Princess Fail

[57eric]

• ·         What my objective was – To switch to another Princess Cruise Vacation Planner (I’ll spare you the back story on this) and to cancel two bookings and transfer the deposits to two other existing bookings.

• ·         What I should have done – Ask this forum how to accomplish the former and then use my new CVP to take care of the latter.

• ·         The mistake I made – I called the main Princess line.  Let me skip to the punch line: an hour and 36 minutes.  Very little of that was on hold.  The rep told me that my requests could not be completed off line; she had to stay on the phone with me or they would be lost.

Issue one was that, not only was the rep unfamiliar with the CVP concept, it appeared her next level support was also.

Issue two was that the rep was not empowered to transfer deposits.  We had to wait for another group to do it.

After 96 minutes, all was accomplished.  Well, almost all.  While I did hear from my new CVP, I expected to receive four confirming emails for the changes, as I always would have in the past, and I got none.  I’ve asked him to clear that up.

Not a good experience!

[dog]

8 minutes ago, 57eric said:

• ·         What my objective was – To switch to another Princess Cruise Vacation Planner (I’ll spare you the back story on this) and to cancel two bookings and transfer the deposits to two other existing bookings.

 

 

• ·         What I should have done – Ask this forum how to accomplish the former and then use my new CVP to take care of the latter.

 

 

• ·         The mistake I made – I called the main Princess line.  Let me skip to the punch line: an hour and 36 minutes.  Very little of that was on hold.  The rep told me that my requests could not be completed off line; she had to stay on the phone with me or they would be lost.

 

 

Issue one was that, not only was the rep unfamiliar with the CVP concept, it appeared her next level support was also.

 

 

Issue two was that the rep was not empowered to transfer deposits.  We had to wait for another group to do it.

 

 

After 96 minutes, all was accomplished.  Well, almost all.  While I did hear from my new CVP, I expected to receive four confirming emails for the changes, as I always would have in the past, and I got none.  I’ve asked him to clear that up.

 

 

Not a good experience!

 

Well, congratulations on accomplishing your task.

 

I learned to only ask for one thing to be done at a time.  The experienced agents seemed to have been let go or quit when the pandemic took over our lives.

[DavidsNana]

@57ericI too am not satisfied with my current Princess Vacation Planner and would like to make a change. However, your experience makes me leery of even trying.  I have two cruises booked and after much correction on one of them, they are currently OK but I really do not want to deal with my current PVP ever again including anything I might need on these two cruises.  I think I just might leave things alone and revert back to a cruise travel agent in the future.  96 minutes on the phone is not my idea of "fun".  Thank you for your post letting us know what you had to go through.

[chubbypiggy]

I would like to switch to another CVP also.  Do I just call the Princess general line? My CVP doesn't reply to emails and always had to leave at least 2+ messages before he responded.  I want to take advantage of the current $100pp OBC promotion for all four bookings that I have.  I requested those changes more than a week ago; sent him 2 emails and left several voice messages, but he never replied or call me back or make those changes.    

[WatchHill]

That's why I have an independent TA to manage what I need and want. I did our recent cruise booking through Princess because I knew our TA was traveling to his summer place. I asked for the transfer doc so I could get it away from Princess. I emailed that back to Princess with the new TA info listed. Within two days my regular TA took the booking and got the wifi, gratuities and beverage package, and independent insurance, for $1300 less than Princess. And I didn't have to sit on hold. Princess agent wanted to keep the booking of course and offered me two exclusive coupon books. 

 

Darcy

[sloopsailor]

12 minutes ago, WatchHill said:

That's why I have an independent TA to manage what I need and want. I did our recent cruise booking through Princess because I knew our TA was traveling to his summer place. I asked for the transfer doc so I could get it away from Princess. I emailed that back to Princess with the new TA info listed. Within two days my regular TA took the booking and got the wifi, gratuities and beverage package, and independent insurance, for $1300 less than Princess. And I didn't have to sit on hold. Princess agent wanted to keep the booking of course and offered me two exclusive coupon books. 

 

Darcy

 

We had a similar experience with our next cruise. Our TA had much better deals than Princess, similar to yours, with all the benefits Princess offered for the stateroom and Princess Plus package we wanted. Saved us enough to pay for every excursion we want to take, essentially making them "free". 

[57eric]

2 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

I would like to switch to another CVP also.  Do I just call the Princess general line? My CVP doesn't reply to emails and always had to leave at least 2+ messages before he responded.  I want to take advantage of the current $100pp OBC promotion for all four bookings that I have.  I requested those changes more than a week ago; sent him 2 emails and left several voice messages, but he never replied or call me back or make those changes.    

I sure wouldn't!  Hopefully someone will post a better method.

[MileHighAko]

I read all these horror stories of people on hold for hours or not getting the service they need. It's crazy! I must have won the CVP lottery or something because ever since my old CVP left Princess during covid and they assigned me a new one, I have had nothing but wonderful experiences. I don't have a lot of time to spend on the phone, so I write up a detailed email with exactly what I need to happen, and every time she is able to do what is needed, provide the necessary details, or whatever magic is needed.  She calls and emails me the next day to confirm it is all taken care of, sometimes to collect deposits, etc. and it's all done!

 

I wish you all the very best of luck and hope you can find a CVP as awesome as mine. Sorry if it sounds like I'm bragging, but I just wanted to give my voice to the fact that there are good CVPs out there!

[pris993]

I book when on board, never use a cruise rep, if I need something go thru the main line.  No problem at all. 

[GonzoWCS]

4 hours ago, WatchHill said:

That's why I have an independent TA to manage what I need and want. I did our recent cruise booking through Princess because I knew our TA was traveling to his summer place. I asked for the transfer doc so I could get it away from Princess. I emailed that back to Princess with the new TA info listed. Within two days my regular TA took the booking and got the wifi, gratuities and beverage package, and independent insurance, for $1300 less than Princess. And I didn't have to sit on hold. Princess agent wanted to keep the booking of course and offered me two exclusive coupon books. 

 

Darcy

Bang On!

 

Cheers

[suzyed]

2 hours ago, pris993 said:

I book when on board, never use a cruise rep, if I need something go thru the main line.  No problem at all. 

What's the advantage?  Do they give you a better price?  

[pris993]

19 hours ago, suzyed said:

What's the advantage?  Do they give you a better price?  

We buy a future booking credit, book directly with Princess.  Advantages I have experienced is get OBC with FBC used as deposit, usually get launch fare, get cabin we like request - no upgrade, monitor booking and if fare comes down request new fare.   Used TAs years ago, did not see any advantage, liked small brick and mortar agents, they don't exist anymore.  Have found dealing with cruise lines directly easy to do. 

[Buckeye10640]

On 10/2/2022 at 8:47 PM, MileHighAko said:

I read all these horror stories of people on hold for hours or not getting the service they need. It's crazy! I must have won the CVP lottery or something because ever since my old CVP left Princess during covid and they assigned me a new one, I have had nothing but wonderful experiences. I don't have a lot of time to spend on the phone, so I write up a detailed email with exactly what I need to happen, and every time she is able to do what is needed, provide the necessary details, or whatever magic is needed.  She calls and emails me the next day to confirm it is all taken care of, sometimes to collect deposits, etc. and it's all done!

 

I wish you all the very best of luck and hope you can find a CVP as awesome as mine. Sorry if it sounds like I'm bragging, but I just wanted to give my voice to the fact that there are good CVPs out there!

This is my experiece with my PVP as well, maybe we have the same one!

[suzyed]

3 hours ago, pris993 said:

We buy a future booking credit, book directly with Princess.  Advantages I have experienced is get OBC with FBC used as deposit, usually get launch fare, get cabin we like request - no upgrade, monitor booking and if fare comes down request new fare.   Used TAs years ago, did not see any advantage, liked small brick and mortar agents, they don't exist anymore.  Have found dealing with cruise lines directly easy to do. 

Hmmm?  We get all those advantages...same with FCD and onboard credit.  We always get a better price with the TA and/or way more onboard credit.
Oh well to each his/her own.

[pris993]

3 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Hmmm?  We get all those advantages...same with FCD and onboard credit.  We always get a better price with the TA and/or way more onboard credit.
Oh well to each his/her own.

Good for you, I don't have any more store front TAs where I live.   

[Ombud]

I went online and checked my cruise fare against some of the agencies. Fare averaged 200 more but obc averaged 200 more so it was a wash. Had a great CVP then one working from home in Hawaii (times didn't work) now back an almost as good as MR one. Staying put

[suzyed]

41 minutes ago, pris993 said:

Good for you, I don't have any more store front TAs where I live.   

We have a few, but that's not what I use.....anyway...

[capriccio]

6 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I went online and checked my cruise fare against some of the agencies. Fare averaged 200 more but obc averaged 200 more so it was a wash.

I have read that agencies that discount the Princess advertised prices are not allowed to publicize their pricing on-line or in print.  You must contact the agencies to get a quote.  That has been the way with our on-line TA that we have been working with for over 10 years.  We save from 7% to 12% as a discount over the Princess pricing.  We prefer to receive the discount instead of an OBC.  She also throws in a small OBCs and gifts (bottle of wine, specialty dinner, etc.) occasionally.

[sloopsailor]

We use an online website where we enter our cruise inquiry details and they distribute that information to various on-line TAs to compete on. We usually get a half dozen or more quotes with their pricing and any extras they provide, such as OBC, specialty dining vouchers, complimentary excursions, etc. After reviewing the quotes, we do a search on customer satisfaction for the top two and make a decision. We have always gotten very generous discounts far better than anything Princess has ever offered. Over the last five cruises we have saved enough to completely cover the cost of a sixth, making that process very much worth it.  

[pompeii]

I too am happy with my PVP and she always responds quickly when I need something.  Here's what she says to do if you are unhappy with your PVP:

 

"I am sorry to hear your friend is unhappy with her vacation planner, she can call our (800)901-1172 number and press 0 or stay on the line until our support agents answer and can request a new vacation planner and they will transfer them to our supervisors to be reassigned."

 

The first planner we were assigned years ago was less than responsive, so at the suggestion of a rep on the regular 800 number, we requested a new one and have never looked back.  We've had our current pvp for quite a few years now and are perfectly happy with her service.  

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

I have read that agencies that discount the Princess advertised prices are not allowed to publicize their pricing on-line or in print.  You must contact the agencies to get a quote.  That has been the way with our on-line TA that we have been working with for over 10 years.  We save from 7% to 12% as a discount over the Princess pricing.  We prefer to receive the discount instead of an OBC.  She also throws in a small OBCs and gifts (bottle of wine, specialty dinner, etc.) occasionally.

Yes, it has been that way for years. In 2010 we were looking for a cruise in Alaska. We found 3 on our TA's website that fit our criteria for date and itinerary. The Princess one had the highest price listed online. When I called our TA, he gave us quotes on all 3, and the Princess one ended up the least expensive and the one we took.

[JF - retired RRT]

On 10/2/2022 at 2:32 PM, WatchHill said:

Princess agent wanted to keep the booking of course and offered me two exclusive coupon books. 

How could you resist an offer like that? Exclusive coupon book...🤣

[sloopsailor]

3 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

How could you resist an offer like that? Exclusive coupon book...🤣

 

My TA is too cheap to offer coupon books. He only offers hundreds of dollars of discounts instead. I need to change TAs!!! 😠

[toofewcruises]

On 10/2/2022 at 9:21 PM, suzyed said:

What's the advantage?  Do they give you a better price?  

I'm willing to bet that they don't. Not everyone is interested in saving money!

[57eric]

Ah, the wisdom of Cruise Critic posters.  My request to my new CVP for confirmation emails has gone unanswered and I will be transferring my bookings to a TA, as suggested.  Can anyone advise the procedure?

 

Thanks.