Sun Princess 28/2/24 Inaugural Cruise

[CCSC1972]

My wife and I sailed on the 28 February 'inaugural cruise'. Whilst the cruise was very good in many respects, we were very disappointed to learn (in a letter from John Padgett (President) that we received in our cabin on embarkation) that elements of Park 19, Spellbound and the production shows planned for the Dome and Arena would not be available. We had no prior warning of this. The letter went on to advise that these features 'were in rehearsal' but we discovered that it was more to do with the venues not being ready. We received a $120 USD OBC (that is $60 USD each)! The production shows are a big thing for us on any cruise and the new Sun Princess shows (that continued to be promoted on our stateroom TV and in several emails received during the cruise) were a major attraction and reason to book what should have been the third (not inaugural) Sun Princess cruise. We complained to Guest Services but achieved nothing other than having our complaint logged. We asked for the $120 OBC to be removed but were advised that this could not be done. So we spent the credit on items we did not really want to purchase. To put the $120 USD in perspective, the derisory $60 USD per person OBC was not enough to purchase any of the Chania excursions that had just been made available due to an itinerary change. (On that point, I note that guests on the 9 March cruise are receiving $50 USD as compensation for the port change: we received nothing)! We do not feel that $120 USD adequately compensates for the loss of the features that were not available: we feel that we have been short-changed. Can any fellow Sun Princess 28 February cruisers update me on any compensation received over and above the $120 USD as I intend to approach Princess. 

[Coral]

I think anytime one books a brand new ship, one of the first sailings, they need to expect that things can go wrong or that things may not be fully ready.

 

I advise that in the future, you may want to wait several months before sailing a brand new ship.

 

I personally think the compensation was generous. If you recall - the cruise lines lost billions of dollars and were not able to operate for several years during the pandemic. They are still trying to pay this debt off. We all want the cruise lines to succeed and be profitable.

[SunshineCoast]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I think anytime one books a brand new ship, one of the first sailings, they need to expect that things can go wrong or that things may not be fully ready.

 

I advise that in the future, you may want to wait several months before sailing a brand new ship.

 

I personally think the compensation was generous. If you recall - the cruise lines lost billions of dollars and were not able to operate for several years during the pandemic. They are still trying to pay this debt off. We all want the cruise lines to succeed and be profitable.

Sorry - I cannot see the correlation between a company losing money for a couple of years and it being ethical/acceptable to sell a 'product' emphasising spectacular and extraordinarily experiences and the purchaser not being told these were unavailable until they were actually on-board the ship - having not only paid for these 'experiences' but all the extra costs involved getting to the ship and also using precious 'vacation days' on a vacation that doesn't match it's description.  Would anyone buy a house with promises of and a brochure showing a fully-fitted modern kitchen and on completion of contract you arrive and find there's just a sink unit and accept being told "it's your fault for buying a new-build house".

We also lost a great deal of money during the Covid years but that didn't give us the right or expectation to pay the seller a reduced price for services/holidays in order to recoup our losses.

The important and unacceptable element is the fact that customers were not informed prior to the cruise that Princess could not deliver the product they had sold.

In addition - do Princess only put a value of $6 a day on these 'spectacular and extraordinary experiences'.  

 

 

[SunshineCoast]

6 hours ago, CCSC1972 said:

My wife and I sailed on the 28 February 'inaugural cruise'. Whilst the cruise was very good in many respects, we were very disappointed to learn (in a letter from John Padgett (President) that we received in our cabin on embarkation) that elements of Park 19, Spellbound and the production shows planned for the Dome and Arena would not be available. We had no prior warning of this. The letter went on to advise that these features 'were in rehearsal' but we discovered that it was more to do with the venues not being ready. We received a $120 USD OBC (that is $60 USD each)! The production shows are a big thing for us on any cruise and the new Sun Princess shows (that continued to be promoted on our stateroom TV and in several emails received during the cruise) were a major attraction and reason to book what should have been the third (not inaugural) Sun Princess cruise. We complained to Guest Services but achieved nothing other than having our complaint logged. We asked for the $120 OBC to be removed but were advised that this could not be done. So we spent the credit on items we did not really want to purchase. To put the $120 USD in perspective, the derisory $60 USD per person OBC was not enough to purchase any of the Chania excursions that had just been made available due to an itinerary change. (On that point, I note that guests on the 9 March cruise are receiving $50 USD as compensation for the port change: we received nothing)! We do not feel that $120 USD adequately compensates for the loss of the features that were not available: we feel that we have been short-changed. Can any fellow Sun Princess 28 February cruisers update me on any compensation received over and above the $120 USD as I intend to approach Princess. 

Hope you get the compensation you deserve to make up for the unavailability of many venues and the disappointment.  It's inexcusable of Princess not informing Guests prior to sailing that the ship was not completely operational.

 

[Coral]

7 hours ago, SunshineCoast said:

Sorry - I cannot see the correlation between a company losing money for a couple of years and it being ethical/acceptable to sell a 'product' emphasising spectacular and extraordinarily experiences and the purchaser not being told these were unavailable until they were actually on-board the ship - having not only paid for these 'experiences' but all the extra costs involved getting to the ship and also using precious 'vacation days' on a vacation that doesn't match it's description.  Would anyone buy a house with promises of and a brochure showing a fully-fitted modern kitchen and on completion of contract you arrive and find there's just a sink unit and accept being told "it's your fault for buying a new-build house".

 

My point is that anytime you book any vacation (land or ship) - there is a chance that something will not be available for a variety of reasons. On a new ship - it can be new features. It is a part of life. It happens all the time. They hoped it would be done. That was their intention.

 

As far as money - I personally thought the compensation you received was fine, The cruise lines are not wealthy right now. You obviously disagree. 

 

I hope your next vacation is better.

 

Welcome to CC.

Edited March 11 by Coral

[Globaler]

12 hours ago, CCSC1972 said:

My wife and I sailed on the 28 February 'inaugural cruise'. Whilst the cruise was very good in many respects, we were very disappointed to learn (in a letter from John Padgett (President) that we received in our cabin on embarkation) that elements of Park 19, Spellbound and the production shows planned for the Dome and Arena would not be available. We had no prior warning of this. The letter went on to advise that these features 'were in rehearsal' but we discovered that it was more to do with the venues not being ready. We received a $120 USD OBC (that is $60 USD each)! The production shows are a big thing for us on any cruise and the new Sun Princess shows (that continued to be promoted on our stateroom TV and in several emails received during the cruise) were a major attraction and reason to book what should have been the third (not inaugural) Sun Princess cruise. We complained to Guest Services but achieved nothing other than having our complaint logged. We asked for the $120 OBC to be removed but were advised that this could not be done. So we spent the credit on items we did not really want to purchase. To put the $120 USD in perspective, the derisory $60 USD per person OBC was not enough to purchase any of the Chania excursions that had just been made available due to an itinerary change. (On that point, I note that guests on the 9 March cruise are receiving $50 USD as compensation for the port change: we received nothing)! We do not feel that $120 USD adequately compensates for the loss of the features that were not available: we feel that we have been short-changed. Can any fellow Sun Princess 28 February cruisers update me on any compensation received over and above the $120 USD as I intend to approach Princess. 

You did get a raw deal. They advertised and promoted a product and then didn’t deliver. I for one learned a lesson (stay away from initial sailings).I’m on the 6/8 sailing and hopeful that things will be complete. I'm sorry you didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy the ship the way it was meant to be.

Edited March 11 by Globaler

[dog]

3 hours ago, Globaler said:

You did get a raw deal. They advertised and promoted a product and then didn’t deliver. I for one learned a lesson (stay away from initial sailings).I’m on the 6/8 sailing and hopeful that things will be complete. I'm sorry you didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy the ship the way it was meant to be.

Oh, how I agree.

Are we going to just accept Princess false advertising?

The problem lies with the leadership or lack of it!

Right now I can still book cabin 15603 with Signature Benefits, their website tells me to enjoy!

 

To OP: I have read a post where someone in last weeks cruise received an extra $200 pp as a Goodwill OBC.

[CCSC1972]

Thank you all for your comments. I am pleased to note that most agree with my thinking. In the future, we will certainly not be booking a cruise on a new ship until it has fully bedded in. However, on this occasion, we did not book the inaugural cruise. Also, as to false advertising, I found a promotional email from Princess sent to me personally no more than a couple of weeks before we sailed. This proclaimed the great entertainment that we could expect! Oh really?

[dog]

On 3/11/2024 at 11:01 PM, dog said:

Oh, how I agree.

Are we going to just accept Princess false advertising?

The problem lies with the leadership or lack of it!

Right now I can still book cabin 15603 with Signature Benefits, their website tells me to enjoy!

 

To OP: I have read a post where someone in last weeks cruise received an extra $200 pp as a Goodwill OBC.

Update: Princess corrected their website 3 days ago. Contacted me to say we apologize for given misinformation on board the ship.