Princess Experience?
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,093
Just Cancelled my Booking
I've been on multiple cruises each with Costa, Celebrity, and Holland America, and single cruise experiences with NCL and Seabourn.
Princess has an itinerary around Japan that interests me, which is on their Diamond Princess. I have not heard anything good about Princess: Does anyone have some good advice about sailing/not sailing with them? FYI, we are thinking of getting a min-suite or suite category.
Thanks!
Princess has an itinerary around Japan that interests me, which is on their Diamond Princess. I have not heard anything good about Princess: Does anyone have some good advice about sailing/not sailing with them? FYI, we are thinking of getting a min-suite or suite category.
Thanks!
1. Booked mini-suite with a certain promotion package included.
2. Called agent, asked if I could upgrade to a Vista suite and still have the package included. Twice she said "Yes."
3. Paperwork emailed, and promotion package not included.
4. Called back and informed that I would hear from CS on Monday
5. Got paperwork emailed, has old promotion but charge is about $3.5k more per person on a promotion that would cost $901 if I charged it myself.
6. I call Princess and they refuse to honor the declaration of their agent. CSR wants to give me $100 OBC.
7. I cancel. No way am I doing business with such incompetence. I will assume incompetence rather than lies.
Thank you for all your help.
Last edited by 747FC; Sep 12, 2016 at 2:20 pm Reason: spelling error
#17
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,154
Did you book with the drink package promotion that was running recently? It did end recently (like end of August), and it's definitely one that if you change or refare or whatever they don't let you keep once the promotion ends (which is true in general of all the promotions they offer, I'd expect most cruise lines would be the same way). I'm kinda surprised they told you that you could keep it if you changed after it ended, so yeah, I'd say that's incompetence on the part of whoever you were talking with. (I've been debating whether to refare my december cruise because the price is lower, but I'd lose the drink package, the amount of the difference in fare is borderline on whether it's worth it.)
I never book directly with the line myself, I've always dealt with a TA I've been using since I started cruising.
I never book directly with the line myself, I've always dealt with a TA I've been using since I started cruising.
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,093
Did you book with the drink package promotion that was running recently? It did end recently (like end of August), and it's definitely one that if you change or refare or whatever they don't let you keep once the promotion ends (which is true in general of all the promotions they offer, I'd expect most cruise lines would be the same way). I'm kinda surprised they told you that you could keep it if you changed after it ended, so yeah, I'd say that's incompetence on the part of whoever you were talking with. (I've been debating whether to refare my december cruise because the price is lower, but I'd lose the drink package, the amount of the difference in fare is borderline on whether it's worth it.)
I never book directly with the line myself, I've always dealt with a TA I've been using since I started cruising.
I never book directly with the line myself, I've always dealt with a TA I've been using since I started cruising.
#19
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: BOS/PVD/BDL
Programs: PC Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold,HHonors Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC, National Exec Elite
Posts: 726
Sounds they are trying to rebook you then recategorize your reservation. I would watch the reservation numbers on the invoices to make sure they don't change.
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,093
#21
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Austin TX
Programs: Mr Swise: AAdvantage LifetimePlt/3MM, HH Dmnd, SPG Plt
Posts: 1,451
#22
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,154
Odd, I've never really seen any Princess promos that would continue if you refared the cabin (or other changes like upgrading to a different cabin type) after the promo ends. And I find it odd that any TA would say otherwise, because they should know better. (And I'd expect that policy would be pretty similar across all lines, otherwise you could refare under a couple of different promos, and end up with multiple promos stacked together.)