Princess mildew problem and poor customer service

[orca07]

Have you had a cruise cabin with mildew problems?

 

I took a 4 night cruise on the Pacific Princess and my ocean view cabin had a severe mildew problem. Without a balcony it was not even possible to bring in fresh air. Every single day of the cruise I had multiple meetings with various Princess staff to identify status of the problem, then call for a supervisor, then get it treated with a variety of different chemical applications and shampoo and fans, then meet again to see how that treatment went, and then have the carpet replaced on the final night of my cruise. The cabin was uninhabitable, and no other cabin was apparently available to move to. Even my clothes all smelled of mildew and chemicals although they were packed away in the closet and drawers.

 

Once the carpet was changed the smell immediately disappeared (regretfully just a matter of several hours before I disembarked). Even the deck supervisor thought that this should have been done right away when I embarked on my cruise.

 

Princess Cruises has been unsatisfactory in how they'e dealt with this every step of the way. My entire cruise was ruined by this problem as I could not spend time in the cabin, had to organize every day of my vacation around meeting various staff to address the issue, and they have been extraordinarily reluctant to offer anything appropriate to compensate for the unusable cabin. The entire way, the absolute minimum was done, including just spraying air freshener twice as a 'solution'. I was even told that the smell had to be expected because old people use the cabin. What did that even mean?!

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one dealing with this kind of issue. If you have had problems with mildew in your cabin, especially on Princess, please post your thoughts in this thread. I'm told that this is a one off situation, and I find that hard to believe given that I've seen other mildew related threads on this website.

 

If you've also had problems with Princess' customer 'service' please also chime in on this thread . I'm on the third week of dealing with this problem, and still they are coming up short after selling me an unusable product.

[Colo Cruiser]

Welcome to CC. Post often!

[capriccio]

H

If you've also had problems with Princess' customer 'service' please also chime in on this thread . I'm on the third week of dealing with this problem, and still they are coming up short after selling me an unusable product.

 

So how did you approach customer service (I presume by this point you are dealing with headquarters customer service)? I know the only time we have ever had an issue that needed to be elevated (soot on an Owners Suite balcony on the Royal Princess and an on-board settlement offer that I considered inadequate) I wrote an email and included pictures (do you have pictures of mildew or was it just the smell?). Within a couple of days I got an email saying to expect a phone call within 2 weeks. The call came in less than a week (and this was around the Christmas holidays); the CS rep had obviously done her homework and knew about my issue (and the fact that it was being reported on every Royal cruise). She immediately offered the settlement I had in my head (I hadn't mentioned it in my email). It took a couple of weeks to get it all finalized but I couldn't have been more impressed with the way it was handled both on the ship (even though the offer was inadequate they gave me a case number to cite in my email) and at corporate.

[donaldsc]

Have you had a cruise cabin with mildew problems?

 

/QUOTE]

 

Nope. Never.

 

DON

[geoherb]

I sympathize with the OP. I had trouble getting satisfaction for a problem on one ship. Fortunately for me, it was an excursion that did not deliver what was promised and not a problem with my cabin. I was able to get a satisfactory solution from Princess's corporate customer service after the cruise. It did take a few weeks.

[jagsfan]

Never on Princess. Went thru a hurricane on a Disney ship listing to port. The rain came under the balcony doors and soaked starboard cabins and the hallways. By the time we returned to Canaveral our cabins reeked of mildew. There were rolls of carpet on the wharf waiting to be installed when we disembarked.

My question to OP is where did Princess get the carpet they replaced yours with? I doubt very much they carry it on the ship just in case.

[RickEk]

Never on Princess. Went thru a hurricane on a Disney ship listing to port. The rain came under the balcony doors and soaked starboard cabins and the hallways. By the time we returned to Canaveral our cabins reeked of mildew. There were rolls of carpet on the wharf waiting to be installed when we disembarked.

My question to OP is where did Princess get the carpet they replaced yours with? I doubt very much they carry it on the ship just in case.

 

FYI... they do carry carpeting onboard. I had my cabin carpet changed in the middle of a cruise a couple of years ago. There apparently was a stain from a previous occupant. My steward advised me they would change the carpeting while we were in port and I was off the ship. Came back from an excursion and they were done.

[stoneharborlady]

To be honest, I do recall a member complaining of a mildew smell in the cabin. It turned out to be the shower curtain. The room steward changed it out for a fresh one and the problem was eliminated. I dont think it impossible that this new member had a problem carpet, its a shame it was not discovered and replaced quickly enough for the person to enjoy the cruise.

[Miss Pat]

We've never had a mildew problem but did have a cabin on the Royal which had a severe problem with the AC. Just like yourself they tried to fix it numerous times & couldn't find the problem. We asked for another cabin but there were none available. I located the problem & reported it to them & they fixed it but the problem reoccurred again & they fixed it again. When the ship sails full there's not much else they can do except try to solve the problem. It was actually cooler in the hallway then in our room. :p

When we got off the ship the problem was still there and I suspect other cabins have the same balcony door design which was the cause of the problem. :(

[Mom33]

Mildew on a ship is not an uncommon occurrence. Rectifying the problem is something Princess should do immediately when it is brought to their attention.

It is a health hazard and I can understand the OP's disappointment in the way it was handled.

 

They always have carpet on board the ship for replacing flooded or damaged carpet. Had they handled the problem correctly from day one, the OP could have had a comfortable and enjoyable cruise. Princess needs to step up and comp the cruise.

[Potstech]

I am highly allergic to mold and have never had a problem on a Princess ship. One and done poster again.

[greenie082756]

It is a shame that your cruise was made uncomfortable by the smell of mildew in your cabin. Yes, I do think that is more common than you think because you are on a ship that is in the ocean.:)

It sounds like from your description that they tried for several days to chemically clean the carpets to no avail. Eventually they had to totally replace the carpeting as a last resort.$$$

I can see why. They didn't say it wasn't there, they just tried different ways to correct the situation until the last resort was to replace the carpeting. I can guess that this is documented on the ship.

It doesn't hurt to try and get some type of compensation for your inconvenience however I'm not sure what you are expecting.

So, other than your room, how was the cruise?

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree........They should have replaced it the first day or 2. :(

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm sorry you had this problem. I know on our last cruise, there was one cabin getting the carpet replaced during that time. I think it was done during a port day but I don't really remember. There was some rain so maybe that was the cause. I'm guessing they will keep some uncut carpet on board for these emergency replacements, especially for popular sailings that get booked up.

[ceilidh1]

The only time we ever had a problem was our recent Hawaii cruise on Grand. We had two rooms at the very aft of Baja deck - there were multiple leaks/drips/buckets collecting water throughout the hallway down to the room. The balcony room was the issue - awful mildew/mold smell and the person in that room had very bad allergies, so the room was, effectively unusable. We didn't complain to front desk or even mention it since I had upgraded to the owners suite next door a few weeks earlier - NO issue in that room and there was more than enough space for all of us. Didn't seem worth ruining our vacation over a room that we would likely not spend any time in anyways - may have been a different story if we didn't have the suite :D I did inform Princess after the cruise when I filled out the survey (not as a complaint, just an FYI in case they weren't aware) but made it clear that I didn't want any compensation/response, etc.

[PescadoAmarillo]

OP- we have not had a mildew issue other than on our shower curtain. We now ask for it to be replaced when we first meet our steward, understanding that they don't have time to do that on turnaround day between cruises. Generally, it's done by the next morning. However, I feel badly for you, and understand what it's like to have an issue like that disrupt your cruise.

 

In our case, it was an inside cabin that reeked of smoke. The soft furnishings were replaced and the carpet cleaned twice and it was still horrible. By day 2 of our cruise, we still hadn't unpacked and I was getting weary of meeting with escalating levels of Accomodations personnel on board. I finally took matters into my own hands and scrubbed down the walls and ventilation fan cover with laundry detergent and that helped a lot. Still, it was a week before the smell totally dissipated. I did write to Princess Customer Relations upon our return home. A few weeks later I received a 'thank you for telling us and we're sorry' but obviously they weren't sorry enough to compensate me for the more than 24 hours of our cruise where our suitcases remain unpacked, either in the cabin (if we left the room for a meal) or in the hallway with the door open if we were there. Their response offered little solace, but shortly afterwards Princess changed their smoking policy and I like to think that the fact that I reported our situation was even a tiny part of their motivation.

[Mommypig]

I am siding with the OP here. We were on the Pacific Princess last year for 51 days. Ft Lauderdale to Sydney B2B with Sydney to Tahiti. Deck 4 had issues. I would go knitting on deck 4 on sea days, and every day I had allergy symptoms, and it just seemed a tad musty. One woman in the knitting group who was staying in an ocean view on deck 4 complained about her cabin being musty. She developed a wicked cough that would not go away. She was quarantined and got worse. Doctor actually thought she might have Legionnaires disease, but it was just pneumonia.

 

Then this past winter we took the Golden from Santiago to LA. We had a balcony stateroom but I can't remember the deck. One of the inside staterooms that we walked by often absolutely reeked of mustiness. There was obviously a problem because there were floor dryer fans outside the door always. We occasionally saw men in white tyvek suits going in and out with spray bottles.

 

So yes, a cabin can have a musty, moldy, mildewy smell. And there are people with allergies who can't tolerate that. I would be just as upset as the OP if I were put in a cabin that could make me sick. One of the reasons I always have a balcony is that I want fresh clean air available.

[Jules59]

So agree with you.

[Loonbeam]

It's important to note that mildew can spread as well, so sometimes it can take several mitigation efforts if its a bad case. If a previous pax doesn't report it it can get really nasty for the next. You might think the crew would notice, but some of the cleaners they use can deaden their sense of smell.

 

Ships carry a limited amount of replacement carpet plus cleaning gear, but that can be expended (although they should still tell you that and try to deal with it). Also, the mold/etc can get into the vent system and is very difficult to eradicate from there. Dampness can get under the built in furniture, into the couches in mini-suites, etc.

 

The only real solution is to dry the room to dessication levels, which quite honestly is impossible at sea.

[jimmybean]

Something like mold would make me extremely uncomfortable---I'm sensitive and get killer sinus headaches, if exposed to too much mold.

 

Mold in my cabin would have made me very upset, too.

 

It was nice to learn that carpet could be changed mid-cruise, if necessary and maybe with some insistence .

 

Occasionally, something can happen that will absolutely ruin a cruise and the cruise industry doesn't always shine when addressing unexpected problems.

 

DH and I have been fortunately with all our shipboard experiences. But, we are sympathetic with those who have not.

[Lancer1568]

Never on Princess. Went thru a hurricane on a Disney ship listing to port. The rain came under the balcony doors and soaked starboard cabins and the hallways. By the time we returned to Canaveral our cabins reeked of mildew. There were rolls of carpet on the wharf waiting to be installed when we disembarked.

My question to OP is where did Princess get the carpet they replaced yours with? I doubt very much they carry it on the ship just in case.

Took the behind the scenes ship tour on s recent NCL cruise and they had a carpet shop with many many rolls of carpet. I am certain Princess does too

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...yes, a cabin can have a musty, moldy, mildewy smell. And there are people with allergies who can't tolerate that. I would be just as upset as the OP if I were put in a cabin that could make me sick...

 

I am allergic to mold, so can sympathize with the OP completely. If I were running a cruise line, I would keep a certain number of cabins empty for situations like this, no matter how full the ship.

 

I was once in Hawaii, booked into a Hilton there, and the standard room I had reserved and was initially given reeked of mold/mildew as soon as I entered it. I immediately went downstairs to see what could be done, and spoke with a manager who happened to be in the lobby at the time. She was quite apologetic, and immediately moved me to a two-room suite at no additional charge for the rest of my stay. That, IMO, is what good customer service should be :).

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Took the behind the scenes ship tour on s recent NCL cruise and they had a carpet shop with many many rolls of carpet. I am certain Princess does too

 

They do. Workmen were installing new carpet mid-cruise in the shorex lobby area on the Golden last fall.

[Putterdude]

I have no idea how much extra carpet each Princess ship carries but I do know that they have some as well as carpet layers on board.

[Brisbanelionsfan]

I remember reading a post a while ago about a couple who had a problem with their cabin, might have been AC or toilet, I can't remember now, anyway the problem couldn't be fixed and they were told the ship was full and they couldn't be shifted so the husband took his bedding and made a bed for himself in the atrium, well an other cabin was found and they were moved immediately. Classic.