Never thought it would happen

[Shogun]

Hi All

Well I never thought it would happen, but not only am I looking at another cruiseline,

Having cancelled yet another Princess cruise booking, I am wondering if I will ever

cruise with Princess again, OK part of the issues are of my own making, I trusted folk that I had dealt with for years, many will know I consider UK travel agents a waste of space, and my dealings with one in the past few months means most likely will never book with one again, it will be direct or on line only.

Princess UK needs to listen to UK passengers, we are still one of the fastest growing sectors and one of the most profitable, give us better booking conditions. I will have lost two lots of deposits and hundreds of dollars of onboard credit in fact enough to money to pay for a cruise

I will not go into all the details of the issues, however some were agent making up charges costing hundreds of pounds for changing booking details, at least Princess assisted and provided true costs. However it would have been better if there were no costs.

You book a cruise at a price including flights, you add another cruise at a great price onto to it and are told no flight cost as flights are included in the amount quoted for first cruise to find out a year later the new flights now cost hundreds more.

Then a direct quote from TA I do not care what you do, I want my commission and profit,

Now I could report the agent to local trading standards or trade body etc, but part of the problem is lack of paper work, we booked we thought x at price y only to told yes you have booked x and the price is y plus z plus a plus b etc, the person we used to deal with gone, the manager sacked so know one left to help confirm what was said, or how things were done in past bookings.

So Princess lets go back to the way things used to be,

Price quoted is a package, flight transfer night in a hotel cruise etc. then let us decide if we want these add on’s to the cruise.

Lets use charter flights again

Now I do not see why this should be so hard, when a passenger books a b2b cruise issue one invoice that includes both cruises, or if this is not possible a letter confirming booking 1 and booking 2 giving a total price of x

And while we are at it get rid of hotel service charges etc and just add them to the fare. And if you can not do that then allow them to be added in to the invoice total at time of booking.

I can not believe the way we have been treated, the little people in Princess have been very nice and done more than they should have to assist and I thank them since this inside information allowed me to know the truth about my bookings, the correct charges, dates when things were done, however senior Princess staff just followed the UK rules. Which is can not talk to you as your booking is with an agent, can not take over the booking with out agents agreement.

So we have a choice pay loads more than we expected to, cancel and lose enough to pay for a cruise, or do part of our b2b2b cruise for the cost of what we thought we were getting a full trip for.

So we are canceling, since doing this we have looked at other cruise lines and there web sites, Princess needs to the same, some nice ones out there, I want it simple, I want a web site were I can pick my cruise, add a flight, a transfer, my hotel may be add a few days at the end of my cruise and see a total price, then book what I want cruise only or a package.

Yours Shogun

[caribill]

Sorry to hear about your booking problems.

 

It sounds as if 100% of the problems were due to your Travel Agent, and that with a more responsible travel agent they may not have happened. Correct?

[truckmaker]

It is sad that sometiems bad things happen to good people.

 

You know that my grandfather used to say that, '... sometiems a change is as good as a rest ..."

 

I'm not certain exactly what he was saying all the time but this seems to apply in this case.

 

Maybe a different TA?

[Shogun]

Hi Cairbill,

 

Almost all down to TA, Princess UK booking rules did not help,and if Princess had a better method for tracking b2b bookings plus I should have known better, but if things had always been done a certain way without issue, you never think to question the methods, then things go wrong and you are left between a rock and a hard place.

 

yours Shogun

[Pam in CA]

Two of my three all time best/favorite cruises were not on Princess. There are other lines that provide an equal experience and sometimes better itineraries.

[TracieABD]

Hang in there, Shogun. I hate that this has happened to you. You have such a wonderful relationship with the shipboard personnel. Keep us posted. And take care.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You will come back ...

[CI66774]

I'm confused (this happens a lot since I turned 49), but why can't UK citizens book online? We can in the U.S. I mean British Airways has a U.S. website why can't Princess have a U.K. website? Do U.K. laws prevent this? Can someone elighten me?:)

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Princess UK as a web site and we can bookon line, just that in the past TA prices used to be better,

 

however Princess UK web site is a bit limited.

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi TracieABD,

 

Would love to tell you about all the things that happened onboard the Grand on my last cruise but not allowed to, as would not want crew or staff to get into trouble,

 

my issue is not with the Princess product, but with the way it is booked here in Uk

 

why could I not get a letter at time of booking that covered

 

my b2b2b cruise,

 

confirming flights,

 

hotels

 

transfers

 

depoist paid

 

onboard credit

 

would have made things much smoother, when asking to move a flight

 

drop part of the trip etc.

 

yours Shogun

[skynight]

Can't quite understand the situation, but have read and heard many complaints from UK customers about the booking process, and the inability to obtain the same deals offered to those in the US and Canada. Princess needs to listen to you.

 

Met an individual on our cruise this past spring from Australia that had booking issues with Princess in Australia. They actually booked with a TA in the U.S. Don't know how they did it, but they did. They booked cruise only and arranged their own flights.

[seamwoman]

I'm sorry about this problem but wonder what you three BEST cruises are?

Karen

[TracieABD]

Hi TracieABD,

 

Would love to tell you about all the things that happened onboard the Grand on my last cruise but not allowed to, as would not want crew or staff to get into trouble,

 

my issue is not with the Princess product, but with the way it is booked here in Uk

 

why could I not get a letter at time of booking that covered

 

my b2b2b cruise,

 

confirming flights,

 

hotels

 

transfers

 

depoist paid

 

onboard credit

 

would have made things much smoother, when asking to move a flight

 

drop part of the trip etc.

 

yours Shogun

 

I totally get that. Can you get a POBox in the USA for mailing purposes and to link to a US account. I am certain that you might find a friend here that could help you out.

[gertz]

Too bad keep working at it you will survive in the end.

For many years I have tried to find what I consider to be a real good TA.

I know there out there but haven't found one yet. That is why I do every little bit my self and have a written record of each and do it mostly with Princess and then in the very end I will shop for a better price that I can transfer into. But with a very reputable agency national or otherwise that I have checked out. I'm sure I left some money on the table at times but only surprised once and got my money back after the cruise on the problem.

Shogun your a good guy, you love dogs. Gerdie says "hang in there".

[lovevacadays]

Two of my three all time best/favorite cruises were not on Princess. There are other lines that provide an equal experience and sometimes better itineraries.

 

Shogun, it certainly sounds like you had to go through a complicated process. I agree with Pam's post above that you may find other cruiselines that you like and still mix Princess in where you think appropriate. I've cruised other lines and had some really great cruises. This might actually work out to be something that works for you in the end in that you find another cruiseline that you have a great experience on.

[caribill]

Hi Cairbill,

 

Almost all down to TA, Princess UK booking rules did not help,and if Princess had a better method for tracking b2b bookings plus I should have known better, but if things had always been done a certain way without issue, you never think to question the methods, then things go wrong and you are left between a rock and a hard place.

 

yours Shogun

 

Seems as if you would have had the same problenms with that TA no matter which cruise line you were booked on.

[san diego sue]

Shogun,

Aren't you allowed to just book the cruise? Then do your homework and

book own airfare and hotels. For us this works out best. Get the best connections on flights and better pricing. I usually check airfares before I book.

[Times Prince]

Hi TracieABD,

 

Would love to tell you about all the things that happened onboard the Grand on my last cruise but not allowed to, as would not want crew or staff to get into trouble,

 

my issue is not with the Princess product, but with the way it is booked here in Uk

 

why could I not get a letter at time of booking that covered

 

my b2b2b cruise,

confirming flights,

hotels

transfers

depoist paid

onboard credit

would have made things much smoother, when asking to move a flight, drop part of the trip etc.

 

yours Shogun

This is exactly the type of service I get from my TA here in the US. As you've said, the root cause is mostly your TA, not necessarily Princess.

 

Sorry to hear of your problems, and hope you find a reputable TA with some integrity.

[aquilegia]

Seems as if you would have had the same problenms with that TA no matter which cruise line you were booked on.

 

I do think this is true, Shogun. Even though you're irritated by the way Princess deals with UK bookings, as an experienced cruiser you were well aware of all that, and if the TA hadn't messed up, I expect you'd have been off happliy on your cruise.

[Shogun]

Hi aquilegia

 

Having booked more than a few Princess cruises, I thought I had a fair grasp of the booking process,

 

what I fell foul off was booking a cruise, then adding a cruise onto it then another onto it,

 

OK this is not normal, then having to move the flights each time I extended my cruise,

 

were the paper work fell apart is at no point did the TA or Princess treat this as a single package and produced a total package cost,

 

instead ever bit was seperate, so if cruise 1 included flights, then you add cruise 2 booking 1 cost needs to reduce as flight moves to cruise 2

transfers not required anymore so they need to be credited, then you add cruise 3 paper work melt down.

 

yours Shogun

[bhopal21]

Hi aquilegia

 

Having booked more than a few Princess cruises, I thought I had a fair grasp of the booking process,

 

what I fell foul off was booking a cruise, then adding a cruise onto it then another onto it,

 

OK this is not normal, then having to move the flights each time I extended my cruise,

 

 

Your last sentence says it all . . .

 

Mike:)

[Mapu]

Booking policies do change. Check out the Cunard boards to read about the new Vantage fares that are now in place in the UK. In the US Princess and Cunard personnel actually share building space. The Cunard change, I am sure, is due to UK cruisers complaints.

[whitecap]

Shogun; It sounds to me that you booked a cruise with flights then made changes to your plans however your TA wasn't experienced enough, caring enough or allowed by Princess to be able to make those changes for you without adding charges for making the changes. I don't understand, regardless of where you are living, why you weren't allowed to "add" to your plans without paying for the changes. I could understand if there were a charge for canceling a portion of the trip but when you are actually adding onto the trip, why would anyone discourage that by making you pay additional fees for the change?

We have been very fortunate having found a great TA who has booked all of our cruises, been able to make any adjustments we asked for following the bookings and has great connections with the cruise lines. We do a lot of research prior to contacting her, then discuss our plans throughly before giving her the ok to start the booking.

It sounds like there are some restrictions or requirements for those of you in the UK that at first glance don't seem very fair.

I hope that you can get everything worked out. I had been hoping to meet you on the November cruise. Good luck and hopefully we'll meet another time.

Whitecap

[Mapu]

Shogun; It sounds to me that you booked a cruise with flights then made changes to your plans however your TA wasn't experienced enough, caring enough or allowed by Princess to be able to make those changes for you without adding charges for making the changes. I don't understand, regardless of where you are living, why you weren't allowed to "add" to your plans without paying for the changes. I could understand if there were a charge for canceling a portion of the trip but when you are actually adding onto the trip, why would anyone discourage that by making you pay additional fees for the change?

We have been very fortunate having found a great TA who has booked all of our cruises, been able to make any adjustments we asked for following the bookings and has great connections with the cruise lines. We do a lot of research prior to contacting her, then discuss our plans throughly before giving her the ok to start the booking.

It sounds like there are some restrictions or requirements for those of you in the UK that at first glance don't seem very fair.

I hope that you can get everything worked out. I had been hoping to meet you on the November cruise. Good luck and hopefully we'll meet another time.

Whitecap

I agree with all that you have said. It goes without saying that a great travel agent (in the US at any rate) is a cruiser's most valuable asset. While very familiar with the Princess booking process (including changes to bookings here in the US), in the UK it is entirely different. That being said, it sounds like the agent/agency Shogun used dropped the ball.

I have read enough from UK cruisers to know it is very

[JimmyVWine]

Shogun; It sounds to me that you booked a cruise with flights then made changes to your plans however your TA wasn't experienced enough, caring enough or allowed by Princess to be able to make those changes for you without adding charges for making the changes. I don't understand, regardless of where you are living, why you weren't allowed to "add" to your plans without paying for the changes. I could understand if there were a charge for canceling a portion of the trip but when you are actually adding onto the trip, why would anyone discourage that by making you pay additional fees for the change?

 

I'm sure that I don't have all of this down, but it sounds as if much of the frustration and fees spring from the change in air travel. Airlines are vigilant these days with change in fare and change fees. If your original flight costs $500 and you later change your dates, but the new fare is $700, not only do you pay the difference, but they hit you with a change fee of $50-$100. Neither your TA nor Princess can do anything about this. Every time Shogun's cruise was extended, the air arrangements shifted resulting in a fee. This may be part of the problem.