What's the record for being on hold

[azbirdmom]

It's sad that this situation continues and that folks have to spend so much time doing something that should be easy.  Here's the list of contacts per Elliott Advocacy (John Padgett still not listed but I think it would be pretty easy to figure out his email):

 

Email Contacts

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

---

Executive Contacts

Primary Contact
Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

Secondary Contact
Lorna Warren
Vice President Guest Services
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
lwarren@princess.com

Mario Siebaldi
Senior Vice President Guest Experience
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
msiebaldi@princesscruises.com

Chief Executive
Jan Swartz
President
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
jswartz@princesscruises.com

[puggymom]

Via chat, I was able to upgrade 2 cruises with the current promotions in half an hour. There was a short wait but not like the phone and no dreaded hold music 

[nho9504]

25 minutes ago, puggymom said:

Via chat, I was able to upgrade 2 cruises with the current promotions in half an hour. There was a short wait but not like the phone and no dreaded hold music 

 

What browser you used if it is done on computer or laptop?  Or the chat only available on Smartphone / Tablet?  I never see the Chat button shows up, though it may just mean no chat rep is available.

[puggymom]

4 minutes ago, nho9504 said:

 

What browser you used if it is done on computer or laptop?  Or the chat only available on Smartphone / Tablet?  I never see the Chat button shows up, though it may just mean no chat rep is available.

Used my iPhone

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

It's sad that this situation continues and that folks have to spend so much time doing something that should be easy.  Here's the list of contacts per Elliott Advocacy (John Padgett still not listed but I think it would be pretty easy to figure out his email):

 

Email Contacts

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

---

Executive Contacts

Primary Contact
Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

Secondary Contact
Lorna Warren
Vice President Guest Services
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
lwarren@princess.com

Mario Siebaldi
Senior Vice President Guest Experience
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
msiebaldi@princesscruises.com

Chief Executive
Jan Swartz
President
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
jswartz@princesscruises.com

 

THANKS! I screenshotted that post! 

Edited January 22, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[PescadoAmarillo]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

All my phones would be dead by then.

This, quite seriously, is what I’ve had to do when on hold with Princess.  The iPhone stays plugged in and charging. I wear Air Pods one at a time, with the other one in its case charging. I turn the volume down as low as I can while still hearing when a voice comes on (that Princess hold music…I just can’t anymore). 
 

And, still, I wouldn’t mind doing all that, for four hours (my record)…one time!  But when what is promised is not delivered, or is done incorrectly, and I have to do it all again a few weeks or a month later, that’s when I reach my limit of patience. 
 

I have to say that an email I sent in November (I think) finally resulted in a call back two weeks ago and most of the refund we were looking from appeared in our credit card account just a few days later. It was an issue I started working on in early October. 
 

I also have to say that an email about the wait times to John Padgett that I sent in November was never responded to. That’s why I’m bold enough to say they either don’t care or can’t fix it. 
 

We have one more open issue with Princess that we’ve been promised a resolution on in less than a month, but it is relatively minor and I do feel like we can almost cross Princess off our list of todo’s.  Because they’ve been on it for most of the last two years. 

[donaldsc]

I do not cruise on Princess and I also do all my cruise reservations through a TA so I don't have to sit on hold but I do have a couple of questions -

 

1) Are these extremely long hold times and poor service unique to Princess or are other lines just as bad a Princess?

 

2) If they are unique to Princess, why does everyone continue to put themselves through these hassles?  Why doesn't everyone just cancel their reservations and sail w another line.  After all, Princess isn't the only line at that their level of quality that ism sailing.

 

Just wondering.

 

DON

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

I do not cruise on Princess and I also do all my cruise reservations through a TA so I don't have to sit on hold but I do have a couple of questions -

 

1) Are these extremely long hold times and poor service unique to Princess or are other lines just as bad a Princess?

 

2) If they are unique to Princess, why does everyone continue to put themselves through these hassles?  Why doesn't everyone just cancel their reservations and sail w another line.  After all, Princess isn't the only line at that their level of quality that ism sailing.

 

Just wondering.

 

DON

Pure speculating, but at least true in the case of some CC posters.  A lot of folks have large FCC's due to the Pauses and even Princess Gift Cards from before the Pauses, and are looking to cruise again and not forfeit their money.  After that is accomplished there will likely be a significant number that will step away until there is evidence PCL has their act together again.  I cannot comment on other lines, other than anecdotal from my TA indicating he has similar issues trying to reach the other mass market lines. 

 

PS - If you don't cruise with Princess, why are you often posting on Princess thread topics?  

Just wondering.

[brisalta]

5 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

It's sad that this situation continues and that folks have to spend so much time doing something that should be easy.  Here's the list of contacts per Elliott Advocacy (John Padgett still not listed but I think it would be pretty easy to figure out his email):

 

Email Contacts

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

---

Executive Contacts

Primary Contact
Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

Secondary Contact
Lorna Warren
Vice President Guest Services
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
lwarren@princess.com

Mario Siebaldi
Senior Vice President Guest Experience
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
msiebaldi@princesscruises.com

Chief Executive
Jan Swartz
President
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
jswartz@princesscruises.com

 

Jan Swartz is now head of Holland America Group of which Princess is one part.

 

The President of Princess Cruise Lines is...

now the bozo who brought the delight of the Medallion app.

[cr8tiv1]

Today, my TA was trying to do me a favor.  Once I put the bug in her ear, I could not get her to stop.  I wanted a copy of my PVP that is usually attached to the bottom of my invoice.  In switching computers, I am not able to retrieve one.

 

She first had to contact Customer Service who transferred and transferred and transferred and then told her she had to contact ANON.  Ridiculous.  She, being the magician she is, was able to locate a policy and emailed it to me.  Multiply me by some of her active booking clients.  That's a lot of time on the phone.  

 

And this is why I continue to book cruises through her.  

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Pure speculating, but at least true in the case of some CC posters.  A lot of folks have large FCC's due to the Pauses and even Princess Gift Cards from before the Pauses, and are looking to cruise again and not forfeit their money.  After that is accomplished there will likely be a significant number that will step away until there is evidence PCL has their act together again.  I cannot comment on other lines, other than anecdotal from my TA indicating he has similar issues trying to reach the other mass market lines. 

 

PS - If you don't cruise with Princess, why are you often posting on Princess thread topics?  

Just wondering.

 

I have cruised Princess in the past and when I take my grandkids to Alaska on their 10th birthday year, we go on Princess.  If you want to do AK on a larger ship (I prefer smaller ships w <1000 passengers) Princess is a good line for AK because of their long history w AK and also because the other grandkids have enjoyed their Princess AK cruises.  In the past few years we have been cruising mostly on Azamara because I like the R class ships and the customer oriented attitude of the Azamara crew and especially their captains.  This year we have booked on 2 new lines for us - Clipper Cruises and Viking (both ocean and river).

 

DON

[Buckeye10640]

12 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Some of us still work. Staying on hold even for 30 min. is difficult. 

I hear you. I work from home these days, so I have the ability to just sit 'on hold' while working on my computer. And then hoping that Princess does not finally answer while I am on the occasional  work call or online meeting. I realize many who work cant do what I do....

[geoherb]

7 hours ago, donaldsc said:

1) Are these extremely long hold times and poor service unique to Princess or are other lines just as bad a Princess?

 

2) If they are unique to Princess, why does everyone continue to put themselves through these hassles?  Why doesn't everyone just cancel their reservations and sail w another line.  After all, Princess isn't the only line at that their level of quality that is sailing.

 

 

1. The rumor is that NCL doesn't have those long hold times. I wouldn't know about it first-hand because I took my one and only NCL cruise many years ago.

 

2. I generally don't. I usually book my cruises through a travel agency after the final payment date. I get a great price and don't worry if it goes down. In this case, I booked online through the Princess website because the price was great that night. I knew that any OBC or a better price that a TA could offer would be minimal from the great fare. But when the price of a balcony went down to be the same as an inside overnight, I had to see if it would be possible to switch. And the second rep said it was possible and actually switched my cabin from an inside to a balcony. I have the confirmation email to prove that she was able to do that.

 

The problems started when the deal I saw online to switch to a balcony and add Princess Plus and the even better deal the second rep said was available turned out to give that rep problems. She could see it available on her computer, but for some unknown reason could not get it to apply correctly. And inexplicably, when she transferred me to customer service, that rep said she could not see the deal available at all and insinuated it was just a glitch. She is the one who suggested making the duplicate booking to see if the computer would let me complete it. I did it as a courtesy hold.

 

The problems continued when reps four through eight couldn't get the promo code to work. A miracle happened with the ninth rep did.

 

If I was not a fairly loyal Princess customer and had not already purchased my airline tickets, it would have been easy to cancel this cruise (which, since it is now just two weeks away, would still leave me with the problem of having part of the amount I paid returned to my credit card and the rest as a future cruise credit that has to be used this year). But I just checked pricing on going solo that week on other cruise lines. The only ones that fit into the same price range currently are Carnival and the aforementioned NCL. Those are two lines I'd rather not sail on again. Royal Caribbean's price is double what I paid. Holland America's and Celebrity's are triple.

[ontheweb]

16 hours ago, pms4104 said:

At the very least, John Padgett (you know, Jan Swartz's replacement at the top) should/would care how clients are being (mis)treated.

He got his promotion for the buggy medallion. Why should he now care about anything else?

[billco]

Yesterday I got an e-mail from Princess that I had been upgraded from a Dolphin deck premium deluxe balcony to an Aloha deck mini-suite on my September TA on the Enchanted, because they needed the cabin for covid isolation. I didn't consider that an upgrade, so I called. While on hold, I decided to try Chat. I got someone right away. She had to contact customer service to get my cabin changed. While she was on hold, she looked into why I hadn't got my refundable OBC from my October and November cruises. Unfortunately, after about 45 minutes we lost the connection. A while later, I tried chat again and got a different rep right away. Just as she told me the other rep got me the cabin I wanted, I got the e-mail confirmation. Then, while she was telling me that Princess had recently processed the OBC, I lost connection again, but at least I had my issues resolved. It took about 1 1/2 hours. I then took my phone off hold.

[MissP22]

25 minutes ago, billco said:

Yesterday I got an e-mail from Princess that I had been upgraded from a Dolphin deck premium deluxe balcony to an Aloha deck mini-suite on my September TA on the Enchanted, because they needed the cabin for covid isolation. I didn't consider that an upgrade, so I called. While on hold, I decided to try Chat. I got someone right away. She had to contact customer service to get my cabin changed. While she was on hold, she looked into why I hadn't got my refundable OBC from my October and November cruises. Unfortunately, after about 45 minutes we lost the connection. A while later, I tried chat again and got a different rep right away. Just as she told me the other rep got me the cabin I wanted, I got the e-mail confirmation. Then, while she was telling me that Princess had recently processed the OBC, I lost connection again, but at least I had my issues resolved. It took about 1 1/2 hours. I then took my phone off hold.

What Princess sometimes considers an upgrade I often think of as a downgrade. 

[HBCcruiser]

10 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I do not cruise on Princess and I also do all my cruise reservations through a TA so I don't have to sit on hold but I do have a couple of questions -

 

1) Are these extremely long hold times and poor service unique to Princess or are other lines just as bad a Princess?

 

 

2) If they are unique to Princess, why does everyone continue to put themselves through these hassles?  Why doesn't everyone just cancel their reservations and sail w another line.  After all, Princess isn't the only line at that their level of quality that ism sailing.

 

Just wondering.

 

DON

1. Princess. When I call Royal or NCL the wait is not nearly as long. 
2. Burning FCC for me. I do like their price point compared to other lines. Plus they have a lot of cruises out of LA where I live. Now that Royal is porting here again, though….🚢😎

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

What Princess sometimes considers an upgrade I often think of as a downgrade. 

I do not think that is unique to Princess.

[jchowze]

I just got off about an hour with live chat.  The first 5 or 6 minutes were waiting for somone to be available but the very helpful rep refared and saved me 1300$ US on our June Alaska cruise.  Thanks to you fine folks on Cruise Critic for teaching me that was even a possibility!!

[claudia814]

I don’t understand how you can wait on hold for so long. Don’t you have a Princess Travel Agent? I see a cruise I like, put it on hold then email or call my agent and she completes the reservation adding the distilled water and sharps container. Just recently I noticed my fare went down $300 so I emailed her and she shot me a new cruise reservation with lower dollar amount. I always ask her to tell me if it deletes a perk so I can decide if it’s worth it. I asked her years ago if she lives in Santa Clarita near Princess headquarters and she said she’s in Indiana. Who knew???

[brisalta]

13 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Today, my TA was trying to do me a favor.  Once I put the bug in her ear, I could not get her to stop.  I wanted a copy of my PVP that is usually attached to the bottom of my invoice.  In switching computers, I am not able to retrieve one.

 

She first had to contact Customer Service who transferred and transferred and transferred and then told her she had to contact ANON.  Ridiculous.  She, being the magician she is, was able to locate a policy and emailed it to me.  Multiply me by some of her active booking clients.  That's a lot of time on the phone.  

 

And this is why I continue to book cruises through her.  

 

Interesting neither of them knew were to get a copy of the policy from.

 

At the bottom of this page you can download the policy for the standard plan:

 https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/PCT_Std_Landing.html

 

At the bottom of this page you can download the policy for the platinum plan:

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/PCT_Plt_Landing.html

Edited January 22, 2022 by brisalta

[cr8tiv1]

@brisaltaYes, my TA and I finally found that page (without the help of Princess).  It would have been so much easier for Princess to send her a copy of the policy.  

 

Thank you for posting this for everyone's benefit.

[HBCcruiser]

Well, I thought I'd try again. I have been on hold now, for over 3.5 hours after being transferred several times. My ability to book or cancel excursions is frozen for my April 4th Hawaii cruise on the Grand. No one is able to help so far, so I have been transferred around and around Princess. I received emails that 2 of my booked excursions were canceled and that I should re-book using the online portal.  I have been trying to do so for over three weeks to no avail. It is sad because I would really prefer to go on the Princess excursions and to give Princess the revenue. I have booked outside excursions through Viator just in case. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[fpsphil]

Was on the phone/hold for 5 hours before my cruise last week. Hour and a half to get to the first person who then had to hold to get me moved into M107 because I had mocked booked it for another 3.5 hours. The hold music is permanently burned into my head

[HBCcruiser]

WOW. So I tried to email Princess reps to see if they could assist with my excursion issue and got this message back. If any other business treated customers this way they'd be out of business. Guess I just have to give up on booking excursions through Princess.