Maintenance Cage

[pisamoorings]

Just wanting some feedback on a problem we encountered on a cruise we went on a few months ago.  Unbeknown to us, there was a maintenance cage parked for a whole 14 days to the right of our balcony which impeded part of our view.  We booked the cabin on the advice of the Future Cruise Consultant onboard a prior cruise. The Princess website shows Cabin A747 on the Sapphire as having "outstanding views from a private balcony".  This cabin was not discounted in any way yet neighbouring cabins did get outstanding views.

We would never have booked this cabin had we known the maintenance cage we going to be by our balcony.  We did go down to Reception straight away to complain and was told they would shift us to another cabin if one became available but that didn't transpire.  Our TA has forwarded a complaint on behalf of us to Princess but seven weeks later we have still not had a response.  So a warning to all cruisers - don't book Cabin A747 on the Sapphire.  Apart from that, we did have a wonderful cruise.

[caribill]

I guess you were lucky to have an "outstanding view" of a maintenance cage that most other passengers did not have.

 

You are fortunate they did not charge you extra for that unique view.

[pisamoorings]

Yes, lucky us. Not something we will forget in a hurry

[Steelers36]

After several months, that "cage" is probably in front of another cabin.  😀

[Coral]

I am guessing you will eventually hear back from Princess. I bet there offer you an onboard credit on a future cruise.

[CineGraphic]

11 hours ago, pisamoorings said:

Unbeknown to us, there was a maintenance cage parked for a whole 14 days to the right of our balcony which impeded part of our view.

I'm sorry that the view from the balcony was not up to your expectations.

In considering whether a particular cabin's view is obstructed or not, I believe Princess only considers the view straight out to the water, not to either side, but I'm pretty sure they'll throw a small bit of "goodwill obc" your way.

 

We like to book the inside cabin directly across from your cabin (A745), as the aft pool deck is just steps away, which becomes our aft view balcony.

[Go-Bucks!]

5 hours ago, pisamoorings said:

Yes, lucky us. Not something we will forget in a hurry

 

That is pretty awful. 🙁

[Eaglecw]

That maintenance platform is part of the structure of the ship, it doesn't move.

[voljeep]

6 minutes ago, Eaglecw said:

That maintenance platform is part of the structure of the ship, it doesn't move.

hopefully someone can/will post this "obstruction" from a different angle / view for more context 

 

at the least this should/could be classified as an obstructed view balcony or at least a warning at booking

[JF - retired RRT]

4 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

We like to book the inside cabin directly across from your cabin (A745), as the aft pool deck is just steps away, which becomes our aft view balcony.

Shhh! It's a secret.

[CineGraphic]

25 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Shhh! It's a secret.

I think the secret's out.

I just went to book it for a fall 2021 sailing, and it's already booked, so I grabbed R744 instead.

[MGAfhc]

It moves. It's the window washing platform for the decks above. On newer ships it doesn't project down so much. It moves on a built-in rail. That is it's parked position. It wouldn't bother me that much, but maybe Princess should list that room as obstructed.

[drowelf]

11 minutes ago, MGAfhc said:

It moves. It's the window washing platform for the decks above. On newer ships it doesn't project down so much. It moves on a built-in rail. That is it's parked position. It wouldn't bother me that much, but maybe Princess should list that room as obstructed.

I wonder if its always at the stern or does it spend half its time at the bow after a cycle of use? I'd at least consider it a partially obstructed view cabin. 

 

[JF - retired RRT]

38 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

I think the secret's out.

I just went to book it for a fall 2021 sailing, and it's already booked, so I grabbed R744 instead.

Love those aft insides. Just be careful, only the last 3 are 2 person cabins, the rest in that section have the "headbanger" bunk beds. OUCH!!

[Colo Cruiser]

                                                                                                                                                                                            .

[Thrak]

I would forward my concerns via email to: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

Attach a note, Word file, whatever, detailing your issue and your disappointment. Be polite. Include your contact information - including phone number.

[pisamoorings]

6 hours ago, MGAfhc said:

It moves. It's the window washing platform for the decks above. On newer ships it doesn't project down so much. It moves on a built-in rail. That is it's parked position. It wouldn't bother me that much, but maybe Princess should list that room as obstructed.

Thanks for the picture which I wish we had seen prior to booking. I did do a Google search for reviews of that particular cabin but nothing came up. Hopefully others will now be forewarned which was why I created the post.

[pisamoorings]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:

I would forward my concerns via email to: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

Attach a note, Word file, whatever, detailing your issue and your disappointment. Be polite. Include your contact information - including phone number.

Thank you.

[brisalta]

18 hours ago, Thrak said:

I would forward my concerns via email to: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

Attach a note, Word file, whatever, detailing your issue and your disappointment. Be polite. Include your contact information - including phone number.

 

The message should be in the email body. Avoid attachments unless absolutely necessary.

There are several reasons for this.

1. Email is designed to have the message in the body. Putting the message in an attachment makes it less likely it will be read as it is an additional step to go through.

2. Some email systems are configured to strip out attachments from messages coming from outside the corporate network. This is for security reasons.

3. The attachment may be in a format that the recipient cannot read easily.

4. It is just plain good manners to put the message in the body of an email.

 

[Thrak]

15 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

The message should be in the email body. Avoid attachments unless absolutely necessary.

There are several reasons for this.

1. Email is designed to have the message in the body. Putting the message in an attachment makes it less likely it will be read as it is an additional step to go through.

2. Some email systems are configured to strip out attachments from messages coming from outside the corporate network. This is for security reasons.

3. The attachment may be in a format that the recipient cannot read easily.

4. It is just plain good manners to put the message in the body of an email.

 

 

It really depends on the length of the message and the detail involved. I have written to them twice (both time with good things rather than complaints) and have put a brief description in the body and details in a Word doc. They had zero issues with accepting the attachment. I received follow up calls both times and they said they were forwarding my comments to the employees and their supervisors. I simply had too much information and detail to try to stick it all in the body of the message as super long and detailed email gets skimmed or skipped altogether.

 

Obviously any attachment should receive a quick scan before opening.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Thrak

[brisalta]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

It really depends on the length of the message and the detail involved. I have written to them twice (both time with good things rather than complaints) and have put a brief description in the body and details in a Word doc. They had zero issues with accepting the attachment. I received follow up calls both times and they said they were forwarding my comments to the employees and their supervisors. I simply had too much information and detail to try to stick it all in the body of the message as super long and detailed email gets skimmed or skipped altogether.

 

Obviously any attachment should receive a quick scan before opening.

5. Quite often attachments are lost in forwarding.

 

Your reasoning is faulty.  A long email is more likely to be read than an attachment and will survive forwarding.

I have been working with email systems since before most people heard of them.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thrak faulty??  I think not.  😎

[john_galt]

I hope you get some relief. Finally found the photo of the monstrous window washer on the MSC Seaside. There's actually a Youtube video out there from room 13275 where this thing is parked dead center of the balcony. 

 

[pisamoorings]

3 hours ago, john_galt said:

I hope you get some relief. Finally found the photo of the monstrous window washer on the MSC Seaside. There's actually a Youtube video out there from room 13275 where this thing is parked dead center of the balcony. 

 

I wouldn't have a problem with that if I knew in advance and the cabin was discounted.

Not knowing of a partial obstruction and paying the same as everyone else in that category is totally unfair.

[MissP22]

22 minutes ago, pisamoorings said:

I wouldn't have a problem with that if I knew in advance and the cabin was discounted.

Not knowing of a partial obstruction and paying the same as everyone else in that category is totally unfair.

I guess you can say the same thing about some of the other cabins on the ship. 

There are cabins that have continuing noise problems from above & below and still some that have AC problems that can't be rectified. I'm sure Princess is aware of the problems with those cabins as well but they'll never initially discount them nor let people know in advance about it.

You're best hope is that they give you some OBC for a future cruise.