Non-US Passengers - what would you like from Princess

[seb530]

*** Please, please, please refrain from posting here if you are a US citizen, this thread is intended to guage the desire of those outwith US Culture without getting into arguments about tipping etc.

 

Hi all, as a Uk/Australian/European customer of Princess and as they bring more ships to Europe what changes would you like to see and do they have any particular nuances about how they handle your bookings etc?

 

Mine are:

- Put tipping back to exceptional service

- Give me the same rights to cancel without losing my deposit as USA

- Give me the same rights to take advantage of price drops (as the USA)

- Maybe look at the EURO as onboard currency?

- Free access to princess.co.uk on the ships computers to check out cruise prices for FCC (last year only Princess.com was free)

- Allow me to book through a US TA if I want

 

I think thats about it!...

[blitznbobs]

I think that the other parts of the world should get the same fares as the guys from the USA - And that TAs should be upfront about the auto tipping. I got caught out by this on our first cruise and as I've never had to tip to this extent on any all inclusive type holiday it would be nice to know up front. Couldn't give a stuff about the Euro as the exchange rate is better with the dollar at the mo and any exchange is an exchange etc. not worried about the cancelling thing or the price drop thing... i only book when I think I have a good deal anyway

 

Vx

 

(UK)

[dopeyngrumpy]

*** Please, please, please refrain from posting here if you are a US citizen, this thread is intended to guage the desire of those outwith US Culture without getting into arguments about tipping etc.

 

Hi all, as a Uk/Australian/European customer of Princess and as they bring more ships to Europe what changes would you like to see and do they have any particular nuances about how they handle your bookings etc?

 

Mine are:

- Put tipping back to exceptional service

- Give me the same rights to cancel without losing my deposit as USA

- Give me the same rights to take advantage of price drops (as the USA)

- Maybe look at the EURO as onboard currency?

- Free access to princess.co.uk on the ships computers to check out cruise prices for FCC (last year only Princess.com was free)

- Allow me to book through a US TA if I want

 

I think thats about it!...

 

I want to be able to book and get comparable deals to those from the US that's it. Not worried about currency on board, go to interesting places, make it affordable and easy for me to book and I'll be along presently.

 

David (UK)

[ITMan]

I agree with most of the posts:

 

Tipping - I can cope with, thats US culture!

Why cant we book through US agents, and get the same terms as US customers. They want us to travel in a US style, let us book -and have the US benefits of booking in the US style with benefits of cancellation and price drops.

[donna5]

Doesn't Cruise Critic have a UK forum?

[Tedirene]

I would like to see us being allowed to book through O/S agencies, getting the same opportunities for bookings as our US cruisers, including price drops, same Captains Circle benefits regardless of where you live.

[Pochahontas]

*** Please, please, please refrain from posting here if you are a US citizen, this thread is intended to guage the desire of those outwith US Culture without getting into arguments about tipping etc.

 

Hi all, as a Uk/Australian/European customer of Princess and as they bring more ships to Europe what changes would you like to see and do they have any particular nuances about how they handle your bookings etc?

 

Mine are:

- Put tipping back to exceptional service

- Give me the same rights to cancel without losing my deposit as USA

- Give me the same rights to take advantage of price drops (as the USA)

- Maybe look at the EURO as onboard currency?

- Free access to princess.co.uk on the ships computers to check out cruise prices for FCC (last year only Princess.com was free)

- Allow me to book through a US TA if I want

 

I think thats about it!...

 

 

I go along with all the underlined ones, I wouldnt want to book through a US TA though - just me not comfortable with that, instead I would like to see the proper exchange rate price for price rather than through the US - would knock thousands off the price.

 

Ive seen on-line Princess has an environmental policy - I would like to also see a "fair trade" symbol that would represent the workers/food and the things we buy on board being ethical.

[Megsdad]

Doesn't Cruise Critic have a UK forum?

 

?????:confused:

[donna5]

And we would like to get FCC and not have to pay them.

 

We would like to get charter air everywhere.

[donna5]

?????:confused:

 

Nevermind?:o at the bottom of the homepage it has a link for UK cruises and I thought if you went there, you wouldn't have to bother with the U.S. but apparently when you click on forumns, it brings you right back here.

 

Sorry:o

[u2cruiser]

I would like Princess to include/create sheltered outdoor restaurant dining areas for the evening, especially on the med itineraries when the evenings are much lighter.

[Megsdad]

Nevermind?:o at the bottom of the homepage it has a link for UK cruises and I thought if you went there, you wouldn't have to bother with the U.S. but apparently when you click on forumns, it brings you right back here.

 

Sorry:o

 

No problem. Enjoy the rest of your day.:)

[billet]

*** Please, please, please refrain from posting here if you are a US citizen, this thread is intended to guage the desire of those outwith US Culture without getting into arguments about tipping etc.

 

Hi all, as a Uk/Australian/European customer of Princess and as they bring more ships to Europe what changes would you like to see and do they have any particular nuances about how they handle your bookings etc?

 

Mine are:

- Put tipping back to exceptional service

- Give me the same rights to cancel without losing my deposit as USA

- Give me the same rights to take advantage of price drops (as the USA)

- Maybe look at the EURO as onboard currency?

- Free access to princess.co.uk on the ships computers to check out cruise prices for FCC (last year only Princess.com was free)

- Allow me to book through a US TA if I want

 

I think thats about it!...

I am glad Canadians are not excluded from this exclusive :rolleyes: thread.

Keep tipping as it is, it is a simple way to reward what is always excellent from the majority of staff.

We have the same purchasing process as the USA but I have no idea what the pro and cons compare with others although I presume there are both pros and cons.

Make the pound sterling the onboard currency in europesince I have some of those and saves me losing on the exchange ate

Have free access to all the princess owned sites

[caber]

Doesn't Cruise Critic have a UK forum?

On cruisecritic.co.uk you click on "forum". On cruisecritic.com you click on "boards" You end up in the same place. It is a worldwide forum.:D

 

 

seb530,

 

I would like to see the booking for cruises open on the same date in the UK as in the US. We are at a disadvantage if we want a particular cabin.

[kruisey]

I would like to see the USD fare prices.

WE have only access to Canadian Princess prices which are higher than their US site.

I always book in USD so would like to be able to check to see if there have been any price drops instead of having to phone.

[Lady Meer]

And we would like to get FCC and not have to pay them.

 

We would like to get charter air everywhere.

 

????:confused:

[Shogun]

Hi rkmw

 

You want to to cruise on ships full of English rather than Americans,

 

while I can put up with watching Baseball I could not stand cricket being

 

shown on MUTS

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi All,

 

Overall I have only a few requirements of Princess

 

Release cruises for sale on the same date world wide.

 

A world wide internet based booking system same conditions prices world wide,

 

Would still allow different prices, deals through TA.s due to local consumer

 

laws etc.

 

The chance to buy all inclusive, which would give you a limited number

 

of passes to spa, steak house etc, as at the end of the day there is only

 

a limited number of places each day.

 

 

More over night stop overs, or stay in ports later.

 

Most important thing is to serve Haggis on Burns night.

 

yours Shogun

[sherri3802]

I'm from Australia but I would like to see some input from the US people too, so I could see it all from their perspective. I have been on one cruise on the Sun Princess, which left from Melbourne. It was filled with mainly aussie passengers and it dealt in Aust dollars. We chose it because it left from our home port and was so convenient.

 

From my point of view, I think it is good to have a range of different ships in an area if possible.

• I think the currency on board should be the same as the area the ship is usually based in.
  

I am personally a little turned off by the thought of catching any ship from an Australian port and yet having all onboard stuff in US currency, especially when that ship spends a huge amount of time in our waters.

 

The Princess ships here though are good, they do it in oz currency.

 

• I would like to see prices opened up so we could buy from any agency though, as i know Princess bans us from buying from US agencies.
  

• I have heard rumours that the conditions on the aust based ships are not up to that offered on the European or US runs. I think someone once commented that little luxuries and extras were cut back. I don't know how true that is, but if so, it is a bit rude, as after all, we are paying more for our cruises sometimes, so we should get the same standard.
  

This is where I think it would be excellent to hear some US input-someone from US who has cruised on Princess ships both in US and in Aust. How did they compare? What differences did the Us customer note?

 

• I don't mind autotipping at all-it is an easy solution and for me personally, less embarrassing. As long as the tipping is fully adjustable at any time and not just a compulsory extra. I left it on for our last cruise, but I think if someone had poor service or some real issues, it would be fair enough to remove it or decrease it.
  

• TV- Please oh please, if a ship is catering to eg mainly aussie passengers and sailing to and from an aussie port, would it be possible to include a news channel that is from Australia? We felt totally at sea on our cruise and out of touch as the news was unsatisfactory. I think it may have been a US news channel and not a thorough one at that. I believe it became a real issue though about 2 cruises after us, when the bushfires raged here in Victoria. There were people on board (so I heard) whose homes were in the affected areas and they couldn't get much news of what was happening, except by phone. I did hear there was a lot of consternation about the lack of news till there were eventually announcements to keep people updated.
  

[*] I just had another thought. I notice that sometimes US passengers are offered (through US travel agencies) these excellent packages that seem to include cruise and land tour or else airfare/cruise. That sort of thing.

I wouldn't mind having access to some of those sort of deals in reverse. Or even some of the same deals.

So that would be on my wish list-more package deals on offer here. And at comparable prices, that would be nice.

[Pochahontas]

I'm from Australia but I would like to see some input from the US people too, so I could see it all from their perspective. I have been on one cruise on the Sun Princess, which left from Melbourne. It was filled with mainly aussie passengers and it dealt in Aust dollars. We chose it because it left from our home port and was so convenient.

 

From my point of view, I think it is good to have a range of different ships in an area if possible.

• 
  
• I think the currency on board should be the same as the area the ship is usually based in.
  

I am personally a little turned off by the thought of catching any ship from an Australian port and yet having all onboard stuff in US currency, especially when that ship spends a huge amount of time in our waters.

 

The Princess ships here though are good, they do it in oz currency.

 

• I would like to see prices opened up so we could buy from any agency though, as i know Princess bans us from buying from US agencies.
  

• I have heard rumours that the conditions on the aust based ships are not up to that offered on the European or US runs. I think someone once commented that little luxuries and extras were cut back. I don't know how true that is, but if so, it is a bit rude, as after all, we are paying more for our cruises sometimes, so we should get the same standard.
  

This is where I think it would be excellent to hear some US input-someone from US who has cruised on Princess ships both in US and in Aust. How did they compare? What differences did the Us customer note?

 

• I don't mind autotipping at all-it is an easy solution and for me personally, less embarrassing. As long as the tipping is fully adjustable at any time and not just a compulsory extra. I left it on for our last cruise, but I think if someone had poor service or some real issues, it would be fair enough to remove it or decrease it.
  

• TV- Please oh please, if a ship is catering to eg mainly aussie passengers and sailing to and from an aussie port, would it be possible to include a news channel that is from Australia? We felt totally at sea on our cruise and out of touch as the news was unsatisfactory. I think it may have been a US news channel and not a thorough one at that. I believe it became a real issue though about 2 cruises after us, when the bushfires raged here in Victoria. There were people on board (so I heard) whose homes were in the affected areas and they couldn't get much news of what was happening, except by phone. I did hear there was a lot of consternation about the lack of news till there were eventually announcements to keep people updated.
  

[*] I just had another thought. I notice that sometimes US passengers are offered (through US travel agencies) these excellent packages that seem to include cruise and land tour or else airfare/cruise. That sort of thing.

I wouldn't mind having access to some of those sort of deals in reverse. Or even some of the same deals.

So that would be on my wish list-more package deals on offer here. And at comparable prices, that would be nice.

 

I agree with the currency issue as well, on the Princess UK site it has a section on EU compliant policy.

 

What is really odd is Princess Cruises comply with the EU's list of banned Aircraft Carriers yet has of yet not turned over EU sailings to EU currency yet has done so in Australia. It makes me wonder if at some point in the future they we will start to see a more European style on board etc

 

European Commission

The European Commission publishes a list of air carriers which are subject to an operating ban throughout the EU. Princess Cruises does not use any air carrier on this list.

 

You could if you wanted to post a thread about the differences? maybe that could work?

[sherri3802]

To me it would make sense if Princess (or any) ships that are mainly based in Europe had EU currency on board. Ships based mainly in Australia have Australian currency. US ships, US currency and so on.

 

Over here, it was so convenient to go on a Princess ship here and have it all in our own currency as most unfortunately, our dollar does not compare as well to the pound or US dollar and we would have lost out if we had to convert to those currencies.

[Pochahontas]

To me it would make sense if Princess (or any) ships that are mainly based in Europe had EU currency on board. Ships based mainly in Australia have Australian currency. US ships, US currency and so on.

 

Over here, it was so convenient to go on a Princess ship here and have it all in our own currency as most unfortunately, our dollar does not compare as well to the pound or US dollar and we would have lost out if we had to convert to those currencies.

 

Does the conversion work better then in USD instead of Euros or Sterling? I thought the pound was going down hill fast! The total cost for me to come over to Australia would be high as its a very long haul flight, wouldnt mind coming over as we have family there both myself and husband. :)

[rkmw]

Hi rkmw

 

You want to to cruise on ships full of English rather than Americans,

 

while I can put up with watching Baseball I could not stand cricket being

 

shown on MUTS

 

yours Shogun

 

hi Shogun, on our last cruise on the Diamond to NZ we had people from all over the world and they were really good...we made friends with a lot of US and Kiwis and a few Brits

 

on our cruises out of OZ we dont get the conditions that the US people get like cheaper cruises and price drops

 

rkmw

[windsor26]

I agree with most of the posts:

 

Tipping - I can cope with, thats US culture!

Why cant we book through US agents, and get the same terms as US customers. They want us to travel in a US style, let us book -and have the US benefits of booking in the US style with benefits of cancellation and price drops.

 

 

The tipping thing is irrelevant I tipped when I lived in the Uk and I tip now for restaurants and hairdressers taxis etc. So always do what is done in the country concerned.

What I would like is for the My Princess site to give us all the information that is available to US customers (like the details of their obc and ability to ask for egg crates, gowns, bar set up etc. instedad of having to wait until we are onboard.

I would also like to be able to go in for their prize draws and competitions

[spongerob]

Guys, I love all of you, but the topic of this thread shows just how little some of you know about how the world works. Don't feel bad, there is plenty of company who think the same thing here.

 

We don't have an international standard system of trade between the US, UK, EU, AUS, and NZ. There are some oddball rules that govern trade between the US and Canada (and Mexico). The trade agreements that do exist mostly apply to goods, but not SERVICES, which is where travel falls.

 

A quick example. I can do a job 2 miles north of the US-Mexico border for one price. When the same client wants to do the same job 2 miles south of the border, the price goes up about 5X. That is in spite of the FTA. Why? I can't just send my crew across the border. It has to be a crew based in Mexico. It costs a lot more to do business in Mexico, from setting up shop to the royalties (graft) that go to the national company that is in competition with our client. And then, lots of people are taking a cut. We earn about the same as we would in the US although our revenue appears to be higher.

 

As citizens of the UK, AUS, or wherever you have to comply with whatever rules are in place in you country when you travel. As a business operating in the UK, AUS, or where Princess has to comply with the local procedures put in place. AND...they cannot knowingly allow you to avoid certain fees and pricing or facilitate foreign competition by allowing you to avoid the regulations they operate under. The dirty little secret is that governments create rules, but leave it to service providers to comply, so that they take the criticism that is so common on these message boards.

 

Take heart, I expect the disparity in pricing to diminish in the next few years as we begin to move down the same path others have been on for decades. Your costs won't come down; instead, ours will go up since that is the way it always turns out when the powers-that-be decide to exercise their power over us. Cruising will soon enough be something only for the wealthy, powerful, and connected, and for most of us it will be only a dream or a once in a lifetime event.