What are reasonable expectations for a Princess Vacation Planner?

[txjim09]

Although cruises are not my primary vacation vehicle, I've booked with Princess several times after retirement and paid attention to an e-mail from a Princess Vacation Planner for the first time.  I've seldom used a travel agent for any of my vacations because I've been in a few spots where waiting for a 3rd party to fix problems would have been problematic (although I fully admit that many here have great agents!)

 

Working with the Princess planner seemed to be a good option as I still have direct control over things and perhaps they would be a helpful path to resolving issues a bit easier.  I worked with my Planner somewhat for an April cruise and sent an e-mail early Thanksgiving week asking about the $1 deposits and if they apply to as particular 2024 cruise I was interested in booking.  I got an autoreply back quickly stating that this person was on vacation.  No issues, people deserve time off but it seems strange that it would be taken during Black Friday/$1 deposit times.  I have yet to receive a response to that e-mail.

 

Fast-forward to today and $1 deposit issues.  The cruise I wanted showed $1 deposits on the first reservation page yet charged $100/head on the payment page.  I did call an agent early on as I did not know if my planner had returned and, in any case, it was 7am west coast time, probably too early.  The very nice Princess agent got the same result and was equally stumped so I thanked her and sent an e-mail to my planner along with appropriate screenshots.  I did go ahead and pull the trigger on the full deposit reservation later that day as I had not received a response.  Literally seconds later, I got a response from the planner stating that, since I just paid the deposit, there was nothing they could do.  I mean it, probably 45 seconds!  A tribute to our digital age!

 

So, my serious question is, what are appropriate expectations for the services of a planner?  I realize they are not travel agents but here's what I expected:

• Timely response to e-mail questions, no later than next day and preferably an acknowledgement of receipt the same day.  I include this because, for my April voyage, I never received a response to an e-mail question yet received a call shortly after putting a cruise on hold 2 days later.
• Ability to resolve booking issues in a timely manner.  
• Provide insight into and assistance with navigation of the mysteries of Princess IT issues and company processes impacting reservations and payments

 

I am purposely leaving out any expectation regarding vacation time but still find it peculiar that it was taken during Black Friday week. 

 

What should I expect?  Did I receive reasonable assistance or is it worth the effort to get someone else assigned?  Or ignore them altogether?

 

 

 

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, txjim09 said:

 

 

I am purposely leaving out any expectation regarding vacation time but still find it peculiar that it was taken during Black Friday week. 

 

Maybe they were spending Thanksgiving with family out of town. A lot of people take time off at this time. 

 

We all take vacations. You had the option to call the 800 number and still book. It was not like you had to speak to this specific person.

 

What if this was the only time they took off all year? What if they were sick or had family who was sick. We all miss work for various reasons.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Coral

[txjim09]

I did call and I believe I stated that I do not begrudge vacation.  On the other hand, professionals are generally expected to adapt schedules to critical period.  There have been several times that I've delayed or cancelled time off during critical program times as I was providing an important function for the company.  Admittedly, our customers were doing things much more important than booking a cruise.

 

In any case, this was not a question of "what should I have done," it was regarding planner expectations.

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, txjim09 said:

I did call and I believe I stated that I do not begrudge vacation.  On the other hand, professionals are generally expected to adapt schedules to critical period.  There have been several times that I've delayed or cancelled time off during critical program times as I was providing an important function for the company.  Admittedly, our customers were doing things much more important than booking a cruise.

 

In any case, this was not a question of "what should I have done," it was regarding planner expectations.

IMO -there are times that are far busier for Princess agents - examples would be when new itineraries are released such as when Europe will be released in a few weeks.

 

Expectations - everyone should be able to take time off. There are back up people you can speak to and accomplish the same task - it is not like you were unable to accomplish what you needed to. I think you need to move on and not spend your time worrying or being upset that it was inconvenient that they took vacation time when you wanted to book a vacation.

 

Much more important things to worry about.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Coral

[txjim09]

I think I'll continue with my question if you don't mind, you seem to be obsessed with incorrect interpretations of my time off comments.  Whatever, dude!  I specifically excluded issues with time off in my expectations list, perhaps you did not read that!

[Ombud]

What i fired a CVP for: (assigned to her 1/22-4/22)

1. Not returning calls during regular California hours

2. Impolite - 'scolded' me for using chat line

 

Why I like my CVP:

1. Returns calls noon PST

2. Adjusts price after final payment date

3. Gets me current promotions after final payment date inc extra OBC (I book standard fare)

4. Handles booking issues inc finding my preferred rooms when they aren't showing anywhere (E409-E425 on Royal class, midship Caribe on older ships)

 

Prior CVP (retired 12/21) handled in-transit issues. This 1 had to only handle 1 in-transit issue

 

Yeah, outside of location, it's all about the $$s

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Ombud

[milolii]

I had a similar issues abiut two months ago my CVP took several days to respond when I asked her about a cruise. By then I was off on another cruise. 

 

Once I returned I looked at the same cruise  again.  This time I called several times over three days and sent several emails.   No answer.  I finally called the main line and I was able to complete my transaction. I never got an out of office reply for any of my emails or durning my phone calls.  

 

 About a week later I found a new CVP.  

[Bridalgownz]

I've had problems with my personal vacation planner as she never calls me back or answers my emails.  She begged me to allow her to book a casino offer as she can get me some extra goodies.  After waiting a a week and a half, bye, bye, I finally booked via the casino today as the deadline for the offer is the 30th.   

[bdever]

4 hours ago, txjim09 said:

Although cruises are not my primary vacation vehicle, I've booked with Princess several times after retirement and paid attention to an e-mail from a Princess Vacation Planner for the first time.  I've seldom used a travel agent for any of my vacations because I've been in a few spots where waiting for a 3rd party to fix problems would have been problematic (although I fully admit that many here have great agents!)

 

Working with the Princess planner seemed to be a good option as I still have direct control over things and perhaps they would be a helpful path to resolving issues a bit easier.  I worked with my Planner somewhat for an April cruise and sent an e-mail early Thanksgiving week asking about the $1 deposits and if they apply to as particular 2024 cruise I was interested in booking.  I got an autoreply back quickly stating that this person was on vacation.  No issues, people deserve time off but it seems strange that it would be taken during Black Friday/$1 deposit times.  I have yet to receive a response to that e-mail.

 

Fast-forward to today and $1 deposit issues.  The cruise I wanted showed $1 deposits on the first reservation page yet charged $100/head on the payment page.  I did call an agent early on as I did not know if my planner had returned and, in any case, it was 7am west coast time, probably too early.  The very nice Princess agent got the same result and was equally stumped so I thanked her and sent an e-mail to my planner along with appropriate screenshots.  I did go ahead and pull the trigger on the full deposit reservation later that day as I had not received a response.  Literally seconds later, I got a response from the planner stating that, since I just paid the deposit, there was nothing they could do.  I mean it, probably 45 seconds!  A tribute to our digital age!

 

So, my serious question is, what are appropriate expectations for the services of a planner?  I realize they are not travel agents but here's what I expected:

• Timely response to e-mail questions, no later than next day and preferably an acknowledgement of receipt the same day.  I include this because, for my April voyage, I never received a response to an e-mail question yet received a call shortly after putting a cruise on hold 2 days later.
• Ability to resolve booking issues in a timely manner.  
• Provide insight into and assistance with navigation of the mysteries of Princess IT issues and company processes impacting reservations and payments

 

I am purposely leaving out any expectation regarding vacation time but still find it peculiar that it was taken during Black Friday week. 

 

What should I expect?  Did I receive reasonable assistance or is it worth the effort to get someone else assigned?  Or ignore them altogether?

 

 

 

I honestly think you and I have the same planner. Mine has not returned my phone calls or emails prior to her scheduled vacation time over Thanksgiving holiday. I am so disappointed in the lack of professionalism that I am going to try to get the booking pulled from her. She is my mom’s planner as well and my mom left her a voicemail over Thanksgiving vacation that she has not returned as well. It’s a shame because it’s the first time I ever booked with Princess and I have to say, I will never ever use a Princess planner again. Done. Never have I experienced this with my Carnival PVP or with NCL. BTW my planner’s initials are M.R.

Edited November 29, 2022 by bdever

[caribill]

Just as with Travel gents, some PVPs are better than others.

 

The PVP you have is not the only person at Princess that can help you book a cruise or work with you if there are questions of problems.

 

If you know or learn that your PVP is not in the office, speak with another PVP or Princessagent at the 800 number. If your PVP is in the office and does not respond in a timely manner, ask to be assigned a different PVP.

 

What can you expect from a PVP? Good and timely communication. If you do not have that, ask for a different PVP.

 

If you have time sensitive questions about sales and bookings, speak with someone else at Princess if you cannot make contact with your PVP.  And if the alternate agent cannot properly answer your questions, just call back and a different agent will likely answer.

 

[CaribbeanIsland]

This is not the busiest week for travel agents. Give your cruise planner a break if they did indeed go on vacation.

[1965]

My cvp is amazing. That has not always been the case. My 1st one several yrs ago was useless. I gave up on her & swore off, did everything myself. A couple of yrs ago I gave it another try. So glad I did. She has helped me in countless ways. 

[The Greater Fool]

My PVP was also on vacation over Thanksgiving weekend.  She actually mentioned it to me earlier in the week and provided me the name/number of another PVP to handle any issues that couldn't wait until she returned.  As it happened I did email her on Friday for an issue that could wait until Monday, got an automated email with the same information she gave when we talked.  My email was dealt with first thing Monday morning, we talked back and forth and took care of my issue.

 

So, yeah, I am very happy with my PVP of 5 years.  Before her I would just call the Princess number, and deal with the PVP I got.  If they were friendly and responsive I would keep their name/number, but generally 2nd time would be a disappointment, so back to random contact again.  One time when I didn't get a call back somehow I ended up talking to my current PVP who was, as previously stated, friendly and responsive.

 

All I expect of a PVP is:

Friendly: One curmudgeon in our conversation is more than enough;

Responsive: Reasonable replies, either phone or email;

Proactive: Sees and deals with problems often before I am aware of them;

Inventive: Come up with different ways of getting things that can't be done done;

Committed(?): She does what she says she'll do when she says she'll do it, or contacts me to explain;

 

Really, my expectations aren't much different for anyone handling my business.