TAs still in the dark...

[coombs2]

We are on the July 10th sailing. I was getting all of my paperwork in order last night and had a question for my TA about the trip so I called her around 830PM EST last night. In the course of conversation, I asked if she heard anything about the engine problems and she said she didn't yet because she didnt have any clients on either the June 22nd or July 1 sailing but that she would call to check.

She called me back about 15 minutes later and told me the rep she spoke with was adamant that there was no problem with the CB. The reason it left 1 hour early and had altered port times for July 1st was due to the port changing to Tortola and that being furhter aweay than St. Maarten. That was why it left 1 hour earlier and was getting to Puerto Rico later. She said there were no itinerary changes for the July 10th cruise in terms of ports or time in ports.

I recognize that these reps might not be informed for the general public, but if a TA calls, someone should be informed to speak the truth. We all know there are engine problems which may or may not be fixed and may or may not affect future cruises until dry dock, but to deny there is even a problem in the first place is annoying. This is not a new problem- it is at least 3 days old so that is enough time to filter throughout the company. Hopefully my cruise will not be affected but after asking point blank about it through a TA, I am going to be a bit annoyed if it turns out it is due to a "non-existent" mechanical problem.

[jlc0773]

Why would the official response be different if the rep were talking to a ta versus a 'regular' person......as stated on another thread, large corporations issue statements regarding situations, the representatives are there to verbally communicate the official statement to whomever is on the phone, regardless of who they are. A 'statement' is a 'statement', and the 'statement' as posted before cites that the ports have changed due to 'Operational Reasons'.....anything else the rep may say is pure speculation and is probably mis-information.:eek:

[coombs2]

my point is that at this point, CB has been back in port and there is more than enough time for all issues to be properly logged and tranferred to Princess to disseminate information to its reps. The official word 3 days after ssuch a problem has arisen should be updated to provide appropriate information- ie yyes there is a problem and either it should be fixed by 7/10 or we dont know yet, etc. but blatantly denying any problem exists at all i do not think is right as there has been enough time to update the official response

[Coral]

My TA (who sells tons of Princess) was told that the times were changed this week due to too many ships in port. She knew that wasn't right and dug further because her family is sailing this week. I don't think she ever heard anything different from Princess but she knows there is a mechanical failure.

[WeBeGone]

Don't be mad at the TA. She can only tell you what she was told by Princess. Just go and have a good time. Starting your cruise being ticked off doesn't bode well for your vacation.

[coombs2]

i never said i was mad at my TA. In fact i appreciate that as soon as i mentioend it to her she dug into it. what i am annoyed by is that the mechanical failure happened days ago and customer service reps are still telling everyone that everything is fine when there is a problem with the ship. i expected that by now princess would have an official word out one way or the other to let ppl who call in know some semblance of the truth. saying everything is fine and there was never a problem with the ship doesnt seem like the right PR move to me. i dont expect them to know 100% if it will be fixed or not but i expect honesty, not blatant lies. something like- yes there was a problem it is still under evaluation and if it affects future sailings we will let passengers know as soon as we do would have been fine. not- there was never a problem, the itinerary is fine and there will definitely not be delays. while i hope that is the case, i am not yet confident

[Melissa5920]

Our Ta didn't know anything about it either so inquired. She spoke with the director of sales at princess and they "hadn't" heard anything about it in the morning meeting but only something about the AC being fixed. Although the TA also said that they said very sneaky like IF there was a problem with the generator or stabilizer then they would not go out on the next sailing, and the TA didn't mention anything about the generator to them. They also said that everyone is calling about this. Being this was yesterday and they left maybe the issue was solved and the rockiness was really from rough seas. I am pretty sure that if the ship was not safe then they would not go out.

[Colo Cruiser]

We are on the July 10th sailing. I was getting all of my paperwork in order last night and had a question for my TA about the trip so I called her around 830PM EST last night. In the course of conversation, I asked if she heard anything about the engine problems and she said she didn't yet because she didnt have any clients on either the June 22nd or July 1 sailing but that she would call to check.

She called me back about 15 minutes later and told me the rep she spoke with was adamant that there was no problem with the CB. The reason it left 1 hour early and had altered port times for July 1st was due to the port changing to Tortola and that being furhter aweay than St. Maarten. That was why it left 1 hour earlier and was getting to Puerto Rico later. She said there were no itinerary changes for the July 10th cruise in terms of ports or time in ports.

I recognize that these reps might not be informed for the general public, but if a TA calls, someone should be informed to speak the truth. We all know there are engine problems which may or may not be fixed and may or may not affect future cruises until dry dock, but to deny there is even a problem in the first place is annoying. This is not a new problem- it is at least 3 days old so that is enough time to filter throughout the company. Hopefully my cruise will not be affected but after asking point blank about it through a TA, I am going to be a bit annoyed if it turns out it is due to a "non-existent" mechanical problem.

 

 

 

It is the CSR/Princess who is at fault because they don't give information like that to individual customers through their CSR's.

It should be disseminated in a News Release.

Your TA should have a channel other then the regular customer service number that she could call to verify this through Princess. :)

 

It has been going on for more then 3 days. :)

[coombs2]

finally someone who understands! at this point, princess should stop masking that there is/was a problem and make it public knowledge regarding the status of the engine and expected status of it for near cruises

[silvercruiser]

Hey, sometimes the front office doesn't even know that one of their ships has sunk! This happened when we were booked on the inaugural cruise of Pride of America. I called NCL to ask for a refund, since the ship had sunk at the shipyard the day before. The gal who answered didn't know anything about it, but checked while she put me on hold and then came back and said, "You're right! It really did sink!"

[Melissa5920]

Hey, sometimes the front office doesn't even know that one of their ships has sunk! This happened when we were booked on the inaugural cruise of Pride of America. I called NCL to ask for a refund, since the ship had sunk at the shipyard the day before. The gal who answered didn't know anything about it, but checked while she put me on hold and then came back and said, "You're right! It really did sink!"

 

Wow! :eek: You would think they would keep them in the loop just a little bit more.. lol.

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow! :eek: You would think they would keep them in the loop just a little bit more.. lol.

 

 

As far as Princess loops go there are 3, Corporate/Fleet/CSR's. :eek:

[cruisin_fanatic]

have fun

[lnew1gd1]

We are sailing on the CB in September...my question to everyone concerned about the problems or supposed problems is--what would you do if they admitted there was an engine problem? Cancel?? Demand a free cruise?? Just go and enjoy and don't worry about it. :D Your worst day at sea is still better than your best day at work!

 

There is nothing you can fix by worrying or complaining so just go, relax and have fun. If you miss a port or have a time change so what...there are no guarantees that you will be in all ports listed anyway.

[Colo Cruiser]

We are sailing on the CB in September...my question to everyone concerned about the problems or supposed problems is--what would you do if they admitted there was an engine problem? Cancel?? Demand a free cruise?? Just go and enjoy and don't worry about it. :D Your worst day at sea is still better than your best day at work!

 

There is nothing you can fix by worrying or complaining so just go, relax and have fun. If you miss a port or have a time change so what...there are no guarantees that you will be in all ports listed anyway.

 

 

I agree and Princess handles these situations pretty darn well.

 

Just go and enjoy. :D

[willysgrandma]

We are sailing on the CB in September...my question to everyone concerned about the problems or supposed problems is--what would you do if they admitted there was an engine problem? Cancel?? Demand a free cruise?? Just go and enjoy and don't worry about it. :D Your worst day at sea is still better than your best day at work!

 

There is nothing you can fix by worrying or complaining so just go, relax and have fun. If you miss a port or have a time change so what...there are no guarantees that you will be in all ports listed anyway.

 

We are on her 9/28 and your post is great - you are absolutely right about the worst day at sea being better than the best day at work!

[domdombus]

Why even bother calling Princess everyone that was on the 6/22 cruise has already confirmed the ship is having engine problems.

 

You know the answers you got from Princess is misinformation due to this website letting you interact with people that were just on the boat, the reasons it is wrong info is a moot point.

 

Demanding confirmation from Princess just opens more channels for complaints. What is a princess rep supposed to do after they say yes engine is bad and then people start demanding things?

 

Calling Princess to confirm a problem that has already been confirmed first hand is like calling the Chinese government and asking if there are any problems in Tibet or in the past at Tiananmen Square. You wont get the answer you are looking for but all the witnesses already informed you.