I Am Steaming Mad

[stoneharborlady]

25 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I’m one of the lucky ones, too.  A big issue for me is trying to understand the Princess call reps who are Filipino.  No disrespect intended, but I just can’t communicate properly with them.  My CVP is a Floridian with many cruises under her belt.  I literally do nothing but choose the cruise and give her my credit card number.  Wish I could share her name with you.

Actually you can do that.  We do have a private message system through Cruise Critic.  If I click on your name it takes me to your page and shows a little envelope that says "message".  

[Lady Arwen]

Just now, stoneharborlady said:

Actually you can do that.  We do have a private message system through Cruise Critic.  If I click on your name it takes me to your page and shows a little envelope that says "message".  

Since it’s against CC rules to share the names of TAs or CVPs, I prefer not to do so.  

[Fortunate 2 travel]

Just now, Lady Arwen said:

Since it’s against CC rules to share the names of TAs or CVPs, I prefer not to do so.  

I can respect that. 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

Yes, I can read thank you, but no reason to shout in all caps. If anyone takes the time to read what I posted. It does not say he used a travel agent. It clearly says we never want any third party between us and the cruise line. Sorry, do not trust Travel Agents, to be able to handle anything to do with bookings. If others do use an agent, that is their choice. As our choice is never us an agent. 

 

Sorry but do not need to re-read, again never want anything to do with a travel agent do not ever want a third party between us and the cruise line. Legal claims are already made hard enough by the cruise lines would never add another layer of problems. 

 

Like this cruise travel agent who has had almost 800 formal complaints filed against them in about two years. And now all cruises through the Summer are on hold. Because these customers used a Travel Agent, they have no standing with the cruise lines to settle this nightmare caused by another Travel Agent who is just looking for their commissions  

 

If others want to use Travel Agents that is their choice, for us, it will never happen. 

 

https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/embattled-boston-based-cruise-company-vantage-postpones-all-summer-trips/FQGJ2NEVDRDMTLGFDJ4XCGOSZM/

You said in response to someone else's problem, that that is why you never use a TA when that person did not use a TA. So I can read! They booked direct. When there was a problem, they had to talk to someone. Since you seem to never want to talk to someone, what do you do if a problem arises?

[ontheweb]

29 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

Actually you can do that.  We do have a private message system through Cruise Critic.  If I click on your name it takes me to your page and shows a little envelope that says "message".  

NO, you cannot do that. Yes, you can click on the envelope, but you will receive a message that that system is DISABLED.

[SargassoPirate]

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

I’m one of the lucky ones, too.  A big issue for me is trying to understand the Princess call reps who are Filipino.  No disrespect intended, but I just can’t communicate properly with them.  My CVP is a Floridian with many cruises under her belt.  I literally do nothing but choose the cruise and give her my credit card number.  Wish I could share her name with you.

At least they are probably not wearing a mask when they are working from home.  Put them on a ship with a mask and try to communicate effectively.

 

 

[sfaaa]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

NO, you cannot do that. Yes, you can click on the envelope, but you will receive a message that that system is DISABLED.

Always been this way for as long as I remember.

[stoneharborlady]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

NO, you cannot do that. Yes, you can click on the envelope, but you will receive a message that that system is DISABLED.

:Oh drat, I didnt know that, sorry!

[Cruise till you drop]

I will never book directly with Princess ever again.  If we do book Princess, it’ll be through a travel agent to make sure we are looked after

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, stoneharborlady said:

:Oh drat, I didnt know that, sorry!

No need to be sorry. One of the reasons to read these forums is to learn things you did not know.

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Always been this way for as long as I remember.

Since it says disabled, it implies that at some point it was a working option. But I also never remember it working. I wonder if anyone can say they used it in the past, and if so how long ago.

[OhioDogLover]

I usually book through a Princess Vacation Planner, but my traveling companion booked this one.  We each had to call twice to get the information correct, application of future cruise credits, loyalty status, etc..   Of course, we had to leave messages and receive calls back.  Very disappointing.  On the plus side, they were better than HAL's customer service earlier this year.  

 

Ohiodoglover

[justafem]

I'm sorry for what you had to go through to get what you paid for.  Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to wear you down.

 

I had a lesser issue where we booked the exact room we wanted and had no upgrades checked (or so I thought).  Changed our room 3 different times to rooms we didn't find to be an upgrade but the cruiseline did.  Each time our online TA took care of the issue, don't get me wrong, that was the only issue I've ever had and even that wasn't that bad until the 3rd time of feeling completely ignored.  

 

But I'll use any online TA, I'm not loyal, I'm all about price. 

[latserrof]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:55 PM, LibertyBella said:

But you got it all worked out, and sometimes six hours is what it takes so you can have a worry-free cruise!

Good luck on that...

[Ombud]

On 6/5/2023 at 11:15 AM, Lady Arwen said:

Whatever works!  Be it TA or CVP,  as long as we’re well taken care of without the the headaches.

And definitely not O.N.E. onboard!!

 

My transatlantic cruise dropped. IMHO a lot. So I asked onboard to refare. 3 times she stated that she needed to ask someone:

1. What's a refare?

2. Can you even refare if you're booked?

3. Can a booking be for  solo occupant?

So she went to research and asked me to return after the Meet and Greet.  When I did she told me:

1. Now she knows what a refare is but I'd lose my room and only be able to waitlist as I'm a solo

2. Solos cannot book this voyage

Then she tried to sell me a package (ezair, 1 night hotel, cruise) for $3300!!! Mind you I was all into this (ezair, hotel, cruise) for $3000!! So I should pay an additional $300 and might not even go as I'm a solo? How stupid did she think I was?!?!

 

Shot a complaint email off to my CVP who refared me capturing the 600 price drop and reassured me that solos can still go on Princess cruises

 

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Ombud

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, Ombud said:

And definitely not O.N.E. onboard!!

 

My transatlantic cruise dropped. IMHO a lot. So I asked onboard to refare. 3 times she stated that she needed to ask someone:

1. What's a refare?

2. Can you even refare if you're booked?

3. Can a booking be for  solo occupant?

So she went to research and asked me to return after the Meet and Greet.  When I did she told me:

1. Now she knows what a refare is but I'd lose my room and only be able to waitlist as I'm a solo

2. Solos cannot book this voyage

Then she tried to sell me a package (ezair, 1 night hotel, cruise) for $3300!!! Mind you I was all into this (ezair, hotel, cruise) for $2800!!

 

Shot a complaint email off to my CVP who refared me capturing the 600 price drop

Wow!  Unbelievable!

[Fortunate 2 travel]

7 minutes ago, Ombud said:

And definitely not O.N.E. onboard!!

 

My transatlantic cruise dropped. IMHO a lot. So I asked onboard to refare. 3 times she stated that she needed to ask someone:

1. What's a refare?

2. Can you even refare if you're booked?

3. Can a booking be for  solo occupant?

So she went to research and asked me to return after the Meet and Greet.  When I did she told me:

1. Now she knows what a refare is but I'd lose my room and only be able to waitlist as I'm a solo

2. Solos cannot book this voyage

Then she tried to sell me a package (ezair, 1 night hotel, cruise) for $3300!!! Mind you I was all into this (ezair, hotel, cruise) for $3000!! So I should pay an additional $300 and might not even go as I'm a solo? How stupid did she think I was?!?!

 

Shot a complaint email off to my CVP who refared me capturing the 600 price drop and reassured me that solos can still go on Princess cruises

 

 

I had a CVP call me when I was logged into my princess account - out of the blue - he said he had been assigned to me.  Really???  He had no idea what the Sanctuary was, had never been on a cruise nor had he ever been out of his state.  No Thank you.  Just how can I get back to having a great CVP?  

[Ombud]

2 minutes ago, Fortunate 2 travel said:

I had a CVP call me when I was logged into my princess account - out of the blue - he said he had been assigned to me.  Really???  He had no idea what the Sanctuary was, had never been on a cruise nor had he ever been out of his state.  No Thank you.  Just how can I get back to having a great CVP?  

Yeah M.R. retired but my new one is good enough for me (reassigned one worse than useless). Ask at your next M&G. That's how I got mine

[Fortunate 2 travel]

Just now, Ombud said:

Yeah M.R. retired but my new one is good enough for me (reassigned one worse than useless). Ask at your next M&G. That's how I got mine

That's a great idea.  Thank you!  

[Ombud]

14 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

15 minutes ago, Ombud said:

And definitely not O.N.E. onboard!!

 

My transatlantic cruise dropped. IMHO a lot. So I asked onboard to refare. 3 times she stated that she needed to ask someone:

1. What's a refare?

2. Can you even refare if you're booked?

3. Can a booking be for  solo occupant?

So she went to research and asked me to return after the Meet and Greet.  When I did she told me:

1. Now she knows what a refare is but I'd lose my room and only be able to waitlist as I'm a solo

2. Solos cannot book this voyage

Then she tried to sell me a package (ezair, 1 night hotel, cruise) for $3300!!! Mind you I was all into this (ezair, hotel, cruise) for $2800!! + 200 hotel

 

Shot a complaint email off to my CVP who refared me capturing the 600 price drop

Wow!  Unbelievable!

Forgot to add 200 for hotel but I'm not stupid. Not asking for / accepting a price increase

 

(Added hotel)

Edited June 8, 2023 by Ombud

[kirtihk]

On 6/5/2023 at 5:42 PM, dweeb said:

 

 

Wow, When TA's don't want to book Princess cruises, It is serious!!!  I don't blame the TA though, why try to spend hours on the phone and not get anywhere.  I know, it's their job, but I guess if it is continually taking all their time to get a cruise booked properly and they aren't getting paid enough for the frustration.   Princess needs to wake up!!!!

spend hours on the phone and not get anywhere - Whose job is that?  TA's?  It's no one's job.  It's just rubbish.

[ldubs]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:37 AM, Ombud said:

And definitely not O.N.E. onboard!!

 

My transatlantic cruise dropped. IMHO a lot. So I asked onboard to refare. 3 times she stated that she needed to ask someone:

1. What's a refare?

2. Can you even refare if you're booked?

3. Can a booking be for  solo occupant?

So she went to research and asked me to return after the Meet and Greet.  When I did she told me:

1. Now she knows what a refare is but I'd lose my room and only be able to waitlist as I'm a solo

2. Solos cannot book this voyage

Then she tried to sell me a package (ezair, 1 night hotel, cruise) for $3300!!! Mind you I was all into this (ezair, hotel, cruise) for $3000!! So I should pay an additional $300 and might not even go as I'm a solo? How stupid did she think I was?!?!

 

Shot a complaint email off to my CVP who refared me capturing the 600 price drop and reassured me that solos can still go on Princess cruises

 

 

 

"2. Can you even refare if you're booked?"

 

Hahaha -- kind of hard to have a re-fare if you aren't booked!  

[gerig]

On 6/5/2023 at 3:40 PM, SargassoPirate said:

I booked a 2025 cruise last week.  I put it on a courtesy hold since She Who Must Be Obeyed is going on this one and she had not yet risen for the day.  I received a confirmation email from Princess within minutes.

 

On the day that the deposit payment was due, I logged into my Princess.com account and made the payment.

 

Easy breezy.

 

In a few days, I transfer the booking to my warehouse club travel department and if any needs arise, such as a price drop, I'll call my TA and they can arm wrestle with Princess.

 

BTW, I'm a bit hard of hearing and couple that with a foreigner using a headset while working from home and I'll stick with doing it myself online.

 

 

 

I put a cruise on hold today and wanted to make payment a couple of hours later but it wasn't showing up in my future cruises on the princess website or the medallion.  I tried chatting to see if they could take my payment but the representative couldn't understand why I wasn't able to view the cruise I had a hold reserved.

[DHP1]

1 hour ago, gerig said:

I put a cruise on hold today and wanted to make payment a couple of hours later but it wasn't showing up in my future cruises on the princess website or the medallion.  I tried chatting to see if they could take my payment but the representative couldn't understand why I wasn't able to view the cruise I had a hold reserved.

We had the same problem back in January. You would think this will be fix by now.   Welcome to the new Princess. 😟

[Happiest when cruising]

On 6/5/2023 at 12:30 PM, Shippy said:

To book with a casino discount....You NEED to book through the casino department !

Actually, you no longer have to. Your PVP can book it for you. Whether they want to or not, is another matter.