Recent Ultimate Ship Tour?

[wickedwitchofthewest]

Have done the ust twice, both times got more than the described goodies package, and the crew really outdid themselves with the welcomes in the various departments. Both times the robes were in my cabin on return with the photos and notepads etc arriving the same day.

I would guess something went wrong with the delivery of your goods so hase them up with customer services.

 

Enjoyed the tour so much I'm signing up to do it again this summer (if Im lucky to make the cut) so far each tour has taken me somewhere different.

[Colo Cruiser]

Since we were out of our cabin at 8 am for disembarkation on the day following the tour, and had been assured twice since the tour that items would be delivered to our cabin, we never had a chance to inquire about the other items. Photo gallery staff finally offered to walk to our stateroom to find the photos, and within 5 minutes of that our disembarkation group was called. Timing is everything, right? I will definitely send a note to their customer service address and request the gifts or a refund.

 

Thanks for all for your posts. There seems to be a consistency of gift items that we definitely did NOT receive! Cheers to all.

 

I would hope you follow up with Princess on this.

[Paula_MacFan]

I think something got crossed up there.

 

Less than a year ago we got 2 aprons, 2 robes, 4 photos, 4 frames, 2 notepads, flowers, a recipe and an engineering pamphlet in our cabin (that was for 2 people).

 

We did miss snacks with the Captain who said he was busy but personally I think we had a cooler time with the Jr. Officer who covered. (Still had snacks on the bridge)

 

This was on the Royal.

 

We got similar gifts on Crown. We got the huge, plush robes too, not the thin waffle ones! I use my apron all the time -- love it!

[cruisequeen4ever]

Definitely follow up with Princess; that's messed up!! As obsessed as I am with cruise ships, I would not pay $150 and not receive the included goodies! Good luck!!

[jaxter1302]

I would hope you follow up with Princess on this.

 

I've submitted an inquiry to their customer service email address. Will post on this thread when I've received a response.

 

Thanks again, everyone!

[Colo Cruiser]

I've submitted an inquiry to their customer service email address. Will post on this thread when I've received a response.

 

Thanks again, everyone!

 

Good luck.

[GUT2407]

I must have a different outlook. I am a real ship junkie. I am amazed at the incredible machine that has evolved in this business. I did the UST aboard the Ruby during our Med Cruise and it was amazing. I didn't even know about any giveaways when I booked it. IMHO it was worth every penny. I got to see some amazing places that you otherwise would never see.

When the extras came that was simply the frosting on the cake.

The memories I have from that experience are the real value, not a robe or a photo or two.

The tour is easily worth the price without any extras. Fact is only a limited group can go and if it was priced at $50, there would be a war over inclusion on the tour. Supply and Demand. Perceived Value. For some it is a Suite or nothing, for others an Inside cabin is the only sensible way to go.

Sometimes I am amazed at some of these threads.:confused:

 

But maybe that's just me. :cool:

Dixon

 

 

I always seem to miss out, but had no idea about these "extras" still thought $100-$150 was OK for a look behind the scenes. I understand a lot of stars though, and stars and I do not agree.

[MrPantsOz]

I did the tour on the Coral in April. Got drinks and nibbles mid tour and at the end. Had a plush robe, apron, half dozen photos, a photo frame and the personalised notepad delivered to my room. Worth every cent, especially as I wanted the plush robe anyway. Definitely chase up your missing goodies.

[jaxter1302]

Resolution?

 

Well, it took almost 2 weeks to get addressed, but here is the resolution to my issue. After 1 week of not getting a response to my email, I re-submitted. I finally got a call from a customer service rep and it was a very frustrating call. I cited my expectations based on cruise reviewers who had taken the tour, and her response was that it wasn’t Princess’ policy to give UST participants these items - it’s completely up to the individual ship as to which goodies they might give you.

 

After much back and forth, she directed me to princess.com and to the page that describes the UST, to prove to me that these items should not have been expected. I then pointed out to her that on the very page that she directed me to, the section describing the Laundry tour includes a statement that participants receive luxurious bathrobes, and the section that describes the Galley tour includes a statement that participants receive an official chef’s jacket. Silence! She said she would need to check with the Grand and find out what they were doing, and that she would call me back. She didn’t call me back.

 

So I waited a couple of days and called again, and was connected to the same customer service rep. She told me that they couldn’t quantify the value of those items ($45 for waffle robe, $90 for the plush robe per the gift section of the site) and had no ability to ship the items. Her offer was to give us each a $50 credit for a future cruise. When I explained to her that after this experience we weren’t interested in going on another Princess cruise, she said that was too bad. After some negotiating, I was able to get $50 per person refunded to our credit card, and a $100 per person future cruise credit, which I won’t be using.

 

In the end, our destination and the excursions we took were outstanding, our cabin and steward were good, the ship and food were just ok. I’ve had better experiences on other cruise lines, and this final interaction with Princess customer service has tarnished my view of Princess such that I will never cruise with them again. Truly a shame. It should have been very easy for Princess to fix this.

 

We are truly easy-going travelers and don’t expect special consideration or demand extras for free. We paid for a Jr. Suite, spent a small fortune for excursions – all through Princess, and shelled out $300 for this tour. I really just wanted to get what I had paid for.

 

In the end, the lesson that I learned and want to share with readers: If you take the ultimate ship tour, do not leave the ship without those goodies!!

 

Happy sailing, folks! Perhaps we'll meet on another cruise line... We cancelled our April 2016 2-week Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess (in a full Suite), and booked Anthem of the Seas sailing rom Cape Liberty NJ this December.

 

Yours,

Unhappy Princess Ex-customer

[caribill]

Thanks for reporting what happened.

[judyjudy56]

This is too bad you didn't get all the items listed. We did the tour several years ago and got the stationary, plush robes, chefs jacket, several photos and the best part was that we had afternoon tea in the captains stateroom. Captain Nash was very nice and very entertaining. We definitely thought it was well worth the $150.00.

[Steelers36]

Since we were out of our cabin at 8 am for disembarkation on the day following the tour, and had been assured twice since the tour that items would be delivered to our cabin, we never had a chance to inquire about the other items. Photo gallery staff finally offered to walk to our stateroom to find the photos, and within 5 minutes of that our disembarkation group was called. Timing is everything, right? I will definitely send a note to their customer service address and request the gifts or a refund.

 

Thanks for all for your posts. There seems to be a consistency of gift items that we definitely did NOT receive! Cheers to all.

 

Oh my goodness. I thought we had won a prize on that cruise because we came back after breakfast on the last morning and found nice bags, robes, and more to take home. We had to re-pack and sit on suitcases to fit it all in.

 

:D:p - Just foolin' -- but imagine if someone accidentally delivered to the wrong stateroom?

[suzyed]

They are supposed to give in addition a chef's jacket and a plush robe. On my tour they ran out of plush robes so they gave the waffle robe and a large sanctuary towel instead. This was years ago so maybe it changed. The gifts alone would cost close to $100. Without them the tour is too expensive.

 

Contact customerrelations@princesscruises.com and complain.

 

We got the big heavy plush robes, the chef jackets, stationary (really a pad with our names on them), photos from each area, a silver color frame. We ended our tour on the bridge where we got champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Anyway this was a few years back and $150/pp.

Edited July 21, 2015 by suzyed

[suzyed]

I dunno -- they sound too sticky to wear, but too delicious NOT to wear...!

 

 

And if you get hungry at night, just take a bite of the sleeve or the pocket. ;)

[suzyed]

Sorry your UST experience was not as much fun as mine on Emerald in late March this year. Sounds like you got gipped for $150!

 

Since the CC boards warned of a strict tour size limit, I signed up for the UST for $150 as soon as I boarded, and was not disappointed at all with the tour that was held on the last sea day morning from 8:15am-noon.

 

The back of house areas were very interesting to see, including the anchor storage, the engineering control center, and especially, the bridge. We met with the ship's doctor, the chief engineer, several performers, the entertainment production manager, the head chef, the ship's provisions manager, and the bridge officers. Best of all, the ten of us on the tour had the opportunity for a one-on-one discussion with the Captain who did not rush us at all and answered all our questions in detail.

 

Although we walked the ship from the top to almost the bottom, stern to bow, we were treated to a fruit punch in the kitchen and champagne with mixed chocolates/cookies in Adagio at the tour's end. Our tour goodies were delivered to our cabins in the late afternoon and included, several photos from our tour, a kitchen apron, a nice Princess picture frame, a personalized note pad, and best of all, the plush robe. Swag value well over the $150 cost of the tour. The worst thing about it was finding room in my luggage to stuff the new goodies into them, but I managed.

 

Although you shouldn't have to, I recommend you email Princess customer service to ask about them sending you some swag goodies to make up for the skimpy gifts you received with your tour. All they can say is "no".

 

I agree....getting the robes and the chef jackets in the suitcase was tricky!

[suzyed]

Resolution?

 

Well, it took almost 2 weeks to get addressed, but here is the resolution to my issue. After 1 week of not getting a response to my email, I re-submitted. I finally got a call from a customer service rep and it was a very frustrating call. I cited my expectations based on cruise reviewers who had taken the tour, and her response was that it wasn’t Princess’ policy to give UST participants these items - it’s completely up to the individual ship as to which goodies they might give you.

 

After much back and forth, she directed me to princess.com and to the page that describes the UST, to prove to me that these items should not have been expected. I then pointed out to her that on the very page that she directed me to, the section describing the Laundry tour includes a statement that participants receive luxurious bathrobes, and the section that describes the Galley tour includes a statement that participants receive an official chef’s jacket. Silence! She said she would need to check with the Grand and find out what they were doing, and that she would call me back. She didn’t call me back.

 

So I waited a couple of days and called again, and was connected to the same customer service rep. She told me that they couldn’t quantify the value of those items ($45 for waffle robe, $90 for the plush robe per the gift section of the site) and had no ability to ship the items. Her offer was to give us each a $50 credit for a future cruise. When I explained to her that after this experience we weren’t interested in going on another Princess cruise, she said that was too bad. After some negotiating, I was able to get $50 per person refunded to our credit card, and a $100 per person future cruise credit, which I won’t be using.

 

In the end, our destination and the excursions we took were outstanding, our cabin and steward were good, the ship and food were just ok. I’ve had better experiences on other cruise lines, and this final interaction with Princess customer service has tarnished my view of Princess such that I will never cruise with them again. Truly a shame. It should have been very easy for Princess to fix this.

 

We are truly easy-going travelers and don’t expect special consideration or demand extras for free. We paid for a Jr. Suite, spent a small fortune for excursions – all through Princess, and shelled out $300 for this tour. I really just wanted to get what I had paid for.

 

In the end, the lesson that I learned and want to share with readers: If you take the ultimate ship tour, do not leave the ship without those goodies!!

 

Happy sailing, folks! Perhaps we'll meet on another cruise line... We cancelled our April 2016 2-week Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess (in a full Suite), and booked Anthem of the Seas sailing rom Cape Liberty NJ this December.

 

Yours,

Unhappy Princess Ex-customer

 

So sorry this didn't work out the way it should have. I can understand feeling bitter and "cheated". Princess' customer service can be extremely lacking.

After our last cruise, where we were delayed getting back to port due to an emergency situation (and one other issue) and having to change our air tickets to the tune of $1400 and having Princess refuse to reimburse us....I felt as you do...that we wouldn't sail with them again. When our cruise insurance helped us with the cost of the additional airfare, it took the sting out of the situation somewhat and we are cruising with them again.

On a happier note...I think you will really like RCCL and their ships! We are Diamond on Royal Caribbean and really enjoy their product.

Good luck!

[Loonbeam]

Princess definitely dropped the ball on this one. They should have refunded you the cost of the tour period... I might consider one more try and specifically request another agent or a supervisor.

[avcruz]

Resolution?

 

 

 

After some negotiating, I was able to get $50 per person refunded to our credit card, and a $100 per person future cruise credit, which I won’t be using.

 

 

 

In the end, our destination and the excursions we took were outstanding, our cabin and steward were good, the ship and food were just ok. I’ve had better experiences on other cruise lines, and this final interaction with Princess customer service has tarnished my view of Princess such that I will never cruise with them again. Truly a shame. It should have been very easy for Princess to fix this.

 

 

 

We are truly easy-going travelers and don’t expect special consideration or demand extras for free. We paid for a Jr. Suite, spent a small fortune for excursions – all through Princess, and shelled out $300 for this tour. I really just wanted to get what I had paid for.

 

 

 

In the end, the lesson that I learned and want to share with readers: If you take the ultimate ship tour, do not leave the ship without those goodies!!

 

 

 

Happy sailing, folks! Perhaps we'll meet on another cruise line... We cancelled our April 2016 2-week Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess (in a full Suite), and booked Anthem of the Seas sailing rom Cape Liberty NJ this December.

 

 

 

Yours,

 

Unhappy Princess Ex-customer

 

 

It truly is a shame that Princess failed so badly at saving the day and turning your negative experience around. I know Princess reads these boards, perhaps when they read this and realize how easily they could have kept your business, they'll focus on providing better customer experience training to their people.

[Matcodixon]

Let me see, You got $50 PP refunded to your credit card and $100 PP in cruise credit. This means you paid nothing for a UST for 2 because of a couple of robes. Not a bad deal. And you said you had a great time.

Of course this was such a major problem that you will never use Princess again. I wonder which cruise line will be next in line.

The fact that you say you won't use the credit does not mean you did not get it, Hmmm I wonder if you can move it to my account?

Just kidding.

 

Life is too short to worry about the small stuff.

Or maybe that's just me?

Dixon

[Steelers36]

Let me see, You got $50 PP refunded to your credit card and $100 PP in cruise credit. This means you paid nothing for a UST for 2 because of a couple of robes. Not a bad deal. And you said you had a great time.

Of course this was such a major problem that you will never use Princess again. I wonder which cruise line will be next in line.

The fact that you say you won't use the credit does not mean you did not get it, Hmmm I wonder if you can move it to my account?

Just kidding.

 

Life is too short to worry about the small stuff.

Or maybe that's just me?

Dixon

 

I agree with you. In the end, the customer was in effect returned the $300 spent. I'd gladly accept that because I would be sailing Princess again and assume some slip-up occurred on board. I find it hard to believe Princess "shafted" anyone deliberately. They are pretty good in treating people with the special experiences and the vast majority report wonderful experiences.

 

I also feel that for the most part I get fantastic treatment by Princess phone reps - even if a newer one is not sure of all the facts.

[VTX-AL]

On the Royal in January this is what was delivered to our cabin:

 

 

Inside the Princess bags were the fluffy bathrobes, the aprons, the photos and the photo frames.

 

Since you did not receive your bathrobes, I would contact Princess HQ and ask that they send them to you.

 

 

Yup !! ..... That's exactly the "goodie" package that I received (only one, of course, since I took the UST alone), on the Grand 15 day Vancouver/Hawaii RT in March of this year. As a bit of a ship junkie, I really enjoyed the UST and recommend it to anyone even remotely interested. The package was delivered to our stateroom the same day afternoon, and was worth at least the cost of the tour.

 

...VTX-Al

[thresher]

Sorry to read about your poor tour, and equally poor response from so called customer service. I did the UST on the crown during a coastal cruise at the end of April. There were 12 of us, and we received all of the goodies. During the laundry portion one of the workers came out if a room modeling the robe, and we were told one would be sent to our cabins along with the other items. At the end of the tour we were given champagne, and more canapes in the upper deck aft lounge. The cost is pricey, but I had it covered with OBC, and enjoyed it.

I have experienced receiving mixed answers, and flip flops when questioning issues with customer service, as well as captains circle reps on board. Again very sorry that you were definitely short changed on the tour, and not provided proper customer service follow up.

[bob brown]

Sorry the OP did not get what they wanted.:(

 

One lesson that we can all learn from this and other Customer Service issues on any cruise ship....it is better to try to resolve it before getting off the ship. I think you have a much better chance than calling a customer service number after the fact....;)

[jaxter1302]

Princess definitely dropped the ball on this one. They should have refunded you the cost of the tour period... I might consider one more try and specifically request another agent or a supervisor.

 

Funny story there - I asked for a supervisor and was told that there was nobody above this woman (Alene). Apparently she's the President of Princess Cruise Lines? At some point, I'll look back on this and laugh, but I'm not there yet... :rolleyes:

[jaxter1302]

Princess definitely dropped the ball on this one. They should have refunded you the cost of the tour period... I might consider one more try and specifically request another agent or a supervisor.

 

Let me see, You got $50 PP refunded to your credit card and $100 PP in cruise credit. This means you paid nothing for a UST for 2 because of a couple of robes. Not a bad deal. And you said you had a great time.

Of course this was such a major problem that you will never use Princess again. I wonder which cruise line will be next in line.

The fact that you say you won't use the credit does not mean you did not get it, Hmmm I wonder if you can move it to my account?

Just kidding.

 

Life is too short to worry about the small stuff.

Or maybe that's just me?

Dixon

 

I consider the refund of $50 each a success, but the process of getting it was the painful part. If their customer service was better, I absolutely would have taken the credit and used it happily. But it wasn't just the money.

- They didn't get us the items before we left the ship.

- I twice went to Photography to ask about the photos and was assured they would appear, and they didn't.

- On the morning of disembarkation, I was told to go back to my room because surely it would be there.

- It took a week to get initial response to my complaint.

- And I had to deal with a snarky customer service agent who did not know policy and could not have cared less whether I was a satisfied customer.

 

This wasn't about the money - it was about how they treat customers. I'm big on principles, and this was all about the principle.

 

So I'll take my money and business where it is more valued.