Princess Navigational Map Auction

[pcjty]

Hello, I am posting this here following advice from the Australian Boards, and will put a link to that thread at the end of the post so you can see the updates

Carol

 

Hello,

I would like your thoughts and hopefully some advice on something that happened on our recent Princess cruise to New Zealand please.

We knew before the cruise that the navigational maps were auctioned for charity on the last sea day, and had decided that we would bid on the map as a present for my Dad's 80th birthday this year.

Having not cruised with Princess before, we were somewhat surprised to see two identical navigational maps, one on deck 6, and the other was on deck 12 near the bar, and we did discuss the possibility that they may do two auctions; but come the day of the auction there was only one map auctioned which was advertised as being a limited edition of one available, so we assumed the other would be filed with the ships records.

We won the auction, with a final bid of $550 and when my husband went to sign for the purchase the Assistant Cruise Director Phil, told him that the map on the previous New Zealand cruise only went for $450; but we were just happy that we’d won because the map would be a completely one off present for my Dad, and the money was going to the seaman’s charity.

After the auction we went to Deck 12 and the other identical map was still in situ, so we took some photos of our son in front of that map.

The next morning we were sitting on Deck 12 and the other map was still there, but then we went down to get our suitcases and when we went back up to Deck 12 to wait the 20 minutes or so before we could get off the ship the map had gone and some friends that we made on the cruise told us that they’d seen one of the other passengers looking at the map and then a young officer had come along, they’d had a quick conversation and then the officer had removed the map from behind the perspex, rolled it up and given it to the passenger, who walked away with it.

Obviously we are not happy with this, and we went straight to the Pursers desk and complained to a lady who told us the map would be different to the one we’d won – we told her it was identical in every way, and as we’d taken the photos the previous day showed her a photo to prove it; she then got an officer from somewhere out the back to come and talk to us, and he said that it definitely should not have happened and they would look into it…by then it was time for us to get off the ship, so we asked for someone to contact us and were told it would take a couple of days.

This was only last Wednesday 22nd, but so far nobody has contacted us, and we are still extremely unhappy about it; the one-off map for my Dad is not a one-off, and although we were happy to pay the $550 for the map when it was the only one available, we are obviously not happy that we paid that amount of money for something that somebody else was just given.

I don’t intend to let Princess just forget about this, and am hoping for some advice as to how we should proceed, and what, if any, outcome we should be requesting.

Thank you

Carol

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1978640

[Rancher Dave]

I've won it twice. The money goes to charity so I didn't worry really how much or it it was only one.

 

Agree if advertised as one and a second identical one was given away that should not have happened. Not sure what you want Princess to do to make it right. Depending on what you want you may gets many different responses here.

 

Glad you got the gift for your dad.

[sfo2008]

That just FEELS lousy. That said, I'm not sure what can reasonably happen. Hopefully (1) Princess will provide training/retraining to the involved employees so this doesn't occur again (they won't tell you if they do this) and (2) perhaps Princess could make a donation on its own to the charity matching yours for the second map that sold so that the charity ends up with 2x the benefit or some such? #2 seems unlikely but it seems more likely than many other options I can come up with.

 

Best of luck, hopefully your dad enjoys the gift.

[Colo Cruiser]

I am confused, did you pay for and recieve your map?

[ChuckinSC]

To add insult to injury, we were told that they no longer plot by hand. Everything is done electronically although the bridge still takes celestial plots to keep their expertise in a dying art. I don't think the charts they auction are true "working" or worked on charts. Again, I may be wrong but this was what we were told at a technology briefing a few weeks ago on the Crown Princess.

[pcjty]

Hello,

Thanks for the replies,

The money is really not the issue - we were happy with the amount we paid for the one-off map and that it was going to charity, and we certainly would not want the money back from the charity

Our problem is that it is no longer the one-off that it was auctioned as, and we feel cheated - we bought it for my Dad because it was a one-off and we wanted a really special present for his 80th, and if there's only one then it's special, but regardless of how nice it might be, it's not the one-off that we bought... if the ship can and do give identical ones away then why are they auctioning them as the one and only?

Yes, Colo Cruiser, we received the map; the issue is it was auctioned as a one-off, and then an officer gave an identical one to one of the other passengers - we would not have bid at all if we had known this was going to happen.

These maps are supposed to be the Navigational maps and are signed by the captain and senior crew, so they're not just any old map, ours was auctioned as the one and only signed navigational map.

Carol

[cr8tiv1]

I would suggest you contact your credit card company to put a hold on this payment. This will bide you time until you can get a satisfactory explanation. With the correct information, you will be able to decide if this was worth the purchase price.

[pcjty]

cr8tiv1 - we paid our on board account in cash.

 

Carol

[pcjty]

I would like to add, nobody from princess Cruises has contacted us about this and we were told on the ship on 22nd January we would be contacted within a couple of days. I emailed them a week ago and rang last Friday and was told they hadn't received my message (even though I got a receipt number from the automated response within minutes of sending the email) this is when the lady told me we had no proof as to what had happened and only we would know it wasn't a one-off, my Dad wouldn't know - I then wrote to the CEO at the end of last week and still so far nothing.

Carol

[Rancher Dave]

Perhaps the CEO will have his team respond. Idea above that the match your donation with a formal apology may be a good gesture.

 

The paper chart is a formal backup to the electronic navigation. The ones on display and that are auctioned are not the actual chart used even as the backup as that one remains on the bridge. One never knows when all main and backup power will die.

[pcjty]

The idea of Princess matching the amount of money for the charity is a good one, but that doesn't help me with my present for my Dad for whom the map was bought.

Over the past couple of days I've also been thinking about what they could do to rectify the situation and i don't know if it's feasible but if they could supply me with another signed, hand marked navigational map that was definitely an original one-off I'd be happy - I just want what we paid for.

I don't mean to sound heartless, but we paid the money in good faith of receiving what was advertised and didn't get it, and even though I don't want to take money away from the charity, its still money that we paid out for a present that wasn't what it should have been.

Carol

[jollyjones]

Hello,

 

These maps are supposed to be the Navigational maps and are signed by the captain and senior crew, so they're not just any old map, ours was auctioned as the one and only signed navigational map.

Carol

 

Whilst I agree that if the auction is advertised as being for a unique map it should be for a unique map, I also think you are being a little naive to believe that the map on show is anything more than cosmetic - you didn't really think they came along every night and plotted the next day's course on it, did you?

[Pushka]

Isn't the fundamental issue the way in which Princess marketed the item (in order to generate interest and $). And if presented as the navigational map then that's what it should be.

[pcjty]

jollyjones..no of course not, we knew from the beginning of the cruise that the map was 'pre-plotted', but the route marked does look as though it was done by hand - it is not exactly the route we took either, because we missed Dunedin and Milford Sound, so we knew full well that they didn't update it - we are not naive just wanting what we paid for

Pushka - exactly, and it was presented as the only one available to passengers which is why we're so upset

Carol

[sminfiddle]

The chart that is auctioned gets signed by the Captain and his staff. If the other chart was taken down and handed straight to a passenger, then it was not taken to the staff to sign and yours is indeed a one-of-a-kind.

[Colo Cruiser]

The chart that is auctioned gets signed by the Captain and his staff. If the other chart was taken down and handed straight to a passenger, then it was not taken to the staff to sign and yours is indeed a one-of-a-kind.

 

Actually they are already signed when they are posted.

[wilfros]

The idea of Princess matching the amount of money for the charity is a good one, but that doesn't help me with my present for my Dad for whom the map was bought.

Over the past couple of days I've also been thinking about what they could do to rectify the situation and i don't know if it's feasible but if they could supply me with another signed, hand marked navigational map that was definitely an original one-off I'd be happy - I just want what we paid for.

I don't mean to sound heartless, but we paid the money in good faith of receiving what was advertised and didn't get it, and even though I don't want to take money away from the charity, its still money that we paid out for a present that wasn't what it should have been.

Carol

 

Carol

 

You are learning a very hard lesson the difficult way. I notice you do not have many posts so my advise to you is keep low, this could get ugly.

 

You can't say anything negative, you will get flamed BIG TIME. Sorry

[windsor26]

Post your abbreviated comments on their Facebook page you get a reply VERY QUICKLY I have found

[rkmw]

Post your abbreviated comments on their Facebook page you get a reply VERY QUICKLY I have found

 

that was mentioned on the first post on the AU board

[nnrd79a]

Hello Carol:

 

Don't worry...... I do not post very often either.

 

The maps are only for display. If you look on the back, it will state that the map is not for navigational use.

 

A couple of years ago, my Wife and I were on an absolutely perfect cruse. Our table mates were fantastic, the weather was fantastic, the staff was fantastic... To this day, absolutely the very best that I have ever experienced on any ship to any destination.

 

I purchased the charity map, had it mounted behind glass within a very distressed driftwood frame.

 

I have it on my wall here in my office.

It looks fantastic, and it reminds me everyday of a truly wonderful experience.

 

My suggestion would be:

Do not to worry about what someone else obtained.

Take you wonderful memories, give the gift to your dad, hang the map on the wall and enjoy life!

 

We are really not here long enough to worry about the other guy, there is just not enough time for that type of thing.

 

Have a good one..

[Times Prince]

Carol

 

You are learning a very hard lesson the difficult way. I notice you do not have many posts so my advise to you is keep low, this could get ugly.

 

You can't say anything negative, you will get flamed BIG TIME. Sorry

I see this differently. Carol, the OP, has fairly clearly stated that she reported the issue whilst onboard, has been in contact with Princess customer support, and has a letter into the CEO. She has stated the "one of a kind original" she paid for appears to be not unique, and has also stated that the auction value was apparently negated by a free give-away onboard of the other copy, which should not have happened.

 

So, we are not flaming her, but do ask what it is that she might be expecting from Cruise Critic members. Some possibilities:

1) is there another way to escalate the issue?

2) has anyone else had a similar experience?

3) Is there some factor in the description of uniqueness that would make her copy truly unique?

4) Do we also see the situation as unfair?

 

We can offer opinions (not "flaming") and ask for more details, but given the steps she has already pursued, there is probably little we on CC can do to help.

 

We can thank her for giving us an example of "let the buyer beware", a lesson learned.

 

And we can advise her that, seeing as the map was represented and auctioned as being a "one of a kind", she could present it as such to her father with a clear conscience.

[cherylandtk]

If Princess offered to refund your money if you returned the map, what would you choose to do?

[RocketMan275]

Hello Carol:

 

My suggestion would be:

Do not to worry about what someone else obtained.

Take you wonderful memories, give the gift to your dad, hang the map on the wall and enjoy life!

 

We are really not here long enough to worry about the other guy, there is just not enough time for that type of thing.

 

Have a good one..

 

OP. This is the best advice on this thread. The important thing is the joy your gift will give to your 80 year old father. There is no need to sully this gift. Give it to your father and enjoy the joy it gives him. No need to share all you know and ruin this for him.

 

Sure, continue to pursue your other goals with Princess. But, no matter how that turns out, the important thing is to enjoy this gift with your father. Nothing else is that important.

 

Small question. Your copy was signed. Was the second?

[pcjty]

Hello,

 

Thanks for all your replies

 

We heard from Princess yesterday and they said that they'd been in touch with the ship and yes the incident did happen..although she said they were told that the map that was given away was not signed...luckily we had taken photos of the other map straight after the auction, so I was able to email one to prove it too was actually signed and identical to the one we bought at auction. After discussions with her Manager, the lady on the phone said that if we sent the map back to them by Friday then they would get it signed for us by Gavin MacLeod (The Love Boat Captain) and Ann Sherry (Princess Cruises AU CEO) and would also send us a photo of it being signed.

 

The map was was express posted to them yesterday

 

Carol

Edited February 5, 2014 by pcjty
spelling mistake

[more cruises]

Well, there's a great solution that no one could have predicted. Glad it worked out in your favor.