Crown Princess Alaska May 21st

[Crow9]

2 hours ago, byucruiser said:

 

People put their luggage out before getting off the boat in Victoria.  Im doing self assist walk off so not sure of the specifics.

[JeffT237]

3 minutes ago, wolvey said:

im curious.  If we are in Victoria up to midnight, exactly by when are we to put our luggage out “that evening”?  I hope we get specific times because 1. I don’t want to miss the time frame and 2. Would I really have to leave the luggage out for hours if I am to do it before   going to Victoria?  Or do I have to come back to do it?

We used port valet without problems on the May 7th sailing, we got our boarding passes and the luggage tags later in the evening, we got back to our cabin around 10pm and they were there.  The traditional luggage tags came much earlier for the non port valet passengers, and most had their luggage out before dinner. Our room steward told us they pick up luggage all night long, our bags were out at 10:30pm and the next time we saw them was back in SoCal.  We were able to track them online and saw they were checked in at SeaTac.  We had a later flight so it was nice to experience the day in Seattle exploring luggage free.

[suzyed]

9 hours ago, xbatt8 said:

 
Princess sent an email yesterday to our TA showing ISP is now cancelled, and Juneau is 5:30 to 10:45. So we get an effective 4 hours in Juneau and 8 hours in Skagway. More of a sea cruise than Alaskan cruise. 
 

Also, there was no mention of any compensation other than the original $100 for cancelling Ketchikan.

 

Bob

When we were on the Coral for 32 days in  S. America.  We missed ports on 18 of those days.  They used a prorated system to compensate us.  It was at the beginning of covid and no one could have even imagined what happened.  But now they KNOW we will have issues IN ADVANCE...
"but oh well, you already paid for the cruise and we're giving you $100...be thankful."  Geez

Edited May 28, 2022 by suzyed

[byucruiser]

Thanks crow. Superheroes don't always wear capes!

Edited May 28, 2022 by byucruiser

[arizonaperson]

23 hours ago, Namvvet68 said:

Just mailed this letter :

 

27 May 27, 2022

 

 

Ms. Jan Swartz

Group President

24305 Town Center Drive

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

 

Dear Ms. Swartz:

I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in Princess Corp. handling of the recent events concerning the Crown Princess.  I understand that equipment failures happen unexpectedly, and you have little control over them but the way your staff handled the cruises affected was totally unacceptable. 

I believe the generator failed shortly before the 7 May sailing and the ship’s speed capabilities were understood by management at that time.  Schedules were adjusted through the end of July and guests did not get to visit Ketchikan and had Icy Point (for 3 hours) substituted.  Your team missed the mark again, because every sailing got into Juneau 5 hours late and not one sailing ever got to Icy Point.  So here we are on 27 May and you are just now changing the itinerary to reflect the changes on the website but have not informed the guests of the changes. At least I have received nothing from Princess.

The cruise that we booked and paid for over a year ago has deteriorated to an Alaska drive-by.  We will have half of the time ashore that we paid for and the late arrival in Juneau precludes any excursions. The only full day we have in Alaska will be in Skagway.

 I follow the blogs (cruise critic.com) on the experiences the guests have had since Crown’s return to service and from what I have seen, you have permanently lost many customers because of your poor handling of the situation.

Most feel that the $100 onboard credit is an insult and those that were offered future cruise credits felt they were worthless because they would never cruise with Princess again.  The poor communication with your guests is inexcusable.

I am a supporter of Princess and have stayed the course with the Crown but feel that you need to hear about the black eye Princess has received over this issue.

 

Sincerely,

I thought John P. Was now the President since fall of 2021 not Jan, perhaps  i’m Wrong?

[Namvvet68]

2 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

I thought John P. Was now the President since fall of 2021 not Jan, perhaps  i’m Wrong?

I pulled that name off the web, so it must be right.😁

[Crow9]

Just did the cruise survey, told them I loved the staff and that the ports were disappointing.

 

Disembarkation was super easy 

[caribill]

44 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

I thought John P. Was now the President since fall of 2021 not Jan, perhaps  i’m Wrong?

John P. is the new president of Princess.

 

Jan S. is his boss as she is President of Holland America Group which includes Princess and HAL.

[arizonaperson]

5 minutes ago, caribill said:

John P. is the new president of Princess.

 

Jan S. is his boss as she is President of Holland America Group which includes Princess and HAL.

Thanks 

[jk04]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

But now they KNOW we will have issues IN ADVANCE...
"but oh well, you already paid for the cruise and we're giving you $100...be thankful."  Geez

That is the part that is so annoying to me.  Yes, we were sent an email at the end of April with the itinerary change, moving the arrival time in Juneau from 1200 to 1430 and swapping Icy Strait for Ketchikan.  Along with a goodwill gesture of $100 OBC.  We stayed with Crown and adjusted plans accordingly.  But, we were still going to be able to enjoy some quality time in the ports.  Engine problems happen, I get that, these ships haven't sailed for a couple of years, and it seemed Princess was trying to provide something that resembled an Alaskan cruise. 

 

However, as the problems continued to increase or compound and it became obvious Crown cannot handle the itinerary, they cut the time in the first port in half and removed one port altogether.  For those on the last few sailings they did offer OBC and FCC.  However, now that Princess knows the ship is unable to make the ports, the schedule has been revised and published with no mention of additional OBC or FCC.  Instead we are reminded we agreed to the Passage Contract.

 

The Passage Contract is extremely slanted in favor of Princess who, for any reason or without notice, can change or remove all ports from a cruise if they so choose.  According to said contract we have no claims against Princess for a laundry list of items, among them refunds, travel expenses, inconvenience, or disappointment.  All of this falls on the guest unless…. the change was otherwise beyond Carrier’s exclusive control.

 

The problem is not due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather, pandemic, or national emergency or even an unexpected mechanical breakdown, such as the fire on Freedom.  But, a known mechanical issue and the handling of the problem can be done entirely by Princess.  Currently on their website there are other cruises affected for various reasons with alternatives.  The sailings on Crown should be given the same options, move to an equivalent cruise, future cruise credit, or a refund.  This would at least keep people from complaining, berating, and otherwise abusing Guest Services, the Excursion Desk and other staff on Crown during each sailing.

[vikkster]

4 hours ago, JeffT237 said:

We used port valet without problems on the May 7th sailing, we got our boarding passes and the luggage tags later in the evening, we got back to our cabin around 10pm and they were there.  The traditional luggage tags came much earlier for the non port valet passengers, and most had their luggage out before dinner. Our room steward told us they pick up luggage all night long, our bags were out at 10:30pm and the next time we saw them was back in SoCal.  We were able to track them online and saw they were checked in at SeaTac.  We had a later flight so it was nice to experience the day in Seattle exploring luggage free.

I am doing self assist but one of my friends on the cruise is using Port Valet flying on Delta. When did you pay your luggage fees? When you do your on line airline checkin or do you know if they can prepay on the original flight to Seattle precruise?

[JeffT237]

8 minutes ago, vikkster said:

I am doing self assist but one of my friends on the cruise is using Port Valet flying on Delta. When did you pay your luggage fees? When you do your on line airline checkin or do you know if they can prepay on the original flight to Seattle precruise?

 

My understanding any baggage fees are charged to your onboard account once Princess checks you in.  Princess handles the check in for you, prints your boarding pass and delivers it to your cabin with the tags.  We did not have any baggage fees from Delta as they were part of our airfare and I saw on my folio the baggage fee was charged then immediately a credit for the amount,  I imagine if you prepaid them they would do the same thing.  It really worked as planned, no issues at all and the best thing is it is a free service from the Port of Seattle.

[jk04]

41 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

 

My understanding any baggage fees are charged to your onboard account once Princess checks you in.  Princess handles the check in for you, prints your boarding pass and delivers it to your cabin with the tags.  We did not have any baggage fees from Delta as they were part of our airfare and I saw on my folio the baggage fee was charged then immediately a credit for the amount,  I imagine if you prepaid them they would do the same thing.  It really worked as planned, no issues at all and the best thing is it is a free service from the Port of Seattle.

So happy to read that it's working well.  I was wondering if it was really going to be free or if Princess was going to charge the $20pp as it was previously.  Either way, still worth it for me, I'm a consummate over-packer. 

[suzyed]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:54 PM, Namvvet68 said:

Just mailed this letter :

 

27 May 27, 2022

 

 

Ms. Jan Swartz

Group President

24305 Town Center Drive

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

 

Dear Ms. Swartz:

I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in Princess Corp. handling of the recent events concerning the Crown Princess.  I understand that equipment failures happen unexpectedly, and you have little control over them but the way your staff handled the cruises affected was totally unacceptable. 

I believe the generator failed shortly before the 7 May sailing and the ship’s speed capabilities were understood by management at that time.  Schedules were adjusted through the end of July and guests did not get to visit Ketchikan and had Icy Point (for 3 hours) substituted.  Your team missed the mark again, because every sailing got into Juneau 5 hours late and not one sailing ever got to Icy Point.  So here we are on 27 May and you are just now changing the itinerary to reflect the changes on the website but have not informed the guests of the changes. At least I have received nothing from Princess.

The cruise that we booked and paid for over a year ago has deteriorated to an Alaska drive-by.  We will have half of the time ashore that we paid for and the late arrival in Juneau precludes any excursions. The only full day we have in Alaska will be in Skagway.

 I follow the blogs (cruise critic.com) on the experiences the guests have had since Crown’s return to service and from what I have seen, you have permanently lost many customers because of your poor handling of the situation.

Most feel that the $100 onboard credit is an insult and those that were offered future cruise credits felt they were worthless because they would never cruise with Princess again.  The poor communication with your guests is inexcusable.

I am a supporter of Princess and have stayed the course with the Crown but feel that you need to hear about the black eye Princess has received over this issue.

 

Sincerely,

I would love to copy and send this as well.  What address did you send it to? Do you know the email address for Jan?

Edited May 28, 2022 by suzyed

[hpeabody]

28 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I would love to copy and send this as well.  What address did you send it to? Do you know the email address for Jan?

 

Try this one, Susan.  jswartz@princesscruises.com 

[Sunwanabe]

4 hours ago, jk04 said:

That is the part that is so annoying to me.  Yes, we were sent an email at the end of April with the itinerary change, moving the arrival time in Juneau from 1200 to 1430 and swapping Icy Strait for Ketchikan.  Along with a goodwill gesture of $100 OBC.  We stayed with Crown and adjusted plans accordingly.  But, we were still going to be able to enjoy some quality time in the ports.  Engine problems happen, I get that, these ships haven't sailed for a couple of years, and it seemed Princess was trying to provide something that resembled an Alaskan cruise. 

 

However, as the problems continued to increase or compound and it became obvious Crown cannot handle the itinerary, they cut the time in the first port in half and removed one port altogether.  For those on the last few sailings they did offer OBC and FCC.  However, now that Princess knows the ship is unable to make the ports, the schedule has been revised and published with no mention of additional OBC or FCC.  Instead we are reminded we agreed to the Passage Contract.

 

The Passage Contract is extremely slanted in favor of Princess who, for any reason or without notice, can change or remove all ports from a cruise if they so choose.  According to said contract we have no claims against Princess for a laundry list of items, among them refunds, travel expenses, inconvenience, or disappointment.  All of this falls on the guest unless…. the change was otherwise beyond Carrier’s exclusive control.

 

The problem is not due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather, pandemic, or national emergency or even an unexpected mechanical breakdown, such as the fire on Freedom.  But, a known mechanical issue and the handling of the problem can be done entirely by Princess.  Currently on their website there are other cruises affected for various reasons with alternatives.  The sailings on Crown should be given the same options, move to an equivalent cruise, future cruise credit, or a refund.  This would at least keep people from complaining, berating, and otherwise abusing Guest Services, the Excursion Desk and other staff on Crown during each sailing.

PC handling of the Crown voyages has been extremely poor. Hopefully enough passengers will call and write to HQ and voice their own

personal displeasure with the experience. 

 

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Sunwanabe said:

PC handling of the Crown voyages has been extremely poor. Hopefully enough passengers will call and write to HQ and voice their own

personal displeasure with the experience. 

 

If you are still 30 days out you can cancel under the Cruise With Confidence policy.  It takes a while to get all your FCCs however.  I did it with the Enchanted Baltic cruise earlier this year.

Edited May 29, 2022 by suzyed

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Sunwanabe said:

PC handling of the Crown voyages has been extremely poor. Hopefully enough passengers will call and write to HQ and voice their own

personal displeasure with the experience. 

 

I just did!

 

[Connie N Crew]

On 5/28/2022 at 12:30 AM, Crow9 said:

Victoria has amazing tea

Ooooh...where did you go? :)

[Connie N Crew]

On 5/26/2022 at 8:29 PM, MarcsSharon said:

First thing tomorrow I am contacting a Maritime Attorney here in Florida…this is total BS.

Were you able to speak with an attorney? I'm curious about their take on this situation.

Thanks!

[Riley_Mon]

On 5/28/2022 at 10:47 PM, suzyed said:

I just did!

 

I emailed as well. I just wonder if anyone will get a direct response.

[JeffT237]

8 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

I emailed as well. I just wonder if anyone will get a direct response.

 

What I have done since our return from the May 7th sailing is to complete our cruise survey with a detailed narrative, filed an online complaint, had several chat sessions, and spoke with someone at customer care who suggested sending an email directed to the "executive team".  I have since directly emailed the CEO as well as a few VPs.  I have yet to hear back directly from anyone.  I have been told a few things now, a response will be within 7-10 business days and yesterday I was told 24-48 hours. I have been told a few different timelines for our refund of about $750 for cancelled excursions, from a few days to 6-8 weeks.  I was told onboard our FCC would be refunded as cash if not used only to be told post cruise it will be forfeited if not used by 12/22.  I have very little confidence in Princess. I have made it a point in all of my communications with Princess to please not ignore me, as an unsatisfied customer with the product they provided I have every right to express that and ask for a resolution.  And yes I am aware that I signed a cruise contract. 

 

 

[Riley_Mon]

25 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

 

What I have done since our return from the May 7th sailing is to complete our cruise survey with a detailed narrative, filed an online complaint, had several chat sessions, and spoke with someone at customer care who suggested sending an email directed to the "executive team".  I have since directly emailed the CEO as well as a few VPs.  I have yet to hear back directly from anyone.  I have been told a few things now, a response will be within 7-10 business days and yesterday I was told 24-48 hours. I have been told a few different timelines for our refund of about $750 for cancelled excursions, from a few days to 6-8 weeks.  I was told onboard our FCC would be refunded as cash if not used only to be told post cruise it will be forfeited if not used by 12/22.  I have very little confidence in Princess. I have made it a point in all of my communications with Princess to please not ignore me, as an unsatisfied customer with the product they provided I have every right to express that and ask for a resolution.  And yes I am aware that I signed a cruise contract. 

 

 

The calculus for this is to cross the pain threshold for them. At the moment they saw a reduced cruise and made the decision that it was still a good enough cruise with Icy Point that customers in general would accept it - I think they miscalculated that but still with the early people jumping to the Discovery they were still at a net zero game. Then with the reality the quality of the cruise is severely impacted by dropping Icy Point and limited time in Juneau, the passengers have a responsibility, I believe , to pursue equity in this situation. That means use every and all resources at our disposal to show Princess we are unhappy with their solution and expect satisfaction on our part.  I think the building consensus is a 50% FCC. Until it gets to the point that Princess can't turn around without being reminded how poorly they have handled the situation, they will continue to attempt to maximize their profits while delivering a sub standard cruise experience. A good start would be hundreds of passengers sending emails to executives and just as many hitting social media. Perhaps reaching out to social media cruise influencers like La Lida Loca and Dons Family Vacations. Don actually did a story already on the Crown saying Cruise Lines are letting customers down, but that was focused primarily on the May 7th cruise.

[JeffT237]

2 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

I think the building consensus is a 50% FCC

Yes this seems to be the consensus, it is what I will be asking for as I think that would be a fair resolution.  I do acknowledge what I did receive on our voyage.

 

4 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

Until it gets to the point that Princess can't turn around without being reminded how poorly they have handled the situation, they will continue to attempt to maximize their profits while delivering a sub standard cruise experience. A good start would be hundreds of passengers sending emails to executives and just as many hitting social media

It sounds like many are doing an email campaign, I encourage those who have not to do so if you feel Princess has not handled this situation adequately.  The bad reviews are everywhere now, not only on CC but also on other platforms and it really has increased on social media. The issue is front and center on Princess's Facebook page. Some of the main cruise YouTube influencers are reporting on the Crown issues and criticizing Princess's position on these sailings.  Will any of this help?  Remains to be seen.  

[Sunwanabe]

45 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

Yes this seems to be the consensus, it is what I will be asking for as I think that would be a fair resolution.  I do acknowledge what I did receive on our voyage.

 

It sounds like many are doing an email campaign, I encourage those who have not to do so if you feel Princess has not handled this situation adequately.  The bad reviews are everywhere now, not only on CC but also on other platforms and it really has increased on social media. The issue is front and center on Princess's Facebook page. Some of the main cruise YouTube influencers are reporting on the Crown issues and criticizing Princess's position on these sailings.  Will any of this help?  Remains to be seen.  

Definitely a sad commentary on how Princess corporate has and continues to handle the Crown cruises and their paying passengers. I have faith with the many complaints that PC will compensate adequately. It's a service industry first and foremost with expectations clearly falling short.