You truly will not believe this!!!!

[Coracii]

I'm more than a little bit curious about all of the details here, and not just one side of the details. Every time I've called Princess to make even what I would think to be a miniscule change they've asked if I want an e-mail confirmation of the changes sent. Even when I've said that it wouldn't be necessary they've sent one each time without fail. I'm wondering if there might be more to the story than what we're seeing here, a small detail forgotten during the conversation in the excitement of the itinerary change moment perhaps. Mistakes do happen, but in the long run this one seemed to have turned out harmless. I probably would have been happy to take an equivalent offer to a bottle of wine (don't drink, wine wouldn't be very useful for me) and enjoy my cruise knowing that disastor had been averted.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thank God, no harm done! :) I am truly glad that you were able to keep your original room. I could imagine how scared (?) and shocked you must have been to see your own room offered in the market place. But, after all, nothing was lost, and in fact, you have even gained a bottle of wine -- hope it's a good one ;) -- so we can quote Shakespeare here "All's Well, that Ends Well". Hope the Princess C/S agent apologized to you for the the company's communication fallout.

 

 

I am confused? I thought he canceled?

[Coracii]

I am confused? I thought he canceled?

 

I'm guessing cathycruise may have misread the post. The OP definitely said they canceled and re-booked the cruise with Celebrity instead.

[cathycruise]

I am confused? I thought he canceled?

 

Oops, sorry, your were right, Colo Cruiser. I "misread" the OP's information. My apologies for the confusion.

[Times Prince]

For those reading who might be new to making reservations directly with Princess, the phone operators are quite used to placing a temporary hold on cabins without any payment.

 

This is followed up within minutes by an email which contains a .pdf file and less readable email text, which contains all the details for the reservation.

 

On the first page is the text:

The Payment Schedule shows your deposit and final payment due dates.

 

On the second page is a payment schedule with information formatted like the following

 

Payment Details

Deposit of XXX.00 is due by April 4, 2009. Final payment of X,XXX.74 is due by May 27, 2009

This is key information - if the deposit or final payment is not received by the dates specified your reservation will be cancelled.

It would be interesting to find whether the correct additional or increased deposit information was provided to labrador2. If not then he may have a legitimate complaint.

I don't understand why, if his original cabin was restored, he opted to cancel and go elsewhere. I hope he has a cruise that meets his expectations.

[pj-atsea]

So let me get this straight. You booked, put a deposit, changed your itinerary and wasn't told that there'd be an extra cost when you did that. So wouldn't they then refund your deposit when they cancelled your booking? So you'd know something wasn't right when you got a refund. I think they should have told you that the booking was cancelled, but if someone there made an error then compensation should be given. However if you could have had your original cabin on the cruise you wanted, then maybe they don't compensate for what might have happened. A dinner in Sabatini's might have been a better comp but at least they offered something other than an apology. Hope you do try Princess again, but Celebrity is good too. pj

[rdsqrl]

You cancelled not only your cruise but inconvenienced everyone else in your group by switching cruise lines just because Princess didn't compensate you for a bad outcome that only might have happened? Is this an April Fool's post, a few days late? Seriously, what did you think you deserved? Frankly it just seems like you gleefully seized upon this opportunity to get something for nothing and then grew petulant when Princess wouldn't give you a free cruise or name a ship after you or whatever gesture would have made up for this temporary, as in no harm done, concern.

[Pam in CA]

I'm sorry this happened but I'm confused by a few details: When you changed itineraries, was the pricing exactly the same for the new itinerary? If it was more, that should have been a red flag that an additional deposit was due unless you're using a FCC. Did you receive a confirmation of the new booking? You've said you didn't receive confirmation of the cancelled booking but didn't you check when you didn't receive it?

 

As I read the original and following posts, I'm struck by several things that should have alerted the OP to double-check the booking. When you book directly through the cruiseline, they are merely booking agents, they aren't travel agents and won't hold your hand; you assume far more responsibility for checking your booking. This is why many of us use TAs, i.e., they double-check things to make sure everything is OK.

 

Have a great cruise on Celebrity; I understand they're pretty good.

[MaryPoppinz]

So I am confused. Did you get the deposit back since you didnt pay the extra 36 dollars? If they cancel your cruise, you should have received a refund for the deposit. And if you got the deposit back, didnt that tip you off that something was wrong?

 

That's what I'm thinking. If I failed to pay a sufficient deposit, so my cruise was cancelled, I'd expect to see some money come my way (in other words, the money I *did* give them as a deposit.) The cancellation notice is all good and well, but if I'm cancelled....show me the money.

 

OP, was your deposit refunded when you didn't pay the additional deposit??

[Sandytoes]

I had a 7 night inside passage on the Star booked for 8/09 Just happeed to be online on Friday night to see if the price went down. When I typed in my category my own cabin popped up! I called cut. relations and they said that when I chnged my itinerary I did not give them the $36 increase so they cancelled my booking. I had no knowledge that I needed to add more of a deposit. The reservation agent from Princess that I spoke to did not ask me to add more of a deposit when I switched cruises and they did not send me a cancellation confirmation that apparently they are required to do. So I moaned and groaned and the best they could offer me was a complimentary bottle of wine. I explained the problems that could have occured if I had not happened to check on line....i.e. non-refundable airfare, no available cabins in my caegory of choice, family planning on joining us on this cruise, etc. no budging....still just the bottle of wine. I can not believe that in this economy with travel the way that it is..they would not do anything more for customer that has cruised with Princess a few times since 1989. I cancelled and am going with Celebrity!!!

 

I thought that when you cancel a cruise and re-book Princess will cancel out your old booking and re-book you. :rolleyes: The price will be adjusted accordingly.

 

Didn't you receive a new invoice showing the new price?

 

If you saw your cabin available how come you didn't re-book it? :rolleyes:..:confused:

 

~~

Enjoy your bottle of wine on Celebrity. :D

[Pam in CA]

I thought that when you cancel a cruise and re-book Princess will cancel out your old booking and re-book you. :rolleyes: The price will be adjusted accordingly.

 

Didn't you receive a new invoice showing the new price?

Exactly my point. When you change an itinerary, you receive a new booking # and booking confirmation which would show the cost of the cruise, deposit and final payment amount due and the date. If you haven't received one within 24 hours, you should ALWAYS ask for a copy whether you've booked through Princess or a TA.

[EGG]

And what happened to those non-refundable tickets when OP changed to Celebrity?

[riteonglor]

I get a laugh out of the "what if, what if, what if, what if the world really isn't round. Nothing was lost here, still same cabin, same cruise, same food but a free bottle of wine. Geez, don't live your life on, What If's. WhAT IF you hadn't been born and not been able to go on this cruise? Ya, gotta get a grip on the speculating.

[kooljamming]

You cancelled not only your cruise but inconvenienced everyone else in your group by switching cruise lines just because Princess didn't compensate you for a bad outcome that only might have happened? Is this an April Fool's post, a few days late? Seriously, what did you think you deserved? Frankly it just seems like you gleefully seized upon this opportunity to get something for nothing and then grew petulant when Princess wouldn't give you a free cruise or name a ship after you or whatever gesture would have made up for this temporary, as in no harm done, concern.

 

For whatever reason, wouldn't some consider this a move up the food chain? Granted, I can understand the switch. Once you loose confidence in something, sometimes it's best to say to h*ll with it. If I could afford it, I would do the switch to Celebrity, even without incident:D You are correct, no harm was done so no need for compensation. The thread provides good information about booking, deposit and confirmation (post #30).

 

Please note this is NOT an attack on your post. I got burned recently and it's not worth it for something I didn't birth or marry. Making my words soft and sweet in case I have to eat them:p

[Toto2Kansas]

Since we are only getting half the story here, and after reading the OP's facts of how this happened. It sounds to me like someone was expecting a LOT more than a bottle of wine, and if they couldn't get it, they were cancelling.

What if this or that happened won't cut it with the cruise line. As it didn't happen, just a slight mix up that was easily fixed.

And whoever said when booking direct, you have far more of a responsibility to make sure everything is correct, I totally agree.

[readytogo2]

I have found that Celebrity is usually priced higher than Princess and truly not worth the difference in price, but that is my opinion. My question to the OP ....is it really worth everyone in your group having to cancel with Princess and book with Celebrity and pay more on top of it? Not to mention throwing away a nice bottle of wine:eek:

[WineCountryCruiser]

My wife and I had a booking for a cruise in May, 2006 cancelled on us in a way similar to that indicated by the OP. We had booked through an online TA and added a post-cruise hotel package about 45 days prior to departure. Though the TA had our credit card info, there was apparently some sort of issue betwen the TA and Princess that caused the payment for the post-cruise hotel package to not post on time. I contacted Princess (which eventually managed to get things sorted out the week prior to the cruise) and was told that their computers are programmed to automatically cancel bookings with an outstanding balance due at 30 days prior to departure. I was told that the service that does this is used by most of the major cruise lines, not just Princess. The lesson we learned is to ALWAYS use Cruise Personalizer just before the 30 day mark to verify that there is no balance due. According to what we were told by Princess, the system has no capability to send out some sort of warning to alert anyone (TA or cruiser) that a booking is about to be cancelled because of an outstanding balance. Something like that could sure help!

 

Craig

[caribill]

The lesson we learned is to ALWAYS use Cruise Personalizer just before the 30 day mark to verify that there is no balance due.

 

 

If you use a travel agent, the Cruise Personalizer will not have any information about amounts paid or due.

[WineCountryCruiser]

If you use a travel agent, the Cruise Personalizer will not have any information about amounts paid or due.

 

True. That sort of puts you at the mercy of your TA. It reinforces my thought that there ought to be a way for someone to be notified when an automatic cancellation for balance due is about to occur. For us, we've chosen to book directly since that happened. We live in a rural area and local TAs that we can deal with face to face are few and far between and our experiences with online TAs to date have been less than satisfying.

 

Craig

[bongaree]

Hi to you all

 

What is the site you go on to see which cabins are available for a cruise?

 

thanks

[caribill]

Hi to you all

 

What is the site you go on to see which cabins are available for a cruise?

 

thanks

 

 

To see if some of the cabins in a category are available or if a specific cabin is available, you can go to the Princess site and go through the cruise booking procedure up to the point that you select a cabin.

 

You can also do this at several online travel agent sites.

 

Again, if you see six cabins in a category available, chances are there are more than six available, just that no more than six are displayed.

[custompcsys]

I just had the same thing happen about a month ago with a Caribbean cruise I booked for October on the Emerald. I make a habit of checking "My Princess" and the Cruise Personalizer regularly, and when I did I noticed that I had an FCC I didn't have the last time I checked. When I tried to go into the personalizer it said that I couldn not view a canceled cruise :eek: Lo and behold, they had canceled my cruise, and in my case, there was no $36 difference or itinerary switch - their database just flat out canceled me for no reason.

 

It took me 2 calls to get a Princess rep with a few firing brain cells that understood the problem and was willing to help (this happened on a Sunday when my TA wasn't in). The end result was that by the next day when my TA called I had my cruise and my original cabin back. In my case there was profuse apology, an explanation that there was "glitch" in their database that caused it, but no offer of compensation nor did I ask or expect any. It happened, it was fixed, and that was that.

 

There is no doubt that what happened to you wasn't right either, and that is no way to do business regardless of the economy. I think what is getting people stirred up about your post, however, is your assumption of being entitled to compensation. These boards are full of posts that complain about everything from missed ports, to accidents, to food being cold - all of them looking for some sort of compensation from Princess. People seem to think its an automatic entitlement whenever a mistake is made. One recent poster who had a very unfortunate incident with her husband being injured while being helped down the gangway in a wheelchair came right out and said she was hoping to get a free cruise out of it!! I often wonder if these people are this way with the rest of their lives outside of cruising. If they are, I hope they have a personal injury attorney on retainer!

 

Is what happened to you right? Of course not - this is an awful mistake and should never have happend. Princess, however, made it right and offered you a free bottle of wine by way of apology. IMHO, it should have ended there.

[labrador2]

I just had the same thing happen about a month ago with a Caribbean cruise I booked for October on the Emerald. I make a habit of checking "My Princess" and the Cruise Personalizer regularly, and when I did I noticed that I had an FCC I didn't have the last time I checked. When I tried to go into the personalizer it said that I couldn not view a canceled cruise :eek: Lo and behold, they had canceled my cruise, and in my case, there was no $36 difference or itinerary switch - their database just flat out canceled me for no reason.

 

It took me 2 calls to get a Princess rep with a few firing brain cells that understood the problem and was willing to help (this happened on a Sunday when my TA wasn't in). The end result was that by the next day when my TA called I had my cruise and my original cabin back. In my case there was profuse apology, an explanation that there was "glitch" in their database that caused it, but no offer of compensation nor did I ask or expect any. It happened, it was fixed, and that was that.

 

There is no doubt that what happened to you wasn't right either, and that is no way to do business regardless of the economy. I think what is getting people stirred up about your post, however, is your assumption of being entitled to compensation. These boards are full of posts that complain about everything from missed ports, to accidents, to food being cold - all of them looking for some sort of compensation from Princess. People seem to think its an automatic entitlement whenever a mistake is made. One recent poster who had a very unfortunate incident with her husband being injured while being helped down the gangway in a wheelchair came right out and said she was hoping to get a free cruise out of it!! I often wonder if these people are this way with the rest of their lives outside of cruising. If they are, I hope they have a personal injury attorney on retainer!

 

Is what happened to you right? Of course not - this is an awful mistake and should never have happend. Princess, however, made it right and offered you a free bottle of wine by way of apology. IMHO, it should have ended there.

 

Point well taken....Thank you for your well written post. I truly was not expecting a free cruise or anything of the sort. I was much more upset about the situation...and I am concerned with all the "What if's". When you only have time for one big vacation a year, the thought of it being cancelled without your knowledge is very disturbing.

Just to set the record straight....I swtiched the reservation on 3/29 and by April first it was cancelled. I have not gotten the current credit card bill to see that the deposit was refunded so there was no way to tell from that. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with the Princess rep. figuring out the reservation. I asked him if the deposit could be switched from my old reservation to the new one. He said yes and that he was taking care of it. At no time did he say it was $36 more.

[CitizenD]

I'm astounded that many of you feel that giving Princess a pass is the way to go here. What if you ordered something from Walmart and decided to have it shipped to the store. Then, Walmart e-mails you and says that what your ordered has arrived. You go to the store to pick it up and Walmart tells you they decided to sell it to someone else. How would you feel? That is tantamount to what has happened here. The consumer should NOT have to police the vendor in my opinion. Labrador2 entered into an agreement and without warning had that agreement terminated. This COULD have had disasterous results. It did not, thankfully, but Princess should have fully acknowledged their mistake and shown a little more interest in satisfying a loyal customer than a bottle of wine that they probably pay $3.00 for.

[Lookingforfacts]

I'm astounded that many of you feel that giving Princess a pass is the way to go here. What if you ordered something from Walmart and decided to have it shipped to the store. Then, Walmart e-mails you and says that what your ordered has arrived. You go to the store to pick it up and Walmart tells you they decided to sell it to someone else. How would you feel? That is tantamount to what has happened here. The consumer should NOT have to police the vendor in my opinion. Labrador2 entered into an agreement and without warning had that agreement terminated. This COULD have had disasterous results. It did not, thankfully, but Princess should have fully acknowledged their mistake and shown a little more interest in satisfying a loyal customer than a bottle of wine that they probably pay $3.00 for.

 

Lets make your example more relevent. Assume Walmart sold the item that was shipped to the store but had inventory on the shelf and the customer left with the item that was ordered.

 

I'd hope Princess would have either upgraded the OP, or another passenger to free up a cabin, if his cabin had been re-sold. A bottle of wine sounds fair. I'd be interested in hearing what other posters think would be fair compensation. Two bottles of wine? $50 on board credit? upgraded stateroom? free cruise?

 

We'll never know but a better question is what is Princess doing so this situation won't come up in the future.