Onboard credit not honored

[PunkiC]

We have prepaid gratuities on a cruise in March, but I don't see it on the Cruise Personalizer, only from the confirmation from the TA. Did you see it on your account, or did you call Princess to verify the credit?

 

I had actually called to ask where I could see the prepaid gratuities on my account and they said that there was no placed that it showed. They did, however, check my account and told me that the prepaid gratuities did show for both of our upcoming cruises next spring.

 

To date I have never had prepaid gratuities so I am not sure that process works.

 

On our last cruise which happened to be on Cunard, I checked the first day we boarded and saw that there was a bunch of missing OBC. When I talked with the purser's desk I asked them if they wanted me to print out the confirmation I had received from my TA and they said they would just work on it first and let me know if I needed any further confirmation. Later that day they called me and confirmed that they had found the remaining OBC. My understanding was that they had e-mailed someone shore side to work it out.

[hawkeyetlse]

The ipad method didn't work for me. My credit finally came through but I had to spend a lot if time in line and fussing with it. iPads don't photocopy and the desk people always wanted a hard copy. They didn't have an email address they were willing to share so in the future as much as I hate it I'm taking paper. At least it will be paper to jot notes in the back of if everything comes through ok.

You should print on both sides… ;)

 

It's useful to have the files on your iPad so you can look at them yourself offline, but you should also upload everything to the Cloud (Dropbox, Google Docs, save in web-accessible e-mail, etc.) so that the files can be accessed from a real computer. So you can print onboard (or on shore) if this becomes necessary.

[jammen]

We just got off the CB on Saturday (our 10th Princess cruise) and had our first real issue with customer service. I was wondering if anything like this has happened to anyone before.

 

When we received our final onboard bill, it did not reflect the $200.00 onboard credit we were supposed to receive. We brought this up at the purser's desk and they wanted written proof before they would reimburse us. We advised them that it was included with our cruise package (purchased through Princess) and it was clearly indicated on our cruise personalizer before we embarked. Since they were unable to find it in their records, and we were no longer able to access our cruise personalizer for this cruise, we were advised to contact Princess once we got home.

 

Once home, the Princess customer service representative could not locate this cruise credit either, nor could a supervisor, and NO ONE REALLY SEEMED TO CARE! When we told the supervisor that we would write to the corporate office, her only reply was that it wouldn't matter because SHE would be the one to read the letter.

 

I guess that the only reason we loved Princess so much was because we never ran into any customer service issues before. Lesson learned: Be sure to print every document you receive from Princess, just in case!

 

 

I print out everything, even my stock statement. Just to get my OBC correct.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I not only carry documentation with me on every cruise but get a daily printout of the account. Two cruises ago on the second day of the cruise, I noticed on the printout that I had a bar charge. While it wasn't a large amount, I wanted it off the bill since I had no drinks. I went to the Passenger Services desk and showed her my printout and explained I wanted the charge off. She said she would have to get the signed bar bill to check. No problem and I told her I would wait. I didn't want to go back later and explain the story again. Since I went to the desk early in the am after I exercised, the Passenger Services desk had nobody else waiting to be helped. About 5 minutes later she comes back with the bill. On the top of the page it had my name and cabin number, but a very unusual signature. The signature was of a man ( I am female ) with a totally different first and last name. I was asked if that was a friend of mine. I told her I had never heard of him before. Then she looked up his name and he was in a different cabin of course. At that point, she said it takes 24 hours to show up correctly on the printout. I took her name card and number and thanked her for her help. The

printout the next day had the correction. After that, I do a daily printout and check everything. Doesn't take much time and it is a worthwhile thing for me to do.

Sali

We once had a charge for $150 plus tip for 'champagne for our group'. We were traveling alone. We've also had the odd drink show up. You can bet we check at least every other day now. What bothers me is that the charge stays in place until they sort everything out. Why not reverse disputed charges immediately and then re-charge them if warranted? It's a "guilty until proven innocent" situation instead of the other way around.

Edited October 16, 2014 by PescadoAmarillo

[hawkeyetlse]

What bothers me is that the charge stays in place until they sort everything out. Why not reverse disputed charges immediately and then re-charge them if warranted? It's a "guilty until proven innocent" situation instead of the other way around.

I would describe it more charitably as a "look into the problem, then do what needs to be done" situation. If you worked at the PSD I think you would probably find that half the time they confirm that the charge was indeed a mistake (and remove it), the other half of the time they eventually produce the signed slip and the passenger goes "Oops, you're right, I did buy that, my bad".

[travelplus]

I'm sorry this happened. Do you have a printout? I always print out a copy for my records. Did you book through a TA? They would have that info. Was it part of a promotion? If so, it should be easy to trace it. Good luck!

 

Exactly the OP had to take this up with the pursuer onboard as well as the Loyalty Ambassador who should have called shoreside to see where the mixup was. So sad too bad you lose your $200 credit is not the correct answer from Princess.

 

They should at least go back to your onboard account and refund you $200 back to your credit card.

[Debzee53]

I mailed a very nice, detailed letter to Princess headquarters about this, but I don't expect to win. As I said previously, it was our mistake not to print what we saw on the personalizer. When we initially booked this cruise, not only did we get a $200.00 onboard credit, but we also got a $200.00 shore excursion credit. A credit total of $400.00 was CLEARLY indicated on our personalizer. On our final bill, the $200.00 shore excursion credit was given, but not the onboard credit. Now, when I look back at our booking email, it only indicates the onboard credit of $200.00 (which we did not get), with no mention of the shore excursion credit (which we did get). Since we booked this directly through Princess, we just "assumed" that the personalizer (plus the word of the booking agent) was good enough. We won't be making this mistake again, and I just hoped to give everyone else a heads up about how important this is.

 

The good news is that we did have a wonderful cruise. :)

[M4dC0w]

Was this a 4/5 day cruise? Or was it a b2b, I recently was on the CB, and all they offered recently was a $100obc pp on 4/5 day cruises, or $200 pp obc on 9day samplers. There were no excursion credit that I saw for the recent sailings.

 

What was the obc you were supposed to get at time of booking

 

So you are saying you got a $200 excursion credit that you were not entitled to, but did not get a $200 obc you were. But the personlizer listed $400, could it be you were only entitled for $200 obc, and they found THEIR mistake and fixed it?

Edited October 16, 2014 by M4dC0w

[redtogo]

We always request a list of all OBC from our Travel Agent right before we leave home. Then we check our account as soon as we board and resolve any discrepancies before we leave the dock.

 

Our next two cruises have prepaid gratuities and I just checked with Princess to make sure that showed up on our reservations and it did, but I will still check it again as soon as we board.

 

We have prepaid gratuities on a cruise in March, but I don't see it on the Cruise Personalizer, only from the confirmation from the TA. Did you see it on your account, or did you call Princess to verify the credit?

 

I printed our travel summary and downloaded it to iBooks. You have the option in iBooks to email it so it can be printed. I also called Princess and asked the same question about getting something showing that we had prepaid gratuities. The Princess rep was very efficient and pleasant. We received it in email form in just a few minutes. It does show up in the travel summary as I read almost the entire summary and found it in a paragraph in the documents. In our paperwork, it is on page 4 under "Important Notices" right after the paragraph about wheelchair requests and before the "taxes" paragraph. It is titled "Bucketlist Extravaganza".

 

On another note, I collect those Swaroski crystal items. Anyway, my DH bought me one. He gave his card and signed the ticket. The clerk was going to find the box for it, but it was taking a while to find it. We told her that we would pick it up later. Well, she ran the ticket twice -once then and once when we picked it up. We didn't get it straightened out until after we got home, but Princess corrected the error.

Edited October 17, 2014 by redtogo

[Disconnections]

Was this a 4/5 day cruise? Or was it a b2b, I recently was on the CB, and all they offered recently was a $100obc pp on 4/5 day cruises, or $200 pp obc on 9day samplers. There were no excursion credit that I saw for the recent sailings.

 

What was the obc you were supposed to get at time of booking

 

So you are saying you got a $200 excursion credit that you were not entitled to, but did not get a $200 obc you were. But the personlizer listed $400, could it be you were only entitled for $200 obc, and they found THEIR mistake and fixed it?

 

For about a day, nearly all of the short cruises this year were offering $200pp. The exception being those starting in December. As availability decreased, that onboard credit offer became more limited and some changed to $100pp or $50pp. As of yesterday, there was still one offering the $200pp onboard credit. This doesn't look like a mistake on their part... it looks more of them struggling to fill empty staterooms.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Disconnections

[Debzee53]

Was this a 4/5 day cruise? Or was it a b2b, I recently was on the CB, and all they offered recently was a $100obc pp on 4/5 day cruises, or $200 pp obc on 9day samplers. There were no excursion credit that I saw for the recent sailings.

 

What was the obc you were supposed to get at time of booking

 

So you are saying you got a $200 excursion credit that you were not entitled to, but did not get a $200 obc you were. But the personlizer listed $400, could it be you were only entitled for $200 obc, and they found THEIR mistake and fixed it?

 

This was a 7 day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. The $200.00 onboard credit was part of the package. (We also noticed this credit on other travel sites other than Princess when we were shopping around.) The shore excursion credit was mentioned by the Princess representative when we booked this cruise, and then confirmed when we saw the personalizer, so a total of $400.00 showed up on the personalizer. The final bill shows the shore excursion credit, but not the onboard credit. However, the onboard credit does show on our booking email, but not the excursion credit. All I know is DH and I both saw the $400.00 total on the personalizer. I would think that Princess' view of the personalizer would show any changes made to our account during that week. But, without "written proof," we automatically lose.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Debzee53

[M4dC0w]

From what I see then, the princess rep may have made the mistake saying there was an excursion credit when there was none, but processed it as if there was.

 

The promo was probably for only $200, and the other was added by mistake, where they ended up removing $200 to correct it.

 

You may be just chasing shadows, as the promo was only for $200, and thats why your statement showed applied.

[Debzee53]

From what I see then, the princess rep may have made the mistake saying there was an excursion credit when there was none, but processed it as if there was.

 

The promo was probably for only $200, and the other was added by mistake, where they ended up removing $200 to correct it.

 

You may be just chasing shadows, as the promo was only for $200, and thats why your statement showed applied.

 

I agree. It does appear that Princess made a mistake somewhere, but was this the best way to handle it? :confused: "Surprise! The $200.00 onboard credit you saw was just a figment of your imagination!" Just kidding, of course. I'll update this thread if I hear anything from Princess.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the comments and advice.

[shsce750]

Once home, the Princess customer service representative could not locate this cruise credit either, nor could a supervisor, and NO ONE REALLY SEEMED TO CARE! When we told the supervisor that we would write to the corporate office, her only reply was that it wouldn't matter because SHE would be the one to read the letter.

 

 

Forget the supervisor. Go over her head:

 

Arnold W. Donald

President & CEO, Carnival Corporation

3655 NW 87th Ave.

P.O. Box 1347

Doral, FL 33178-2428

[Disconnections]

Forget the supervisor. Go over her head:

 

Arnold W. Donald

President & CEO, Carnival Corporation

3655 NW 87th Ave.

P.O. Box 1347

Doral, FL 33178-2428

 

Might as well make it even easier:

 

adonald@carnival.com

 

He's very responsive, FYI.

[rdsqrl]

OMG, your signature is ridiculous. I have dissertation chapters shorter than that.

[caribill]

Forget the supervisor. Go over her head:

 

Arnold W. Donald

President & CEO, Carnival Corporation

3655 NW 87th Ave.

P.O. Box 1347

Doral, FL 33178-2428

 

Might get a better response sending it to Princess.

 

Send to California to

Jan Swartz

President, Princess Cruises

[RIBorn]

You are sooo doomed if he people working on board cannot help you and you have to go to Customer Relations in California.

 

We have been cruising on Princess for years, as well as Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and other lines. We have only had to contact Customer Relations three times (3 Major Issues) over the course of 100 + cruises, and each time it has been a horrible experience.

 

You are correct. THEY DON'T CARE !!

 

I would be curious to know whether this is a corporate dictate coming down on them, or if this is just a bunch of incompetent and uncaring individuals.

 

One cruise was a totally surreal out of body experience. WE NEVER HAD A WORKING TOILET!!!

 

The cabin steward said it was an ongoing problem. The Customer Services Manager chose to ignore us for the first three days, then acted like we were trying to get an upgrade. We were already in a Balcony exactly where we wanted to be the ship. We just wanted a working toilet. We got no where on board with them, and at the end of a cruise, they tried to give us a bottle of wine, which was like a slap in the face for folks that had to get dressed in the middle of the night to find a public bathroom. It got to the point where we didn't want to drink anything after dinner so we didn't have to go in the middle of the night !!! When we wrote about all of this to Customer Relations, they offered us a $50 cruise credit to be used on a cruise THAT YEAR. They also don't return phone calls and they lie.

 

We love everything else about Princess except this weak link.

 

And yes, we ALWAYS bring up the printed documentation with us!! I know you learned your lesson the hard way this time.

 

But keep cruising!!

[pablo222]

OMG, your signature is ridiculous. I have dissertation chapters shorter than that.

 

Just set your preferences to turn off signatures.

Life is good!

[Debzee53]

You are sooo doomed if he people working on board cannot help you and you have to go to Customer Relations in California.

 

We have been cruising on Princess for years, as well as Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and other lines. We have only had to contact Customer Relations three times (3 Major Issues) over the course of 100 + cruises, and each time it has been a horrible experience.

 

You are correct. THEY DON'T CARE !!

 

I would be curious to know whether this is a corporate dictate coming down on them, or if this is just a bunch of incompetent and uncaring individuals.

 

One cruise was a totally surreal out of body experience. WE NEVER HAD A WORKING TOILET!!!

 

The cabin steward said it was an ongoing problem. The Customer Services Manager chose to ignore us for the first three days, then acted like we were trying to get an upgrade. We were already in a Balcony exactly where we wanted to be the ship. We just wanted a working toilet. We got no where on board with them, and at the end of a cruise, they tried to give us a bottle of wine, which was like a slap in the face for folks that had to get dressed in the middle of the night to find a public bathroom. It got to the point where we didn't want to drink anything after dinner so we didn't have to go in the middle of the night !!! When we wrote about all of this to Customer Relations, they offered us a $50 cruise credit to be used on a cruise THAT YEAR. They also don't return phone calls and they lie.

 

We love everything else about Princess except this weak link.

 

And yes, we ALWAYS bring up the printed documentation with us!! I know you learned your lesson the hard way this time.

 

But keep cruising!!

 

Unbelievable! My complaint seems rather insignificant next to this. The letter I mailed went to Jan Swartz. If nothing else, I hope our complaint is at least acknowledged in a respectful manner. The customer service people did not want to hear it.

[Debzee53]

For anyone interested in the outcome: I wrote to Jan Swartz a week ago, and today, when we saw a phone call coming in from "Princess Cruises," my faith in Princess Customer Service was suddenly restored. Unfortunately, that faith only lasted until DH picked up the phone.

 

Writing to Jan Swartz was a mistake. Sure enough, it was the same woman on the phone that we spoke to last week. She'd warned us of that and she was only happy to repeat what she told us before.

 

So, back to square one, DH gave it one last shot and asked if they tape their booking calls. The answer was yes, so DH asked if they could review ours as the proof we were looking for. She said it wasn't her job to pull phone records and they only go by the information on the booking confirmation. (Of course, having a copy of our Cruise Personalizer that showed our missing onboard credit would have worked as well.) As a consolation prize, she reluctantly offered us dinner at a specialty restaurant on our next cruise. (We don't really expect to see this though . . . because we didn't get that offer in writing.) :rolleyes:

 

The moral of the story: PRINT any credits that you see (including those on your Princess Personalizer) because it could save you a big headache later on.

Dealing with Princess Customer Service AFTER a cruise is pointless.

[shredie]

OMG, your signature is ridiculous. I have dissertation chapters shorter than that.

 

Just set your preferences to turn off signatures.

Life is good!

 

Yes, life is too short to worry about the length of someone's signature. I turned them off long ago. (Back to the subject at at hand...)