Problem's with current Crown Princess SA Cruise

[trbarton]

Our problems started on January 4th with the Rio officials not clearing the ship early thus the last people disembarked around 1:30 pm & because of this they didn't start processing people until after 2 pm & people started boarding around 3 pm. Not Princess fault but decisions made by the Rio officials. The Crown was made to dock at a different terminal & Princess was told that this was because of a rock in the water. We were told by one of the ship officers that Princess was not happy by what happened & there has been many calls between the Santa Clarita office & the Rio officials explaining there displeasure & talking about Princess not returning there again.

 

While in transit from Rio a passenger became very ill & people were asked to donate blood & the ship deviated its course to have the person transported by tender to shore. Sadly we were told that the person passed away. Because of this we were delayed arriving in Buenos Aires until 6 pm instead of our 8 am arrival time we stayed until 6 pm the next day.

 

We received a letter from the people boarding in Rio that we would receive a future credit of 33% of the cruise costs excluding taxes & port fees that had to be used before the end of 2017 which meant that you had to book a cruise by then. People that were boarding in Buenos Aires we given the option on not taking the cruise & getting a refund or taking the cruise & getting a 25% OBC. I talked with one of the ships officers to inquire if this 33% credit could be applied towards an existing booking & I was told NO. People are saying that we should be giving the 33% as a refundable OBC on our cruise.

 

We're already going to miss one port of call & we arrived in Montivedio last night at 8 pm & had to be back on board by 11:30 pm.

 

One person on our cruise from our cruise Critic group started a petition to be submitted to one of the ship officers with many people not connected with Cruise Critic putting there names down.

 

I'll post what happens.

 

The captain is not happy what happened in Rio & he has tried to make the best of what has happened.

 

Some people vow to not come to SA again or cruise with Princess.

 

Tom😕

[shredie]

Tom, I didn't know you and Becky were on that cruise. I hope things improve for you. We boarded in Rio once and it was a nightmare. I don't think they have any idea how to do it properly.

[fishywood]

So those passengers embarking in Rio, who were delayed due to the Port Authority, were offered an FCC.

But those whose embarkation in Buenos Aires was delayed due to the Captain's decision to divert for a medical evacuation were given a (very generous) OBC to use on that cruise. And even offered the alternative to cancel without penalty??

 

Yes that is quite a gap in type of offer, especially given that all passengers had the final consequence of losing most of the day in Montevideo. You have the right to demand an explanation--but with a week or so further onboard I would be very careful about signing a petition or putting a formal protest on the record. Last night there was a thread here (mercifully deleted) from someone clearly bent on disrupting the process of getting your cruise back on track. Hopefully he was not put of the ship when his post was undoubtedly spotted by Princess. And equally hopeful that when you return home you or your TA will be able to escalate so that the FCC can be applied to your existing future booking.

Edited January 11, 2017 by fishywood

[TracieABD]

This has been a really unfortunate situation. There is almost no desirable outcome. I hope you all can find a way to make the best of it. I will keep you and others in my thoughts.

[St Paul Girl]

We are booked for next year, Jan 3, 2018 and Princess does NOT embark from Rio! I hope that this means that princess has leaned a lesson when dealing with Brasilian officials. Not sure if Princess has any more scheduled cruises touching Rio. The cruise we are on was originally scheduled to leave from Rio, but was changed in Nov. A smart move.

[easyboy]

I hope the situation is resolved that is mutually beneficial to everyone.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[hpeabody]

Watching this situation with high interest. Our Re-positioning Crown cruise departing on Mar 1st from Buenos Aires is scheduled for an overnight in Rio and many have booked private tours. So I hope we are welcomed there without problems. I looked at the itineraries from Jan 18th to ours and none of them visit Rio, They go back and forth between Valparaiso and Buenos Aires.

 

Tom, is Captain Lawes the captain?

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry you are missing ports and having issues.

 

Does this have anything to do with this thread?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2440582&highlight=crown+sa

[Woobstr112G]

Tom;

 

I hope the rest of your cruise gets better and better each day.....:):):)

 

Bob

[caribill]

Our problems started on January 4th with the Rio officials not clearing the ship early thus the last people disembarked around 1:30 pm & because of this they didn't start processing people until after 2 pm & people started boarding around 3 pm. Not Princess fault but decisions made by the Rio officials. The Crown was made to dock at a different terminal & Princess was told that this was because of a rock in the water. We were told by one of the ship officers that Princess was not happy by what happened & there has been many calls between the Santa Clarita office & the Rio officials explaining there displeasure & talking about Princess not returning there again.

 

 

 

We have been in Brazil waters on two cruises a few years ago. At that time Brazil/Rio officials also did their best to make Princess feel unwelcome.

 

On the first cruise which was up the Amazon River, Brazil officials came about a few miles into the river and spent four hours photocopying every passenger's passport: the ID page and the Brazil visa page. This delay caused us to skip a port on the River.

 

On the second cruise, we boarded in Rio. Shortly after we left the dock the ship stopped while officials came aboard to straighten out some paperwork that supposedly wrong. That was about a two hour delay and the Captain made it known that Brazil often pulled tricks like that.

[land lover]

How disappointing...I heard thru the grape vine the Falklands have been scratched is that true?

 

I'll be getting on when u r disembarking, the 18th.

 

It's not fun being on an "unhappy ship", I've had the unfortunate experience more than once. Everyone complaining especially in elevators and pretty much wherever you go.

 

The atmosphere becomes "u against the Princess" very unpleasant.

 

However, what do the pax expect Princess to do? Since we know for sure that the one situation was unavoidable.

 

Maybe they will change your FCC to OBC or maybe come up with another option but if people r saying they are never cruising SA or Princess again because of these 2 situations....I really don't think they know what a cruise from hell is or/and have limited travel experience.....of course there is still more to come keep us posted.

 

Good Luck

Edited January 11, 2017 by land lover

[cherylandtk]

So sorry to hear that your voyage is disrupted. That is always a disappointment. However, no ports are ever guaranteed, and it sounds as if that is the only disruption, although no fault of Princess. In that case a 33% future credit is quite generous. As the old saying goes, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Someone from the cruise just prior to yours posted they missed a couple of ports due to weather and there was no mention of OBC.

 

As for the petition activity, you might want to point out that circulating a petition can be construed as violating the solicitation policy of the contract. In the past, this sort of behavior has resulted in a stern talking to and the implication that the pax would be removed if the behavior persisted.

[DougH]

On my Star Princess cruise back in 2009 we could not dock in Montevideo as it was too windy. We spent all day anchored offshore and finally made it into the harbor about 5 pm as we had to load fuel/supplies. It was a Sunday evening and 90% of the shops had closed after waiting for us to dock all day. I believe all tours were cancelled. We go no additional compensation I can recall and it was just treated as a missed port. I was a little disappointed but things happen.

 

Boarding in BA had been a little chaotic but no more so than I've had happen in several other places. Sometimes the local authorities just don't seem to have a clue that day.

[geoherb]

If the price of an existing cruise booking has not gone down, can't you cancel and rebook, as long as you're also not giving up any valuable promotions?

[RDC1]

Considering the circumstances the offer from Princess is quite generous. Since it is not unusual for ports to be missed due to weather on this route it will be interesting to see how the passengers react if that happens as well.

[iancal]

We are boarding this ship Feb. 1 in BA. Not too worried about Montevideo since we are spending some pre cruise time in both Uruguay and Argentina.

[trbarton]

Update...We how have 2 offers from Princess. For people that left from Rio we now have a 33% refundable OBC that if we don't spend will be sent to us. We have also been given a 50% Future Cruise Credit that is good until the end of 2018 on a new or existing booking. A generous offer from Princess. Perhaps it was because of the many signatures that our Cruise Critic member got and submitted to the Princess officer on the Crown. Thanks to all of the work & effort of other members.

 

Tom😁

[beg3yrs]

Update...We how have 2 offers from Princess. For people that left from Rio we now have a 33% refundable OBC that if we don't spend will be sent to us. We have also been given a 50% Future Cruise Credit that is good until the end of 2018 on a new or existing booking. A generous offer from Princess. Perhaps it was because of the many signatures that our Cruise Critic member got and submitted to the Princess officer on the Crown. Thanks to all of the work & effort of other members.

 

Tom😁

 

That sounds more than fair. It probably won't stop all the grumbling but it should go a long way towards doing so.

 

May your seas be smooth and your holidays fun...

[WupperAV]

We were informed in Rio that Princess was held disembarking due to Flu and they had to clear that up with health officials. No ones fault, simply precautions. We were 2 hrs late getting off but made the best of it anyway. Sorry someone was ill, that's not a Princess fault either and they have a contract with passengers that say they can change any schedule like skipping going around the Horn Jan 2. We believe it was not due to bad weather as Seabourn left for Antartica but to make up the 9 hrs we were held at the dock by wind. We were a little unhappy at service in MDR as 1 night they were 1 hr later than usual serving and another night a server bumped into my wife about 8 times. Steward was excellent and we had No warm or cold cookies and milk at MUTS. Other wise Horizon food was excellent no complaints except the couple who picked through every piece of Crab on a 3' X 4' pile. Felt like kicking both into it.