embarkation fee

[kitkat343]

Is an embarkation fee a new fee from princess?  I wasn't told about it at booking and now they are telling me I have to pay another 270 per person.   And we're sailing with 5 people so this is a rather unexpected surprise.   I've sailed with princess before and other lines and never heard about this.  I know the phone agents are terrible on all the cruise lines, so I wanted to check with you before paying it.

Edited August 2 by kitkat343

[jmelnick]

Never heard of this one.

[kitkat343]

6 minutes ago, jmelnick said:

Never heard of this one.

thanks - I logged into Princes, and its showing no balance.  I do owe gratuities (which is fine and

I was aware of).  I really wish they'd train phone operators to a level of minimal competence since an inexperienced cruiser might have paid this and would feel very ripped off.  I think he was just trying to get me to pay my gratuities ahead of time. 

[Thrak]

It's a scam. Someone on another line was recently told they needed to pay a "deck fee". Same sort of thing. They paid with a credit card but then got suspicious. The line said it was bogus and to dispute the charge on their credit card. They did so and got their money back but the scammer had also asked about "verifying" their booking. They supplied the booking number and the scammer cancelled their cruise. The cruise is full and the family of 5 is out of luck and also stuck with a late cancellation fee.

Edited August 2 by Thrak

[dog]

Did you book online?

Why did you phone?

I have never heard of this fee.

 

more information is needed to help you

[kitkat343]

Just now, dog said:

Did you book online?

Why did you phone?

I have never heard of this fee.

 

more information is needed to help you

I booked over the phone.  My princess account is showing no balance, except for the gratuities.  I phoned because I wanted to ask what the price for kids is at the specialty restaurants.  Before I had a chance to ask, the consultant told me I owed 270 per person, but that there was a sale and I could pay less if I paid it in advance.  I told him I'd been told I only owed gratuities at the time of booking, but he insisted this was an embarkation fee I'd need to pay when we embarked unless I paid it in advance.  Since he was offering me 50 per person off, which would bring it close to gratuities I can only assume he was trying to get me to prepay the gratuities. 

 

And if anyone knows the price of the kids dining in specialty restaurants I'd appreciate that information, since I was a little rattled from my call with princess. 

[kitkat343]

sorry - just realized it was my fault.  When I googled princess on my phone, I clicked on the first (sponsored) result and it wasn't actually princess I was calling.

[MustangGT]

1 minute ago, kitkat343 said:

sorry - just realized it was my fault.  When I googled princess on my phone, I clicked on the first (sponsored) result and it wasn't actually princess I was calling.

😬. Glad you realized what happened!

[startedwithamouse]

7 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

I booked over the phone.  My princess account is showing no balance, except for the gratuities.  I phoned because I wanted to ask what the price for kids is at the specialty restaurants.  Before I had a chance to ask, the consultant told me I owed 270 per person, but that there was a sale and I could pay less if I paid it in advance.  I told him I'd been told I only owed gratuities at the time of booking, but he insisted this was an embarkation fee I'd need to pay when we embarked unless I paid it in advance.  Since he was offering me 50 per person off, which would bring it close to gratuities I can only assume he was trying to get me to prepay the gratuities. 

 

And if anyone knows the price of the kids dining in specialty restaurants I'd appreciate that information, since I was a little rattled from my call with princess. 

This sounds like a scam. If your balance says zero online, there shouldn't be anything else owed. 

[arizonaperson]

@kitkat343 check the family boards on CC.
This is from Princess.com( also doesn’t say age cutoff,perhaps age 3-12 is for child price??)

not sure if they’ve updated their website, but this is what it says:

 

 

Dining Options for Families

 

Where can families eat together on the ship?

There are plenty of casual dining options in the World Fresh Marketplace, The Eatery, Horizon Court, International Café, and at our top deck grill, pizzeria and ice cream bar. More formal options are also available any time in the main dining room. If you are in a hurry and are eating in the main dining room, please mention this to your waiter and they will accommodate a ‘quick service’ request.

Are there children’s menus or other foods for children?

Children’s menus are offered in main dining rooms and by request at specialty restaurants.

 

Kids eat for half price in our specialty restaurants.

 

Pizza, burgers, hot dogs and ice cream can be found at various dining locations. Complimentary jarred stage 1 & 2 baby food is available, if requested in advance via Manage Booking. Additionally, pureed fruits or veggies can be requested in the main dining room.

Beverages on us:

• Main dining room and World Fresh Marketplace/Horizon Court at breakfast only: apple, orange, cranberry, pineapple, tomato and prune juices (excludes freshly squeezed orange juice)
• All-day offerings: lemonade, milk and chocolate milk
• Complimentary on ships in Alaska in the main dining room and Horizon Court/World Fresh Marketplace: hot chocolate

Get a booster chair and/or high chair:

• Request on board with restaurant staff.
• High chairs and booster seats are available in the main dining room, specialty dining restaurants and Horizon Court/World Fresh Marketplace on all ships. Quantities are determined by ship size and dining capacity and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Neither high chairs nor booster seats may be reserved ahead of time.

 

 

Edited August 2 by arizonaperson

[kitkat343]

18 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

😬. Glad you realized what happened!

yes, because I've cruised before the fee sounded like a scam.  It's really too bad google lets people pay to come up first in searches for corporations so they can scam people.

Edited August 2 by kitkat343

[memoak]

This smells like Princess Promotion group to me

[NWA395]

Travel Scouts just covered this scam in their latest video.  

 

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

It's really too bad google lets people pay to come up first in searches for corporations

But these links are clearly marked as 'sponsored' on top of the search engines results. Never click on them.

[kitkat343]

9 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

But these links are clearly marked as 'sponsored' on top of the search engines results. Never click on them.

Absolutely correct.   They were labeled as princess cruise but were marked as sponsored.   I was on my phone and forgot to scroll down to get to the real number.  Thankfully, I realized it was probably a. scam and didn't pay them anything.  

Edited August 2 by kitkat343