Sky Princess Arriving Early in Southampton

[travelers07]

Just throwing this out- those of us traveling solo pay double. Yet we still got the $100 instead of $200. Fairer would have been compensation per cabin instead of per person since that is how they charge. 

[HaroldLeslie]

2 minutes ago, travelers07 said:

Just throwing this out- those of us traveling solo pay double. Yet we still got the $100 instead of $200. Fairer would have been compensation per cabin instead of per person since that is how they charge. 

Good point. And an important one.

[Bedruthen]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

Never known P&O refund port fees in the 20+ years of cruising with them.

We first cruised on Oriana in 2001. They were having problems with the propulsion system and as a result we missed a port. We were given a refund, of £50 per person for the inconvenience. Port fees were not mentioned back then. Ah the good old days…

[HaroldLeslie]

40 minutes ago, Bedruthen said:

We first cruised on Oriana in 2001. They were having problems with the propulsion system and as a result we missed a port. We were given a refund, of £50 per person for the inconvenience. Port fees were not mentioned back then. Ah the good old days…

The extreme example is Aurora's world cruise in 2005 which was cancelled completely. Lots of missed ports there!

[wowzz]

58 minutes ago, Bedruthen said:

We first cruised on Oriana in 2001. They were having problems with the propulsion system and as a result we missed a port. We were given a refund, of £50 per person for the inconvenience. Port fees were not mentioned back then. Ah the good old days…

But that was a P&O problem, not an act of God. Totally different scenario.

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, travelers07 said:

Just throwing this out- those of us traveling solo pay double. Yet we still got the $100 instead of $200. Fairer would have been compensation per cabin instead of per person since that is how they charge. 

Depends on your math. You are assuming per cabin would be $200. What happens when there are 3 or 4 in a cabin? Bearing in mind the payment was not compulsory per person seems the simplest solution.

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, david63 said:

I would take a different view. On the basis that Princess refund port charges when a port is missed is not reasonable that when another port is added that passengers should be charged the additional port charges? You can't have it both ways.

Where is the evidence that Princess has charged for the extra night in  Southampton ? I have seen nothing to support this. The only things we have seen are the refunds and the free all day shuttle in Southampton. If any of the posters have the proof let them post it. 

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, Bedruthen said:

The reply from Texasjones has completely nailed everything which is wrong with the offer from Princess. As long as people believe that each soft lowering of the offering is acceptable, then Princess will continue to lower the boundaries as to what their customers will tolerate. The losers will ultimately be the people who defend them the strongest, as the rest of us will have already voted with our money and jumped. As for charging passengers for the additional dock charges for the night in Southampton, I am speechless. I only hope that it is an error. 

Interestingly texasjones nor yourself or any other passenger raised any of these issues at the Q and A session held by the Captain in the main theatre. Indeed the response at that event was 100% in support of the actions taken by the Captain. As I write this there are still no lines of passengers at Guest Relations demanding further action and nor have there been any on any of last few days when I have visited GR on other matters. 

 

[Bedruthen]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Interestingly texasjones nor yourself or any other passenger raised any of these issues at the Q and A session held by the Captain in the main theatre. Indeed the response at that event was 100% in support of the actions taken by the Captain. As I write this there are still no lines of passengers at Guest Relations demanding further action and nor have there been any on any of last few days when I have visited GR on other matters. 

 

Why would there be?  I haven’t seen a single post on this thread which criticises the decision and actions taken by the Captain and I have nothing to say on that. You are confusing the role of the Captain with the decision taken thereafter by the Princess management.  I speak on here as something of an outsider, I am not a passenger, I haven’t cruised with Princess for many many years, but I do have an upcoming cruise with them. I joined the Princess boards for reassurance that I have made a good decision to return and I am one of the many people that Princess will need to convert in to repeat customers, if they want to grow their future passenger base. Instead of reassurance, I am reading complaints, which are not necessarily about the onboard ship experience, but are about the way passengers feel that they are treated when things do not go according to plan. As was previously pointed out, other companies do it better and recognise the value of repeat business.  If you are happy with your treatment then that’s great, but not all people would feel the same.

[HaroldLeslie]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

Depends on your math. You are assuming per cabin would be $200. What happens when there are 3 or 4 in a cabin? Bearing in mind the payment was not compulsory per person seems the simplest solution.

The maths depend upon the principle applied to these payments. If it relates to a portion of the cruise that has been devalued then perhaps the payment ought in some way be proportional to the price paid. If it is just to ward off complaints then the payment would be per person.

 

I was told a long while ago that in business if a customer is happy then they might tell three or four other people but if they are unhappy then they might tell twelve to fifteen.

 

Usually these matters are quantified by the size of the pile of complaints letters.

 

On another matter I see that Iona has been working her way up channel at a steady 17 knots through all the threatening conditions. Are there any reports from those on board as to how this part of the passage has been?

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Bedruthen said:

Why would there be?  I haven’t seen a single post on this thread which criticises the decision and actions taken by the Captain and I have nothing to say on that. You are confusing the role of the Captain with the decision taken thereafter by the Princess management.  I speak on here as something of an outsider, I am not a passenger, I haven’t cruised with Princess for many many years, but I do have an upcoming cruise with them. I joined the Princess boards for reassurance that I have made a good decision to return and I am one of the many people that Princess will need to convert in to repeat customers, if they want to grow their future passenger base. Instead of reassurance, I am reading complaints, which are not necessarily about the onboard ship experience, but are about the way passengers feel that they are treated when things do not go according to plan. As was previously pointed out, other companies do it better and recognise the value of repeat business.  If you are happy with your treatment then that’s great, but not all people would feel the same.

In which case you have totally misunderstood the situation.

From the outset the Captain made it clear that the circumstances did not constitute a reason for compensation but the company would be making a gesture.

The offer has generally been accepted by the vast majority of the passengers - unlike on other cruises when passengers ( including ourselves) have been involved in a mass protest.

The Roll Call of the sailing itself provides a more balanced review.

The other examples quoted were without content - I.e.  were the circumstances weather related,  ship failure, etc all of which have a bearing on the amount offered.

We are now in the theatre for the final show of the cruise and I can assure you that the matter under discussion here is a complete "non issue".

 

[sunviking90]

Texasjones, thank you for coming back with a very well composed reply.

A lot of your ire seems to be directed at Princess corporate HQ decision making, but I think these decisions are made at a ship level by the management there. This is the only explanation for the consistent inconsistency from ship to ship. A recent poster said they were given 15% of their cruise fare in FCCs when they missed 2 of 4 ports on a Hawaii cruise. I have read of others receiving $200 to $300 OBC, etc. Like so many things it seems to vary from ship to ship.

Personally we have missed ports many times and have never received anything except port charge refund once. I didn’t actually know compensation was ever given.

If you are still on the ship and unhappy with what you have received, continue to ask for more from guest services or the hotel manager. Once you leave the ship it’ll will be too late.

[HaroldLeslie]

4 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Texasjones, thank you for coming back with a very well composed reply.

A lot of your ire seems to be directed at Princess corporate HQ decision making, but I think these decisions are made at a ship level by the management there. This is the only explanation for the consistent inconsistency from ship to ship. A recent poster said they were given 15% of their cruise fare in FCCs when they missed 2 of 4 ports on a Hawaii cruise. I have read of others receiving $200 to $300 OBC, etc. Like so many things it seems to vary from ship to ship.

Personally we have missed ports many times and have never received anything except port charge refund once. I didn’t actually know compensation was ever given.

If you are still on the ship and unhappy with what you have received, continue to ask for more from guest services or the hotel manager. Once you leave the ship it’ll will be too late.

Nothing happens on a ship without approval from head office.

 

We have had various experiences with missed ports. Some were due to inappropriate weather, some due to ship systems failures, some due to Covid, sometimes more than one on the same cruise. As a company you have  do do whatever you need to keep the customers happy and more importantly keep them coming back.

 

You are correct that any negotiation has to be done before you get off the ship.

[HaroldLeslie]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:47 AM, david63 said:

Iona appears to be "taking it easy" as she is scheduled to arrive in Southampton at 08:30 which is a good two/three hours later than would normally be expected. P&O ships are normally alongside by 06:00, if not earlier.

ETA for Iona is now 03:00 tomorrow. As you know they like to get in as early as possible on account of the amount of work involved in changeover. It may be that the main channel is now less congested now that Sky Princess is not going to be hogging it 😉

[david63]

1 minute ago, HaroldLeslie said:

ETA for Iona is now 03:00 tomorrow.

According to Southampton VTS it is 05:30

[Bedruthen]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

In which case you have totally misunderstood the situation.

From the outset the Captain made it clear that the circumstances did not constitute a reason for compensation but the company would be making a gesture.

The offer has generally been accepted by the vast majority of the passengers - unlike on other cruises when passengers ( including ourselves) have been involved in a mass protest.

The Roll Call of the sailing itself provides a more balanced review.

The other examples quoted were without content - I.e.  were the circumstances weather related,  ship failure, etc all of which have a bearing on the amount offered.

We are now in the theatre for the final show of the cruise and I can assure you that the matter under discussion here is a complete "non issue".

 

If it’s genuinely a non issue for you, then it’s difficult to understand why you feel the need to defend anything. You are in the theatre yet still checking this thread…. Enjoy the show.
 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Bedruthen

[Alcairns]

I was on Sky for this cruise and disembarked this morning. I believe that, as soon as Captain Marco mentioned compensation as a gesture of good will, some believed  this would be a substantial FCC. Hence the disappointment of some of the passengers when the $100 per person compensation was announced.  I settled my bill this morning and there was no sign of enhanced port charges for the extended stay in Southampton. 

[Alcairns]

17 hours ago, texasjones said:

But for those onboard, those who saved and sacrificed to experience a once-in-a-lifetime TA crossing, the couple who are now sitting moored in Southampton 1.5 days early, being double charged for a port, without facilities they paid for, after missing two of the three ports they were looking forward to visiting?

As one of those on board who saved and sacrificed I am only too pleased that the master and head office made every effort to keep me safe! To seek compensation in the circumstances is mind bogglingly greedy! 

 

PS there was plenty of time to spend the OBC

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Alcairns

[HaroldLeslie]

53 minutes ago, david63 said:

According to Southampton VTS it is 05:30

I was going off Marine Traffic but 05:30 is more realistic. She is about 65nm off the Nab at 16 knots so she should be there around 03:30 then there is the run along the Solent and up to the berth. 

 

About the typical arrival time then 🙂

[Lady Arwen]

13 minutes ago, Alcairns said:

As one of those on board who saved and sacrificed I am only too pleased that the master and head office made every effort to keep me safe! To seek compensation in the circumstances is mind bogglingly greedy! 

 

PS there was plenty of time to spend the OBC

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience on Sky.  I truly believe that the majority of passengers onboard are of like minds.  The unhappy ones are just the loudest ones.  Glad everyone is safe.

[HaroldLeslie]

You were never unsafe. It was only a gale and other much smaller ships were operating without problems. 

 

Or is Sky Princess an inherently less safe ship than Iona, for example 😉

 

Whatever, we are really looking forward to embarking on her tomorrow. Just the last minute packing in the morning and then our son is picking us up at 12:15. We should be onboard by 13:00 🙂

[Alcairns]

25 minutes ago, HaroldLeslie said:

You were never unsafe. It was only a gale and other much smaller ships were operating without problems. 

 

Or is Sky Princess an inherently less safe ship than Iona, for example 😉

 

Whatever, we are really looking forward to embarking on her tomorrow. Just the last minute packing in the morning and then our son is picking us up at 12:15. We should be onboard by 13:00 🙂

You are correct -  we were never unsafe because the Master took the appropriate action, As to this being only a gale … A gale that prevented an Aida ship calling at Southampton because the pilot could not board! A gale that produce 69 mile gusts around the Isle of Wight this morning! A gale that produced 30 ft swells in the Bay Of Biscay yesterday. A gale that is wreaking havoc across the U.K. with torrential rain. I do hope  the pilot can board the Iona tomorrow and that you do not experience a “gale” on your cruise. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Alcairns

[HaroldLeslie]

3 minutes ago, Alcairns said:

You are correct -  we were never unsafe because the Master took the appropriate action, As to this being only a gale … A gale that prevented an Aida ship calling at Southampton because the pilot could not board! A gale that produce 69 mile gusts around the Isle of Wight this morning! A gale that produced 30 ft swells in the Bay Of Biscay yesterday. A gale that is wreaking havoc across the U.K. with torrential rain. I do hope  the pilot can board the Iona tomorrow and that you do not experience a “gale” on your cruise. 

Where do you think I live?

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, Bedruthen said:

If it’s genuinely a non issue for you, then it’s difficult to understand why you feel the need to defend anything. You are in the theatre yet still checking this thread…. Enjoy the show.
 

Because you and others who are not on the ship are stirring the pot. Whereas we are on the ship and know the truth.

 

[nunyabidness]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:17 PM, texasjones said:

 So rative data points, here's what we received as compensation:

(1) Regent - one missed port: $500 OBC 

(2) Regent - one missed port: $500 future cruise credit 

(3) Crystal [RIP] - one missed port: $270 OBC 

(4) Cunard - one missed port: $100 OBC 

(5) Celebrity - returned to end destination a day early due to a medical emergency: one night refunded (which we felt was incredibly generous)

(6) Seabourn - one missed port which was almost immediately substituted with an alternate port due to poor weather: $0 (no harm, no foul, and we enjoyed exploring the substitute port) 

(7) Seabourn - two missed ports: $750 future cruise credit (which was subsequently increased to $1500 and $100 in OBC)

[(8) Princess - for a 14-day TA, two of three missed ports with no substitutions, diverting to destination 1.5 days early, shutting down facilities due to regulatory requirements: $100 non-refundable OBC] 

 

Notice an outlier?

In what alternate reality is Princess comparable to Regent, Crystal, or Seabourn?