Have my parents been scammed by Princess Promotions?

[pompeii]

On 5/5/2024 at 3:04 PM, PastryPal said:

I should have mentioned. . . They were on a 16 day cruise and they visited the FCD in the first week. By the time they returned home and saw the charge on their card, they were already outside Princess Promotions' 7 day cancellation period. 

Someone may have already suggested this, but your parents need to enable some sort of alert from their credit card companies when a charge is made.  Whether it be text or email.  They would have seen the charge almost immediately, at least well within the cancellation period.  

 

EDIT:  I just saw that they didn't have wifi on this cruise.  Even so, make sure they have immediate charge alerts enabled.  

Edited May 7 by pompeii

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, PastryPal said:

The update. . . 

 

My dad called Princess yesterday and was given a phone number for Princess Promotions. They were, of course, closed on Sunday so he had to wait until today to speak to someone. The Princess rep also confirmed that the staff at the FCD do not work for Princess (as has been stated here).

 

He called Princess Promotions this morning. Their rep said that the issue had been "escalated" and he would receive a call back within 48 hours. . . So now we wait. . . 

 

He also called his credit card company and explained the situation. They said that he should call back in 10 days or so if he could not resolve the issue with the vendor. While the charge is disputed, he does not need to pay that portion of his bill.

 

Re the Starbucks/Safeway analogy above. . . This situation is definitely different. The guy at the FCD was wearing a Princess shirt and name tag. Starbucks is also a well-known company in their own right. Who the heck are these O.N.E. people? They're just trading on Princess' reputation. If I thought my parents, after a 10 min chat, had willingly handed over $7499 (Remember that we're Canadian so it would actually be over $10,000!) to some company that I'd never heard of, I would be seeking some sort of Britney Spears-style conservatorship for them both. 😅 

 

@PescadoAmarillo You make a good point. My parents didn't get the WiFi package on this cruise. (Sometimes they get it, sometimes they don't.) That's why he told the FCD guy that he would "look into it" when he got home. He didn't have WiFi to search any of this. 

 

 

🤞 crossed for them. Keep all of us posted as to how this is finally resolved.

[kamelia]

12 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

So an FCD is an FCC, but not every FCC is an FCD.

I absolutely understand the point you're making and agree that it's yet another Princess-ism that confuses everyone.  (Maybe someone should start a thread of Princess speak to help others understand the difference between FCD and FCC, and include other things like "Reserve Class Dining" is not for passengers with dining reservations, MedallionClass App is not the same as MedallionNet, etc.) 

 

I was just trying to help @PastryPal - and by extension, the dad who inadvertently got caught up in the Princess Promotions obfuscation - understand how it might have happened.  Most importantly, I'd like to reassure both OP and "dad" that he wasn't the victim of a scam, and it was NOT the result of poor decision-making on his part! 

 

Princess Promotions is a legitimate program, and I have no doubt that there are people who might benefit from it.  We got snookered into it ourselves last fall, so I know how convincing the sales pitch can sound.  Hindsight being 20/20, we never would have signed up for it, but now six months later, I am somewhat mollified knowing that although we may not come out money ahead - certainly NOTHING like the potential savings we were led to expect (travel-related discounts with AAA, AARP and Costco are greater than those offered by O.N.E., for instance) - at least we are nearing a breakeven with our initial "investment." 

 

All that said, I'm sorry for Princess that we are among a growing number of people who resent being made to feel that we were hoodwinked by Princess employees/ representatives/ contractors associated with Princess Promotions.  It cannot help Princess Cruises' reputation in the long run, and I certainly hope that someone in Corporate is keenly aware of the perils and cares enough to be concerned.

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

The Princess rep also confirmed that the staff at the FCD do not work for Princess (as has been stated here).

 

Most staff onboard are not employees of Princess.

 

Best of luck getting it resolved.

Edited May 7 by kywildcatfanone

[memoak]

3 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Most staff onboard are not employees of Princess.

 

Best of luck getting it resolved.

You really need to define staff. As far as I know all stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, laundry workers etc are all employees of Princess. Spa, Future cruises and casino employees are all contracted by the venue

[doghog]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

You really need to define staff. As far as I know all stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, laundry workers etc are all employees of Princess. Spa, Future cruises and casino employees are all contracted by the venue

Also all shop employees. 

[lstone19]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

You really need to define staff. As far as I know all stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, laundry workers etc are all employees of Princess. Spa, Future cruises and casino employees are all contracted by the venue

 

But they all wear Princess name tags. By doing so, Princess gives the impression that they are Princess employees and represent Princess.

 

[doghog]

25 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

 

But they all wear Princess name tags. By doing so, Princess gives the impression that they are Princess employees and represent Princess.

 

I've always thought contracted employees should wear a different type of name tag. But, if there is a problem with a contracted employee (photographer, ect.) that is reported to Princess the responsibility falls back on Princess to handle it with the contracted employee/employer. 

[lstone19]

13 minutes ago, doghog said:

I've always thought contracted employees should wear a different type of name tag. But, if there is a problem with a contracted employee (photographer, ect.) that is reported to Princess the responsibility falls back on Princess to handle it with the contracted employee/employer. 

That’s the key point - Princess is responsible for the performance of its contractors. Too many people here will dismiss complaints about a contractor’s performance as if Princess is not responsible for their performance. They’re Princess’s contractors, not mine.

 

Another key point (IANAL but I did take a class that touched on this) is the concept of “apparent agency” where someone is put in a position that leads a reasonable person to believe they are an agent (legal sense of the word agent - someone who can sign contracts and make commitments on behalf of another party) of Princess. I think I’m a reasonable person and I would believe that anyone I deal with at the Future Cruise desk is representing Princess in the absence of a very clear disclosure that that is not true.

[STLCARDS82]

4 hours ago, kamelia said:

I absolutely understand the point you're making and agree that it's yet another Princess-ism that confuses everyone.  (Maybe someone should start a thread of Princess speak to help others understand the difference between FCD and FCC, and include other things like "Reserve Class Dining" is not for passengers with dining reservations, MedallionClass App is not the same as MedallionNet, etc.) 

 

I was just trying to help @PastryPal - and by extension, the dad who inadvertently got caught up in the Princess Promotions obfuscation - understand how it might have happened.  Most importantly, I'd like to reassure both OP and "dad" that he wasn't the victim of a scam, and it was NOT the result of poor decision-making on his part! 

 

Princess Promotions is a legitimate program, and I have no doubt that there are people who might benefit from it.  We got snookered into it ourselves last fall, so I know how convincing the sales pitch can sound.  Hindsight being 20/20, we never would have signed up for it, but now six months later, I am somewhat mollified knowing that although we may not come out money ahead - certainly NOTHING like the potential savings we were led to expect (travel-related discounts with AAA, AARP and Costco are greater than those offered by O.N.E., for instance) - at least we are nearing a breakeven with our initial "investment." 

 

All that said, I'm sorry for Princess that we are among a growing number of people who resent being made to feel that we were hoodwinked by Princess employees/ representatives/ contractors associated with Princess Promotions.  It cannot help Princess Cruises' reputation in the long run, and I certainly hope that someone in Corporate is keenly aware of the perils and cares enough to be concerned.

Aren't Car Dealers who work for Stealerships...I mean Dealerships legitimate business as well???

[doghog]

14 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

That’s the key point - Princess is responsible for the performance of its contractors. Too many people here will dismiss complaints about a contractor’s performance as if Princess is not responsible for their performance. They’re Princess’s contractors, not mine.

Agree. I had an issue with a contracted employee on a Celebrity cruise, reported the problem I encountered to GS thru a mid cruise survey. Guest Services, Hotel Director and the employees manager all contacted me and got involved. Problem taken care of immediately. 

[JordanF]

There are plenty of times when contractors do announce their status.  I have been in hospital emergency rooms where there is a sign that the ER docs are employed by ER Physicians Inc  and the like.  I have seen signs in fast food restaurants and hotels stating that the facility is owned and operated by Acme Franchise Inc and the like.  Princess and the other cruise lines choose not to do that--they want the whole operation to look like one seamless show--and it works very well almost all of the time.  IMHO, if one of these contractors rips a customer off, both the cruise line and the contractor can be held liable to the customer, and the cruise line and the contractor can sort the rest out between themselves. I don't think that the cruise lines can act like it's all one big happy cruise line family when all goes well, and then hide behind an independent contractor defense when they don't.  Finally, not to get too into the weeds, but while some of these people work for contractors, there are many legal tests to determine if they are actually "independent".  Given all of the cruise lines' control over so many aspects of the workers, the cruise lines may be responsible for the workers' actions.  The cruise lines dictate attire, name tags, hours of operation, where the workers live, eat and play, etc...

[TRLD]

6 hours ago, kamelia said:

I absolutely understand the point you're making and agree that it's yet another Princess-ism that confuses everyone.  (Maybe someone should start a thread of Princess speak to help others understand the difference between FCD and FCC, and include other things like "Reserve Class Dining" is not for passengers with dining reservations, MedallionClass App is not the same as MedallionNet, etc.) 

 

I was just trying to help @PastryPal - and by extension, the dad who inadvertently got caught up in the Princess Promotions obfuscation - understand how it might have happened.  Most importantly, I'd like to reassure both OP and "dad" that he wasn't the victim of a scam, and it was NOT the result of poor decision-making on his part! 

 

Princess Promotions is a legitimate program, and I have no doubt that there are people who might benefit from it.  We got snookered into it ourselves last fall, so I know how convincing the sales pitch can sound.  Hindsight being 20/20, we never would have signed up for it, but now six months later, I am somewhat mollified knowing that although we may not come out money ahead - certainly NOTHING like the potential savings we were led to expect (travel-related discounts with AAA, AARP and Costco are greater than those offered by O.N.E., for instance) - at least we are nearing a breakeven with our initial "investment." 

 

All that said, I'm sorry for Princess that we are among a growing number of people who resent being made to feel that we were hoodwinked by Princess employees/ representatives/ contractors associated with Princess Promotions.  It cannot help Princess Cruises' reputation in the long run, and I certainly hope that someone in Corporate is keenly aware of the perils and cares enough to be concerned.

Probably the same people that are aware and care enough to be concerned about SPA upcharges.

 

Problem is Princess eliminated the employee costs for the future cruise sale position, and the Captain Circle loyalty positions, and replaced them with a contractor that pays them money to be there and makes money on the commissions from bookings. Basically an onboard TA without having to provide support to bookings.

 

As long as passengers are willing to book on board it is unlikely Princess will change. About the only thing that will cause Princess to change wpuld be a massive drop in bookings made on board.

Edited May 7 by TRLD

[PescadoAmarillo]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

You really need to define staff. As far as I know all stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, laundry workers etc are all employees of Princess. Spa, Future cruises and casino employees are all contracted by the venue

Stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, etc. are crew, not staff. Entertainment team (and others) are staff.  And then there are officers. I don’t claim to know the details but have learned that there is a big difference onboard regarding the privileges and responsibilities of the various members of the ship’s company. They are acutely aware of those differences. 

[lstone19]

2 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, etc. are crew, not staff. Entertainment team (and others) are staff.  And then there are officers. I don’t claim to know the details but have learned that there is a big difference onboard regarding the privileges and responsibilities of the various members of the ship’s company. They are acutely aware of those differences. 

 

As I understand things, crew is normally only in public areas of the ship when working. Staff and officers, OTOH, have public area privileges and you might find them eating in the buffet and other restaurants or having a drink at a public bar (met two different CDs (in the pre-ED days) having a drink in one of the bars).

[Kay S]

3 hours ago, lstone19 said:

 

But they all wear Princess name tags. By doing so, Princess gives the impression that they are Princess employees and represent Princess.

 

Bingo.

[memoak]

6 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Bingo.

Except that fast food workers always have name tags with the name of the food company but hardly any of them work for the parent company since most fast food places are franchises with different owners

[lstone19]

41 minutes ago, memoak said:

Except that fast food workers always have name tags with the name of the food company but hardly any of them work for the parent company since most fast food places are franchises with different owners

 

It's all a matter of what a reasonable person would expect. I'd expect someone on a Princess ship wearing a Princess name tag to be an employee of Princess. I'd expect someone at the Future Cruise desk wearing a Princess name tag to be acting on behalf of Princess in selling future cruises or packages that include future cruise credit (I would not expect the same of a Crooners bartender even though that person is wearing a Princess name tag). In a fast food restaurant (and perhaps because I do understand how franchises work), I'd expect someone wearing a name tag of the restaurant to be an employee of that restaurant but not an employee of the franchisor). 

[Kay S]

51 minutes ago, memoak said:

Except that fast food workers always have name tags with the name of the food company but hardly any of them work for the parent company since most fast food places are franchises with different owners

That still doesn't negate the fact that a person will see a company name tag and associate the worker with the company.  

[kywildcatfanone]

4 hours ago, memoak said:

You really need to define staff. As far as I know all stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, laundry workers etc are all employees of Princess. Spa, Future cruises and casino employees are all contracted by the venue

Talked to my friend onboard who is a deck supervisor and he confirmed my comment. He said very few are true employees of the cruise line and receive salary, and benefits via Carnival Corp. Most all are considered contract employees. Like I said, most are contractors of 3rd party vendors.

 

If they are onboard then they represent the cruiseline in all their interactions and transactions with the customer.

Edited May 7 by kywildcatfanone

[cr8tiv1]

To be a little more technical.

 

If they are wearing "uniforms" provided by the ship/laundry, then they are ship employees.  (MDR, Customer Service, Room Service, Baristas, maintenance, security, etc). 

 

If they are wearing street clothes, then they are 95% vendors:  EFFY, Princess stores, "Princess" Fine Arts, guest lecturer's, guest entertainers, ONE/Future Cruise "consultants". etc.

[TRLD]

4 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

To be a little more technical.

 

If they are wearing "uniforms" provided by the ship/laundry, then they are ship employees.  (MDR, Customer Service, Room Service, Baristas, maintenance, security, etc). 

 

If they are wearing street clothes, then they are 95% vendors:  EFFY, Princess stores, "Princess" Fine Arts, guest lecturer's, guest entertainers, ONE/Future Cruise "consultants". etc.

Spa workers usually wear uniforms and are contractors.

[cr8tiv1]

7 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Spa workers usually wear uniforms and are contractors.

 

That's why I quantified 95%

 

Yes, they wear a "uniform", but it is not the standard crew wear.

Edited May 7 by cr8tiv1

[memoak]

I think that anyone who has cruised even a few times know that things like casinos and spas are contractors and have been for a long time 

[CalTexCruiser]

I'm afraid this thread as severely veered off course