Live from the Crown Princess Return to Service Cruise May 7 2022 to Alaska

[pkt1976]

4 hours ago, Namvvet68 said:

Did they address the generator issues?

The Captain was to come but he was needed for something and wasn’t there. The officers that were there were not in that area and couldn’t speak specifically to it. I did chat with an officer who said this cruise went better than they thought it might, so hopefully that will continue to be the case for the upcoming cruises. We did get into the ports at least a little earlier than expected. We are nearly to Victoria now. 

[Namvvet68]

8 minutes ago, pkt1976 said:

The Captain was to come but he was needed for something and wasn’t there. The officers that were there were not in that area and couldn’t speak specifically to it. I did chat with an officer who said this cruise went better than they thought it might, so hopefully that will continue to be the case for the upcoming cruises. We did get into the ports at least a little earlier than expected. We are nearly to Victoria now. 

Thanks

[pkt1976]

11 hours ago, JeffT237 said:

I completely agree with this, the day in Glacier Bay was stunning and the weather made it even more special. But missing out on all of the anticipated activities and excursions was a big disappointment. I think you’re assessment as to stay on the Crown or switch ships is spot on. It’s a tough choice. It seems like most of this itinerary has been sea days, the days in port have been short with little to be able to do other than walk around town. I’ve spoken with quite a few passengers onboard and the feeling is the 20% of our fare paid as a FCC is not adequate, I’m wondering what you and others onboard think of that? My reasoning is I feel we’ve lost a lot more than 20% of the cruise. For those not on this cruise remember, we had a total of 3 itinerary changes the first was 10 days prior, the third one onboard. It really made changing excursions and dining reservations etc difficult. Future cruisers on this route probably won’t have those issues as they can book activities that are adjusted to the new times as long as they stay the same.

I have mixed feelings on this.

 

i can understand changes when an issue wasn’t known about, was sudden etc. Things that happened with excursions and bookings leading up to the official announcements of these changes leads me to feel corporate knew more, knew sooner, and was taking actions to mitigate their costs. For example, insides and ocean views were offered a move over offer to any other 7 day sailing. I don’t know how many did, but they don’t have to pay those folks the 20%. 

 

from a business standpoint, I understand what they were doing but I would have preferred if a week prior they would have been more transparent and offered to every booked to move, or canceled the cruise. They were clearly overbooked for the quantity of crew onboard. That created challenges for the crew and passengers. I’ve never seen such long lines at passenger services and shore ex and they’ve been pretty much constant all week. I really felt bad for the reps because there were a lot of frustrated people who took their anger out on the crew members. I was more fortunate as This is my 4th time  here and I wasn’t emotionally attached to the experiences I had planned. I did have to alter plans and I was disappointed, but I really feel for those who travelled from far away and who may not get another chance to see Alaska. 
 

over half of the ship was first time Princess cruisers. Many I talked to said despite the challenges, they really enjoyed the cruise and will try again. I’m sure there are some who will not. 
 

we did get the $100 and the 20% of our fare as an fcc as a gesture of goodwill. Per the contract, we are not “owed” compensation but i appreciate that it was extended.
 

Did we “lose” 20% of the experience? More? Less? That’s hard to say and everyone will have a different opinion on that.

 

I also noticed we didn’t get Juneau port fees credited back so presume that was rolled into the $100 obc… so again not happy about the lack Of transparency by corporate. 

 

 

[JeffT237]

8 minutes ago, pkt1976 said:

I was more fortunate as This is my 4th time  here and I wasn’t emotionally attached to the experiences I had planned. I did have to alter plans and I was disappointed, but I really feel for those who travelled from far away and who may not get another chance to see Alaska. 

Well said, we do feel we have now done an Alaska cruise but we did not get to experience Alaska. Glacier Bay was awesome though. We are well aware of what our contract says, but I still feel the compensation should be more than what we were given.  Mainly because of what you said earlier, the lack of transparency and I’ll add the communication. Itinerary changes are part of cruising but I feel this was different. Usually it’s because of weather or a mechanical issue that occurs in transit.

 

Also we have enjoyed the cruise for the most part, the staff and crew have been exceptional.  They are the face of the brand, the corporate decisions were not made by them. We witnessed some pretty frustrated passengers taking it out on them, that’s wrong.  We tried to make it a point to praise the crew especially the supervisors for their efforts.  I also feel this is not the true Princess experience as this is our first cruise with them. We are planning to use our FCC for another Princess Alaska cruise.  But we will be contacting them and giving them an honest review of our experience overall, the good and the bad.

[pkt1976]

1 minute ago, JeffT237 said:

Well said, we do feel we have now done an Alaska cruise but we did not get to experience Alaska. Glacier Bay was awesome though. We are well aware of what our contract says, but I still feel the compensation should be more than what we were given.  Mainly because of what you said earlier, the lack of transparency and I’ll add the communication. Itinerary changes are part of cruising but I feel this was different. Usually it’s because of weather or a mechanical issue that occurs in transit.

 

Also we have enjoyed the cruise for the most part, the staff and crew have been exceptional.  They are the face of the brand, the corporate decisions were not made by them. We witnessed some pretty frustrated passengers taking it out on them, that’s wrong.  We tried to make it a point to praise the crew especially the supervisors for their efforts.  I also feel this is not the true Princess experience as this is our first cruise with them. We are planning to use our FCC for another Princess Alaska cruise.  But we will be contacting them and giving them an honest review of our experience overall, the good and the bad.

You will get a survey by email by tomorrow. I really appreciate that you made an effort to be kind to the crew members. They’ve had a hard week and you are right, it’s not fair. I hope you enjoy your next Alaska cruise, it’s an amazing place. 

[suzyed]

10 hours ago, pkt1976 said:

Great… just what this cruise needs 😬🤦🏼‍♀️

 

LOL!  We were on the Coral Princess on Friday the 13th in March 2020 when Covid broke!

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by suzyed

[pkt1976]

So why not keep the mess coming for one more night. We were to be early , then late, then all excursions were canceled, then all back on but one. 🤦🏼‍♀️
 

I Was staying on anyway but I hope those going ashore enjoy their time ❤️
 

cheers to all with the drink package 🥂 🍻 

[Crow9]

I did the Princess help chat and they are not aware of any itinerary changes to the May 14th nor 21st Crown Princess cruises.  Cruisers on the 14th, have you heard about any changes? If so, could you let us know?

[OKCruiseMan]

We are on the 28th. On the website Juneau is listed on itinerary. On JourneyView on the app, Juneau no longer appears?

What do you show??

[OKCruiseMan]

2 minutes ago, OKCruiseMan said:

We are on the 28th. On the website Juneau is listed on itinerary. On JourneyView on the app, Juneau no longer appears?

What do you show??

Never mind. I forgot arrival time was delayed. 

[atexsix]

Forgive a dumb question, but if the Sapphire and Diamond are not in use and not returning until September, is there any reason they couldn't have swapped out the Crown for the majority of the Alaska season?  Or was it too late for that?

 

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by atexsix

[LCinLB]

1 hour ago, Crow9 said:

I did the Princess help chat and they are not aware of any itinerary changes to the May 14th nor 21st Crown Princess cruises.  Cruisers on the 14th, have you heard about any changes? If so, could you let us know?

I’m on the May14th cruise (currently in route!) and so far there has been no notice of any itinerary change. So hopefully it stays that way! I’ll update if there are any. 

Edited May 14, 2022 by LCinLB

[Crow9]

4 minutes ago, LCinLB said:

I’m on the May14th cruise (currently in route!) and so far there has been no notice of any itinerary change. So hopefully it stays that way! I’ll update if there are any. 

Thank you very much for the update!  That's good news so far that you didn't receive anything the night before like the cruisers on the 7th did.  I hope you are able to keep the current schedule and do all the excursions.

[ImperialLady]

32 minutes ago, LCinLB said:

I’m on the May14th cruise (currently in route!) and so far there has been no notice of any itinerary change. So hopefully it stays that way! I’ll update if there are any. 

May I ask what is the current route and schedule?  thanks

[OKCruiseMan]

9 minutes ago, ImperialLady said:

May I ask what is the current route and schedule?  thanks

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=3214N

[LCinLB]

3 hours ago, ImperialLady said:

May I ask what is the current route and schedule?  thanks

Leave Seattle, day at sea, Juneau, Skagway, glacier bay/icy straight point, day at sea, Victoria, back to Seattle!

[ImperialLady]

38 minutes ago, LCinLB said:

Leave Seattle, day at sea, Juneau, Skagway, glacier bay/icy straight point, day at sea, Victoria, back to Seattle!

thank you..have a wonderful cruise!

[ImperialLady]

4 hours ago, OKCruiseMan said:

https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=3214N

thank you

[pkt1976]

I hope those boarding keep their schedule and have an amazing trip!! 

[pkt1976]

Back to life, back to good wifi 😅

 

I enjoyed the small group photography tour. Only 8 of us with our guide Paul. 
 

we went to Dyea, where you aren’t to go if you rent a car. 
 

originally we planned to rent a car and drive up into the Yukon but canceled due to the itinerary changes. 

[pkt1976]

My Glacier Bay Photos 😍

[pkt1976]

Just a follow up on the meet and greet with the officers. One of the passengers let them know that it still smelled like sewage on their deck and last night and this morning there were crews out there working on cleaning the carpet and area. 
 

i good the plumbing issues are all taken care of and not an issue this coming week. The senior officers were very open to communication and did act when they learned of the issue. 
 

i hope someone posts from this coming cruise as I’ll be curious to know how it goes for them. 

[ImperialLady]

pkt1976 thank you for sharing your photos...they are FANTASTIC!!

[Becky_Mac]

Thank you for all of you that shared your experiences this week. I am looking forward to hearing from the current cruise now. Hopefully they are as helpful as you have been. 

[Mike & Zen]

Thank you again Paula for doing an excellent job in organizing two meet and greets, and for your “live” postings with great pictures!

 

Mike