Princess Cays Private Bungalow rule I was not aware of

[mitzieleanor]

Hello friends.  Please learn from my experience. 

 

My parents and my family are going on a cruise later this year that will go to Princess Cays for a multi-generational cruise. There are 8 people, including 3 kids, of us total split between 2 cabins (scary, I know!).   One of our stops will be at Princess Cays.  Having been there before, we definitely wanted to book 2 private bungalows since their website says it can only fit 4 people (or six for an extra $50)

 

I booked two on my booking number in order to follow Princess occupancy rules as my parents are not good on computers and wouldn't be able to do it on their booking number without a lot of frustration involved.  So far so good. 

 

Showing my kids youtube videos of the cruise ship we will go on to get them excited, I looked at my app to check and make sure everything was still good.  

 

SPOILER: it was not good!  One of my bungalows was missing!

 

Spent an hour on the phone with Princess only to find out there is a rule saying only one bunglow can be placed on one booking number.  This was not listed anywhere on the excursions page. Long story short, they took my bungalow without letting me know about it and the bungalows are now sold out for our voyage.  

 

I want to say the Princess customer service people working on the weekend are very good people and they tried very hard to help me.  They understood and apologized a million times for an unfortunate situation.  Even though I was upset, they handled me with respect and professionalism.  I greatly appreciate all their help and am impressed with them even though they took my bungalow. 

 

So there you have it.  The bungalows are sold 1 per booking number. 

 

By the way, does anyone know where I can buy beach bags big enough to hide two kids?  Asking for a friend. 

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, mitzieleanor said:

Hello friends.  Please learn from my experience. 

 

My parents and my family are going on a cruise later this year that will go to Princess Cays for a multi-generational cruise. There are 8 people, including 3 kids, of us total split between 2 cabins (scary, I know!).   One of our stops will be at Princess Cays.  Having been there before, we definitely wanted to book 2 private bungalows since their website says it can only fit 4 people (or six for an extra $50)

 

I booked two on my booking number in order to follow Princess occupancy rules as my parents are not good on computers and wouldn't be able to do it on their booking number without a lot of frustration involved.  So far so good. 

 

Showing my kids youtube videos of the cruise ship we will go on to get them excited, I looked at my app to check and make sure everything was still good.  

 

SPOILER: it was not good!  One of my bungalows was missing!

 

Spent an hour on the phone with Princess only to find out there is a rule saying only one bunglow can be placed on one booking number.  This was not listed anywhere on the excursions page. Long story short, they took my bungalow without letting me know about it and the bungalows are now sold out for our voyage.  

 

I want to say the Princess customer service people working on the weekend are very good people and they tried very hard to help me.  They understood and apologized a million times for an unfortunate situation.  Even though I was upset, they handled me with respect and professionalism.  I greatly appreciate all their help and am impressed with them even though they took my bungalow. 

 

So there you have it.  The bungalows are sold 1 per booking number. 

 

By the way, does anyone know where I can buy beach bags big enough to hide two kids?  Asking for a friend. 

Since your parents are not using computers, why don't you have their login information and just go into their Personalizer and order the Bungalow under their booking?  Easy-peasy!

[mitzieleanor]

4 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Since your parents are not using computers, why don't you have their login information and just go into their Personalizer and order the Bungalow under their booking?  Easy-peasy!

Hindsight is 20/20.  Plus, that rule wasn't mentioned on the page so I figured it would be OK since they took my money.  All it says is book per bungalow and that a bungalow holds 4 people.

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, mitzieleanor said:

Hindsight is 20/20.  Plus, that rule wasn't mentioned on the page so I figured it would be OK since they took my money.  All it says is book per bungalow and that a bungalow holds 4 people.

So, didn't you get a refund for the canceled Bungalow?  Unless they are sold out (doubtful), you can still fix this situation.

[mitzieleanor]

10 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

So, didn't you get a refund for the canceled Bungalow?  Unless they are sold out (doubtful), you can still fix this situation.

They said they refunded me, but it hasn't hit my credit card yet, so I'm living on a lot of trust right now. 

 

The bungalows are sold out, not even a waitlist is available.  I was told my parents can wait for a bungalow to come available to purchase on their booking number but they would need to check every day. Or, I guess I would need to check every day. 

 

It is what it is.  They can't make an extra bungalow magically come into existence.  I was more upset they messed with my account and took action without notifying me. 

[Dock B]

I’d keep an eye out, via the other booking number, for possible cancellation of a bungalow; someone may decide they don’t want/need what they reserved.

 

And, if final payment has yet to happen, someone may end up cancelling their cruise and a bungalow.

[mitzieleanor]

6 minutes ago, Dock B said:

I’d keep an eye out, via the other booking number, for possible cancellation of a bungalow; someone may decide they don’t want/need what they reserved.

 

And, if final payment has yet to happen, someone may end up cancelling their cruise and a bungalow.

You are correct.  I will be watching it like a hawk every day.  

[DallasGuy75219]

If you can't get another bungalow under the other booking, maybe ask onboard if they will let you put 2 additional people (for a total of 8) for another $50 fee. Not sure if that will make it too cramped, but with 3 of the 8 being kids maybe that helps.

 

You'll probably have to go directly to the ShoreEx manager who can hopefully see the big picture and bend the riles to help right Princess' wrong, i.e. you tried to do the right thing and book two separate bungalows for a 8 people, only to have Princess cancel one without notifying you because you violated their unpublished rule.