Revised Itinerary for Sapphire This Week

[jetwet1]

Just to be clear I agree with the move, as I said, I don't agree with having to pay the same rate, Princess is never going to make everyone happy no matter what they do, their best move would be to let people cancel/move, guess we will have to wait till 1pm est to find out what's going on.

[pablo222]

Thought we were refering to Princess??

 

I thought we were referring to the actions of ethical businesses.

I was giving you an example.

[kooljamming]

Carnival is allowing passengers on affected cruises to delay their cruises until the 'normal' itinerary is back in effect.

 

Seems fair and ethical --- although, as the zealots will tell you, -- not required under the contract of carriage.

 

The fun ship has proven it's about true customer care:D

Beyond fair but beauty, when a company goes beyond contract and what is required. Yep, they didn't have to but many are happy that they did. I guess on this course, Carnival will try and get you to the ports you actually booked, sooner or later.

 

3 cheers 4 fun!

[livinginport]

Just a ? jetwet...what is happening at 1 pm tomorrow...still hoping for a rebook option though it is looking not so likely...was told by princess not an option and I would be wowed by the customer service on the ship so I would be happy to schedule another princess after being forced to take one I don't want...I hung up on her.

[LastPrincessCruiser]

I can't believe that anyone could justify what Princess has done to the 2700+ folks getting screwed on the May 2nd Sapphire cruise. I am just one of those unfortunate group that has basically bent over while Princess has dome us dirty. I have to give some responsibility to my TA who also failed us. Its like ordering a Cadillac and getting a Hyundi. Nothing wrong with a Hyundi but I ordered a Caddie. Now if Hyundi's all thats available then you me the opportunity to cancel or reorder or at the VERY least some refund. I didn't pack rain clothes I packed beautiful Cinco de Mayo in Mexico clothes. I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure the group on the ship will be the most pissy group of travellers Princess has ever seen. I hope to be one of them!

[Gator83]

Cruise lines many not have to give refunds, but an ethical company would do so when the itinerary in total is cancelled.

 

 

But it isn't really the cruise

line's fault....it is sort of like a natural disaster. If the cruise lines were to refund all the money to all the passengers they would have financial issues and then there would be more cutbacks and then everyone would be mad. I think the situation is very unfortunate but I do not think the cruise lines owe the passengers anything.

[kooljamming]

I just got off the phone with a Carnival agent who confirmed Carnival is having specials on their new sailing. He quoted the May 10 sailing to San Fransisco, Seattle and Victoria for $279 (7 nights) from LA. He said the May 3rd was down to $199 but a bit higer now. I am going to get more information on sailing and booking tomorrow. This might be an opportunity to see some great American ports on your own terms. If they are allowing cancelation then we might have an oppertunity for cheap booking.

 

Good Luck!

[sunviking82]

Princess as well as the other lines of the world are smart to avoid Mexico right now. Yes, the death have been small, but mostly to people in their 20's - 40's and it spreads very very quickly. In a confined ship environment it would be a diaster.

 

I have friends on the Sapphire this week and said that people were not happy, but also understood the reasoning and the line was doing the best they could do for the safty of the passengers.

 

Do be ignorate and assume this is just "the flu", humans have never been exposed and have no nature defense against this. The model we use in Minnesota has been put nation wide to protect the spread. Don't kid yourself this is serious, but no need to panic, just be smart and that is exactly what Princess and other have done.

[gatour]

While I can understand getting mad at Princess for not offering refunds/rebooking options etc like the some of the other cruiselines. I am not sure what better itineraries Princess could offer on the west coast. If they don't got to Mexico, they only have three choices.

 

1. Float around the sea for seven days

2. Go to San Diego and Catalina island

3. Head north to San Francisco

 

From the east coast there is more options to get an "in-kind" cruise. I.E. warm weather with stops at tropical locations. It is not like they can pick up a west coast ship, lift it over the SW US and place it in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Also I am not sure what being "pissy" to the staff on the ship will gain you. There is nothing that ANY staff on-board can do about this. Refunds/OBC etc is decided by the corporate office on land

[jetwet1]

while I don't think you will find anyone that disagrees with the choice to switch ports the problems come when it comes to Princess's choice not to give the pax the choice of a refund or future credit.

[Cruise38]

Renee-How are you. I remember the "Mystery Cruise" well. You are correct, it was one of the best cruises I have ever been on. I started out in Auckland and was there for the MC. I actually stayed on for a total of 82 days. Hmmmmm, where are we going to be tomorrow? Surprise!

[madjohn]

I dont blame Princess for not stopping in Mexico, however not offering customers options is not right either. yes this is a natural disaster and there are going to be ramifications from it.

 

The question is who should pay the cost. Princess is saying that it is us, the customer that should bare the burden. And this is probably legal based on the contract we all sign when we book. Princess might be doing themselves a disfavor because it is unlikely that these customers will return to purchase this product especially if a different company is offering a superior product (ie giving refunds or credits). This is simply a cost/benefit analysis that Princess is doing, as is all the other companies. Which approach is best, well I am not sure.

 

I am sure that those people who drive down to LA from San Francisco only to be taken by ship back have a strong opinion. And then there are others who will see this as an opportunity to try and grab a cheap cruise regardless of where it is heading.

 

So the bottom line, If you feel Princess is doing the right thing then by all means keep purchasing the product, If you feel Princess is not doing the right thing then shop some place else. In a short time (or longer) we shall see what the right approach was.

 

When I was young and in collage (1980) I worked for Sears and a manager came over and ask me about a new procedure we were doing, when I spoke up and said I did not like it, I was informed that Macy's does it this way. My (smart) response was yeah but I thought we were the number one retailer in the nation. Well we all now know what happened to Sears.

 

We shall see what the outcome here is. It is a bit disturbing that Princess is not taking into account the feelings and wishes of their customers.

[Coco Creek]

Madjohn, thanks for the best, most reasoned post I have seen on this difficult subject.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The question is who should pay the cost. Princess is saying that it is us, the customer that should bare the burden. And this is probably legal based on the contract we all sign when we book. Princess might be doing themselves a disfavor because it is unlikely that these customers will return to purchase this product especially if a different company is offering a superior product (ie giving refunds or credits).

MJ-I have to say I agree. I think that good customer service sometimes involves going above and beyond contractual Ts and Cs. For all those arguing that Princess is within the letter of the law substituting 6 cool and cloudy days at sea in lieu of 3 warmer and sunnier days at sea and 3 ports, you're absolutely right. But I think this is one case where being right and doing right are two different things, and Princess is choosing the former over the latter. It's a very short-sighted choice, in my view.

[wizard-of-roz]

We will board Sapphire Princess on May 9(God willing) and go where she goes...cruising all the way.

 

"Atta girl/boy" Good attitude. Love it!

[smixsell]

I just spoke with a princess cust svc rep, who recieved an e-mail update while i was speaking to him, CONFIRMING that a credit equalling 50% of the fair you paid for your Sapphire 5/2 cruise will be given to you good toward the purchase of any future cruise booked through 2011 (February of 2011 I think).

 

As for me I think this is relatively fair :) (albeit a bit tardy:mad:)and would not hesitate to book with Princess again

[eddiesgal]

I just received this email and please forgive me if it was posted before:)

 

 

April 30, 2009

We hope you are looking forward to your cruise on Sapphire Princess. The Officers and Crew are eagerly awaiting your embarkation this Saturday!

As you are likely aware, on Monday, the United States Centers for Disease Control implemented a Travel Health Warning for all non-essential travel to Mexico. Based on this travel warning we have made the decision to change the ports on this Mexican Riviera voyage.

 

Please understand we avoid changes to our itineraries whenever possible - and only make these types of changes when absolutely necessary. Our office in Santa Clarita worked diligently over the past 48 hours to secure new berths at the most desirable ports possible. We understand this change may cause disappointment, but we're confident you'll agree that adhering to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control is the best course of action for the safety of our passengers and crew.

 

We have replaced the calls to Mexico with beautiful and interesting port cities in California. In addition, we will make a service call to Ensenada, Mexico; however, no passenger or crew disembarks will be allowed.

The revised itinerary for your cruise is as follows:

Date

Port

Arrival

Departure

Saturday, May 2

Los Angeles

-

4:00pm

Sunday, May 3

Santa Barbara

7:00am

6:00pm

Monday, May 4

San Diego

7:00am

6:00pm

Tuesday, May 5

Ensenada (service call)

8:00am

12 noon

Wednesday, May 6

at sea

-

-

Thursday, May 7

San Francisco, California

7:00am

8:00pm

Friday, May 8

at sea

-

-

Saturday, May 9

Los Angeles

7:00am

-

 

For those passengers who have pre-reserved shore excursions on your Cruise Personalizer, your shipboard folio will not be charged. Upon arrival onboard this Saturday, you will find a list of all new shore excursions for the above ports from our Shore Excursions Desk.

While this incident and subsequent itinerary changes are outside of Princess' control, we understand your likely disappointment. As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer you a future cruise discount in the amount of 50% of your cruise fare paid to Princess for this current Sapphire Princess cruise. This discount is applicable to any future sailing booked by the end of April 2011.

This offer is dependent upon space availability on your future cruise and cannot be transferred, refunded, or used as a deposit. However, it may be combined with any other discount or special fare that may be applicable to the voyage you select, including past passenger offers. Additionally, it is applicable to one cruise fare only and must be applied to the booking before final payment.

The Officers and Crew of Sapphire Princess join me in wishing you bon voyage this Saturday and we look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Kind Regards,





Alan Buckelew

President and CEO

Princess Cruises

 

 

SE09MX037

 

For questions, please contact us at 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237).

[Cruise Junky]

I just received this email and please forgive me if it was posted before:)

 

 

April 30, 2009

We hope you are looking forward to your cruise on Sapphire Princess. The Officers and Crew are eagerly awaiting your embarkation this Saturday!

As you are likely aware, on Monday, the United States Centers for Disease Control implemented a Travel Health Warning for all non-essential travel to Mexico. Based on this travel warning we have made the decision to change the ports on this Mexican Riviera voyage.

 

Please understand we avoid changes to our itineraries whenever possible - and only make these types of changes when absolutely necessary. Our office in Santa Clarita worked diligently over the past 48 hours to secure new berths at the most desirable ports possible. We understand this change may cause disappointment, but we're confident you'll agree that adhering to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control is the best course of action for the safety of our passengers and crew.

 

We have replaced the calls to Mexico with beautiful and interesting port cities in California. In addition, we will make a service call to Ensenada, Mexico; however, no passenger or crew disembarks will be allowed.

The revised itinerary for your cruise is as follows:

Date

Port

Arrival

Departure

Saturday, May 2

Los Angeles

-

4:00pm

Sunday, May 3

Santa Barbara

7:00am

6:00pm

Monday, May 4

San Diego

7:00am

6:00pm

Tuesday, May 5

Ensenada (service call)

8:00am

12 noon

Wednesday, May 6

at sea

-

-

Thursday, May 7

San Francisco, California

7:00am

8:00pm

Friday, May 8

at sea

-

-

Saturday, May 9

Los Angeles

7:00am

-

 

For those passengers who have pre-reserved shore excursions on your Cruise Personalizer, your shipboard folio will not be charged. Upon arrival onboard this Saturday, you will find a list of all new shore excursions for the above ports from our Shore Excursions Desk.

While this incident and subsequent itinerary changes are outside of Princess' control, we understand your likely disappointment. As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer you a future cruise discount in the amount of 50% of your cruise fare paid to Princess for this current Sapphire Princess cruise. This discount is applicable to any future sailing booked by the end of April 2011.

This offer is dependent upon space availability on your future cruise and cannot be transferred, refunded, or used as a deposit. However, it may be combined with any other discount or special fare that may be applicable to the voyage you select, including past passenger offers. Additionally, it is applicable to one cruise fare only and must be applied to the booking before final payment.

The Officers and Crew of Sapphire Princess join me in wishing you bon voyage this Saturday and we look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Kind Regards,

 

Alan Buckelew

President and CEO

Princess Cruises

 

 

SE09MX037

 

For questions, please contact us at 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237).

 

That's actually a pretty good response and the ports are soooo much better than Royal Caribbean's Seattle and Victoria. Hopefully the 50% discount makes up for the poor people who are missing the Mexican Riviera.

[arabrab]

What --what a lot of bopping around. I'm not on the cruise, but I'd rather see an overnight stop in San Francisco (lots of cool stuff to do there) and another in Santa Barbara, and a lot less back and forth travel. Does Ukiah have a port?

[Library Lady]

Renee-How are you. I remember the "Mystery Cruise" well. You are correct, it was one of the best cruises I have ever been on. I started out in Auckland and was there for the MC. I actually stayed on for a total of 82 days. Hmmmmm, where are we going to be tomorrow? Surprise!

 

How nice to see both of you posting on this thread. We just returned from Rio to SF on the Star with 1700 passengers. Oh my, we certainly thought of our famous "mystery cruise" a lot. We loved the empty ship feeling. If I recall correctly we had 11 missed ports on the Regal in 30 days due to SARS or the war issues.

[pelicanhill]

When we booked this cruise, we joking called it the "cruise to nowhere". Sometimes, when you ask for something, you just might get it. We are just happy to get away and cruise anywhere.