Princess Cays fixed yet?? Then, by Jan 9th on the STAR??

[Tfish]

We're sailing on the Western with the Star and my personalizer says that PC is out and Majahal is in.

Any one been there?

What can you tell me?

thanks

[JRoeT]

Bump - any new news on the status of lovely Princess Cays?

[Coral]

In someone's review - they indicated that Princess' lease of the portion of Eleuthera island is up and they are negotiating another lease with the Bahamas government. Hopefully someone will find out some new information soon.

[CruisinChris]

Hi all. That was me. I was told this by the CD on the Sun last week. He indicated that the Bahamian govt. would like to raise the rent for Princess Cays and Princess is trying to negoitiate the terms. So, they have put off repairs until they know for certain they're staying. He indicated that they're being told that it's closed for the season.

Sad news, I know. But you know, since they opened the Cays in 99 (I think or 98) I believe it's been destroyed three times. Given that they don't even own the property that seems like quite a costly investment, from a business perspective.

It would be interesting for others to follow-up on this and see if they can get the same info.

[Coral]

[QUOTE=Cruisin'Chris]Hi all. That was me. I was told this by the CD on the Sun last week. He indicated that the Bahamian govt. would like to raise the rent for Princess Cays and Princess is trying to negoitiate the terms. So, they have put off repairs until they know for certain they're staying. He indicated that they're being told that it's closed for the season.
[/QUOTE]

Thanks Chris - I couldn't remember which review I had read.

[joycefnp]

I know that all cruise lines reserve the right to change the ports, but I think it's wrong to sell cruises based on an itinerary that the line knows isn't even possible. Maybe I'm naive, but that smacks of dishonest business practices. I'm quite sure, however, that all the lines do it the same way, and I'm not trying to indict Princess.
Joyce

[roe2ship]

[QUOTE=Cruisin'Chris]

Sad news, I know. But you know, since they opened the Cays in 99 (I think or 98) I believe it's been destroyed three times. Given that they don't even own the property that seems like quite a costly investment, from a business perspective.

It would be interesting for others to follow-up on this and see if they can get the same info.[/QUOTE]
This is REALLY sad news. I always thought that Princess owned the property, not lease. If they are negotiating a lease and then still have to make repairs, I wonder how long it will be before it will be ready. I am beginning to worry if we will even stop there now.

[Toto2Kansas]

We have run into this before with ports that Princess knows we will not be stopping at. It is a shame that they continue to advertise them when they know for a fact the ship will not stop. Just kind of sad as some passengers book cruises based on ports of call. I realize that some things just can't be helped, but when they know months in advance that there is no chance of stopping, at least they should be up front and honest about and take it off the itinerary, we feel.

[joycefnp]

Hear, hear

[matthewwicks]

Anyone have an update on the status of Princess Cay? I'm on the 2/12 CP, and at this point I think we're going to be San Juan bound. Princess still shows Princess Cay as one of our stops, but it sounds doubtful based on what I'm reading here.

Any updates would be appreciated. Thanks!

-Matt

[HopingtoCruiseSoon]

[QUOTE=Cruisin'Chris] He indicated that they're being told that it's closed for the season.

[/QUOTE]

What constitutes "the season"?

[terry55]

We're on the Star in April. I called Princess last night to inquire and the rep on the phone said he didn't think Princess Cay would be available to stop at until late Feb. or March. Our travel agent had heard the same story....don't know what to think!!

[joycefnp]

My CA got a little defensive when I asked her about it, emailed me that they were not responsible for Princess changing itineraries, and that Princess had the right to change...yada..yada. Anyway, her story is that the decision is being made on a weekly basis, and that we would be going to Nassau if not PC. I spoke to one of my patients today who was on the Grand Princess over Christmas, and they were sent to Nassau instead. They were not pleased at all, and neither were many of the passsengers. And they only got 4 hours in Nassau. I still maintain that they way it's being handled is not ethical business practice, and if they knew (which they did) at the time of booking, the cruiseline (and CA) are responsible for at least communicating this. This is the kind of thing which can lose clients. I am amazed that Princess doesn't see this. This is the first cruise that I have booked with a different agent in at least 10 years, because my old agent moved companies, and I lost track of her. I know my old agent would have known and informed of the problem with PC.
Joyce

[VKMcCarty]

Such a tease that old cruise company is!

It even says on my cruise documents that we are going to the PRINCESS CAYS!

They must have printed up all those documents booklets before they were sure we weren't going and were just going to be at sea an extra day.

We're not going to Nassau for a half day, but perhaps that's for the best.

SO, what are folks doing in SAN JUAN??

[cruzinchris]

Hello to fellow Princess passengers AND all the folks from Michigan. I'm reporting from the lovely Hills of Rochester.

We're sailing on the[i] CP [/i]January 22. When our documents arrived Thanksgiving weekend, Princess Cays was still listed for the final day of the cruise. Originally, our itinerary was two days at sea, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, day at sea, Princess Cays, Port Everglades.

I remember checking our on-line account in early December and noticing that the itinerary had changed. Now, we have the first day at sea, San Juan from 4-11PM, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and two days at sea before returning to Port Everglades.

We'll miss the fun at Princess Cays and will likely stay on the ship in San Juan. We've been there, done that, and don't need to do it again, especially at night. There are some fine restaurants and hot night spots, but safety in SJ after dark is uncertain.

I don't know anything more about the future status of Princess Cays beyond what has been posted on this site.
[i]Chris[/i]

[bruphillips]

VKMCCARTY..... I em mailed you via "the thread" about a week ago. Did you see it and read it? If not, please do and respond if you don't mind. Thanks, Barbara Phillips

[roysue]

We are taking the 10 day cruise on the Sun departing January 28th. We called Princess today and it seems Princess Cays is off our itinerary. A sea day is being substituted. This particular departure date had Princess Cays scheduled last, so that probably has a lot to do with a sea day being scheduled rather than another port. Our on-line itenereary does not reflect the change yet but it looks like it's a done deal, for that sailing at least.

[joycefnp]

Chris
Are you from Rochester Hills MI? That's where my sister-in-law lives. My husband is from Birmingham.
I am still bummed about PC. I spoke with Princess yesterday, with less than satisfactory results. I wasn't allowed to speak directly with customer service, but instead the CA acted like a go-between. I got the same song and dance. I can't seem to communicate the fact that while I understand Princess's right to change the itinerary, that knowingly selling something that cannot be delivered is a different thing. I welcome anyone's input if you think I'm wrong. Anyway, the girl kept insisting that I'm still scheduled to go to Princess Cays, and the 2 cruises before me are too. Somehow though, if the 1/28 cruise has now been changed, I really doubt we have a chance!! I will continue to hold out a glimmer of hope until I heard otherwise. I did speak with a couple on the Grand (I think) at Christmas, and apparently quite a few people on their cruise were never notifed, and found out at boarding. I know I would rather know ahead of time!!

[Coral]

[quote name='joycefnp'] I did speak with a couple on the Grand (I think) at Christmas, and apparently quite a few people on their cruise were never notifed, and found out at boarding. I know I would rather know ahead of time!![/QUOTE]

Joyce - I was on the Dec 12th sailing of Star. I found out we switched to Nassau by looking at Cruise Personalizer a few weeks before the cruise. Once we boarded - I spoke to many who did not know, they didn't look at the Cruise Personalizer. So it is possible Princess did notify people through the Personalizer but these people didn't check.

As far as Princess Cays - I am hoping for the best, I am hoping they are negotiating with the Bahamas and the reason they haven't switched everyone for the next several months is that they hope to have a resolution soon. Trying to be optimistic here. I love Princess Cays and I did miss it on my cruise. I hope your cruise can go!

[coiran]

Princess is showing Jan 30 and later sailings on the Star stopping at PC - anything earlier NO.

Ron

[geoherb]

We just got back from a Celebrity cruise. I loved that our ship stopped in San Juan long enough to do things. We were there from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. When we went on the Sovereign of the Seas in the early '90s, our ship sailed into San Juan around 10 p.m. and left the next afternoon. I don't really understand why the cruise lines schedule late afternoon arrivals there. I think the forts close at 5 p.m. as well as many of the shops.

On this last cruise, we took a cab to the botanical garden near the university. It's a beautiful garden--about 75 acres with lots of trails through it. When we compared with folks who had taken the rain forest excursions, we found out we saw more wildlife than they had--lots of lizards, turtles, and birds.

[VKMcCarty]

See you all soon!