Golden Princess 4/1/09 Hawaii-disappointed

[bubbadog]

I Think it is flat-out inconsiderate,to start construction with passengers aboard,you are cheating them out of the cruise vacation,that they paid for,I Would be very miffed,if it was me and wife on the cruise,all of it boils down to greed,you have every right to write them a leter,let us know what they said ok,sorry this happened to you guys:(:cool:

[sassystyxfan]

Can anyone tell me if there is a specific place on CC that lists dry dock dates? I guess we got lucky when we sailed on the Regal in 2001, and we were the last cruise before dry dock in Sydney. We had a wonderful time (except for our caberet singer dying from a massive heart attack mid-way through the cruise....) My mother cruises much more than my DH and I, so it would be nice to let her know these things.

BTW, Sassy, I live in PP as well! "Nature's Wonderland"

 

KATHY

 

Such a small world! I saw Dogwoods on Sly Park Rd. today...that means one more snow right? LOL

 

We are going to book Australia and New Zealand in 2010. If you or anyone has any thoughts on this cruise, let me know.

 

I will keep everyone posted if anything happens with my letter to Princess. Thanks for all the support!

[49er]

Hi sassystyxfan,

We were up in Camino this weekend and saw lots of Dogwoods. No snow then for sure with our early "summer" but things sure cooled down today. Maybe a flake or two are on the way:-)

We sailed on The Diamond Princess this past January out of Auckland NZ over to Sydney AUS on a 12 day cruise. It was a great trip and we really had a good time. The weather was pretty stormy as we rounded the southern tip of NZ but were lucky enough to have the weather clear enough to be able to sail into Milford Fijord. Very warm in Melbourne (just the beginning of their terrible heatwave). We stayed another week in Australia doing Princess' "Outback" tour visiting Cairns (Great barrier Reef), Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and winding up back in Sydney. Let me know if you need anymore details. BTW, I always have to explain to the CC folks that my handle, "49er", has nothing to do with the football team but to gold rush 49ers who made this area their home. We live pretty close to Coloma and I keep looking for nuggets but no luck yet:-)

 

49er

[firefly4423]

thats just a bad situation, I dont understand why the would do that during a trip

[3k9zmom]

I'd be happy to share my thoughts about our trip to NZ and Australia. We did something similar to 49er in a cruise-tour option, but we went to Queensland Territory to visit the rainforests and Great Barrier Reef instead of the Outback journey. I would suggest you start another thread to discuss, as you'll probably get a flood of suggestions. We could always hook up for coffee at Pony Expresso and talk! :D

KATHY

[cpj]

thats just a bad situation, i dont understand why the would do that during a trip

greed

[whale-watcher]

And this is an itinerary that is all about the sea days! To have those disrupted but construction noise and removal of amenities is really unacceptable.

[Cruise Raider]

Hi we were on the March 4th Cruise and all was well during those two weeks. I think I would also have been disappointed if they started dismantling during our long awaited vacation. My poor DH would have been very upset with the Casino being closed on our return to California. I think you have a valid complaint.

 

 

We were also on the March 4th cruise and had the most wonderful time.

 

Sea Fan, we were in the casino constantly so probably did run into you at sometime during the cruise.

 

With that being said, I would have also been extremely disappointed if Princess started the construction while we were still onboard. Shame on them. Hope you are compensated in some way....think it is disgraceful that you were not warned of this ahead of time and not offered a 'constuction going on fare' -- as it sounds as though this is what you got.

[cdngrl]

to the op, your letter is extremely well-written. add me to the people who don't think cruising in a construction zone is fair without being notified and/or compensated. i hope you get a 'real' letter back from princess soon.

[sassystyxfan]

I'd be happy to share my thoughts about our trip to NZ and Australia. We did something similar to 49er in a cruise-tour option, but we went to Queensland Territory to visit the rainforests and Great Barrier Reef instead of the Outback journey. I would suggest you start another thread to discuss, as you'll probably get a flood of suggestions. We could always hook up for coffee at Pony Expresso and talk! :D

KATHY

 

Let's do coffee! My email is lkendall2@yahoo.com. I'd love to set something up...

[Sea Fan]

We were also on the March 4th cruise and had the most wonderful time.

 

Sea Fan, we were in the casino constantly so probably did run into you at sometime during the cruise.

quote]

Cruise Raider did you play in any of the Poker Tournaments? I don't think DH missed one:D I liked the video poker :rolleyes: . Who knows we could have been sitting next to each other:D

 

I really did enjoy that cruise even the cool weather.

 

To the OP please let us know if you get a response to your letter.

thanks,

 

Dianne

[jean s]

OP..That was a very thoughtful and well written letter. I just can't imagine being on a ship as it is being readied for dry dock. My dh would be very very unhappy if the casino was closed. I am very interested to see what response you get from Princess. I recently stayed at a lovely hotel and was informed when I booked that construction (a lot of updating) was being completed. They offered me a wonderful price but were very upfront about the inconveniances. Sadly I think Princess really did not do well by the passengers on this cruise.

[Pam in CA]

thats just a bad situation, I dont understand why the would do that during a trip

 

greed

Greed had nothing to do with it. To the OP, your letter is thoughtful and well-written, clearly defining your sub-par experience.

 

Just got off the Sapphire this morning and for the past week, sat next to a woman at dinner who has a responsible position at Princess and she explained that since so much is being done to the Golden, even though it is a 3-week drydock, work had to be started before the ship even entered drydock in order to make the most of the time in drydock and complete everything before the ship is out of drydock. Keep in mind that many sections of the ship are being completely stripped and re-configured and that takes an enormous amount of construction in a short period of time. They're not just redecorating and/or refurnishing but tearing out walls, adding them, etc. I'm not making excuses but greed isn't part of that equation. Princess is spending millions on this re-fit to add features to the Golden that everyone sailing her post-drydock will enjoy.

[Ruste]

Hi sassystyxfan,

We were up in Camino this weekend and saw lots of Dogwoods. No snow then for sure with our early "summer" but things sure cooled down today. Maybe a flake or two are on the way:-)

We sailed on The Diamond Princess this past January out of Auckland NZ over to Sydney AUS on a 12 day cruise. It was a great trip and we really had a good time. The weather was pretty stormy as we rounded the southern tip of NZ but were lucky enough to have the weather clear enough to be able to sail into Milford Fijord. Very warm in Melbourne (just the beginning of their terrible heatwave). We stayed another week in Australia doing Princess' "Outback" tour visiting Cairns (Great barrier Reef), Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and winding up back in Sydney. Let me know if you need anymore details. BTW, I always have to explain to the CC folks that my handle, "49er", has nothing to do with the football team but to gold rush 49ers who made this area their home. We live pretty close to Coloma and I keep looking for nuggets but no luck yet:-)

 

49er

 

 

Have a look on the P&0 Australia boards as they are based on Australia and New Zealand. You will find they have information on all the ships down this way irrespective of company. Also do a google search as there are a couple of other cruising websites.

[spunkie4]

I also wrote to Princess about the 4-1 Hawaii cruise on the Golden Princess. If we had known about the on-going contruction, we would have rescheduled the cruise.

 

Shirley

[Toto2Kansas]

[quote name='Pam in CA']Greed had nothing to do with it. To the OP, your letter is thoughtful and well-written, clearly defining your sub-par experience.

Just got off the Sapphire this morning and for the past week, sat next to a woman at dinner who has a responsible position at Princess and she explained that since so much is being done to the Golden, even though it is a 3-week drydock, work had to be started before the ship even entered drydock in order to make the most of the time in drydock and complete everything before the ship is out of drydock. Keep in mind that many sections of the ship are being completely stripped and re-configured and that takes an enormous amount of construction in a short period of time. They're not just redecorating and/or refurnishing but tearing out walls, adding them, etc. I'm not making excuses but greed isn't part of that equation. Princess is spending millions on this re-fit to add features to the Golden that everyone sailing her post-drydock will enjoy.[/quote]

Pam, although I understand why they needed to begin the dry dock early, I still think if very unfair of Princess to sell this cruise while construction is going on without discounting the pricing drastically and/or alerting the passengers to what will be going on.
For those passengers to pay the same rate as other cruises without the construction, the noise, and having entire sections of the ship closed off and being denied access to them is just wrong IMHO! (welcome home BTW)

[Ula]

First a very well written letter. We did a cruise on another line where the did a wet dock on the cruise. It was not good, especially since it was 24/7 and our room was right under where they ran jack hammers at night. It did ruin our perception of that cruise line. We cruise to get away, construction is not getting away.

[Seattlecruisers98021]

Thank you for the warning. I'm booked onto the first sailing after the dry dock. (I wasn't aware that this was happening til a couple days ago.)When Mom asked if it would be done for our trip I naively said "Of course Princess is supposed to be a great cruiseline they wouldn't inconvenience their passangers." Silly me! That said we got a GREAT price so I guess I'll just be prepared for less than perfection, adjust my expectations and enjoy the scenery! As long as I don't have to cook and clean I'm good to go!

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Dear Pam:

Greed had everything to do with it. It is one thing if they fell behind schedule during refitting; but, it is something else if they knew about it ahead of time. They should have extended the dry dock time. It just shows how little they care about their customers.

Pam, do you remember the name or title of the Princess employee that indicated that they knew ahead of time that they could not finish everything in dry dock?

[wrp96]

It sounds to me that in order to not repeat the CB post dry dock debacle, they decided to start work early on the Golden. To the passengers, it doesn't matter whether it's pre- or post- drydock. If your cruise is affected, it's still not a good idea.

[Sea Fan]

[quote name='Pam in CA']
Just got off the Sapphire this morning and for the past week, sat next to a woman at dinner who has a responsible position at Princess and she explained that since so much is being done to the Golden, even though it is a 3-week drydock, work had to be started before the ship even entered drydock in order to make the most of the time in drydock and complete everything before the ship is out of drydock. Keep in mind that many sections of the ship are being completely stripped and re-configured and that takes an enormous amount of construction in a short period of time. They're not just redecorating and/or refurnishing but tearing out walls, adding them, etc. I'm not making excuses but greed isn't part of that equation. Princess is spending millions on this re-fit to add features to the Golden that everyone sailing her post-drydock will enjoy.[/quote]

[I]Pam I always enjoy your posts and I can see Princess's problem but I agree with ToTo they knew what they were going to do they really should offer large discounts and let the people know. It's just not right when you pay for full fare for a cruise you don't expect so many problems, it's not just one thing going wrong.[/I]


[quote name='Toto2Kansas']Pam, although I understand why they needed to begin the dry dock early, I still think if very unfair of Princess to sell this cruise while construction is going on without discounting the pricing drastically and/or alerting the passengers to what will be going on.
For those passengers to pay the same rate as other cruises without the construction, the noise, and having entire sections of the ship closed off and being denied access to them is just wrong IMHO! (welcome home BTW)[/quote]

[I]I agree I would still love to know how we find out if a ship is going into drydock before we book. Luckily I guess it doesn't happen all the time[/I].


[quote name='Seattlecruisers98021']Thank you for the warning. I'm booked onto the first sailing after the dry dock. (I wasn't aware that this was happening til a couple days ago.)When Mom asked if it would be done for our trip I naively said "Of course Princess is supposed to be a great cruise line they wouldn't inconvenience their passengers." Silly me! That said we got a GREAT price so I guess I'll just be prepared for less than perfection, adjust my expectations and enjoy the scenery! As long as I don't have to cook and clean I'm good to go![/quote]

[I]I really think you'll be okay after dry dock they may be doing some tweaking but not tearing down walls....but what do I know. Let us know how it goes.[/I]

[I]Dianne[/I]

[Putterdude]

[SIZE=4]I hope that the OP is fairly compensated for the inconvenience....no one wants or expects to sail in a construction zone for their vacation. I that if it happen to us we would be very angy.[/SIZE]

[Cruise Raider]

[quote name='Sea Fan'][quote]
[I]Cruise Raider did you play in any of the Poker Tournaments? I don't think DH missed one:D I liked the video poker :rolleyes: . Who knows we could have been sitting next to each other:D[/I]

[I]I really did enjoy that cruise even the cool weather.[/I]

[I]To the OP please let us know if you get a response to your letter.[/I]
[I]thanks, [/I]

[I]Dianne[/I][/quote]

Sea Fan,
We were in the casino a lot and video poker is my game as well. I am sure we ran into each other at some point. We didn't play in any of the tournaments but could be found playing the various slot machines throughout the cruise. We never won anything but had fun anyhow.

So glad to see you were able to make it. I know you mentioned your mom (or a family member) was ill. Maybe see you around town (in CV) now we are home. ;)

To the OP, didn't mean to highjack your post and again, so sorry to hear about your experience. I thought the Golden was a wonderful ship and probably my favorite our of all the Princess ships on which we have sailed. I don't think I would have had this same experience if it were being torn apart while we were still onboard. Other than a bit of rust on the scaffolding structures outside our obstructed OV room, I thought the ship was in pretty good condition. Hope they are able to offer you some type of compensation -- even if it shipboard credits or a discount off your next sailing with them.

[DrJohn]

[quote name='sassystyxfan']Firstly, we had a GREAT time. We met some terrific new friends onboard and we always make the best out of our trips. I did want to share an exerpt from a letter that I sent to Princess and Carnival Corp. though:

[FONT=Times New Roman]"This letter is a formal response to our recent cruise and review comments on Golden Princess. We have sailed with Princess twice; our prior cruise being on the Island Princess. We have also sailed with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]We understand our sailing was the last cruise before Golden Princess goes into dry dock. We acknowledged the possible reasons for re-fit. We were prepared for some wear and tear on an older ship and understood Princess planned a dry dock to spruce up the Golden. We do not understand, however, the need for construction and dissemblance during our vacation. Princess Cruise Lines should have made its passengers aware of the lack of amenities we paid full price for: 1). part of the ship’s aft was tarped off and construction noise was more than evident (in other areas as well), 2). the casino was closed the entire return trip at sea to be stripped, and 3). decorations, plants, flowers and lighting were removed before the cruise was over. We do not appreciate being stripped of amenities and ambiance without prior notification and a discounted price. We paid the same amount as prior cruisers who received access to all areas of the ship and its activities. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]We expected a much higher level of service from your company and are quite disappointed. We are considering whether or not Princess is a cruise line we will use in the future."[/FONT]
[SIZE=2]

Now there were other things I mentioned such as a couple of crew members that we praised, but I think this is good information for future cruisers before a dry dock and another shot at Princess taking a look at how their customers feel.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]If anyone would like to know more about this cruise, including ports, food, etc., I will be happy to answer any questions...[/SIZE]

[/quote]

My letter was about the same -- excerpt as follows:

Ongoing construction during the cruise

While we learned in the last month from other sources that the Golden would be going into dry-dock following our cruise, we were never informed by Princess that significant construction would be taking place DURING our cruise. We did not expect to hear continuous grinding and drilling and hammering above our heads when we ate in the Horizon Court, we did not expect to encounter acrid and almost toxic fumes in public areas and in our cabin, we did not expect that areas of the ship would be closed and the casino would be closed for most of the return voyage, and we did not expect to share buffet tables and entertainment venues with construction workers. Perhaps the saddest moment of our cruise was hearing the officer at our table during the most traveled passenger luncheon go on and on talking about how wonderful the changes would be – but never apologizing for the disruption we experienced while they made those changes. We feel the cruise should have been properly designated as a type of ”theme” cruise – “under construction” – and offered at reduced fares or with onboard credits. We suggest that Princess should offer passengers who were on this sailing onboard credits or reduced rates for a future voyage as a form of apology.

We have six cruises with Princess on our schedule -- we are waiting for a response from Princess before we decide what we will do about them.

Good letter!

John

[boating girl]

Gee, had not really thought that being the first full week cruise after dry dock might cause problems. Hope our experience is better than those the week before dry dock. Did not realize that the Golden was going into dry dock when we booked.