Princess bars healthy passenger-Watch Out!

[arnonly]

Our anniversary was ruined by Princess. We were ready to board Grand Princess with entire family when ship's doc said my wife had Norwalk Virus and could not board (even though she was fine). Day before on flight to Houston she was airsick because of very bumpy ride but was fine for cruise.

Princess said our family had to go without us or lose entire fare. Princess gave us a letter saying they would reimburse us for all the money we paid for the cruise plus hotel, meals and air to Belieze to catch cruise 3 days later.

But after more than 2 months Princess continues to stonewall- no payment - not even an acknowledgment of our request for reimbursement.

So watch out for Princess!

[jfrenaye]

I have asked Chris E to take a look at this. This sounds like BS to me. You may want to email him at elliott@tripso.com

[chriselliott]

Originally posted by arnonly@Jun 5 2006, 09:06 PM
Our anniversary was ruined by Princess. We were ready to board Grand Princess with entire family when ship's doc said my wife had Norwalk Virus and could not board (even though she was fine). Day before on flight to Houston she was airsick because of very bumpy ride but was fine for cruise.

Princess said our family had to go without us or lose entire fare. Princess gave us a letter saying they would reimburse us for all the money we paid for the cruise plus hotel, meals and air to Belieze to catch cruise 3 days later.

But after more than 2 months Princess continues to stonewall- no payment - not even an acknowledgment of our request for reimbursement.

So watch out for Princess!
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If you send me an email with details I can look into this. I'm at chris@elliott.org

[silver cloud]

Sounds very suspicious. Had they overbooked the cruise or just went nuts?
Go Chris - we know you can help them on this! :)

[drwong]

And what about the P&O passenger who was quaratined aboard the Pacific Sun on suspicion of gastroenterisis, but was merely hung over??? :o

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/110...Quarantine.html (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1106AP_Hangover_Quarantine.html)

[Ned]

Originally posted by drwong@Jun 13 2006, 07:43 PM
And what about the P&O passenger who was quaratined aboard the Pacific Sun on suspicion of gastroenterisis, but was merely hung over???* :o
28865

There's a short discussion of that at Quarantined passengers (http://www.tripso.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7368) in this forum. Personally I think the two cases are very different.

[drwong]

Originally posted by Ned@Jun 13 2006, 07:11 PM
There's a short discussion of that at Quarantined passengers (http://www.tripso.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7368) in this forum.* Personally I think the two cases are very different.
28867


I agree that the two cases are very different, but the cruise corporate offices probably view them similarly. They can pretty much deny access to the ship for whatever reason they want, as long as they can come up with an acceptable rationale that falls within the contract of carriage.

Speaking of denied boardings, I would draw your attention to this angry posting: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=363011.

Chris, Anita - care to comment on what rights the passenger would have in such a situation, and what other cruise lines to do avoid such problems???

[travel]

Just read that thread that drwong directed us to. I am also anxious to see what Chris & Anita have to say. Is this commonplace or is it just something suddenly occuring with Oceana? I am disturbed and perplexed.

[jfrenaye]

Not commonplace, but it happens. A group can bounce any number of prepaid passengers. After my post over there I see someone said it was an oversold situation and that does concern me.

But, I am still thinking that in reality it may be mechanical or a maintanance issue

[bravestar]

Oi. That thread about Oceania made my head hurt. I'm rather glad I'm not involved in that situation.

[deangreenhoe]

I'm rather glad I'm not involved in that situation.

...or on that board. Yikes! (Insert flame emoticon here.)

[travel]

Originally posted by deangreenhoe@Jun 14 2006, 03:41 PM
...or on that board.* Yikes!* (Insert flame emoticon here.)
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Yeah..."Barry" sounded like he had issues.....

[arnonly]

What makes this Princess situation even worse is the fact that Princess gave us a letter when they denied boarding stating "In recognition of your situation, Princess will provide you with the following:

"Refund of all monies paid to Princess Cruises via credit card/check"

This letter also promises reimbursement of hotel, meals, and air tickets to catch up with the cruise, including airport transfers.

It's now 11 weeks since we requested Princess to live up to its representation and still no response.

[Ned]

Did you ever contact Chris Elliott as was suggested earlier? He's performed what seems to be miracles in the past, for many travelers who have had serious problems.

[arnonly]

Originally posted by Ned@Jun 14 2006, 06:32 PM
Did you ever contact Chris Elliott as was suggested earlier?* He's performed what seems to be miracles in the past, for many travelers who have had serious problems.
28993

Yes, Chris is working on this but Princess is ignoring all of us including my travel agent.

[Ned]

Originally posted by arnonly@Jun 15 2006, 01:17 PM
Yes, Chris is working on this but Princess is ignoring all of us including my travel agent.
29051

Chris will eventually get to talk with someone there. It's hard to ignore such a nationally known travel figure.

[bravestar]

I'm rather surprised Princess is giving someone this much of a problem.

My agency books a ton of cruises each year with Princess, and it's always been smooth sailing (before, after, and during the cruise!).

I'm quite interested in how all this plays out.

[arnonly]

Originally posted by bravestar@Jun 15 2006, 11:58 AM
I'm rather surprised Princess is giving someone this much of a problem.

My agency books a ton of cruises each year with Princess, and it's always been smooth sailing (before, after, and during the cruise!).

I'm quite interested in how all this plays out.
29061


How about asking Princess directly? Maybe they will respond to you since you do a lot of business with Princess.

[wrp96]

Originally posted by bravestar@Jun 14 2006, 01:18 PM
Oi.* That thread about Oceania made my head hurt.* I'm rather glad I'm not involved in that situation.
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If you read the resolution, the President of Oceana posted on that thread and is making it right for both those families.

[bravestar]

Originally posted by arnonly@Jun 15 2006, 06:05 PM
How about asking Princess directly? Maybe they will respond to you since you do a lot of business with Princess.
29088


I'll see if there's anything I can find out. No guarantees, of course, but if I do come up with something I'll pass it on.

[drwong]

Reading some of the posts on the Oceania thread, it looks like larger "corporate" cruiselines (like NCL and Princess) have no sympathy for individual situations. It's all business and even though a handful of passengers might get screwed and might take it to the media, there's always more customers knocking at their door despite that negative publicity!

If you look at page 7 of the Oceania thread, the CEO of the cruiseline personally intervened in the situation once he became aware of it and provide what I thought was extremely generous compensation for the affected passengers - maybe they might end up staying in HIS suite for the duration of their cruise! :lol:

One thing that works in Oceania's favor is the small size of the cruise line (3 ships), the previous cruise line management experience of its top executives, the fact that its head PR person used to write for an online cruise publication and recognizes the power of the internet, and that one its top producers (revenue wise) monitors the Cruise Critic discussion boards closely and provides management with critical feedback when necessary.

Keep in mind that Princess is part of a corporate monolith (in addition to being part of a cruise line oligopoly) and a single travel agent and even a well-respected travel ombudsman might not be able to get them to change their policies, which were probably written by their corporate lawyers. However, Chris might be able to persuade them to make a limited one-time exception. Best of luck! :D

[Eileen Sellers]

We were ready to board Grand Princess with entire family when ship's doc said my wife had Norwalk Virus and could not board (even though she was fine).

I'm confused...why was the ship's doctor at embarkation and why did he single out your wife?

[arnonly]

Originally posted by Eileen Sellers@Jun 16 2006, 10:07 AM
I'm confused...why was the ship's doctor at embarkation and why did he single out your wife?
29129

The doctor was called off the ship because a Princess representative noticed that my wife was airsick coming into Houston on a rough flight the day before the cruise. She was fine several hours after we landed.

[jfrenaye]

WOW, a Princess greeter went that far? How did he/she know you were a passenger? And then to "track you down" the following day is incredulous.

[arnonly]

Originally posted by jfrenaye@Jun 17 2006, 07:01 PM
WOW, a Princess greeter went that far? How did he/she know you were a passenger? And then to "track you down" the following day is incredulous.
29198

We made the mistake of bookng a pre-cruise night at a hotel and transfers. We'll never do that again!

[Eileen Sellers]

The doctor was called off the ship because a Princess representative noticed that my wife was airsick coming into Houston on a rough flight the day before the cruise.

How would a Princess rep know who you were? Were you part of a group? Did the Princess rep keep in contact with you after you landed? I still don't get it.

[Anita Dunham-Potter]

Hi All,
Sorry I haven't been on lately -- three ships in three weeks is nuts. I am not done, this Friday I am aboard Crown Princess and since I'll be face to face with pretty much every exec at the company I plan to bring this up.

arnonly I'll need more particulars. Please e-mail me at anita@tripso.com

Best,
Anita

[arnonly]

Originally posted by Anita Dunham-Potter@Jun 20 2006, 02:22 AM
Hi All,
Sorry I haven't been on lately -- three ships in three weeks is nuts.* I am not done, this Friday I am aboard Crown Princess and since I'll be face to face with pretty much every exec at the company I plan to bring this up.*

arnonly I'll need more particulars.* Please e-mail me at anita@tripso.com

Best,
Anita
29348

Email sent with attachments. Let me know what else you need. Thank you,

[arnonly]

Originally posted by Eileen Sellers@Jun 19 2006, 03:54 PM
How would a Princess rep know who you were? Were you part of a group? Did the Princess rep keep in contact with you after you landed? I still don't get it.
29320

The Princess rep met us when we went to collect our bags. Another rep met us at the hotel. In both cases they had our names in advance because we had booked transfers and pre-cruise hotel.

[Anita Dunham-Potter]

Originally posted by arnonly@Jun 20 2006, 08:58 PM
Email sent with attachments. Let me know what else you need. Thank you,
29445


arnonly, I haven't received anything yet, could be a spam filter. Can you re-send? Also, cc anita@anitavacation.com Thanks!

Anita

[arnonly]

Originally posted by Anita Dunham-Potter@Jun 20 2006, 08:28 PM
arnonly, I haven't received anything yet, could be a spam filter.* Can you re-send?* Also, cc anita@anitavacation.com* Thanks!

Anita
29450

resent to both addresses.

[arnonly]

Here is an update on our ongoing saga with Princess Cruises. We still have not heard from Princess about our cruise problem and their letter saying they would reimburse us.

We just drove from Phoenix to the San Francisco area and made a stop in Santa Clarita, CA, where Princess has its offices. The Princess building has a guard stationed at the elevator to prevent anyone from entering without an appointment. He tried three different offices for us but all refused to see or talk with us.

We then sat down in front of the building and called Princess on my cel phone. We finally got through to Customer Relations. He said our file has to be reviewed by corporate counsel and is now in a different department called Passenger Claims . He wouldn't give us a phone number or extension. Their security is tighter than the Pentagon!

[jfrenaye]

To be honest, I cannot blame them for the security. Look at it from their POV--a disgruntled passenger makes three attempts to gain access. Finally they plant themselves in front of the building and call on a cell phone.

Unfortunately, these things do take time to resolve. It is not unusual to take 6 months or more. I suggest you sit tight.

[arnonly]

Originally posted by jfrenaye@Jul 5 2006, 05:50 PM
To be honest, I cannot blame them for the security. Look at it from their POV--a disgruntled passenger makes three attempts to gain access. Finally they plant themselves in front of the building and call on a cell phone.

Unfortunately, these things do take time to resolve. It is not unusual to take 6 months or more. I suggest you sit tight.
30727

I plan to take your advice and sit tight. You should know we did not present ourselves as diisgruntled passengers but as Platinum Members (past Princess passengers). The cell phone call did finally get us some direct contact with Princess. Now we'll wait and see.

[stacynan]

Anita, I'm curious if you were able to bring this up to the execs onboard that ship?

Arnonly, I hope you got the name of the peson in Customer Relations that you talked to. Did he even offer to look into it for you, as far as what the delay is? I just called Princess on your behalf and claims normally take 6-8 weeks to process. Then it can take 2 billing cycles to appear on your credit card statement. Check you credit card statement online, if you can. Sometimes they keep it current to what's happening in between the billing cylcles. If nothing's showing credited back to your account, than I'd call Princess again. Tell them that you're checking the status of a claim. Have your booking number available to give the agent. Call this number and proceed to the "other questions" prompt....800-421-1700

I'm sure John didn't mean any disrespect when he said you were a "disgruntled passenger". Disgruntled doesn't mean that you're mean or nasty. Only that you have a grievance to file. Kill them with kindness and patience, then the agents will normally bend over backwards to help you with your problem. I know, I use to work in baggage service with the airlines!

Hope you find something out soon.

[Anita Dunham-Potter]

Hi Everyone,
Good news! This issue has been resolved -- in a good way. Look for the story soon!

Best,
Anita