Princess is the absolute WORST!

[LucyR.]

YOU should have said the Crown Princess instead of slamming a whole cruiseline. You have cruised for many years to know the cruise problems.

 

I have cruised on a four day and on a 3 day and on a 2 day cruise. Back to Back. Many cruisers pack their tiny cabins with lots of cruisers and they leave

a super mess for the cabin stewards to clean up the mess in time for the next cruise.

The Crown is a super large ship and if some people get sick with noro virus then it can become a serious problem.

 

Recently, when I cruised I saw a teenager on the elevator floor rubbing his body in a circle on the dirty floor. Kids don't realize how they are picking up germs by touching everything and not washing their hands when eating.

 

Crown Princess and Carnival ships located in L.A. ports are getting filled with lots of large families.

The rates are super cheap or free to lots of cruisers so they jam pack their cabins with all of their friends and kids I have noticed.

 

I do enjoy the 4 night cruises over the 3 or 2 day cruises.

 

Is it really fair to slam all Princess ships?

[ar1950]

Pam,

...................

 

As to their iron clad cruise contract, I spent a 36 year career as a corporate attorney drafting exactly this sort of non liability nonsense. It can actually be challenged and beaten quite easily...it's just that, in this case, it's not worth the time and effort based on the measure of damages. Likely not even worthwhile as a class action. But that is why most corporations offer compensation of some sort--acceptance by the customers of even minimal compensation works as a defense to the challenges..

 

OK, after 36 years you obviously know how this stuff works.....maybe?

 

 

.......Yeah, it is all MY fault...I should just learn to accept it when Princess alerts me at the last minute to change my plans, to shorten my bargained for cruise by a major percentage...that it's no issue to be delayed several hours because we can all just walk to a restaurant to kill time until Princess tells us to report. I shouldn't challenge Princess when they send out multiple emails with ever-changing and conflicting misinformation. Princess, like all big corporations ONLY have MY best interests at heart in all of their actions. Princess is ALWAYS right. I have absolutely no right to ever challenge them. And, clearly, I should ever post ANYTHING critical of Princess on Cruise Critic...

 

Post anything that you want. Comments to the contrary are only the other member's opinions. 36 years as a corporate attorney and you are making this some sort of a crusade? Fine, good luck with that.

 

And, yes, I understand your disappointment. However, stuff happens. That is life and all that goes with it.

[CZEE]

Pam,

It IS Princess "cleaning" the terminal. And they could have cleaned it the day before...there are NO ships there on the 2nd. This IS under their control. And that "advance" notice was not very far in advance, now was it?

I know you love Princess and think they can do no wrong...but, in fact, they do plenty wrong.

 

As to their iron clad cruise contract, I spent a 36 year career as a corporate attorney drafting exactly this sort of non liability nonsense. It can actually be challenged and beaten quite easily...it's just that, in this case, it's not worth the time and effort based on the measure of damages. Likely not even worthwhile as a class action. But that is why most corporations offer compensation of some sort--acceptance by the customers of even minimal compensation works as a defense to the challenges.

 

But accepted literally, their language would imply that they could sell cruises, take the customers money, cancel the cruises outright and keep the money. No, despite their language, they would lose.

 

Interesting that most of us on this very short cruise are extremely upset...while those Princess aficionados NOT on the cruise have little sympathy and are claiming "no big deal, get over it"...Folks, it is only a three night cruise...It's the equivalent, proportionately, as selling a 14 night cruise and telling everyone not. To show up until 2 or 3 days into it. It is NOT 4 hours...rather than the normal boarding as early as around noon, people are being told to not show up for check-in until 8:00 pm! That would seem a bit more trivial though still irritating, on a long cruise. When the cruise is only three days, this is a major chunk... A "night" on the ship to most of us doesn't just mean the bed to sleep on...very much unlike a hotel night. It means pre-dinner drinks, a relaxing dinner with elegant service, a stage show of some sort and late night activities. Boarding some time after 8:00 in order to rush over to a long line for seating and a rushed dinner, missing a sho and going to sleep is NOT the bargained for first night of a cruise.

 

So many of you NOT on this cruise seem incredibly willing to allow that Princess is really doing everything they should do without question.

 

No one is denying that some people on this ship may have gotten sick...or that Princess should ignore cleanliness and sanitation. What we are saying is that the timing of this is ARBITRARY and IS within Princess' control. The numbers of cases of "gastronomic illnesses" on the current cruise are NOT out of line with the average number of such cases compared with the proportion to the general population anywhere. There is no evidence that such cases are even "Norovirus". The delay is unnecessary. It will have no effect on the number of passengers who will suffer such illnesses on the next sailing...people will get sick on this one as well. It us "flu season"...4100 people on board, some will get ill--especially traveling to Mexico.

 

THIS cleaning, according to Princess, is in response to the Mid-November outbreak--when they had 179 cases on one cruise. They did some "disinfecting" after that cruise, then delayed further action until NOW. They CHOSE our cruise to be delayed. It was NOT in response to a current issue.

 

Oh, and thanks to everyone taking the time to call me a "negative person" or telling me to just cancel... You folks certainly DON'T know me. I am generally one of the more upbeat people you will ever meet... I've cruised almost 40 times and most have been great experiences. I love cruising. I love meeting my fellow cruisers onboard. But, I am also willing to be realistic...and point out shortcomings I've noted on various cruises and with certain cruise lines. I've done 4 cruises with Carnival and am, admittedly, not a Carnival fan--too crowded, poorer service, etc. I have had very little to say negative about the cruise line after multiple cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Oceamia. But, somehow or another, every time I deal with Princess, I come away let down on a number of issues. I have, in the past, pointed out major issues with Ding Room/Anytime Dining management, for example. Always amazed with how many of the Princess loyalists claim that there is NO problem...as if I've only imagined the long lines and waits and beepers on every Princess cruise I've been on...or the issues I've experienced just trying to make a reservation...

 

This issue really takes the cake... To those of us on this cruise, it is NOT minor. Yet, Princess loyalists want to minimize it. I would suggest some of you try another cruise line. You may just view Princess a little differently after exposure to lines which handle such matters better. So many of you seem so ready to give Princess an incredible amount of slack--that no issue is their fault, it is all beyond their control, that anyone who complains is just unreasonable or negative or just an unhappy individual.

 

Yeah, it is all MY fault...I should just learn to accept it when Princess alerts me at the last minute to change my plans, to shorten my bargained for cruise by a major percentage...that it's no issue to be delayed several hours because we can all just walk to a restaurant to kill time until Princess tells us to report. I shouldn't challenge Princess when they send out multiple emails with ever-changing and conflicting misinformation. Princess, like all big corporations ONLY have MY best interests at heart in all of their actions. Princess is ALWAYS right. I have absolutely no right to ever challenge them. And, clearly, I should ever post ANYTHING critical of Princess on Cruise Critic...

 

Since you have so much experience and have cruised so extensively, I'll bet they could use your help. Instead of venting your spleen and calling everyone who disagrees with you an idiot or a Princess apologist, why not apply for a job and clean the corporation up? They're obviously failing in their customer service and every other aspect of their business. Or, since Princess fails you continually, never cruise with them again.

 

I find it hard to believe that they'd kill the bottom line by delaying this cruise for nothing. But, then, you'd call me a Princess apologist even though I'm not even close to elite. They are going to take a real hit on this cruise from the cleaning to the loss of sales. Without more data than speculation, I'd have a hard time agreeing with your position. You've gone from there's absolutely no noro on this ship to no one's disagreeing there may have been some sick people on board. Take a position--there are or there are no sick people. You can't have both. . .or maybe you can.

 

I sailed on the Crown during a transatlantic where they had a very large number of ill folks, likely noro. It was no fun and luckily, neither DH nor I got sick. Very, very many did. If the cleaning was to prevent such an outbreak, it might be a good thing they did the cleaning. Imagine traveling with noro. Ugh. If they did it in response to a Nov sailing. . .well, that doesn't make sense. The next cruise after we disembarked was seriously delayed so they could clean the ship. People still got noro. . .not as many. Who's to say whether that is cost effective for Princess other than Princess? How do you quantify the good luck of those who did not get noro because of the cleaning?

 

I'm sorry your vacation was ruined by what you characterize as an incompetent, uncaring company. There are very many such companies. They go out of business when the public has had enough of them or when they're sued into oblivion. So, vote with your feet and go somewhere else or convince them that you're the best thing to come along since sliced bread and that you can really improve their customer support and every other aspect of the company. Clearly, their legal department is severely lacking and their contract is unenforceable, according to you.

 

I hope your 2015 turns out better than this cruise is starting.

[VenusLady]

That's how I'd expect you to deal with things when something goes wrong...any day on a ship is better than any day at work! Enjoy your cruise & as long as we're healthy nearly everything else is small stuff. :)

 

+1

 

Happy New Year! :)

[LabGuy64]

did they offer any compensation? you are right about it being a short cruise and every hour counts

 

We have a three night cruise scheduled for THIS Saturday on the Crown Princess.

We had planned to get there early, eat lunch on board, relax a little, hit the muster drill, then do a Meet & Mingle with our Roll Call group, return to the room dress for dinner, get to dinner early to avoid the typical lines and crowds in Anytime...then go to the 8:15 show...and then on to one of the later night activities before retiring to bed...

 

Today, less than 72 hours from sailing, Princess sent us an e-mail telling us that boarding has been delayed until 5:30 pm with some decks being told to show up to board AFTER 8:00 pm!

 

The excuse was that the ship needs to be disinfected due to an outbreak of Norovirus.

 

Problem is that, since I regularly read Cruise Critic, I know that there is NO CURRENT outbreak of Norovirus. The last Norovirus outbreak reported on the Crown Princess was back in MID-NOVEMBER...

 

So, I called Princess for an explanation. The agent I spoke with had no clue and was unaware of the delay. She put me on hold to go find the "official" word, then came back with, basically, the same explanation as on the e-mail. I told her that there was NO current outbreak and she admitted that I was correct...but there had been an outbreak recently. I told her that it was over a month and a half ago...and she admitted that I was correct, but that Princess decided to do this cleaning NOW in response to that...

 

So, what Princess has decided to do, in response to a situation that passed several cruises ago, is to arbitrarily ruin OUR cruise experience on less than three days notice.

 

The cruise is already a very short one as it is. This delay basically makes it that much shorter. They expect us to forego the first afternoon...arrive at the pier at 8:00 pm...rush to the likely overcrowded Anytime dining room for what will be for us a very late dinner...sneak in a muster drill (still required, of course, as our evening's entertainment...and go to bed, hopefully with our luggage showing up to our cabin sometime or another...

 

For those flying in and with transportation and flight arranged, I suppose they are expected to wait for several hours standing in the San Pedro parking lot...

 

A wonderful first day of only three...Thank you, Princess Cruise Lines!

[LabGuy64]

I would not put it past them to blame a delay that would seem to be more the fault of Princess on Noro tomake it seem they are just working for the passengers best interest. Don't know that it is the case here though.

 

I am becomming convinced that theses chronic Noro outbreaks are the fault of service or kitchen staff's lax hygene. and while most are probably compliant it only takes one preparing food to affect hundreds. passenger based spread would tend to move more slowly as, we don't have so close an interaction between ourselves and other cruisers. Especially as this virus is primarially transmitted by lack of hygene after toilet use.

 

 

I have no blind loyalty to Princes (or any other cruise line), and I'm not about to speculate about Noro or any other reason for such a delay. However, I can't imagine that any cruise line arbitrarily creates a delay. The ill will it generates is too great, so I assume that there must be a very good reason for the delay. I am sorry that you will be effected, especially on a short cruise, but these things happen. Princess probably doesn't want the delay anymore than you do.

[Bruin Steve]

Actually, one interesting thing about all of the cruise ship Norovirus panic is that it really isn't just a cruise ship thing and it really isn't all that unusual.

 

Viruses spread ANYWHERE you have large numbers of people...hotels, Disney, everyday life...

 

On the mid-November Crown cruise with the "epidemic", there were 179 reported cases among 4100 people (passengers and crew) on board...less than 5%...

On the current cruise there are, depending on source, roughly 15-30 cases...less than 1%...

 

On any given day at Disneyland, for example, you likely have the same sort of percentages...Why? People all using the same restrooms, handling the same doorknobs, getting in line after line angling the rails...then getting on rides and holding onto the safety bars and handles. All of that contact spreads the viruses.

 

So, why is it so noticeable on cruise ships and not everywhere else? Because, on a cruise ship, EVERYBODY is there and stays for the same 7 days or 10 days or 14 days...People get sick over that time and report it...on the ship...and connect it with the cruise...

Meanwhile, at Disney, people show up just for the day...they contract something but don't really notice the effects until the next day...or the day after that...It's not reported to Disney...or connected mentally by them to have been caused by the visit...

At hotels, the guest list is constantly turning over...people come and go...most stay only a night...Nobody makes the connection...Nobody follows up with all 15,000 people who attended a basketball game to figure out how many may have contracted a virus at the Arena...

 

But, on a cruise ship, lots of those people (1-5%) contract something while on the ship...and when they realize it, they are still on the ship...The ships get a bad rap...

 

And cruise ships, on the whole, actually do a better job of controlling this than most venues...constant janitorial attention, ever-present hand sanitizer dispensers...Do you see that at Disney? At Theaters? Stadiums?

 

I am happy that cruise ships DO pay attention to all of this...I just believe that proper sanitation should not require delaying a cruise by several hours. I am also not all that concerned about contracting something while cruising...I have contacted a cold or two while traveling...but the law of averages says that with all the traveling I do, that is going to happen from time to time...BUT I also am fairly careful to wash my hands often, to use the hand sanitizer, etc. I am also careful as to what I eat and drink in "third world" ports...I keep to bottled water, stay away from ice cubes or washed fruits and vegetables unless I a certain they've been made or washed using filtered water, etc.

 

Taking those precautions and knowing the percentages, I like my odds...

Edited January 1, 2015 by Bruin Steve

[LabGuy64]

I really think he is just angry that they have seemingly selected his cruise at ramdom to do the cleaning that if it is truly in responce to the previous Noro outbreak that it would have made more sense to do the in depth cleaning at the time of the outbreak. not to wait a month or more and several cruises to respond to the previous outbreak.....a position not without some merit I think.

 

Since you have so much experience and have cruised so extensively, I'll bet they could use your help. Instead of venting your spleen and calling everyone who disagrees with you an idiot or a Princess apologist, why not apply for a job and clean the corporation up? They're obviously failing in their customer service and every other aspect of their business. Or, since Princess fails you continually, never cruise with them again.

 

I find it hard to believe that they'd kill the bottom line by delaying this cruise for nothing. But, then, you'd call me a Princess apologist even though I'm not even close to elite. They are going to take a real hit on this cruise from the cleaning to the loss of sales. Without more data than speculation, I'd have a hard time agreeing with your position. You've gone from there's absolutely no noro on this ship to no one's disagreeing there may have been some sick people on board. Take a position--there are or there are no sick people. You can't have both. . .or maybe you can.

 

I sailed on the Crown during a transatlantic where they had a very large number of ill folks, likely noro. It was no fun and luckily, neither DH nor I got sick. Very, very many did. If the cleaning was to prevent such an outbreak, it might be a good thing they did the cleaning. Imagine traveling with noro. Ugh. If they did it in response to a Nov sailing. . .well, that doesn't make sense. The next cruise after we disembarked was seriously delayed so they could clean the ship. People still got noro. . .not as many. Who's to say whether that is cost effective for Princess other than Princess? How do you quantify the good luck of those who did not get noro because of the cleaning?

 

I'm sorry your vacation was ruined by what you characterize as an incompetent, uncaring company. There are very many such companies. They go out of business when the public has had enough of them or when they're sued into oblivion. So, vote with your feet and go somewhere else or convince them that you're the best thing to come along since sliced bread and that you can really improve their customer support and every other aspect of the company. Clearly, their legal department is severely lacking and their contract is unenforceable, according to you.

 

I hope your 2015 turns out better than this cruise is starting.

[boone2]

I know nothing of the facts as to why the departure is being delayed but as a cruise ship nurse I would offer one speculation. USPH! If there has been a number of cases recently they are likely doing a deeper inspection which can take a long time. Having just been through one it is a huge deal. I'm surprised it is princess doing the terminal clean, however I do know of one "code Red" (not on Princess) that was traced back to a terminal in the US. Sorry you have been delayed but these decisions are certainly not taken lightly and are often out of the control of the company

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[buchananglasgow]

well won't this be a happy 3day cruise. Would love to have a hidden Mike on the walls of this cruise when they all get onboard finally.

Personally if I was this unhappy about the delays etc I'd cancel and cruise another time and another cruise line. In the first instance I would never have picked this ship as it has often got problems. The ships are easy to research on before you choose a cruise. Secondly, id be ok with the reason they are deep cleaning the terminal/ship , I would definitely not want to be spending my 3days cruise in my cabin because I caught something while checking in or getting onboard the first day of my cruise.

Life is too short to get worked up this bad, no wonder the ships come back into port so many times with people have heart attacks if they are this stressed out about a holiday break.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy new year in 2015.

[bhopal21]

Personally if I was this unhappy about the delays etc I'd cancel and cruise another time and another cruise line. In the first instance I would never have picked this ship as it has often got problems.

 

Now that would be far too rational.:D

 

Mike:)

[sunsetbeachgal]

I agree with above...getting ones self so worked up and stressed out over losing five hours of a vacation to me means that it should be cancelled. Way too much negative energy going on, and dont see how once onboard OP will allow themself to do anything except find more problems.

Edited January 1, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[tml1230]

if someone previously suggested this …. i apologize in advance….but i feel compelled to ask….

 

Steve….. once on board…. if you get a minute….. can you pontificate via a "live from" about the on board cruise experience? that would certainly be an interesting exercise!

 

Although i disagree with 99% of your opinions and we probably would not be compatible table mates...

i would be willing to pitch in a donation for the internet minutes that would be required for you to keep us informed.

 

have a safe journey

[buchananglasgow]

if someone previously suggested this …. I apologize in advance….but i feel compelled to ask….

 

Steve….. Once on board…. If you get a minute….. Can you pontificate via a "live from" about the on board cruise experience? That would certainly be an interesting exercise!

 

Although i disagree with 99% of your opinions and we probably would not be compatible table mates...

I would be willing to pitch in a donation for the internet minutes that would be required for you to keep us informed.

 

Have a safe journey

Oh yes please, it will make great reading.

Edited January 1, 2015 by buchananglasgow

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

No matter what the reason for the delay or what compensation Princess is willing to give at this point why would anyone want to continue on this cruise and probably only find more things to complain about.

You can't possible have a good time once aboard with your attitude being that predetermined.

Cancel the cruise, stay home and go out to dinner somewhere where they'll meet your expectations and hope nothing else goes wrong in your life.

[janetz]

Steve, you are a seasoned cruiser and I am surprised at your comment as Princess being the "worst".

 

Yes, I would be unsettled but I would shake it off. :)

 

What would you have said if you were on the Carnival Triumph with sewage water floating around? Now that has to be the worst I have ever seen on a cruiseline.

Edited January 1, 2015 by janetz

[pablo222]

Carnival Triumph with sewage water floating around? Now that has to be the worst I have ever seen on a cruiseline.

 

As bad as that sounds, I frequently read here that any day

on a cruise is better than a day at work.

 

I really, really wonder where some people work.

[Casey12]

Steve - I honestly can not believe what a big deal you are making out of this.

 

You and the call center you are speaking to on the phone do not know what is going on on the specific ship. These are low level jobs and can only see what is on their screen "boarding is delayed.......". There definitely could be more going on on the ship that you are not aware of and those on CC.

 

You are the one who has posted that "these prices are too cheap to stay home". By your own admission, you have gotten great deals on these cheap getaways.

 

It is obvious you don't like Princess but you continue to sail them and complain about them. Maybe you should think 2x before booking a Princess cruise in the future.

 

Is it disappointing, yes. But not enough to make this big of deal over. You have cruised plenty of times. If you can't deal with this reasonably, I really wonder how you deal with serious things in life.

 

I am sure you will get your monies worth out of this cruise as they are going for practically nothing.

 

The ones I feel sorry for those are those who haven't cruised before and this is their first experience and who are traveling long distance. My guess is that they will handle this far better than you are.

[junglejane]

I just noticed this thread yesterday. The only thing I can add is that on the Dec. 20-27 Crown Princess cruise, the Captain said early in the week that there were 15 cases. By the last night 12/26, he reported to the passengers that there were a total of 37 cases of norovirus. He presented this as a sort of victory in holding the numbers down through strict controls at the buffet for most of the week (no serving yourself). As mentioned in my Christmas cruise misadventure thread, I had to disembark on 12/25 due to a broken leg, but my DH and younger DD stayed onboard to the end on 12/27. It was on 12/26 that the Captain said the total number of noro cases was 37.

[buchananglasgow]

do you not have travel insurance. You could then have claimed your money back due to the problems, and booked a hotel resort or something else .

I would cancel my trip if I was this upset about it and then go and stay at an all inclusive resort/hotel in a hot climate somewhere for 3days then it's still a break away from home. Pretty sure you are not going to enjoy this cruise no matter how much they suck up to you and try to pamper you, if they ever try to.

[RDC1]

Pam,

It IS Princess "cleaning" the terminal. And they could have cleaned it the day before...there are NO ships there on the 2nd. This IS under their control. And that "advance" notice was not very far in advance, now was it?

I know you love Princess and think they can do no wrong...but, in fact, they do plenty wrong.

 

As to their iron clad cruise contract, I spent a 36 year career as a corporate attorney drafting exactly this sort of non liability nonsense. It can actually be challenged and beaten quite easily...it's just that, in this case, it's not worth the time and effort based on the measure of damages. Likely not even worthwhile as a class action. But that is why most corporations offer compensation of some sort--acceptance by the customers of even minimal compensation works as a defense to the challenges.

 

But accepted literally, their language would imply that they could sell cruises, take the customers money, cancel the cruises outright and keep the money. No, despite their language, they would lose.

 

Interesting that most of us on this very short cruise are extremely upset...while those Princess aficionados NOT on the cruise have little sympathy and are claiming "no big deal, get over it"...Folks, it is only a three night cruise...It's the equivalent, proportionately, as selling a 14 night cruise and telling everyone not. To show up until 2 or 3 days into it. It is NOT 4 hours...rather than the normal boarding as early as around noon, people are being told to not show up for check-in until 8:00 pm! That would seem a bit more trivial though still irritating, on a long cruise. When the cruise is only three days, this is a major chunk... A "night" on the ship to most of us doesn't just mean the bed to sleep on...very much unlike a hotel night. It means pre-dinner drinks, a relaxing dinner with elegant service, a stage show of some sort and late night activities. Boarding some time after 8:00 in order to rush over to a long line for seating and a rushed dinner, missing a sho and going to sleep is NOT the bargained for first night of a cruise.

 

So many of you NOT on this cruise seem incredibly willing to allow that Princess is really doing everything they should do without question.

 

No one is denying that some people on this ship may have gotten sick...or that Princess should ignore cleanliness and sanitation. What we are saying is that the timing of this is ARBITRARY and IS within Princess' control. The numbers of cases of "gastronomic illnesses" on the current cruise are NOT out of line with the average number of such cases compared with the proportion to the general population anywhere. There is no evidence that such cases are even "Norovirus". The delay is unnecessary. It will have no effect on the number of passengers who will suffer such illnesses on the next sailing...people will get sick on this one as well. It us "flu season"...4100 people on board, some will get ill--especially traveling to Mexico.

 

THIS cleaning, according to Princess, is in response to the Mid-November outbreak--when they had 179 cases on one cruise. They did some "disinfecting" after that cruise, then delayed further action until NOW. They CHOSE our cruise to be delayed. It was NOT in response to a current issue.

 

Oh, and thanks to everyone taking the time to call me a "negative person" or telling me to just cancel... You folks certainly DON'T know me. I am generally one of the more upbeat people you will ever meet... I've cruised almost 40 times and most have been great experiences. I love cruising. I love meeting my fellow cruisers onboard. But, I am also willing to be realistic...and point out shortcomings I've noted on various cruises and with certain cruise lines. I've done 4 cruises with Carnival and am, admittedly, not a Carnival fan--too crowded, poorer service, etc. I have had very little to say negative about the cruise line after multiple cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Oceamia. But, somehow or another, every time I deal with Princess, I come away let down on a number of issues. I have, in the past, pointed out major issues with Ding Room/Anytime Dining management, for example. Always amazed with how many of the Princess loyalists claim that there is NO problem...as if I've only imagined the long lines and waits and beepers on every Princess cruise I've been on...or the issues I've experienced just trying to make a reservation...

 

This issue really takes the cake... To those of us on this cruise, it is NOT minor. Yet, Princess loyalists want to minimize it. I would suggest some of you try another cruise line. You may just view Princess a little differently after exposure to lines which handle such matters better. So many of you seem so ready to give Princess an incredible amount of slack--that no issue is their fault, it is all beyond their control, that anyone who complains is just unreasonable or negative or just an unhappy individual.

 

Yeah, it is all MY fault...I should just learn to accept it when Princess alerts me at the last minute to change my plans, to shorten my bargained for cruise by a major percentage...that it's no issue to be delayed several hours because we can all just walk to a restaurant to kill time until Princess tells us to report. I shouldn't challenge Princess when they send out multiple emails with ever-changing and conflicting misinformation. Princess, like all big corporations ONLY have MY best interests at heart in all of their actions. Princess is ALWAYS right. I have absolutely no right to ever challenge them. And, clearly, I should ever post ANYTHING critical of Princess on Cruise Critic...

 

If you think about it there is a reason why they clean the terminal when they do. On those time when they clean the terminal they clean it AFTER the current passengers leave, the passengers with some cases of Noro. Just as the enhanced cleaning takes place after the passengers leave the ship.

[lovevacadays]

That's how I'd expect you to deal with things when something goes wrong...any day on a ship is better than any day at work! Enjoy your cruise & as long as we're healthy nearly everything else is small stuff. :)

 

 

Thank you. I will definitely enjoy my cruise.😊😊.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bruin Steve]

I just noticed this thread yesterday. The only thing I can add is that on the Dec. 20-27 Crown Princess cruise, the Captain said early in the week that there were 15 cases. By the last night 12/26, he reported to the passengers that there were a total of 37 cases of norovirus. He presented this as a sort of victory in holding the numbers down through strict controls at the buffet for most of the week (no serving yourself). As mentioned in my Christmas cruise misadventure thread, I had to disembark on 12/25 due to a broken leg, but my DH and younger DD stayed onboard to the end on 12/27. It was on 12/26 that the Captain said the total number of noro cases was 37.

 

37 cases on a ship carrying 4100 people is NOT a large number...less than 1%. They are doing a pretty good job of eradicating it onboard...

 

If you think about it there is a reason why they clean the terminal when they do. On those time when they clean the terminal they clean it AFTER the current passengers leave, the passengers with some cases of Noro. Just as the enhanced cleaning takes place after the passengers leave the ship.

 

I don't think that is the reason for the timing of the terminal cleaning. You are ALWAYS going to have some people with various illnesses passing through the terminal. No cruise is virus-free. And 37 cases is NOT an epidemic passing through and affecting the Terminal. The reason for the timing is likely that Princess, rather than hiring in a professional crew to do the job on an otherwise open date, are planning on using the ship's crew as labor...The extra work will likely make for an unhappy crew as well. But the timing is due to budget considerations, not due to some need to move these 37 cases through the terminal--or through those limited areas of the terminal one encounters while disembarking--prior to disinfecting.

[elliair]

We have a three night cruise scheduled for THIS Saturday on the Crown Princess.

We had planned to get there early, eat lunch on board, relax a little, hit the muster drill, then do a Meet & Mingle with our Roll Call group, return to the room dress for dinner, get to dinner early to avoid the typical lines and crowds in Anytime...then go to the 8:15 show...and then on to one of the later night activities before retiring to bed...

 

Today, less than 72 hours from sailing, Princess sent us an e-mail telling us that boarding has been delayed until 5:30 pm with some decks being told to show up to board AFTER 8:00 pm!

 

The excuse was that the ship needs to be disinfected due to an outbreak of Norovirus.

 

Problem is that, since I regularly read Cruise Critic, I know that there is NO CURRENT outbreak of Norovirus. The last Norovirus outbreak reported on the Crown Princess was back in MID-NOVEMBER...

 

So, I called Princess for an explanation. The agent I spoke with had no clue and was unaware of the delay. She put me on hold to go find the "official" word, then came back with, basically, the same explanation as on the e-mail. I told her that there was NO current outbreak and she admitted that I was correct...but there had been an outbreak recently. I told her that it was over a month and a half ago...and she admitted that I was correct, but that Princess decided to do this cleaning NOW in response to that...

 

So, what Princess has decided to do, in response to a situation that passed several cruises ago, is to arbitrarily ruin OUR cruise experience on less than three days notice.

 

The cruise is already a very short one as it is. This delay basically makes it that much shorter. They expect us to forego the first afternoon...arrive at the pier at 8:00 pm...rush to the likely overcrowded Anytime dining room for what will be for us a very late dinner...sneak in a muster drill (still required, of course, as our evening's entertainment...and go to bed, hopefully with our luggage showing up to our cabin sometime or another...

 

For those flying in and with transportation and flight arranged, I suppose they are expected to wait for several hours standing in the San Pedro parking lot...

 

A wonderful first day of only three...Thank you, Princess Cruise Lines!

 

Do a search here on CC "norovirus on Crown Princess." There's plenty of threads about it. This is nothing new as we had the same on the Star Princess. Princess has every right to make what it takes to provide a clean and safe environment for its passengers. Speaking for myself, I would now never take a 3-day or anything less than a 7-day cruise on any cruise line. I've seen enough activities going on on the ship to see why there's noro on board. People do not practice good hygiene. What you experienced could have happened on ANY cruiseline. Better safe than sorry. I have a friend who just returned from a 16-day Celebrity cruise and he got the noro. He was a first time cruiser and said he'd never cruise again. IMHO, that's a bit extreme.

[Bruin Steve]

Princess has every right to make what it takes to provide a clean and safe environment for its passengers.

 

Let me try this another way:

 

I really don't have any issue with Princess...or any other cruise line...taking health and safety measures to keep their ships as illness free as possible.

 

What I have a problem with is HOW they are doing this and HOW it is being handled with the customers.

 

NO corporation does things "in the best interest of their customers". (I can say this from experience...having spent a 36 year career as an attorney and executive with major national and international corporations including a couple in the hospitality industry).

 

It is the charge of the executives and decision makers to come up with (or approve) solutions to problems based on the effect of the solution to the "bottom line" of the company. And it is the charge of the "Customer Relations" folks to sell those solutions to the public.

 

There are options to cleaning and disinfecting the ship. Different solutions take differing lengths of time or levels of cost. There is a balance between doing it quicker and not inconveniencing the public and taking more time and having to sell the concept to the public.

 

You can bring in more personnel, reschedule the timing, etc. and not effect the ship's schedule. It costs more money. Not really that much more in the greater scheme of things. Princess would do it if they didn't think they could "sell" the chosen approach. In the long run, you pay a little extra to avoid bad publicity and unhappy customers.

 

However, you can save that money if you can get your customers to buy in...

The Customer Relations folks are very good in wording things to make it sound like the chosen course is the ONLY course...that it is beyond Princess' control...that it is all for the benefit of the customer. And, from this thread, it is very apparent that a large percentage of Princess' loyal customers is very happy to swallow that.

 

But, question this please: If Princess had their crew only clean and disinfect the ship--which they do between EVERY sailing anyway...and they brought in separate personnel--perhaps from an outside contractor--to clean and disinfect the terminal...perhaps concentrating on the embarkation areas first, then the path of debarkation (an area not really necessary for the embarkation of the next group) after the passengers are disembarked (assuming you buy in on the theory that this must be done following the disembarkation of those few affected passengers), should they not be able to accomplish all of this without delaying the cruise an appreciable amount of time?

 

Yes, the second cleaning crew costs a little extra money...but it also means happier passengers and a less overworked ship crew.

 

But, the responsibility of the folks running Princess is NOT to make the passengers and crew happy...it is to maximize the line's profits. To think otherwise is naive.

 

So, once that is the course decided on, the rest is the public relations cover-up. Wait until the last moment--or close to it, to spring the plan on the passengers...Shorten the time for complaints. Minimize the PR impact by keeping the public discourse short. Keep the emails simple and directed in a manner to push the idea that everything is done for the sake of the customer--to deal with an important health issue, to eliminate overcrowding in the terminal and to make boarding orderly, etc.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Bruin Steve