Letter to Princess

[vjmatty]

18 minutes ago, CruiseNYC said:

We have one more Princess cruise planned for this year and then I think we’re done with Princess (we are Elite but the benefits are now negligible).  
We were on a Celebrity cruise this past December and internet was fine throughout the cruise. It was a Caribbean cruise so, of course, it would make sense that internet would be fine. However, there are several posts/reviews on current Celebrity transatlantic cruises and they have been posting and uploading pictures and videos every single day. It would seem that this is a Princess problem and not necessarily a satellite issue. 
Although we loved all of our Princess cruises and we’re looking forward to our November cruise, too, a customer service issue with Princess last year has turned us into Celebrity fans. 

Not to mention Princess seeming to serve the northeast less and less....as a fellow New Yorker I'm finding the local convenience of Celebrity and even RCI as better options. 

[Coral]

I don't think anyone on this sailing had a great time. The reviews were awful by several individuals.

[CruiseNYC]

4 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Not to mention Princess seeming to serve the northeast less and less....as a fellow New Yorker I'm finding the local convenience of Celebrity and even RCI as better options. 
 

Although we don’t mind flying to Fl to pick up our cruise, we are actually leaving from NYC on our November cruise.  
It troubles me that there are so many complaints by recent Princess cruisers and I am struggling to think of even one thing that we didn’t like about our Celebrity sailing.   We are not particularly picky eaters; we’re pretty low maintenance but we do like to feel a bit “pampered” when we cruise. Officers and cruise staff on Celebrity were chatty, professional, gracious and seemed truly happy to have us as guests.  

[*Miss G*]

I was on the same sailing and also the first time with Princess.  It was the consensus of all four of us that we would not be back.  In addition to what others have said, my impression is that there is a strong lack of communication and cohesiveness at all levels.  Management appeared to be struggling and it felt like they’d left their staff to fend for themselves as best they could.  I wouldn’t have been surprised if some had just thrown their hands in the air and walked away if not for the fact that they were trapped on a ship at sea.  

 

To the OP, although your letter was long and rambling the frustration was apparent.  Unfortunately, given the basic communication issues which Princess is experiencing, I very much doubt you’ll see a response.  Hopefully, on some level, they are listening and are able to recover before self-destructing.

[rosevew]

What was the outcome re having prepaid for Speciality Dining? We've done so for our June cruise and don't want to get caught out by being charged again.

[Eglesbrech]

16 hours ago, wowzz said:

Totally agree.

If that is the letter that the OP actually wrote, I'm not surprised they did not get a reply !

Too long, too emotive,  and too boring !

If the OP had just clearly set out 5 or 6 issues,  then I'm sure an answer would  have  been forthcoming. 

Just to send a stream of consciousness diatribe will never elicit a response.  

In a previous life I had a responsibility for customer complaints.

Those that were clear, to the point and non-emotive got an immediate response with appropriate compensation. The rest got put into the "action tomorrow " file. Guess where this letter would be filed? 

So if you don’t have a higher English then you don’t deserve a response then, really Wozz?

 

Anyone who can comprehend basic English can pick out the OPs main points and then respond to them.

 

Personally I don’t approve of any company who simply ignores customer complaints, perhaps in CS parlance  you will understand, they are servicing far too much failure demand. There will be a reason for that.

[cruzsnooze]

The OP got bogged down in minusure . What should Princess do when someone enters the elevator without a mask? Exit the elevator if you don't like it. Pick a few valid issues to write about and leave the hyperbole out. The letter was too long and so much was not the cruise lines fault that it appears the OP is just hard to please which may not be the case. 

[wowzz]

56 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

So if you don’t have a higher English then you don’t deserve a response then, really Wozz?

 

Anyone who can comprehend basic English can pick out the OPs main points and then respond to them.

 

Personally I don’t approve of any company who simply ignores customer complaints, perhaps in CS parlance  you will understand, they are servicing far too much failure demand. There will be a reason for that.

I made no comment on the level of English used.

I merely said that listing the various issues, in a non emotive manner, would be more likely to elicit a response.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I was *supposed* to be on this cruise.  I'm somewhat glad (after the fact) that we missed our connecting flight to FLL and literally "missed the boat".  I followed the Roll Call and Live thread (what little that could be posted due to no Internet) as much as I could.  It certainly didn't sound as if we had missed much on this cruise.  I feel sorry for all of those who had a bad experience.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It obvious that Princess has lost this person to future cruises so why bother trying to satisfy all their complaints with any sort of answers. 

 

Because many of the problems reported have also been experienced by other people on this cruise and, if not fixed, will result in a future loss of business by more than this one person.

 

And problems are not limited to just one ship as these posts about being on the Discovery Princess show:

 

we just got off our first Princess cruise last month and we've quickly decided that Princess is not for us. 

 

We did enjoy the MDR food and service also.  The only difficulty (and it's a major reason why no more Princess for us) is that we enjoy traditional dining (same time, same table, same waiters) and although same time was no issue, we had to fight, beg and plead to be seated at a specific table (loved our waiters but the cruise line seemed to not want us to enjoy one of the best things about cruising).

 

The reliance on the non-working (at least for us) medallion app is a big turn off for us. And the pre-boarding challenges with the app are something we choose not to do again by not sailing Princess.

 

- - - -

 

We were also disappointed with Princess.  The Medallion app never worked during the cruise so we have no idea whether we would have enjoyed “the convenience” or not.  Probably not, since none of us tends to carry anything but the ship card/medallion when onboard.

 

The MDR reservations were a fiasco (internet/intranet did not work) which resulted in chaos at the door and in the dining room.  The lack of traditional dining, without even an attempt to provide one, is a huge fail for us.

 

The missing prom and lack of observation lounge were a huge letdown.  The small venues for large crowds was puzzling and effectively prevented a great many people from participating in trivia challenges.

This was our first cruise with Princess and it was the consensus that we would not be back.

 

 

It is time for Princess to stop blaming all the problems on supply chain and the pandemic. Princess needs to again provide the vacation experience that they promise and that passengers pay for.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It obvious that Princess has lost this person to future cruises so why bother trying to satisfy all their complaints with any sort of answers. 

 

The answer may be found in the following posts that were made after your post. It is not just that one person.

 

 

3 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

We have one more Princess cruise planned for this year and then I think we’re done with Princess (we are Elite but the benefits are now negligible).  
 

 

3 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

We were on this same cruise, sad to say.  Everything OP says is accurate, and more. ...  Our worst cruise ever of well over 50. 

 

Will not cruise with Princess again.

 

 

3 hours ago, 1980dory said:

Wow!  We could have written the very same thing.  We have one more short Princess cruise and then going back to Celebrity.  Too many horrendous problems with Princess.

See you on Celebrity!

 

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

I was on the same sailing and also the first time with Princess.  It was the consensus of all four of us that we would not be back.

 

 

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

The answer may be found in the following posts that were made after your post. It is not just that one person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I say good riddance to all of them ... lots of other cruise lines out there with lots of different levels of service, food quality/quantity and oh by the way PRICE POINTS!

 

breathe in

breathe out

move on and don't let the proverbial door ...

[BabySarge]

Not excusing the fact that you have not received a response from Princess to the letter you sent them "a few weeks ago", however, I just want to ask how do you know the letter even reached Princess?  Did you send it certified mail, return receipt requested and have proof it did in fact reach its destination or did you just send it regular mail? 

I only ask because on Thursday, April 21, 2022, I received a Christmas card in my mailbox that was postmarked 11/12/2021 and had been sent regular mail.  The envelope was not damaged, dirty, torn, etc. and the address was 100% correct.  Mail delay is a real thing so it may simply be you haven't received a response because the letter hasn't reached its destination yet.

[1980dory]

9 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

The answer may be found in the following posts that were made after your post. It is not just that one person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just think,  we are the vociferous ones who are complaining here.  Consider how many other Princess cruisers are likewise dissatisfied but have not responded here.

Princess should read these comments and see the magnitude of the problems

and then certainly address them.  Eventually this disatisfaction will come back to bite them in the ...  Indifference will not make the problems go away, but it will certainly make their customers go away.

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, 1980dory said:

Just think,  we are the vociferous ones who are complaining here.  Consider how many other Princess cruisers are likewise dissatisfied but have not responded here.

Or conversely,  how many were satisfied, and saw no need to post comments ? 

[Arizona Wildcat]

20 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

I honestly believe, in this case, brevity would have been your friend.  These are very busy individuals with short attention spans.  Perhaps if you had started with “the bullet”, got their attention and a reply, you could then have elaborated.  The results might have been more to your liking.  Ending your letter telling them you probably won’t be back unless they fix things really gives them zero incentive to work with you.

I do not doubt each and every little thing you describe is exactly what happened to you and I’m sorry this was not a better experience for you.  Cruising right now can be hit or miss and isn’t for the faint of heart.  Hope things are better on your next one.

Many years ago I worked for customer relations at a major retailer.  They told me two important things about letters from unsatisfied customers.

First make the letter no longer an one side of a sheet of paper or 250 words.  Anything longer looks like whining and is not likely to be read.

Second is send the letter to the office of the president or call and ask for the secretary. Have always gotten a fast response.

As an aside, complaining about the internet speed in the middle of the ocean is ridiculous.  There are fewer satellites and far less bandwidth.   And for the last couple months communications to and from Ukraine has been given priority status.

[Rick&Jeannie]

38 minutes ago, BabySarge said:

 I just want to ask how do you know the letter even reached Princess?  Did you send it certified mail, return receipt requested and have proof it did in fact reach its destination or did you just send it regular mail? 

 

Note that the OP has not responded to *any* of our comments.  Also that it was their very first CC post (not that this really has any bearing on the issue).

 

Many people use the term "sent a letter" these days to really mean that an email was sent.  Nothing the OP said actually gives us a clue as to how this "letter" was sent.  It would be interesting to learn this bit of info.  Two schools of thought:

 

1) If in fact it was a physical "snail mail" letter...some hold the thought that this tends to garner a more serious reaction since the sender "took the time" to send in that manner. 

 

2) If the item was sent electronically it *might* have more of a chance to get in front of someone who "counts".  (Wishful thinking?)  I think the average age of most of the Princess office staff has dropped considerably since rehiring due to the pandemic.  Younger folks tend to live in the "technology" bubble so prevalent today.  The "more mature" personnel have likely moved on to better opportunities.  Just my opinion.)

 

[voljeep]

Face it - Princess had made some decisions ... as to service, quantity, quality, and variety of food, entertainment, etc, etc, etc.  AND Princess has had some of those decisions made for them - either from Covid, labor force, supply chain, etc, etc, etc.   Now passengers, thru boards like this and other media at least "should" have an idea of what's going on the ships.  Do your homework, make an educated decision.  

 

a cruise is like a steak... you can get one at Waffle House or Shula's - and lots of places 'lower' in the middle and 'above' those.  It's still a steak.

[Eglesbrech]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

I made no comment on the level of English used.

I merely said that listing the various issues, in a non emotive manner, would be more likely to elicit a response.

You criticised what was written in terms of style and indicated that because of that the op did not deserve a reply. “Too long, too emotive,  and too boring !” Your words.

 

You then gave advice on how it could have been better. Sound like marking an English composition to me.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

I say good riddance to all of them ... lots of other cruise lines out there with lots of different levels of service, food quality/quantity and oh by the way PRICE POINTS!

 

 

Price points for recent Princess cruises have been low because of the need to attract people back to cruising. But that is no excuse for providing a deficient vacation product.

 

But future cruise pricing for Princess is not at rock bottom pricing.

 

I have a cruise booked with Princess in December and the price (at high holiday pricing) has already increased in my category by $25/day/person since I booked earlier this month.

 

I have a Princess booking for next spring in an entry level balcony cabin that is $190/day/person (Princess Savers rate) when I booked and has increased since then.

 

Neither of these bookings is at a low price point for the cruise industry. At the prices we are paying for these two cruises, I am expecting the cruise experience we are paying for.

[*Miss G*]

55 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

 

As an aside, complaining about the internet speed in the middle of the ocean is ridiculous.  There are fewer satellites and far less bandwidth.   

 

 

Just to clarify, the internet didn’t work from time of boarding, sitting in Port Everglades until 7:20 pm sailaway and all the way to Southampton, UK, with port stops in between.  It wasn’t just the “speed in the middle of the ocean”; it was the fact that it was unavailable for the entire trip.  I’ve been on other TA’s where the internet worked fine.  I’ve even read where the internet worked on Princess TA’s pre-covid.  It just didn’t work on this specific trip and it wasn’t due to satellite positioning.

 

 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

I say good riddance to all of them ... lots of other cruise lines out there with lots of different levels of service, food quality/quantity and oh by the way PRICE POINTS!

 

breathe in

breathe out

move on and don't let the proverbial door ...

 

Thank you for sharing.

[voljeep]

51 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Price points for recent Princess cruises have been low because of the need to attract people back to cruising. But that is no excuse for providing a deficient vacation product.

 

But future cruise pricing for Princess is not at rock bottom pricing.

 

I have a cruise booked with Princess in December and the price (at high holiday pricing) has already increased in my category by $25/day/person since I booked earlier this month.

 

I have a Princess booking for next spring in an entry level balcony cabin that is $190/day/person (Princess Savers rate) when I booked and has increased since then.

 

Neither of these bookings is at a low price point for the cruise industry. At the prices we are paying for these two cruises, I am expecting the cruise experience we are paying for.

sorry, but no - Princess sets "their" prices at the point that cruisers are willing to pay for the "current" cruise experience, "AS IS" - your "expectations" are ...

[Ride-The-Waves]

Good comment.  Some additional observations:

 

- Its apparent that Princess is desperately trying to recoup monies lost while ships were not carrying passengers during the pandemic.  The quality of the product is considerably less than it was on our previous Princess cruise: westbound Transatlantic on Regal in September 2019.  Note here that internet did not work for 6 days of that crossing.

 

- The loss of internet (Princess MedallionNet) was NOT caused by lack of access to satellites.  During both periods other ships/cruise lines did not suffer similar outages.  One of the best internet accesses we have had at sea was in Antarctic waters.  For some reason turning internet access off appears to be a policy decision at Princess.

 

- One could sense the uneasiness of the contract crew, those hired to clean, wait and cook.  This is singularly leadership.  Whether leadership at Princess HQs of just this ship is unknown.

 

- Princess is currently not interested in passenger satisfaction, at least not on Sky.  They do not appear to be making any effort to correct problems or respond to issues.  Rather, Princess is internally focused on what is good for their leadership and not on providing a good experience for customers.

 

- Fortunately, Princess cancelled a 2023 full Panama Canal transit cruise while we were traveling.  Still want to do a canal transit but not with Princess.  Next cruises this year are with Celebrity (Reflection) and Oceania (Marina).

 

We have sailed with Princess enough that these issues are visible, prevalent and critical.  Its all advertising hype today with no concern for customers.  Not the way to rebuild the brand following the COVID hiatus.  This attitude comes from the top.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Ride-The-Waves

[antsp]

We sailed on this cruise, its the same half a dozen complaining. The Internet was non existant. Other than that it was the same old, same old Princess offering. 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

sorry, but no - Princess sets "their" prices at the point that cruisers are willing to pay for the "current" cruise experience, "AS IS" - your "expectations" are ...

 

Most people currently booked did so expecting as close as possible to the pre-pandemic experience. That is just not happening.

 

And current Princess advertising is still promising the great cruise experience it always had. But with enhancements such as "The Best WI-Fi at Sea" and "A Princess MedallionClass vacation offers the ultimate in effortless, personalized cruising."