Bon Voyage Experience mishaps: Golden Princess 3/27/13

Our first Princess Bon Voyage Experience was a wonderful memory we will cherish for the rest of our lives, as a small taste of the surprise cruise I had been planning for my wife Terri for over a year. But just a few weeks later we encountered some serious problems with a second Bon Voyage Experience which left us disappointed (even though it was on embarkation day for the big cruise we had anticipated for so long, which I will be reviewing in a separate thread).

As I reported previously here on CC, on February 16 we learned firsthand how the Bon Voyage Experience program is supposed to work when we boarded the Sapphire Princess for three and a half hours (reasonably close to the advertised four hours). Then we booked another Bon Voyage Experience (BVE) so that we could have a couple of visitors with us before we sailed away on the Golden Princess on March 27. After our first BVE, we knew what to expect. Or were our expectations too high?

Our son Matthew had agreed to be responsible for the family van during our cruise, so our friend David agreed to drive him to the port to pick up the van. To thank them for their help, we had booked a BVE for Matthew and David. We were also well aware that we ourselves would benefit by this arrangement: being accompanied by BVE participants meant that we would get to board the Golden Princess early with them, and we eagerly anticipated the opportunity to board the ship at the earliest possible moment.

Because of our eagerness to be on the ship, we arrived in San Pedro the night before our cruise, getting up early that morning to enjoy the experience of watching the Golden Princess sail into port (as we had enjoyed greeting the Sapphire Princess with the sunrise before our first BVE).

But before we would experience some unfortunate glitches in the BVE program, our own efforts to be well-prepared for the cruise resulted in a serious glitch: Terri realized that her wallet was lost, and it contained the driver's license she needed to board the ship (we have no passports, but for a cruise to Hawaii, driver's licenses coupled with birth certificates would suffice).

When Terri realized that her wallet was missing, we of course focused on looking through things trying to locate it, becoming more and more frantic the longer we looked. We arranged to meet David and Matthew at the parking lot near San Pedro's Fanfare Fountains, about a block from the Port of Los Angeles' World Cruise Center, but when they arrived at about 9:30 we were still trying to locate Terri's wallet.

By about 10:30, we decided to give up on looking for her wallet, hoping that somehow we would later find it somewhere in the luggage. Even if Terri couldn't get on the ship yet, we didn't want Matthew and David to miss out on any of their Bon Voyage Experience time. (I told myself that if the port staff wouldn't let Terri board, we might still have time to somehow figure out a way to get her an emergency ID.) I asked Terri to put on a couple of kukui nut leis which had been given to us by a friend who lives in Hawaii. Then, gathering our overwhelming array of luggage with the assistance of Matthew and David, we walked a block or so to Berth 93 of the World Cruise Center. (As one example of our obsession, one suitcase was filled with bottles of Hawaiian water, as we boarded a ship with an excellent drinking water system.)

At about 10:45 am, we turned our luggage over to the porters, in faith that somehow we would later join it on the ship in spite of Terri's missing ID. We then walked down a little further to the doorway where we showed our boarding passes to enter the building. After the four of us filled out the health forms (confirming that we were not sick -- at least physically), we proceeded up the escalator.

Terri later confessed that at this point she felt kind of a sick feeling in her stomach, lamenting "I couldn't believe that this would happen after we had planned everything so perfectly!"

With our February 16 BVE still fresh in our minds, we knew exactly where to go, so we headed to the nearby "Bon Voyage" sign, where there was no line. But a Princess representative standing near the sign insisted instead that we sit down on the far side of the huge room, even when we told her that two of the people in our party were on the Bon Voyage Experience. Trying as always to be obedient, we found a place to sit, among the hundreds of others waiting anxiously to board the Golden Princess. I used this extra time to call our bank, informing them of our cruise so that they would not block our card transactions from Hawaii out of concern that they might be fraudulent. (It would have been prudent to inform the bank here that Terri's card was lost, but I didn't do so because I still hoped that we would somehow find it, and I didn't want it to be blocked.)

In 20 minutes or so, the Princess representatives began calling people, deck by deck, to get in line. Several times we approached Princess representatives to explain again that they should let us get in line because of our BVE participants, but we were repeatedly (and rudely) told "Bon Voyage boards last!"

Eventually almost everybody in the room was standing in line. Only a few people (maybe five or so besides us) were still seated. Were it not for the fact that we knew from our previous BVE that we should have already been on the ship, we probably would have continued to wait for another hour or more. Matthew and David were missing out on being on the ship, and we were missing out on time we might have needed to figure out what to do about Terri's ID problem. So I picked up my phone and called 1-800-PRINCESS and explained our situation. After about 10 minutes on the phone, I was eventually told that Princess had just sent an email to their representatives at the port explaining that they should allow us to board immediately. (I didn't mention my wife's ID problem on the phone, not wanting to give them any excuse to delay.) I also used this phone call as an opportunity to order a 240 minute Internet package for use during our cruise.

After my phone call ended, we again approached the port representatives who repeated their "Bon Voyage boards last" mantra. But this time we wouldn't accept that answer, walking on toward the Bon Voyage signs as we told them about the email from Princess headquarters. Within less than five minutes we were at the counter having our boarding passes checked. By this time it was about 11:50. (To be continued...)

After a long (and unnecessary) delay, my wife Terri and I had finally made it to the boarding counter, along with our son Matthew and our friend David who had joined us for the Bon Voyage Experience.

When the Princess representative behind the counter asked Terri for her ID, Terri explained that she had just lost her driver's license, but then she explained that she had located a different photo ID, which she handed to the clerk. Terri was coldly informed that she would be unable to board without a government-issued ID, and that these rules are strictly enforced by government officials, and that Princess Cruises did not have the ability to skirt these rules. Of course, Terri was devastated. She insisted that I board without her, but of course I refused. For a few minutes it really looked like we both would miss our cruise to Hawaii. Terri was crying, but I was just numb at the thought that after all of the planning, our dream cruise might just remain a dream.

Meanwhile, Matthew tried in vain to convince them that his birth certificate (which he had brought for the BVE) should help to prove Terri's identity.

Eventually (for reasons unknown to us, but of course we were not inclined to question) the Princess representative gave Terri her cruise card and allowed her go through, but warned that Terri still might not be allowed to get on the ship, and even if she gets on the ship, she would not be able to get off in any ports. All four of us were told to put "Bon Voyage" stickers on our shirts, apparently so that the staff would recognize that we were on the BVE (even though technically only two of us were on the BVE).

We passed through an X-ray machine and security checkpoint before entering another room where many people were waiting to board. But in this room we were never told to sit down, instead being quickly ushered directly to the next security checkpoint. (Perhaps this was a result of the email from Princess headquarters instructing them to allow us to board "immediately." We had expected to sit down and wait again at this point, as we previously had to wait here for about 10 minutes when we boarded for our Sapphire Princess BVE.) At each of these checkpoints, we worried that (as we had been warned) a government official along the way would still refuse to allow Terri to board. But soon we were standing next to the bridge leading from the port terminal to the ship, having our photo taken by the ship's photographer.

Moments later, all four of us were standing on the Promenade Deck (deck 7) of the Golden Princess, having passed the final security checkpoint.

But unlike our previous BVE, the Future Cruise Consultant was not there to greet us. In fact, nobody else was there. We were simply left on our own to explore the ship, which usually would have been fine. But in this case we had been looking forward to a guided tour of this special place we would call home for the next two weeks.

On our previous BVE, the dining room located on deck 6 aft opened for lunch at noon, so we headed down the stairs to the Canaletto Dining Room. But when we got there, we learned that Canaletto was closed for a private party. A waiter told us to go to the Donatello Dining Room, deck 6 midship. (Although both of these dining rooms are on deck 6, there is no way to get from one to the other without going up one level.)

Going back up to deck 7, the four of us headed toward midship, wanting to get lunch started so that we could maximize the brief BVE time. On our way by the Explorer's Lounge, we happened to pass by a friendly well-dressed gentleman who warmly greeted us in a way that made us wonder if he knew who we were. We discovered that he was our cruise director, Gavin Chandler! He was undoubtedly one of the friendliest people we encountered on the cruise, from beginning to end.

When we arrived at the Donatello Dining Room, it too was closed! A waiter told us that it would not open until 12:30! Although that was only 15 minutes or so away, we didn't want to waste 15 minutes of the limited BVE time just standing around, so we headed up to the Horizon Court buffet. When we arrived at Horizon Court, both serving lines were still closed. After we were told that it would open in about 10 minutes, we decided to wait. I left the three others waiting at a table at the Horizon Court while I brought a few things to our room (which wasn't too far away, just two decks down).

By the time I returned to Horizon Court, Matthew and David had already been to the buffet and were seated back at the table with a few small items on their plates. Since David and Matthew were still eating, I decided to take a couple of minutes to make a quick trip around the buffet, picking a couple of items to try as a pre-appetizer to our coming dining room lunch.

At about 12:45 we decided to head back to Donatello for lunch. We were seated immediately in the dining room, and our waiter immediately presented us with menus. It didn't take us long to review the short list of items on the menu and make our selections. As an appetizer, I ordered avocado and bay shrimp served with lemoncello aioli.

Having ordered the the exact same appetizer on our Sapphire Princess BVE, I felt that the presentation was better on the Sapphire. (Although this would be the first of many times that I would feel that Golden Princess fell short of the Sapphire Princess, I confess that my impression may be tainted by Princess' initial mishandling of the Golden Princess BVE, so feel free to take my negative impressions with a grain of salt.) Nevertheless, I found this appetizer to be delicious both times.

The main entrees arrived at about 1:30, over 30 minutes after we had ordered. While I don't mind waiting this long for the food to arrive during an actual cruise (when we are more relaxed), I feel less patient during a BVE, because the time is so limited. We also had experienced a similar wait during our Sapphire Princess BVE, but that time it didn't seem to be as much of a problem, because we were getting to know our tablemates.

On our previous BVE I had enjoyed the bacon burger, but this time I decided to try the spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli.

Terri ordered the veggie burger. When Terri gave me a bite, I wasn't impressed. I complained that it tasted to me like a potato patty, but Terri was obviously satisfied with it, responding simply "well, I like potatoes."

Matthew ordered the hamburger. He later told me that he had really wanted the cheeseburger, but he had ordered the hamburger by mistake. Nevertheless, he said that it was one of the best hamburgers he has ever eaten. We're not typically a fancy-restaurant family, so I confess that I found it amusing to watch the waiter pour the ketchup for the fries!

For dessert I ordered the papaya frozen yogurt, while my wife ordered the orange soufflé, which the waiter served by breaking the crust with a spoon, deliciously pouring Grand Marnier-vanilla sauce inside. (I had enjoyed such a soufflé during our first BVE in February.)

The desserts appeared on the main menu and were ordered at the beginning of the meal (unlike our typical cruise dinners when the desserts are ordered from a separate menu at the end of the meal).

All in all, everybody seemed to be very pleased with the meal, but the clock was ticking and we wanted to see more of the ship!

All four of us were told to put "Bon Voyage" stickers on our shirts, apparently so that the staff would recognize that we were on the BVE (even though technically only two of us were on the BVE).

 

We had expected to sit down and wait again at this point, as we previously had to wait here for about 10 minutes when we boarded for our Sapphire Princess BVE.)

 

The BVE sticker let the staff know that you should board immediately.

 

 

But unlike our previous BVE, the Future Cruise Consultant was not there to greet us. In fact, nobody else was there. The consultant may have been there around 11 AM when you should have been allowed to board the ship for the BVE experience but understandably did not wait around when you were unable to board.

 

We were simply left on our own to explore the ship, which usually would have been fine. But in this case we had been looking forward to a guided tour of this special place we would call home for the next two weeks.

I hope you wrote a polite letter to Princess explaining how you were not allowed to check in for the BVE at the proper time. You deserve some reimbursement for the BVE cost.

By the time we left the dining room it was after 2 pm, with less than an hour remaining to explore the ship with Matthew and David before their BVE time expired at 3. We had been given cards for the "treasure hunt," so we decided to try to visit the various locations of the ship necessary to collect all of the stamps on the cards. It only took us about 30 minutes to visit all of the locations listed on the card, and it served as a good checklist to help us make sure Matthew and David got to see various areas of the ship.

I hadn't recalled such a treasure hunt during our Sapphire Princess BVE (but we had plenty to do without it).

As we walked across the Lido Deck, David and Matthew decided to sample the ice cream. (They seemed pleased with it.) Terri and I skipped the ice cream this time, figuring that we would have time for it on another day. They also considered trying the pizza, but didn't have enough time.

Our son took this photo of the two of us as we walked across the Sun Deck. (We're holding our treasure hunt cards and other BVE paperwork.)

Before Matthew and David had to leave the ship, we took them up to Skywalker's to get the view from the top of the ship. Then they wanted to see our room, so we went down to the Baja Deck, heading all the way aft to B744, the room with the extra triangular-sized balcony extension (which some dub "the cave" due to the way it is shrouded by the structure which supports Skywalkers).

It was almost time for our visitors to leave the ship, and for us to go to the muster drill. After leaving our stateroom, we went downstairs to Deck 7, stopping at the Photo Gallery in hopes that we could pick up our embarkation photo. It wasn't ready yet, even though it is supposed to be part of the BVE package. If this had happened on our Sapphire Princess BVE we would have been disappointed, but in this case we knew that we would have a chance later in the cruise to pick up the photo.

We continued on to the Piazza, with David stopping at the International Cafe for a final cup of coffee. We said our goodbyes to David and Matthew, who seemed to be appropriately in awe of the size and amenities of the Golden Princess throughout their brief time on the ship. They had never even seen the Future Cruise Consultant (which is supposed to be part of the BVE), but neither of them intended to book a cruise, so it wasn't a problem.

Soon we would be waving to them from the top deck as the ship sailed away. (I tell the rest of that story on another thread, where I will review the cruise.)

For my wife and myself, the embarkation problems we experienced significantly marred our first impressions of the Golden Princess. But our enthusiasm for Princess Cruises in general never waned. I doubt that it ever will. In spite of our frustrations, we realized that any opportunity to be on a Princess ship, even for just a few hours, is a beautiful blessing.

More details of our BVE and sailaway can be found at the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94965522@N02/sets/72157633289462437/

I hope you wrote a polite letter to Princess explaining how you were not allowed to check in for the BVE at the proper time. You deserve some reimbursement for the BVE cost.

Thanks for the advice, caribill. I do agree that a letter is in order (we intended to write one long ago).

We definitely would love another shot at a BVE, even though we experienced these problems!

Sounds like your boarding was a nightmare. :( How unfortunate.

I'm surprised they allowed Terri to board without a government-issued photo ID. This is a Homeland Security regulation. The requirements are pretty clear.

Did you ever find your wallet?

Since this happened more than six months ago,

did you ever contact princess, and what was the outcome?

Sounds like your boarding was a nightmare. :( How unfortunate.

 

I'm surprised they allowed Terri to board without a government-issued photo ID. This is a Homeland Security regulation. The requirements are pretty clear.

I am also really surprised they allowed Terri to board without a government issued photo ID. I would have been crying myself if I didn't know where my ID was.

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna play the devil here. You whine and whine until the Princess rep at the check-in counter decides to ignore HS regs and allow Terri to board without the required ID. Then, you decide that you're going to write a complaint letter to Princess because you weren't allowed to board when you thought you should have been allowed to board.

I'm sorry your wife lost her ID. But frankly, that's not Princess's fault and they should not be blamed for your late boarding. There's no way Terri should have been allowed to board at all. What if she wasn't the sweet lady whose name was on some unapproved ID?

Care to share with us the outcome of your complaint to Princess?

I am now donning my flame-retardant environment suit. ;)

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna play the devil here. You whine and whine until the Princess rep at the check-in counter decides to ignore HS regs and allow Terri to board without the required ID. Then, you decide that you're going to write a complaint letter to Princess because you weren't allowed to board when you thought you should have been allowed to board.

 

I'm sorry your wife lost her ID. But frankly, that's not Princess's fault and they should not be blamed for your late boarding. There's no way Terri should have been allowed to board at all. What if she wasn't the sweet lady whose name was on some unapproved ID?

 

Care to share with us the outcome of your complaint to Princess?

 

I am now donning my flame-retardant environment suit. ;)

i feel bad she lost her wallet . but post 9/11 kinda of scary the lack of enforcement . i forgeot my birth cert once but that was in 1999 we had to have it faxed before the 1st port of call .

passports..............................the hawaii cruise u either go to mexico or vancouver . u need them to fly home .

I hope you wrote a polite letter to Princess explaining how you were not allowed to check in for the BVE at the proper time. You deserve some reimbursement for the BVE cost.

ARE you kidding? They shouldn't have been allowed to board without proper ID, Princess did them a big favor and all they can do is complain :eek: We should all write to Princess and demand they follow the protocol for homeland security for our safety.

Look at it this way......

You got everything you wanted in the end, didn't you? The two guys got to board and eat. Terri got to go on the cruise without required documentation. So what is the big complaint now? In my opinion Princess did you guys a BIG favor!

I'm sorry your wife lost her ID. But frankly, that's not Princess's fault and they should not be blamed for your late boarding.

The late boarding had nothing to do with the lost ID.

It was because check-in personnel over and over told them to wait with the rest of the crowd to check in and told them at least once that BVE people check in last.

However, that may have been a stroke of luck, as if they had been able to check in when they first arrived, boarding may have been denied by a different clerk who would have followed the rules about having a valid ID.

The next addition should be the complaint that Princess did not provide a personal chef to provide the gluten free, lactose free, salt free, glatt kosher meals tableside.

If that is all OP has to complain about, consider the plight of the unfortunate people he is tending to.

I agree, I would just feel incredibly lucky. This happened to me on our last cruise. The night before i discovered i did not have my passport. We were up all night to cruise reps etc. I was on phone to my parents back in washington to see if we could round up a copy of birth certificate. Off to notary at 1 am in FLorida. All with no guartentee and reps at cruise line basically saying i was out of luck. I was up all night with anxiety to the point of being sick. As i waited in line the person that went with me went to return car, waiting in car lot to see if we still needed car for the week. As i got to the security check person and i explained my situatiuon and showed him my driver's license and birth certificate copy i thought i was gonna puke on him! When he said that should be enough and sent me to counter and they said it was ok I went over to waiting area, texted to let my friend know we were good i broke down crying & shaking just at pure relief and the incredible stress lifting. At that point if someone woulda told i was gonna be the last one to board i woulda hugged them. As we sailed away i stood up on deck and just kept thinking how lucky i was, almost still crying...

To the OP - while I understand your frustration with the boarding, I would be counting my lucky stars that your wife got on board AT ALL. She lost her ID and should have been denied boarding. I would be kissing the agent who let her on rather than dissing the experience. Realize your good fortune and move on.

laplabs, your situation likely was very different from OP's. As long as your ship was coming back to the same port it left from, you were on what's called a "closed loop cruise." If so, then you were not required to show a passport. All you needed to show was a DL, or other government-issued photo ID and your original BC.

You mention you showed a BC copy. If it was, in fact, a copy, you caught a break. If it was your original BC, you had exactly what you were required to have. You did not have to have a passport.

OP's wife did not have either her passport, or a government-issued ID. She should have been denied boarding. The Princess agent who let her board broke HS regs and possibly put his/her job at risk. If OP actually sent his complaint letter and told the story the way he told it here, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the agent was disciplined for not following HS regs. Anything from a reprimand all the way to being fired.

The late boarding had nothing to do with the lost ID.

 

It was because check-in personnel over and over told them to wait with the rest of the crowd to check in and told them at least once that BVE people check in last.

 

However, that may have been a stroke of luck, as if they had been able to check in when they first arrived, boarding may have been denied by a different clerk who would have followed the rules about having a valid ID.

Point taken. I understand what you're saying, but I'm calling BS on that part of his story. One of the key features of the BVE is priority boarding.

I doubt that an experienced Princess rep at the pier would be clueless about the BVE priority boarding procedure.

I find it more likely that OP arrived at the pier later than he claims in his story (due to the extensive search for his wife's ID), missed hooking up with the rest of the BVE group that got there on time, then had to wait to board with everyone else.

I'm not saying the OP is lying. This story was posted more than 4 months after the fact. Memory has a way of changing things around over that period of time. He is likely telling the story the way he remembers it.

I doubt that an experienced Princess rep at the pier would be clueless about the BVE priority boarding procedure.

There have been numerous posts on other threads about clueless terminal personnel concerning the BVE.

The key to your statement is "experienced Princess rep."

Most of the shoreside personnel are local contract employees who may not all be experienced enough to know how to handle BVE passengers.

Even Princess does not always communicate the procedure properly to partcipants. There have been posts by BVE people saying they were told to show up according to suggested staggered boarding times, not at the special early time meant for BVE.

There have been numerous posts on other threads about clueless terminal personnel concerning the BVE.

I've only read a couple of threads other than this one about the BVE. Both were positive. That's what got us excited about doing a BVE in November on the Royal. But I certainly defer to the voices of those who have experienced BVE boarding screwups.

Most of the shoreside personnel are local contract employees who may not all be experienced enough to know how to handle BVE passengers.

I did not know that. That's disappointing, especially if they are not directly accountable to Princess for their actions. Sounds like many of them are making up rules as they go, for whatever reason they want. Or, they're just not properly trained. Either way, it makes for a frustrating experience for the passenger.

Even Princess does not always communicate the procedure properly to partcipants. There have been posts by BVE people saying they were told to show up according to suggested staggered boarding times, not at the special early time meant for BVE.

Amazing! I'm just sitting here shaking my head. ;) Sounds like we're really rolling the dice when we sign up for the BVE, hoping to get what Princess promises.

Most of the shoreside personnel are local contract employees who may not all be experienced enough to know how to handle BVE passengers.

 

I did not know that. That's disappointing, especially if they are not directly accountable to Princess for their actions. Sounds like many of them are making up rules as they go, for whatever reason they want. Or, they're just not properly trained. Either way, it makes for a frustrating experience for the passenger.

 

 

Where the OP did the BVE, I think Princess is the only cruiseline, so the onshore personnel only need to be familiar with Princess rules.

On ports (such as San Francisco and Galveston) where several cruise lines use the facilities, the same contract personnel may be used with the different cruise lines and must be trained in each one's individual rules.

Sounds like many of them are making up rules as they go, for whatever reason they want. Or, they're just not properly trained. Either way, it makes for a frustrating experience for the passenger.

Sounds like an excellent introduction to Princess' claim of

being "the consummate host". I wonder if these BVEs achieve

the intended marketing purpose of promoting princess to potential

customers, or just the opposite.

The OP repeatedly said he didn't tell people about not having his wife's ID until check-in. I have to wonder if that call to Princess HQ (800 number) that he made about the BVE didn't help in another way. It would be interesting to see that email from Princess HQ that told the people working at embarkation to board them immediately.

Perhaps, the people working at embarkation were confused about that email and allowed her on without a government ID as a result?