Itinerary Changed

We are booked and final payment for the Island Princess Sept. 19. Some cruisers on our roll call received a e-mail changing both dates and times of three ports. We never got this e-mail. Thank goodness for Cruise Critic. here are the changes.

Istanbul - They changed from Sept 23 to Sept 24 from 10am to 7pm to 11am to 7pm. The problem is not the time but the date. Sept 24 is the first day of Eid-ul-adha. This the most important day in the 4 day muslim holy holiday. The bazaars are closed for the 4 days and most of the tourist site are closed on the first day. Some will open at 1:30 pm. Just getting about the city because of the holiday will be very crowded. Very disappointed. This was the highlight of the cruise for us. The only port that we have not been to.

Athens - Changed from the 25th to the 23th. Time from 7am to 5:30 pm to 7am to 2pm. Not much time to see any†hing.

Mykono's Changed from the 24 to the 25. Time from 1pm to 11:59pm to 1pm to 8 pm.

Our Port times have been cut 8 hours. I called princess and no real answer was given for the changes.

Talked to Customer relations and ask that the information about the muslim holiday and the closing of the sites be passed on the the right departments. If they changed it once they can change it again and let us have a normal day in Istanbul. The tours for those port are gone. Someone call about the tours and they will not be up for another week and half.

Of course Princess to make this change after most of us had made final payment. Great going Princess.

Pam

That is pretty awful. Will they be giving any OBC or other considerations?

That is pretty awful. Will they be giving any OBC or other considerations?

Nothing.

That is pretty awful. Will they be giving any OBC or other considerations?

Personally, I don't want OBC or other considerations, I want full days as planned in Istanbul & Athens.

Personally, I don't want OBC or other considerations, I want full days as planned in Istanbul & Athens.

I am extremely disappointed since the main reason for choosing this cruise was the visit to Istanbul. This is the 2nd time we have been disappointed with the visit to Istanbul. On a previous cruise, Princess cancelled the port because of unrest in the area. I understand this, but nevertheless, was disappointed. Now we are disappointed a 2nd time because Princess has moved the date of the visit to Istanbul when it is a National Holiday and many things are closed, including the Grand Bazaar, which was to be the highlight of this port visit for us. I am beyond disappointed.

Did Princess confirm the changes with you? The old itinerary is still showing on the website.

Did Princess confirm the changes with you? The old itinerary is still showing on the website.

There have been a number of posts by those booked on the cruise that say the changes are listed in their personalizer.

The excuse one person was given was "port congestion." At least that is different from "operational reasons."

I am extremely disappointed since the main reason for choosing this cruise was the visit to Istanbul. This is the 2nd time we have been disappointed with the visit to Istanbul. On a previous cruise, Princess cancelled the port because of unrest in the area. I understand this, but nevertheless, was disappointed. Now we are disappointed a 2nd time because Princess has moved the date of the visit to Istanbul when it is a National Holiday and many things are closed, including the Grand Bazaar, which was to be the highlight of this port visit for us. I am beyond disappointed.

Yes, it is a disappointment, but with area of the world where there is unrest, etc., it's a hazard you are forced to accept. You have my sympathies.

There have been a number of posts by those booked on the cruise that say the changes are listed in their personalizer.

 

The excuse one person was given was "port congestion." At least that is different from "operational reasons."

That was the second reason given. The first one because port congestion.

pRincess is not going tell us the real reason. We are elite answer very disappoint on how this is being handled. Still have not received a email about the change. Think how other passengers are going to react when they get aboard and find their cruise change this much. I think I will go have a seat in front of crustomer service the first day on the should very interesting.

Yes, it is a disappointment, but with area of the world where there is unrest, etc., it's a hazard you are forced to accept. You have my sympathies.

What does port congestion have to do with unrest?

OP, I'd be livid

What does port congestion have to do with unrest?

 

OP, I'd be livid

I'm not convinced they have gotten the full answer, and "port congestion" sounds like an excuse to me. "Unrest" can cover a lot of ground, politically speaking.

That was the second reason given. The first one because port congestion.

 

pRincess is not going tell us the real reason. We are elite answer very disappoint on how this is being handled. Still have not received a email about the change. Think how other passengers are going to react when they get aboard and find their cruise change this much. I think I will go have a seat in front of crustomer service the first day on the should very interesting.

Did you book through a TA? If so, they're the ones who will probably get the email and will have to forward it to you.

I'm not convinced they have gotten the full answer, and "port congestion" sounds like an excuse to me. "Unrest" can cover a lot of ground, politically speaking.

But the ports themselves haven't changed, just the order and the time in port.

If you read the small print on your cruise contract; Princess has the right to make any changes they want to the itinerary without having to give you an explanation. It has happened to me several times. If you really must see a port, then you should take a land vacation to that country.

If you have "cancel for any reason" insurance, can you cancel and book a different cruise?

I'm not convinced they have gotten the full answer, and "port congestion" sounds like an excuse to me. "Unrest" can cover a lot of ground, politically speaking.

On our personalizer - port congestion was the reason listed for the change. FYI our sailing is the only one that was changed so unrest probably isn't the reason. :thumbdown:

Not sure if this would be acceptable to you, but you are at 82 days prior to sailing right now. Even though you have made a final payment, you still have a week to cancel without penalty.

I strongly suspect Greece might be a factor in all of this. The economic issues there have spawned a host of other problems...

If they had to change the Greece day for some reason, that starts a domino effect, because the route changes, the same slots may not be available for different days (assigned to different ships, etc).

When I worked with Princess I saw the pure chaos that a simple 2 hour berth shift can cause, trust me it is NOT something they do lightly. Remember, they WANT you taking tours as much as possible, its a key part of their revenue. Redoing tours at this late date or not having them available will cost them a fortune.

I strongly suspect Greece might be a factor in all of this. The economic issues there have spawned a host of other problems...

 

Economic unrest. You may be right, Loonbeam. It's no comfort to the affected passengers, though. I still think Princess hasn't told the 100% truth on this.

I strongly suspect Greece might be a factor in all of this. The economic issues there have spawned a host of other problems...

As for Istanbul, I'm sure you've read about the cruise ship that sailed at 15-kts into the side of a tanker in the Bosporus a couple of days ago. This could have an impact on the port of Istanbul.

No matter what, the port's Harbormaster has the final say as to which ships, whether cruise ship or fishing boat, docks where and when. So get mad at the Harbormaster. That's where your anger should be directed.

Again...the ports haven't changed this cannot be because of any unrest. Either civil or financial. September is probably the busiest time for ships in the Greek islands. This well could just be that Mykonos had one too many ships scheduled. If it were because of unrest, ports would be dropped, not moved. It's just disappointing that now lands Istanbul on a day that a lot of things will be closed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We are talking about the Island Princess. Maybe it's mechanical and they don't want to admit it. Sounds better then port congestion.

The information regarding tours is interesting. You can protest the shortening of hours in port by canceling or not booking any Princess tours and tell them. Book independent tours via port message boards.

I would probably cancel the cruise,assuming I had refundable air fare. Or look at another cruise line going around the same dates

The 5:30 pm departure instead of midnight is unacceptable.

I posted all the ships in those ports at the time on the other thread. I can see no reason whatsoever why Port congestion is the reason for these changes.

I have found that when more than one reason is given, then the truth is in neither.

Not sure if this would be acceptable to you, but you are at 82 days prior to sailing right now. Even though you have made a final payment, you still have a week to cancel without penalty.

We have plan this cruise for over year. This is our 50th and we want to go on this itinerary. Also we are staying at the last port for 2days

And boarding the Emerald PRincess for the Ta.

This change is not about safe or the financial problems in GReece. We, are still going to the same ports.n One of my questions is why change a port where there will be a important 4 day Muslim holy. Holiday. And most of sites to visit will be closed. Also how safe will it be, terrorists love to cause problems during these kind of events.

I hope Princess will rethink this change of date.

Yes I know we can still cancel and the contract says PRincess has the right to change. We have been on cruises that port have been changed or cancelled.

But this change is different than other we have experience and is our 26th cruise with Princess