Princess' horrible customer service design (long rant)...

[JimmyVWine]

29 minutes ago, julia said:

Princess should have kept everything in the Cruise Personalizer, and not moved features to the app!

This.  The app should always be an "in addition to" option and never the "exclusive option".  Because apps are foolproof...said no one ever.

[kiwimum]

Yesterday was the first day I have ever had an issue with the App after sailing 6 times since October.   Tried to make reservations for Crown Grill and Sabatinis for our April cruise.   Received error message my address was incomplete.   Checked, everything  looked good.  Tried it again same issue.   Deleted App and reinstalled, bingo, could make reservations.   Our 4 reservations are showing for the correct nights, times on the App.   Used our 3 complimentary and promo funds first and charged card for the 4th.   
My thoughts are it is a database issue, not the App.

[jovisoul]

3 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

So Stop Using it. If people stop using their flawed APP they will have to rethink the whole process and do something. I now use the web version the instituted a few weeks ago. See the link under the goggle play box?

 

• 1

  Download the MedallionClass™ app

      

  Don't have a compatible device? Try our web version(opens in a new window)

• 2

  Get OceanReady®

  Provide the required information for each guest for quick and easy embarkation.

• 3

  Make Plans in Cruise Personalizer

  Take you vacation to the next level by reserving Shore Excursions, Lotus Spa treatments, pre-purchasing beverage package, and more.

The link just takes me to the app.

[DiRonT]

Dh and I each had 2 complimentary specialty dining promotions.  Made our reservations and charges hit our cc.  (In November we did not get charged) I was just going to wait until we were on board but then decided to see if I could straighten it out ahead of time and not have to stand in line once on board.  On hold for 50 minutes and a gentleman came on the line.  I explained what had happened and he proceeded to tell me I was charged because this was a "free promotion" and therefore I could not make reservations until I was on board.  He said "you can cancel your reservations on the app and your card will be credited and then you can make reservations once on board".  So I said "so I should just hope I can get the same reservations at that time?"  Of course his answer was "Yes".   Well thanks for the "freebie's" Princess - which as someone pointed out earlier are not really "free" at all.  I guess I will spend time at Customer Relations desk once we board.

[dog]

6 minutes ago, DiRonT said:

Dh and I each had 2 complimentary specialty dining promotions.  Made our reservations and charges hit our cc.  (In November we did not get charged) I was just going to wait until we were on board but then decided to see if I could straighten it out ahead of time and not have to stand in line once on board.  On hold for 50 minutes and a gentleman came on the line.  I explained what had happened and he proceeded to tell me I was charged because this was a "free promotion" and therefore I could not make reservations until I was on board.  He said "you can cancel your reservations on the app and your card will be credited and then you can make reservations once on board".  So I said "so I should just hope I can get the same reservations at that time?"  Of course his answer was "Yes".   Well thanks for the "freebie's" Princess - which as someone pointed out earlier are not really "free" at all.  I guess I will spend time at Customer Relations desk once we board.

They are free for you . I do not get any free specialty dinner with my booking. 

[DiRonT]

1 hour ago, dog said:

They are free for you . I do not get any free specialty dinner with my booking. 

Unless, of course, I paid more for my cruise than you did - but since it is probably not apples to apples, we won't know.

[Bruin Steve]

Okay...more fun...

After reading some of the posts here, I decided to try once more...

First, I carefully read through everything on my booking on the Princess website.  And, there it was:

Reservations & Purchases

Item Type	Quantity	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel 72 hours before your cruise for full refund. Complimentary gifts are non-transferable and do not follow guests who change promotions prior to cruising. The gift is not redeemable for cash and expires at the end of the voyage.

Reservations & Purchases

Communications

Item Type	Quantity	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel 72 hours before your cruise for full refund. Complimentary gifts are non-transferable and do not follow guests who change promotions prior to cruising. The gift is not redeemable for cash and expires at the end of the voyage.

Gifts

Item Type	Delivery Date	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
LOCATION UPGRADE Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$0.00	Compliments Of (my travel agent) for: Steve _______	Complimentary Gift
LOCATION UPGRADE Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$0.00	Compliments Of (my travel agent) for: (my wife)	Complimentary Gift

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel 72 hours before your cruise for full refund. Complimentary gifts are non-transferable and do not follow guests who change promotions prior to cruising. The gift is not redeemable for cash and expires at the end of the voyage.

Specialty Dining

Item Type	Delivery Date	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Specialty Restaurant cover charge Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$29.00	Compliments Of (Travel Agent) for: Steve ___________	Complimentary Gift
Specialty Restaurant cover charge Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$29.00	Compliments Of (Travel Agent) for: (my wife)	Complimentary Gift

 

So, apparently, EVERTHING I purchased as part of my promotion price--which cost several hundred dollars more than the cruise only rate was really a "Complimentary Gift" from my TA???  So why wasn't my price the lower "cruise only" rate?

 

Of course, hidden in here is the answer:  These "gifts" are marked for "delivery" on the embarkation date.  Just like if your TA sends a bottle of wine or a fruit basket to your room, it only gets delivered on embarkation day.  Because Princess marked these vouchers for "delivery" that day, you cannot access them sooner.  

 

Does it work that way for EVERYBODY?   Well, the Princess rep (from Princess' version of "Resolutions") I spoke with after spending 2.5 hours on the phone waiting on hold today let it slip that this was the case.  People who book with TAs now get this designation on the voucher...and it can't be accessed until that date.  Others just have the voucher on their accounts day one.

 

Of course NOWHERE does Princess disclose that the voucher they sold you as part of the package will be treated differently because you booked through a TA.

 

So, could she fix it?  No.  She offered to cancel my Crown Grill Reservation...and I could get my $58 back...somewhere down the line when they process the credit...and I'd have to try to make a new reservation once onboard...

 

Eventually, she did give me a concession $25 pp OBC for my troubles...but that concession was like pulling teeth...and it means little...I have nothing left to buy onboard.

 

What I REALLY want is for Princess to understand that...

1)  They really can't treat people differently for how they booked the cruise...especially without any disclosure.

2)  For them to realize that their systems have some major flaws and it would benefit everyone if they'd make an effort to fix them.

3)  That it is really insulting to their customers to claim that the stuff they've PAID for is really a "Complimentary Gift" from a travel agent.  I like my travel agent but she really deserves ZERO credit for MY booking and paying for drinks, WiFi, Gratuities and Specialty Restaurants.  And Princess needs to show appreciation to ME...NOT to my TA!

 

[kiwimum]

Be careful of canceling a specialty dining reservation on board.   Our last cruise in January we cancelled our second dinner at Sabatinis, charged to our credit card, and the credit was posted to our onboard account as non-refundable OBC.   No way were they going to post it to my account. 

[PC168]

I have exactly the same problem for my up coming Pacific Coastal cruise. We also have specialty restaurant voucher included but I tried to book the day and time and it is showing $58 that it will charge me if I click on confirm, I heard some people has a button just below the $58 is showing $0, so you won't get charged but I don't have that button. I check back my personalizer and it is showing $36.25 each for the complimentary specialty restaurant, I assume this is in Canadian dollars.

[brisalta]

 

Interesting enough I had a call today with the Ocean Navigator about just this issue with DMW and Specialty Dining promotion as part of the fare and not being able to use it in a reservation made prior to embarkation. I expected to be able to use the Specialty Dining credit in advance of boarding via the Medallion app as others have done. The " Ocean Navigator", Cassandra, (what an appropriate name), denied that is how Dine My Way specialty dining is supposed to work. She said you only see the credit in the web Cruise Personalizer. I explained to her other people see the credit in the Medallion app. She kept repeating that is not how it works. I explained to her she is only hearing from people that are having problems with the app. She wanted me to use a credit card to pay for the SD to make a reservation and attempt to claim it back on board once we embark our cruise. (She claimed she was trained that is how the app worked). She could not understand why that is not an acceptable practice! Just more bad quality support on top of a bad quality app.

Forgot to mention she kept telling me to use the Cruise Personalizer!!!!

Edited March 23, 2022 by brisalta

[kiwimum]

I took a look at our July cruise where we also have Specialty Dining and this is a screen shot of the reservation cart.

We use a CVP with all our bookings after a terrible experience with a TA.  

[Steelers36]

@Bruin Steve, @voljeep, @julia, @Mary loves to travel, @JimmyVWine, @brisalta.

 

I tried a multi-post reply and CC went bonkers, so let me try this way....

 

The OBC you would get if book and pay in advance with a SD credit is Refundable, so if not spent you do get cash back.  However, it is a PITA to pay up-front and then wait a long time to get the funds back.

 

A rep telling you cannot book in advance since SD was free from a TA is all wrong.  Princess always credits their booking promos to the TA you booked with in the Personalizer, etc.  It's a bunch a marketing baloney as they are trying to butter up the TA's and make them look good so they will want to sell more Princess cruises instead of "the other guys".  The SD credit came from a Princess promo and it should work regardless of how you booked.  I have working and not working SD credits and all bookings were through a discount TA.

 

As I mentioned, I have a mixed bag of credits being recognized and not.  I even have a situation of a single credit being recognized when we each have one.

 

Yes, it would be a good way to debug a system process - to work with actual bookings.  No doubt they have done this in some fashion.  I continue to believe this is data conversion/transfer oriented.  Princess has had a ton of data issues since MC App went live and it is quite evident from some current posts, they still have issues.

Everything begins with a booking in POLAR.  Obviously there is some sort of data cnvn/tfr from POLAR into MC App system.  IDK the system architecture, but we know this happens on some level.  There is always a delay when a new booking is made and when it shows up in MC App.  I am thinking that for whatever reason, or reasons, some dining credits do not make it into the MC App system.  Either that, or they don't come in cleanly and are therefore not recognized when a booking is made in DMW.

 

[dog]

Easy solution taking up no time at all is to book & pay for that dinner you want so badly on a certain date and time.

then when you board, visit or call a specialty restaurant and book your freebie specialty dinner 

 

the cruise line has had almost 2 years

of no business..

 

at the beginning of the pandemic they were very generous with giving gnout Bonus FCC to some.

 

my goodness, I cannot believe the complaining on here.

 

yes, I agree some have had very poor customer service. Many of their experienced staff had to find work elsewhere. 
 

I am grateful everyday for the life I get to live in this wonderful country. My rant. Taking a break from this forum to enjoy life. 

[GatorGirl1313]

11 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

So Stop Using it. If people stop using their flawed APP they will have to rethink the whole process and do something. I now use the web version the instituted a few weeks ago. See the link under the goggle play box?

 

• 1

  Download the MedallionClass™ app

      

  Don't have a compatible device? Try our web version(opens in a new window)

• 2

  Get OceanReady®

  Provide the required information for each guest for quick and easy embarkation.

• 3

  Make Plans in Cruise Personalizer

  Take you vacation to the next level by reserving Shore Excursions, Lotus Spa treatments, pre-purchasing beverage package, and more.

They could just fix the app they keep insisting we use. 

 

Instead of not using the app, I will cruise with other lines whose apps work, like Royal Caribbean.  I liked that I could view menus, shows and activities for any sailing and then easily predict what would be on mine.  The app always worked!

 

I haven't cruised with Princess since the app but am booked for an upcoming sailing and the frustration, time wasted calling customer service because the app won't work to load documents, and yes...also having to pay $58 when I was supposed to have a free specialty restaurant, will all cumulatively cause me to save myself the hassle and book celebrity or royal.

[GatorGirl1313]

5 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Interesting enough I had a call today with the Ocean Navigator about just this issue with DMW and Specialty Dining promotion as part of the fare and not being able to use it in a reservation made prior to embarkation. I expected to be able to use the Specialty Dining credit in advance of boarding via the Medallion app as others have done. The " Ocean Navigator", Cassandra, (what an appropriate name), denied that is how Dine My Way specialty dining is supposed to work. She said you only see the credit in the web Cruise Personalizer. I explained to her other people see the credit in the Medallion app. She kept repeating that is not how it works. I explained to her she is only hearing from people that are having problems with the app. She wanted me to use a credit card to pay for the SD to make a reservation and attempt to claim it back on board once we embark our cruise. (She claimed she was trained that is how the app worked). She could not understand why that is not an acceptable practice! Just more bad quality support on top of a bad quality app.

Forgot to mention she kept telling me to use the Cruise Personalizer!!!!

I bet it's policy to say this in the hopes people will take the obc and spend more 

[leck57]

4 hours ago, dog said:

 

the cruise line has had almost 2 years

of no business..

 

my goodness, I cannot believe the complaining on here.

 

 

I look at it as they had two years doing not much to get this right.

[AZjohn]

So I'm a little confused (sometimes normal for me :))

 

For those that spent hours on the phone and refused to just use a credit card and pay $58 to make a reservation because they refuse to have it reimbursed as OBC, why?

 

It is my understanding we can just go to the casino and get cash and have that charged to our account thus the OBC will be used to pay that off. You get the cash in your pocket and OBC is now used.

 

Again, I'm confused??

[We_like_to_cruise]

I recently posted a short review of our first post-pause cruise on Sky earlier this month.

 

This was our experience:

 

Specialty Dining

 

The first day, after our embarkation lunch, we went over to the Crown Grill to make a reservation for dinner.  We were told the next available slot was at 9 pm on Friday, the night before disembarkation ! 

 

I couldn’t understand this as it was not even 1 pm on embarkation day.  We were told that many people on the prior leg of a B2B had already made their reservations and that others had already made them on the Medallion app. 

 

Although we tried to make a rez on the app it never worked.  So, instead we did make a reservation for Sabbatini’s which was not as booked up.  Also, I called the Crown Grill the next day to see if there were any cancellations – no, but we could be put on the waiting list which now had over 40 pax on it !

 

I wonder if there are more passengers with the “gift” of a specialty restaurant voucher than there are seats available for the Crown Grill all week.

---------

 

This was a cruise booked entirely through Princess - no third party TA involved.

 

When I later discussed this issue with my (awesome) Princess PVP, he advised me to just book a dining time and pay for it in advance.  He seemed to think customer service could "sort it out" onboard.

 

😞

[Buckeye10640]

12 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

So I will admit I didnt read thru your entire long  post.  But I too was able to do this on Enchanted last year and it recognized and applied my promo. Its not working this way for my May cruise on Majestic. I emailed my PVP a little while ago, I will let you know what she says. I am hoping she can make the reservation for me using the promo. 

Sadly, the answer was "if it is not showing up in the app, and it usually does not,  make your reservation onboard" 

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, dog said:

Easy solution taking up no time at all is to book & pay for that dinner you want so badly on a certain date and time.

then when you board, visit or call a specialty restaurant and book your freebie specialty dinner 

 

the cruise line has had almost 2 years

of no business..

 

at the beginning of the pandemic they were very generous with giving gnout Bonus FCC to some.

 

my goodness, I cannot believe the complaining on here.

 

yes, I agree some have had very poor customer service. Many of their experienced staff had to find work elsewhere. 
 

I am grateful everyday for the life I get to live in this wonderful country. My rant. Taking a break from this forum to enjoy life. 

If the other lines were flailing about as Princess is liked a beached whale with their MC App, then I could see some argument.  But they are obviously having far more issues than others and than ought to be expected.  The App has been released for almost 10 months now.

[dog]

56 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If the other lines were flailing about as Princess is liked a beached whale with their MC App, then I could see some argument.  But they are obviously having far more issues than others and than ought to be expected.  The App has been released for almost 10 months now.

And of course, you are speaking from first- hand experience on this topic from your numerous cruises on a variety of cruiselines over the past few years.

Right?

 

IF so I must agree.

Edited March 23, 2022 by dog

[dog]

7 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

I look at it as they had two years doing not much to get this right.

How many were on the payroll May give us a clue why. 
 

prefer using the Personalizer myself,  but things change, 

[Steelers36]

7 minutes ago, dog said:

And of course, you are speaking from first- hand experience on this topic from your numerous cruises on a variety of cruiselines over the past few years.

Right?

 

IF so I must agree.

Hopefully, the above post was tongue-in-cheek.  As a regular user of this forum, surely you have read where posters who use other lines recently report their Apps run smoothly without all the bugs and crap that exists with Princess MC App.  Also, both from posts over the past year and from my TA, the other lines do have staff shortages and long phone waits, so PCL is not alone in that respect.  As to phone rep knowledge level and ability to solve a problem quickly/easily, I have no real comparison there.

 

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

posters who use other lines recently report their Apps run smoothly without all the bugs and crap that exists with Princess MC App. 

I can definitely attest to this! 👆 👆 👆

[nini]

17 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Okay...more fun...

After reading some of the posts here, I decided to try once more...

First, I carefully read through everything on my booking on the Princess website.  And, there it was:

Reservations & Purchases

Item Type	Quantity	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel 72 hours before your cruise for full refund. Complimentary gifts are non-transferable and do not follow guests who change promotions prior to cruising. The gift is not redeemable for cash and expires at the end of the voyage.

Reservations & Purchases

Communications

Item Type	Quantity	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Wi-Fi Package	1	$69.79	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift
Premier Beverage Package Including Service Charges	1	$479.57	Compliments Of (my travel agent)	Complimentary Gift

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel 72 hours before your cruise for full refund. Complimentary gifts are non-transferable and do not follow guests who change promotions prior to cruising. The gift is not redeemable for cash and expires at the end of the voyage.

Gifts

Item Type	Delivery Date	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
LOCATION UPGRADE Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$0.00	Compliments Of (my travel agent) for: Steve _______	Complimentary Gift
LOCATION UPGRADE Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$0.00	Compliments Of (my travel agent) for: (my wife)	Complimentary Gift

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel 72 hours before your cruise for full refund. Complimentary gifts are non-transferable and do not follow guests who change promotions prior to cruising. The gift is not redeemable for cash and expires at the end of the voyage.

Specialty Dining

Item Type	Delivery Date	Price	Package Purchased By	Cancel
Specialty Restaurant cover charge Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$29.00	Compliments Of (Travel Agent) for: Steve ___________	Complimentary Gift
Specialty Restaurant cover charge Message: "(Travel Agent)"	Apr 30, 2022	$29.00	Compliments Of (Travel Agent) for: (my wife)	Complimentary Gift

 

So, apparently, EVERTHING I purchased as part of my promotion price--which cost several hundred dollars more than the cruise only rate was really a "Complimentary Gift" from my TA???  So why wasn't my price the lower "cruise only" rate?

 

Of course, hidden in here is the answer:  These "gifts" are marked for "delivery" on the embarkation date.  Just like if your TA sends a bottle of wine or a fruit basket to your room, it only gets delivered on embarkation day.  Because Princess marked these vouchers for "delivery" that day, you cannot access them sooner.  

 

Does it work that way for EVERYBODY?   Well, the Princess rep (from Princess' version of "Resolutions") I spoke with after spending 2.5 hours on the phone waiting on hold today let it slip that this was the case.  People who book with TAs now get this designation on the voucher...and it can't be accessed until that date.  Others just have the voucher on their accounts day one.

 

Of course NOWHERE does Princess disclose that the voucher they sold you as part of the package will be treated differently because you booked through a TA.

 

So, could she fix it?  No.  She offered to cancel my Crown Grill Reservation...and I could get my $58 back...somewhere down the line when they process the credit...and I'd have to try to make a new reservation once onboard...

 

Eventually, she did give me a concession $25 pp OBC for my troubles...but that concession was like pulling teeth...and it means little...I have nothing left to buy onboard.

 

What I REALLY want is for Princess to understand that...

1)  They really can't treat people differently for how they booked the cruise...especially without any disclosure.

2)  For them to realize that their systems have some major flaws and it would benefit everyone if they'd make an effort to fix them.

3)  That it is really insulting to their customers to claim that the stuff they've PAID for is really a "Complimentary Gift" from a travel agent.  I like my travel agent but she really deserves ZERO credit for MY booking and paying for drinks, WiFi, Gratuities and Specialty Restaurants.  And Princess needs to show appreciation to ME...NOT to my TA!

 

 

That is exactly how ours reads. AND I KNOW WE PAID EXTRA FOR IT AND NOT OUR TA!!!