Princess is the absolute WORST!

[AKman2495]

So...you called them and told them what the real situation was. I am surprised that they didn't transfer you to the captain directly to order him to get the ship moving!

 

Calling Princess is not going to do anything except raise your blood pressure.

 

I too have had similar visions of what was going to happen as soon as I boarded. And every time it goes differently...

[Times Prince]

I note from your signature you have already sailed Princess twice for a grand total of 6 days at sea.

 

As a relative newcomer to Princess you should be advised that Princess Cruises takes sanitation very seriously, and aggressively pursues elimination of norovirus contamination.

 

This is a good thing.

 

It is unfortunate that you are disappointed at the change in embarkation schedule. This is natural, and is even noted as a possibility in the Passage Contract ( and you agreed to no compensation).

 

However, to say "Princess is the WORST" is a bit overboard. Try instead "I am disappointed". Then, rather than let this lessen the days you have onboard, put it aside and have a great cruise.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Times Prince

[RickEk]

Compensation for sailing 4 hours after the scheduled departure? Really?

[bhopal21]

Compensation for sailing 4 hours after the scheduled departure? Really?

 

Maybe $299 OBC for a $199 cruise? Refundable of course.:rolleyes:

 

Mike:)

[shredie]

Steve is upset and I am willing to cut him some slack. I don't know if any of us would be calm if it were us in the same situation. I have two of these short cruises booked on the crown later this month. I am half expecting some complication or another. Apparently it is just me 😋 but I haven't sailed on time out of San Pedro for the last three cruises. I alternate between complaining about Princess with complaining about Carnival 😉 because those are pretty much our options in the LA area.

[pablo222]

Problem is that, since I regularly read Cruise Critic, I know that there is NO CURRENT outbreak of Norovirus.

 

If only Princess read cruise critic, so they would know the truth...

[Ektrax]

I agree... Take a deep breath...relax... And grow up! Things happen. It's not the end of the world.

[bhopal21]

If only Princess read cruise critic, so they would know the truth...

 

+2

 

Mike;)

[Pam in CA]

If only Princess read cruise critic, so they would know the truth...

::: unsticking my tongue from my cheek :::

 

Princess does read CC. Never fear. They know what each of us is posting.

 

I have a 4-day cruise booked on the Crown in three weeks. What will be will be. Technically, I paid for the number of nights on the cruise. Earlier boarding or later disembarkation is a bonus.

[Bruin Steve]

Sorry, but I don't think Princess is in any position to "ignore" the CDC...

 

It is sad, but it happens. The op should make the most of a bad situation.

 

 

From where are some of you folks getting that this was ordered by the CDC?

Back on November 16, they had 179 cases onboard and Princess came up with a disinfection plan "after consultation with the CDC"...

The current cruise has only a fraction of that number of cases... There are no news reports of anything involving the CDC this time...this is Princess' sole decision and action...

 

I am NOT a cruising newby...I've done around 40 cruises on multiple cruise lines...I've actually been on ships immediately following Norovirus outbreaks...and I've NEVER encountered a delay like this...

 

A lot of Princess' email dealt with disinfecting, not the ship, but the TERMINAL...this could be done, perhaps, the day before (no cruises scheduled that day)...

[zoncom]

Been on 50 or more cruises. Got Noro at home, Aspen. Last week. Bet it was at Seniors Center. It hurt to even touch skin area. I thought I had append. . I was ready to go to hospital until I saw health article in local paper.Then it stopped. Was racking pains for 3 days. Princess correct.Wash your hands for 30 seconds in hot water after bathroom.Please.

[VibeGuy]

I don't know if any of us would be calm if it were us in the same situation.

 

I'm quite calm. It's three days out and approximately a six hour delay in boarding on average. Things happen.

 

Princess has delayed me for men overboard, customs issues in three nations, USPHS, CDC and Coast Guard inspections, stevedore drama, weather and best of all, a dead whale stuck to the bow.

 

I hear where he's coming from: imperfect asymmetric information, disconnects between expectation and the reality of hauling 2500 people around with a three hour break between sailings and a communications style that started out as being both chaotic (wrong pier) and chilly ("operational reasons" is a synonym for "because we say so".)

 

Princess is known for taking beyond-reasonable care of passengers in situations like this. Check-in gets moved elsewhere, excursions or shuttles are arranged, some guests with transfer arrangements get day rooms, life proceeds apace. Additionally, onboard management has extraordinary latitude to make inconvenienced guests whole once they are onboard.

 

My suggestion, since Friday is a work day, is that the highly aggrieved should make their dissatisfaction known directly to Headquarters with an in-person visit. I'm sure that the response to agitated passengers storming the ramparts will be both rapid and definitive. It's a pleasant drive from most of the greater LA area.

[dclark]

Compensation for sailing 4 hours after the scheduled departure? Really?

 

Scheduled departure? That's irrelevant. There is a whole loss of a day. By the time you get on, it will be DARK! Try more five or six hours. Since we go to sleep at 11:00pm the last night, we were looking at maybe 60 hours of cruise. Now we are looking at around 54 hours of cruise, 10% loss- it is a big difference. But, that is a bit misleading as a two day cruise more than 33% less in value, they are hard to sell, as evidenced by carnival offering me a free two day cruise out of socal.

Where before, you could board by noon, relax, eat lunch, maybe use a pool, have dinner, see a show, that is all gone, replaced with boarding at night, trying to get a table at atd (so much for my 5:30 assigned seating) and waiting for luggage to show up around midnight.

That leaves just two days of cruise.

If Princess were to offer a refund, I'd cancelled in a heart beat.

If the ship is truly sick, they need to reeducate and add staff, do better cleaning and have people require hand sanitizer upon entering the buffet like NCL does.

Edited January 1, 2015 by dclark

[VenusLady]

Perhaps you should just go ahead and cancel your cruise. You've already got your underpants so bunched up now that there is no way you are going to allow yourself to have a good time.

 

 

Have to agree with you. Doesn't sound at all like you will enjoy it.

 

I would much rather lose a few hours, than be sick for the duration of the short cruise.

[Sunviking]

I'm confused :confused:. You are going on a 3 night cruise and you still get to spend 3 nights on the ship. Is that right?

[VibeGuy]

Princess is communicating surprisingly well about this: to wit, the latest missive:

 

"All guests must be checked in by 8:30 PM. Dining rooms will be open for dinner with open seating starting at 6:30 PM, and Horizon Court will be open until 11:30 PM."

 

No mention of speciality dining, but this certainly is wildly more communication than I have experienced in the past.

 

I admit to being a trifle disappointed that the body of the message did not contain language to the effect of "our deepest apologies, we have been informed of the *real* situation via Internet discussions - please ignore the earlier entreaties and board at your leisure for an on-time departure". Pity.

[Astro Flyer]

We're on the next cruise on 1/6/15 & hope that we won't experience a norovirus related delay. I'd be very disappointed but am mentally preparing for a possible delay. I imagine that sick passengers on holiday cruises were going no matter how sick & thus the cycle of a "sick" ship continues. :(

 

The Port of LA is my homeport & I've never experienced a delay & hope my streak continues. I'd be unhappy with a delay but "stuff" happens and I'd realize that it was necessary & not an arbitrary decision. Traveling during flu/norovirus season is like going to the Caribbean during hurricane season...sometimes traveling will be affected.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[VenusLady]

I'm confused :confused:. You are going on a 3 night cruise and you still get to spend 3 nights on the ship. Is that right?

 

You're not the only one confused :rolleyes:

[Rosethorn40]

Saw on the news tonight that every state in the USA (That would include California) with the exception of West Virginia and Washington DC (I know, not a state) have SEVERE outbreaks of the flu. The entire wing of my office building is sick with the flu, or a nasty head cold.

 

Quite frankly I would rather have my cruise delayed by a few hours, then be as sick as I've been since last Monday.

[lovevacadays]

Princess and every other cruise lines very much wants to get passengers on the ship as quickly as possible so they can spend money on the ship.No way Princess would have delayed boarding without a very good reason.

 

LuLu

 

 

I agree. They want that onboard spending to start as soon as possible. I would think, even more so on these cruises that they are selling for so little. I'm on this cruise as well. I'm a bit disappointed about the situation. However, I'm going to do my best to not let this stress me out. I don't want to let one afternoon/evening spoil my cruise.

 

 

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[lovevacadays]

We're on the next cruise on 1/6/15 & hope that we won't experience a norovirus related delay. I'd be very disappointed but am mentally preparing for a possible delay. I imagine that sick passengers on holiday cruises were going no matter how sick & thus the cycle of a "sick" ship continues. :(

 

The Port of LA is my homeport & I've never experienced a delay & hope my streak continues. I'd be unhappy with a delay but "stuff" happens and I'd realize that it was necessary & not an arbitrary decision. Traveling during flu/norovirus season is like going to the Caribbean during hurricane season...sometimes traveling will be affected.

 

 

Perfect post. I'm on the cruise this Saturday. I was faced with being really upset and having my cruised ruined or enjoying my cruise, even with what might be a crazy Saturday night.

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

Perfect post. I'm on the cruise this Saturday. I was faced with being really upset and having my cruised ruined or enjoying my cruise, even with what might be a crazy Saturday night.

 

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. :)

[OCruisers]

I agree. They want that onboard spending to start as soon as possible. I would think, even more so on these cruises that they are selling for so little. I'm on this cruise as well. I'm a bit disappointed about the situation. However, I'm going to do my best to not let this stress me out. I don't want to let one afternoon/evening spoil my cruise.

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Good for you! Enjoy your cruise even if it was off to a late start! :D

LuLu

[Iamcruzin]

I wish I had the opportunity to take these short, cheap, sometimes free cruises like they offer on the west coast or from Ft Lauderdale. Even if I had to miss half the day it would be nice just to be able to get away without having to fly to port. Delays or missed ports can happen on any length itinerary. It's the reality of cruising. We had a late disembarkation one time due to weather conditions. I'm sure the passengers who missed their flights home were upset as well as those who lost 1/2 a day on embarkation. Cruise lines don't go out of their way to inconvenience passengers.

[rdsqrl]

I'm really jealous of BruinSteve and dclark. How blissful must be the path of one's progress through life when such a short delay and minor disappointment is all it takes to cause such dramatic outrage.