Princess mildew problem and poor customer service

[orca07]

So how did you approach customer service (I presume by this point you are dealing with headquarters customer service)? I know the only time we have ever had an issue that needed to be elevated (soot on an Owners Suite balcony on the Royal Princess and an on-board settlement offer that I considered inadequate) I wrote an email and included pictures (do you have pictures of mildew or was it just the smell?). Within a couple of days I got an email saying to expect a phone call within 2 weeks. The call came in less than a week (and this was around the Christmas holidays); the CS rep had obviously done her homework and knew about my issue (and the fact that it was being reported on every Royal cruise). She immediately offered the settlement I had in my head (I hadn't mentioned it in my email). It took a couple of weeks to get it all finalized but I couldn't have been more impressed with the way it was handled both on the ship (even though the offer was inadequate they gave me a case number to cite in my email) and at corporate.

Nope, no case number given to me. All Princess staff have been lowballing any attempts to compensate for my cruise being ruined.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I remember reading a post a while ago about a couple who had a problem with their cabin, might have been AC or toilet, I can't remember now, anyway the problem couldn't be fixed and they were told the ship was full and they couldn't be shifted so the husband took his bedding and made a bed for himself in the atrium, well an other cabin was found and they were moved immediately. Classic.

 

As long he was polite about it, good for him!

Edited June 2, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[orca07]

yes, but it took until the evening of the last night on board before they did that, so my entire cruise was affected by the issue. I only had several hours with the new carpet (11pm until early AM disembarkation).

[orca07]

That's what customer service should be like, and if no rooms available an equivalent compensation.

[wineforhealth]

Have you had a cruise cabin with mildew problems?

 

I took a 4 night cruise on the Pacific Princess

 

Once the carpet was changed the smell immediately disappeared (regretfully just a matter of several hours before I disembarked). Even the deck supervisor thought that this should have been done right away when I embarked on my cruise.

.

 

Sorry you had such a bad experiance , what time was your disembarkation? Surely the carpet wasn't change early in the morning.

 

Hope your next cruise turns out better.

Edited June 2, 2015 by wineforhealth

[orca07]

the mildew was definitely the carpet. Once it was finally replaced on the last night of my cruise, the smell disappeared immediately.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

the mildew was definitely the carpet. Once it was finally replaced on the last night of my cruise, the smell disappeared immediately.

 

Did you happen to use a travel agent? If so, he/she may have some pull with Princess to obtain a satisfactory resolution.

Edited June 2, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[orca07]

Sorry you had such a bad experiance , what time was your disembarkation? Surely the carpet wasn't change early in the morning.

 

Hope your next cruise turns out better.

carpet changing was finished late at night, and I had to be up by just after 6am to disembark.

[orca07]

Welcome to CC. Post often!

thanks for the welcome!

[SoCal Cruiser78]

the mildew was definitely the carpet. Once it was finally replaced on the last night of my cruise, the smell disappeared immediately.

 

Too bad they didn't realize that right away, or they could have placed floor mats or something around the cabin to encapsulate the odor until the carpet could be replaced :(.

[orca07]

I am siding with the OP here. We were on the Pacific Princess last year for 51 days. Ft Lauderdale to Sydney B2B with Sydney to Tahiti. Deck 4 had issues. I would go knitting on deck 4 on sea days, and every day I had allergy symptoms, and it just seemed a tad musty. One woman in the knitting group who was staying in an ocean view on deck 4 complained about her cabin being musty. She developed a wicked cough that would not go away. She was quarantined and got worse. Doctor actually thought she might have Legionnaires disease, but it was just pneumonia.

 

Then this past winter we took the Golden from Santiago to LA. We had a balcony stateroom but I can't remember the deck. One of the inside staterooms that we walked by often absolutely reeked of mustiness. There was obviously a problem because there were floor dryer fans outside the door always. We occasionally saw men in white tyvek suits going in and out with spray bottles.

 

So yes, a cabin can have a musty, moldy, mildewy smell. And there are people with allergies who can't tolerate that. I would be just as upset as the OP if I were put in a cabin that could make me sick. One of the reasons I always have a balcony is that I want fresh clean air available.

This is most interesting. I was also on Deck 4. I too have developed a cough since being on the cruise, and yet have no other symptoms, so it's not a cold.

[orca07]

Instead they did two separate applications of air fresheners, just adding another conflicting smell to the first smell.

[orca07]

So agree with you.

thanks! The solidarity and understanding helps after the problem was minimized by Princess so many times.

[OzKiwiJJ]

If you use Facebook you should post on the Princess Facebook page as well.

 

Good luck. I hope Princess does right by you in the end.

[cruiseJMO]

Mildew on a ship is not an uncommon occurrence. Rectifying the problem is something Princess should do immediately when it is brought to their attention.

It is a health hazard and I can understand the OP's disappointment in the way it was handled.

 

They always have carpet on board the ship for replacing flooded or damaged carpet. Had they handled the problem correctly from day one, the OP could have had a comfortable and enjoyable cruise. Princess needs to step up and comp the cruise.

I agree

[cruiseJMO]

I remember reading a post a while ago about a couple who had a problem with their cabin, might have been AC or toilet, I can't remember now, anyway the problem couldn't be fixed and they were told the ship was full and they couldn't be shifted so the husband took his bedding and made a bed for himself in the atrium, well an other cabin was found and they were moved immediately. Classic.

Nice 😀

[orca07]

If you use Facebook you should post on the Princess Facebook page as well.

 

Good luck. I hope Princess does right by you in the end.

thanks for the tip. I'm giving them one last chance.

[WatchHill]

Last year we were on the Ocean Princess, Hawaii to French Polynesia and encountered a similar problem.

 

First, within a few hours of boarding I developed a dry cough. I attributed it to a combination of fatigue, overdoing the land based activities on Oahu, and leaving BOS at sub-zero temps and probably a flight based cold. After cruising the Hawaiian Islands, we had a few days at sea wherein I noticed others had a similar cough.

 

Late one night just before we arrived in Bora Bora, we had a severe rain storm with heavy winds. I woke up to the sound of water sloshing. Inquisitive, I pushed back the wall to wall drapes, then realized I was standing on saturated carpet. DH and I moved the luggage away from this area, wiped the bottom of each [thankfully bottom wheels kept the luggage from water damage]. I then noticed the sliding door track was black and it extended up the sides of each side - and water was dripping down. In addition, as I pulled on the drapes, I noticed the bottom and back of the drapes was also black with either mold or mildew.

 

We contacted the night steward, who brought additional towels to help mop up the excess water. He said someone would take care of this in the morning. Water continued to enter in spite of towels - we were on deck 8, mid-ship, and the water seemed to be coming from the open lido deck above us. Time to take a few pictures.

 

The following day, our steward attempted to dry our the carpet, but it was still damp. I pointed out the "black stuff" and was told it was dirt. Duh, then clean it! Not happy, I went to passenger services and got pretty much ignored. Two days later we were off the ship and staying at the IC in Papeete. The first night there, at dinner, DH commented "Listen, dry coughs from quite a few guests and they look familiar."

 

Once, home, I wrote directly to Princess with attached pictures and copied the letter to my TA. The tone of my letter was factual and void of affect, including many positive comments, but addressed the mold/mildew as a health issue along with my dismay at how the various staff dismissed the issue.

 

Within a week, I received a phone call from Princess in which we discussed the entire cruise and the pictures showing the saturate carpet, mold/mildew on the drapes and "dirt" growing along the sliding door frame. They offered a future cruise credit as compensation. It was more than I expected and I gladly used it toward our recent British Isles cruise.

 

Darcy

Edited June 2, 2015 by WatchHill

[orca07]

Last year we were on the Ocean Princess, Hawaii to French Polynesia and encountered a similar problem.

 

First, within a few hours of boarding I developed a dry cough. I attributed it to a combination of fatigue, overdoing the land based activities on Oahu, and leaving BOS at sub-zero temps and probably a flight based cold. After cruising the Hawaiian Islands, we had a few days at sea wherein I noticed others had a similar cough.

 

Late one night just before we arrived in Bora Bora, we had a severe rain storm with heavy winds. I woke up to the sound of water sloshing. Inquisitive, I pushed back the wall to wall drapes, then realized I was standing on saturated carpet. DH and I moved the luggage away from this area, wiped the bottom of each [thankfully bottom wheels kept the luggage from water damage]. I then noticed the sliding door track was black and it extended up the sides of each side - and water was dripping down. In addition, as I pulled on the drapes, I noticed the bottom and back of the drapes was also black with either mold or mildew.

 

We contacted the night steward, who brought additional towels to help mop up the excess water. He said someone would take care of this in the morning. Water continued to enter in spite of towels - we were on deck 8, mid-ship, and the water seemed to be coming from the open lido deck above us. Time to take a few pictures.

 

The following day, our steward attempted to dry our the carpet, but it was still damp. I pointed out the "black stuff" and was told it was dirt. Duh, then clean it! Not happy, I went to passenger services and got pretty much ignored. Two days later we were off the ship and staying at the IC in Papeete. The first night there, at dinner, DH commented "Listen, dry coughs from quite a few guests and they look familiar."

 

Once, home, I wrote directly to Princess with attached pictures and copied the letter to my TA. The tone of my letter was factual and void of affect, including many positive comments, but addressed the mold/mildew as a health issue along with my dismay at how the various staff dismissed the issue.

 

Within a week, I received a phone call from Princess in which we discussed the entire cruise and the pictures showing the saturate carpet, mold/mildew on the drapes and "dirt" growing along the sliding door frame. They offered a future cruise credit as compensation. It was more than I expected and I gladly used it toward our recent British Isles cruise.

 

Darcy

This sounds very familiar. The mildew in my cabin was just not visible as it must have been under the carpet. I am told that my case is a "one off" and doesn't happen. I had a sneaking suspicion that mildew DOES happen. I too have developed a dry cough since being on the cruise. I understand the Ocean Princess is the sister ship to the Pacific Princess. I heard from another passenger who was also on the Pacific Princess whose friend also developed a bad cough from being in a mildew-infested cabin. Just within 24 hours of posting, it already seems this is an issue with Princess ships.

[Colo Cruiser]

Last year we were on the Ocean Princess, Hawaii to French Polynesia and encountered a similar problem.

 

First, within a few hours of boarding I developed a dry cough. I attributed it to a combination of fatigue, overdoing the land based activities on Oahu, and leaving BOS at sub-zero temps and probably a flight based cold. After cruising the Hawaiian Islands, we had a few days at sea wherein I noticed others had a similar cough.

 

Late one night just before we arrived in Bora Bora, we had a severe rain storm with heavy winds. I woke up to the sound of water sloshing. Inquisitive, I pushed back the wall to wall drapes, then realized I was standing on saturated carpet. DH and I moved the luggage away from this area, wiped the bottom of each [thankfully bottom wheels kept the luggage from water damage]. I then noticed the sliding door track was black and it extended up the sides of each side - and water was dripping down. In addition, as I pulled on the drapes, I noticed the bottom and back of the drapes was also black with either mold or mildew.

 

We contacted the night steward, who brought additional towels to help mop up the excess water. He said someone would take care of this in the morning. Water continued to enter in spite of towels - we were on deck 8, mid-ship, and the water seemed to be coming from the open lido deck above us. Time to take a few pictures.

 

The following day, our steward attempted to dry our the carpet, but it was still damp. I pointed out the "black stuff" and was told it was dirt. Duh, then clean it! Not happy, I went to passenger services and got pretty much ignored. Two days later we were off the ship and staying at the IC in Papeete. The first night there, at dinner, DH commented "Listen, dry coughs from quite a few guests and they look familiar."

 

Once, home, I wrote directly to Princess with attached pictures and copied the letter to my TA. The tone of my letter was factual and void of affect, including many positive comments, but addressed the mold/mildew as a health issue along with my dismay at how the various staff dismissed the issue.

 

Within a week, I received a phone call from Princess in which we discussed the entire cruise and the pictures showing the saturate carpet, mold/mildew on the drapes and "dirt" growing along the sliding door frame. They offered a future cruise credit as compensation. It was more than I expected and I gladly used it toward our recent British Isles cruise.

 

Darcy

 

Bet they never addressed a permanent solution for future cruisers and the cabin is probably still in the same state.

Soon to be Oceania's problem. :cool: