Frustrating Travel on the Sapphire Princess, January 4, 2023

[cr8tiv1]

In my opinion and experience (not counting for much), I am wondering why Princess is putting this on the passenger and Travel Agent.  Princess cancelled this portion of the cruisetour.

 

When I had to cancel a cruise (similar but not the same), my Travel Agent mentioned that she is NOT an insurance professional (only sells the PVP).  She is not bonded.  She is not (I forget the real terminology) an insurance person.  Therefore, she really could not get involved with filing a claim for me with the insurance company.  I would have to directly work with Princess and AON.

 

Granted, OP's cancellation is much more complicated:  hotel, air fare, food, etc.  I would start a claim with the insurance company and let them sort it out with Princess.  It would be slightly easier if OP had Princess Vacation Protection or maybe not.

[Mary loves to travel]

20 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

There is no obvious reason that Princess could not have made the appropriate refund by now for both people that have posted having this problem.

 

o Princess knows what the portion of the Princess cruisetour price was for cruise and what part was for tour.

 

o Princess knows the customer did not cancel the tour, Princess (via their contractor) cancelled it.

 

There might be issues concerning other costs the customer had due to the cancellation:

 

o When the post-cruise tour was cancelled, what expenses, if any, did the customer have with regards to any need to change flights for returning home?  What about lodging and meals until the customer could fly home?

 

o With regards to the pre-cruise tour that was cancelled once the customer had already arrived for the tour, what about lodging and meals for the days until the cruise started as well as travel costs to the port if the arrival city was different?

 

Maybe those issues are holding up everything, but if that is the case then Princess, either directly or though travel agents, should let the customers know what is happening.

Of course Princess should have sorted this out by now.

However, in my recent experience, it can often take QUITE a long time to get a refund settled.

 

Mary

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

There is no obvious reason that Princess could not have made the appropriate refund by now for both people that have posted having this problem.

 

o Princess knows what the portion of the Princess cruisetour price was for cruise and what part was for tour.

 

o Princess knows the customer did not cancel the tour, Princess (via their contractor) cancelled it.

 

There might be issues concerning other costs the customer had due to the cancellation:

 

o When the post-cruise tour was cancelled, what expenses, if any, did the customer have with regards to any need to change flights for returning home?  What about lodging and meals until the customer could fly home?

 

o With regards to the pre-cruise tour that was cancelled once the customer had already arrived for the tour, what about lodging and meals for the days until the cruise started as well as travel costs to the port if the arrival city was different?

 

Maybe those issues are holding up everything, but if that is the case then Princess, either directly or though travel agents, should let the customers know what is happening.

Yes and No.  They certainly know what their costs are for each.  However, just as one cruise is priced differently then the exact same cruise on a different date, the cruise tours are unique and have their own pricing structure that would have a higher markup than just the cruise alone.  As such how they would process the refund is not quite a simple as subtracting out what the cruise would have sold for. There is also the entire question that you raised about other expenses for the days when the tour would have taken place.  

 

I would not choose to take a cruise tour. The markup for the combinations is pretty higher compared to what one could book the two components separately, so a lot is being paid for the convenience factor, as well as the issues if problems develop as in this case, since the cruise lines calculations of the refund might vary substantially from an individuals calculation. 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

I would not choose to take a cruise tour. The markup for the combinations is pretty higher compared to what one could book the two components separately, so a lot is being paid for the convenience factor, as well as the issues if problems develop as in this case, since the cruise lines calculations of the refund might vary substantially from an individuals calculation. 

 

We have taken three cruisetours with Princess in three different parts of the world (Africa, Alaska and South America) and felt we had fair pricing for what was an excellent experience on all three. Excellent accommodations and travel arrangements along with knowledgeable and helpful tour guides contributed to having experiences that would have been very difficult to arrange on our own.

 

This is not to say that we do not arrange our own equivalents of what Princess offers for the tour part of a cruisetour.

 

For example, we arranged with three others a private 5 day pre-cruise tour to Machu Picchu for a cost that was far less than a larger group Princess tour would have cost. Our tour included two visits to the site, one afternoon and then again the next morning.

 

We also did a three day tour by ourselves with a private local guide to Iguassu Falls (both Brazil and Argentina sides) that we arranged on our own before a Princess cruise from Rio.

[Guest ldtr]

10 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

We have taken three cruisetours with Princess in three different parts of the world (Africa, Alaska and South America) and felt we had fair pricing for what was an excellent experience on all three. Excellent accommodations and travel arrangements along with knowledgeable and helpful tour guides contributed to having experiences that would have been very difficult to arrange on our own.

 

This is not to say that we do not arrange our own equivalents of what Princess offers for the tour part of a cruisetour.

 

For example, we arranged with three others a private 5 day pre-cruise tour to Machu Picchu for a cost that was far less than a larger group Princess tour would have cost. Our tour included two visits to the site, one afternoon and then again the next morning.

 

We also did a three day tour by ourselves with a private local guide to Iguassu Falls (both Brazil and Argentina sides) that we arranged on our own before a Princess cruise from Rio.

We have done one Princess cruise tour and have found that there markup is pretty high compared to what we can do on our own.  For example in Peru we passed on both a cruise tour possibility and for that matter the 3 day Princess excursion on another cruise.  For the amount that we would have paid for the Princess, we covered a 12 day small group tour that stayed at the same properties that Princess used on the Machu Picchu portion, but also covered   Lake Titicacca (Puno), Colca  Canyon and the condors, and Arequipa   They are convenient and generally do things well, but you do pay a premium for them.

 

As far as Igauzu Falls.  Did you make your own flight and hotel arrangements and then book the tour, or did you book it all as a package.  We are currently looking at spending a few days there in January and currently looking into how we are going to do it. Probably going to spend a few days in BA then fly to the Falls area, then fly to Rio and then home from there.

[caribill]

7 minutes ago, ldtr said:

As far as Igauzu Falls.  Did you make your own flight and hotel arrangements and then book the tour, or did you book it all as a package.  We are currently looking at spending a few days there in January and currently looking into how we are going to do it. Probably going to spend a few days in BA then fly to the Falls area, then fly to Rio and then home from there.

 

We booked a package that started and ended in Rio. It included airfare round trip airfare from Rio, accommodations right near the falls on the Brazil side, and the guide who provided transportation from airport to hotel, tour of Brazil side, tour of Argentina side and transportation from hotel to airport.

 

Company we used to book this was in Florida and no longer exists.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

We booked a package that started and ended in Rio. It included airfare round trip airfare from Rio, accommodations right near the falls on the Brazil side, and the guide who provided transportation from airport to hotel, tour of Brazil side, tour of Argentina side and transportation from hotel to airport.

 

Company we used to book this was in Florida and no longer exists.

Thanks.  The better hotels are on the Brazil side for sure.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

Thanks.  The better hotels are on the Brazil side for sure.

 

[Buffalo Boaters]

It is now March 23 and we have yet to receive anything from Princess Cruises on our cancelled March Picchu land tour January 20-26, 2023. We were on the Sapphire and told a few days before disembarking that the tour would no take place due to civil unrest in Peru. We call our travel agent weekly to receive updates and the report is Princess has nothing to say! Has anyone received their refund? We are waiting for a significant check or at least a reply of some kind!!!

[cjpj]

25 minutes ago, Buffalo Boaters said:

It is now March 23 and we have yet to receive anything from Princess Cruises on our cancelled March Picchu land tour January 20-26, 2023. We were on the Sapphire and told a few days before disembarking that the tour would no take place due to civil unrest in Peru. We call our travel agent weekly to receive updates and the report is Princess has nothing to say! Has anyone received their refund? We are waiting for a significant check or at least a reply of some kind!!!

I don't know where I saw it, but I thought everyone was getting 1500 back. You still had tours and hotel rooms but not the MP travel and visit. Disappointing to be sure. The last credit I had from Princess just after cruising opened took about 8 to 10 weeks. I would expect 12 weeks now.

[Buffalo Boaters]

We had a booked hotel room after leaving the ship for two nights before heading home because they could not book us on a flight home right away. No tours, no other sights to be seen and we left out of Santiago, Chili. We never saw Peru!! We will not accept $150o.

[Sarnia 432]

@Buffalo Boaters we were speaking to Princess this week.  So frustrating, still no Machu Picchu refund (our cruise was before yours).  We were told they were “still working on what to give everyone”.  They asked us to send in the letter we received on board stating we would get $1500 usd as a fcc (scanned and sent in).

 

And we again wait …………

[caribill]

39 minutes ago, Sarnia 432 said:

@Buffalo Boaters we were speaking to Princess this week.  So frustrating, still no Machu Picchu refund (our cruise was before yours).  We were told they were “still working on what to give everyone”.  They asked us to send in the letter we received on board stating we would get $1500 usd as a fcc (scanned and sent in).

 

 

 

I can understand if the "$1500 us compensation for missing the tour that an FCC is appropriate.

 

But the actual cost of the tour should be refunded (quickly) to the original form of payment, not as an FCC.

 

For cruises that were cancelled during the pandemic, Princess did offer people two choices.

 

Choice 1) Receive any cruise fare or deposit $$$ back to the original form of payment.

                                                             or

Choice 2) Receive any cruise fare or deposit as a refundable FCC and also receive a non-refundable FCC as compensation for this disappointment of having the cruise cancelled. The amount of the non-refundable FCC varied, depending of what the offer was when the cruise was cancelled.

 

The pandemic related cancellations did take many months to process the setting up of the FCDs or sending of refunds.This delay was in part caused by the massive number of cancelled cruises to process.

 

However, in my opinion, the MP cancellations should be (although they do not seem to be) processed relatively quickly as the number of cancellations is not that large.

[Buffalo Boaters]

We had a booked hotel room after leaving the ship for two nights before heading home because they could not book us on a flight home right away. No tours, no other sights to be seen and we left out of Santiago, Chili. We never saw Peru!! We will not accept $150o.

[Buffalo Boaters]

Yes, the wait has been too long for all of us. We figure, by subtracting the original cruise cost and air flight, Lima Tours or Princess owes us $4,999 each or roughly $10,000! That’s a chunk of cash! I am publishing these problems since it has been a weekly struggle with all concerned! Our travel agent has now reached out to the next level of authority in their agency. I am not sure that will help, but it is another level of hope. We also submitted the letter we received onboard from Princess’s administrators to our travel agent.

Edited March 24, 2023 by Buffalo Boaters
Missed portion

[geocruiser]

Can your credit card company do anything to help?

[koolforkatz]

@Buffalo Boaters have you checked the social media group for your cruise (there is one). There has been a discussion on it about the refund and a couple of people have referenced amounts received. I was booked for the cruisetour starting January 14th (pre-cruise tour) which was cancelled six days before we flew out. We had to quickly figure out a plan B as we couldn't change our Lima flights. I have received some of my refund, but not the promised amount so have been trying to chase down the remainder of it which has been a struggle. 

[Buffalo Boaters]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:20 AM, geocruiser said:

Can your credit card company do anything to help?

I do not know! That’s a good question. Thanks!

[Buffalo Boaters]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:51 AM, koolforkatz said:

@Buffalo Boaters have you checked the social media group for your cruise (there is one). There has been a discussion on it about the refund and a couple of people have referenced amounts received. I was booked for the cruisetour starting January 14th (pre-cruise tour) which was cancelled six days before we flew out. We had to quickly figure out a plan B as we couldn't change our Lima flights. I have received some of my refund, but not the promised amount so have been trying to chase down the remainder of it which has been a struggle. 

Yes, I checked the roll call for our cruise beginning January 4, 2023 on the Sapphire Princess. It looks like some  people who signed up for the Machu Picchu land tour, received a refund, but it was not clear how much! I will keep checking and thank you for your response!

[kitkat343]

I'm so sorry - they should have immediately refunded the cruise tour fees, and then determined if they wanted as a goodwill gesture to give you FCC.  

 

How is the situation in Peru now?  Are the private tours running (they might be but it still might not be safe enough to go).  I'm so sorry - Machu Piccu is one of my dream trips, and I'd be so sad to travel all the way to South America and not be able to go.

[Buffalo Boaters]

On 3/26/2023 at 3:25 PM, kitkat343 said:

I'm so sorry - they should have immediately refunded the cruise tour fees, and then determined if they wanted as a goodwill gesture to give you FCC.  

 

How is the situation in Peru now?  Are the private tours running (they might be but it still might not be safe enough to go).  I'm so sorry - Machu Piccu is one of my dream trips, and I'd be so sad to travel all the way to South America and not be able to go.

We have no idea what it is like in Peru now. Thank you for your kind words. We have not received any compensation from Princess as of this date, 3/30/2023. No communications. We should have cancelled the trip after the State Dept. warnings, but Princess told us we’d lose all our money, the cruise and land tour. It just is very upsetting!

[Perky1]

If you paid for the tour with your credit card put a claim in with the card.  You paid for a service you did not receive.  

[milolii]

On 3/26/2023 at 1:25 PM, kitkat343 said:

I'm so sorry - they should have immediately refunded the cruise tour fees, and then determined if they wanted as a goodwill gesture to give you FCC.  

 

How is the situation in Peru now?  Are the private tours running (they might be but it still might not be safe enough to go).  I'm so sorry - Machu Piccu is one of my dream trips, and I'd be so sad to travel all the way to South America and not be able to go.

Here is a recent report.

Of course things  can change quickly.   

Edited March 30, 2023 by milolii

[Sarnia 432]

4 hours ago, Buffalo Boaters said:

It just is very upsetting

I agree, we too have heard nothing from Princess.

[Buffalo Boaters]

For everyone following this thread, here is an update. We received a total of $6,900  as a credit on our card for the cancelled Machu Picchu land tour. There was no explanation of this credit given to us or our travel agent. This sum of $6,900 does not match what we think we are owed after subtracting the actual cruise payment from the total paid to Princess. Our travel agent spent an unsuccessful hour on the phone with Princess trying to get them to justify the amount of refund we were given. The Princess spokesperson was short and would not divulge any details. For all of you going through this ordeal, I hope you were more successful and you received your refund in a timely manner. It took our travel agent 6 weeks and Princess would only go through an agent. We have a Princess cruise in January, 2024 with family. We were Princess loyalists, not any more.