First time cruising with my wife and daughter this summer (other daughter refuses to go, too cool for skool!) and starting to have second thoughts as the 14 day cruise which seemed like a good deal to start with now just seems like a way to extract as much money from you as possible, either before you sail or whilst you're on board.
We got one of the ports dropped from the itinerary early on after booking and an extra sea day added on (3 days at sea for one leg), that was the first disappointment as although we understand that these things can happen, this port was one of the main reasons we booked the cruise, what annoyed me is that Princess were completely uninterested and didn't want to know, didn't offer anything in recompense like some other cruise lines do like 'free at sea' etc. (Hello NCL!) and didn't really care what the customer thought, it just felt like a really bad experience for our first cruise. They also hold you to ransom with the deposit by the "You want to cancel? sure, we have pocketed your £600"...so long sucker, so I am hanging in there in the hope that something good happens, although that's not looking too hopeful right now.
The customer experience is something I feel really strongly about as I've worked in customer experience my entire life and this felt like an absolute kick in the teeth and sod the customer. I even spoke to them online and although I don't blame the online agent as they are bound by what they're allowed to do, they didn't want to know, first fail in my book, but they still want more money from me, you can see where this is heading. I totally get they can't just hand out freebies for something that is probably outwith their control but if you want more money from me, I feel I want something it appease my initial disappointment first, is this unreasonable? This experience has tainted the entire cruise for me as I feel I'm just a cash cow right now for Princess when they should be pulling out all the stops.
We are five months from the cruise and although we have paid for a balcony (not much extra tbh and got this because our daughter is not a great sailor and access to fresh air is a bonus) but the not so obvious hidden costs and up selling to plus packages et al. are taking the shine off what should be a nice cruise, but that's before you start paying for onboard services and shore excursions.
Our costs before we even step on ship are £5k approx without the Plus package or any up selling which will occur either closer to the time or on board.
The "Just get the Plus package" advice pushes the costs to £7k, not a small figure for any family and especially during a cost of living crisis, and that's before shore excursions or anything else. I just can't wrap my head about how much do you actually need to spend before it actually feels like a care free all-inclusive experience, which it certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment, it's like there's a toll booth at every turn.
I feel once I'm on board I will be forced to pay for x to fall in line with the rest of the crowd and although shows etc. are included, as are the main dining room and other advertised areas that don't include all the other things that you'll have to pay for by the end of the cruise. Yes, pay up front for Plus which tbh we wouldn't feel we would get the value for money others may get from this but feel that we should pay for it for the more inclusive experience.
What I'm saying is that a £5k cruise involves having to pay nearly half the cruise cost again to get just that little bit closer to more inclusive experience, right now it feels like an economy class experience trying to dupe you into paying more than what you will actually use on board. £5k isn't enough for a speciality coffee, really?
We paid around £600 deposit and although I can easily afford to take the hit if I want to cancel, and can well afford the cruise, I'm just a stickler for getting value for money and right now it's a £8k-£9k cruise realistically by the end with the plus package and excursions. We also have around £1k costs to get to the ship before it sails on top of the cruise cost, so make that £10k as a realistic end of cruise price. Some may say, but your getting a 14 day cruise for £x but the longer you're on a ship the more you'll spend too, and the cruise lines know this.
Some may say, just go on the cruise and enjoy it, but it's pretty hard having had the experience from Princess up to now, knowing how much extra I have to pay to try and have a nice time on board, it's all one way traffic, so to speak. I know itinerary changes happen, it's just becoming a hard pill to swallow based on my experience so far, keep paying for more disappointment later on down to the road?
Disgruntled? yes, it feels like a bottomless pit of money I am throwing my money into when Princess have changed the goal posts and I just have to suck it up, I just need someone to change my mind before I hit the cancel button....be gentle.
