What recourse do I have?

[whiterose]

I have a severe hearing loss so I know how frustrating it can be trying to communicate with the front desk staff. On the other hand I've taken 24 Princess cruises so obviously I'm willing to put up with the lack of access.

 

In my experience, the worst part of any cruise is trying to talk to the people at the front desk. I think they are programmed to say "no we can't do anything about it". Many of them speak English as a second or third language so it's hard to read their lips or understand if you have a hearing loss. A few are wonderful and try to help but most just want me to go away and stop taking up so much of their time.

 

THERE IS NO ONE ON ANY PRINCESS SHIP WHO HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HANDICAPPED ACCESS. I HAVE ASKED. ANY PROBLEMS HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGH THE HOME OFFICE. NOBODY ON BOARD UNDERSTANDS THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS.

 

And please don't tell me I need to notify Princess in advance etc because believe me I do all of that. I go to a lot of trouble to try to stop problems from happening.

 

I'm sure that the OPs hearing loss made a bad situation even worse.

[flamomo]

Sorry things did not turn out as you had hoped, OP. That being said, as the saying goes ... Ship Happens!

 

BTW ... your choice of a screen name is a turn off before one reads a single word of your long rant!! Just seeing that sets the tone for a lot of the replies you got, because it's so obviously a complaint.

 

As to Princess being somehow responsible for your luggage loss and for tracking it down .... I don't see that as true. Lost luggage is an airline problem, whether you booked your flights on your own or thru Princess. You did not HAVE TO book flights thru Princess, so blaming then is nonsense. You COULD HAVE booked them independently. Either way, it is still an airline problem, and your taking Princess to task does not make it theirs, except in your own mind.

 

I must also say that if you went to the Passenger Services desk and verbally ranted the way you have written your rant here, I can see why the staff there did their best to dodge you. The old saying about honey vs vinegar is very true.

[babygoo]

I'm fairly foreign to Cruise Critic as I'm not much of a cruiser, but I have found it both entertaining and sad the way that people rush to blame the complainer whenever these posts pop up. In my limited time on this board it has happened over and over. Princess seems to have reached Apple-level adoration status around here.

 

Princess is a business. The captains and officers that some of you seem to be on a first name basis with are not your friends, they are employees who you are paid to be nice to you so that you'll book another cruise. And the fact that they were wonderful to you does not mean that they have never been unhelpful with anyone else.

 

Yes, some of the OP's complaints are a little tenuous, but if I had my luggage lost and my plumbing constantly malfunctioning then I would start getting irritated too... and most of us, once irritated, tend to blow small things out of proportion as they pile up. After a few days, I might even find myself getting mad that they didn't have my preferred type of tea.

 

And yes, a certain level of patience is required while traveling, and sometimes the complainers can be over the top. But Princess is not a $5/night hostel or a tiny shack in the depths of the jungle-- I think passengers at the very least have a right to expect basic, functioning plumbing. Is there really nothing you guys will hold them accountable for?

 

Maybe instead of jumping to the conclusion that he's a troll, or trying desperately to find holes to poke into his story (really-- a deaf guy can't work for a police department? He never said he was an officer), just offer him some advice on how to resolve the situation. The purpose of this board is for people to get advice on their cruise-related questions, isn't it?

 

It just seems like anytime anyone has the nerve to mention something that has gone wrong, or accidentally swaps the names of the ship, or, god forbid, calls it a boat, they are roundly dismissed and ridiculed. Not everyone has spent decades of their life cruising. Some of us wouldn't want to. Maybe try showing people a little basic respect and decency?

 

WOOP WOOP! well said :)

[whiterose]

Oops in my first post I forgot to say anything about telephones and deafness. The OP said he and his wife are deaf which means they have a serious hearing loss. He did not say he could not hear anything at all, he did not say they use sign language. I call myself deaf because my hearing is so bad but I can still use a telephone though with some difficulty. Using the phone in a noisy room will not work as I need to concentrate on what I hear over the phone - that's why he needed to get away from the desk to use a phone.

 

So please if you have normal hearing don't try and decide who is or is not "deaf". Just be thankful you can stil hear.

[timetravler]

We have had trolls here before and sorry, but I do not believe the original poster. Much of what they said does not make sense, especially the deaf part. They are blaming Princess for lost luggage, yet Princess has absolutely nothing to do with luggage lost by an airline. Too many inconsistency with the OP to believe this. Of course they never came back and his avatar alone is suspicious.

[dickinson]

Interesting thread. I am sorry the OP had to go through this. From reading CC over the years there have been a lot of complaints about Passenger Services and that the people don't seem to care. This does not appear to be new. I am sure that there are some crew who work there who are very caring and do their best to help as evidenced by some of the responders to this thread.

 

However, the OP seems to have definitely encountered issues. Could he have helped alleviate the situation a little bit himself? Yes (shopped for clothes in port, worn a robe that is in every stateroom to walk down to the laundry to clean his clothes, etc). Just like in every big company… some people love them and think the employees go out of their way but yet people in other places find the employees there totally different and uncaring. Same thing on ships. One ship has great customer service people and another one does not.

[dickinson]

We have had trolls here before and sorry, but I do not believe the original poster. Much of what they said does not make sense, especially the deaf part. They are blaming Princess for lost luggage, yet Princess has absolutely nothing to do with luggage lost by an airline. Too many inconsistency with the OP to believe this. Of course they never came back and his avatar alone is suspicious.

 

They booked the flight through Princess. They are on a Princess ship and need assistance to contact the airline. They should have received that assistance. I suspect that their hearing impairment may have played a roll in this and why passenger services was not the most helpful. It is possible the OP was nice at first but the frustrations probably mounted.

[san diego sue]

When we fly internationally we put an extra luggage tag on suitcases.

It is bright yellow. In several languages it states if luggage is lost read

itinerary enclosed. And enclosed in the luggage tag is our full itinerary with dates. If we are in pre cruise hotel, it is listed (with address and phone number). The cruise ship(cabin number) and all ports with dates are listed.

We have been very lucky that never lost suitcase on international travel

but that extra tag would make it easier for airlines to track us.

Also always have extra underwear in carry on.

By the way for quick emergency washing in cabin. No emergency, use line in the shower to hang. For a very quick dry, the top of your refrigerator in cabin is quite warm and underwear or socks dry in a couple of hours.

By the way, the tags I mentioned can be purchased at Magellan, on line.

 

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Yep!

 

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[3]

[JimmyVWine]

We have had trolls here before and sorry, but I do not believe the original poster. Much of what they said does not make sense, especially the deaf part. They are blaming Princess for lost luggage, yet Princess has absolutely nothing to do with luggage lost by an airline. Too many inconsistency with the OP to believe this. Of course they never came back and his avatar alone is suspicious.

Actually, I think it could be very easy for people who use Princess Air to think that Princess has far more involvement in the handling of luggage than it does. Sort of like booking excursions. Book with Princess and you get the "we won't leave without you" guarantee. So I don't blame people for the confusion there. If there is anything positive to come out of this thread, perhaps it is the education on this topic.

[newcruzer2]

With regard to the breakfast tea, I have learned that if there is something packable (tea bags, in this case) that I can't do without, I bring it with me. I have also learned (the hard way) to always bring a carry-on with enough clothing to scrape by with on a trip in case checked bags get lost.

(Originally posted by . socal cruiser78)

 

YES, EXACTLY !!!!

Edited July 31, 2015 by newcruzer2

[Matcodixon]

They booked the flight through Princess. They are on a Princess ship and need assistance to contact the airline. They should have received that assistance. I suspect that their hearing impairment may have played a roll in this and why passenger services was not the most helpful. It is possible the OP was nice at first but the frustrations probably mounted.

 

What gives you the impression that they booked their flight through Princess? I have read and re read the original post and there was no indication that they did or did not. Do you have additional information that was not posted? The OP has made no additional posts anywhere.

 

Just curious.

Dixon

[newcruzer2]

Yes I find this strange....he was so OUTRAGED to write this LONG post but NEVER followed up, and reposted comments, or joined the conversation HE started......sounds like a TROLL to me :(

[WpgCruise]

What gives you the impression that they booked their flight through Princess? I have read and re read the original post and there was no indication that they did or did not. Do you have additional information that was not posted? The OP has made no additional posts anywhere.

 

Just curious.

Dixon

 

The O.P. included this statement in their post, which supports the impression the air was also booked through Princess.

 

"I explained to her that her job was to track down my luggage via the air lines since this airlines was the one that Princess made me chose, in order to assure me that if there was a travel problem, I would be made whole and I would be put onto my cruise."

Edited July 31, 2015 by WpgCruise

[notentirelynormal]

This guy was a "customer" in a work place. He states he aggressively told two different people what their job was and how to do it. So, if I go to your work and demand you stop doing your job and start doing what I tell you to do and that I want it done now, you guys are okay with this? When you don't do it I yell and ask for your supervisor. This is exactly what this guy said he did.

 

My mother is nearly deaf. You have to yell at her and be facing her. She has difficulty hearing on the phone and people with accents, well forget about it. She would never yell at someone to get her way.

 

My profoundly deaf nephew can not read lips (you have to be able to hear to learn). You know what he does. He brings a pen and paper with him wherever he goes. He doesn't expect everyone, including family, to be able to use sign language. If this guy had such a bad problem that hearing aids didn't help (my mother refuses to use hearing aids) then he could have done what my nephew does. Instead he expected the crew to do his bidding when he wanted it. The guy was a jerk to the crew.

[tetleytea]

I have seen passengers screaming at the front desk. No way to get anything done.

 

When I see that, I might get involved. If I know absolutely nothing about the incident, I will stay out, but if I overhear anything at all and can tell the screaming is uncalled for, I throw the "none of my business" thing to the wind--especially if the crew member is petite. Only need to give her 5 minutes so she can get backup.

[windsor26]

When we fly internationally we put an extra luggage tag on suitcases.

It is bright yellow. In several languages it states if luggage is lost read

itinerary enclosed. And enclosed in the luggage tag is our full itinerary with dates. If we are in pre cruise hotel, it is listed (with address and phone number). The cruise ship(cabin number) and all ports with dates are listed.

We have been very lucky that never lost suitcase on international travel

but that extra tag would make it easier for airlines to track us.

Also always have extra underwear in carry on.

By the way for quick emergency washing in cabin. No emergency, use line in the shower to hang. For a very quick dry, the top of your refrigerator in cabin is quite warm and underwear or socks dry in a couple of hours.

By the way, the tags I mentioned can be purchased at Magellan, on line.

 

 

What fabulous advice Something I had never thought of and although we cross pack and have an outfit in carry on I will do this in future

[WpgCruise]

The guy was a jerk to the crew.

 

No argument on that.

 

Amazing isn't it how we get back what we put into interactions with people ?

 

I've found if you treat someone like they're stupid and incompetent usually their desire to help seems to slip a bit, even for the most professional of C.S.R.'s. I would expect the bare minimum is the result of that approach.

 

But if people who can help with are approached with some respect, treating them as you would want to be treated, the results are usually better.

[Essiesmom]

Well, I am more and more confused as to what cruise the OP was on. I has been suggested that they were on the Caribbean, but she is sailing from Soton, sailed Jun 27, and was in Comenhagen Jun 30. Only the third day of the 14 day cruise. But the OP says by July 6 they still did not have luggage. Regal seems to be sailing in the Baltic, boarding passengers at Warnemunde, SPB, and Copenhagen, but they are only 10/11 day cruises. They could have embarked in Warnemunde on the 29th and been in Copenhagen on Jul 7. It also sounds like they may have flown in the day of the cruise?

 

And late in the diatribe, they state they are previous Princess cruisers, so they should know what facilities there are for the hearing impaired. EM

[maiseric]

Captain Nick Nash ,(as op mentioned )was on the Carribean Princess for the Southampton baltic cruise.

[G.M.T.]

I think we should all calm down and I'll make us a nice cup of tea. Now where did I put those English Breakfast Teabags that I borrowed from Princess.

 

I hope they are not in my luggage lost by Princess / Virgin Atlantic, when I get my hands on those Customer Care $/&%"§§, I'll rant & rave then politely ask if they could send some teabags round.

[jgpdx]

I think we should all calm down and I'll make us a nice cup of tea. Now where did I put those English Breakfast Teabags that I borrowed from Princess.

 

I hope they are not in my luggage lost by Princess / Virgin Atlantic, when I get my hands on those Customer Care $/&%"§§, I'll rant & rave then politely ask if they could send some teabags round.

 

:D This thread needed some levity!

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I think we should all calm down and I'll make us a nice cup of tea. Now where did I put those English Breakfast Teabags that I borrowed from Princess...

 

:).

[tml1230]

I think we should all calm down and I'll make us a nice cup of tea. Now where did I put those English Breakfast Teabags that I borrowed from Princess.

 

I hope they are not in my luggage lost by Princess / Virgin Atlantic, when I get my hands on those Customer Care $/&%"§§, I'll rant & rave then politely ask if they could send some teabags round.

 

THAT was funny!…to show our gratitude we should all pitch in and buy you a slightly used police T-shirt…

 

thanks for a good laugh!

Edited July 31, 2015 by tml1230
typo

[Cruise Junky]

I'm not getting into the troll no troll thing but as someone who's luggage was lost on a 12 day Princess cruise this story is a complete 180 from the services we received. And Princess had nothing to do with losing mine. It was 100% the airline.