Princess website changes

[Tommy_dbt]

Still seeing 'old' website here in 🇸🇬.. 🤔 

 

Perhaps change is progressive being push out.. 🙄

[rocklinmom]

I still can't believe that the new Princess website doesn't have a way to save cruises anymore.  I was planning to save 2020 cruises that I want to look into as they are released in the next two weeks.  Now I can't save them?  There used to be a heart icon that you clicked to save a cruise, and it showed up in my list of saved cruises, and on my "recently viewed" cruises on the home page.  Do they really expect us to re-do the cruise search every time we log on?  

[satxdiver]

I can see advantages with the new web page.  It now takes longer to bring up the first planing pages with all the fancy graphics so for slow internet like on the ship.  You can no longer save a cruise for later viewing but the saved heading still remains on the personalizer just to tempt you.  I wonder what other "wonderful" changes IT has for us in the future.  It was better before they decided to "upgrade" the web page.  Hopefully they will not follow the lead of their sister cruise line CCL which is something born in h*ll.  

 

[cruisingrob21]

As long as it isn't turned into HAL's website, im fine with the changes.  Their site is so glitchy its almost unusable.

[geoherb]

I see my saved cruises after signing in, but I don't see a way to save additional cruises on the new format. Is there one?

[SargassoPirate]

23 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

 

 

Why on earth would Princess replace a great site with this horrible inferior site? 

 

Classic case of what happens when they let the whiz kids sit at the big table and justify their jobs by "fixing" things that aren't broken.

 

I do most of my online searches and bookings for cruises through the website of my big box warehouse club's travel department.  They let me search across many cruise lines for my travel date window and destination, and then search for and select decks and cabins in a user friendly manner.  I rarely use any cruise line's website for anything other than entering my passenger info and printing my luggage tags.  

 

I often wonder if the people who design things ever actually use them?

 

 

[jeeper2]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Preview still exists, just a different way to see it.

 

In the row of symbols at the top of a post, the far right one shows a magnifying glass over a sheet of paper. Click on that to preview your post.

Th

 

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

Classic case of what happens when they let the whiz kids sit at the big table and justify their jobs by "fixing" things that aren't broken.

 

I do most of my online searches and bookings for cruises through the website of my big box warehouse club's travel department.  They let me search across many cruise lines for my travel date window and destination, and then search for and select decks and cabins in a user friendly manner.  I rarely use any cruise line's website for anything other than entering my passenger info and printing my luggage tags.  

 

I often wonder if the people who design things ever actually use them?

 

 

 

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Preview still exists, just a different way to see it.

 

In the row of symbols at the top of a post, the far right one shows a magnifying glass over a sheet of paper. Click on that to preview your post.

Thank you, 

 

7 hours ago, pompeii said:

Thank you!  I hated not being able to preview.

 

Thank you, caribill!  Now I see the way to preview, but not edit.  I believe we used to be able to edit within the preview box, but since I’m more of a lurker, I’m not sure! 🙂

[jeeper2]

Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry about the mess I’ve made on this thread while attempting to make a simple remark!  I think I’ll go back to lurking!  

Just one more thing though, before I do that...I hate the new Princess website.  It used to be so much easier to navigate than other lines but that is no longer the case. 

Lois

[caribill]

16 minutes ago, jeeper2 said:

Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry about the mess I’ve made on this thread while attempting to make a simple remark!  I think I’ll go back to lurking!  

Just one more thing though, before I do that...I hate the new Princess website.  It used to be so much easier to navigate than other lines but that is no longer the case. 

Lois

No mess. Please continue to participate.

[FLCruise7]

I have the new site also (in Florida) -- hate it!  I liked the old format better - so much easier to navigate!!

[jeeper2]

59 minutes ago, caribill said:

No mess. Please continue to participate.

 

Thank you!😊

[greenie082756]

I just tried to log in and can not.  I'm in Arizona so maybe now we are affected with the changes.

 

I'll try again tomorrow.

[nbist]

I am in AZ and it shows the new webpage. Hate it so far, very slow and balky.

 

Every change they have made lately has messed up the personalizer. We booked a window suite under the sip and sail promotion and although all the perks showed up initially now the beverage package is missing, and the free gratuities. I called them and they said they could see them. Not sure what we will have when we get on-board..... Today I was in the personalizer looking at excursions. The website locked up. When I logged back in now my booking is gone! Hopefully it will be back later.

 

Agree that the old website was easy to navigate and much better than other cruise lines. I will never understand the need to monkey with things that work!

[rocklinmom]

Exactly!  Why would they mess with something that was working great?  All it will do is cause frustration from longtime Princess cruisers. 

[Thrak]

I"m not really noticing anything different. Weird. I'm in California. Just did a quick search for cruises - selected cruises that include Scotland as a test - and the search worked normally. I am able to save cruises as well. To me the site pretty much looks the same as it has in the past.

[StLouisCruisers]

55 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

YES!!  All you have to do is call the warehouse club's travel department, tell them you've noticed a price reduction and they take care of it.  Their phone reps are top notch too!  Try them and you'll never go back - especially if you have a time and destination in mind and want to see multiple options from several cruise lines.

I second this.  AND, you can still book with Princess now, and two weeks before final payment call Princess and have the booking turned over to the warehouse club's travel department, thus having control of the booking prior to that point.  Then you can benefit from all the REFUNDABLE OBC that the warehouse club gives you.  We do this all the time. The amount of OBC is totally worth it, too.  Holland America makes it easier to turn over (they do it in a few minutes while you are still on the phone with them).  Princess wants you to fax or email them a "letter" with the booking number and your signature and requesting a turn over to the warehouse store.  Takes a little longer but worth the effort.  

[Ep010835]

2 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

I second this.  AND, you can still book with Princess now, and two weeks before final payment call Princess and have the booking turned over to the warehouse club's travel department, thus having control of the booking prior to that point.  Then you can benefit from all the REFUNDABLE OBC that the warehouse club gives you.  We do this all the time. The amount of OBC is totally worth it, too.  Holland America makes it easier to turn over (they do it in a few minutes while you are still on the phone with them).  Princess wants you to fax or email them a "letter" with the booking number and your signature and requesting a turn over to the warehouse store.  Takes a little longer but worth the effort.  

 

I’m kinda confused by the process you describe. Why not just go to the big box store in the first place?

What is the advantage to booking directly with Princess then transferring it?

I’ve always booked directly with the big box TA. 

Clearly there’s something I’m missing.  

[StLouisCruisers]

31 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

I’m kinda confused by the process you describe. Why not just go to the big box store in the first place?

What is the advantage to booking directly with Princess then transferring it?

I’ve always booked directly with the big box TA. 

Clearly there’s something I’m missing.  

 

That's just the way we prefer it.  We book a long time in advance, and during that time I check pricing.  If something comes up I can talk to the cruise line directly instead of calling the TA and having them do the calling.  Then when we're ready to pay the final payment we transfer and get the OBC.  By that time we've arranged ship transfers, and possibly gotten the airfare through the cruise line too.  You can certainly book with the big box store in the first place if that is what you prefer.

[Ep010835]

3 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

That's just the way we prefer it.  We book a long time in advance, and during that time I check pricing.  If something comes up I can talk to the cruise line directly instead of calling the TA and having them do the calling.  Then when we're ready to pay the final payment we transfer and get the OBC.  By that time we've arranged ship transfers, and possibly gotten the airfare through the cruise line too.  You can certainly book with the big box store in the first place if that is what you prefer.

 

Interesting. I appreciate you sharing your experience. The OBCs offered by the big box are always so generous when compared with what PCL offers, I’ve always been fearful of losing them by purchasing the cruise directly from PCL. 

Have you ever had any issues with the big box OBCs vanishing by the time you transfer your booking?

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Ep010835 said:

 

I’m kinda confused by the process you describe. Why not just go to the big box store in the first place?

What is the advantage to booking directly with Princess then transferring it?

I’ve always booked directly with the big box TA. 

Clearly there’s something I’m missing.  

 

While we don't book with the big box (amazing OBC though) we do the same thing. I book directly with Princess so I can keep full control of my booking. Shortly before final payment I transfer the booking to my TA. He cuts me a deal with $$$ off the price of the cruise. He gets a commission for essentially doing nothing and I get a reduced fare. It's a win win situation.

 

Actually, we just added on a 7 day cruise before our 19 day cruise. I knew my TA was in Hawaii on business but, instead of just paying the fare, I still transferred it to him. It was a last minute deal in an inside cabin. Not a lot of room for a discount. I didn't care. I knew he wouldn't make much of a commission on that one and I wouldn't get a discount either but at least he will get some small commission and it didn't hurt me to pass that along. It's a "relationship" type of thing.

 

For those who use the big box the refundable OBC is amazing. Just be aware that they are a "ticket seller" type of organization rather than a full service TA. If you booked a mini suite and Princess sent them an offer of a cheap upsell to a full suite they won't contact you. That's not what they do.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Thrak

[Ep010835]

31 minutes ago, Thrak said:

For those who use the big box the refundable OBC is amazing. Just be aware that they are a "ticket seller" type of organization rather than a full service TA. If you booked a mini suite and Princess sent them an offer of a cheap upsell to a full suite they won't contact you. That's not what they do.

 

Interesting you would mention this. I’m currently doing this right now. Booked a CC mini-suite directly with the BB TA and waitlisted for a suite (sold out at present) for an upcoming cruise. The BB TA personnel easily admit that they aren’t too swift about passing along notifications about upgrade contacts they receive from PCL.

 

When I spoke with a PCL customer service person, I was advised that when PCL notifies a TA by email, they also send an email cc to the customer. If this is accurate then I can be pro-active and contact the BB TA to secure and confirm the change. All the while keeping the generous BB TA OBC in my pocket.  

 

Of course the wild card here is PCL actually sending a notification cc email to me. 

[Thrak]

I have received upsell offers several times after transferring my booking to my TA. I have never received a notification from Princess.

[pms4104]

Hasn't it been about 2 years now since Carnival Corp let 200 IT peeps go in favor of outsourcing their work to a French firm?  These employees had worked on Carnival,  HAL and Princess projects.

 

So, if those who were let go worked on the website design and execution ... maybe that explains the current site.  The offshore peeps really messed up HAL's site .. and now they're having a go at Princrss' site.  Anything's possible. 

[Ep010835]

41 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I have received upsell offers several times after transferring my booking to my TA. I have never received a notification from Princess.

 

Hmmmmm, wonder if there is a difference between an upsell offer and being waitlisted for a different cabin class and how PCL handles the two?

 

Unchartered waters for me as I've never done either one before. 

[Thrak]

4 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

Hmmmmm, wonder if there is a difference between an upsell offer and being waitlisted for a different cabin class and how PCL handles the two?

 

Unchartered waters for me as I've never done either one before. 

 

I've never been on a wait list. Like I said, I've received a few upsell offers that came through my TA and only through my TA. I received a couple of free upgrades as well. One free upgrade was a total surprise that I only found out about by looking at my Cruise Personalizer. (I wasn't using a TA at that time.) A few weeks before sailing I just happened to notice that my forward, inside cabin on Lido deck had been changed to a midship, Caribe deck, handicapped accessible balcony. Wowie Zowie? The cabin and balcony were1.5 times as wide as a normal cabin and the Caribe deck balconies are much deeper as well. Quite the free upgrade from the cheapest category of inside cabin. No notification from Princess. Like I said, I just happened to notice in the Personalizer. It would have been quite the surprise if I hadn't noticed until boarding.