mamkmm2

Several cruises we looked at today were marked sold out on the Princess website but when our TA got on the line with Princess (long wait times today because of the $1 deposit sale and the last day of 3 for free) they weren't "sold out" but did have "very limited availability."  

I suspect a lot of the "sold out" cruises will slowly open back up as people decide they overbooked and they pull out.  The same may hold true for the World Cruise.

1 minute ago, cheeseclan said:

Understand what you are saying.  But it has been a credit in our profiles since the Caribbean Princess Cruise.  Never saw a stipulation that I noted.

 

sorry you had issues..

That was the whole point.  No stipulation in the letter.  And the stipulation wouldn't have shown up until it was triggered in the system.  It wasn't until we tried to get the amount (any amount) applied to our existing cruise that the problem showed up.  And that's when the circular disagreement with Princess started.  It wasn't the amount.  It was that they wouldn't apply any amount because they had gone in and arbitrarily changed the offer in their system.

The problem is fixed.  They removed the stipulation yesterday and now that amount (regardless of what it is) can be applied to any existing cruise that is not paid off or any new cruise until the offer runs out at the end of October 2020.

We took the train.  Super simple.  Took us 45 minutes to get to King's Cross from the airport.  Then you can either transfer to a station closer to your hotel or take a taxi.  You don't have to go all the way to King's Cross, but for us our hotel was right across the street and it was perfect.  

It is not unusual to see people with luggage in the underground.  Pretty common actually.

We've been to London twice, stayed in two different areas of the city, and still found the train from the airport to our hotel the best way to go.

1 minute ago, cheeseclan said:

What date are you asking about:  I booked this cruise many months ago and added the credit on today.  When the TA called Princess she did not bring up the letter just asked them to please apply the credit to our 2021 cruise.  They did with no issues because it was already in our accounts as a voyage goodwill credit.   They did not care why we had it!

So you didn't try and use the credit until today?  Then they had already removed the restriction for pre-existing cruises booked prior to Oct 1 2019.  That's why you didn't run into the same problem we had.  They didn't removed the date from the system until yesterday afternoon.  You saw an amount on your Captain's Circle.  That doesn't mean that Princess would have allowed that amount to be used any ol' way if they have exceptions in place.  Trust me, we got the whoooole rundown by multiple supervisors at Princess telling me ad nauseum that they can tell you what you can apply a credit to and what you can't.

My understanding is as the MedallionNet system comes online and their on ship computer systems become more capable, they won't lump everything together.  The MedallionNet cruise we were just on was pretty detailed with debits and credits, what they were for, additional tips in some of the bars, up to the second reporting, etc.  The onboard credit from our TA can be used for pre-booked excursions.  We've also been able to use OBC from Princess for Princess excursions booked pre-embarkation.  But rules change.  Be prepared.  No different than when they changed the smoking rules or the liquor rules.  Just because something has "always been this way" doesn't mean it is going to stay that way.  

2 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Don't you get the same internet minutes as platinum or elite? I thought so. Which means attaining elite status for that was for naught.

Yes.  It is based on the length of the cruise regardless of whether you are platinum or elite.

Computers were going up and down all day to day.  TAs had to wait for up to 45 minutes with Princess get questions answered.  We decided to give Princess one more chance since they finally honored a 20% credit we received from a recent cruise and which paid the last bit on our Feb 2020 cruise around Cape Horn.  So what we did today was got the $1 deposit which was $2 for a three person  deluxe balcony cabin on the Sky Princess for an 11-night cruise to the Baltic in July 2020 (us and 16 year old son).  The free gratuities and free one category upgrade made the price attractive enough that we decided to mark some more things off the bucket list.

Princess computers are still lagging and glitching but better than this afternoon.  Probably get back to normal tomorrow but all of the customer care people are going to be catatonic.  People were really blowing up the phones to day.

4 hours ago, beachmets said:

We are on the Dec 7 to 21 Sky.  I am platinum but have purchased unlimited medallion net for myself for $129Canadian.  I would rather not have to deal with getting when on ship.  My husband will use his free 250 minutes.

This is what my husband and I did on our recent cruise.  We have a business, my parents with health issues, and kids still living at home.  With those responsibilities we have to be on call as much as possible.  We got the unlimited package for him to have 24/7 access and availability.  I used my 250 free minutes to check my email, check on kids, check on parents, and post picks to family.  

YMMV.  It all depends on what your needs/ desires are.

40 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

So that is the crux of your situation - monetarily.  It seems odd that with the letters given out to passengers, and at least one other passenger reporting that they had a calculated FCC in their account, that you - and perhaps some others - were bypassed.  

 

Seems to me you should have had a pre-calculated amount on file.  Indeed, you should have been able to approximate your own expected FCC, knowing your base fare.  

 

Yes, at first they were telling you that an existing cruise you had booked did not qualify, but that would not have stopped you from making a new booking and qualifying under their originally-stated stipulations (not saying you should have; just using it for example).  I was just curious about where your amount was and why it was being calculated on the fly, so to speak, by Princess when the time came to apply it.

 

"Some people have all the luck...".

 

As I stated, it wasn't the AMOUNT.  After a certain point that was really immaterial.  It was Princess' absolute refusal to honor the statement they made in a written letter distributed to all passengers.  But as stated, they corrected their failure.  The amount is immaterial.  It is when you tell a customer that you will do something, and then you try to take it back and say essentially I didn't mean what I said, what I really meant was something different, that you are going to run afoul of people willing to do the work necessary to hold you to what you originally offered to do in the written document.

23 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

Ours was placed on to a pre existing cruise that I booked months ago.  Still don’t understand what happened to the OP.  Very easy to figure out the amount owed.  I would have your TA or you call them back and get the money owed to you.

 I'd be interested in knowing what date they applied it because they were telling us as late as yesterday that they were not doing it … not for us and not for anyone that booked it before Oct 1 2019.  Of the people I met on the cruise and exchanged info with, those with existing bookings that wanted to use the discount amount towards were having the same issue until yesterday afternoon.  Some had the amount already in their CC and some did not.  

1 minute ago, steelers36 said:

It is not my problem.  I have read it all and I understand your main issue.  What I do not understand the amount side of it.  You should have had an amount posted in your Captain's Circle account as a FCC that represented the 20% calculation.  Same as @cheeseclan.  Were you aware of this?  It seems from your posts that Princess was (re)calculating your amount when it should have already been done and posted in your account.  Therefore, the only dispute should have been its applicability and you have described that part at length.

No there was no credited amount. That is what started the whole conversation that apparently it “didn’t matter anyway” because our existing cruise fell outside their post-letter stipulation. 
 

To add insult to injury we had several people at Princess tell us to “simply book a new cruise with our 3 for free sale and it won’t matter.”  

35 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I do not understand your post about Princess calculations.  It sounds like in your case, they re-calculated the FCC for some reason.  Either that, or it doesn't seem you are being clear in explaining it. 

 

If you consider @cheeseclan's post below, they indicate - as I would expect - that the FCC was posted in their Captain's Circle account and it was clear to see before they ever requested it be applied to a booking.  I believe you too should have had an amount posted into your Captain's Circle account waiting to be used.  There should have been no question about the amount when you began to have difficulty applying it to your booking.  I appreciate that your issue stemmed from what type of booking would be eligible to apply the FCC to, but the amount should have been established when your cruise ended if not before.

 

 

The problem is people aren’t reading. New bookings were not the issue. Existing bookings booked before a date they arbitrarily applied after the letter went out saying ANY existing cruise not yet paid in full was the problem. Princess refused to honor their “any” clause. It doesn’t matter if an amount appeared in the CC or not, they can still say what cruise you can apply that to and which you will be denied on. 

2 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

I guess I don’t understand something. How can you only get $75??  
We figured out the amount due while on the ship since I had paperwork to show me what the basic cruise fare was.  When I got home from the cruise I saw that credited amount in our cruise personalizer immediately saying it was a voyage goodwill credit.  
I don’t think it has anything to do with you paving the way.  My agent got a hold of someone that knows what the heck they are doing at Princess.  She said he saw the credit in our profile and that was it.

 

this of course is IMHO

 

We called as soon as we were back from the cruise. We went up several supervisory levels. They were not going to honor the letter and they didn’t care. It wasn’t until we mentioned that we would be speaking to a lawyer and putting it on Cruise critic that we were forwarded to anybody that would listen but they still said because it was in the system like that”. He took two levels of management above that before we got a positive response. YMMV

I’m not going to belabor the point because they did remove the arbitrary date out of their system and corrected their failure.  $75 was all we received. We got an outstanding deal on the cruise. But the math still doesn’t add up.   And that is from princess directly. It isn’t the amount it was the principle of the thing.  I am considering this a done deal. However it is a lesson not to simply except whatever they want to tell you. Sometimes you have to advocate for yourself.

23 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

It couldn’t. That possibility was already addressed in the original contract with princess. And even if that were not so, past consideration is not considered consideration for a new contract.

 There is some wiggle room there. It can be viewed at Princess was altering the original contract. And even with a new contract view, the consideration was the value of the cruise as a discount as applied to an existing cruise. Princess is in a better position if they would only apply it to new cruises not yet booked but that wasn’t the case here. 

48 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

I just spoke with my TA who called Princess and got the 20% credit applied to our booking for our already booked cruise in 2021.  We each got the correct amount we were supposed to and there were no problems at all.

Yep, because after a lot of back and forth we “explained” that going into their system and putting a date in for when an existing cruise was originated was NOT what their offer stated. They were trying to say only cruises purchased after Oct 1 2019 would be allowed as an existing cruise despite their letter stating ANY existing cruise as their letter stated. They wouldn’t even discuss the matter with our TA and didn’t want to discuss it with us. 
 

It wasn’t the amount of the discount, it was their refusal to comply with their own letter. We originated the cruise in over 9 months ago. And payment was due Nov 1. 
 

And even when they finally changed their system to accept the letter as written, they won’t discuss their math.  We took the lowest value of the cruise, minus all discounts, minus a $100 deposit, and the amount they gave us was still half of what they would only semi explain to our TA after the fact. Oh well. As I said, it wasn’t the amount but the failure to follow terms they themselves had outlined in the letter. They corrected their failure. 
 

But it is not a “pissing contest” to advocate for yourself. Or to demand a merchant or service provider comply with terms they put in writing. 

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Look at your letter again.

 

The cruise must be booked by November 1 of 2020, not 2019. You have a year to make a booking.

We were told we could not use the other clause which was for any existing booking not yet paid for. They added an arbitrary booking date into their system of Oct 1 2019 that was no in the letter.  Meaning the "existing cruise" had to be booked no earlier than Oct 1 2019 as opposed to the "any existing cruise" that was in the letter.  That is the clause they were refusing to honor as written. It has now been resolved and it was like pulling teeth to get them to do it.

21 minutes ago, dunc said:

Oh my gosh....thank you, you're right!  I thought that was very rushed

That was for a NEW booking. It also said ANY EXISTING BOOKING not yet paid on full. That is the part they were trying to renege on my changing the terms. 
 

They are now honoring their letter without the hidden stipulations. 

59 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

 

With all due respect to your legal background...... I never even brought up a problem with "verbal contract".  It's the lack of consideration on your part that keeps it from being enforceable.

 

Of course they SHOULD keep their word, but it's still not a legally enforceable contract.

In the US civil law system the offer and acceptance is all that is needed to bind it. Any consideration issue already took place as part of the compensation for the cost of the cruise.  Just remember that legally consideration doesn’t have to be of monetary value. 

1 hour ago, NANCYR2 said:

My husband and I were in this sailing and received the letter.

The 20% of what you paid for your cruise minus the port charges and taxes has appeared tonight in our Circle Saving Account.

it is there you see your FCC’s you may have purchased while onboard.

you need to sign into your Princess to see this😊

Nancy

They were not allowing us to use it on the cruise I mentioned because they back dated the letter in their system to change when the booking had to be made by instead of “any” as it said in the letter. We got them to abide by their offer of “any” after a lot of work. Yes, we could see it ourselves but they at first would not allow it to be used for a current booking. 

20 minutes ago, DebbieMacG said:

I’m not seeing their math either! Unless the cruise you had the issue on cost a total of $375!😳

We’ll be getting an accounting from our travel agent tomorrow.  Princess refused to explain it.  Apparently they don’t do math with anyone but travel agents.  But when we asked then how did they know what to credit us they just tried to talk in circles.  It is what it is.  We just wanted them to honor the letter and not try and add exceptions to their offer after the fact.

39 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

The thing that makes it not a contract is the lack of “consideration” by the OP.

 

Princess was under no obligation to offer anything for missing that port. They did make a generous offer, but they were under no obligation to do so. It’s not enforceable, and it’s not a contract.

Sorry but that is wrong.  From a legal stand point (and I do a lot of legal legwork because of our business) even a verbal agreement between two people can be considered a legally binding contract.  What the letter is, not that it matters at this point, is an offer.  It becomes a “contract” when we accept their offer.  We accepted their offer, obligating and binding them to fulfill it to the letter.  What Princess was trying to do was wiggle out of their offer and add exceptions that were not stated in the original letter.  You can’t change an offer/contract that you are bound to willy-nilly like that.  

I agree with another poster that it may have been a sloppy offer without some standard templates language in it but that isn’t my fault and should not effect me.  Their offer was in writing and didn’t have the exceptions they were trying to apply.

The lawyer came up because the customer care person was getting a little snotty and because Princess had refused to even discuss the matter with our travel agent.  Her supervisor we mentioned Cruise Critic to.  I honestly believe it was both of those things that finally got us to a person who would do more than spout what was on their computer screen.

It was their refusal to honor their offer of ANY cruise not currently paid in full that was the real tripping point.

We just did that for our New England/Canada 10-day cruise.  We took advantage of all of the photo opportunities.  Every night had at least two photo stops set up.  We came back with an excess of 300 photos to choose from for gifts (we usually give one to my parents and one to our kids), for our cruise memory album, and for me to use for our scrapbooks.  PLUS we also got them all digitally.  

It depends on what you like to do.  If photos aren’t your thing, or you’redoing  several cruises in one year, the package might not be worth it to you but my husband and I have fun with it.  Just paying what they’re asking for the port photos can really add up.

2 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Liquor coming onboard is a totally diffetent matter.

 

The captain and crew have nothing to do with taking foodstuffs off the ship ... except to advise pax of local restrictions.  These are laws enacted and enforced by the host port to preserve and protect their agriculture and ecosystem.

I am aware.  My point was that sometimes you have a lax captain and/or crew and sometimes you don’t.  And sometimes the port itself - and the port authority personnel that serve there - is what dictates just how strict they apply the rules.

They can be strict, depends on the Captain and crew as well as the port.  Heck, in Canada they weren’t even confiscating liquor that came back on board after a port.  There was an assumption that any wine was for shipboard consumption is my understanding.

It has taken us yesterday and most of today but we finally got them to allow us to use the 20% on the booking due in full on Nov.1st.  In the end it isn’t worth much ... it is 20% of the value of the cruise we were given the discount of.  The “value” is a discounted amount.  A total of $75 for both of us.  We still aren’t seeing their math but at a certain point you have to pick your battles, cut your losses, and move on.  It Is the principle of the thing and hopefully our battle will help other passengers from that cruise.