Come back new? Come back never....Crown Compensation

[easyboy]

Got off the Crown last April after 14 days. Glad our experience was not like yours. I hope your problems are favorably resolved.

[Skai]

My attention span is too short to pay attention long enough to read your long rant about a cruise-line that I cheer-lead for:rolleyes:...

 

Seriously though, Princess CR is all smoke and mirrors. Passengers are just #s to them. The only reason (service)staff act friendly and accommodating is because they are under constant threat of being flogged behind closed doors if they are found operating otherwise.

 

The level of incompetence and/or canned responses at Passenger Services is a joke. I also can't count the amount of times I've been given incorrect information from staff aboard. It's the idiotic training of: "always be willing to help and provide an answer"(even if it is the wrong one).

 

That all stated, after a handful of cruises on Princess, I've learned to get used to this disorganization. I simply chalk it up as one of the quirks of cruising.

 

It sucks that you had such a crappy cruise, likely exacerbated by a seemingly incompetent crew. One would think training (or protocols) ought to be established -- as I'm sure instances like what you've described have occurred in the past.

 

FWIW - We've never taken a ship-sponsored excursion. The thought of being at the mercy of the ship's personnel (lack of organization -- SEE ABOVE), and have Princess be in control of our treasured days touring ashore seems foolish. I've always suspected ship's tours to be overpriced, overcrowded and restrained.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Skai

[cactusrose]

Amazing the OP didn't mention the entire area was in chaos during that period especially regards to passports etc due to the multiple terror attacks in the area (3 days after the "Big One" in Liverpool.....Not to mention the attack in Copenhagen on May 30 (the attack on the Little Mermaid in the Harbor itself a small part of it.) guess that was princess' fault that these countries were calling the shots including using their own people to screen. I have heard of being detached but...........they should have known these people were on vacation and canceling a tour in the very area of an attack several hours before the ships arrival was an "inconvenience" Goof Grief man WAKE UP.

 

I see no reason for your snarky response. The OP obviously had a horrible time and it wasn't due to anything except lack of communication and organization on the ship. These are not little issues they are issue that ruined their entire cruise. They made it clear that they understood that stuff happens that is out of the ships control, all they asked is for someone to communicate so it wasn't so chaotic. I agree with many of the other respondents. The OP deserves better.

[LarryL]

Hello,

Sorry to say but I also like my cruise on the Star in June of this year but you would be lying if you say this ship is in no new of a bit of update. Come on.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

To tell you the truth, I didn't see much more than normal wear and tear on the Star. The crew was, constantly, working on her to keep the ship looking good. I would guess any ship more than twelve months out of dry dock will already see wear and tear. Not an issue. The Crown has been out of dry dock for just over two years.

 

When I read people venting on these boards I sometimes see that the "ship is in terrible condition" or "it's badly in need of major repairs". Like I said in my previous post, I take comments with a grain of salt. These ships are always at sea so there will always be upkeep, even on new ships. It doesn't take long.

 

Sometimes things seem to snowball for people in a negative way and it can ruin their experience. Fortunately for the OP, it looks like cruising is still in her future.

[caribill]

Jan Swartz's e-mail is: jswartz@carnival.com It is by no means a secret.

 

 

Are you sure it is carnival.com ?

[caribill]

My attention span is too short to pay attention long enough to read your long rant about a cruise-line that I cheer-lead for:rolleyes:...

 

 

I did not find the OP's post too long or having too much detail.

 

(When someone just says something went wrong, other posters ask for more details.)

 

It is not as if the OP had one problem, there were a number of them. Some (for example the missed port because of weather) were not Princess' fault and the OP did not blame Princess for them.

 

It was how the problems under Princess' control were handled (or not handled) on board which is the focus of the post.

 

Making major announcements such as staying in a port for another day while most passengers are off of the ship and then not repeating the announcement once everyone is back on board is a major failing.

 

Having the passport collection fiasco multiple times is inexcusable.

 

 

I am sure passenger services knew no more about what was happening than the passengers did, so a lack of answers from them is to be expected.

 

I thank the OP for giving a rational explanation of the problems encountered.

[Skai]

I did not find the OP's post too long or having too much detail.

 

(When someone just says something went wrong, other posters ask for more details.)

 

It is not as if the OP had one problem, there were a number of them. Some (for example the missed port because of weather) were not Princess' fault and the OP did not blame Princess for them.

 

It was how the problems under Princess' control were handled (or not handled) on board which is the focus of the post.

 

Making major announcements such as staying in a port for another day while most passengers are off of the ship and then not repeating the announcement once everyone is back on board is a major failing.

 

Having the passport collection fiasco multiple times is inexcusable.

 

 

I am sure passenger services knew no more about what was happening than the passengers did, so a lack of answers from them is to be expected.

 

I thank the OP for giving a rational explanation of the problems encountered.

 

This is the 'sarcasm' smiley face :rolleyes:.

 

I completely agree with what you've stated here. My first sentence was a jab at the usual gang of "Princess can ne'er be wrong" cheerleaders that frequent threads like these often berating and/or criticizing the OP for expressing what appears to be legitimate complaints.

[SoCalTraveler]

Are you sure it is carnival.com ?

 

Yes.

[Alaskanb]

When I read the OP's post my first questions were "What cruise was this --what itinerary?" "Why were passports repeatedly collected and passengers not forewarned?".

One comment has stayed with me while reading the post --they are Elite and expected to be looked after. Sadly they were not!

We usually have an aft mini cabin on Emerald Deck where it's impossible to hear any ship's announcements unless we open our door and usually have poor internet access. May I suggest to Princess that they also share important announcements through other means --maybe via the phone messaging system, as they do with the welcome greeting, and also on the Princess At Sea app.

[SoCalTraveler]

I understood the OP's report that a Princess computer failure caused passenger passport (and, perhaps other) information to be lost, necessitating passport collection. That is a failure perhaps beyond Princess' control. What is within Princess' control is the process by which passports are manually collected thereafter, and I read the OP to be complaining about lack of information and long lines.

 

We, too, have been in locations where announcements were not heard. On our California Coastal, departure was delayed as the ship moved during embarkation. (We were literally on the gangway when the ship moved, and then stuck on the dock, a group of 30 of us, for 45 minutes.) That delayed boarding. That delayed the muster drill. So Princess decided to make dinner open seating as the muster drill did not end before the dining rooms were scheduled to open. One announcement was made, When we inquired about the time, it turned out we were in the Thermal Suite where the messages did not permeate. And when we showed up for our reserved table at traditional dining, the area in front of the dining room was so packed, with folks like us who had not heard the admittedly single message, that people coming by elevator could not get off. So dinner was chaotic and delayed. Was I harmed? Nope. Did I lose money? Nope. Could Princess have handled the whole situation better? You betcha. For example, the maître d' decided that the entire open first seating had to be done before he would seat people for the open second seating, even though in an ATD room there is continuous seating of guests. And a group of 8 or 10, led by the family head in a wheel chair, was told, right on front of us, that they had no table large enough to seat that group who had, as we did, reserved traditional late seating. The maître d's suggestion? They should check out other dining venues. Wre they harmed. No. Did they lose money? No. Were they treated properly? Not at all.

Edited July 12, 2017 by SoCalTraveler

[rbt001]

Amazing the OP didn't mention the entire area was in chaos during that period especially regards to passports etc due to the multiple terror attacks in the area (3 days after the "Big One" in Liverpool.....Not to mention the attack in Copenhagen on May 30 (the attack on the Little Mermaid in the Harbor itself a small part of it.) guess that was princess' fault that these countries were calling the shots including using their own people to screen. I have heard of being detached but...........they should have known these people were on vacation and canceling a tour in the very area of an attack several hours before the ships arrival was an "inconvenience" Goof Grief man WAKE UP.

 

Sarcasm rarely plays well in these boards.

 

In the process, however, you made one of the OP's points: communication on the part of Crown Princess seems to have been poor. The attacks you mention should have been the FIRST WORDS and cited as the cause for the delay. Based upon my personal experiences on another cruise line that last minute altered itineraries as "an abundance of caution to mitigate passenger risk" due to political tensions at the time, passengers were at most disappointed. They however understood and appreciated the captain's decision without any anger.

[princess09]

On an Asian cruise we missed 2 ports due to storms, Nagasaki and Shanghai. 3 ports in Taiwan were substituted. We were extremely disappointed but weather was not the fault of Princess. Safety comes first.

We still had a great cruise. When traveling, one must expect hiccups and "go with the flow" or the holiday will be ruined.

IMHO, when seeking compensation, look at the big picture rationally and put emotion aside. Focus on what is the best strategy to achieve your goal and be courteous but firm.

[rbt001]

To the OP-

 

I, too, read your entire posting because I have an upcoming cruise on Crown in November.

 

I would expect the Consumer Relations person at Princess to read every word as well.

 

By your "cut/paste" remark, I gather that you've already sent your comments to Princess. So all the lectures on writing style are moot-- especially since you didn't ask for critiques or advice.

 

As I took in the details, I certainly could feel your frustration.

 

Let me ask rhetorically, how much was your on board account, and did you pay by credit card? Have you considered calling your credit card company and disputing this charge, pending an outcome to your liking?

 

It could be argued --that while you did consume the items listed on your account-- you were due a credit to your on board account for the overcharge of your cruise fare due to the issues that you had on board.

 

If you consider this stance, point out to the credit card issuer that you have already spoken with Princess management to resolve the issue, and they have not to your satisfaction. That's a requirement before initiating a chargeback of this kind: the card holder must first attempt to resolve the issue with the merchant (Princess, in this case.) At the end of the day, if you still are not happy with the goods and services provided, you do NOT have to pay the charge. [As a side note, the merchant may still feel you are obligated and may pursue collections. Given the circumstances and the total amount you refuse to pay, they may just forego the trouble.] Lastly, note that this only works if you have NOT paid the charged amount; it must be an outstanding charge; hence the reason you cannot attempt to charge back your cruise fare payment made 4 months or more ago.

 

I would also tell the representative from Princess assigned to handle your case what you plan to do, as I believe it places you in a stronger position.

 

I'm speaking from personal experience, when I had a tour issue. I didn't even attempt to "argue" with the tour desk, which some believe are on commission. I waited until I returned and called Consumer Relations. She asked me to send a written complaint via facsimile. I did so, stating the issue, that I expected nothing less than a full refund of the tour, and that I was prepared to charge back that amount to the credit card. Withing 48 hours I received a call back stating a full refund would be credited withing 5 to 7 days; no arguments, discussions, or just meeting me half way.

[luvtravel]

Thank you for your detailed experience on this cruise. I don't understand why some feel the need to defend the cruiseline when things like this happen...maybe they own stock. Many, maybe most, appreciate hearing good and bad experiences. We are all spending alot of $ and its right to expect to be treated decently and that the cruise should go smoothly barring emergencies and weather. I also hope you get some reasonable compensation - but nothing makes up for the bad experience and wasted time. So disappointing about the lack of leadership this ship has. We don't travel on Princess much anymore but have had a few very nice cruises in the past - but ships were probably newer and different captains and before being owned by Carnival. We do have one coming up in December on the Crown, selected solely because of dates, which after reading a number of other negative experiences besides yours, am concerned. But am thinking it only 8 days.....and in the Caribbean. For our next cruises in Europe we'll be back on Azamara and Oceania. Also will be looking to alternatives cruiselines for a trip we'd like to make to S. America - a bigger time investment. Good luck to you.

[Alaskanb]

Oops

Edited July 12, 2017 by Alaskanb

[deltaqueenie]

First of all, I want to thank so many of you for your understanding and compassion.

During our onboard mtg with the Customer Relations Mgr, I was advised that my email to CR should be as specific as possible and discuss ALL issues, even trivial. This was reiterated in my initial phone call to CR, once shoreside. Please forgive me if my post is "lengthy", but I just tried to follow their instructions. I'm not familiar with writing a "complaint" email, as I've never written one in 12yrs of cruising. Again, this is what happened to ME, and IMO Princess should be held accountable for the poor decisions they made regarding issues they HAD control over: efficiently collecting passports, notifying psgrs of missing Helsingborg, and tours that were not as advertised. Being offered $100 OBC is totally unacceptable. IMO, the Crown on May 27th, was FAR below Princess standards (speaking as an Elite psgr with 222 days across 8 different Princess ships). I am still hopeful that CR will resolve this by offering me additional compensation in an effort "to try and make it right."

[TNTLAMB]

Sarcasm rarely plays well in these boards.

 

In the process, however, you made one of the OP's points: communication on the part of Crown Princess seems to have been poor. The attacks you mention should have been the FIRST WORDS and cited as the cause for the delay. Based upon my personal experiences on another cruise line that last minute altered itineraries as "an abundance of caution to mitigate passenger risk" due to political tensions at the time, passengers were at most disappointed. They however understood and appreciated the captain's decision without any anger.

 

Perhaps, OR create a lot of necessary panic "attention Passengers we are currently outside the Copenhagen port where approximately two hours ago there was a suspected terrorist attack in the port" Are they still there are they waiting for a cruise ship and hundreds more thoughts would get started Especially if in the days prior. the Captain made the announcement "attention passengers there will be a delay in disembarking by all non European passengers while your passport is matched to you and checked against Interpol lists in response to the discovery of a much larger operating cell than first who killed 59 people 3 days ago. Can you imagine the pax? OMG is there a TERRORIST on board?? Of course that would have made a real relaxing vacation and when the word came out about the London Bridge attack..... Or where the cells were operating from?

 

No sarcasm and to call what was happening in these day before, during and immediately after this cruise "political Tensions" is not the same as an other French railroad workers wildcat strike.

 

You bet it was a horrible cruise, but call it a princess problem instead of what it was/is is a bit too much chicken little. Yeah I'm sensitive my sister in law was injured int Liverpool bombing (only overnight in the hospital with a broken ankle and some cuts etc. It sure put a crimp on their river cruise a few days later......

[RDC1]

First of all, I want to thank so many of you for your understanding and compassion.

During our onboard mtg with the Customer Relations Mgr, I was advised that my email to CR should be as specific as possible and discuss ALL issues, even trivial. This was reiterated in my initial phone call to CR, once shoreside. Please forgive me if my post is "lengthy", but I just tried to follow their instructions. I'm not familiar with writing a "complaint" email, as I've never written one in 12yrs of cruising. Again, this is what happened to ME, and IMO Princess should be held accountable for the poor decisions they made regarding issues they HAD control over: efficiently collecting passports, notifying psgrs of missing Helsingborg, and tours that were not as advertised. Being offered $100 OBC is totally unacceptable. IMO, the Crown on May 27th, was FAR below Princess standards (speaking as an Elite psgr with 222 days across 8 different Princess ships). I am still hopeful that CR will resolve this by offering me additional compensation in an effort "to try and make it right."

 

While they might tell you to include everything, you can greatly affect the impact by how you structure the information. Do not structure it as a time line, but instead by priority and nature of the problem. If I was writing it I would start out with those things of greatest impact, that were areas within Princesses control where their was a failure to execute.

 

Once you cover those individually presented (bullet point), then discuss how the cruise had some other problems that may have been outside of Princesses control. That does two things. It provides focus on the major issues where they failed to execute, and tells them that you understand that some of the things may be outside of their control.

 

Keep in mind that some things in you complaint letter are outside of what Princess provides anywhere. They provide excursions, they do not officially provide, in most cases, directions other than maps, for doing things on your own or creating you own tours. As such your desire for them to provide help how you can get Brugges on your own is really outside of their scope of services. Once the decision is made to cancel excursions ship based help will not occur. For them to provide such help makes them take on risk and liability.

 

This sentence in your post succinctly captures what you should focus on. "efficiently collecting passports, notifying psgrs of missing Helsingborg, and tours that were not as advertised".

 

Lumping them all together in a timeline creates a letter that no one, even senior management (or rather from experience especially senior management) wants to read.

 

One other comment stay away from inflammatory language, present the facts in a calm professional manner.

Edited July 12, 2017 by RDC1

[Alaskanb]

First of all, I want to thank so many of you for your understanding and compassion.

During our onboard mtg with the Customer Relations Mgr, I was advised that my email to CR should be as specific as possible and discuss ALL issues, even trivial. This was reiterated in my initial phone call to CR, once shoreside. Please forgive me if my post is "lengthy", but I just tried to follow their instructions. I'm not familiar with writing a "complaint" email, as I've never written one in 12yrs of cruising. Again, this is what happened to ME, and IMO Princess should be held accountable for the poor decisions they made regarding issues they HAD control over: efficiently collecting passports, notifying psgrs of missing Helsingborg, and tours that were not as advertised. Being offered $100 OBC is totally unacceptable. IMO, the Crown on May 27th, was FAR below Princess standards (speaking as an Elite psgr with 222 days across 8 different Princess ships). I am still hopeful that CR will resolve this by offering me additional compensation in an effort "to try and make it right."

I'm curious about what you think will make it right?

We were on a British Isles cruise and land trip during this time period and all immigration and police authorities were on high alert throughout Europe. Major terrorist events occurred with loss of life that triggered emergency procedures going into effect. "Life" as usual does not continue smoothly in those times. Perhaps simply knowing that Princess develops plans to improve communication with all passengers under emergency unpredictable situations would be enough.

[RDC1]

one additional comment.

 

My understanding is that when the Captain made the comment on still making it there on time when the ship left at 10:30, it was without the knowledge that there would be a medical emergency that caused the ship to turn around and offload a passenger further delaying the cruise to Brussels. As such comments about the lack of notification and the efficiency about passport collection are valid. But the attack on the Captain due to the late arrival is not since the medical emergency occurred after his announcement and the ship usually does not make late night announcements over the PA when people are sleeping. It was the medical emergency that caused the late arrival, not the original late departure.

[TNTLAMB]

notifying psgrs of missing Helsingborg,

 

You do know there was a lockout in port that day because of the congestion in the port due to both a strike and "political unrest"

[SoCalTraveler]

You do know there was a lockout in port that day because of the congestion in the port due to both a strike and "political unrest"

 

I think OP made it clear that she did not know, and that the information he received on board was inconsistent. She discussed how she received her tender tickets for Helsingborg, and how the Patter was inconsistent as to whether the ship was going to Helsingborg, as well as her efforts to sort things out. Missing a port due to unrest, labor issues, etc., understandable if regrettable. Not sharing that information clearly and promptly is not understandable.

[janabelle61]

Bin

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

[joeyancho]

Yeah, but how was the food?

[SoCalTraveler]

Yeah, but how was the food?

 

You will need to go to other threads to find:

 

The food was too hot

The food was not hot enough

The food was too salty/spicy

The food was too bland

There was a long wait at [insert dining venue]

The specialty restaurants won't let me have two entrees for one price any more in my quest to gain 2 pounds per day

You get the picture.