Why You Should Bring Hard Copies Of Your Cruise Documents

[Cruise till you drop]

11 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

I'm not arguing against bringing printed copies of all relevant documents. I do that, and I'll continue doing that. Not arguing against it. But. On our last cruise, we had a problem with our obc, and the customer service desk absolutely refused to look at the printout. More than one of them. They absolutely refused to even look at it so we could point out what we meant. I found that odd at the time, and I still do.

that’s being irresponsible on their part.  We had the same issue when they changed rooms on us upon arrival at the pier and they kept saying they worked it out with us before the cruise started.  I had a printout of our cruise showing our chosen room and they refused to look at it and acknowledge that they screwed me out of the room I pre-selected 

[Sea Hag]

13 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

that’s being irresponsible on their part.  We had the same issue when they changed rooms on us upon arrival at the pier and they kept saying they worked it out with us before the cruise started.  I had a printout of our cruise showing our chosen room and they refused to look at it and acknowledge that they screwed me out of the room I pre-selected 

Sorry you had this happen to you. 

[memoak]

49 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

that’s being irresponsible on their part.  We had the same issue when they changed rooms on us upon arrival at the pier and they kept saying they worked it out with us before the cruise started.  I had a printout of our cruise showing our chosen room and they refused to look at it and acknowledge that they screwed me out of the room I pre-selected 

There were m as by instances of entire sides of decks being closed off for Covid isolation. If you originally booked one of those you would have been moved and usually just an email would be sent to you or your TA to let you know

[Kay S]

7 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

And it took them a long time to figure that out?  Yikes.

I think part of the post-covid staffing problems include new hires who are not properly trained.

 

DH wouldn't leave the house without those paper docs, and I agree since that app is just a bug-ridden amatuer disaster.

[wintrev]

2 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

that’s being irresponsible on their part.  We had the same issue when they changed rooms on us upon arrival at the pier and they kept saying they worked it out with us before the cruise started.  I had a printout of our cruise showing our chosen room and they refused to look at it and acknowledge that they screwed me out of the room I pre-selected 

Know how that feels. In Jan this year on the Grand we arrive at check in and they can't find our Medallions. Oh that would be because they swapped our room and didn't inform us at all even though we booked directly from the website - no TA. Went to Guest Services immediately asking why we have been changed and was asked do I have any proof that I booked that room. Well of course I do - produced my booking confirmation and also showed them the app which still had our old room listed. After disappearing for 10 minutes they come back and say we were swapped because the room needed repairs. We then queried how our luggage would get to the new room - they organised for it to be transferred (was the quickest delivery of luggage on any cruise yet) and then asked what compensation they were going to give to us for not informing us of this change. They gave us a free day in the Sanctuary (very nice but had to move our loungers as I don't sit in the full sun thank you) but had to revisit the desk several more times. One being that my Medallion did not open the door of the new room but hubby's did. We then tried our old room and yep I opened the door to discover that a phone was on the desk being charged and as it was a suite the welcome canapes had been delivered - under repairs my foot!!! The second thing being the that Medallion app was not updating our room number so anything we ordered would be delivered to the old room. Whilst the desk personnel were only doing their job and telling us what their boss was instructing them we felt very miffed that our integrity about which room we booked was called into question. So the moral of the this story is yes you need to take all paperwork because you never now when you will need it!

[Ellipooh]

23 minutes ago, wintrev said:

We then tried our old room and yep I opened the door to discover that a phone was on the desk being charged and as it was a suite the welcome canapes had been delivered - under repairs my foot!!!

Wow.

[Paula_MacFan]

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

I print a copy of virtually everything to do with our trip.  I have a document holder with individual tabs that I label accordingly.  Goes in my carryon, so it’s always handy.  Makes me feel secure knowing I have all of our ducks in a row should something goes awry when we board.  

I totally agree and do the same thing.  For our last cruise in January I got a new file folder that fits in a backpack with easy access at the top, similar to this.  Super handy to access while on the go at the airport, in line at the cruise pier, etc.  Love it!

[Cruise till you drop]

54 minutes ago, wintrev said:

Know how that feels. In Jan this year on the Grand we arrive at check in and they can't find our Medallions. Oh that would be because they swapped our room and didn't inform us at all even though we booked directly from the website - no TA. Went to Guest Services immediately asking why we have been changed and was asked do I have any proof that I booked that room. Well of course I do - produced my booking confirmation and also showed them the app which still had our old room listed. After disappearing for 10 minutes they come back and say we were swapped because the room needed repairs. We then queried how our luggage would get to the new room - they organised for it to be transferred (was the quickest delivery of luggage on any cruise yet) and then asked what compensation they were going to give to us for not informing us of this change. They gave us a free day in the Sanctuary (very nice but had to move our loungers as I don't sit in the full sun thank you) but had to revisit the desk several more times. One being that my Medallion did not open the door of the new room but hubby's did. We then tried our old room and yep I opened the door to discover that a phone was on the desk being charged and as it was a suite the welcome canapes had been delivered - under repairs my foot!!! The second thing being the that Medallion app was not updating our room number so anything we ordered would be delivered to the old room. Whilst the desk personnel were only doing their job and telling us what their boss was instructing them we felt very miffed that our integrity about which room we booked was called into question. So the moral of the this story is yes you need to take all paperwork because you never now when you will need it!

At least you got a lie as a reason for moving you.  We didn’t get any explanation except to tell us we didn’t have anything to complain about because we still had a balcony and that’s all that mattered. Not even an “I’m sorry”

 

Princess customer service desk is pitiful 

 

Even though we are Platinum on Princess, we’re very frustrated to the point we booked a Celebrity cruise next January 2024, and also considering booking Celebrity for Jan 2025

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[Cruise till you drop]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

There were m as by instances of entire sides of decks being closed off for Covid isolation. If you originally booked one of those you would have been moved and usually just an email would be sent to you or your TA to let you know

Actually this was post Covid (Jan 2023) and they stopped having Covid isolation areas

Edited May 12, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[trbarton]

10 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

Why you should bring  hard documents of your cruise booking -Story Time

 

We have had a huge issue with our drink packages not being recognized  by our Medallions on the CB the last 2 weeks.
Visited guest services 7 times trying to get it resolved and was given the run around. They even “opened an investigation”  and tried to tell me that we didn’t have a package for this voyage (we did).  It was on me to explain to them that the package worked in other areas on the Premium Desserts, Crew Appreciation and Wifi but not on drinks before they decided to find an actual solution. 

Funny thing-Every time you print your charges from the kiosk your available packages are listed but they were still willing to deny that we had drinks 

 

All was resolved today (Thursday) we disembark on Saturday. It definitely created a bit of stress as we know once you leave you’ll never recoup those charges

 

📃🚢-Bring hard copies of your booking docs that shows any packages, OBC, transfers or any pre cruise bookings.

 

***They did ask us to bring our booking docs to guest services 

 

-

Ever since I’ve been cruising with Princess I bring hard copies plus I have a folder on my mobile device with screen shots of the same thing. 
 

Tom😀

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Actually this was post Covid (Jan 2023) and they stopped having Covid isolation areas

Two months ago when  I got Covid for the second time my wife was offered a separate cabin so there are still cabins being held back

[NRWPA]

7 hours ago, Sprocket said:

 

Should still be in the email though that they sent when I booked it.

Just curious...my email never shows anything except the total cost. Nothing itemized. The information for me is only on the Travel Summary and Onboard Services page. I print those out but I anticipate a problem on my 5/20/2023 cruise...The travel summary shows the correct amount of casino free play $1000, the Onboard services page shows casino free play of $100. I'll be taking the travel summary to the casino cashier when I am on board. This will be the second half of a B2B so maybe I can proactively talk to the casino host to make sure all runs smoothly

 

[NRWPA]

7 hours ago, Sprocket said:

 

Should still be in the email though that they sent when I booked it.

Just curious...my email never shows anything except the total cost. Nothing itemized. The information for me is only on the Travel Summary and Onboard Services page. I print those out but I anticipate a problem on my 5/20/2023 cruise...The travel summary shows the correct amount of casino free play $1000, the Onboard services page shows casino free play of $100. I'll be taking the travel summary to the casino cashier when I am on board. This will be the second half of a B2B so maybe I can proactively talk to the casino host to make sure all runs smoothly

 

[NRWPA]

7 hours ago, Sprocket said:

 

Should still be in the email though that they sent when I booked it.

Just curious...my email never shows anything except the total cost. Nothing itemized. The information for me is only on the Travel Summary and Onboard Services page. I print those out but I anticipate a problem on my 5/20/2023 cruise...The travel summary shows the correct amount of casino free play $1000, the Onboard services page shows casino free play of $100. I'll be taking the travel summary to the casino cashier when I am on board. This will be the second half of a B2B so maybe I can proactively talk to the casino host to make sure all runs smoothly

 

[NRWPA]

7 hours ago, Sprocket said:

 

Should still be in the email though that they sent when I booked it.

Just curious...my email never shows anything except the total cost. Nothing itemized. The information for me is only on the Travel Summary and Onboard Services page. I print those out but I anticipate a problem on my 5/20/2023 cruise...The travel summary shows the correct amount of casino free play $1000, the Onboard services page shows casino free play of $100. I'll be taking the travel summary to the casino cashier when I am on board. This will be the second half of a B2B so maybe I can proactively talk to the casino host to make sure all runs smoothly

 

[NRWPA]

7 hours ago, Sprocket said:

 

Should still be in the email though that they sent when I booked it.

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by NRWPA

[NRWPA]

sorry for the repeats. I kept getting a message to try submitting again in 6 seconds. Over and over again

[reedprincess]

9 hours ago, Sprocket said:

You can always go to the Internet Cafe if you have wifi and print them there if you forget.

I don't print hard copies anymore. I download the Travel Summary and save it to both my phone and to the cloud. Create a travel folder for that trio that has all our reservations, documents , etc. Easily accessible if needed, either as a straight download or via cloud. Can print at internet cafe if a hard copy is really needed. So far, at least for the last 3 or 4 years, electronic copy of details has been fine. And no need to carry a folder of documents that just end up trashed.... 

Works for us. If other need paper, that works for them.... 

[memoak]

43 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

I don't print hard copies anymore. I download the Travel Summary and save it to both my phone and to the cloud. Create a travel folder for that trio that has all our reservations, documents , etc. Easily accessible if needed, either as a straight download or via cloud. Can print at internet cafe if a hard copy is really needed. So far, at least for the last 3 or 4 years, electronic copy of details has been fine. And no need to carry a folder of documents that just end up trashed.... 

Works for us. If other need paper, that works for them.... 

for my part the casino cash as always even the issue which is why I print the summary 

[MissP22]

6 hours ago, reedprincess said:

I don't print hard copies anymore. I download the Travel Summary and save it to both my phone and to the cloud. Create a travel folder for that trio that has all our reservations, documents , etc. Easily accessible if needed, either as a straight download or via cloud. Can print at internet cafe if a hard copy is really needed. So far, at least for the last 3 or 4 years, electronic copy of details has been fine. And no need to carry a folder of documents that just end up trashed.... 

Works for us. If other need paper, that works for them.... 

Agreed. It's better than printing all those pages that normally aren't needed 99% of the time. 

[Cruise till you drop]

8 hours ago, memoak said:

Two months ago when  I got Covid for the second time my wife was offered a separate cabin so there are still cabins being held back

Not sure why we’re going back and forth on this but let me put the brakes on this.  We went to the actual room and saw someone else’s name on our original room.  And this was at the beginning of the cruise.  So they definitely gave the room away to someone else and didn’t explain the reason.  Also if it was a Covid wing, why were we able to even get close to the room (the Covid wing was blocked off when that was happening).

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, wintrev said:

Know how that feels. In Jan this year on the Grand we arrive at check in and they can't find our Medallions. Oh that would be because they swapped our room and didn't inform us at all even though we booked directly from the website - no TA. Went to Guest Services immediately asking why we have been changed and was asked do I have any proof that I booked that room. Well of course I do - produced my booking confirmation and also showed them the app which still had our old room listed. After disappearing for 10 minutes they come back and say we were swapped because the room needed repairs. We then queried how our luggage would get to the new room - they organised for it to be transferred (was the quickest delivery of luggage on any cruise yet) and then asked what compensation they were going to give to us for not informing us of this change. They gave us a free day in the Sanctuary (very nice but had to move our loungers as I don't sit in the full sun thank you) but had to revisit the desk several more times. One being that my Medallion did not open the door of the new room but hubby's did. We then tried our old room and yep I opened the door to discover that a phone was on the desk being charged and as it was a suite the welcome canapes had been delivered - under repairs my foot!!! The second thing being the that Medallion app was not updating our room number so anything we ordered would be delivered to the old room. Whilst the desk personnel were only doing their job and telling us what their boss was instructing them we felt very miffed that our integrity about which room we booked was called into question. So the moral of the this story is yes you need to take all paperwork because you never now when you will need it!

I thought the moral or maybe lesson would be a better term of the story is that they will lie to cover their asses.

 

We were once also moved by Princess without informing us or our TA and told the cabin was out of operation only to discover someone else was given the cabin.

[Paula_MacFan]

9 hours ago, reedprincess said:

I don't print hard copies anymore. I download the Travel Summary and save it to both my phone and to the cloud. Create a travel folder for that trio that has all our reservations, documents , etc. Easily accessible if needed, either as a straight download or via cloud. Can print at internet cafe if a hard copy is really needed. So far, at least for the last 3 or 4 years, electronic copy of details has been fine. And no need to carry a folder of documents that just end up trashed.... 

Works for us. If other need paper, that works for them.... 

I also keep things documented in my phone, but have found some customer service people aren't comfortable reading off someone else's phone. So sometimes paper is helpful, although I agree it's somewhat old school 🙂

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I both print hard copies and save copies on my phone as documents/images. Just like on my computer, I have folders in my phone's file storage - one per cruise.

[Cruise till you drop]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I thought the moral or maybe lesson would be a better term of the story is that they will lie to cover their asses.

 

We were once also moved by Princess without informing us or our TA and told the cabin was out of operation only to discover someone else was given the cabin.

Does Princess think they’re dealing with stupid people who will believe anything they’re told?  I mean seriously