Best time to call Princess

[Islander58]

Hi, we are platinum Cruisers with two cruises booked for 2023. We would like to book a time for dinner in the MDR. The system is very user unfriendly and isn’t working!  We need to talk to someone. My husband has already been on hold/ waiting for a call back for two hours. Does anyone have a tip for the best way to contact them  - like calling at 6 am or some other suggestion? Thanks!

[miagirl]

You could try crew chat.  That might work.  I don't think there is a best time to call.  If you are early risers try calling at 6 am and let us know if that works.  🙃

[memoak]

2025. LOL

[gottagocit]

Presently on hold as well. Began just over 4 hours ago and have gotten two call backs so far. Last told only guest services can resolve the problem and been on hold with them alone for 52 minutes. 

 

We are trying to move FCD’s from one voyage to a new voyage we have on courtesy hold and cancel the older voyage.  
 

All this to say that 1-2 pm EST isn’t a good time today. Neither has 2-5:30 been either. OMG those song lyrics are echoing in my head:

 

”How long can this go on!”  Lol. 

Edited January 6, 2023 by gottagocit

[jeromep]

1 hour ago, Islander58 said:

Hi, we are platinum Cruisers with two cruises booked for 2023. We would like to book a time for dinner in the MDR. The system is very user unfriendly and isn’t working!  We need to talk to someone. My husband has already been on hold/ waiting for a call back for two hours. Does anyone have a tip for the best way to contact them  - like calling at 6 am or some other suggestion? Thanks!

I'm not sure what Princess will do over the phone, but last time I chatted with my TA, all dining bookings are handled through the Princess Medallion app; or at least that is what Princess wants us to do.  There are no longer traditional dining and Anytime Dining options available in the Cruise Personalizer; dining selections have all been offloaded to the app, and it is now called Dine My Way.  She even indicates that if you are looking for a traditional dining experience you may be better off working with the maitre'd once on board or making your dining reservations on the app when those features open up on the app, closer to your cruise.

 

Everyone has a different comfort level with technology, so I won't say that any person should have to use the app to manage their dining options; however, I just opened the Princess app and there is some functionality present to book dining for a cruise scheduled for July.  I didn't go so far as to actually book anything.  This is under the Ocean Now section of the app, by tapping on the Dine My Way option.  There is a button that says, Explore Dining Options and it tells me to check back later closer to the cruise date.  I am curious to know if you are using the Princess app or not?

 

I don't book directly with Princess anymore, I have moved my bookings over to a TA.  The last couple years, and especially during the restart period, it sure feels like Princess doesn't have sufficient staff to handle the phones.  I went through 3 different Princess Vacation Planners in less than 3 months, I used to have one that I had a bit of a relationship with and had that one for years, that is why I wasn't using a TA, but things have changed, and not for the better.  I feel that I get better pre-trip service, when issues arrive the TA steps in to handle them, and I'm never waiting on hold, I just email my TA, and a couple hours later they acknowledge my request or even write back telling me that the issue is handled.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Islander58 said:

Hi, we are platinum Cruisers with two cruises booked for 2023. We would like to book a time for dinner in the MDR. The system is very user unfriendly and isn’t working!  We need to talk to someone. My husband has already been on hold/ waiting for a call back for two hours. Does anyone have a tip for the best way to contact them  - like calling at 6 am or some other suggestion? Thanks!

Usually, when they first open at 6 am PT. But, you need to pick the option to speak to someone in the ocean medallion App team to get you ocean ready.  Anyway, 

they should be able to help.  The weekends are not easy though. Less staff and usually outsourced.  I call Mon-Fri.

 

There is an Ocean Medallion App thread you can check out also.  A thread on Dine my way also.

 

Are you using a newer phone?  Is yiur phone up to date?

 Have you done the App updates?

If yes to all….. 

Try to delete the App and reinstall it.

 

Under Dine my way on the App;

Try to make a reservation for each day and see if that works. Scroll and pick a restaurant and time you want. Make sure it says confirmed/you’re all set.  Then go to the next day and do the same. 

 

You can also check the threads I mentioned for a lot of tips on DMW and the App in general.

 

 

 

 

[gottagocit]

55 minutes ago, jeromep said:

 

…I don't book directly with Princess anymore, I have moved my bookings over to a TA….

 

Jeromep,

We had done that as well a few years ago until we had a pair of significant trip interruptions while traveling down under in 2019.

 

One was the sudden death in our family (back in the USA) while on a NZ cruise that required us to disembark on day 2 of an 11 day voyage. This came about a week after our first voyage (Queensland) was interrupted by a typhoon that resulted in our disembarking 2 days early in Cairns vs Brisbane as planned.
 

Throughout all the craziness of cancelling hotels, booking one new ones and cancelling flights while booking new ones we quickly learned Princes will not discuss or change any booking made through at TA regardless of the reason you need to do so. Of course they helped us disembark and get all the immigration issue handled. It’s not like they were not sympathetic or kind. They were both. 
 

This can be a real problem when it’s the weekend and you’re about 15 time zones away from your TA particularly while dealing with the shock of the unexpected death of a parent. The word frustration is not adequate to describe the emotions this can stir in you in such a situation. 
 

We managed our way through both problems and were awake for around 48 hours working on getting to the state where the family lived, a week or two later we eventually got home. 
 

Just be aware you may find only your TA can make some adjustments or changes to your travel plans once you’ve turned over booking to them. Odds are this will not happen but we decided we like to have more flexibility and control with our bookings now. 

Edited January 6, 2023 by gottagocit

[Islander58]

1 hour ago, jeromep said:

I'm not sure what Princess will do over the phone, but last time I chatted with my TA, all dining bookings are handled through the Princess Medallion app; or at least that is what Princess wants us to do.  There are no longer traditional dining and Anytime Dining options available in the Cruise Personalizer; dining selections have all been offloaded to the app, and it is now called Dine My Way.  She even indicates that if you are looking for a traditional dining experience you may be better off working with the maitre'd once on board or making your dining reservations on the app when those features open up on the app, closer to your cruise.

 

Everyone has a different comfort level with technology, so I won't say that any person should have to use the app to manage their dining options; however, I just opened the Princess app and there is some functionality present to book dining for a cruise scheduled for July.  I didn't go so far as to actually book anything.  This is under the Ocean Now section of the app, by tapping on the Dine My Way option.  There is a button that says, Explore Dining Options and it tells me to check back later closer to the cruise date.  I am curious to know if you are using the Princess app or not?

 

I don't book directly with Princess anymore, I have moved my bookings over to a TA.  The last couple years, and especially during the restart period, it sure feels like Princess doesn't have sufficient staff to handle the phones.  I went through 3 different Princess Vacation Planners in less than 3 months, I used to have one that I had a bit of a relationship with and had that one for years, that is why I wasn't using a TA, but things have changed, and not for the better.  I feel that I get better pre-trip service, when issues arrive the TA steps in to handle them, and I'm never waiting on hold, I just email my TA, and a couple hours later they acknowledge my request or even write back telling me that the issue is handled.

Thanks for the suggestions. My husband has removed the app and reinstalled it. We got an email advising us that we are now Platinum but when we try to book a time (in any time dining) it tells us that only platinum or elite can do this. We were on the Crown Princess in November and had no problem with doing this. It seems like the medallion app issues haven’t gone anywhere. They apparently don’t want our business. This experience is making us run to HAL. Seriously the customer service or lack there of is awful. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

[happy42cruise]

If you can use chat they can correct your status in the app. I had a similar problem with it not showing us as platinum.

[Sanpan]

I had to call Princess just today regarding my medallion. I haven’t received it yet for my January 18 cruise.  I took the option to have them call me back and within 30 minutes. I received a call back that happened to me twice because I had to talk to two different departments.  Take the call back option. Li called around 11am EST. 

[dog]

15 hours ago, Islander58 said:

Hi, we are platinum Cruisers with two cruises booked for 2023. We would like to book a time for dinner in the MDR. The system is very user unfriendly and isn’t working!  We need to talk to someone. My husband has already been on hold/ waiting for a call back for two hours. Does anyone have a tip for the best way to contact them  - like calling at 6 am or some other suggestion? Thanks!

I get through quickly by calling at very beg if the day.  The one time I asked for a call back it was quite quickly.

if you hold too long- hang up, call back, try chat.

[Lady Arwen]

I called my CVP this week for a refare of our cruise.  She answered on the third ring.  Business taken care of in five minutes.  I just have no interest in spending hours on hold or having to tell my story to three different people before getting a resolution.  The key is finding the right CVP for you.  It might take a couple of tries, but so worth it in the end.  Obviously, a good travel agent would also work.  Good luck!

[sunviking90]

I have a CVP, but she was already gone for the weekend and I needed help with something. I called last night at 6:30 PST (they close at 7) and got through right away. 

[Islander58]

What is a CVP?

[PacnGoNow]

Cruise Vacation Planner.  (Princess)

[Islander58]

Finally got through, transferred three times! OMG! All we want to do is cruise! Thanks everyone for their suggestions.

[jeromep]

On 1/6/2023 at 5:28 PM, happy42cruise said:

If you can use chat they can correct your status in the app. I had a similar problem with it not showing us as platinum.

 

One of the reasons that some people get faster service through chat is because CSRs that are assigned to handle chats are usually doing heavy multitasking.  It also helps that the topic you are asking about can easily be handled through chat.  More on that later.  So, a CSR that is on phones handles one customer at a time.  A CSR that is handling incoming chats is usually handling 2, 3, maybe up to 5 customers at once.  It requires a special skill to keep that many individual conversations organized.  My organization has customer service chat, and frankly our staff maxes out at about 3 consecutive conversations before they start making mistakes.  In our experience chat is a great way to provide service to very wrote, non-complex customer requests, changes that don't call into question organization policy, and things that aren't really special requests.  Anything beyond simple requests that are a couple of clicks on a computer, and chat becomes too cumbersome for both the CSR and the customer.

 

On 1/6/2023 at 10:09 PM, Sanpan said:

I had to call Princess just today regarding my medallion. I haven’t received it yet for my January 18 cruise.  I took the option to have them call me back and within 30 minutes. I received a call back that happened to me twice because I had to talk to two different departments.  Take the call back option. Li called around 11am EST. 

 

I think the call back option for customer service lines is probably one of the best features I've seen put into call center phone systems.  For anyone that doesn't want to tell the computer that they will accept a call back, please use that option.  It really works.  CSRs in call centers basically spend their entire day taking one call right after the other until they go on break or take lunch.  The underlying phone computer system is doing the work of routing calls on hold to available operators.  The call back system basically takes your incoming call and puts it in line with the rest of the calls that are coming in.  When you opt for a call back and provide a callback number, the call center phone system keeps your place in line, and then when you are up, it connects to a CSR and dials out to you, to initiate the call.  I've had great success with the call back option with many companies and opt for it whenever it is offered to me.