Pre-Cruise Disappointment with Princess

[hubofhockey]

Yeah, unfortunately they don't see it that way and we've already paid for a 2 week cruise less than 2 weeks away. :(

 

You can't judge a cruise by pre-cruise experience. I thought there was nothing worse than dealing with Royal Caribbean customer service pre-cruise and then had a great cruise on the Allure. There are good and bad customer service reps that work for all of the lines. I doubt these are high paying positions and it's luck of the draw on how long you have to wait and the type of service you get.

[TLC535]

I was given the name of a full service travel agent who my friends have booked more than 100 cruises with and they think is wonderful.

 

But I found out that its "horses for courses"

 

I tend to book last minute when time is of the essence and quick action and responses are required. She could not understand she needed to do that and when she did get back to me the prices had often gone up or availability was gone. Its really no good for me.

 

My much cruised friends tend to book many months in advance when the t/a can take the time to thoroughly research offers etc and get them the best price, and then keeps an eye on it and applies for reductions if she sees a lower cost. Its really good - for them in their circumstances.

 

 

As they say....not every method works for everyone ;)...but I totally agree with you that if looking to book after final payment date, the best thing to do if you can't get ahold of TA and have them make the booking while you are on the phone with them...then most definitely book for yourself with Princess :)

And if before final payment you can always book with Princess & transfer your booking to TA if they are offering discounts / OBC etc.

neither way is "right or wrong"...it just depends on how comfortable each individual is with the control (or lack of) over their booking...so far we have had good experiences both ways...:D

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I always use a TA. Mine came recommended from someone who was retiring. She is a jewel and we have become friends. She goes above and beyond for me. When my mom and I went to Alaska a couple of years ago, she sent us chocolate covered strawberries and now she always asks how my mom is each time we talk. It is hard to find a Good TA....ask friends, your CC friends, etc...

[ChiefBoats]

I have never had a problem. However we use a TA and she makes sure we do not miss any necessary dates and lets us know any changes. Also all documentation is taken care of and the TA furnishes all boarding documents, baggage tags etc.

 

_____________________________

Previous Cruises

Alaska - 2008 Island Princess

Alaska - 2009 (B2B) Island Princess

Alaska - 2010 Royal Princess

Alaska - 2011 Golden Princess

Panama Canal - 2012 Coral Princess

Alaska - 2012 Star Princess

Western Caribbean - 2013 Crown Princess

 

Future Cruises

Alaska - 2013 Island Princess

Western Caribbean - 2013 Caribbean Princess

Eastern Caribbean - 2014 Royal Princess

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I let my TA deal with Princess. Never had a problem this way.

 

Same here, so much easier, I never have to call for anything and even then hardly even need the TA to do anything once I have researched my cruise and emailed her for the booking.

[Gunner22aa]

I have a great one. Princess asigns each TA they work with a certain level. The more business you send them the higher up the totum pole you sit. Mine is at the top or very very close. Although we have never had an issue what so ever with any of our cruises or bookings if we did it would be over to my TA to resolve. She has told me that not all cruise line reps are well trained and what training they do get doesn't cover a lot of things that they should know. She has refered to some as "telemarketers". My TA knows who to speak to to get results.

[mimisandy45]

We are getting ready to go on our 20th cruise, 8th with Princess. The last 4 we have had the same Princess Vacation Planner , she has been fantastic, always going above her duties. We highly recommend going thru this Princess service. We have used TA'S also and we are more pleased with PVP.

[CruiseKing]

Used a full service brick & mortar T/A for years. Upcoming cruise booked directly through Princess. Derek our "personal cruise planner" has been awesome. Saw some price drops before and after final payment and was able to take advantage of them each and every time without going through a re-booking process. Used to be whenever I had a question I had to go through my T/A to get an answer from Princess. Not anymore. I call and can discuss and change any aspect of my cruise with Derek. I feel I have much more control over my booking now.

Edited May 17, 2013 by CruiseKing

[cruising deacon]

Counting down the days to my next cruise but have to say my experience with Princess customer service has been a nightmare. I've missed dates due to poor customer service and not returning calls, been yelled at for asking for help, been told by support (including a supervisor) basically to just get over it. Honestly, I hope my upcoming cruise is awesome but I don't know how I could ever book with Princess again the way I've been treated.

 

Just had to share what a disappointment the service has been. Anyone else experienced this? Is that why you go through a travel agent? Is the cruise that much better than the pre-cruise experience?

 

Every time I have had to deal with Princess Customer Service personnel they were extremely disappointing. They just don't know what 'Customer Service' means.

[lovevacadays]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I use a TA now for most of my cruises and prefer that because of getting better prices and some perks. However I have booked with Princess several times and had great service except for one time. The one time I didn't was in relation to a Bon Voyage Experience I booked and they cancelled. I had a horrible customer service rep and she then transferred me to Customer Support (elevated she said). That experience was also bad. I ended up sending Princess an email explaining my disappointment. I got a call from someone who was very nice and took care of the situation for me.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise

[Thrak]

I was given the name of a full service travel agent who my friends have booked more than 100 cruises with and they think is wonderful.

 

But I found out that its "horses for courses"

 

I tend to book last minute when time is of the essence and quick action and responses are required. She could not understand she needed to do that and when she did get back to me the prices had often gone up or availability was gone. Its really no good for me.

 

My much cruised friends tend to book many months in advance when the t/a can take the time to thoroughly research offers etc and get them the best price, and then keeps an eye on it and applies for reductions if she sees a lower cost. Its really good - for them in their circumstances.

 

I booked our last cruise directly with Princess. The offer I got was limited time and WAY cheaper than anything else I saw before or after. I jumped on it immediately and I'm very glad I did. My wife loved cruising to Hawaii for her birthday. :D

[Coral]

I booked our last cruise directly with Princess. The offer I got was limited time and WAY cheaper than anything else I saw before or after. I jumped on it immediately and I'm very glad I did. My wife loved cruising to Hawaii for her birthday. :D

 

If you take those offers to an agent, they can further discount them. A lot of those offers are tied to your Captain Circle number and until an agent types that in, they don't see that pricing (thus, your online search didn't come up with anything better). Agents have access to the same rates that Princess does and they can rebate part of their commission if they choose to.

[Thrak]

If you take those offers to an agent, they can further discount them. A lot of those offers are tied to your Captain Circle number and until an agent types that in, they don't see that pricing (thus, your online search didn't come up with anything better). Agents have access to the same rates that Princess does and they can rebate part of their commission if they choose to.

 

A co-worker in another city is a TA and she harassed me a bit for booking directly. She asked what I paid, etc. I told her and she checked her stuff and said I got a really good deal. She could have "maybe" gotten me $50 less but I would have had to contact her, wait for her to check it out, etc. I don't think I would have done better and I really think I would have done worse. I checked the next day after booking and then a day or so after that. The prices had gone up a lot. We not only got rock bottom prices (booked the farthest forward balcony on Dolphin Deck) but ended up getting upgraded to a much better location (mid-ship on Aloha Deck) for the same price. We ended up paying about $1600 less than the launch fare and then got about an $800 upgrade as well. In this case, jumping on the thing NOW was a better deal than waiting for a TA to get involved.

 

I don't doubt you can do well using a TA if you are booking well in advance but sometimes time is of the essence.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I'm sorry you are having problems. Try to forget about the bad stuff and just think about your cruise. I hope you enjoy your cruise. I know I'm ready to go again :)

[thinfool]

Curious how you all selected a TA that you trust that specializes in the cruise line of your choice. Thinking this is the route I'll need to go in the future.

 

Princess has a clickable link on the Princess.com website called "Find a travel agent" (or something like that). It lists travel agents who have been thru the extensive training program that Princess requires. Hence they are certified and supposedly qualified to offer Princess products in a competent manner.

Edited May 20, 2013 by thinfool

[Casey12]

Princess has a clickable link on the Princess.com website called "Find a travel agent" (or something like that). It lists travel agents who have been thru the extensive training program that Princess requires. Hence they are certified and supposedly qualified to offer Princess products in a competent manner.

 

I would suggest asking people on the ship who they booked from. I have met many Commodores on the ship who have taking the training classes and have not booked many cruises or sailed on many cruises. I have even heard agents say how their friends printed out the questions for them so they could look them up and know them before the test. I wouldn't put much credibility into the Commodore status.

[cherrybear]

Just had to share what a disappointment the service has been. Anyone else experienced this? Is that why you go through a travel agent? Is the cruise that much better than the pre-cruise experience?

 

 

We experienced this kind of service on our first Princess cruise with a travel agent, that's why we use our vacation planner at Princess. I can say that our cruise was wonderful but we won't use a travel agent again. The bottle of bad champagne or the few bucks in on board credit aren't worth the aggravation to us.

[WIS-Cruiser]

I'm sorry you are having problems. Try to forget about the bad stuff and just think about your cruise. I hope you enjoy your cruise. I know I'm ready to go again :)

 

 

Thanks - the advice along these lines is where I've landed. 1 week!!!

[Terp66]

We have never had a problem with Princess on our three cruises with them. On the last one, we missed our ship in Ft. Lauderdale due to mechanical problems at our departure airport. We were given a special 800 number where I was never on queue. They were courteous and helpful. They flew us from Miami to Aruba the following day, got the airline tickets for us. We did not have to go back to our "former" travel agent, but just dealt with Princess. Going on board in Aruba was handled with great care by the ship's staff. I won't cruise another line after that experience.

[Lilly'sMom]

Counting down the days to my next cruise but have to say my experience with Princess customer service has been a nightmare. I've missed dates due to poor customer service and not returning calls, been yelled at for asking for help, been told by support (including a supervisor) basically to just get over it. Honestly, I hope my upcoming cruise is awesome but I don't know how I could ever book with Princess again the way I've been treated.

 

Just had to share what a disappointment the service has been. Anyone else experienced this? Is that why you go through a travel agent? Is the cruise that much better than the pre-cruise experience?

 

I've had nothing but a wonderful experience! I booked directly with Princess because I like being able to call and make changes when I want to. They have been great every time I have called. They never make me feel bad about moving my room or asking about price drops. I'm sorry you have not had the same.

[Psychedout]

We book with Princess, the same CSR, I have only great things to say about her :)

 

Hugh ;)

[canadarocks]

This thread is from a year ago.... So maybe all's well now with customer relations. :D

[Colo Cruiser]

This thread is from a year ago.... So maybe all's well now with customer relations. :D

 

The OP has not posted since.

[HMSDingy]

This cruise will be the first time we have dealt with Princess directly. All of the cruises before were handled by TA's. With all of our cruises, we have never had bad service. In fact, Princess with our next cruise have gone over and above. They've assigned us a personal cruise counsellor who is marvellous. I've also found the Princess prices to be quite competitive. In fact Princess had the best price for our current cruise.

 

 

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[Grammyluvs]

So sorry you had a bad experience. I have been fortunate that my last 2 cruises I booked directly with Princess went flawlessly, called back on numerous occasions, never getting the same person and had excellent service and response. I would hope that is the norm.

Don’t give up on Princess...we have loved our cruise experiences with them.