You truly will not believe this!!!!

[Lookingforfacts]

Part of the issue is that Princess said they sent an e-mail regarding the cancellation but it was not received. When pressed further they could not produce any evidence of the e-mail. The bottom line is that a family's yearly vacation came within an eyelash of becoming a disaster due to negligence on the part of Princess. In these diffciult economic times one would think that a company like Princess would care more than they showed.

They can do better and we should expect that for our hard earned dollars and our precious time.

 

I agree Princess should do better. Sorry but the vacation wasn't within an eyelash of becoming a disaster. Nothing like making up facts to support a position. Is any ship today sold out when final payments are due? The OP would have discovered the error no later then the date final payment is due, earlier if he tried to book some excursions. Princess would have had more then enough time to take care of the problem.

 

Princess cared enough to offer a bottle of wine. The OP had to spend some time on the phone correcting the problem. A bottle of wine sounds like reasonable compensation to many of us.

 

I'm not questioning the fact that Princess needs to do a better job. I'm not questioning the fact that the OP is owed some to kind of token compensation for his trouble. Sorry but most of us agree the OP isn't entitled to substantial compensation since he didn't suffer any loss.

 

Most of us think compensation should be based on real damages, not what could have happened. I'll give Princess all the blame, but the truth is the OP knew he was switching to a more expensive itinerary and a increased deposit is required.

[2ManyCruises]

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.

 

This is the most resonable post I've ever read.

[Colo Cruiser]

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.

 

Walmart won't give you anything for free???

Walmart, satisfying the customer? You are dreaming. :rolleyes:

[Corinne Marie]

This is why I use a wonderful travel agent who knows cruising. If there are any headaches, she deals with them for me. I really dislike having to deal with the Princess reps. by phone. Some of them don't know what they are talking about.:)

[Pam in CA]

Part of the issue is that Princess said they sent an e-mail regarding the cancellation but it was not received. When pressed further they could not produce any evidence of the e-mail. The bottom line is that a family's yearly vacation came within an eyelash of becoming a disaster due to negligence on the part of Princess. In these diffciult economic times one would think that a company like Princess would care more than they showed.

They can do better and we should expect that for our hard earned dollars and our precious time.

You make a very valid point. However, anyone who has worked in the online marketing world knows that some emails just don't go through and 99.999% of the time it's the recipient's email/spam service. There are never any guarantees that an email will be recieved by the recipient so it's very possible that Princess did send the confirmation but the OP didn't receive it. I'm not saying this is the case but it happens frequently and could very well have happened in this one.

 

You don't have to be an experienced consumer to know that when you return one item and exchange it for a more expensive item, you owe more money. It doesn't matter whether it's a cruise or a sweater. And, even if it's a sweater, you'll receive a receipt for your return and a charge for your new one. If you're not charged the additional amount, do you think, "Gee, I got that for the same price and they didn't notice so I'm going to keep my mouth shut" or do you say, "Hmmm... don't I owe more money?"

[Garn]

You make a very valid point. However, anyone who has worked in the online marketing world knows that some emails just don't go through and 99.999% of the time it's the recipient's email/spam service. There are never any guarantees that an email will be recieved by the recipient so it's very possible that Princess did send the confirmation but the OP didn't receive it. I'm not saying this is the case but it happens frequently and could very well have happened in this one.

 

You don't have to be an experienced consumer to know that when you return one item and exchange it for a more expensive item, you owe more money. It doesn't matter whether it's a cruise or a sweater. And, even if it's a sweater, you'll receive a receipt for your return and a charge for your new one. If you're not charged the additional amount, do you think, "Gee, I got that for the same price and they didn't notice so I'm going to keep my mouth shut" or do you say, "Hmmm... don't I owe more money?"

 

But, again, shouldn't the burden be on Princess? If the OP owed more money, shouldn't Princess have collected it at the time? Just because the CSR forgot to do so, why should the OP be penalized?

 

Shouldn't Princess know that emails don't always go through, and try to follow up with a phone call? We're talking about a fairly small amount of money compared with to deposit- it seems to be shooting themselves in the foot to cancel a reservation that in all likelihood is still desired?

[labrador2]

Actually, the OP's reservation was cancelled because they cancelled one cruise and booked another, and there was an additional deposit required since the new booking was more expensive than the old. Princess didn't just arbitrarily cancel their booking without their knowledge or consent. Yes, glitches happen and Princess should make restitution but in this case, the OP didn't follow through with the additional required deposit amount. They say they didn't receive confirmation of the cancelled booking nor did they receive confirmation of their new booking. That should be a HUGE red flag. Instead, they assumed everything was fine and didn't double-check to make sure the original booking was cancelled and the new booking was completed.

 

If you've bought a $2,000 TV in Best Buy and didn't get a receipt, wouldn't you ask for it? Not an exact analogy but close. The OP didn't get a receipt and didn't question why or what was up. Yes, Princess screwed up by not sending the receipt but most people would have called or checked if they didn't get one. And, to use another anology, if you buy something online and return it in exchange for another item that's more expensive, wouldn't you assume you should pay the difference? In this case, the new booking was more expensive and the OP didn't pay the difference.

 

Sorry Pam you are a little mis-informed. I am the OP and I will repeat that I switched my reservation on March 29, did everything on the phone with Princess and the Rep. told me that my deposit of $660 was going to be transfered to the new booking. I received a confirmation of the new booking and all seemed fine on that. On April 4th I went to the Princess site to check things out. THe booking appeared on my cruise personalizer stating how many days until my next cruise and everything. I went back into the main Princess system to check the price of my category to see if the price had gone down and my cabin appeared as available. When I called Princess to report it they admitted that they DID NOT have any record of a cancelation confirmation email being sent to me. So I did get a receipt for the transaction that I know I made. Just didn't get a receipt for the transaction that Princess made without my knowledge.

[Pam in CA]

But, again, shouldn't the burden be on Princess? If the OP owed more money, shouldn't Princess have collected it at the time? Just because the CSR forgot to do so, why should the OP be penalized?

 

Shouldn't Princess know that emails don't always go through, and try to follow up with a phone call? We're talking about a fairly small amount of money compared with to deposit- it seems to be shooting themselves in the foot to cancel a reservation that in all likelihood is still desired?

I agree that Princess should have collected it or alerted the OP while he was on the phone and yes, they screwed up on that. They offered the OP a bottle of wine as an "I'm sorry." They also fixed the reservation and the OP got their cabin back so all turned out OK. On the other hand, the OP didn't question anything or ask about the increased rate. I'm assuming they were quoted a higher cost for their new cruise but no light bulbs went off. IMHO, it was an equal failure to communicate which, in fact, worked out OK.

 

And, no company knows which emails will go through or not. It's just not feasible for every single company, corporation, or store that receives an order to follow up with a phone call "just in case" the email didn't go through. That just isn't economically feasible.

[labrador2]

But, again, shouldn't the burden be on Princess? If the OP owed more money, shouldn't Princess have collected it at the time? Just because the CSR forgot to do so, why should the OP be penalized?

 

Shouldn't Princess know that emails don't always go through, and try to follow up with a phone call? We're talking about a fairly small amount of money compared with to deposit- it seems to be shooting themselves in the foot to cancel a reservation that in all likelihood is still desired?

 

Finally someone who makes sense!!! Princess has called me many times informing me of a new special cruise etc. They couldn't call to ask for $36 more $$$.?????

[hubofhockey]

But, again, shouldn't the burden be on Princess? If the OP owed more money, shouldn't Princess have collected it at the time? Just because the CSR forgot to do so, why should the OP be penalized?

 

Shouldn't Princess know that emails don't always go through, and try to follow up with a phone call? We're talking about a fairly small amount of money compared with to deposit- it seems to be shooting themselves in the foot to cancel a reservation that in all likelihood is still desired?

 

I agree. This is a horrible way to run a business. Princess probably lost a customer on this one when it was not necessary. I don't see how anyone can defend what Princess did. The bottle of wine is a "thanks for nothing" gesture. I don't know how Princess could have better handled a response. But I do know that someone in management should take a look at their processes. If this practice is common, it has to end.

[Toto2Kansas]

labrador2-

I have one question please.

What would you have felt was fair compensation for this mix up? As that seems to be (at least the feeling I get when the bottle of wine was mentioned), that you felt you should have been offered more for this. Could you possibly give me (us) an idea of what you felt would have been just compensation for what took place?

[Pam in CA]

Sorry Pam you are a little mis-informed. I am the OP and I will repeat that I switched my reservation on March 29, did everything on the phone with Princess and the Rep. told me that my deposit of $660 was going to be transfered to the new booking. I received a confirmation of the new booking and all seemed fine on that. On April 4th I went to the Princess site to check things out. THe booking appeared on my cruise personalizer stating how many days until my next cruise and everything. I went back into the main Princess system to check the price of my category to see if the price had gone down and my cabin appeared as available. When I called Princess to report it they admitted that they DID NOT have any record of a cancelation confirmation email being sent to me. So I did get a receipt for the transaction that I know I made. Just didn't get a receipt for the transaction that Princess made without my knowledge.

I stand corrected. With all the posts, I didn't see where you had received the confirmation of your new booking and that the deposit was exactly the same as your old booking. Just because a deposit is transferred doesn't necessarily mean that is all of the deposit needed. In this case, Princess was incorrect in not alerting you and I apologize for any misconception or misinformation.

[Sandytoes]

Sorry Pam you are a little mis-informed. I am the OP and I will repeat that I switched my reservation on March 29, did everything on the phone with Princess and the Rep. told me that my deposit of $660 was going to be transfered to the new booking. I received a confirmation of the new booking and all seemed fine on that. On April 4th I went to the Princess site to check things out. THe booking appeared on my cruise personalizer stating how many days until my next cruise and everything. I went back into the main Princess system to check the price of my category to see if the price had gone down and my cabin appeared as available. When I called Princess to report it they admitted that they DID NOT have any record of a cancelation confirmation email being sent to me. So I did get a receipt for the transaction that I know I made. Just didn't get a receipt for the transaction that Princess made without my knowledge.

 

If they just switched your deposit from one booking to another where did the $36 come from? :rolleyes:

 

If you received a new confirmation didn't it state the new price including the $36? :rolleyes:

 

Again I will ask you, how come when you saw your cabin available you didn't request it back? :cool:

[labrador2]

I feel that anyone that doesn't check on their own booking, no matter how they book the cruise, is open for problems. I don't care if it is booked direct or through a TA.

With the Princess Personalizer readily available it is very simple to check your own booking. If you book through a TA, you will receive a confirmation. If it doesn't arrive, it is up to you to contact the TA and make sure it does.

Case in point. I booked our next cruise through a TA. A few weeks later I changed the stateroom and deck number. The TA never sent a new confirmation, but when I added another change to the booking a while later, and the new confirmation was sent, the original stateroom was still on the confirmation. BUT, since I had checked the Princess Personalier, I knew the change had gone through for the new stateroom number with Princess. I brought it to the attention of the TA and she realized it had never been changed in HER paperwork. But since Princess had the change, it wasn't a problem.

I would not even consider what was told over the phone was accepted without making sure I got exactly what I booked/ordered.

 

You really need to be pro-active with things you request, no matter how it's booked. If not, you can run into problems when it's too late to rectify the situation. ;)

 

As I am the OP I feel like I need to inform you that I did get a confirmation of the new booking. All was well. I did check the Princess personalizer, all was well again. What I DID NOT GET WAS THE CANCELATION NOTICE. I WAS NOT IFORMED IN ANY WAY!!!!!

[Toto2Kansas]

As I am the OP I feel like I need to inform you that I did get a confirmation of the new booking. All was well. I did check the Princess personalizer, all was well again. What I DID NOT GET WAS THE CANCELATION NOTICE. I WAS NOT IFORMED IN ANY WAY!!!!!

 

So, as I asked earlier. What would you have felt was just compensation for this mix up? As from the way I read your original post, you were 'almost' insulted with them offering you a bottle of wine. What could they have given you to smooth this over? Just curious!

[regnig]

Also for my most recent cruise with Princess 3/29 i got a letter stating i stilled owed $36 on one of my rooms. I called my travel agent asap as i though i was paid in full. It turned out to be a mistake and I was fully paid. Maybe i got the op's notice by mistake??

 

There you go flbeachmom got Labrador2's bill, issue resolved!:D;):rolleyes:

 

Really folks I believe the point is, all the should haves/ would haves/ could haves aside, there was no harm / no foul. labrador2's booking was reestablished just as it had been. Should labrador2 have done something more at the time the reservation was changed - yep probably so. Should Princess have done something more at the time the $36 wasn't received - yep probably so. But, in the long run the customer was made whole and that should have ended it. At that point Princess didn't owe him/her another thing but threw in a bottle of wine as good measure but for some reason only logical to labrador2 he/she expected more. Ain't going to happen folks, not in our lifetime!

[labrador2]

Not sure what would have been appropriate..and don't have anything in particular in mind that they should have done. Maybe it was the way in which it was said ...like I should be jumping for joy at the gesture.

[Toto2Kansas]

Not sure what would have been appropriate..and don't have anything in particular in mind that they should have done. Maybe it was the way in which it was said ...like I should be jumping for joy at the gesture.

 

Ok, got cha. One of those, "we would have had to been there to hear it ourselves" type of things? I was just wondering if you thought the wine wasn't enough of an apology and what you thought would have been just compensation. Thanks!

[Lookingforfacts]

I agree Princess made a mistake. The OP discovered his reservation had been cancelled, he called Princess and Princess agreed to correct the mistake. Princess agreed to give the OP a bottle of wine for the inconvenience of having to make the phone call.

 

Add me to the list of posters who want to know what the OP was expecting as compensation. Two bottles of wine? $50 on board credit? $200 credit? Free cruise? Minor upgrade? Major upgrade?

 

I may be reading the OP incorrectly but it sure sounds like he looked at Princess's mistake as an opportunity to seek compensation far in excess to what many of us think is appropriate.

 

Don't take this the wrong way but a customer who books an inside cabin and then continually checks for a possible price reduction isn't necessarily a customer Princess is going to spend $$$ to make happy. The errror was corrected and the OP was offered a bottle of wine.

[labrador2]

I agree Princess made a mistake. The OP discovered his reservation had been cancelled, he called Princess and Princess agreed to correct the mistake. Princess agreed to give the OP a bottle of wine for the inconvenience of having to make the phone call.

 

Add me to the list of posters who want to know what the OP was expecting as compensation. Two bottles of wine? $50 on board credit? $200 credit? Free cruise? Minor upgrade? Major upgrade?

 

I may be reading the OP incorrectly but it sure sounds like he looked at Princess's mistake as an opportunity to seek compensation far in excess to what many of us think is appropriate.

 

Don't take this the wrong way but a customer who books an inside cabin and then continually checks for a possible price reduction isn't necessarily a customer Princess is going to spend $$$ to make happy. The errror was corrected and the OP was offered a bottle of wine.

 

Don't know where you got the inside cabin from. I booked a mini-suite and I've been a customer of Princess since 1989. Spent many thousands with them.

[spongerob]

Really folks I believe the point is, all the should haves/ would haves/ could haves aside, there was no harm / no foul.

In other words, molehill, meet mountain.

 

labrador2's booking was reestablished just as it had been. Should labrador2 have done something more at the time the reservation was changed - yep probably so.

This is the sort of thing that a TA is paid to do, and probably at a lower price than through Princess. If one assumes responsiblity for their own booking, they also assume responsibility to conduct due diligence (which the OP did, found a mistake, corrected it, no big deal). It doesn't matter whether it's a cruise line, rental car, or plane ticket.

 

That's the real lesson of this thread.

[Lookingforfacts]

Don't know where you got the inside cabin from. I booked a mini-suite and I've been a customer of Princess since 1989. Spent many thousands with them.

 

Sorry, must have confused Inside passage itinerary with inside cabin. Time for new eyeglasses.

 

Without evesdropping on your conversation I don't know if the Princess rep wasn't being nice or if you were looking for additional compensation. Although you since toned down your attitude your OP sure sounded like you thought you deserved more then one bottle of wine. Princess corrected an error and offered you a bottle of wine. Some of us thought you should have just said thank you.

[Sandytoes]

I agree Princess made a mistake. The OP discovered his reservation had been cancelled, he called Princess and Princess agreed to correct the mistake. Princess agreed to give the OP a bottle of wine for the inconvenience of having to make the phone call.

 

Add me to the list of posters who want to know what the OP was expecting as compensation. Two bottles of wine? $50 on board credit? $200 credit? Free cruise? Minor upgrade? Major upgrade?

 

I may be reading the OP incorrectly but it sure sounds like he looked at Princess's mistake as an opportunity to seek compensation far in excess to what many of us think is appropriate.

 

Don't take this the wrong way but a customer who books an inside cabin and then continually checks for a possible price reduction isn't necessarily a customer Princess is going to spend $$$ to make happy. The errror was corrected and the OP was offered a bottle of wine.

I think you hit it right on the nutshell.

 

I also think the OP was looking for compensation.

 

Cruise lines usually compensate with shipboard credit - never heard of pax being compensated with a bottle of wine? :rolleyes:

Usually a TA does that!!!!!;)

[labrador2]

Sorry, must have confused Inside passage itinerary with inside cabin. Time for new eyeglasses.

 

Without evesdropping on your conversation I don't know if the Princess rep wasn't being nice or if you were looking for additional compensation. Although you since toned down your attitude your OP sure sounded like you thought you deserved more then one bottle of wine. Princess corrected an error and offered you a bottle of wine. Some of us thought you should have just said thank you.

 

 

I did not think that a bottle of wine was proper compensation for the bad business practice (or my heart stopping) that Princess showed me that day. I was not looking for a free cruise/upgrade etc. DOn't really know what I think should have been offered. I was very angry when I wrote the post because it had just happened. Now that the dust has settled and many of your opinions have been considered I still don't really think that the gesture was as wonderful as some people say it was but I'm happy that I was able to find out when I did and was able to book another cruise to one of the most beautiful places on earth. Maybe it's time to try another cruise line!

[lovespositano]

Don't know where you got the inside cabin from. I booked a mini-suite and I've been a customer of Princess since 1989. Spent many thousands with them.

My real question is - what was the reason for your original post and the alarmist nature of its title? Did you hope to influence all Princess loyalists that we should never cruise with Princess again because they make such "truly" phenomenal mistakes and is this your way of getting back at Princess? Or did you just hope that all of us would commiserate with you over the callous way you were treated, apparently because you were not offered an upgrade to a penthouse suite? Or were you trying to warn us to check our bookings more carefully and let us know that Princess could not be trusted? It seems to me that you suffered no damages, monetary or otherwise, that you decided to take your business elsewhere, and that you would like us to do the same.

For me the bottom line is that when you make any sort of a booking - whether for a cruise or for anything else, you have to take responsibility for making sure that your booking, and any changes thereto, are handled properly and according to your wishes. This is true for any business transaction. Misunderstandings happen and mistakes happen, so double-checking is not paranoid, it is just part of taking care of business.