we assumed the other would be filed with the ships records.

We won the auction, with a final bid of $550 and when my husband went to sign for the purchase the Assistant Cruise Director Phil, told him that the map on the previous New Zealand cruise only went for $450; but we were just happy that we’d won because the map would be a completely one off present for my Dad, and the money was going to the seaman’s charity.

After the auction we went to Deck 12 and the other identical map was still in situ, so we took some photos of our son in front of that map.

The next morning we were sitting on Deck 12 and the other map was still there, but then we went down to get our suitcases and when we went back up to Deck 12 to wait the 20 minutes or so before we could get off the ship the map had gone and some friends that we made on the cruise told us that they’d seen one of the other passengers looking at the map and then a young officer had come along, they’d had a quick conversation and then the officer had removed the map from behind the perspex, rolled it up and given it to the passenger, who walked away with it.

Obviously we are not happy with this, and we went straight to the Pursers desk and complained to a lady who told us the map would be different to the one we’d won – we told her it was identical in every way, and as we’d taken the photos the previous day showed her a photo to prove it; she then got an officer from somewhere out the back to come and talk to us, and he said that it definitely should not have happened and they would look into it…by then it was time for us to get off the ship, so we asked for someone to contact us and were told it would take a couple of days.

This was only last Wednesday 22nd, but so far nobody has contacted us, and we are still extremely unhappy about it; the one-off map for my Dad is not a one-off, and although we were happy to pay the $550 for the map when it was the only one available, we are obviously not happy that we paid that amount of money for something that somebody else was just given.

I don’t intend to let Princess just forget about this, and am hoping for some advice as to how we should proceed, and what, if any, outcome we should be requesting.

Thank you

Carol

 

do you post on facebook because princess moderators monitor the site and they should respond but they may not be there until tuesday....if you dont do facebook maybe email infoprincess@carnivalaustralia.com and they should get back to you

[pcjty]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply - I do have a Facebook account but don't really use it, but I do have a 19 year old son who is very proficient on it, so could get him to have a look at the site.

Kind Regards

Carol

[K-Roo-Zers]

HI Carol,

 

I can certainly understand how you feel. I am sure there are other people who are interested in your outcome. Good luck, and would you be kind and please post what transpires?

 

Many thanks.

 

Nicki

[pcjty]

Hi Nicki,

 

Thanks for your reply - I will definitely let you know the outcome; we don't want the money back from the charity, it's not their fault this has happened.

 

I was hoping to get some suggestions as to what outcome we should be looking for because the lady at the Pursers desk on princess basically asked what we wanted her to do about it and we didn't know; we just know we feel cheated and it has ruined what was to be a really special present for my Dad's birthday.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

[rkmw]

Hi Nicki,

 

Thanks for your reply - I will definitely let you know the outcome; we don't want the money back from the charity, it's not their fault this has happened.

 

I was hoping to get some suggestions as to what outcome we should be looking for because the lady at the Pursers desk on princess basically asked what we wanted her to do about it and we didn't know; we just know we feel cheated and it has ruined what was to be a really special present for my Dad's birthday.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

 

Carol we went to one of the auctions and they only auctioned off one and after the auction the one on deck 12 had gone but i didnt know they had one on deck 6

 

you could go into facebook tomorrow and ask the moderator and see what they say and he could say to email customer relations

Edited January 27, 2014 by rkmw

[pcjty]

Hello,

 

I did have a look at the Princess Facebook page after your previous post but the page seems to be filled with short posts and I can't explain this without writing what almost amounts to an essay.

 

Our son should be over later today and I will ask him how to go about posting a message for the moderator tomorrow.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

[rkmw]

Hello,

 

I did have a look at the Princess Facebook page after your previous post but the page seems to be filled with short posts and I can't explain this without writing what almost amounts to an essay.

 

Our son should be over later today and I will ask him how to go about posting a message for the moderator tomorrow.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

 

that email i gave you is on the back of the princess brochure if you dont wish to post on facebook, i wouldnt do it today as they may not be there seeing its a public holiday

[pcjty]

Thank you, I'll get some advice re posting etiquette from our son and if I don't put it on Facebook tomorrow I will write to the email address you gave me.

 

Do you have any suggestions as to what outcome we should be looking for if Princess ask? I know it sounds stupid, but we really don't know what we want them to do about it - the map is from a cruise we took and was supposed to be a one-off to be framed for my Dad's 80th birthday in October - how do you rectify that? Another map wouldn't have the same meaning; we sent photos every step of the way to my Mum and Dad whilst we were away, and my Dad loves maps, so to get the original one-off from that cruise would have been really special, and I know we still have the map, but somebody else has it too and although it grates to know he got it for nothing, the worst thing is as far as we're concerned that it is no longer a one-off so not so 'special'.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

[rkmw]

Thank you, I'll get some advice re posting etiquette from our son and if I don't put it on Facebook tomorrow I will write to the email address you gave me.

 

Do you have any suggestions as to what outcome we should be looking for if Princess ask? I know it sounds stupid, but we really don't know what we want them to do about it - the map is from a cruise we took and was supposed to be a one-off to be framed for my Dad's 80th birthday in October - how do you rectify that? Another map wouldn't have the same meaning; we sent photos every step of the way to my Mum and Dad whilst we were away, and my Dad loves maps, so to get the original one-off from that cruise would have been really special, and I know we still have the map, but somebody else has it too and although it grates to know he got it for nothing, the worst thing is as far as we're concerned that it is no longer a one-off so not so 'special'.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

 

Carol i cant answer your question as i didnt know there was another map, if you email princess just ask (if they know) what happens to the second map and see what they say

[The_Big_M]

Thank you, I'll get some advice re posting etiquette from our son and if I don't put it on Facebook tomorrow I will write to the email address you gave me.

 

Do you have any suggestions as to what outcome we should be looking for if Princess ask? I know it sounds stupid, but we really don't know what we want them to do about it - the map is from a cruise we took and was supposed to be a one-off to be framed for my Dad's 80th birthday in October - how do you rectify that? Another map wouldn't have the same meaning; we sent photos every step of the way to my Mum and Dad whilst we were away, and my Dad loves maps, so to get the original one-off from that cruise would have been really special, and I know we still have the map, but somebody else has it too and although it grates to know he got it for nothing, the worst thing is as far as we're concerned that it is no longer a one-off so not so 'special'.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

 

On facebook, with the stage you're at now, I'd expect that just refer you to contact someone in customer.relations in any case. You're probably better off using the e-mail template, and only raising it on facebook if you don't hear anything (again) from that.

[pcjty]

Thanks for the replies - I had spoken to my son who had also said it was probably best to email due to the long message - I will email them tomorrow.

 

Kind Regards

 

Carol

[pcjty]

For those of you who wanted an update - I emailed princess on Monday, and hadn't heard anything so rang today and they said they hadn't received my email (even though I gave them the query number that the automated reply gave me) - I explained the situation and basically got nowhere with them; the lady on the phone said that my Dad wouldn't know it was one of two so what did we want her to do about it :mad:, and eventually offered a cruise discount of $550 - I refused the offer and told her we didn't intend to cruise with them again, and they were the only winners in that situation.

I told her that if it was the only option then we would accept the money back from them and they could pay it to the charity - which she said she couldn't do and we had no proof that the other map was given away and she would have to contact the ship and get details from them and get back to me- she didn't know how long this would take.

I am furious, so please, if anybody can offer any further advice,please feel free.

Kind Regards

Carol

[OzKiwiJJ]

Escalate your query to a higher level. Ring back and if you get the same run-around, ask to speak to that person's supervisor and so on. If necessary write to the Managing Director.

[bazzaw]

I have to admit to being a cynical old B*****! - but it comes from long experience.

 

When we went on our first cruise, I witnessed a "navigational map" being auctioned for the first time. Very interesting - I thought, and a jolly good idea!

 

On our second cruise, I discovered these "navigational" maps stuck up in cases on the wall in a couple of places onboard the ship. They were simply an admittedly genuine nautical chart - with penciled lines of the "approximate" course of the voyage. I say "approximate" because one of the straight pencil lines went STRAIGHT through the middle of a small Island!!!!! :eek: I commented to my wife that this must have been the big bump we felt in the middle of the night.

 

Having served on the Bridges of Warships in another life and having navigational duties there - I am certain that these particular charts are not in any way used in the navigation of these cruiseships.

 

Unfortunately, there are a LOT of these small frauds around (a bit like "white lies" that we all tell) that are meant to take money from us -- even for good causes.

There is also the similar matter of the "Art auctions" - buyer beware comes very loudly to mind!!!

 

All we can really do is ---Live AND LEARN. It takes two to make a fraud - the frauder and the fraudee -- without the fraudee, there can be no fraud!!

 

 

Barry

Edited January 31, 2014 by bazzaw

[Thorpe]

I would say to give them time to get back to you. The person you spoke to had no history of the issue and would only have been hearing it for the first time from you. They also wouldn't have had this issue raised before so would need time to discuss with their superiors plus contact the ship in question to find out what happened with the 2nd map. You only heard it from friends you had met and if they didn't hear the conversation between the officer and passenger for all we know it could have been given to the passenger for their child with cancer.

So I would wait for Princess to get the facts back to you and then take it from there.

I feel for you that you thought you had bought a "one off" original. But if the friends hadn't seen the officer give the other one away you would be none the wiser and maybe on every other cruise the 2nd chart is filed away as you surmised.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[pcjty]

Hello,

Thanks for your replies,

I have just gone straight to the top and sent an email to the CEO of Princess Cruises.

I'll let you know the outcome

Carol

[annabell.4006]

I was on the same cruise and witnessed the action, we were waiting for trivia or bingo to start. The bidding was strong so there appeared to be a couple of genuine buyers. I will be interested to hear the outcome of this.

This was on Sea Princess left Brisbane on 8 January returned on 22 January . Unfortunately we could not go to Milford Sound - so the navigational map would not have been as interesting as it may have been.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[yatchet]

As said before, the maps on display in glass cases on deck are only a rough guide for pax info.

 

Maybe the OP purchased the true working chart from the bridge?

[pcjty]

You are correct in what you say Yatchet, both maps show the route we should have taken via Dunedin and Milford Sound, not the route we did take via Picton.

We have just looked at the map we bought again along side the photo we have of the map that was on Deck 12 and given away, and they are identical in every way.

Annabell, we have wondered if the other person that was interested in the map and bidding against us was the one that actually walked away with the other one...we were thrilled to win the bidding to get the map for my Dad, but knowing there is another identical map floating around somewhere has ruined both the birthday present and as far as we're concerned the cruise memories because when we think of the cruise we think of the map:(

I will update as soon as I hear anything else

Carol

[RD MULLET]

Do you have any suggestions as to what outcome we should be looking for if Princess ask?

Kind Regards

 

Carol

The only sugestion I can think of would be to DEMAND that Princess donate an amount equal to what you paid to the charity of your choice.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The only sugestion I can think of would be to DEMAND that Princess donate an amount equal to what you paid to the charity of your choice.

 

WHY?

How do we know how much of the original money went to a charity, if any at all . The seamans charity covers a a very wide spectrum.

I am always suspicious of so called charity auctions........the charity is usually for the person running it who deducts expenses plus a personal fee and if you are lucky a few scraps are left over for the charity .

Nobody is forced to bid at an auction.

If you are happy to bid away and win an auction thats it.

I dont see how Princess , or anyone else , should be responsible for buyers remorse.

 

 

[pcjty]

That is a good idea if Princess actually take responsibility - as it stands they have informed me we have no proof as to what happened to the other map, and unless the CEO decides to intervene I don't hold out much hope for anything from them.

 

I have to add though that my main concern isn't the money, it's the spoilt birthday present for my dad. 80 is a milestone birthday and I wanted something really different that I knew he'd love; for previous special birthdays we've bought him an original set of RAF badges cigarette cards and had them framed, and a 1967/8 mint condition boxed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang model, so it had to beat those - and as he really likes maps I thought that this was an ideal present. Obviously we wouldn't normally spend anywhere near $550 on a birthday present, but the map had been decided on because it was a one-off, so we had to go with the flow and let the auction decide the price. Now we're left with a map that is not a one-off, and even though, as Princess said, my Dad wouldn't know there were two identical maps, we would, and had we known it was not going to be a one-off then we wouldn't have bid on it in the first place - and I would still be in the position I am now trying to find a special birthday present but would be $550 richer.

 

Carol

[pcjty]

Kiwi Kruzer, I think you are being a little unfair saying it's buyers remorse -we were happy with paying the money and with the map until a member of the Princess crew gave away an identical map when the one we won had been advertised as the one and only available.

Carol

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Kiwi Kruzer, I think you are being a little unfair saying it's buyers remorse -we were happy with paying the money and with the map until a member of the Princess crew gave away an identical map when the one we won had been advertised as the one and only available.

Carol

 

All I am saying is "Caveat Emptor"..

 

Let the buyer beware.