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

[Griller]

I'm sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise on Crown. Honestly, I tried to read your entire post, but it seems that everything was wrong and nothing was right and Princess is to blame for it all. If you are sending correspondence to Princess, I hope you try to be more concise and less agitated, as these types of complaints tend to not be taken seriously. They know you won't be back, so no real incentive for them to work with you. One or two problems can be worked through and appropriate compensation offered.

 

I'm not trying to trivialize your experience and no disrespect is intended. I hope you find the cruiseline that makes you happy and better suits your needs.

 

Its not one or two problems on Crown, its many in my experience, and its not the whole cruiseline which needs to be changed its one ship the Crown Princess that is the problem,, out of all the Princess ships I have been on its way the worst.

And I have been on them all since 1993 except Sun and Dawn.

[SoCalTraveler]

We were on the Crown in 2015 and it was fine. We will be on the Crown again later this year.

 

There are surely problems that are ship specific (such as our cabin this year on the Island), but my experience is that most problems are people specific, and it is how the staff solves a problem that is more important than whether that problem relates to a specific ship.

[rbt001]

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......

 

Good thing you are not the captain or in charge of announcements.

 

Someone else wanna help him understand what a better communication could have been? Not worth my time and effort.

[spookyfudge]

I am trying to copy/paste this- I hope you can read it.

It is difficult for me to write this post of a cruise line I LOVE (you can check my previous posts), but my week on the Crown May 27, 2017 was the worst experience I've had in 222 days on Princess, and the way my compensation request was handled- even more disappointing. I'm not one to complain, and haven't posted negative comments. The major problems: SHIP OPERATIONS, TOURS, and ONBOARD. My adult daughter and I met with the Customer Relations Mgr onboard for over an hour discussing the chaos and incompetence that occurred, but were advised to seek compensation shoreside. Please keep in my mind I'm sharing MY experience compared to 8 other Princess ships...

 

SHIP OPERATIONS

Our cruise started with a 6.5hr delay in Southampton which set the tone for all the mis-information or lack of info that was to continue all week. A Princess computer systems failure caused: the internet to be down, transactions to be done manually, and Psgr information was lost resulting in hundreds to be stranded in the terminal. I'm just a psgr but realized Princess should have known to collect passports then. Why didn't the staff know this? It was a huge problem all week. This 1 BAD decision might have changed the entire cruise. Capt Lawes said we'd arrive in Bruges @11:00 (even though we left late). By 10:00am with no land in site, no announcement on arrival or canceling tours, and no one at PSD (passenger service desk) or Tour Desk (TD) will help. No one knows what's going on. Finally, announcement arriving @2:00- why wasn't this said earlier? Can Capt not judge distance and how long it takes? All week info was withheld, contradictory, wrong, or constantly changing. At 11:30 the ship was informed 'Psgrs from 18 countries (USA included) need to take their passports to Conf Room Deck 6'- the ship had 2.5 hrs to process passports. There was no urgency in the announcement, psgrs said 'I'm not going ashore, I don't need to do it.' So the line started on Deck 12 and wound down the stairways to 6. It was a fire hazard and hot. Psgrs were standing for hours, 3-4 each step. Took 30mins to move 2 decks- it was clear our passports weren't going to be processed in time to make our Princess Tour. I talked with PSD and TD: at first was told the tour wouldn't wait, then it was announced 'ALL non European passports must be turned in'. I've had passports collected many times, granted 2.5 hrs is not a lot of time, but the ship should have known how to do it efficiently- or called Corporate to find out how. They did not. Have they not collected passports before? @2:45 British and Europeans were cleared, and left on tours. @3:00 Tour Coordinator still didn't know if our tour was on, 5mins later, 'All tours cancelled' The next minute- 'All psgrs cleared to leave' That's when psgrs became very angry. NO ONE would help us get into Bruges, even though the empty tour buses were parked next to the ship. I detail this later under TOURS.

 

I realize Belgium presented a difficult situation, but Princess runs a cruise line and should have been prepared. Such disorder and incompetence is inexcusable. I've had passports collected on other Princess ships in several of the following ways:

1. Announce: "If you have a Photocopy of your passport, go to your cabin and get your passport and the copy. Show them to your steward, he will keep the passport (give you a claim check) and give you back your Photocopy." Stewards collect passports all the time in this manner. Most psgrs travel with copies, it could have drastically cut down the lines and process time.

2. Set up several areas around the ship, and assign psgrs by decks.

3. Computer issues with Psgr information at departure meant passports should have already been collected.

4. Accommodate Elite and Princess Tour psgrs first (specifically why I pay more to book tours thru Princess- I expect to be taken care of) isn't that what Elite means?

5. Location in Princess Theater, process in order of entry: come in one side, depart the other, and wait while sitting down. I was told 'there's a tour group in there'. My response: "That's my point, this should have taken priority over everything else and been explained on intercom "until ALL NON EUROPEANS turn in passports- NO ONE can go ashore. Even if you're not getting off the ship, you must do this now" No urgency was ever conveyed, whatsoever.

6. There were 5 staff members taking passports and 2 scanning cruise cards. I said "You must be kidding, get more help!" PSD said 'Only these 5 staff are qualified to collect'. More incompetence, Stewards do it all the time...

 

Granted, maybe some of these ideas wouldn't have worked, but I blame Princess for not being prepared with an efficient plan. They run a cruise business. This was a huge mess because of HOW it was handled, so much incompetence.

 

So did the ship learn anything from this mess? No, they did not. Next Norway wanted 'face to face' with pretty much all Non European psgrs. But 2 letters were in my mailbox: 1 listing US to attend, the other not to attend. I have both letters. Finally announcement saying we had to attend. They used the same method again- waiting in line for over an hour. The incompetence was alarming and loss of credibility increased every day. @ PSD my questions were answered with "canned" responses: 'I really couldn't say' 'As far as I know' 'Well, until I'm told differently'

 

And finally, canceling Helsingborg showed the most incompetence ever!

After touring all day in Copenhagen, we arrived back on the ship 8:00pm, retrieved our passports from PSD for Norwegian 'face to face'. No one told us about canceling Sweden or staying in Copenhagen. There were no signs at the gangway, TD or PSD, and NO announcement was made that evening. We got ready for bed and I looked in my mailbox: tender tkt for Sweden and Patter. At the top of the Patter: "Copenhagen (Day 2) Wednesday May 31" I ask my daughter "Why would it say this-we should be in Sweden tomorrow?" I look inside, it says "3:00pm All Aboard! Crown Princess sails for Oslo, Norway shortly afterwards" I say "What does this mean, are we skipping Helsingborg, but I have my Elite tender tkt?" I'm in my pajamas, so I call PSD for an hour- no answer. So I go to PSD. It's worse chaos than both days before...if that's possible? Lines of psgrs are angry and yelling. PSD says we're not going to Helsingborg due to wind. You must be kidding? We chose this cruise for these specific ports. Why wasn't there a letter in my mailbox saying "We are not going to Helsingborg due to wind and will depart Copenhagen @ 3:00 on Wednesday" The next morning there was a back dated letter in my mailbox, Capt Lawes made an announcement the prior afternoon (when most psgrs were in town) why didn't I have a letter before then? I understand ports are missed all the time for safety reasons, I'm fine with that. BUT, it was how it was handled, the Capt should have been embarrassed by how this ship was being run...or maybe it was him making these poor decisions? @PSD I heard from other psgrs that Princess had announced in the afternoon 'we will cover your cost to get to Sweden'. The Customer Relations Mgr we met with, confirmed this. But no one at PSD was willing to do this or help me get to Sweden. Why didn't this ship have a port lecturer? At the very least why didn't the PSD and TD have ferry/bus schedules posted? The crew had a chance to make a bad situation better, but again, no help from anyone. It truly seemed no one cared.

 

TOURS:

Bruges Highlights Time on Your Own Tour

The inept handling of the passports caused us to miss our tour. We were in Club Fusion for over an hour waiting, why didn't the Tour Coordinator ask "If your Tour is canceled- and you want to still go into Bruges on a bus, please sit in this area." No one wanted to help us with transportation to Bruges, psgrs were screaming and so angry. After arguing with 4-5 staff at PSD and TD, we were offered a bus. We sat on the bus for 30mins before departing. Our bus was the LAST one to leave the lot @3:45. It's a 30min drive and 15min walk into town. By now: Bell Tower, City Hall, Church of Our Lady and the shops were closed . We had to meet @6:15 to go back. Why? Sailaway was 8:30pm, we talked to other groups that met @7:15, so why did we lose another hour? We had 90mins in Bruges. Princess should have been prepared and had psgrs ready to fill the buses, but wasn't. I got 50% of my Tour refunded, but really, how would you compare 90mins to what should have been an 8hr fully guided tour, boat ride, and time on my own tour to basically bus transportation that I had to literally fight with 5 staff members for? The next day several staff members of 4-10 yrs experience, told us 'it was the worst day they'd had with Princess, ever.'

 

Disembarkation- Princess Royal Windsor Tour with transportation to Heathrow

Assigned Grp2 to be FIRST off @7:00am. Didn't leave until 7:30, and by then we're mixed in with walk offs (Grp6). The tour coordinator did not keep the group together and said the WRONG side to get off on, so psgrs got lost. For what I paid ($280) for this tour, we should have been personally escorted off. So once again, we're going to miss another tour. Why were we late? Did we arrive late or was it because we changed berths? No one knows...we arrived at Windsor @9:30, but security and walking to the Castle took 30mins. So by the time we started the tour, we barely had 2hrs. The tour is described as: half day guided tour with time on your own to explore the town of Windsor. But once again we were short changed with the length of our tour. We asked about staying longer (we had the first flt out) The guide was willing, but a psgr on OUR tour had to meet up with his other Princess Tour. So we had to leave to make HIS connection. Why did Princess double book a psgr that shortened everyone's time in Windsor?

 

I was extremely disappointed with the Princess Tours I booked. As you know, Princess charges more than independent companies, and boasts 'best service and taking care of psgrs'. I feel I paid a premium price for services that fell far short of Princess standards. I did not feel taken care of in the least.

 

ONBOARD

Since I've already stated how much I LOVE Princess and LOVE to cruise, I understand some things will go wrong- it just happens and I weigh the good and bad.....BUT, for all of these things to go WRONG in 7 days- this crew/ship should be an embarrassment to Princess.

1. This is such a specific, but upsetting incident. We were talking to our server at lunch about the Magic Show, and he said "I'll show you a magic trick- do you know how to get this empty coke can out of this water goblet without touching the can?" Before we knew what was happening....he was blowing on the can so hard, he was spitting on our silverware, glasses, and tablecloth. We were so taken aback and didn't know what to do. We should have left and not eaten our food. I'm not trying to make him lose his job- but this was so unprofessional, unsanitary, and just gross.

2. At first, shower had no hot water, it was somewhat corrected but it randomly went from hot to cold on its own. I was worn out from arguing about so many other issues, I didn't call again.

3. Bill Corrections were the WORST. Took 6 trips to PSD working with 5 staff members to get a complimentary credit for the Crown Grill that I had an email copy of. PSD couldn't give me my credit for Best Price Guarantee that I was due for Oslo Bike Tour. I also had printed proof of this, but it took numerous phone calls and trips to PSD to correct. Were all these issues related to the initial computer problems? Why not have told me that? Or is this staff that incompetent?

4. Laundry put a hole in my blouse. No compensation whatsoever.

5. Wait times: extremely long for dinner (45-60mins) and seats @shows were filled early. Buffet overcrowded, couldn't find seats. Seems Princess is trying to make psgrs eat in upcharge restaurants. I felt this ship was 'oversold' and I've not experienced dinner lines like this except on the Sea Princess. Lines getting on/off ship. This was the most crowded ship I've been on and it was a very unpleasant experience being so overcrowded.

6. Intercom didn't work- chimes at various hours and whispering. Our Customer Relations mtg. confirmed it's an ongoing problem on this ship, why didn't PSD tell me this, instead of saying 'it's fixed now'

7. Ship is badly in need of dry dock, told not until 2018. In my opinion it looks worn and used.

 

As I've stated Princess has been my favorite, but not now..I was incredibly disappointed in how all these issues were handled onboard and now my experience with Customer Relations in seeking compensation. The majority of psgrs were European, so they weren't affected with Passport issues, and I doubt they gave up 2 days of costly travel time to get to the ship. Most of the ones we talked to weren't upset about missing the ports 'cause they'd already been there. I might feel this way about an inexpensive Caribbean cruise to Nassau. But, I flew 10hrs and paid $4,430.68 for a cruise that did not come close to Princess standards. I consider it extremely over priced for 90mins in Bruges, 2hrs in Windsor, 0hrs in Helsingborg, and 8hrs in Oslo. But, I'm most disappointed with how I was treated onboard and how my compensation for ALL of this was handled. After several weeks I received a phone call from Iris, the Crown Customer Relations rep, she offered me $100 OBC per psgr on a future cruise...I literally was speechless. I've received more compensation for booking mistakes made by Princess... I'm so disappointed in Princess not taking responsibility for what happened and I feel they had a chance to try to make it right. In my opinion they didn't/don't care. I asked Iris for her supervisor's phone/email, she refused. I asked her for Jan Swartz's email, she told me she couldn't give it out.

 

I canceled my 25 day October 2018 cruise on the Crown- I will not sail this ship OR with Capt Lawes again.

 

You might want to try a more expensive upper tier cruise line next time. Good luck.

[SoCalTraveler]

You might want to try a more expensive upper tier cruise line next time. Good luck.

 

Not a helpful response. The OP is entitled to what she paid for. If, as she reported, she had a complimentary specialty meal, it should have been billed properly the first time, and if not, should not have required more than one interaction with staff to get it corrected.

 

I stayed once in a Hilton on a negotiated government rate where the bathroom was not carpeted. The desk clerk's attitude was, "You pay a minimum price, you get a minimum room." The manager's response? "My, aren't we sensitive." My beef? No carpet. Oh, to be sure, the tack strips and rough plywood under-layment were there. The carpet had been removed for replacement. The response ought not be, "Perhaps you would be happier at the Waldorf." The OP was entitled to prompt notice of schedule changes, proper crediting of her charges, and, in the face of a Princess computer failure, a solution that did not require her to hours of her vacation standing in line because Princess' computer failed.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Probably not a great idea to quote the entire lengthy OP to make a 2-line comment.

 

I think that a factor that may be overlooked is that just as pax got contradictory and confusing communications, I can easily imagine the ship's officers were getting contradictory and confusing information from the political authorities and the port authorities. Were the excursions, perhaps, not up to snuff due to the security situation? It has to be looked at in perspective, and while undoubtedly mistakes were made, there is a limit as to how many contingencies can be prepared for, and this may have just been a terrorist bridge too far.

[TJMK]

Really?

[Go-Bucks!]

Being offered $100 OBC is totally unacceptable. I am still hopeful that CR will resolve this by offering me additional compensation in an effort "to try and make it right."

 

 

How much money do you think is acceptable?

[notentirelynormal]

And finally, canceling Helsingborg showed the most incompetence ever!

If you are an experienced cruiser as you say you know darn well that ports get cancelled all the time for reasons we might never know. Are you really that knowledgeable that you are telling the captain how to do his job?

2. At first, shower had no hot water, it was somewhat corrected but it randomly went from hot to cold on its own. I was worn out from arguing about so many other issues, I didn't call again.

Again, as a seasoned cruiser you should know this kind of thing happens. Hardly a deal breaker.

4. Laundry put a hole in my blouse. No compensation whatsoever.

Now I find you are just getting petty.

5. Wait times: extremely long for dinner (45-60mins) and seats @shows were filled early. Buffet overcrowded, couldn't find seats. Seems Princess is trying to make psgrs eat in upcharge restaurants. I felt this ship was 'oversold' and I've not experienced dinner lines like this except on the Sea Princess. Lines getting on/off ship. This was the most crowded ship I've been on and it was a very unpleasant experience being so overcrowded.

Almost all ships sell full. They can't "oversell" the ship. There are only so many beds and once they are gone they are gone.

 

Princess is not in charge of other country's immigration issues. How they handle passport issues is beyond Princess' scope.

 

Long lines getting on and off the ship. That happens all the time. Try going to Santa Barbara. Those long lines happen all the time.

 

 

It seems like you had some real issues but combined them with some petty ones and some whining.

 

As someone above said, maybe Princess isn't for you anymore and you need to move up to a more upgraded ship with less passengers.

[DRPWDunIL]

There is an art to expressing dissatisfaction with a situation, especially when one is a regular customer. The OP actually suggested this in a later post in this thread. First of all, I generally do not go in with the intention of getting compensation. I simply explain how my experience was not up to the usual standards of the business and give precise examples. Refunds for things that I paid for and did not receive are in a different category than poor quality service or dissatisfaction with some aspect of my experience. I also happen to know that most large travel related companies keep careful track of your experiences, sometimes to the point of uneasiness or embarrassment. When you are polite, roll with the flow when some uncontrollable things happen, and show flexibility to allow some adjustment on the spot, it has paid off for me in the long run. For example, I stay in a particular city often and have my favorite hotels and some that are OK but not my favorites. The last three times I have stayed at one of my less favorite hotels, I have gotten wonderful rooms and the last time got upgraded to a two bedroom suite that had a wonderful view. This more than compensated for the other things that still make the hotel acceptable but not my first choice. My advice: stay in control, emphasize your CONTINUED loyalty to the brand (otherwise, why should they try to satisfy you--you are a lost cause), be patient and know that stuff happens sometimes and the staff you are speaking with often have no control, express concern immediately if something can be done that will improve the rest of your time with the company, be grateful when someone takes your concerns seriously (regardless of compensation), and take care to notice things that are changed the next time you use the company (this is important--there have been many changes I have seen that addressed comments I made about my previous experiences) and acknowledge them! No desire to preach, but rather to share my experiences. YMMV.

[Skai]

Tough crowd.:cool:

 

Nothing liking critiquing a critique.

 

Critics have their purposes, and they're supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what they did.

 

- Duke Ellington

[Sacto Rick]

To be honest, if that happened to us and received the same treatment I would be upset also.

[joeyancho]

To be honest, if that happened to us and received the same treatment I would be upset also.

Agreed. Sounds like a mess from beginning to end. I would have been pi$$ed too.

[caribill]

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

 

Announcements may also be heard on the cabin TV, usually on the channel which has the bridge cam showing.

[Crystal Niffler]

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......

 

Sorry to take the thread off topic, but what Liverpool bombing??

[Aus Traveller]

Sorry to take the thread off topic, but what Liverpool bombing??

Maybe they meant the suicide bomber at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester. The alleged perpetrator was arrested at the Liverpool airport. :)

[Crystal Niffler]

Maybe they meant the suicide bomber at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester. The alleged perpetrator was arrested at the Liverpool airport. :)

 

Thank you. I did wonder if this is the attack they meant but didn't want to assume.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I would also have been upset if I was OP. Way too many things going wrong and a lack of communication. Sounds like maybe everyone on that sailing should have received some compensation as goodwill goes a long way!

 

We were on a sailing of the Coral in January, 2016 right after dry dock that had some issues, some fault of ship, some fault of Mother Nature, and everyone on the ship got a letter the last day with much more generous compensation than what OP received.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Slugsta]

OP, I'm sorry that your cruise was fraught with problems. I would certainly be upset at the lack of accurate information and the apparent mis-handling of so many issues :( It must have been particularly galling for you as a trip to Europe is a big thing and might have been eagerly anticipated.

 

I think your issue of compensation falls into 2 categories.

 

Firstly, things like the tours where you clearly did not get what you paid for and should be refunded a proportion of the cost. I would include the clothing damaged in the laundry in this category too (I certainly do not think this is a 'petty' complaint as one poster said).

 

Secondly, things that happened on-board that might better be resolved with a sincere apology and some OBC (I suspect the former would go a long way to make you feel happier).

 

Whatever Princess do, or do not, in response to your complaint, I hope you have many happy cruises ahead of you.

[spookyfudge]

Not a helpful response. The OP is entitled to what she paid for. If, as she reported, she had a complimentary specialty meal, it should have been billed properly the first time, and if not, should not have required more than one interaction with staff to get it corrected.

 

I stayed once in a Hilton on a negotiated government rate where the bathroom was not carpeted. The desk clerk's attitude was, "You pay a minimum price, you get a minimum room." The manager's response? "My, aren't we sensitive." My beef? No carpet. Oh, to be sure, the tack strips and rough plywood under-layment were there. The carpet had been removed for replacement. The response ought not be, "Perhaps you would be happier at the Waldorf." The OP was entitled to prompt notice of schedule changes, proper crediting of her charges, and, in the face of a Princess computer failure, a solution that did not require her to hours of her vacation standing in line because Princess' computer failed.

 

To have this "many" things go wrong makes me think this passenger is very particular and needs to move up on the higher end cruise lines! Certainly princess is no Hilton maybe a holiday, wouldn't you agree? Also all the ports being missed due to potential terrorist activities, perhaps the cruiser should have selected a cruise in north america, my 2 cents.

[jab12]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. We sailed on the Crown early this year around South America and the whole cruise was a nightmare - there was a total lack of leadership on board, no communication at all. The staff seemed very fed up and at times were rude for no reason. There were to many problems to list with tendering etc and cancellation of tours. This was our third cruise on The Crown and we have never experienced problems like it, yes the ship is getting old and in some places it shows, but nothing that would spoil the enjoyment of our cruise, it was just staff attitude and incompetence. To be honest if this had been our first cruise with Princess I doubt if we would of returned but having just reached elite we knew it wasnt the norm. We have tried other lines and have enjoyed the experience but felt we couldnt let one bad cruise put us off forever and have booked two more with Princess for next year - one being for 4 weeks - so I am hoping and am sure Princess will redeem themselves

[majortom10]

Its not one or two problems on Crown, its many in my experience, and its not the whole cruiseline which needs to be changed its one ship the Crown Princess that is the problem,, out of all the Princess ships I have been on its way the worst.

And I have been on them all since 1993 except Sun and Dawn.

 

We cruised on Crown Princess on 17/6/17-1/7/17 Land of the Midnight Sun and although we thoroughly enjoyed the ports of call, apart from Bergen where we had to leave an hour early because we had to get into Southampton earlier than planned due to Isle of Wight annual boat race, where Capt Lawes proudly announced that the gangway would be open an hour early at 0630am. Where anyone who is not on a tour is expected to visit at 0630 I just don't know. The food and service in buffet at lunch times was very poor and repetitive and the queues for Anytime dining at the Michalangelo were very long and when you managed to get to the front there always seemed total confusion and nobody seemed to know what they were doing and this continued for the whole cruise. After complaining at PSD and receiving a phone call from the Maitre D at the beginning of the cruise I felt he was just going through the motions of returning my call and was not really interested and my point was proved because nothing improved. We have cruised numerous times and love Princess cruises but this was the worst ship and experience we have ever had with them. Think the writing was on the wall with regarding to Capt Lawes because at the Meet the Captain talk in the theatre all he wanted to talk about was how many houses he owned in Wales and Spain and who is famous neighbours were and what expensive car he was driving and how many Ferrari's he had previously owned.

[SoCalTraveler]

To have this "many" things go wrong makes me think this passenger is very particular and needs to move up on the higher end cruise lines! Certainly princess is no Hilton maybe a holiday, wouldn't you agree? Also all the ports being missed due to potential terrorist activities, perhaps the cruiser should have selected a cruise in north america, my 2 cents.

 

I do not believe that price or using a higher end cruise line makes one immune to problems. If you look at ratings on Cruise Critic, some higher end ships have lower scores than the mass market ships. Different expectations?

[spyro1952]

We cruised on Crown Princess on 17/6/17-1/7/17 Land of the Midnight Sun and although we thoroughly enjoyed the ports of call, apart from Bergen where we had to leave an hour early because we had to get into Southampton earlier than planned due to Isle of Wight annual boat race, where Capt Lawes proudly announced that the gangway would be open an hour early at 0630am. Where anyone who is not on a tour is expected to visit at 0630 I just don't know. The food and service in buffet at lunch times was very poor and repetitive and the queues for Anytime dining at the Michalangelo were very long and when you managed to get to the front there always seemed total confusion and nobody seemed to know what they were doing and this continued for the whole cruise. After complaining at PSD and receiving a phone call from the Maitre D at the beginning of the cruise I felt he was just going through the motions of returning my call and was not really interested and my point was proved because nothing improved. We have cruised numerous times and love Princess cruises but this was the worst ship and experience we have ever had with them. Think the writing was on the wall with regarding to Capt Lawes because at the Meet the Captain talk in the theatre all he wanted to talk about was how many houses he owned in Wales and Spain and who is famous neighbours were and what expensive car he was driving and how many Ferrari's he had previously owned.

 

I was originally booked on this cruise but had to cancel. I totally agree with you that the Captain sets the tone for the entire crew and the cruise. When Commodore Romano has been at the helm on some of my previous cruises, they have been great despite incidents that negatively affected passengers. Since he is retiring this year (I think), I wonder who will get the Commodore position? There are definitely some Captains I think should be overlooked and Lawes is one of them.

I rebooked the Midnight Sun cruise for 2018 on the Sapphire and will hopefully get to go.

[deltaqueenie]

The ONLY announcement stating we were not going to HELSINGBORG was made at approx 3pm in the afternoon while we (like most psgrs) were not on the ship. At midnight, myself and dozens of others waited in line at PSD and were told 'the ship is not going to Helsingborg due to high winds,' although elite tender tkts for Helsingborg were in my mailbox, along with a 'Copenhagen: Day 2 Patter.' The following morning my mailbox had a BACKDATED letter (after returning from PSD @12:30am- I checked my mailbox, the letter wasn't there) from Capt Lawes stating we were missing Helsingborg due to high winds. In our mtg that day, the Customer Relations Mgr (an officer) confirmed it was due to high winds, and that he had been notified via Facebook of this itinerary change. He, along with the PSD Supervisor (also present at our mtg) confirmed it was said in the 3pm announcement that the ship would pay to get psgrs to Helsingborg even though they had no intent to do so. I will reiterate: it was NOT about the decision to miss Helsingborg, but it was the incompetence in the WAY we were notified, or IMO actually not notified. Being an experienced cruiser, I'm familiar with missing ports for any number of reasons, but I've always been notified.

Nothing was ever mentioned to us regarding 'political unrest.'

Edited July 13, 2017 by deltaqueenie