Princess not honoring a 20% discount letter received during a cruise

[TNTLAMB]

Send them a copy of the letter. The 20% thing that the shore staff is referring to is a standard offer. This letter looks to me to be a variation prolly quickly (and poorly) done by the hotel department over the captains signature with some of the normal language that corporate may not be aware of. BUT calm down before you do. They are under no obligation to do anything. Get too pissy and they will enforce the only contract they have which is the boiler plate passage contract. The fact your name is no where on the letter precludes it from being a "contract" of any kind. For gosh sake do NOT EVER threaten a lawyer. Every staff everywhere is instructed to stop communication immediately on a legal threat. A lawyer would only cost you money (and far more money than you would gain) and Princess if aggravated enough would quickly give you the 20% Of course it would be the published fare which is far higher than what you paid.... Threats to take your business elsewhere means nothing. They assume already that you will anyway and will find it far more to their advantage to support their staff.

 

[emeraldlake]

Usually Future Cruise Credits appear in your Captain Circle account.  You may have done this already but have you signed into Princess.com and looked at your account under Cruise Credits or Onboard credits?  Since you have already booked a cruise, maybe they cant use it against the balance due but can give it as refundable OBC.  Just a thought.

 

 

[Shmoo here]

13 minutes ago, TNTLAMB said:

The fact your name is no where on the letter precludes it from being a "contract" of any kind.

Just a question - while OPs name isn't on the letter the cruise date, ship name, and voyage number the letter was issued on is indicated.  Couldn't they just verify that OP was on that cruise and received a letter?  Making it a valid offer?

[TNTLAMB]

Yup they could if there were a way to prove everyone got the offer. That would take some serious $$$. Even then as it is a goodwill offer and there was no consideration there are no damages, so even if the 20% offer was enforced it would be off the published fare. Every dime spent getting it would come out of th OPs wallet. A polite letter with a copy of the letter asking for explanation of how to use the "generous offer" and how it could apply to the upcoming cruise would have a much better outcome..... it might take two letters with the second one offering alternatives to make it work for both.

 

What most folks don't understand is when they demand anything from a call center and demand a supervisor. Nine times out of ten it's the person sitting next who has no more power than the first. Both have more than they let on but only have so many exceptions that they can use in a month. Rarely will they ever use them for a squeaky wheel who will likely leave them a bad review anyway.

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, TNTLAMB said:

The fact your name is no where on the letter precludes it from being a "contract" of any kind.

I liked most of your initial response but I have to take a little issue with your interpretation of a contract requirement.  A baseball ticket or rain check doesn't have my name on it but it is a contract that a certain seat for a certain performance is available to the holder.  I see that letter the OP is holding as a type of rain check.

[bemis12]

The thing that makes it not a contract is the lack of “consideration” by the OP.

 

Princess was under no obligation to offer anything for missing that port. They did make a generous offer, but they were under no obligation to do so. It’s not enforceable, and it’s not a contract.

[Daniel A]

3 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

The thing that makes it not a contract is the lack of “consideration” by the OP.

 

Princess was under no obligation to offer anything for missing that port. They did make a generous offer, but they were under no obligation to do so. It’s not enforceable, and it’s not a contract.

This issue isn't going to end up in a court anyway, so it's a moot point.  If Princess reneges on the promise in the letter it certainly reflects poorly on Princess and the value of the words of one of their captains.

[mamkmm2]

It has taken us yesterday and most of today but we finally got them to allow us to use the 20% on the booking due in full on Nov.1st.  In the end it isn’t worth much ... it is 20% of the value of the cruise we were given the discount of.  The “value” is a discounted amount.  A total of $75 for both of us.  We still aren’t seeing their math but at a certain point you have to pick your battles, cut your losses, and move on.  It Is the principle of the thing and hopefully our battle will help other passengers from that cruise.

[DebbieMacG]

16 minutes ago, mamkmm2 said:

It has taken us yesterday and most of today but we finally got them to allow us to use the 20% on the booking due in full on Nov.1st.  In the end it isn’t worth much ... it is 20% of the value of the cruise we were given the discount of.  The “value” is a discounted amount.  A total of $75 for both of us.  We still aren’t seeing their math but at a certain point you have to pick your battles, cut your losses, and move on.  It Is the principle of the thing and hopefully our battle will help other passengers from that cruise.

I’m not seeing their math either! Unless the cruise you had the issue on cost a total of $375!😳

[mamkmm2]

39 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

The thing that makes it not a contract is the lack of “consideration” by the OP.

 

Princess was under no obligation to offer anything for missing that port. They did make a generous offer, but they were under no obligation to do so. It’s not enforceable, and it’s not a contract.

 

Sorry but that is wrong.  From a legal stand point (and I do a lot of legal legwork because of our business) even a verbal agreement between two people can be considered a legally binding contract.  What the letter is, not that it matters at this point, is an offer.  It becomes a “contract” when we accept their offer.  We accepted their offer, obligating and binding them to fulfill it to the letter.  What Princess was trying to do was wiggle out of their offer and add exceptions that were not stated in the original letter.  You can’t change an offer/contract that you are bound to willy-nilly like that.  

 

I agree with another poster that it may have been a sloppy offer without some standard templates language in it but that isn’t my fault and should not effect me.  Their offer was in writing and didn’t have the exceptions they were trying to apply.

 

The lawyer came up because the customer care person was getting a little snotty and because Princess had refused to even discuss the matter with our travel agent.  Her supervisor we mentioned Cruise Critic to.  I honestly believe it was both of those things that finally got us to a person who would do more than spout what was on their computer screen.

 

It was their refusal to honor their offer of ANY cruise not currently paid in full that was the real tripping point.

[mamkmm2]

20 minutes ago, DebbieMacG said:

I’m not seeing their math either! Unless the cruise you had the issue on cost a total of $375!😳

 

We’ll be getting an accounting from our travel agent tomorrow.  Princess refused to explain it.  Apparently they don’t do math with anyone but travel agents.  But when we asked then how did they know what to credit us they just tried to talk in circles.  It is what it is.  We just wanted them to honor the letter and not try and add exceptions to their offer after the fact.

[Shmoo here]

8 minutes ago, mamkmm2 said:

But when we asked then how did they know what to credit us they just tried to talk in circles.

Maybe it was 20% of the balance due.

[geoherb]

We received a similar offer last year when our transatlantic cruise on the Royal headed south to Spain and the Azores instead of Norway, Northern Ireland, and Canada on our way to New York. When we got home, I could see the 20 percent credit after signing in on the Princess website. It was calculated from the cruise fare less the port fees and taxes.

 

We took another transatlantic, on the Crown this year. We missed two ports and did not go to any nonscheduled ones like we did last year. We did not receive anything other than a refund of port fees.

[dunc]

I was also on this cruise and we received this same letter....my objection is the short time we have to use this credit, whatever amount it might be!  Just one week from disembarking.  Hadn't got another princess cruise booked,and trying to select one in a hurry isn't easy.

 

Another point, the seas were quite rough when it was announced that we were not going to St John, but we had missed Bar Harbour the previous day, and had stayed almost a full day extra in port in Boston....so I don't understand why you were surprised and upset about short notice....it was very apparent that docking anywhere would be difficult,and the port of St John is not one of the bigger ones!  I've been on 30+ cruises, and it was the choppiest we've experienced in north American waters 

[NANCYR2]

1 hour ago, mamkmm2 said:

 

We’ll be getting an accounting from our travel agent tomorrow.  Princess refused to explain it.  Apparently they don’t do math with anyone but travel agents.  But when we asked then how did they know what to credit us they just tried to talk in circles.  It is what it is.  We just wanted them to honor the letter and not try and add exceptions to their offer after the fact.

My husband and I were in this sailing and received the letter.

The 20% of what you paid for your cruise minus the port charges and taxes has appeared tonight in our Circle Saving Account.

it is there you see your FCC’s you may have purchased while onboard.

you need to sign into your Princess to see this😊

Nancy

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, NANCYR2 said:

My husband and I were in this sailing and received the letter.

The 20% of what you paid for your cruise minus the port charges and taxes has appeared tonight in our Circle Saving Account.

it is there you see your FCC’s you may have purchased while onboard.

you need to sign into your Princess to see this😊

Nancy

The 20% credit from the disrupted cruise is a FCC.  What you buy on board is a FCD(eposit).

[mamkmm2]

1 hour ago, NANCYR2 said:

My husband and I were in this sailing and received the letter.

The 20% of what you paid for your cruise minus the port charges and taxes has appeared tonight in our Circle Saving Account.

it is there you see your FCC’s you may have purchased while onboard.

you need to sign into your Princess to see this😊

Nancy

They were not allowing us to use it on the cruise I mentioned because they back dated the letter in their system to change when the booking had to be made by instead of “any” as it said in the letter. We got them to abide by their offer of “any” after a lot of work. Yes, we could see it ourselves but they at first would not allow it to be used for a current booking. 

Edited October 31, 2019 by mamkmm2

[caribill]

4 hours ago, dunc said:

I was also on this cruise and we received this same letter....my objection is the short time we have to use this credit, whatever amount it might be!  Just one week from disembarking.  Hadn't got another princess cruise booked,and trying to select one in a hurry isn't easy.

 

 

 

Look at your letter again.

 

The cruise must be booked by November 1 of 2020, not 2019. You have a year to make a booking.

[bemis12]

9 hours ago, mamkmm2 said:

 

Sorry but that is wrong.  From a legal stand point (and I do a lot of legal legwork because of our business) even a verbal agreement between two people can be considered a legally binding contract.  What the letter is, not that it matters at this point, is an offer.  It becomes a “contract” when we accept their offer.  We accepted their offer, obligating and binding them to fulfill it to the letter.

 

 

With all due respect to your legal background...... I never even brought up a problem with "verbal contract".  It's the lack of consideration on your part that keeps it from being enforceable.

 

Of course they SHOULD keep their word, but it's still not a legally enforceable contract.

[dunc]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Look at your letter again.

 

The cruise must be booked by November 1 of 2020, not 2019. You have a year to make a booking.

Oh my gosh....thank you, you're right!  I thought that was very rushed

[mamkmm2]

59 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

 

With all due respect to your legal background...... I never even brought up a problem with "verbal contract".  It's the lack of consideration on your part that keeps it from being enforceable.

 

Of course they SHOULD keep their word, but it's still not a legally enforceable contract.

In the US civil law system the offer and acceptance is all that is needed to bind it. Any consideration issue already took place as part of the compensation for the cost of the cruise.  Just remember that legally consideration doesn’t have to be of monetary value. 

[mamkmm2]

21 minutes ago, dunc said:

Oh my gosh....thank you, you're right!  I thought that was very rushed

That was for a NEW booking. It also said ANY EXISTING BOOKING not yet paid on full. That is the part they were trying to renege on my changing the terms. 
 

They are now honoring their letter without the hidden stipulations. 

[mamkmm2]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Look at your letter again.

 

The cruise must be booked by November 1 of 2020, not 2019. You have a year to make a booking.

We were told we could not use the other clause which was for any existing booking not yet paid for. They added an arbitrary booking date into their system of Oct 1 2019 that was no in the letter.  Meaning the "existing cruise" had to be booked no earlier than Oct 1 2019 as opposed to the "any existing cruise" that was in the letter.  That is the clause they were refusing to honor as written. It has now been resolved and it was like pulling teeth to get them to do it.

Edited October 31, 2019 by mamkmm2

[pms4104]

All this for, what, $75?

 

Time is money.

[Daniel A]

44 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

All this for, what, $75?

 

Time is money.

Curiosity has gotten me.  $75.00 is 20% of $375.00.  How did they come up with $75??  If $375 was the cost for 2 people for a 10 day cruise how do I get a deal like that?  Heck, I'd even be willing to forego the 20% discount if they missed a port or two...