Princess Reps taking advantage?

[tennisobo]

My mom and stepdad just got their cabin assignment for the 10-day on the Emerald in March. They were assigned a BA on Lido after booking a BG guarantee. They prefer to be at the back of the ship so they called to see if they could change. Well, they were changed alright. They were switched to a BC on Riviera and charged about $200 more. That doesn't seem right to me. I think they should have been offered something at the back of the ship but not charged extra for it. I know they booked a guarantee....but they were assigned a BA and were charged to change that to a BC. They are 73 and 80 years old. I don't like to think the the Princess rep took advantage of older people who aren't experienced cruisers.

 

My step-dad paid the whole thing off while they were on the phone. Do any of you think they should negotiate to get some of the up-charge back?

[Liz54]

I don't think this seems fair either, But Princess will not deal with you, only the passenger in question. Suggest you have your Step Dad call while you are there. I believe he can then tell the rep to speak with you if he likes. Might want to ask for a supervisor.

[tennisobo]

I would love to do that, but I live in Minneapolis and they live in Kansas. I may try to figure out how to do a conference call. The problem is, I don't think my step-dad will want to do it. I could get my mom to do it, though.

 

I welcome input from more CCers

[Loonbeam]

There is one key point to remember. Guarantees are issued upgrades to cabins they don't think they will sell for that particular voyage. If the BCs are in more demand there will be a higher price equivalence and thus a charge may be incurred. Check pricing for the cabins as well, I have seen BCs be above BAs. In addition, by requesting a specific cabin type or location other than category you are technically moving out of a guarantee class. If they asked for a cabin at the back of the ship, the rep may have changed it to a regular booking.

 

 

 

My mom and stepdad just got their cabin assignment for the 10-day on the Emerald in March. They were assigned a BA on Lido after booking a BG guarantee. They prefer to be at the back of the ship so they called to see if they could change. Well, they were changed alright. They were switched to a BC on Riviera and charged about $200 more. That doesn't seem right to me. I think they should have been offered something at the back of the ship but not charged extra for it. I know they booked a guarantee....but they were assigned a BA and were charged to change that to a BC. They are 73 and 80 years old. I don't like to think the the Princess rep took advantage of older people who aren't experienced cruisers.

 

My step-dad paid the whole thing off while they were on the phone. Do any of you think they should negotiate to get some of the up-charge back?

[tennisobo]

There is one key point to remember. Guarantees are issued upgrades to cabins they don't think they will sell for that particular voyage. If the BCs are in more demand there will be a higher price equivalence and thus a charge may be incurred. Check pricing for the cabins as well, I have seen BCs be above BAs. In addition, by requesting a specific cabin type or location other than category you are technically moving out of a guarantee class. If they asked for a cabin at the back of the ship, the rep may have changed it to a regular booking.

I agree with the the points you raise, but I have changed my guarantee assignments for several cruises and have never been charged for changing to a cabin in the same or lower class than I was assigned. That includes my next cruise that went from every category waitlisted to sold out over three months before sailing.

[-Lew-]

As you stated, they booked a BG and then upgraded to a BC, a more expensive category. This is what precipitated the $200 price increase.

 

I believe the fact they were upgraded to a BA from the BG does not figure into the price computation. If they had been able to switch to another BA more to their liking there would have been no additional charge.

 

Lew

[cherylandtk]

Since none of us were on the phone during the call itself, it may be hard to determine exactly what happened. But we do know that yes, you can switch to a different available cabin in the same grade as assigned with no charge. Since that did not happen, perhaps there were no available BA cabins? What was the price difference of the BC and BA cabins at the time? We don't know what words were used, but if your step-dad somehow indicated he wanted to change the booking from a guaranty to a certain cabin, then I could see that he was changed to a specific cabin BC booking instead of just a simple change of assignment of the GTY. He may not have known the difference when asked by the CSR..especially since he did not know enough to decline the extra charge and call back after speaking with you. Does this bother him as much as it bothers you?

 

If he is not bothered enough by the cost difference to accept your help with correcting the booking then I would just leave it as it is. OTOH, if he wants a refund, do a three way call to Princess and ask to clarify what happened on the booking. The worst that happens is they go back into the GTY pool at the lower price. And the best is that they get a midship Caribe BA.

[Pam in CA]

There are a couple of factors here that without knowing what the conversation actually was, could have happened.

 

If you book a BG GTY and are assigned a BA, and reject it, you go back to a BG. That's how it usually works. IF a cabin in a category lower than a BA is available as a free upgrade to the BG, you can request the lower category and be assigned that category. There's no guarantee this request will be honored. However, if you reject the BA and then request a BC, you can be upgraded to the BC from the BG (that you've reverted to) and charged the difference. The only thing guaranteed is a BG, or better. There is no guarantee that if you don't like your GTY assignment, you can ask for, and receive, another category for free.

 

As has been repeated many times before, never book a GTY if you'll be unhappy with what you'll eventually be assigned. It sounds like your parents received bad advice from someone who told them they could ask for another category if they didn't like the one assigned and get it for free.

[hubofhockey]

 

As has been repeated many times before, never book a GTY if you'll be unhappy with what you'll eventually be assigned. It sounds like your parents received bad advice from someone who told them they could ask for another category if they didn't like the one assigned and get it for free.

 

Great response. People are looking to get more than what they paid for and then complain that they are being taken advantage of. :confused: OP wants to pay less for her cabin than the person one door down who played by the rules. There is a good reason GTYs cost less than other categories. It might be more fair offering the BA cabin to everyone in BE who actually paid more than those just reserving BGs.

[Wild Bill]

I called and asked about changing to a "balcony cabin", that opened up on the back of the ship, and I was in a mini suite, so a down grade, and they wanted about $100.00 more, so I passed on the down grade.

I am sorry that your family went for the "down grade" for more money, but as others have said, if the cabin is selling for more money, even though it is a down grade from what they were assigned, you can either decide to stay with what you have, or pay the differerence. Since it is still a few month's out, maybe that catagory will drop in price, and they can get some money back.

 

Good luck to them, because I hate when older people get what you feel is a bad deal.

[TracieABD]

I hope that your folks hav a wonderful cruise. They are lucky to have a child who cares so much...:)

[donna5]

I called and asked about changing to a "balcony cabin", that opened up on the back of the ship, and I was in a mini suite, so a down grade, and they wanted about $100.00 more, so I passed on the down grade.

I am sorry that your family went for the "down grade" for more money, but as others have said, if the cabin is selling for more money, even though it is a down grade from what they were assigned, you can either decide to stay with what you have, or pay the differerence. Since it is still a few month's out, maybe that catagory will drop in price, and they can get some money back.

 

Good luck to them, because I hate when older people get what you feel is a bad deal.

 

Aft balconies are prime real estate. Location...Location;)

[tennisobo]

They are quite happy with the location. Mom was not happy to pay more. Step-dad just wants to get a cabin they will like. When talking with them about this I tried to put a positive spin on the outcome. I was surprised they booked a guarantee in the first place. I kept telling them that by booking the BG guar. they should be happy with the BG. I think Mom had some unrealistic expectations. Their only other cruise was last year and they were upgraded at the pier from an OV to a balcony. I think that they have used up their good fortune with the Upgrade Fairy with that one.

 

Thanks for all the input. I know I can count on CC to get some well-thought-out responses...I just ignore any snarky ones....fortunately none of you were in the snarky category.

 

Happy sailings to all...

[sjbj]

Your parents should really work with a travel agent. They can easily fix this kind of problem. Better yet, keep it from happening in the first place. Check Yelp for a reputable TA in their area.

[lovevacadays]

No they weren't taken advantage of but very sweet of you to be concerned. It's supply and demand in regards to pricing. If they rejected the assigned upgrade and requested a different cabin that might be more preferrable that means Princess could make that extra money on it so charged your folks.