Comically ridiculous problem with onboard credit!

[californiagirl]

Here is the situation:

 

Last Dec. we booked the Panama Canal cruise on the Coral for Feb 2016. Fast forward to the first part of Feb, 2015. We received notice that the Coral was going into an extended dry dock and our cruise was cancelled. We were informed that if we rebooked a different cruise before March we would get an additional $30 onboard credit. So we booked a different cruise and the credit was applied. Fast forward to last week...we received another notice from Princess that the Coral will not have the extended dry dock after all (as has been discussed here on Cruise Critic). We were given the option to switch back to the original Panama cruise. We would be given our original booking number and original price, if less. As a gesture of goodwill we were informed that we could keep the $30 onboard credit for our troubles.

 

So we decided to go back to the original cruise. Since I called on a Saturday they could not immediately give me the original price and the $30 extra onboard credit. The office that needed to approve that was closed on weekends. They told me to call back during the week. So today I called. They were able to give me the lower price for the cruise but can not give me the onboard credit because the booking went back to the original booking date and precedes the credit offer!!:eek: The computer will not allow it. After 40 minutes 3 different people tried unsuccessfully to override the system. Ultimately they said they would have to submit a written request to override the computer. Here's the kicker, we can see the available $30 credit sitting in our Princess Circle accounts waiting to be applied to a cruise!

 

I'm not holding my breath and it is not worth anymore of my time. How ironic, with all the people trying to work on it I'm sure they spent more than $30 in salary. :rolleyes:

[SoCal Cruiser78]

How odd! To start with, a $30 credit doesn't begin to cover the cost and inconvenience of having to switch cruises (and back) if flights had to be changed, etc. Be that as it may, I might ask them at this point if they'll give you a free cabin upgrade (if you want one), or something else the system will accept.

 

Let us know how this turns out :).

Edited June 19, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[windsor26]

Ask them top gift you a speciality restaurant meal

[islandatsea]

Ask them top gift you a speciality restaurant meal

 

Great idea, Princess should be able to do that.

[Coral]

Fast forward to last week...we received another notice from Princess that the Coral will not have the extended dry dock after all (as has been discussed here on Cruise Critic).

 

Sorry - to switch subjects but can someone point me to this discussion? I can't seem to find it. Thank you.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Has the price gone up since your original booking? If not, can they simply cancel the original booking and open a new one? If so, the dates would work out for the OBC.

 

This is the same control that prevents people from retroactively applied a newly purchased FCC to an existing booking but in this case it's a bit too tight a control.

[Colo Cruiser]

Princess fighting over $30? Even after screwing up the dry dock issue.

And nobody that has the authority to override anything! Ridiculous.

[RickEk]

 

This is the same control that prevents people from retroactively applied a newly purchased FCC to an existing booking but in this case it's a bit too tight a control.

 

This is probably exactly what happened. A separate dept. has to deal with altering the FCC. It may take a few days...

[EmpressofPurple]

Sorry - to switch subjects but can someone point me to this discussion? I can't seem to find it. Thank you.

 

Hey Coral, here's the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2194673

 

See especially posts #14-16... I think post #19 deals with this exact issue of getting that $30 obc...

[Coral]

Hey Coral, here's the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2194673

 

See especially posts #14-16... I think post #19 deals with this exact issue of getting that $30 obc...

 

Thanks! I was curious about the changes in the dry dock. Looks like the ship will remain a favorite ship of mine! So glad to hear!

[Loonbeam]

It's not a lack of desire, its a programming issue. The system is set up not to allow offers that are created after a specific date apply to bookings prior if the offer is flagged as future only.

 

So, they can't assign the credit to that particular booking without an override since it is now showing in the system as a prior date, that requires paperwork for audit purposes.

[donaldsc]

While the certainly owe you the $30, you are spending way too much effort trying to get it. That is unless you have nothing else to do and you are also trying to cost Princess way more than the $30 that they are not giving you.

 

DON

[nukesubsailor]

I am glad to hear that Princess is not going to screw up the Coral like they did the Island. Princess should give you the $30 in one form or another. I imagine if Princess had asked for donations not to screw up the Coral, they would have gotten thousands of dollars. Now I will sail on the Coral again in the future.

[Loonbeam]

From everything I have heard, most of the changes are still going to occur at some point. Just not right now. I think they are doing some redesign to mitigate the reactions to the Island...

 

I am glad to hear that Princess is not going to screw up the Coral like they did the Island. Princess should give you the $30 in one form or another. I imagine if Princess had asked for donations not to screw up the Coral, they would have gotten thousands of dollars. Now I will sail on the Coral again in the future.

[californiagirl]

Thank you for all the replies. The credit showed up in our onboard credit today. :) FYI I did not call only for the $30, that would have been a waste of time. I called to have the price changed back to the original price...that was worth the phone call. What I shake my head at is that the email said the credit will "AUTOMATICALLY" be added to your onboard account. Like many big companies, one hand does not know what the other hand is doing. Ok vent over.

 

Looking forward to this cruise. We will be in a full suite for the first time.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...The credit showed up in our onboard credit today...Looking forward to this cruise. We will be in a full suite for the first time.

 

Glad it worked out okay. Enjoy your suite :).

Edited June 20, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78