Vacation Planner

[mlmbar]

Booked second cruise on Princess last week using the PVP assigned to me when I booked first one.  I did not use him the first time because I was not impressed with him when we spoke. Decided to give him another chance .  When I booked, only deck 8 forward or aft was available. I wanted midship on a higher deck but took it for the time being. I saw pictures of the aft cabin I chose and saw that it was obstructed, something he failed to mention. When I told him that and requested to be moved forward, he told me it wasn't obstructed but did it when I produced pictures.  Now , upon doing a mock booking yesterday, I see deck 15 midship has two available cabins which I want. BUT I have to wait until tomorrow after noon (eastern time) to talk to him.  This is why I did not use a PVP last time.  Can I change to another if I am not happy? Even if I used a PVP, can I make changes on my own with whomever answers if he is not available? I really regret not doing this on my own like last time      

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, mlmbar said:

Now , upon doing a mock booking yesterday, I see deck 15 midship has two available cabins which I want. BUT I have to wait until tomorrow after noon

go back into the 'mock booking' and put a courtesy hold ( 2 days or so ) on that cabin until you can talk to your PVP

[mlmbar]

38 minutes ago, voljeep said:

go back into the 'mock booking' and put a courtesy hold ( 2 days or so ) on that cabin until you can talk to your PVP

THANKS!!!! I just did that and emailed my PVP.  

[Kineticoh20]

I have not had luck with my PVP, he had reached out to me but didn’t seem that there was any benefit or at least he never eluded to that. I had put a hold on a certain cabin and he called me wondering why I didn’t use him. I had sent that reservation to Amex Plat as we get an additional $200 shipboard credit. 
I continue to get emails from him, so I called him to check rates on a April cruise. He informed me that since I used another company to book my last cruise he will not quote this booking. I was quite taken back and kind of insulted. I continue to get emails from him using my first name like we are old buddies lol

[EDDY0827]

" He informed me that since I used another company to book my last cruise he will not quote this booking."

This needs a call to your PVP's supervisor. No customer should tolerate this breach of customer service. Keep escalating until this is handled to your satisfaction.

[mlmbar]

7 hours ago, Kineticoh20 said:

I have not had luck with my PVP, he had reached out to me but didn’t seem that there was any benefit or at least he never eluded to that. I had put a hold on a certain cabin and he called me wondering why I didn’t use him. I had sent that reservation to Amex Plat as we get an additional $200 shipboard credit. 
I continue to get emails from him, so I called him to check rates on a April cruise. He informed me that since I used another company to book my last cruise he will not quote this booking. I was quite taken back and kind of insulted. I continue to get emails from him using my first name like we are old buddies lol

I am thinking that I have a similar PVP. I did not see a benefit so did not use him first cruise. I have always booked on my own on my 10 cruises with RCI/Celebrity.  I guess it is a control thing  LOL  BUT I did make a few mistakes booking my first Princess cruise on my own so I felt I would give him another shot. He was pissed after I didn;t use him last cruise but I did still get occasional emails. If he does not come through with moving my cabin AND not make me pay  an additional $250 deposit since I booked on the Valentine's Day $250 deposit promotion, he is gone  

[Ombud]

In that you booked with Princess you can have anyone including 1800Princess and chat line "correct" your booking. But look up the rooms first on:

 https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Princess

 

For instance Royal class rooms E409-E425 are listed as obstructed but are not. 

[mlmbar]

19 hours ago, Ombud said:

In that you booked with Princess you can have anyone including 1800Princess and chat line "correct" your booking. But look up the rooms first on:

 https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Princess

 

For instance Royal class rooms E409-E425 are listed as obstructed but are not. 

Thank you! I did check my cabin of choice and it is just fine. How long do you expect to wait for  a PVP to return a call or email? It is now Monday and no word from him about changing my cabin. My hold is good til Wednesday but he seems unreliable.  Last week he took two days to get back because he was off for the doctor one of the days and then gave me a full medical report followed by telling me about his magic career. 

[Ombud]

1st of all, PVP are off for the Presidents Holiday so it's not unusual that you haven't heard back. 2nd my new PVP works from home and I don't think home is in California.  Her hours are 10-7 so maybe Hawaii? Unfortunately I'm up before 6 in California so our hours don't jive. I just emailed her for my last drop and won't hear back until 6pm tomorrow (other than her 'I'm off due to holiday' msg). If you can get into chat (I can't) ask for an extension before Wednesday 

 

It would bother me to hear about their 'other' career although I don't doubt she has one too (she lightly mentioned another project at PCL). Or a medical report. I'm weird -- keep it on business. Once we're friends then we can veer into side topics / or not

 

Again, alternatively you can talk to anyone at 1800Princess if you can get through. Or call1-800-901-1172 and state you need to speak to a different PVP. Then that PVP can ask to have you changed to their roster. 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Ombud

[mlmbar]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

1st of all, PVP are off for the Presidents Holiday so it's not unusual that you haven't heard back. 2nd my new PVP works from home and I don't think home is in California.  Her hours are 10-7 so maybe Hawaii? Unfortunately I'm up before 6 in California so our hours don't jive. I just emailed her for my last drop and won't hear back until 6pm tomorrow (other than her 'I'm off due to holiday' msg). If you can get into chat (I can't) ask for an extension before Wednesday 

 

It would bother me to hear about their 'other' career although I don't doubt she has one too (she lightly mentioned another project at PCL). Or a medical report. I'm weird -- keep it on business. Once we're friends then we can veer into side topics / or not

 

Again, alternatively you can talk to anyone at 1800Princess if you can get through. Or call1-800-901-1172 and state you need to speak to a different PVP. Then that PVP can ask to have you changed to their roster. 

 

 

Thank you! I did not realize that the PVP are off today! That makes me feel better. I will be patient but if I don;t hear tomorrow, I will take your advice and ask for an extension.  I am a take charge type of person and this is why I hesitated to use a PVP.  Never used one with RCI since the one they once assigned me was useless . I am used to being able to just call and talk to whomever answers, hoping that they will know their stuff. I have never had a problem  so this is all new to me and I doubt that I will ever use a PVP again.   

[HaveDogWillTravel]

27 minutes ago, mlmbar said:

Thank you! I did not realize that the PVP are off today! That makes me feel better. I will be patient but if I don;t hear tomorrow, I will take your advice and ask for an extension.  I am a take charge type of person and this is why I hesitated to use a PVP.  Never used one with RCI since the one they once assigned me was useless . I am used to being able to just call and talk to whomever answers, hoping that they will know their stuff. I have never had a problem  so this is all new to me and I doubt that I will ever use a PVP again.   

If you go to a meet and greet for  your next cruise ask the group if anyone has a PVP they recommend (we can’t do that on this forum). I have a great one and I know of at least one other fabulous PvP. I’m sure there’s more. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by HaveDogWillTravel

[mlmbar]

2 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

If you go to a meet and greet for  your next cruise ask the group if anyone has a PVP they recommend (we can’t do that on this forum). I have a great one and I know of at least one other fabulous PvP. I’m sure there’s more. 

Thank you! Another great suggestion. I have had one recommended by a good friend.  I just am not sure how to dump "the comedian with the bad back" LOL  Not sure of the protocol

Edited February 22, 2022 by mlmbar

[Steelers36]

When you ask around about a good PVP/CVP, try asking also about a good TA that gives a cash discount off the cruise fare.  For everything a good PVP/CVP can do, they cannot give you a fare discount like and independent TA can.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, mlmbar said:

Thank you! Another great suggestion. I have had one recommended by a good friend.  I just am not sure how to dump "the comedian with the bad back" LOL  Not sure of the protocol

 

Contact the one your friend recommended and ask that person to have you switched.

[awinte2]

I have had a great PVP for over 10 years. She is the best. If I call and leave voicemail she is back to me same day. Did not have to spend an hour on hold.

The last cruise i have had to use Princess Casino as we got a bigger discount.  I miss that personal 

touch my PVP gave  so if you are not happy with your PVP get another until you find one you click with.

 

 

[cruzsnooze]

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

When you ask around about a good PVP/CVP, try asking also about a good TA that gives a cash discount off the cruise fare.  For everything a good PVP/CVP can do, they cannot give you a fare discount like and independent TA can.

Actually they can give you some perks/obc  if you present them with a written quote from elsewhere. 

[Steelers36]

44 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

Actually they can give you some perks/obc  if you present them with a written quote from elsewhere. 

Is there a cap on that?  And is the OBC Refundable?  TIA.

[Cruise Raider]

I'm extremely happy with my CVP (PVP).  I had some friends that booked through a different CVP because mine was off that week (on a cruise that we were on with her, actually) and they were unhappy with the service of the CVP that was assigned to them.  They asked to be switched over to the one we use and bingo!  She was able to take over their reservation.  Now, she has to do this without stepping on toes once the reservation was made but, there is nothing wrong with asking for a new CPV when calling to make a new booking.  

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Is there a cap on that?  And is the OBC Refundable?  TIA.

When there was a huge annual sale last year I sent the information to my PVP and had up to $500 (that was the max OBC of the other site's sale) applied as refundable OBC on a 15 day sailing.  He applied the OBC offered by the competition to all my bookings and it came to a whopping $3000 over all my bookings. All of it was refundable and I got to keep it even when I refared bookings as price reductions occurred.  The only time I lost it was when I changed a Hawaii sailing from the Ruby to the Sapphire.  

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

When there was a huge annual sale last year I sent the information to my PVP and had up to $500 (that was the max OBC of the other site's sale) applied as refundable OBC on a 15 day sailing.  He applied the OBC offered by the competition to all my bookings and it came to a whopping $3000 over all my bookings. All of it was refundable and I got to keep it even when I refared bookings as price reductions occurred.  The only time I lost it was when I changed a Hawaii sailing from the Ruby to the Sapphire.  

Effectively, that is Princess matching a Travel Agency pricing and I didn't believe that is possible.  Could be newish or could depend on the clout of the CVP/PVP.  No idea.  If I could do that with a good PVP, I would as I would then retain full control/access to my bookings (we give up certain control things when a TA is involved, but what I lose is worth the discounting).  I am getting 12% off the commissionable fare (it was 15% pre-Covid).

[bafinegan]

I had to change my ALaska cruise from Sept 2023 to May 2023.  I left a message with my PVP, but I am not a patient person.  😉  SO i used tha chat feature and was able to change everything that way.  My PVP called me later in the day and said she saw it had been changed and was there anything else I wanted her to do? She then helped me with applying for the military OBC.  So there are good ones out there and there is more than one way to get things fixed!

Edited February 22, 2022 by bafinegan

[justafem]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

When you ask around about a good PVP/CVP, try asking also about a good TA that gives a cash discount off the cruise fare.  For everything a good PVP/CVP can do, they cannot give you a fare discount like and independent TA can.

That's weird.  I got a call from a PVP last Friday and I was offered the same deal that an online TA's website offered for a Sept cruise. Difference of $500ish over website prices.  

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, justafem said:

That's weird.  I got a call from a PVP last Friday and I was offered the same deal that an online TA's website offered for a Sept cruise. Difference of $500ish over website prices.  

Were you speaking with one of the agents of the online website?  I ask because online websites are not allowed to present anything other than Princess price offers.  Some of those may be less than others. 

 

For example, if I use a third-party booking engine that shows multiple prices, I can see four or five different Fare Codes that are applicable to my Captain's Circle Member ID.

 

Some booking sites do not show all fares and you have to be logged in to see anything special that you may be eligible for.  

 

Anyway, interesting offer, but I would ask the Fare Code, etc.

[justafem]

On 2/22/2022 at 5:19 PM, Steelers36 said:

Were you speaking with one of the agents of the online website?  I ask because online websites are not allowed to present anything other than Princess price offers.  Some of those may be less than others. 

 

For example, if I use a third-party booking engine that shows multiple prices, I can see four or five different Fare Codes that are applicable to my Captain's Circle Member ID.

 

Some booking sites do not show all fares and you have to be logged in to see anything special that you may be eligible for.  

 

Anyway, interesting offer, but I would ask the Fare Code, etc.

The person who called presented as a PVP and his phone number is the normal 1-800 with his extension. 

 

I had just put in an request at the cruise compete site, but had the room wait listed on princess.  

 

Honestly, never used a PVP because I had heard they couldn't discount.  When I mentioned that I would most likely go through an online TA, I was asked what they were offering.  I gave exact amounts as far as fare and on-board.  The PVP matched the price AND gave an additional $100 off to match the on-board.  

 

I'm of the opinion that all the cruise lines are desperate for pax and willing to do what it takes to keep us sailing. 

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, justafem said:

The person who called presented as a PVP and his phone number is the normal 1-800 with his extension. 

 

I had just put in an request at the cruise compete site, but had the room wait listed on princess.  

 

Honestly, never used a PVP because I had heard they couldn't discount.  When I mentioned that I would most likely go through an online TA, I was asked what they were offering.  I gave exact amounts as far as fare and on-board.  The PVP matched the price AND gave an additional $100 off to match the on-board.  

 

I'm of the opinion that all the cruise lines are desperate for pax and willing to do what it takes to keep us sailing. 

Verrry interesting.