Princess 800 number hold time

[vie lee]

I called the Princess 800 number this morning to ask them a question for a friend of mine who is 90.  He can not find his DD214 and his records were destroyed in a fire at the records center many many years ago.   He wants to go on the Royal on Nov 2nd.  I gave them his Captains Circle number and they found him in their records.   He wanted to know if there was any other way to verify his military service.  They put me on hold so they could contact another department.  I was put on hold for over 1 1/2 hours, they came back on twice to tell me they were still checking.  Since I have a life, I had to finally hang up but I am really unhappy with their customer service.  Is this normal??

[DrivesLikeMario]

That's ridiculous.  He should be able to get a copy of it online.  I just did a simple search and came up with this:
Copy of your DD214

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree he would have to obtain a copy through the Federal Govt.

Princess requires the DD 214 so try the link described above to get documentation.

[Coral]

He will have to go through Federal Government. Mondays are the worst days to call Princess.

[Thrak]

Aside from the DD214 issue the answer to your original question is, "Yes". Crazy long hold times are common with Princess. Sometimes for simple issues but pretty much always for anything out of the ordinary such as your question regarding the government form. I have an issue where they screwed up two $25 gift cards and, to date, have probably 4 hours of hold time involved. I have to call back again late this afternoon.  At least your DD214 question has been addressed so you shouldn't have to call Princess about it again.

[Astro Flyer]

30 minutes ago, vie lee said:

He can not find his DD214 and his records were destroyed in a fire at the records center many many years ago.

 

Hopefully his records were digitized before they were destroyed in that fire.

 

Has he been granted any type of VA benefits?  If so, they might have a copy of his DD214.  In the link posted that is listed as one way to get an electronic copy.

 

Hopefully the procedure posted by DrivesLikeMario works for him...it’s a generous benefit that Princess provides to many veterans. 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[Steelers36]

Has anyone tried asking the Princess rep to call them back after they come back to check on you after a lengthy hold?  It is what I would do.  I have fortunately never had such a long hold while waiting for someone to look into an issue/question.

 

[Husky61]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Hopefully his records were digitized before they were destroyed in that fire.

 

 

The fire was in 1973 and 80% of the records were destroyed.  I don't think they were digitizing records then.

[Astro Flyer]

3 minutes ago, Husky61 said:

The fire was in 1973 and 80% of the records were destroyed.  I don't think they were digitizing records then.

 

Thanks...I recalled the fire happened years ago but not the exact year.

 

Wonder if some records were on microfilm stored someplace else & weren’t destroyed.

[Ereggae]

Take a picture of important documents, especially passport, and save in your phone. 

[BabySarge]

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973

 

Information regarding the fire and what records/years were destroyed.  

 

It's a long shot, but he (or you) may want to double check with social security as he may have needed to provide them a copy of his DD 214 when he applied for social security in order to receive credit for his military service depending on when he served.

 

It might take a while to get any response back from the National Records Center so good idea to start request sooner rather than later.  In addition to any benefit he would get from Princess by obtaining his service record/DD 214 he may be/is entitled to other benefits such as military honors and burial upon passing, and monetary assistance with associated burial costs.

[Ereggae]

They should at least have a dedicated line for Captain's Circle members.  One and a half hours is way over the top.

[CineGraphic]

16 minutes ago, Ereggae said:

They should at least have a dedicated line for Captain's Circle members.  One and a half hours is way over the top.

Everyone is a Captain's Circle member unless they've never cruised with Princess before.

Edited July 1, 2019 by CineGraphic

[tioalmsp]

I called today about an EZ Air issue and was on hold for  just over one hour after being transferred to the EZ Air desk. 

[Husky61]

3 hours ago, BabySarge said:

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973

 

IIn addition to any benefit he would get from Princess by obtaining his service record/DD 214 he may be/is entitled to other benefits such as military honors and burial upon passing, and monetary assistance with associated burial costs.

All former military members who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable are entitled to military honors and burial. 😃

[pms4104]

4 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Thanks...I recalled the fire happened years ago but not the exact year.

 

Wonder if some records were on microfilm stored someplace else & weren’t destroyed.

Not on microfilm, and no duplicates.  Records destroyed for approx 16-18 million service members.  Depending on service branch, some of those impacted date back to 1912.  Some records, on loan to the VA, survived the 6th floor fire.

 

When I saw this thread earlier today I googled ... interesting story.  I vaguely knew of the fire because, when my father died,  we were unable to get any further details about his service due to the fire.  

Edited July 2, 2019 by pms4104

[CineGraphic]

I'm sure something can be done. My original birth certificate was lost by our state records archive, and they issued a letter stating as much, but I was still able to get a US passport with the letter and proper ID.

If I can get a passport from the State Department with a letter, I'm sure you'll be able to get obc from Princess with a letter. If not, something is very wrong with this world we live in.

Edited July 2, 2019 by CineGraphic

[BabySarge]

3 hours ago, Husky61 said:

All former military members who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable are entitled to military honors and burial. 😃

That is correct; however, in order to receive that benefit proof in the form of a DD 214 or other acceptable discharge documents showing evidence of other than dishonorable separation is required.

 

Retired E-8 aka BabySarge

[vie lee]

Thank everyone for your input - I did want to let everyone know that I got  a call from the Customer Relations Dept about my friends problem and my long hold time.  A lovely lady named Kim H. is going to help them with getting the cruise booked that they want and also get him his military credit.  She could not have been nicer.  Since I cruise with Princess a lot, it just made me feel good that they did this.          

[Coral]

On 7/1/2019 at 8:17 PM, CineGraphic said:

I'm sure something can be done. My original birth certificate was lost by our state records archive, and they issued a letter stating as much, but I was still able to get a US passport with the letter and proper ID.

If I can get a passport from the State Department with a letter, I'm sure you'll be able to get obc from Princess with a letter. If not, something is very wrong with this world we live in.

We also got a passport with no birth certificate. It was a mistake by the post office and they owned up to it as they lost my Mom's only proof (an older passport).

[mek]

On 7/1/2019 at 3:03 PM, Husky61 said:

The fire was in 1973 and 80% of the records were destroyed.  I don't think they were digitizing records then.

No they did not.  My husband is one who's records were destroyed and we have been dealing with this for years.  As far as Princess is concerned, we were able to provide his discharge documents, which worked for us.  He has been getting the military discount for years.

 

Sorry for the wait - that's even worse that the 50 minute one I had with Royal last fall.