Am I out of luck when Princess changed room on reservation

[victory2020]

Hello, A month ago I put 3 cruises on hold waiting for my credits to appear from a cancelled cruise. They showed up last week. Today I went to book them ( all done within 2 days of each other, same room E425 obstructed balcony that happens to be double the size of others.) My 2 Four  day cruises had not been altered, & prices today are the same as when I booked them. The 7 day is now $300 more for same room & My E425 had been switched to E611, a regular size balcony. I called & of course my big balcony is taken & agent said no one at Princess had changed room number. I tried to that if you looked logically at all three reservations, my two were identical(queen bed, anytime dining) but the 3rd that had been changed had twin bead, late dining. There is another higher category room 3 doors down that has similar balcony that she would not switch me too unless I paid $400pp more. Is there anything I can do? She told me supervisors were not available & that I must have put in the wrong room number initially (NOT!)

[san diego sue]

Call again and speak to someone else. Same thing happen to me in January. i had E429(next door to you, big balcony.

These may say obstructed but are totally not. I got changed without my knowing. Gave me a balcony on Aloha deck. considered a upgrade but wasn't and had a very small balcony. When I called the person took down the information , said she couldn't make the change but put in request to the department that can change it. Within a day I had my cabin back. Now this happened two weeks before my cruise. Also it wasn't given away, it was showing as available on the website. These are different times however and people are working from home . Don't know what access they have when they answer the phone.

By the way the cabin they tried to give you, also in the obstructed category but it is totally obstructed.

Good luck.

Edited June 24, 2020 by san diego sue

[JF - retired RRT]

For next time...take a screen shot or print out your reservation so you can prove it was your reservation.

[cruzsnooze]

Didn't you get a email confirmation to check and see what you originally booked for proof.  The contract allows Princess to move you at their discretion but they don't want to make anyone unhappy look at your original confirmation. 

[victory2020]

I erased confirmation e mail as soon as the cruise showed up in my personalizer (I'll never do that again!)

I called back & got someone who sounded like she knew what she was doing. She gave me the exact date I booked (I only knew what week), & also told me that my original room had been booked by someone else in Feb- before I booked it! Could not figure that one out! I absolutely booked E425! That's why I chose that date - the room was available. The fact that my bed choice & dining had changed proved it had been altered - at least to me.

She was able to talk to a supervisor & I told them I would settle for E411, an extended balcony room that had similar size balcony. First they said I would have to pay $45pp more & I didn't go for it so they adjusted the price to what I originally paid. 

 

 

[JF - retired RRT]

11 hours ago, victory2020 said:

I erased confirmation e mail as soon as the cruise showed up in my personalizer (I'll never do that again!)

I called back & got someone who sounded like she knew what she was doing. She gave me the exact date I booked (I only knew what week), & also told me that my original room had been booked by someone else in Feb- before I booked it! Could not figure that one out! I absolutely booked E425! That's why I chose that date - the room was available. The fact that my bed choice & dining had changed proved it had been altered - at least to me.

She was able to talk to a supervisor & I told them I would settle for E411, an extended balcony room that had similar size balcony. First they said I would have to pay $45pp more & I didn't go for it so they adjusted the price to what I originally paid. 

 

Glad it worked out for you.

[Daniel A]

Glad it worked out.  Once again this is a glaring example of phone reps saying whatever they can to get the customer off the phone and avoid spending time actually servicing the customer.  Princess really needs to establish quality control/supervision over the phone reps.  The phone reps are the face of the company to the customers and they are a disgrace to the company.  This isn't because the reps are working from home, it's been like this for a long time.

[mindy2]

May I ask which ship(s) these extended balcony rooms are on?

[san diego sue]

35 minutes ago, mindy2 said:

May I ask which ship(s) these extended balcony rooms are on?

Royal class ships, Royal, Regal etc

[mindy2]

Thank you!

[victory2020]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

Glad it worked out.  Once again this is a glaring example of phone reps saying whatever they can to get the customer off the phone and avoid spending time actually servicing the customer.  Princess really needs to establish quality control/supervision over the phone reps.  The phone reps are the face of the company to the customers and they are a disgrace to the company.  This isn't because the reps are working from home, it's been like this for a long time.

Yes, the first one was so unhelpful & unknowledgeable. I got off the phone & never wanted to sail Princess again. 

[Thrak]

I keep a pdf of every Booking Summary, Travel Summary, etc. for each cruise. I have one showing five $50 OBC (gift cards) and the one currently showing online only lists three. I sent a query as why it's incorrect online but, naturally, haven't received any reply. I do have one I can email or print for them though showing there are supposed to be five cards. Without documentation one can easily be cheated whether intentional or not.

[trvlwrld]

hold cruises can be changed until you actually put $$$down....if someone comes along and is willing to put their $$$ down as a definite committment, the iffy hold goes away😔

[victory2020]

5 hours ago, trvlwrld said:

hold cruises can be changed until you actually put $$$down....if someone comes along and is willing to put their $$$ down as a definite committment, the iffy hold goes away😔

That's what I was thinking happened since the price went up over $300 but when she said the room had been booked 3 months before I booked it I was totally baffled. I KNOW I booked that room, I don't make mistakes on cruise bookings, plus everything else had changed ie twinbeds???

[Daniel A]

15 hours ago, trvlwrld said:

hold cruises can be changed until you actually put $$$down....if someone comes along and is willing to put their $$$ down as a definite committment, the iffy hold goes away😔

I'm not contesting what you say, but if that's the case, then what's the purpose of a "hold" in the first place?  If I have a hotel reservation, and payment is due on arrival, I'd be pretty hot under the collar if the hotel let my room go because someone else got there and paid before me.

[Tedferg]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I'm not contesting what you say, but if that's the case, then what's the purpose of a "hold" in the first place?  

Just a guess, it is so a quote by a TA for example, will be honored at the price quoted if you act on it. Not sure I have seen TA quotes for specific cabins. I know my TA puts a courtesy hold when she makes a quote to me.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

"I erased confirmation e mail as soon as the cruise showed up in my personalizer "

 

Just a general comment on relying on a vendors databases.  This is an example of a vendor changing their records after you have seen them.  With so many of us getting e-bills and e-statements from banks, mortgage administrators, and other vendors, this is a cautionary tale.  

 

I recommend downloading the statements from your banks or other vendors and storing them on your backup media.  This is especially true for financial records. You should at a minimum keep your year end statements since they generally contain all the transactions within that year.

[onboard2005]

When I put a hold or deposit on a cruise ( or any trip) I create a folder in my computer (and print it out) of every email, confirmation, and travel summary I receive. I never delete anything even though it is in my personalizer. My folder includes holds, deposit confirmations, airline reservations, shuttle reservations, etc. I star the current info as I receive it so it's easy to find to print out. It's always good to have a complete paper trail.

[Hlitner]

Glad it worked out for the OP.  But cruisers should keep in mind that the cruise lines have the right (according to their fine print passenger contracts) to change your room and even cabin category.  And it can get even crazier.  We booked a carefully chosen Yacht Club cabin on MSC's Seaside for a cruise in December.  Last week MSC announced that they had changed our vessel to the Meraviglia.   They reassigned us to Yacht Club cabin on that ship but the location is not nearly as nice as what we had booked.  Another passenger posted on CC that there cabin was changed from a balcony cabin to an inside cabin!  What can they do?  One option would be to simply cancel.  Since the Yacht Club is completely sold out it is unlikely that anyone can make cabin changes.   Why did MSC change the ship?  They actually changed several ships and they cited complications related to COVID-19.   

 

Hank

[AF-1]

wow I knew airlines could change aircraft from a small to big jet; or vice versa;  did not know cruise lines could do the same thing. 

[caribill]

20 hours ago, AF-1 said:

wow I knew airlines could change aircraft from a small to big jet; or vice versa;  did not know cruise lines could do the same thing. 

 

Even if the cruise line changed to an identical sized ship, many cabin numbers and even types of cabins could be different.

 

A few years ago Princess changed the room numbering on a ship still in the construction phase and made no effort to place passengers in the same location as before the change. Main people it affected (and who were rightly very upset) had originally booked an aft balcony and ended up in the same cabin number that was now a side balcony.

[AF-1]

boy doesn't that stink