Another Dawn itinerary thread

[randolph]

Rather than own up to an obvious problem, the cruise line(s)

would rather do the "rope-a-dope" bob and weave until a

black eye causes vision problems. Maybe a 25-50% coupon

for a future cruise would keep affected cruisers from jumping

ship and going to another cruiseline. How many times must we

be slapped before we realize the cruiseline thinks WE must

be punished if they have problems. Aparently Princess has an

addiction problem (money).

[cajunpepsi]

Cruising is truly the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken. As a matter of fact, we enjoy the sea days more than the ports. So if we miss a few ports, I really dont care. We have only been on 7 day cruises till now, and are looking forward to the 10 day version, we have cruised on Carnival, Holland America, and Princess, with Princess being our favorite. Since we are bringing several first time cruisers with us, we are hoping Princess makes a good first impression as this group is going solely on our recommendation.

 

Im sure if an Island is not accessible due to Hurricane damage, all will understand, and do as we do, relax and enjoy the extra time at sea, on the deck with the drink of the day, as we are all on the Riviera deck its a short walk out the door to the pool.

 

All of that being said, if Princess would just post a note on their website, explaining the reason for the changes in Itinerary, is it engine problems?, or hurricane damage? or a combination of the above. I honestly dont think that is too much to ask, its just the right thing to do.

 

I have not asked for, nor do I expect to receive credits or other incentives, as long as Princess keeps me informed of changes to our cruise. On the other hand I am not gonna complain about any credits offered. SO, when the other 8 first time cruisers are asking all theses questions, I would like to be able to tell them what is happening, its just good business for Princess.

 

So everyone who is so concerned about all of us who want to know what is going on needs to simmer down now, and have a nice week.

[donh1]

Princess knew on or before 23July04 that the stop at Princess Cays and Margarita Island were going to be cancelled. The issue here is not the fact those two stops were cancelled rather it is that they sold a product knowing full well it was considerably different than what was advertised and then withheld the info until after the final payment date thus locking everybody in. It is their right to make changes but what was done here appears fraudulant......

Cruising is truly the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken. As a matter of fact, we enjoy the sea days more than the ports. So if we miss a few ports, I really dont care. We have only been on 7 day cruises till now, and are looking forward to the 10 day version, we have cruised on Carnival, Holland America, and Princess, with Princess being our favorite. Since we are bringing several first time cruisers with us, we are hoping Princess makes a good first impression as this group is going solely on our recommendation.

 

Im sure if an Island is not accessible due to Hurricane damage, all will understand, and do as we do, relax and enjoy the extra time at sea, on the deck with the drink of the day, as we are all on the Riviera deck its a short walk out the door to the pool.

 

All of that being said, if Princess would just post a note on their website, explaining the reason for the changes in Itinerary, is it engine problems?, or hurricane damage? or a combination of the above. I honestly dont think that is too much to ask, its just the right thing to do.

 

I have not asked for, nor do I expect to receive credits or other incentives, as long as Princess keeps me informed of changes to our cruise. On the other hand I am not gonna complain about any credits offered. SO, when the other 8 first time cruisers are asking all theses questions, I would like to be able to tell them what is happening, its just good business for Princess.

 

So everyone who is so concerned about all of us who want to know what is going on needs to simmer down now, and have a nice week.

[melissa_bel]

Donh1:

The thing is... we don't know if they knew before hand because we are not sure if the engine is going to be changed or not, if it's going to be a wet dock due to hurricanes or if the engine is going to be changed. It's a little early to come to conclusion. Kevin (alias kkorman) will be on the Dawn in the coming days and hopefully get the information for us.

[cajunpepsi]

Well, I knew this was gonna be a wasted call, but I made it anyway. I decided to make a call this morning, and see if any news was available.

 

First person, said there were no Itinerary changes/problems with the Dawn, and stated that he would be the first to know.

 

I told him it appeared that wasnt the case, as people are receiving notices that the Itinerary was being change for operational reasons.

 

Long pause, then he put me on hold, enter person number two, a customer rep.

 

 

I explained, I just want to know the reason Itineraries are being changed, is it engine related? weather related? port capacity reasons?

 

She said Isla Margarita, is often dropped due to Poltical unrest which leads to security concerns. Further went on to explain Princess Cay was due to Hurricane damage. Denied any engine problems.

 

So, nothing to see here. This is why a little blurb from Princess on the webswite would be nice.

[melissa_bel]

Cajun,

That's my only problem with this situation.

I'm over the cancelled ports and reduced time ashore. It won't ruin my cruise at all but I wished they would be more upfront about what's going on. But we'll eventually find out.

[tsj]

Melissa Bel You are exactly right. If I trust that I will be given good info on a timely basis, I can make an informed choice and that choice may well be to take this cruise. I get a bit concerned when the messages aren't clear or trickle out or info comes after final payment. Like many others we travel as a group and I usualy do the research and have quite a lot of input, so I feel it is my responsibility to stay on top of the situation. Hopefully we will know more soon. Thanks to everyone for the updates and please keep them coming, I'll do the same. tsj

[kkorman]

kkorman seems to be one of the best resources on this board for the Dawn Princess (since he has been on it so often lately and will be on it again). I am sure when he sails this week - he will find out all the info he can and will report back to us (as he has the past few weeks). Thanks Kevin for doing this.

 

I certainly will.

 

Also, I have been a victim of the Millenium-class azipod issues and had a cruise cancelled. Celebrity told us this 10 days before our cruise. They waited that long because they did not know if there was going to be available dry dock space. When they found it, they cancelled. Therefore, I do not think that donh1's statement is necessarily true, we don't know if Princess knew in June or July. As it was stated on one of the many Dawn threads... it is not a common occurance for an engine to be replaced and requires not only for the dry dock space, but the engine to be built and shipped. I am pretty sure there is not a large inventory of ship engines around the world. All this leads to uncertainty. Bottom line here still is that we don't have facts, only speculation. It is not really fair to Princess and other potential cruisers to display such anger over speculation.

[Desertbelle]

I certainly will.

 

It is not really fair to Princess and other potential cruisers to display such anger over speculation.

I am not concerned at all about Princess. They are the ones who are leading to all this speculation by withholding the truth from us. It seems they have these things in their favor:

 

1. A full ship of passengers, fully paid.

2. Insurance that covers their operating expenses to repair their broken ship.

3. They have several cruises of 2200 people confined to their ship for an extra 2+ days....people doing more gambling, more spa treatments, more drinking, more shopping, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if that $150 they gave to us isn't returned in triplicate or more to Princess in increased revenues.

 

What exactly is it we are to feel sorry for Princess about?

 

The Dawn engine has been broken for many, many months and the dry-docking was scheduled back in the late Spring. We were told at that time that the ship would be back to normal for our cruise. I purposely checked this out at the time because I had heard of ships coming out of dry-docking half-repaired and having problems. We were assured by Princess that there wouldn't be any problems.

 

I have no doubt that actually being on the ship won't feel any different than normal, the missing ports, and my increased onboard account, will be the only sign that anything at all is wrong.

 

As for not being fair to potential cruisers, I can only answer that I wish I had had this information before I was in penalty phase of this cruise....before I had bought 3 cabins, 7 airline tickets, hotel rooms, etc.

 

I don't see how having additional information about a potential cruise is a bad thing.

[CruiseAholic]

I believe that the ship was originally to go into drydock in the Bahamas, which of course, has been rendered unusable due to the hurricanes, so how were they to know months ago.

[kkorman]

I believe that the ship was originally to go into drydock in the Bahamas, which of course, has been rendered unusable due to the hurricanes, so how were they to know months ago.

 

My point exactly. And further DesertBelle, do we know for sure that the Dawn will be in a full dry dock in November. My point is that we do not know what the whole story is and whether Princess knows or when they did know. Maybe they are waiting to see if Freeport will be ready for the drydock. Circumstances have changed due to the espeically active hurricane season and changes will be/have been made.

 

As for not being fair to potential cruisers, I can only answer that I wish I had had this information before I was in penalty phase of this cruise....before I had bought 3 cabins, 7 airline tickets, hotel rooms, etc.

Right, but you have made comments such as avoid the Dawn Princess like the plague (or something to that matter) that is not fair to potential cruisers. Your second response on that thread was the way to go at your point.

 

You also make it sound like Princess is doing this on purpose, just to make a few extra bucks. How can having people ,like yourself, being so upset be good for Princess?

 

I agree that information is good to have when it is to be had. When it is there for the giving, perhaps it will be given. Assuming it is there and they are not telling you is just speculation on your part.

[Desertbelle]

The ship IS going into dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas....this has been the plan all along. According to many Princess representatives, the dry-docking will be done, the engine will be repaired....that isn't the problem.

 

Apparently the problem is that the engine will need a "breaking-in period" and this will not allow the ship to go fast enough to make all the ports. I can't believe that no one knew that engines needed this breaking-in time back when it first became certain that the engine would need a dry-docking to repair. Had Princess been upfront about this information back then, the hundreds of unhappy people wouldn't be a problem now.

 

Granted, most of this is still speculation, but that is because Princess isn't giving anyone the whole story, not to their customers and not to their passenger relations representatives either.

 

This whole thing isn't about sea days vs. port days, this isn't about an "Act of God", this isn't about whether or not Isla Margarita or Princess Cays are good or bad ports, this isn't about "going with the flow and having fun", this isn't about whether the Dawn is a beautiful ship or not.....this is about Princess selling cruises on a broken ship unable to go fast enough to make all it's ports and then withholding that information from their thousands of passengers until it was too late to do anything about it.

[kkorman]

 

Granted, most of this is still speculation, but that is because Princess isn't giving anyone the whole story, not to their customers and not to their passenger relations representatives either.

[/b]

 

 

We agree on this. It is speculation and rumors. And I am giving the benefit of the doubt to Princess with respect to them not passing information as we do not know if there is anything to pass. The only thing for sure is that ports were cancelled... and they passed this on. Many cruise lines tell you as you are boarding that ports will be missed. They at least gave you some notice and what most people (not all) thought was fair.

[Desertbelle]

kkorman, we will have to agree to disagree on one thing.....Princess gets no respect from me. What they have done is deceptive and in their own best interests. If we were talking about any other corporation it probably wouldn't be so hard for you to see it for what it is. The fact that other cruise lines do such things doesn't absolve Princess from what they have done and are continuing to do this very moment.

 

I know and understand that there are Princess loyalists on this board, and I don't doubt that they have had many wonderful cruises and been treated very well. I am not out to trash Princess, I simply want Princess to own up to what is going and to make amends.

[bdjam]

Has anyone who feels they are being abused by Princess in this situation written Customer Relations? It might be you get some different results than using the call center. I certainly would do something before the cruise embarks. Your time on the ship will be miserable because you feel you’ve been taken by Princess Cruises.

[scubaguy]

i have email [JSwartz@princess.com] VP of customer relation and sales
as of yet have not received a reply feel free to try on your own to get a responseagain that email address is [email]JSwartz@princess.com[/email].
good luck getting a response.

[kkorman]

[quote name='Desertbelle']
I know and understand that there are Princess loyalists on this board, and I don't doubt that they have had many wonderful cruises and been treated very well. I am not out to trash Princess, I simply want Princess to own up to what is going and to make amends.[/QUOTE]

I do not consider myself a loyalist to any cruise line or company. I think Princess has the bess mast market product, but am open to any line. I do consider myself someone who was in the same situation as you several months ago and can offer a different point of view. That is why I have been continually posting on these threads. What some people are saying are just not fair and it is good to have a second opinion. So, yes, we will have to agree to disagree. I do really wish your luck on getting whatever closure you need on this cruise and hope you have a good time.

[melissa_bel]

Wow, Kevin, I noticed it's only a few days before you board. Lucky you!

[Desertbelle]

bdjam, yes I have written to Princess, and they referred me to the call center. After I didn't have any luck with the customer relation reps I again wrote to Princess and this is what I received back:

[font=Arial][color=darkred][i]Thank you for your additional email. We appreciate the time taken to write. Ms. Dacko, because the voyage you are inquiring about is pre-cruise, Customer Relations is the only department that would be able to rectify any concerns. We regret your disappointment with Ms. Brinks response, however, because she is a senior supervisor, we are unable to override what she has already advised. [/i][/color][/font]

[font=sans-serif][size=2][color=darkred][i]Again, we regret any disappointment with our response and should you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at this same email address. [/i][/color][/size][/font]

[font=sans-serif][size=2][i][color=darkred]Sincerely, [/color][/i]

[i][color=darkred]Andrea G. Perez[/color][/i]
[i][color=darkred]Passenger Relations Specialist [/color][/i]
[email="passengerrelations@princesscruises.com"][i][color=darkred]passengerrelations@princesscruises.com[/color][/i][/email]


To me that sounded pretty much like Case Closed. :([/size][/font]

[kkorman]

[quote name='melissa_bel']Wow, Kevin, I noticed it's only a few days before you board. Lucky you![/QUOTE]

I leave on Wednesday to head down to Miami. I can't wait to get back on the Dawn. It has only been 3 weeks, but it feels like 3 months.

Of course, I'll be jealous when I get back and it will be time for you to go. I don't have anything planned after the Crystal trip... so I will have the post cruise depression this time.

[melissa_bel]

I will be very curious to read your reviews in comparing the Dawn and the Harmony... it's going to be interesting.

[kkorman]

It will. I liked the Dawn so much last time I was on, it will be hard for this one to match up with that. And with Crystal after taht I will be all messed up. Not too sure what to expect on Crystal, but excited to find out.

[Coral]

[quote name='kkorman']It will. I liked the Dawn so much last time I was on, it will be hard for this one to match up with that. And with Crystal after taht I will be all messed up. Not too sure what to expect on Crystal, but excited to find out.[/QUOTE]

Kevin - I saw those great prices on Crystal for October. If I didn't have another cruise booked - I would have jumped on one of those 2 sailings. Have a great time and definitely report back to us!

I agree about the Dawn - I was happy to call it my "home" for 2 weeks this summer. What a wonderful ship!

[kkorman]

Thanks Coral.
I could not pass it up for the price, especially the single rate.

[spongerob]

Enjoy your cruise, Kevin, and if you come back with any info, that will be a bonus for the rest of us.