Have my parents been scammed by Princess Promotions?

[PastryPal]

I'm not a cruiser myself. (Please don't hate me.) My parents are frequent cruisers - always with Princess. I've been reading through some of the other posts about Princess Promotions here, but no one seems to have had a similar experience to my parents. 

 

They just returned from a cruise this week. While they were onboard, they booked a European cruise. The Future Cruise Desk guy asked if they would be staying in Europe after their cruise and started telling them about a company affiliated with Princess that could offer them great deals on hotels. My dad told him that they already had a hotel picked out and they didn't need anything fancy. He assured them that through this program they could get an even better deal. My dad said that he would check out the website when they got home to see if there was something suitable. The guy said that he needed their credit card info to register them and then they would be able to book through the 1-800 number when they got home.

 

After they got home, my dad logged into his online banking and noticed that, during their vacation, there had been a large, unexpected charge to his credit card from a company that he didn't recognize. He was about to call their bank to tell them that his card was compromised when he realized that the charge was from the same date that they had visited the Future Cruise Desk. He called Princess and asked for the charge to be cancelled. Their customer service person insisted that the cost of Princess Promotions would have been explained to them on board and that this charge would have also been noted in their paperwork. My dad was equally insistent that buddy from the future cruise desk never told them about the cost of the program and never gave them any paperwork. It was only when talking to her that he realized they had signed up for some sort of timeshare-esque program. After some discussion, Princess told him that someone from the ship would be calling him about cancelling the charge. (Why would it be someone from the ship? Theories?)

 

As you can guess, so far, no phone call from the ship or from anyone else. My parents are in their 70s, but they haven't lost their marbles. I can readily believe that they missed some of the details of the program, but I can't understand how they both missed the part when the guy told them that he would be charging thousands of dollars to their credit card AND that they then also lost the paperwork that he had given them. Someone on Reddit mentioned a laminated Princess Promotions brochure at the Future Cruise Desk, but my parents say they never saw one.

 

I think my dad should call his bank now and dispute the charge on his card. He wants to wait a couple of days.

 

TL;DR  My parents were signed up (and charged) for Princess Promotions at the Future Cruise Desk, but the cost was never explained to them.

 

I'm sure someone will ask - this happened on the Ruby.

[EDDY0827]

Dispute this charge immediately, don't "wait a couple of days".

[cr8tiv1]

99% of the passengers who have had contact with Princess Promotions (O.N.E.) have not been happy.  

 

If your dad handed over their credit card, that is going to be had to dispute.  Never the less, I would not wait for a phone call.  Better to be pro-active.  I think they are past the 72 hour (or maybe just 24 hour) right to refuse timeline.

 

Good Luck

[CruzeQueen2]

@PastryPal I was recently on the Ruby...and spoke at length with several members of the staff at the Future cruise department. New to me, they are now promoting packages that include various combinations of hotels with the future cruise deposits. 

Yes, they are in the thousands of dollars range.

 

Fortunately for me, or unfortunately, they are only offered in US$ and using the new program, one must book using US $. As a Canadian, I did not like that idea, so I declined.

 

I did see that there could very well be some value to the program, for a small extra amount of OBC..more than usual - up to $300 for a larger package. If I recall correctly, the smallest package was $3499, then one for $5499 and one for $7999, or thereabouts. There may even have been one for more money.

 

These are fairly new promotions, about a year in the making, as far as I am aware. They are not "scams" to my understanding, but perhaps your parents were charged for MORE than they bargained for. I also believe that the bulk of the costs charged will be applicable as payment for the upcoming cruises that are booked.

 

I hope this helps you. So sorry to hear that your parents were not advised as fully as they could be. I asked many, many questions of the program. I think there are some benefits, but a lot of money is charged up front, in US$$.

[PastryPal]

45 minutes ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@PastryPal I was recently on the Ruby...and spoke at length with several members of the staff at the Future cruise department. New to me, they are now promoting packages that include various combinations of hotels with the future cruise deposits. 

Yes, they are in the thousands of dollars range.

 

Fortunately for me, or unfortunately, they are only offered in US$ and using the new program, one must book using US $. As a Canadian, I did not like that idea, so I declined.

 

I did see that there could very well be some value to the program, for a small extra amount of OBC..more than usual - up to $300 for a larger package. If I recall correctly, the smallest package was $3499, then one for $5499 and one for $7999, or thereabouts. There may even have been one for more money.

 

 

I know my parents and they would have definitely walked away if they thought someone was trying to sign them up for some sort of vacation club. 

 

We are also Canadian. It seems like they have the smallest package based upon the amount charged to their credit card (which, of course, was over $4000 once it was converted to Canadian $$.) From what I've read, most of the $3499 is FCC so, worst case scenario, they can put it towards the European cruise that they just booked? They didn't even know that the amount included FCC until we googled it.

 

I wasn't there so I don't know what was said, but I also don't know how both of them could have completely misunderstood what was going on. My mom is also the kind of person who comes home with printed versions of the Princess Patter so, if they received any paperwork from the future cruise desk that explained how it all worked, she would still have it. It's a mystery.

 

 

[MacMadame]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

If your dad handed over their credit card, that is going to be had to dispute

IMO, if the company can't produce any paperwork that he signed (since he didn't sign anything), he'll be fine. The CC companies favor the customer, not the business owner. At least that's been my experience as someone who takes credit cards and has had to deal with chargebacks.

 

2 hours ago, PastryPal said:

The guy said that he needed their credit card info to register them and then they would be able to book through the 1-800 number when they got home.

Never give your CC if you aren't buying something!

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, MacMadame said:

IMO, if the company can't produce any paperwork that he signed (since he didn't sign anything), he'll be fine. The CC companies favor the customer, not the business owner. At least that's been my experience as someone who takes credit cards and has had to deal with chargebacks.

 

Never give your CC if you aren't buying something!

Handing over your credit card seems to be a red flag. I hope reading the original post in this thread helps prevent someone else from making the same mistake.

 

To the OP, wishing for a good result when your parents dispute this with their credit card company. And as other have already said, have them do this as soon as possible.

[Crown Cruiser]

I would dispute, dispute, dispute.  There have been many others on these boards who have problems getting the onboard credits when they need them. Good luck to them.  This is awful.

[skynight]

I would dispute right away. Did he sign any papers.? 

[Cruisemeister2002]

Nothing to do with future cruises and hotels etc, but we went on P&O's Ventura many years ago one evening we returned to our cabin and found a P&O dvd in the slot outside our cabin. Apparently someone had instructed staff to put these dvd's outside people's cabins and charge to their account. Suffice to say there was a huge queue at the reception desk the next day demanding a credit back to passengers accounts. Having read many articles on this forum I have come to the conclusion that many things are not explained to passengers as they should be and not all ships adhere to what a passenger is entitled to as with packages where some things seem to be charged on one ship and not on another.

[kywildcatfanone]

Yes Princess is trying to upsell.  It's what tbey do with everything. 

[keldaria]

I got suckered into the upsell myself on my last cruise thinking the combination of credits was actually quite attractive for the cost. The result is the website offers rooms at sub par prices that you can obtain far better rates directly from the hotels in question, and the credits they offer are almost useless. 
 

that said they have a 7 day or so cancellation policy. I was able to call and cancel without much issue was got the refund within a few days. I’d call princess promotions directly if they are still within that window and cancel with them. Please note they are a separate entity from princess so the numbers will be different. 
 

if you’re beyond that window, call your bank and dispute. The only reason I would start with princess promotions is I have no idea how a dispute and chargeback would impact their main princess booking. They are separate entities so it should be fine but they reclaim their future cruise credits and such so it might be a bigger issue depending on how things are applied within their account.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

yeah, Princess Promotions deal is not a scam per se, but it is not a great or even a good deal either.

 

Now, not explaining the cost and just charging thousands of dollars to your parents' CC is definitely a scam.

[keldaria]

6 hours ago, PastryPal said:

 

I know my parents and they would have definitely walked away if they thought someone was trying to sign them up for some sort of vacation club. 

 

We are also Canadian. It seems like they have the smallest package based upon the amount charged to their credit card (which, of course, was over $4000 once it was converted to Canadian $$.) From what I've read, most of the $3499 is FCC so, worst case scenario, they can put it towards the European cruise that they just booked? They didn't even know that the amount included FCC until we googled it.

 

I wasn't there so I don't know what was said, but I also don't know how both of them could have completely misunderstood what was going on. My mom is also the kind of person who comes home with printed versions of the Princess Patter so, if they received any paperwork from the future cruise desk that explained how it all worked, she would still have it. It's a mystery.

 

 

If your within 7 days or 30 if a Florida resident, just call and cancel it.

 

[EDDY0827]

Does Canadian law afford you any protection? Your parents card is Canadian issued and charged by an American company. You may have some sort of leverage there.

Best of luck to you and yours.

[lahlah57]

Let this posting be a warning to all to avoid this upsell tactic with princess.

Do not hand over your credit card to anyone including princess when onboard or otherwise.

Sounds like you will have a mess to deal with if you do!

[JGmf]

As others have said, yes, dispute the charge with credit card company. 

 

Typically when you do this online you are asked if the vendor was contacted, which they were, but it appears that the vendor didn't follow-through....so dispute it without hestitation!

[memoak]

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Yes Princess is trying to upsell.  It's what tbey do with everything. 

The future cruise department are not Princess employees. This department is a third party vendor under contract to sell cruises. They will tell you anything to sell you a cruise out of fear of losing their contract. My CVP had to work like the devil to fix errors they made on a cruise I was booking after they claimed they could get me plus packages for free. Guess what the couldn’t and then blamed it on a Princess department 

[TRLD]

10 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@PastryPal I was recently on the Ruby...and spoke at length with several members of the staff at the Future cruise department. New to me, they are now promoting packages that include various combinations of hotels with the future cruise deposits. 

Yes, they are in the thousands of dollars range.

 

Fortunately for me, or unfortunately, they are only offered in US$ and using the new program, one must book using US $. As a Canadian, I did not like that idea, so I declined.

 

I did see that there could very well be some value to the program, for a small extra amount of OBC..more than usual - up to $300 for a larger package. If I recall correctly, the smallest package was $3499, then one for $5499 and one for $7999, or thereabouts. There may even have been one for more money.

 

These are fairly new promotions, about a year in the making, as far as I am aware. They are not "scams" to my understanding, but perhaps your parents were charged for MORE than they bargained for. I also believe that the bulk of the costs charged will be applicable as payment for the upcoming cruises that are booked.

 

I hope this helps you. So sorry to hear that your parents were not advised as fully as they could be. I asked many, many questions of the program. I think there are some benefits, but a lot of money is charged up front, in US$$.

It all depends. If they do not live up to promises for final value or ease of use or availability of hotels then to some degree they are scams.

 

These packages promise a lot, but people have reported problems in using some of the features.

 

These fall into the same category as the old buying clubs, time share offers, etc. To some they have value to many not worth it. 

 

The time share like sales tactics should not be a surprise sinve the ownerd of O.N.E.  prior business was one allowing peopke to trade time share weeks for cruises. A business that enabled them to establish links across the cruise industry.

 

I will have nothing to do with the future cruse sale department now thst it is a contract function staffed and run by one.

Edited May 5 by TRLD

[BoopTennis]

I am on the Emerald now. Saw this in the Future Cruise Sale area. But no one is here right now to get any additional info

[BoopTennis]

It does state that all packages are refundable within 7 days of purchase

[kywildcatfanone]

48 minutes ago, memoak said:

The future cruise department are not Princess employees. This department is a third party vendor under contract to sell cruises. They will tell you anything to sell you a cruise out of fear of losing their contract. My CVP had to work like the devil to fix errors they made on a cruise I was booking after they claimed they could get me plus packages for free. Guess what the couldn’t and then blamed it on a Princess department 

If they are onboard a ship, tbey are representing Princess. I never said they were employees.

Many TA's will package pricing so packages are included, but the cost is built in.  Buyers need to beware of "free" items.

[walkingsoon]

It meets my definition of a scam, though I imagine they've kept it on the legal side of the line.

 

Certainly it's exploitative and it presents a bad look for Princess.

 

I try to be polite in dealing with strangers, but salesmen pushing a bad product that they know are rarely in the best interests of the customer deserve harsh feedback. Didn't strangle them. That's pretty polite, right?

 

 

Edited May 5 by walkingsoon

[memoak]

22 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

If they are onboard a ship, tbey are representing Princess. I never said they were employees.

Many TA's will package pricing so packages are included, but the cost is built in.  Buyers need to beware of "free" items.

Then the people in the spa should br seen as representing Princess. Talk about high pressure tactics

[doghog]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

The future cruise department are not Princess employees. This department is a third party vendor under contract to sell cruises. They will tell you anything to sell you a cruise out of fear of losing their contract. My CVP had to work like the devil to fix errors they made on a cruise I was booking after they claimed they could get me plus packages for free. Guess what the couldn’t and then blamed it on a Princess department 

On our recent Enchanted cruise I stopped by the FCD to ask a simple question concerning a possible future cruise. All I know is this guy must have sold timeshares in the past. Starting talking about different packages that @PastryPal mentioned. After the second no thank you, not interested, I finally got up and walked away. Booked the cruise when I got home. I've booked future cruises while onboard with Celebrity and RC. Easy to sale pressure like this contracted person (ONE) on Princess. 

Edited May 5 by doghog