Swine Flu in Mexico, is it safe to go. (Merged Threads)

[yawalias]

I read on the Princess website this morning that they will not be stopping in Mexico. They have altered itineraries.

[JoJo79]

[quote name='jhannah']A young boy from Mexico City, who was visiting Texas, just died from swine flu. So we don't have to GO anywhere offshore to be exposed.[/quote]


EXACTLY my point! The crew is probably already exposed/sick! Plus we can get off in San Diego go to TJ and bring back the illness on the boat. People this is life, getting sick is a part of life, dying is a part of life! If you don't want to go then stay home in a bubble forever!

[Colo Cruiser]

[quote name='JoJo79']I second that but as we all know CruisinBob likes to lurk around and start up any argument he can. If you say black then he will say white. Just that kind of personality. Most on here just try to avoid and ignore his comments!;)[/quote]


So another words if you don't agree with opinions posted by members then we should not post???

[JoJo79]

[quote name='Colo Cruiser']So another words if you don't agree with opinions posted by members then we should not post???[/quote]


I refuse to help you get to your 20,000 posts Keith. You are another lurker people are warned about on here.;)

[flyingnole]

[quote name='Colo Cruiser']So another words if you don't agree with opinions posted by members then we should not post???[/quote]

It was obvious to me that they were calling Bob a Contrarian. Someone who just likes to on the opposing side. The kind that likes a band or TV show until it becomes popular and then they say it isn't good anymore. Its usually a person who feels the need to feel more intelligent or informed than others whether they are or not.

With that said. It amazes me that people feel Princess should be allowed to do whatever they want because its their legal right. If every business operated that way we all would be screwed everyday by gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, insurance companies and the government itself. There is a certain amount of trust that goes into every business transaction. The less trust an industry garners the more government regulation is required. (ie: Banks, insurance).

As for 100 people lining up for every person that doesnt go on Princess, if that was the case they sure wouldn't be offering specials. With all the bad press the Cruise industry gets its in their best interest to keep people who have already looked past that. Studies have shown its at least 10 times more costly to get new customers rather than keeping hold ones.

I cruise Princess because I like their ships compared to some I've been on. I'm relatively young for a cruiser and they hypothetically could keep a repeat customer for decades (knock on wood). With that said, certain events and not just this one has made me think that whoever they have heading up theri customer service department really has no clue that they should be considered an arm of the marketing department more than anything. Princess really needs to look at who is making these decisions.

[Colo Cruiser]

[quote name='JoJo79']I refuse to help you get to your 20,000 posts Keith. You are another lurker people are warned about on here.;)[/quote]


You just did. :eek:

Lurker??? :confused:

[JoJo79]

[quote name='Colo Cruiser']You just did. :eek:

Lurker??? :confused:[/quote]


Look it up! You are dimissed now!:p

[STLCruiser09]

[quote name='californiagirl']STLCruiser I would appreciate you sending me your notification. I have received absolutely no message by either email or phone from princess. We booked directly with princess, so no TA. They have taken no responsibility in contacting me to inform me of the changes.

Cruisin Bob, are you even on this cruise? If not then you really can not understand what we are feeling. Over the years when I have read posts about cruises being changed because of events out of the control of the cruiseline I have felt very bad for the people affected. If I felt like they were starting to whine, I stopped reading that thread. I did not give them a lecture as you are doing. We all understand princess has no obligation to do anything outside of the contract. However, when all the other cruiselines and even airlines are offering gestures of goodwill beyond the contract, it leaves a very sour taste in our mouths that princess is not. Venting on this board for however long it takes to get it out of our systems really is a good thing. You telling us to get over it only pours salt in the wound. This is [B]how[/B] we are getting over it and if you don't like to read it, then stop.[/quote]



Here is the notification I recieved......

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[STLCruiser09]

[quote name='californiagirl']STLCruiser I would appreciate you sending me your notification. I have received absolutely no message by either email or phone from princess. We booked directly with princess, so no TA. They have taken no responsibility in contacting me to inform me of the changes.

Cruisin Bob, are you even on this cruise? If not then you really can not understand what we are feeling. Over the years when I have read posts about cruises being changed because of events out of the control of the cruiseline I have felt very bad for the people affected. If I felt like they were starting to whine, I stopped reading that thread. I did not give them a lecture as you are doing. We all understand princess has no obligation to do anything outside of the contract. However, when all the other cruiselines and even airlines are offering gestures of goodwill beyond the contract, it leaves a very sour taste in our mouths that princess is not. Venting on this board for however long it takes to get it out of our systems really is a good thing. You telling us to get over it only pours salt in the wound. This is [B]how[/B] we are getting over it and if you don't like to read it, then stop.[/quote]


Amen Cali, they just dont like to admit that Princess SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT. They are just Lurking on this thread and looking for a fight, like we are in middle school again!! LOL!! Oh, well, it takes all kinds....

[RASHOPPER2]

I am not on this cruise therefore have no self interest involved. I do have to agree with the cruisers who say, if the other lines are offering options, than Princess is behaving in a way that is very short sighted. Princess has singled itself out as the cruiseline that is least concerned with their customers. We all have control over how we spend our money, and I do not blame those who say they will not sail Princess again because of this situation.

I have sailed Princess six times, because Holland America (my former cruise line) also did something that indicated no concern for customer service or satisfaction. I keep receiving emails from them begging me to come to HA, yet I stay with Princess. If thousands or even hundreds of customers leave Princess permanently because of this, Princess will feel the economic crunch.

That said, if you are forced to go on this "California" cruise, please try to enjoy it.

[cruiseg8st]

This is online today from USATODAY articale.

 

While industry giant Carnival is generously waiving its cancellation policies and offering a full refund in the form of a future cruise credit (and, in some cases, cash), Princess is taking a harder stand, offering no compensation.

 

Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, is taking a middle road, encouraging passengers on its most affected ship, the West Coast-based Mariner of the Seas (which is heading to San Francisco, Seattle and Victoria, B.C., in lieu of Mexico), to call a dedicated help line to discuss compensation and rebooking options.

[JoJo79]

This is online today from USATODAY articale.

 

While industry giant Carnival is generously waiving its cancellation policies and offering a full refund in the form of a future cruise credit (and, in some cases, cash), Princess is taking a harder stand, offering no compensation.

 

Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, is taking a middle road, encouraging passengers on its most affected ship, the West Coast-based Mariner of the Seas (which is heading to San Francisco, Seattle and Victoria, B.C., in lieu of Mexico), to call a dedicated help line to discuss compensation and rebooking options.

 

 

They need to wake up and make an offer or their reputation is screwed!!! If Princess was really looking out for their customers and our health they would cancel because now we are forced to be with this crew who have all been EXPOSED!!!! Makes no sense at all! Their defense to their decision is completely stupid! All they crae about is getting our money! We all know this after calling the so called customer service hotline which is a joke! Those rejects are so rude! I am tired of being told to suck it up, if Princess would offer us a rebook I would be very happy but no they want to keep the money, God forbid they lose any money on this choice that they made! we should be the ones to suffer.:mad:

[californiagirl]

Thanks for the link STLCruiser. We did not receive it and I'm not sure why. I called princess and they have my email address correct and said they sent it.

 

Glad to see that USA Today is publishing princess's hard line action in comparison with the other cruise lines. Earlier this week Spirit Air was holding a hard line on fees for reservation changes to Mexico. They began to get smacked around in the press and changed their policy. Unfortunately after today if princess allowed cancellations it would be difficult to rebook something else with just a day notice.

[Cruisin Bob]

They need to wake up and make an offer or their reputation is screwed!!! If Princess was really looking out for their customers and our health they would cancel because now we are forced to be with this crew who have all been EXPOSED!!!! Makes no sense at all! Their defense to their decision is completely stupid! All they crae about is getting our money! We all know this after calling the so called customer service hotline which is a joke! Those rejects are so rude! I am tired of being told to suck it up, if Princess would offer us a rebook I would be very happy but no they want to keep the money, God forbid they lose any money on this choice that they made! we should be the ones to suffer.:mad:

 

I do not think you are correct. They are giving you an alternative cruise as promised. You think the itinerary sucks and I understand that, but Princess has few alternatives on a Mexican cruise when they can't go to Mexican ports.

 

I think they are taking a hard stand to make sure people buy their insurance with the cancel for any reason provision. If they give you a refund now and everyone on this board finds out, how will they sell the insurance to millions in the future?

 

I might not be on your cruise but, I have missed ports been totally rerouted due to hurricanes and had to live with additional sea days. No one likes having their vacations turned upside down but it happens.

[STLCruiser09]

No problem Cali, I was just reading on MSN online and the statement that the Vice President kind of made me think, " he nor his family would even get on a plane right now, if one person is infected and they sneeze it will contaminate the entire plane".

Of course he backed off the statement due to getting hammered by the airlines, but he does have a point. So now, since Princess is sticking to there guns, we are also in risk when we have to fly to California.

 

I am just very upset over this entire situation and wish Princess would get off the high horse and ammend the cancellation policy for this issue.

 

I also bet that if the captains family booked the cruise, he would tell them not to board!! Thats my opinion of course, but I think its true!!

[jetwet1]

I would just like to say and make this perfectly clear, I had no part in that article...but thanks Gene :D

[theresef]

Not on this cruise - but am on a Princess cruise in a couple of weeks - so following with interest. I have taken many cruises on several lines and I do believe - whether Princess is in the "right contractually" or not - they are not behaving in a way that embodies customer service and putting their customers first.

 

Many years ago - 15-17 - took the "red boat" AKA Disney and it was supposed to have some interesting Island stops - for reasons I no longer recall - the itinerary was changed (for all the cruise lines at the time) and they were not going to the Bahamas and several of the islands. All of the cruise lines sailing these types of itineraries - except Disney - rerouted and actually provided an upgraded itinerary or offered credit or cancellation and rebooking. Disney chose to add a sea day and an extra day at their out island. In essence it was a Fl cruise to nowhere. Back in those days it was a "very expensive" cruise for me and my SO - and there was little we could do about it. Our option was not going - we went and I must say had a fabulous time - no thanks to Disney. To this day I remember their out island as one of the best I have ever been to. Ironically somewhere in the middle of the cruise - some of the political nonsense had been resolved and Disney offered tendered excursions to the port islands we were supposed to have stopped at. To add salt to the wound - they charged as much for the excursion as they did for the cruise to go to the islands that you were supposed to have gone to in the first place.

 

I guess my moral to the story is - if forced to take the cruise - do your best to enjoy it - we did and as I said to this day it was probably one of the most relaxing cruises/vacations I have ever taken . (Cause we could not do anything:)) Having said that - we made that vacation and to this day I will not sail Disney. Even when my kids were of "Disney" age and they offered fantastic deals - it always stuck in my craw the way we were treated. 10-15 cruises later and not a dime spent with Disney.

 

So I do understand the plight many of you are in - mine was not quite as bad (it was still warm:)) but I ended up with no ports, no excursions and a sea days and a boat anchored at an island with no serveices - typical out island activities - for two days. We made the best of it and had a great time. Hope that those of you that get stuck on a cruise you didn't want or plan are able to add some tequilla to the lemons - speak with your $$$$ after the fact and remember this unusual cruise and circumstances in a positive light.

[STLCruiser09]

I do not think you are correct. They are giving you an alternative cruise as promised. You think the itinerary sucks and I understand that, but Princess has few alternatives on a Mexican cruise when they can't go to Mexican ports.

 

I think they are taking a hard stand to make sure people buy their insurance with the cancel for any reason provision. If they give you a refund now and everyone on this board finds out, how will they sell the insurance to millions in the future?

 

I might not be on your cruise but, I have missed ports been totally rerouted due to hurricanes and had to live with additional sea days. No one likes having their vacations turned upside down but it happens.

 

 

Well, Well, Well.....

They may have few alternatives BUT one of them is refunding our money!!

You know why they wont? GREED and apparently a little stupidity mixed in there for good measure.

They could just issue credit for another cruise and we would be happy. This is VERY different from re-routing for a hurricane, not even the same ball game sir. We are dealling with a virus that has now spread to 15 states and could possibly infect ALL the passengers on the cruise. It only takes one dumb A## to go to the Princess theatre when he is sick to infect half of the theatre.

I respect you opinions, but kindly ask that you refrain from being so outspoken on this issue because this does not concern you, YOU ARE NOT EVEN BOOKED ON THIS CRUISE!! No matter what you try to say to chop me down, you opinion WOULD be different if you booked this cruise.

[cathycruise]

I am not on this cruise therefore have no self interest involved. I do have to agree with the cruisers who say, if the other lines are offering options, than Princess is behaving in a way that is very short sighted. Princess has singled itself out as the cruiseline that is least concerned with their customers. We all have control over how we spend our money, and I do not blame those who say they will not sail Princess again because of this situation.

 

I have sailed Princess six times, because Holland America (my former cruise line) also did something that indicated no concern for customer service or satisfaction. I keep receiving emails from them begging me to come to HA, yet I stay with Princess. If thousands or even hundreds of customers leave Princess permanently because of this, Princess will feel the economic crunch.

 

That said, if you are forced to go on this "California" cruise, please try to enjoy it.

 

Well said. In fact, I am one of the "affected" California passengers. SF is in our neck of the woods. However, I am still grateful for my vacation, and even more so that we are NOT going on the "Oregon" trail, like some other cruise line is (it would be freezing to go up north -- I am still wearing all my winter cloths at the end of April!). I will certainly try to make good use of every minute of my cruise, God willing! :)

 

Having said that, I, too, am quite unhappy about the way Princess Cruise has been treating its customers. In a soft economy like now, "rigidity" is a downright foolish way of operation. We are first-time cruisers, and we, too, are on the "young" side on the cruise demograhic chart. One thing I can tell you, Pricess has completely lost its appeal to me from the way they handled the current situation, and I doubt that we will consider Princess as our first choice if we go on another cruise in the future. To me, Princess's attitude is beyond rigidty - I think they are arrogant towards their customers. They are certainly not thinking from a mid to long-term perspective, for sure. BTW, in this economy, I'm quite skeptical there will be 100 lining up for each customer who leaves Princess (and I might add, I also do not think the current economic crisis will be come to an end anytime soon). All these cruiselines are in fierce competition, and IMHO Princess has just "fumbled" a very big one by getting a bad reputation in the market. :(

[STLCruiser09]

CNN.com................

 

6. How close do you have to be to a sick person to get swine flu?

"You can acquire this infection if you're within the 'breathing zone' of a sick person, which is about three to six feet," Schaffner said. "And we usually mean being this close to someone in a confined space. We're not talking about fleeting contact. We're not talking about walking past someone in the street. You need sustained contact." If you think you might have sustained contact with someone who's ill, read this guidance from the CDC's Web site.

7. Yikes! Every day I'm that close to countless people -- at work, on the bus, at church, in a movie theater. Could I get swine flu from them?

Yes.

"If you're standing next to someone on a bus, or sitting next to someone or in front of someone in a theater, you could acquire the infection in that fashion," Schaffner said. That's why people with the symptoms of any kind of flu -- fever, diarrhea, body aches, vomiting, etc. -- are urged to stay home and away from groups of people.

[erinpdx]

To the last poster- I am from Oregon and I can tell you that although very beautiful- it is cold and rainy here. I too am disappointed with Princess. As of today we have not received one call nor an e-mail from them. Everything we have found out has either been from calling them directly ourselves or from the messages on this board. No communication whatsoever. It's unbelievable! I guess customer service is just a thing of the past with them. I will never book a cruise with Princess again-that is for sure. That being said, although unhappy about their choice to avoid going out in the waters off of Mexico (just took back my new swimsuit!) we will make the best of it. We look forward to seeing the rest of the Sapphire cruisemates. Meet you all out on deck for cocktails. Make sure to bring a coat and hat!

[cathycruise]

Make sure to bring a coat and hat!

 

:) My winter coat is still out - we live in the SF bay area, and it's really chilly, esp in the morning and evening - as well as my scarves, gloves and hats. I have an impression some (non-CA residents) on this board do not realize how damp/cold CA could be still in spring time. The mighty Pacific ocean sure can blow cold wind even in May.

 

I'd love to visit Oregon some day. I heard it's just gorgeous (and you guys have great peaches! :D) with beautiful waterfalls, etc. But knowing how cold it is in Nor Cal right now, I wouldn't want to go up there any time soon. Unfortunately, the current weather forecast is not really on our side, though -- even So Cal is supposed to be chilly (in the 60's during the day). I am hoping and praying (literally!) it'll warm up by this weekend.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I have to compare people's willingness to cruise this week and next (and to fly to their departure port) to people's willingness to cruise (and fly) the week of and after 9/11. The reality is that the threat from the H1N1 virus is higher than the threat of another terrorist attack right after 9/11, and yet, in 2001, cruise lines and airlines readily refunded people's money if they were unable or unwilling to travel. I'm not sure why this situation is any different.

[cflutist]

The latest from Princess:

 

4/30/2009 Statement on Swine Flu - 12:00 p.m. PDT

 

Three of the seven affected cruises were sold as voyages exclusively to Mexico, and we therefore realize that these passengers are not receiving the cruise vacation they had anticipated. Therefore as a goodwill gesture we are offering these passengers a 50% future credit on their cruise fare paid, for any sailing booked by the end of April 2011.

These sailings are:

Sapphire Princess (departed April 25)

Star Princess (departed April 27)

Sapphire Princess (departing May 2)

 

The other four cruises with modifications feature Mexico as a smaller portion of the itinerary, and these passengers will either visit alternative ports or spend an additional day at sea.

 

They have also posted updated itineraries:

 

4/30/2009 Sea Princess UPDATED Itinerary Information

4/30/2009 Pacific Princess UPDATED Itinerary Information

4/30/2009 Star Princess UPDATED Itinerary Information

4/30/2009 Coral Princess UPDATED Itinerary Information

4/30/2009 Island Princess UPDATED Itinerary Information

4/30/2009 Sapphire Princess UPDATED Itinerary Information

[Toto2Kansas]

There was no doubt in my mind that Princess would not offer something to their passengers that are upset about the schedule change.

Of coarse for some, this won't be anywhere enough, but hopefully it will sooth some of the ruffled feathers this change has caused.

Thanks for the update! ;)