Princess is the absolute WORST!

[Colo Cruiser]

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.

 

I have been waiting all night for that! Thank you.

[rdsqrl]

I have been waiting all night for that! Thank you.

And a very Happy New Year to you.

[Sailingpeace]

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

 

I too would be surprised ...and worried if they offered a compensation for that... maybe the next step would be to charge us extra when the ship's arrival is delayed and we are onboard a few more hours ;). That beeing said, I do believe that arrangements , ie shuttles or or other things can be in order in some situations. One of the better lessons of traveling is lo learn that you can't control everything. I would also call this a situation, not a problem in life. Many of is would feel lucky if our lifes were so easy that this woud quality as a " problem". Get things in perspective, you are going on a luxury cruise ship...

Edited January 1, 2015 by Sailingpeace

[RDC1]

How do I know what is actually happening on the Crown?

 

I have now spoken with three different people at Princess' HQ.

 

The first one admitted to me that there was No current outbreak. The disinfection and timing thereof was Princess' decision and in response to the "outbreak" in Mid-November. It is not required by Los Angeles health inspectors in response to an inspection.

 

The third person I spoke with claimed that there was a "slightly" higher than usual number of reported cases of "gastrointestinal" illnesses on the current voyage...but still less than 15.

 

Some of you may want to "side with Princess" on this...but, many loyal Princess cruisers here seem to "side with Princess" every time anyone has a complaint.

 

Truth is that I may actually know a little bit more than your speculation here.

 

As it is, Princess' current stance is that there will be no compensation in any form for the shortened cruise. Face it, Princess isn't charging a lot of money for these, at least in a comparative sense, so they really don't care if they short change their customers on the cruise/itinerary/timing. They'll save money serving no lunches and a much lesser number of dinners...

 

So now we have gone from I know there is no Noro on board to

 

"the third person I spoke with claimed that there was a "slightly" higher than usual number of reported cases of "gastrointestinal" illnesses on the current voyage...but still less than 15."

 

so there is noro on board and they have decided they need to clean the ship to keep the number from growing. I would suspect that the number is increasing based upon their decision.

 

The last thing a cruise line would do is to put out notice that they are cleaning the ship for Noro if their is not Noro. There are a lot of ways they could delay boarding that is far less damaging from a PR view. If they are saying Noro then you can rest assured they feel the need to do the extra cleaning.

[RDC1]

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.

 

The CDC doesn't get involved unless it reaches the scope of requiring a formal report (I think that is around 3% of the passengers).

[RDC1]

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)...

 

That's right it is Princess's sole decision that the ship needs to be cleaned in order for them to provide a healthy environment for their passengers. Maybe, just maybe they have decided to be far more proactive with Noro this year, after last years new strain that caused far more issues then normal.

[abqmommyof4]

As someone with a compromised immune system ( if I were going on a cruise) would be very grateful and glad that princess was doing all they can to make sure everyone is safe. Proper hand washing is what prevents noro and other illnesses from spreading. That and people being 100% honest on the Heath survey you fill out before boarding. If you read jungle janes review there was a outbreak on the crown during the Christmas cruise.

As I said I have a compromised immune system at the moment so would not cruise at the present time, but that's my choice and my decision. That being said I applaud princess for taking the extra step to decontaminate things so others have a chance of staying healthy. To the OP life is far to short to be upset over a few hours missed on a cruise.

[Skai]

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

The "crux" of the issue is...

 

Princess needs to show that they give a dang for their customers...

 

Looking at your sig it would appear that you've taken quite a few cruises in your time. 40? 50? It's understandable how you may have gained such strong feelings about what you demand and expect from your cruising experience.

 

My advice. Lighten up man. There's that age-old cliche about life handing one lemons.....

 

If this inconvenience, and yes surely it is an inconvenience, has you so worked up to the point of excessive anger....Take a breath, sit back and appreciate the relativity of the matter and your 1st world problems for a bit.

 

Seriously. Life is too short to complain about all of the 'what if' incoveniences that you've suggested may or may not occur as a result of this delay, and how this 1/2 day delay may ruin your entire 3 day getaway.

 

Slow down.

 

You appear to be rushing to start enjoying your getaway as soon as possible and disappointed that it will not be exactly as you expect it to be. Is all of the prior stress fretting about it really worth it?

 

Adapt and move on. Or, you could spend another hour at the pursers talking to managers and the such, filling out complaint forms and demanding compensation if it floats your boat(pun intended).

[JF - retired RRT]

the “Flu” is at epidemic levels right now across the country. It’s a strain that the flu shot doesn’t cover.

Sorry, FLU is a respiratory illness, not gastrointestinal.

[cruisequeen4ever]

You know what the "worst" would be? Vomiting and exploding nonstop on your cruise because you caught norovirus when the ship decided to sail on time instead of thoroughly cleaning! I understand that you're disappointed about missing the first afternoon and early evening of your cruise; I would be, too, but I'd much rather board late and sail healthily! Just because the current cruise hasn't reached the reportable number of cases, it doesn't mean Princess shouldn't disinfect. And about Princess call center reps not being aware of a noro problem, not surprised; they are often not aware of these onboard issues. Board when you can, and enjoy your cruise! Happy and healthy sailing to you!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[srpilo]

the “Flu” is at epidemic levels right now across the country. It’s a strain that the flu shot doesn’t cover.

Sorry, FLU is a respiratory illness, not gastrointestinal.

 

+2

 

 

Srpilo

[GUT2407]

This trifle makes them the worst?:confused::confused:

 

I wonder where Costa Concordia rates then?:eek:

 

I feel sorry for OP loosing 10% of his/her cruise can't be a nice feeling but, please give me a break.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...They'll save money serving no lunches and a much lesser number of dinners...

 

If passengers cannot board until dinner time or later, IMO the right thing for Princess to do would to at least have lunch and dinner catered at the pier for waiting passengers. Those arriving from out of town might not know the area well enough or have transportation to get them to decent eateries, and 3000 pax would overwhelm the restaurants in San Pedro itself.

[dclark]

You know what the "worst" would be? Vomiting and exploding nonstop on your cruise because you caught norovirus when the ship decided to sail on time instead of thoroughly cleaning! I

 

That's wonderful, thanks for informing the world about the evils of noro. Gee, I had no idea. Really? Vomiting? Wow, I guess I'll have to read up on that stuff. Here are some real facts:

Fact: there is no evidence there is noro epidemic on the crown.

For all you know, they had a number of crew quit and need time to get new ones to duty. You really don't know, you are just parroting what others have said about the deity known as Princess Cruise Lines.

There could be sanitation issues on board that they have been ordered to clean up and they are blaming a bug that might have affected as few as 15 people. There could be problems with the sewage system.

Fact: Princess priority is not passenger safety; it is profit.

For people like you, I wish that they would have board a day late next cruise and disembark a day early, all in the name of "cleaning", without compensation. You would applaud this, right?

I see nothing wrong with compensating people for lost time and looking at all the posts, not one person has given a reason supporting why compensation should not be given. I have not said that lawsuit sized settlement offers should be given, merely a prorated amount or an option to cancel. If the hotel you wanted to check into at 11:30am told you that you couldn't check in until 8:00pm that night, would you still pay for a full day for just 4 hours or would you want to be prorated? In reality, the hotel would apologize and not charge you.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I wouldn’t be concerned for people flying in as the numbers are very few. The Baja cruises are designed for CA weekend getaways – not as a destination cruise. I made the mistake 20 years ago going on one of those. But it's nice for the locals.

 

That is what I had thought until I took one. Many were SoCal locals, yet a surprising number were from out-of-state or another country, and making the cruise a part of a longer West Coast vacation.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Ryndam2002

[GUT2407]

That's wonderful, thanks for informing the world about the evils of noro. Gee, I had no idea. Really? Vomiting? Wow, I guess I'll have to read up on that stuff. Here are some real facts:

Fact: there is no evidence there is noro epidemic on the crown.

For all you know, they had a number of crew quit and need time to get new ones to duty. You really don't know, you are just parroting what others have said about the deity known as Princess Cruise Lines.

There could be sanitation issues on board that they have been ordered to clean up and they are blaming a bug that might have affected as few as 15 people. There could be problems with the sewage system.

Fact: Princess priority is not passenger safety; it is profit.

For people like you, I wish that they would have board a day late next cruise and disembark a day early, all in the name of "cleaning", without compensation. You would applaud this, right?

I see nothing wrong with compensating people for lost time and looking at all the posts, not one person has given a reason supporting why compensation should not be given. I have not said that lawsuit sized settlement offers should be given, merely a prorated amount or an option to cancel. If the hotel you wanted to check into at 11:30am told you that you couldn't check in until 8:00pm that night, would you still pay for a full day for just 4 hours or would you want to be prorated? In reality, the hotel would apologize and not charge you.

 

 

Not one thing that you suggest may have caused the delay is remotely provable.

 

As for compensation [i see that having denied that's what you were after you are back to the topic again] as pointed out earlier, you paid for a three night cruise not a 60 hour cruise, you are getting a three night cruise.

 

I hate to think what you will be carrying on like if you skip a port or arrive late and miss your bus or whatever.

 

As for your hotel comparison I've often been asked to wait at a hotel because my room wasn't ready, have I ever been offered compensation, let alone a free room, nope. Would I expect to be Nope.

 

 

've had flights delayed by hrs, cutting into me precious holiday time, did the airline give me any compensation, nope not a brass razoo, did I expect it again nope.

 

Some people seem to want a discount everytime something goes not according to plan.

 

My 2nd cruise we skipped 3 ports, f you don't like these things happenng cruising isn't for you.

[dclark]

 

Some people seem to want a discount everytime something goes not according to plan.

.

 

You make it sound like I want something for nothing. I don't want a "discount", I merely want what I paid for. I see nothing wrong with that.

Pretty telling that on NCL, if there was a 15 minute wait for a table, you got a glass of champagne, but with Princess, they make you wait 6-7 hours to get on the ship and offer nothing.

[dclark]

Well cruise NCL. Not Princess.

 

 

 

As you've been told numerous time you paid for a three nighter, and you got a three nighter.

 

Should people who elect to board late get a better price than those who board early, never heard a sillier winge in my life.

 

Yeah, but those people, like you, are wrong. I paid for three days. Princess sold it as three days. Here is a paste:

 

3 days until your next cruise! West Coast Getaway Ship: Crown Princess

Departure Port: Los Angeles, California

Number of Days: 3

Departure Date: Jan 03, 2015

[Skai]

That's wonderful, thanks for informing the world about the evils of noro. Gee, I had no idea. Really? Vomiting? Wow, I guess I'll have to read up on that stuff. Here are some real facts:

Fact: there is no evidence there is noro epidemic on the crown.

For all you know, they had a number of crew quit and need time to get new ones to duty. You really don't know, you are just parroting what others have said about the deity known as Princess Cruise Lines.

There could be sanitation issues on board that they have been ordered to clean up and they are blaming a bug that might have affected as few as 15 people. There could be problems with the sewage system.

Fact: Princess priority is not passenger safety; it is profit.

For people like you, I wish that they would have board a day late next cruise and disembark a day early, all in the name of "cleaning", without compensation. You would applaud this, right?

I see nothing wrong with compensating people for lost time and looking at all the posts, not one person has given a reason supporting why compensation should not be given. I have not said that lawsuit sized settlement offers should be given, merely a prorated amount or an option to cancel. If the hotel you wanted to check into at 11:30am told you that you couldn't check in until 8:00pm that night, would you still pay for a full day for just 4 hours or would you want to be prorated? In reality, the hotel would apologize and not charge you.

 

This post is a perfect example of those that never actually read the passenger contract that they sign and then cry foul while not knowing what is stated therein.....and I quote:

 

 

 

7. RIGHT TO DEVIATE FROM SCHEDULED ROUTE, CHANGE PORT OF EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION, SUBSTITUTE TRANSPORTATION, CANCEL CRUISE AND ACTIVITIES, AND CHANGE OR OMIT PORTS OF CALL; SUBSTITUTION.

 

Except as otherwise provided, Carrier may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel the cruise; deviate from the scheduled ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the ship; comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; or change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the Cruise or substitute ships, aircraft or other transportation or lodging. Accordingly, You should not make any important arrangements or meetings based on the scheduled Cruise, which may change without liability to Carrier.

 

In the case of mechanical failures that cause the scheduled cruise to be cancelled, You are entitled to a full refund of the Cruise Fare; or for mechanical failures that cause a cruise to be terminated early, a partial refund, travel expense to transport You to the scheduled port of disembarkation or Your home city at Carrier's discretion, and overnight lodging if an unscheduled stopover is required. You shall have no claim against Carrier, and Carrier shall not be liable for damages or a refund of the Cruise fare, any portion thereof, or other refund, payment, compensation or credit of any kind; nor for hotel or meal charges, travel expenses or other loss, delay, inconvenience, disappointment or expense whatsoever, which shall be the Passenger's responsibility, whenever the cancellation or change was otherwise beyond Carrier's exclusive control.

 

Carrier's non liability extends without limitation to any of those causes described in Section 14(b) and/or inclement weather; health, medical or environmental considerations; labor, political or social disturbances or unrest; or operational, commercial or safety reasons; or was based on a good faith belief by the Carrier or the ship's Captain that the Cruise or any portion thereof might endanger the vessel or expose any person or property to loss, injury, damage or delay. Except as provided above for mechanical failures, whenever the performance of the Cruise is hindered or prevented by any cause or circumstance whatsoever, the Cruise may be terminated and You may be landed with no further liability of the Carrier for refund, payment, compensation or credit of any kind.

 

If, and only when, the cancellation or change was for reasons other than described in the preceding paragraph, and was within the exclusive control of Carrier, You agree the liability of the Carrier, if any, shall nonetheless be limited as follows:

(A) If Carrier cancels the Cruise before it has started, it shall refund the Cruise Fare (less any air or accommodation charges incurred).

(B) If the sailing is delayed and You are not accommodated on board the ship, Carrier may arrange accommodations and food at no additional expenses to You.

© If the scheduled port of embarkation or disembarkation as specified in the passage ticket is changed, Carrier shall arrange transportation to it from the originally scheduled port.

(D) If the Cruise is terminated or ends early Carrier, at its option, may issue a cruise credit, make a proportionate refund of Your Cruise Fare, transfer You to another ship or transport You to the scheduled final port.

(E)If You pay the Carrier an amount above the Cruise Fare for a shore excursion or other activity that is cancelled, You will be limited to a refund, if any, of the amount paid for the cancelled activity.

Under no circumstances shall the Carrier be or become liable for consequential or other damages of any kind sustained by any Passenger except as expressly provided herein.

 

 

How do you like those facts?

[waltd]

Yeah, but those people, like you, are wrong. I paid for three days. Princess sold it as three days. Here is a paste:

 

3 days until your next cruise! West Coast Getaway Ship: Crown Princess

Departure Port: Los Angeles, California

Number of Days: 3

Departure Date: Jan 03, 2015

 

Then I guess you owe Princess some money, you leave on the 3rd and get back on the 6th. That's 4 days if you want to be nit picky.

Edited January 1, 2015 by waltd

[Pam in CA]

If passengers cannot board until dinner time or later, IMO the right thing for Princess to do would to at least have lunch and dinner catered at the pier for waiting passengers.

They can't. :( The terminal will be closed for deep cleaning. Nowhere to put people other than in the filled parking lot.

 

There are several inexpensive restaurants nearby within walking distance if you arrive earlier than the advance notice Princess sent out.

 

 

:) Pam

[GUT2407]

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!

 

 

And out of curiosity, you say "some decks being told to show up to board AFTER 8:00 pm!" but boarding starts at 5:30 what time is your deck??

[waltd]

This off another post.

 

5:30 PM - Dolphin and Emerald Decks: Cabins begin with D or E

 

6:30 PM - Caribe and Riviera Decks: Cabins begin with C or R

 

7:30 PM - Aloha and Lido Decks: Cabins begin with A or L

 

8:00 PM - Baja and Plaza Decks: Cabins begin with B or P

 

Crown Princess is expected to depart Los Angeles at 9:00 PM

[SoCal Cruiser78]

They can't. :( The terminal will be closed for deep cleaning. Nowhere to put people other than in the filled parking lot.

 

There are several inexpensive restaurants nearby within walking distance if you arrive earlier than the advance notice Princess sent out.

 

 

:) Pam

 

I was thinking catering trucks in the parking lot or the like for those who don't happen to read the notice, or can't change their travel arrangements at this late date. It doesn't help that it has been unusually cold here, either. I guess hanging out in a warm restaurant or bar would be the best option.

 

Here's hoping that the cleaning goes quickly, and all can board "early". I am booked on the Crown later in January, but if this becomes the norm for the Crown on these shorties, then I may cancel and take an FCC to use on a longer cruise later in the year.

Edited January 1, 2015 by Ryndam2002

[Bruin Steve]

They can't. :( The terminal will be closed for deep cleaning. Nowhere to put people other than in the filled parking lot.

 

There are several inexpensive restaurants nearby within walking distance if you arrive earlier than the advance notice Princess sent out.

 

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...