Princess changes the Passage Contract

[pris993]

Some Americans already drive less, we do and have done so now for the last few years. We are retired and watch what we spend. We don't take Sunday drives just for the heck of it any more. If gas continues to go up we will continue to cut back even more to bare necessities. I have used public transportation for years and will continue to do so. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Hi There,

 

I like to comment about not driving less if fuel goes up a bit,

 

I filled my car small by US standards 1.8L engine cost $150 and it was not empty.

 

At some point the US will get taxed like the rest of the world and you will be made to drive less, may be its not right but it the way things will be.

 

yours Shogun

[pris993]

Just deduct any unexpected Princess fare increases and surcharges from your tips. Simple as that.

 

 

Yes, this is another way to deal with it. We will probably spend less on the ship, i.e., in the gift shops and for pictures and drinks. :)

[stungazed]

I understand the fuel costs going up. This is true in any industry where fuel is used like airlines, trucking, cruising and more. However, I'd rather they would just raise fares and roll the cost of the fuel into the price (like it has been forever). Nothing pisses me off more than add ons. Companies prefer add ons because it still allows them to advertise low base prices.

 

This is an add on the may never go away, even if fuel does by some chance ever go down in price. A few years ago the casino/hotels in Las Vegas added on a $3 per day "energy surcharge" (spongerob may be able to rembember this is he was still going to Vegas at that point) during the west coast's energy crisis. Well when the energy crunch ended the surcharges didn't. After much complaining some hotels did finally remove the energy surcharge (either by simply eliminating them or adding it to the nightly rate). However, many hotels didn't get rid of it. Instead they conveniently renamed it a resort fee and some to this day continue to charge this fee instead of just adding it to the room rate. Ask what it is actually for and most hotel clerks have no clue, others give a lame list of things like the TV, and phone in the room (things that in the past were always included in your room rate).

 

Anyway, what i'm getting at here is even though I understand the fuel prices are an issue, this add on will probably never go away.

[noblepa]

I booked our March cruise on the Dawn Princess about a month and a half ago. I must admit that I didn't read the Princess contract, even though I knew that it was available on their website. So, I can't speak definitively about the Princess contract.

 

However, I have read the contracts for HAL and Carnival, both under the Carnival Corp. umbrella.

 

Those contracts contained clauses that said, in effect, that the line could increase the fare for any reason whatsoever up to and including the day of departure. The passenger's only recourse would be to cancel the cruise for a full refund, even if final payment date has passed. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, HAL and CCL had the ability in their contracts to add this surcharge for years.

 

If the Princess contract lacked this provision, it was seriously out of step with the rest of Carnival Corp. From what I've read here, other cruise lines, outside of Carnival Corp., such as Royal Caribbean also had such clauses.

 

As someone else said, if you attempt to "force" Princess to honor the original fare, I firmly believe that you will be left on the dock. It is simply not negotiable, certainly not by the check-in personnel.

 

As for deducting the amount from the tips, that is despicable. The cabin steward and waiter have nothing to do with this decision. Furthermore, the weak US dollar is hurting them financially already. If you must do something, refrain from buying drinks or gambling while on board. That revenue DOES go to the line and withholding that WILL hurt the company, although the amount is minuscule to them.