Crown Princess Alaska May 21st

[JeffT237]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

Be sure to show them the contract you agreed to that basically says Princess can change any itinerary at any time for any reason.

 Again I believe most cruisers understand the basics of a cruise contract and itinerary changes, but do you personally feel Princess is handling this situation on the Crown well?  Have you been on our going to be on one of the impacted Crown cruises?  Is this a good business decision and customer service by what many on CC rave about when they discuss Princess and its reputation?  Is Princess considering the needs of their crew who are getting the worst of their poor decisions? Yes they can choose to basically hide behind the contract, and on our cruise in particular we heard there were 1500 first time Princess cruisers.  This is not the best way to try and gain repeat customers, maybe Princess is only interested in the short term and its bottom line.  Going the route of hiring an attorney is not my choice, I can understand why others would as this has been frustrating.  But I also believe it is appropriate for Princess to reach out to us who have asked for a conversation and be transparent.

Edited May 27, 2022 by JeffT237

[jk04]

15 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

I don't fully understand the PVSA but I would think as long as they physically stopped at Victoria or some other Canadian port, paid the fees and whatever else they met the letter of the law if not the spirit.

I  guess it isn't practical but I'd rather stop for an hour at Victoria which I don't consider part of an Alaskan cruise nor would any cruise line if they weren't required to stop there by law and get those 2-3 hours back at Juneau

I don't thing Crown has enough speed to make it to Juneau any earlier than what is now planned.  Changing the time in Victoria on the back-end won't help with that. 

[Namvvet68]

Has Princess offered you any on board credits or other compensation for the changes and inconvenience?

[Sunwanabe]

26 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

 Again I believe most cruisers understand the basics of a cruise contract and itinerary changes, but do you personally feel Princess is handling this situation on the Crown well?  Have you been on our going to be on one of the impacted Crown cruises?  Is this a good business decision and customer service by what many on CC rave about when they discuss Princess and its reputation?  Is Princess considering the needs of their crew who are getting the worst of their poor decisions? Yes they can choose to basically hide behind the contract, and on our cruise in particular we heard there were 1500 first time Princess cruisers.  This is not the best way to try and gain repeat customers, maybe Princess is only interested in the short term and its bottom line.  Going the route of hiring an attorney is not my choice, I can understand why others would as this has been frustrating.  But I also believe it is appropriate for Princess to reach out to us who have asked for a conversation and be transparent.

What a complete mess. PC hiding behind their policies doesn't cut it here. This is way more than a little inconvenience. First time cruisers, big bucks forked out for what is supposed to be a memorable cruise. Passengers on upcoming crown departures, some are trying to switch ships, others it's too late to make the switch. Hopefully a direct to the point discussion with PC can offer a satisfactory monetary solution. 

Can't blame the crew for any of this, from what I understand they have been wonderful. This all PC corporate.   

[memoak]

Get real people. Stuff happens on cruises and with cruise ships. I have been on cruises where we were stuck in the embarkation port for over 2 days due to weather. Lost 3 ports and had another changed out. That was my 25th cruise and I now have had 40. Nuff said 

[voljeep]

Just now, memoak said:

Get real people. Stuff happens on cruises and with cruise ships. I have been on cruises where we were stuck in the embarkation port for over 2 days due to weather. Lost 3 ports and had another changed out. That was my 25th cruise and I now have had 40. Nuff said 

well, when you cruise / have cruised that much - maybe missing a port is not that important - especially if you have previously been to that port.  but in the case of 1st ( and maybe only ) time cruisers to Alaska - it is seriously disappointing, especially when the goalposts keep moving and it was known pre-cruise.  And for some, its not so easy to say - hey, let's just jump to Discovery, at that late date - work, life, kids, planes, trains, hotels ...

[JeffT237]

7 minutes ago, memoak said:

Get real people. Stuff happens on cruises and with cruise ships. I have been on cruises where we were stuck in the embarkation port for over 2 days due to weather. Lost 3 ports and had another changed out. That was my 25th cruise and I now have had 40. Nuff said 

Would love to get your thoughts on my previous statement as well with this addition, do you think a weather related itinerary change is the same as what is going on with a known mechanical issue on the Crown?  The moving of the goalposts is a great example from the previous post.

 

Again I believe most cruisers understand the basics of a cruise contract and itinerary changes, but do you personally feel Princess is handling this situation on the Crown well?  Have you been on our going to be on one of the impacted Crown cruises?  Is this a good business decision and customer service by what many on CC rave about when they discuss Princess and its reputation?  Is Princess considering the needs of their crew who are getting the worst of their poor decisions? Yes they can choose to basically hide behind the contract, and on our cruise in particular we heard there were 1500 first time Princess cruisers.  This is not the best way to try and gain repeat customers, maybe Princess is only interested in the short term and its bottom line.  Going the route of hiring an attorney is not my choice, I can understand why others would as this has been frustrating.  But I also believe it is appropriate for Princess to reach out to us who have asked for a conversation and be transparent.

[memoak]

8 minutes ago, voljeep said:

well, when you cruise / have cruised that much - maybe missing a port is not that important - especially if you have previously been to that port.  but in the case of 1st ( and maybe only ) time cruisers to Alaska - it is seriously disappointing, especially when the goalposts keep moving and it was known pre-cruise.  And for some, its not so easy to say - hey, let's just jump to Discovery, at that late date - work, life, kids, planes, trains, hotels ...

Flexibility is what it is all about. We cruises from Vancouver to Lauderdale 2 weeks after 9/11. Imagine all the changes we had to make with airline’s canceling flights right and left. We believe I making lemonade rather than bemoaning our fates

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

Flexibility is what it is all about. We cruises from Vancouver to Lauderdale 2 weeks after 9/11. Imagine all the changes we had to make with airline’s canceling flights right and left. We believe I making lemonade rather than bemoaning our fates

it's not "bemoaning" at all for those people who might not have the "flexibility" that others have.

 

enjoy your cruising

 

done ... maybe

[JeffT237]

Just now, memoak said:

Flexibility is what it is all about. We cruises from Vancouver to Lauderdale 2 weeks after 9/11. Imagine all the changes we had to make with airline’s canceling flights right and left. We believe I making lemonade rather than bemoaning our fates

 

Yes after 9/11 it was a rough time for many, many people had to deal with more than just scheduling flight changes.  Pretty much our whole lives were impacted, not just our travel plans. As a retired firefighter 9/11 has a special meaning to me and the fire service, I know it is a sacred day for many people for many reasons, but missed or impacted travel is probably not one of them.  We like many others who actually took this cruise did exactly that, we made the most of our cruise and enjoyed it.  We treated the crew and staff very well as they were all great.  We made lemonade out of the mess and vowed we would enjoy what we could and deal with the disappointment when we returned.  Just trying to get a response from Princess as well as our $750 refunded to us has proven difficult. But again, in your opinion is Princess handling this well and were you on this cruise?

[JeffT237]

Also @Crow9 sorry for hijacking your post

[Crow9]

All good, it was super busy on the ship last night, crowded everywhere, more people wearing masks then I saw at the beginning of the trip.  This morning, everything is deserted, people must be sleeping in.

[Riley_Mon]

To me the ability to change itinerary  in the cruise contract is more about a good faith effort on Princess' part to deliver the cruise they sold you.

 

9/11, weather - none of that falls on Princess. Princess is more than privileged in that situation to claim force majeure.

 

Making the decision to cruise knowing you cannot deliver on the advertised cruise from the start is not good faith effort on Princess' part. 

 

They are in the service industry, in a relatively high dollar vacation segment, and they are making the decision to lessen the customer experience on the Crown when other Princess ships, and other cruise lines are capable of delivering on theirs. Therefore this is not a circumstance out of their control. Its completely within their control to take ownership of this situation and make an honest attempt to satisfy their obligations.

 

Expecting customers to be "flexible and patient" in that circumstance may sound benevolent but it is grossly unfair, especially when I read the Sapphire and Diamond ships won't go into service until September. Someone can correct me on that if I am wrong but I've read two sources state that in discussion about the Crown.

 

A solution to this requires money, effort and time on the Princess Cruise's part, none of which they appear ready to expend

 

 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Riley_Mon

[flaminog]

18 hours ago, Eaglecw said:

I'm sure glad I jumped ship and moved over to the Discovery Princess.

I had been following this thread for a while before making this decision, but I finally told my husband what was going on and we did too. 

We were on the July 9 Crown and just hopped on Discovery the following day. We had to move our flights one day which was honestly the worst part (dealing with flight credit from Expedia from a canceled trip from 2020..ugh). Called our TA who confirmed that the booking was under the cruise with confidence and we were within 60 days so we had a booking penalty, but it would be reissued as a future cruise credit.

 

We rebooked for Discovery in a balcony for $400 less than I had booked our oceanview on Crown 4 months ago. I'll use the FCC in a few months with the 25% teacher discount my husband gets for a quick weekend/short cruise even if this cruise bites (I doubt it will-we are new to Princess and I have heard this is way outside the norm). We are in Florida so we can hop on a short trip to use the FCC no problem-but we have never been to Alaska, so to plan this trip and to have no time to actually see it was just not happening. 

[Namvvet68]

Just mailed this letter :

 

27 May 27, 2022

 

 

Ms. Jan Swartz

Group President

24305 Town Center Drive

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

 

Dear Ms. Swartz:

I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in Princess Corp. handling of the recent events concerning the Crown Princess.  I understand that equipment failures happen unexpectedly, and you have little control over them but the way your staff handled the cruises affected was totally unacceptable. 

I believe the generator failed shortly before the 7 May sailing and the ship’s speed capabilities were understood by management at that time.  Schedules were adjusted through the end of July and guests did not get to visit Ketchikan and had Icy Point (for 3 hours) substituted.  Your team missed the mark again, because every sailing got into Juneau 5 hours late and not one sailing ever got to Icy Point.  So here we are on 27 May and you are just now changing the itinerary to reflect the changes on the website but have not informed the guests of the changes. At least I have received nothing from Princess.

The cruise that we booked and paid for over a year ago has deteriorated to an Alaska drive-by.  We will have half of the time ashore that we paid for and the late arrival in Juneau precludes any excursions. The only full day we have in Alaska will be in Skagway.

 I follow the blogs (cruise critic.com) on the experiences the guests have had since Crown’s return to service and from what I have seen, you have permanently lost many customers because of your poor handling of the situation.

Most feel that the $100 onboard credit is an insult and those that were offered future cruise credits felt they were worthless because they would never cruise with Princess again.  The poor communication with your guests is inexcusable.

I am a supporter of Princess and have stayed the course with the Crown but feel that you need to hear about the black eye Princess has received over this issue.

 

Sincerely,

[ImperialLady]

We (4 adults) are booked on the August 27th sailing. I looked at moving to the Discovery..it would cost more by several hundred dollars per person for a similar cabin. I also checked our airlines, Alaska air. Yes, we could change flights at a cost of an additional $200 per person and it would require an additional hotel night, another $300 per couple. It would also require an additional 2 days at our Doggie resort as we would not get back home Sunday night to pick them up. All in all it would cost us an other $1,200, if not more, per couple. And we would miss Glacier Bay, the reason we booked this cruise. And Princess doesn't give a darn! I will NEVER sail on Princess again. And Princess doesn't give a darn. Oh Princess still has our original ports and times listed. But I have no doubt it will be changed and adjusted several times before Aug 27th. And Princess doesn't give a darn! Princess just doesn't care! Sorry for the rant. I hate bullies. Princess is bullying people who have little to no recourse.

 

[bmc alabama]

3 hours ago, JeffT237 said:

Also the Carnival Magic with some fumes that some passengers stated made them sick.  The Magic, Crown and Freedom as most know are all owned by the Carnival Corp perhaps they need to look at their maintenance program fleet wide as it's been a rough start up.  Glad to hear the Harmony's damage was minor and was able to continue sailing her itinerary uninterrupted.  

Interesting read on the Harmony.  Apparently it’s the same captain that interrupted the rocket launch a few months ago…

[cruzin4us]

Now, the question is will you get any type of response from your letter?    I believe your letter is justified and well written, but I don't think you will get a response (other than maybe some generic letter from Jan's secretary).    I hope I'm wrong and it does make it to her desk.   Please keep us updated on what you hear.

[Namvvet68]

23 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

Now, the question is will you get any type of response from your letter?    I believe your letter is justified and well written, but I don't think you will get a response (other than maybe some generic letter from Jan's secretary).    I hope I'm wrong and it does make it to her desk.   Please keep us updated on what you hear.

also copied the Pres. of Princess and the Customer Relations Director for all the good it will do; but it made me feel better by venting to the only ones that can do anything about it.

 

[Namvvet68]

Did they ever open the Michelangelo dining room and close the shaky one in the stern?

[JeffT237]

59 minutes ago, bmc alabama said:

Apparently it’s the same captain that interrupted the rocket launch a few months ago…

 I bet that will cost RCCL some money and perhaps some retraining for the Captain!  Probably wanted to give the passengers onboard a close up Maho Beach type experience!

[Eaglecw]

2 hours ago, flaminog said:

I had been following this thread for a while before making this decision, but I finally told my husband what was going on and we did too. 

We were on the July 9 Crown and just hopped on Discovery the following day. We had to move our flights one day which was honestly the worst part (dealing with flight credit from Expedia from a canceled trip from 2020..ugh). Called our TA who confirmed that the booking was under the cruise with confidence and we were within 60 days so we had a booking penalty, but it would be reissued as a future cruise credit.

 

We rebooked for Discovery in a balcony for $400 less than I had booked our oceanview on Crown 4 months ago. I'll use the FCC in a few months with the 25% teacher discount my husband gets for a quick weekend/short cruise even if this cruise bites (I doubt it will-we are new to Princess and I have heard this is way outside the norm). We are in Florida so we can hop on a short trip to use the FCC no problem-but we have never been to Alaska, so to plan this trip and to have no time to actually see it was just not happening. 

I think you made the right decision. We moved over to the Discovery as soon I found out that the Crown had problems. By changing to the Discovery we got back around $800, a better cabin and the drink package. I would have canceled the whole cruise if we didn't have so many FCC to use up from canceled cruises due to COVID. We are fortunate enough to live in the Seattle so we don't have to fly.  

[jk04]

4 hours ago, Namvvet68 said:

Has Princess offered you any on board credits or other compensation for the changes and inconvenience?

For those that were on the cruises since the restart, they were given various amounts of OBC and 20% FCC.  Based on the email we received last night, there is no additional OBC offered, except the initial $100 everyone had been given for switching Icy Strait with Ketchikan, and no mention of any FCC offers.  Not even a sorry.  Just the 'Important Notice' at the bottom quoting the Passage Contract.

 

So, it seems the next four cruises will receive no further compensation since the itinerary is now published.

[Crow9]

Announced we are getting to Victoria at about 6pm instead of 7pm now. 

 

The ship is so peaceful.  Even with all the changes, I am glad I went, better than working and I got pampered all week.

[OKCruiseMan]

5 hours ago, memoak said:

Get real people. Stuff happens on cruises and with cruise ships. I have been on cruises where we were stuck in the embarkation port for over 2 days due to weather. Lost 3 ports and had another changed out. That was my 25th cruise and I now have had 40. Nuff said 

I would agree IF this were some unforeseen problem. Not when they knew weeks in advance the itinerary could not be met but chose not to say anything until the day before. They let me book $1000 in shore excursions they knew I couldn't take and withheld information I could have used to book viable excursions. This was a decision on their part, not anything else!