Emergency Situation: Is a Trade Possible?

[litig8rij]

Greetings y'all --

Way back in july, i booked a mini-suite on the Crown for Thanksgiving week (23 November - 30 November 2008) as a present for my DH. I was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy 14 november 2005 (my heart was at 10% and I was on my way out at the age of 43). ever since, my DH has done EVERYTHING: he cooks, cleans, shops for groceries, does homework with the boys, coaches the younger one's basketball teams, gets the to practice & games for soccer/basketball/little league -- he even scrubs toilets! he never complains. because we originally came to san antonio because of his US air force assignment, we have no family here -- he's on his own.

So, i arranged for a very close friend of the family to baby sit my two DH's, Josh age 10 and Jayson age 7 They were seemingly excited about it.

But last week, my DH told me that he wanted the kids to come too. all total, i've spent at least 30 days in the hospital this summer and have lost 90 lbs between january and june of this year. he told me that the boys really cry hard when they leave the hospital and probably would be miserable without the two of us, missing me the most.

Thus, i moved heaven and earth to get another berth on our trip and get them on our flights. it took hours; but between my TA and me, we did it.

Yesterday, i checked the princess website and saw that we were upgraded to JJ cabin on the aloha deck. what i would really need is a KK cabin on the dolphin deck, so my son and i can be near my DH and other son in the mini-suite. The JJ cabins cost a little more -- maybe it's a better location.

Anywho, is there anyone out there sailing on the 23rd of November with a KK interior who would like to trade with me? it would mean the world to my DH, for whom this cruise was purchased. :confused:

thanks --

[Luckyroot]

Even in the VERY unlikely event that you found someone on CC who was in the perfect location and was willing to switch with you, I don't think it could happen without help from Princess.

 

I think you're much more likely to achieve success by having your TA talk to Princess and ask THEM to offer an "upgrade" to someone in a cabin on the Dolphin deck.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[jennifers490]

i dont think they would let you trade, it would be different if it were other family members but it would create problems with onboard accounts i would think...

 

why dont' the four of you stay in the mini-suite? i think it should be big enough for you and the two kids? i think there is a pull out sofa i there they can sleep on...

 

just because your husband and son are the only ones listed in that cabin doesn't mean you all cant stay there...

[pungo3]

I agree with the OP. Call Princess and ask them to help you with this. I truly believe they will be able to make this happen for you.

 

Good luck and enjoy your family vacation. Your darling husband certainly deserves this break!!!

[paul929207]

The best way to do this is thru Princess. That way, all the onboard accounts will be set up correctly.

[Toto2Kansas]

I agree with others here. Your TA will have to work with Princess on this one. I know you consider this an emergency, but it is actually only a convienence problem. If the ship is sold out, you will probably be out of luck.

 

I hope you resolve this problem, but unless there are last minute cancellations, I would guess you are stuck in your assigned staterooms. If it were me, I would be glad the TA even found a second stateroom for you at this late date, as it sounds like they worked very hard to find one you were willing to book.

 

Just remember, you will probably only be sleeping in the second stateroom, the rest of the time you will all be together in the mini suite.

Good Luck, but I don't think I would count on what you are trying to do in switching with someone here on cruise critic.

[Nyna]

I was with a group on a Disney Cruise last April, and they ended up switching my cabin at the last minute. I had already filled out my credit card information online, and when the cabin was switched I had to fill out my personal information again. Even though I was assured my information was not still attached to the old cabin, the onboard accounts for both staterooms were charged to my credit card after the cruise. Fortunately, Disney tracked down the other passenger and was able to reverse the charges from my card and bill the correct person, but it tied up funds on my card for almost a month. You should absolutely have your TA contact Princess for any changes you make.

[DrivesLikeMario]

What your TA needs to do is write a letter to Princess stating basically what you did in your post. Or, if you want, YOU write the letter and give it to your TA to put on agency letterhead. She faxes it to Princess and follows up a few days later. If she doesn't get a decision then, she should call a few days after that & keep calling and moving up the ladder if necessary.

 

They may make some kind of arrangement to accommodate you. At the VERY, VERY least make SURE she's cross-referenced your bookings.

 

If that doesn't work & you're really determined, you could plead your case with the passengers that are in the cabin that you want. If they decided to switch with you, then you'd all have to go to the Purser's Desk to get the key cards and accounts switched.

 

Good luck. I wish you all the best and I totally agree with your DH. Don't leave the kids behind.

[litig8rij]

Greetings y'all --

although i was looking for a willing party to switch, i would NEVER have done it unofficially. i just felt it would be easier if there were two parties presented to princess who wanted to switch cabins. then, we'd go through our TA's to make sure the accounts were accurate.

i''m known to worry over stuff waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay in advance that really isn't that big a deal in the big picture. thanks to all who took the time to write. i truly appreciate it!:)

[cinderella29]

Hi there my name is cat from scotland and we were able to swap cabins. We were in the two outside with balcony next door to penthouse suite and we decided to take one penthouse suite and keep the room next to it, but when we got the confirmation in they had moved the wrong room so it meant we were a room apart, we contacted princess and our travel agent, they managed between them to contact the person in that room to see if they would swap room and they managed to do it and we were sorted. Now what happened from then was we decided to book another penthouse suite but they didnt have two together so we ended up on the other side of the ship two penthouse suites together. I will take a gift for the person who so kindly swapped for us for doing what they did. It ends up that i know from our forum that the other penthouse suite we did end up wanting would have been one of them and i am sure they would have swapped the penthouse so that we could have had two together without moving to other side of ship. So the moral of the story is get onto princess and your travel agent and see if they can ask if someone would swap. As some of you are aware that i lost dad two months ago tomorrow and that what the surprise was for, as its his birthday when we sail but now mum has that room to herself, but i am sure my daughter will be in and out helping her enjoy the luxuries that come with it.

 

cat

[Nancyquilts]

I hope you all have a great cruise! Nancy