Buffalo Boaters

1 hour ago, nazpaz said:

 

Have you tried redownloading the old app?  While the new one won't show check in complete without the Shore deal, the old one let's you complete check in without it.

Thanks, we reloaded the old app…not giving credit card info to something called Radiqal Gaming LLC.

We are on hold to talk to a Princess representative. Sadly, we deleted the old Princess app…now we can not be in the “green lane” on the NEW app because we did not give the credit card info for OFF ship buying to Radiqal Gaming LLC!! This is alarming to  us. We do not give out credit card info randomly!!

For everyone following this thread, here is an update. We received a total of $6,900  as a credit on our card for the cancelled Machu Picchu land tour. There was no explanation of this credit given to us or our travel agent. This sum of $6,900 does not match what we think we are owed after subtracting the actual cruise payment from the total paid to Princess. Our travel agent spent an unsuccessful hour on the phone with Princess trying to get them to justify the amount of refund we were given. The Princess spokesperson was short and would not divulge any details. For all of you going through this ordeal, I hope you were more successful and you received your refund in a timely manner. It took our travel agent 6 weeks and Princess would only go through an agent. We have a Princess cruise in January, 2024 with family. We were Princess loyalists, not any more.

On 3/26/2023 at 3:25 PM, kitkat343 said:

I'm so sorry - they should have immediately refunded the cruise tour fees, and then determined if they wanted as a goodwill gesture to give you FCC.  

 

How is the situation in Peru now?  Are the private tours running (they might be but it still might not be safe enough to go).  I'm so sorry - Machu Piccu is one of my dream trips, and I'd be so sad to travel all the way to South America and not be able to go.

We have no idea what it is like in Peru now. Thank you for your kind words. We have not received any compensation from Princess as of this date, 3/30/2023. No communications. We should have cancelled the trip after the State Dept. warnings, but Princess told us we’d lose all our money, the cruise and land tour. It just is very upsetting!

On 3/24/2023 at 9:51 AM, koolforkatz said:

@Buffalo Boaters have you checked the social media group for your cruise (there is one). There has been a discussion on it about the refund and a couple of people have referenced amounts received. I was booked for the cruisetour starting January 14th (pre-cruise tour) which was cancelled six days before we flew out. We had to quickly figure out a plan B as we couldn't change our Lima flights. I have received some of my refund, but not the promised amount so have been trying to chase down the remainder of it which has been a struggle. 

Yes, I checked the roll call for our cruise beginning January 4, 2023 on the Sapphire Princess. It looks like some  people who signed up for the Machu Picchu land tour, received a refund, but it was not clear how much! I will keep checking and thank you for your response!

On 3/24/2023 at 9:20 AM, geocruiser said:

Can your credit card company do anything to help?

I do not know! That’s a good question. Thanks!

Yes, the wait has been too long for all of us. We figure, by subtracting the original cruise cost and air flight, Lima Tours or Princess owes us $4,999 each or roughly $10,000! That’s a chunk of cash! I am publishing these problems since it has been a weekly struggle with all concerned! Our travel agent has now reached out to the next level of authority in their agency. I am not sure that will help, but it is another level of hope. We also submitted the letter we received onboard from Princess’s administrators to our travel agent.

We had a booked hotel room after leaving the ship for two nights before heading home because they could not book us on a flight home right away. No tours, no other sights to be seen and we left out of Santiago, Chili. We never saw Peru!! We will not accept $150o.

We had a booked hotel room after leaving the ship for two nights before heading home because they could not book us on a flight home right away. No tours, no other sights to be seen and we left out of Santiago, Chili. We never saw Peru!! We will not accept $150o.

It is now March 23 and we have yet to receive anything from Princess Cruises on our cancelled March Picchu land tour January 20-26, 2023. We were on the Sapphire and told a few days before disembarking that the tour would no take place due to civil unrest in Peru. We call our travel agent weekly to receive updates and the report is Princess has nothing to say! Has anyone received their refund? We are waiting for a significant check or at least a reply of some kind!!!

No refund, and little info at this point in time! 
Thank you for all the kind words. We have an idea what the post land tour costs but until we get specifics we do not know. We have called Princess repeatedly and they refer us to our travel agent to sort it out. It may take another few months! When we booked this package, it was not separated, instead all in one. Again my story is a real reason to get travel insurance especially when losing luggage or buying in the cruise ship’s stores to make up for lost articles. I was in areas where things were difficult or impossible to replace!!

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

To be certain: This was a cruisetour with the Machu Picchu visit being after the cruise itself ended. Correct?

 

 

Was yours also a cruisetour with the visit to Machu Picchu being before the cruise starts or after it ends?

 

Or was this a mid-cruise visit during which you leave the ship for 2-3 days to visit Machu Picchu and then resume the cruise?

 

If a mid-cruise tour, it is essentially a shore excursion and should have been refunded while on the cruise. Likely as refundable OBC to the onboard account with a check to be mailed to you after the cruise if the OBC had not been used up.

 

If a pre-cruise or post-cruise tour, the cost of the cancelled in your original booking might be hard for you to figure out since it was bundled into the overall fare.

 

I would continue to pester Princess to find out when a refund check would be coming to you and for what amount. It has been long enough since the cruise tyhat Princess should have the answers already.

 

This was a post-cruise tour. We have a monetary amount that it may be worth but do not know exactly what the reimbursement will be. My point in posting this is not to bash my travel agent or Princess (American Airline, another story), but instead seek advice and find others who have experienced the same problem,

We have done so! American Airlines has been the WORST! God forbid if we lost something valuable, like our lives, on this airline. They are terrible and it was totally their fault!

We have done so! American Airlines has been the WORST! God forbid if we lost something valuable, like our lives, on this airline. They are terrible and it was totally their fault!

No refund, and little info at this point in time!

This was a cruise tour and you are correct!

•  
• •  1.6k
• January 17, 2006
• Silicon Valley, California

This was not an excursion, instead a land tour Princess offered through Lima Tours!

9 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

When a cruise line excursion is cancelled, it's usually refunded back to your account almost immediately, certainly by the end of the current day. It's an automatic thing in our experience across every cruise line. Not sure why it would take any amount of time in this case. If it's a third party excursion then you're subject to whatever refund rules they have. 

8 hours ago, Potstech said:

How do you lose a carry on bag?

We were the last ones to board since we were able to take an earlier flight. The attendant told us to sit down and she would take care of the bags. She put the wrong seat numbers on the bags causing one bag to go Florida and one to Mississippi. My jewelry, winter jacket, make-up, and other clothing was in this bag which was probably stolen in Buenos Aires while trying to get it to the ship. My husband’s bag with shoes and a few other items made it to the ship.

We booked this cruise primarily because of the land tour to Machu Picchu in Peru. Princess uses Lima Tours. Prior to the cruise, we called Princess multiple times to find out if this portion of the cruise would be cancelled due to civil unrest in Peru. The answer was, “We are monitoring the situation.” We had read all the State Department warnings and had reservations, but were told if we cancelled they would not refund our money. The cruise itself was fine…good food, entertainment, and best of all a captain who was careful going into these sometimes dangerous waters. We loved our Falkland Island independent tour to see penguins at Volunteer Point. I had to rely on Princess shops to recover some items that were lost in a carry on bag by American Airlines. AA lost two bags and recovered one. My bag containing many items was never found and AA has been terrible to work with. On the other hand Princess staff provided a jacket, and other things to make up for my lost bag. A few days before disembarking, we were told the land tour to Machu Picchu was off. We have not received compensation or even an amount that we’ll receive. Has anyone received compensation?? It is now March! We had many disappointments and are still dealing with so many difficulties with this trip. If you enjoy many on ship days, uncertain weather, cold, and sea swells, this is the cruise for you! Best advice, buy travel insurance! 

We did an incredible 3 hour tour of West Minister Abby. The guide was excellent, and we missed the internment of Stephan Hawking's remains by a few days. Of course we did the Hop Off and Hop On bus with tickets to the Tower of London. We took in some free museums and walked at least three to four miles a day! I lived on Advil. So glad you are getting some relief for your knees. This was our first time to the British Isles and we loved it. Clean restrooms and such good humor from everyone we met!

We were on this same cruise. We also met Diane and Otis...great people! We purchased our airline tickets through Princess and traveled economy round trip on United Airlines beginning in Chicago and ending in Heathrow. On the flight over I caught a cold/virus which effected our entire vacation. My husband eventually caught it from me. He still has it! I loved this cruise, ports and our 4 independent days in London, but I don't know if I can fly 8 hours in cramped circumstances like we did ever again. I will need to learn of alternative flight before traveling this length of time. I loved your review and sympathize with your knees. Mine knees would ache at night from all the walking. You need to be in great shape to do this itinerary. We did see a few shows in the evening and they were EXCELLENT! Thanks again for jogging my memory because I did not journal every evening!

Thanks, wonderful advice! I had some of these ideas but I just did not know. We do get in at that time. I did contact the Accent and they charge $195 for a night which includes airport shuttle and transfer to the cruise port. I do like the idea of staying at the Raddison and did not know about the subway. Again, thank you for your research!:)

Thanks for the info!

We are taking a "red eye flight" from Wisconsin to Vancouver leaving the 18th of August and arriving in the early hours of the 19th. We can board our ship around 1:00 pm on the 19th. We are undecided about getting a hotel at the airport or traveling public transportation to a hotel close to the cruise port. The expense of few hours in a hotel room seems a waste. Ideas for storing luggage or other tips much appreciated!:)

Thank you for the excellent review & pictures! We will be boarding the Dawn (1st time on NCL) this Sunday on the 26th with an inside cabin. We have sailed on Celebrity and Princess cruiselines, always with a balcony & never with these kinds of problems. I am discouraged at your report about the room. Did you go to the front desk to address these issues? I will not be happy if I see dirt & disrepair in our room! Loved the pictures of the dolphin swim!