"One of our agents will chat with you as soon as possible." HARDY HAR HAR

[CoffeeBoy]

If you call Princess, they encourage you to use their Chat feature. I was 84th in queue....66th....54th....down to zero! And...

"One of our agents will chat with you as soon as possible."

I've been on that screen longer than I was in queue. It asks me if I'm still waiting every 10 minutes or so, then back to the above.

I'm on hold with Princess for an hour so far, and still waiting on chat. We'll see if I get through tonight.

[cruzsnooze]

Princess has terrible service ever since they out sourced it to the Philippines. It's enough for me to now use a big box travel agency because it's so hard to phone them. What they think they're saving on cheap labor abroad they're loosing in paying commissions to travel agents. 

[cr8tiv1]

I am/was a Princess loyalist.  But having the website down/intermittent for a week (or at least for me Safari and Chrome) plus chat/phone wait times, is causing me to rethink my status with Princess.  This StockPerk app is just as lousy.  

 

I can't imagine how many passengers they are losing to this bad business practice.

[cr8tiv1]

Okay, I apologize, this time.  In a span of 22 minutes and 4 emails from StockPerks (and 3 replies), my OBC was finally applied within minutes.  So painful.

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, CoffeeBoy said:

If you call Princess, they encourage you to use their Chat feature. I was 84th in queue....66th....54th....down to zero! And...

"One of our agents will chat with you as soon as possible."

I've been on that screen longer than I was in queue. It asks me if I'm still waiting every 10 minutes or so, then back to the above.

I'm on hold with Princess for an hour so far, and still waiting on chat. We'll see if I get through tonight.

The last 3 times I tried using chat, that was also my result. I would get down to 0, get asked if I was still waiting and then would never get anything after that.

 

The third time was the last time. I'm done with that...it's obviously busted or just for show...

 

ETA: Oh, and I notice we're from the same place!! Nice to meet another Earthling!  😃

Edited January 11 by dlh015

[leck57]

2 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

Princess has terrible service ever since they out sourced it to the Philippines. It's enough for me to now use a big box travel agency because it's so hard to phone them. What they think they're saving on cheap labor abroad they're loosing in paying commissions to travel agents. 

 

It may have been mentioned in other threads but it seems they have also outsourced their Personal Vacation Planners as well. I got a random email to introduce one. I checked him out on FB and he was from the Philippines. I'd bet he's never set foot on a Princess ship and that I would know far more about Princess cruises than he would.

[Ombud]

My CVP is still in Seattle. I'm positive about that as a friend actually met up with her before a recent cruise. 

 

I've given up on chat. Great idea, lousy implementation.  

Edited January 11 by Ombud

[karatemom2]

The Call Center situation is terrible. Where we live in So Cal I could drive to Princess headquarters in Santa Clarita and plant myself in front of someone in less time than I am usually holding on the phone. But even worse is the general lack of knowledge when you do speak to someone. Honestly I don’t mind the outsourcing if Princess would just invest in providing their new staff with proper training and knowledge to provide accurate information and assistance. 

[rocklinmom]

After several failed attempts at using the new call center and resisting the urge to smash my phone with a hammer, I used a Princess CVP to book our latest cruise. The man I spoke with on the phone (using the CVP 800 number) was vastly different in his tone and manner than the emails that "he" sent me regarding my bookings. I had found him originally on a Facebook page with his name and profile as a "Princess Cruise Vacation Planner". But I swear, either I am hallucinating or the person I spoke to on the phone and the person who sent me the emails are different people. And in the emails "he" told me he "won't do business by email only by phone" (even though he was sending me umpteen emails about my cabins) whereas the guy on his FB page repeatedly posts to "send him an email". This has left me, a lifelong Princess cruiser, hesitant to book with them again after this cruise. They have made it so frustrating. I miss the old days of just calling the regular 800 number and doing my bookings with ease. 

[DHP1]

53 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

After several failed attempts at using the new call center and resisting the urge to smash my phone with a hammer, I used a Princess CVP to book our latest cruise. The man I spoke with on the phone (using the CVP 800 number) was vastly different in his tone and manner than the emails that "he" sent me regarding my bookings. I had found him originally on a Facebook page with his name and profile as a "Princess Cruise Vacation Planner". But I swear, either I am hallucinating or the person I spoke to on the phone and the person who sent me the emails are different people. And in the emails "he" told me he "won't do business by email only by phone" (even though he was sending me umpteen emails about my cabins) whereas the guy on his FB page repeatedly posts to "send him an email". This has left me, a lifelong Princess cruiser, hesitant to book with them again after this cruise. They have made it so frustrating. I miss the old days of just calling the regular 800 number and doing my bookings with ease. 

I too miss the old days. Had no problems with the 800 number or the chat line which I used it a lot before Covid. Now, we have a new CVP and he is excellent. Do all my business by e-mail and he will reply back within a hour or so. Because there is no more “hold” on reservations, and we always like the same cabin, so I go ahead and book it then I will send an e-mail to my CVP to cancel it and rebook it with the same cabin number so that he will get the credit for making a new reservation. I never use a CVP before Covid however, now we have no choice. Princess, bring back the old days. 😀

Edited January 11 by DHP1

[Potstech]

This is why we use a TA. Call her up, let her know what we would like then wait for the call back. Any problems and we follow the same procedure.

[Spideysmum]

Over Christmas we were in Kauai when we decided to book an Alaska cruise for August.  I made two separate bookings (one for our adult daughter).   It was late and on ours i, inadvertently, clicked on “pay in full”.   After worrying all night, I got up at 6 AM and called Princess.   After about 10 minutes on hold, I explained to “John” my problem.   He put me on hold to speak with a supervisor.   Came back to say it’s all taken care of…there will be a credit on your card less the deposit.   And so there was.

 

i call that great phone service.  

[MacMadame]

I booked mine online. I think that is the new "call and book". I like it better because I can see exactly what is booked. Also, I hate calling people.

[Tonsoffun44]

This morning said I was 20th in line, got to ZERO with multiple "are you still waiting Type YES". About the 10th YES - I went to 64th in line.... WHAT THE HECK?  Called the Phone# TWICE, both times Got a "please hold" and disconnected me.  Great Customer Service. 

[CoffeeBoy]

1 hour ago, MacMadame said:

Also, I hate calling people.

I DESPISE using the phone for booking anything. I beg the cruise lines, the tour companies, PLEASE give us an online booking system. That way I can do the work at any time 24/7, and I can make certain the booking is correct. For example, I can't count how many times a phone agent misspelled a client's name, leading to yet another phone call.

[rocklinmom]

20 hours ago, MacMadame said:

I booked mine online. I think that is the new "call and book". I like it better because I can see exactly what is booked. Also, I hate calling people.

I would book mine online but we always need multiple cabins and to get them linked together, marked do not upgrade, etc. 

[RNRcruisers]

22 hours ago, Tonsoffun44 said:

This morning said I was 20th in line, got to ZERO with multiple "are you still waiting Type YES". About the 10th YES - I went to 64th in line.... WHAT THE HECK?   

 

I had the same issue yesterday. Finally about two hours later I actually got a person - but she gave me bad advice. I was asking about an accessible room (broke my foot a few days ago) and she gave me an option but after doing my own research it wasn't accessible at all. All that time for nothing. 🙄

[VaTech8912]

Had my first experience, and hopefully my last, with Princess Customer service.  Called to verify my cruise cancellation and discuss how refund would be issued since I paid between CC and Gift Cards.  They kept saying over and over, it will take 7-10 business days, that is your question, correct? No, it isn't.  After 3rd try, and much background noise, I gave up and will hope for best.  So frustrating how they have changed the service levels here too.  This has not been an enjoyable 1st Princess cruise experience compared to my other Carnival, Royal and Celebrity ones. Yes, I used an outside travel agent, who has now provided me with my answers, but regardless.  Thankfully, I can move on and forward from here.

Edited January 12 by VaTech8912

[cr8tiv1]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:10 AM, Tonsoffun44 said:

This morning said I was 20th in line, got to ZERO with multiple "are you still waiting Type YES". About the 10th YES - I went to 64th in line.... WHAT THE HECK?  Called the Phone# TWICE, both times Got a "please hold" and disconnected me.  Great Customer Service. 

 

I got a funnier story.  Opened chat at10 AM.  17 in front of me.  10:15.  1 in front of me.  (multiple yes's).  Had to leave.  2 hours later...still asking me if I am still there...yes.  

 

In the meantime, I called Ocean Navigator.  After an hour fighting with him to remove the items in my cart (not sent) and remove the $10 charge....and begging him to connect me with a supervisor, he hung up on me.

[DHP1]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I got a funnier story.  Opened chat at10 AM.  17 in front of me.  10:15.  1 in front of me.  (multiple yes's).  Had to leave.  2 hours later...still asking me if I am still there...yes.  

 

In the meantime, I called Ocean Navigator.  After an hour fighting with him to remove the items in my cart (not sent) and remove the $10 charge....and begging him to connect me with a supervisor, he hung up on me.

Welcome to the new Princess. 😀

[cr8tiv1]

@DHP1 Win got quite an earful.  Not his fault.

[IndyKid]

Just about any company of size these days has outsourced their customer service overseas, talking to anyone who lives in this country and doesn't speak English as a second language has gone the way of the Dodo bird.

 

I use a real, live local travel agent to handle things. She knows how to find us the best deals, is available whenever I need to get with her about something, no dealing with people on the phone who I can barely understand or using balky chat applications.

[CoffeeBoy]

10 hours ago, RNRcruisers said:

I had the same issue yesterday. Finally about two hours later I actually got a person - but she gave me bad advice. I was asking about an accessible room (broke my foot a few days ago) and she gave me an option but after doing my own research it wasn't accessible at all. All that time for nothing. 🙄

I finally got through to chat. After 20 minutes of back and forth, chat said they couldn't help me. They picked up the phone soon after, and she got it handled in 5 minutes. So chat is doubly useless.

[IndyKid]

I sometimes feel like this guy when dealing with all the website and on-line chat headaches....

 

       

        "HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE"

 

[Pickels]

On 1/10/2024 at 7:39 PM, CoffeeBoy said:

If you call Princess, they encourage you to use their Chat feature. I was 84th in queue....66th....54th....down to zero! And...

"One of our agents will chat with you as soon as possible."

I've been on that screen longer than I was in queue. It asks me if I'm still waiting every 10 minutes or so, then back to the above.

I'm on hold with Princess for an hour so far, and still waiting on chat. We'll see if I get through tonight.

Love it when they keep asking you if you are still waiting; guess they want you to hang up!