Missed Port...Best Compensation??

[ocngypz]

Hi! What's the best compensation you've received from Princess for missing a port... or having an itinerary changed before departure??

[Toto2Kansas]

We have had both in the past. Best we have ever received is our port charges refunded to our onboard account. Since the passenger contract pretty much covers it all, we didn't expect any more than that. Of coarse we were very disappointed, but we didn't fell we should be compensated for the weather or poor conditions for missing a port or changing the itinerary.

[Cindy]

I've only had port charges refunded.

The itinerary on my upcoming Grand cruise has been changed, and Princess is giving a $75 or $25 per person credit, depending on the sail date. I'm surprised they're doing this. It's a nice gesture, but in my opinion it's certainly not necessary. I fall into the group that is pleased with the itinerary change. Playa del Carmen may not have the allure of Grand Cayman for many passengers, but in my opinion the port change makes the overall itinerary more enjoyable with longer visits in all the ports.

[JLC@SD]

Hi! What's the best compensation you've received from Princess for missing a port... or having an itinerary changed before departure??

Best "compensation" is to suck it up and get over it. Stuff happens....:)

[mississauga]

Do all cruiselines give compensation for missed ports now? I have been on 10 cruises and only missed a port while on a RCCL IN 2003. No compensation. Someone told me last year that she got compensation for a missed port on the Carnival and now I'm reading on these Princess threads about compensation too.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hmm, I don't think we got any refund of port charges for the port we missed in December. Unless I missed it in the final accounting delivered to our cabin. It really is hard to follow.

[Toto2Kansas]

Hmm' date=' I don't think we got any refund of port charges for the port we missed in December. Unless I missed it in the final accounting delivered to our cabin. It really is hard to follow.[/quote']

 

Sometimes the port charges are so small, they are very easy to miss on your final bill. We have had them as low as $6 before for missing a port credited to our final bill the last morning.

[jnc411]

This has happened to us twice. And we received the port charges refunded on our final account, also of coarse the cost of any ships excursion we might have had booked. Didn't expect anything else.

Cori

[ocngypz]

Thank you for your replies. I've a client who is %&^&^%$%*^ up in arms about the "measly" (their words, not mine) $75.00 PER PERSON OBC they are receiving on the Grand 2/25 sailing due to dropping Grand Cayman.

 

ARGH........

 

I've missed GC more times than I've made landfall... and have never received one red cent. Nada, nothing, zilch.

 

Really was poor planning on the part of PCL to include GC. The stop was sooo.. short.

 

Thanks again.

[VikingRob]

Best "compensation" is to suck it up and get over it. Stuff happens....:)

 

Absolutely agree, a less than perfect day on vacation is better than a great day at work. Besides, we all agree to let the cruise ship miss as many ports as they choose we we agree to buy our tickets.

[Bucky3]

We've never missed a port, but I think if you do and you have insurance some insurance companies give you a $ amount if that happens. Maybe not all policies but some and these might be if you purchased your policy independently and didn't take the cruiseline insurance. We usually buy it independently.

[Pam in CA]

Normally, you just get the port charges. Grand Cayman is a port that's frequently missed due to weather so changing the itinerary for the rest of the year is doing everyone a favor.

 

The only time I've received money back for an itinerary change was in 2001 when we were scheduled to go from Egypt to Israel and then on to Rhodes and Ephesus. Due to unrest and a State Dept warning, Israel was dropped and the itinerary changed to include Istanbul. This was about 5 months before sailing. My final payment was reduced by about $500 (I was a single in the cabin) since Israel was supposed to include a major optional land tour to Bethlehem. I can't remember but I think it was an overnight. I was disappointed that I wouldn't have the opportunity but thrilled that we were going to Istanbul instead.

[gipper77]

We have missed ports also. We missed Dublin because of high seas and received only the port charges. When we were on the Diamond the week following its accident in Victoria we received $500.00 per state room. We missed two ports, could not get to the Glacier and wind did not allow us in Victoria. So we had more quality time on the ship.

[chasetf]

Hi! What's the best compensation you've received from Princess for missing a port... or having an itinerary changed before departure??

....our compensation was announcement of the new port we would be stopping at... (and refund of the port charge).. :D After finding out why (political unrest in both cases) we were glad they made the change. :eek:

 

Cruise lines cannot be held responsible for political coups

[rtroeh]

The best compensation I've gotten for missing a port was an extra day at sea!:D I love those sea days, even better than days in port. And no matter where the ship takes me or doesn't take me, it's always been better than being at work!

[West Coast]

We were on the Dawn in Oct 2004 and received $200 per person for missing Princess Cays and Isla Margarita. We were advised of the change 7 weeks before sailing (just after final payment had been made).

 

This past cruise (Jan 2006), we were on the Sun and missed St Vincent. We were advised en route, the day before that we were not going to make it in time so instead we were going to call on St Kitts. Well, the weather turned and the seas were too rough to dock so we sailed on by. The next day we received a credit of $5.50 (each) for the (missed) port charge.

 

Keep in mind that in addition to refunded port charges Princess will also 'upcharge' if the port charges increase after you've made final payment. We were on the Island a couple of years ago and had a 'mystery' charge of $0.65 (yes, sixty-five cents) and upon unquiry were told that it was due to an increase in port charges for Vancouver.

[Bestbubba]

Last March on the Sapphire, Sydney to Bangkok, we missed Penang and received a $200 each cabin credit - we were amazed!! The announcement came the day before we were due to arrive in Penang. Was a real bonus for us as we had been on a land holiday that included Penang a couple of years earlier and had decided not to get off the ship!!:D

 

Sue

[spongerob]

We have had both in the past. Best we have ever received is our port charges refunded to our onboard account. Since the passenger contract pretty much covers it all, we didn't expect any more than that. Of coarse we were very disappointed, but we didn't fell we should be compensated for the weather or poor conditions for missing a port or changing the itinerary.

 

And then there was the time that they opened the casino after missing a port, and someone paid for their cruise...:)

[Druke I]

On Princess, best compensation was refund of port charges. The old Sea Princess, (formerly Kungshom, later victoria, now Mona Lisa) had tipped a prop before we boarded in Osaka Japan 5-89, and due to slightly reduced speed, the ship skipped Maui enroute to Vancouver BC. No big deal.

 

On Stardancer, 6-86, we skipped a couple of ports in Alaska after an engine broke down, and limped back to Vancouver. We got 50% off future cruise!

We thought that generous.

 

Stuff happens!

[Toto2Kansas]

And then there was the time that they opened the casino after missing a port, and someone paid for their cruise...:)

 

LOL forgot about that one. Guess I could say the best was $1900.00 for missing Costa Maya, thanks to a progressive poker machine in the casino that morning. :D

[Katie333]

We got a refund of port charges ($20 total) and substitution of San Juan instead of Princess Cays.

 

Those people getting the credit of $25 or $75 for missing GC should count themselves EXTREMELY lucky! Not only are they missing what is often the most overcrowded port in the Caribbean but they are getting a substituted port and a credit. Wish I had that cruise booked and got the bonus. :)

[dsl laber]

We just missed St Kitts this pas week due to rough seas and wind. Captain said we couldn't dock (on Golden). We were refunded $6.55 each for port fees, and had a day at sea.

 

Rtroeh? Independence Mo? We're from Grain Valley, but grew up and went to school in Independence! Small world!! :)

[ssbeagle]

What compensation? Actually, we were late arriving in San Juan and we got a $50 credit. Otherwise, we have missed ports and gotten no compensation at all. We missed Rhodes because of high seas and went to Istanbul instead and had 1 1/2 days there instead of just one. I wish the ship would have stayed in Kusadasi longer. I liked that port better. We have had an itinerary change a couple of months before the cruise and we got a price reduction and an upgrade from a cheap outside cabin to a mini suite. Many people cancelled but we didn't because they were still places we hadn't been. I don't complain about it. It's an adventure!

[lucy2222]

I'm confused why Princess would offer an OBC for a change in itinerary before the cruise? If they were going to offer an OBC, why not give it to those disgruntled passengers that were fully expecting to go to Grand Cayman, and found out the morning that they weren't?

 

They changed our itinerary from Ochos Rios to Jamaica, and then we missed Grand Cayman completely, with no substitute, yet we got nothing but port charges, $12.

 

My opinion is, keep it the same, if you change it before or change it during the cruise.

[A Sixth?]

I’ve only missed one port in eight cruises. (It was aboard the Sunbird.) There was a snit going on between the cruise ship operator and the Cuban government about tendering so they gave the Isle of Youth a pass after a stop in Havana. We were credited 50 lbs (British boat)

We would have preferred the stop, and the reason we took the itinerary was the Cuban stops, so felt that some compensation was due and were satisfied that it wasn't a token amount.

I’ll probably get kicked around a bit for saying this, but when the ship can’t fulfill its itinerary, some compensation seems appropriate. I for one choose my cruises based on the ports of call.

I mean if you pay for a day pass at Disney World only to find that ¼ of the rides are closed wouldn’t you expect something?