Caribbean Princess 3/22-3/29

[bikermom33]

There are a number of people that were on this cruise that do have something to complain about.

 

At the time the offer was rescinded passengers were told they could get a full refund (and future cruise discount) only if they disembarked from the ship. They were told if they remained on the ship, there would not be a full refund.

 

Thus, a number of passengers (some posted about 10%) left the ship and did not get to sail to Cozumel.

Yes, and I was one of those that got off because of the announcement from the captain telling us if we got off we would get a 100% refund and if we stayed on we would not. After I got off and found out from my daughter who stayed on with her friend that everyone again was promised a refund, I was very sick to my stomach and depressed all week because I got off the ship. I was upset and mad because I did not continue my cruise with my daughter and friend.

[bikermom33]

Hi Billie! I am so sorry I did not finish the cruise! I should have stayed on regardless of the Captain's announcements!

[BillieMomof5boys]

Hi Biker Mom.. Is this Melanie's Mom? Funny to meet up on here

 

 

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[bikermom33]

LOL Yes, it's me! Trying to find info about our refunds...and I saw you here! You need to friend me on FB. Or I need to, however that works!

[BillieMomof5boys]

I could not find you in Facebook. Find me Billie Hoskins Cassimatis

 

 

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[TAMU Dad]

Not gotten any refund as yet, anyone has? Princess last phone promise was by 4/18.

[Colo Cruiser]

Not gotten any refund as yet, anyone has? Princess last phone promise was by 4/18.

 

Not to worry you will get your credit.

[bikermom33]

Finally got it today! It was minus about $20 but Now I can pay my bills! My daughter got hers on Saturday! Thanks, everyone! :o

[mjrich73]

Finally got it today! It was minus about $20 but Now I can pay my bills! My daughter got hers on Saturday! Thanks, everyone! :o

 

I am still waiting on mine :) I think the $20 is the overage port fees we paid. They already gave us that back on our shipboard accounts.

[whataboutport]

The folks coming off this cruise have very little, if anything, to complain about. Yes, Princess rescinded, then reinstated, their compensation offer. But in the end, you got a free 3-night stay at a beautiful land resort plus a free 4-night cruise to Cozumel, all meals and entertainment included. Plus you get a 25% FCC that can be used well into 2017 (on a cruise booked by 12/31/2015). Christmas came early to you.

 

You spent 3 nights of a 7-night vacation tied to the pier. If Princess had offered a refund of 3/7 of your cruise fare, plus some FCC, plus a refund of port fees for ports that were missed, that would have been more than "fair."

 

Princess gave away the farm on this one. As a CCL shareholder, I'm left shaking my head.

 

I agree the offer was very very generous. If I was on this cruise I would NOT be complaining. However all the other cruises on this ship out of this port that weren't compensated anything, I would be very upset if I was on one of those. We were on the first sailing out of Bayport last Nov and we were delayed getting off due to the fog. Gladly we didn't miss our flight but a lot of others did. I would not sail out of Bayport again. Just too many incidences compared to the other port I would sail out of, FLL.

[SeagoingMom]

We are just back from the Caribbean Princess. We will absolutely never go out of Texas again. I know that other people have had good experiences, but this is the last time for us. We aren't going to take the chance of the same issues again. Most of the issues weren't Princess's fault.

 

The experience started out just fine. We arrived in Houston by plane without incident. Our luggage showed up. We stayed at the Houston Airport Marriott, which is a nice hotel. The serious issues started the next day.

We had Princess transfers from the hotel. They gave us a paper that said, leave your luggage in your room, it will be taken to the ship. Ours wasn't. After calling the hotel about 5:00 and finding out that the luggage was still in the room, the ship arranged for the luggage to be picked up and delivered by about 7:30. If we had left on time, we would have been buying clothes in the gift shop.

 

As everyone probably knows by now, there was a significant oil spill in the channel leading out of port and we were delayed for a couple of days. Had it been about 10 degrees warmer in Houston, I think it would have been a lot better for most people. It was a bit chilly, and that coupled with not moving made some people a bit cranky. Not Princess's fault.

 

Generally, I thought Princess handled the delay well. The only complaint I have is that they first said everyone would get a 100% refund, plus 25% off the next booked cruise. Then they changed it to 50% off if you stayed on the ship. Then, they changed it back to 100% back plus 25%. All's well that ends well, but don't say one thing then take it away. There were some very angry people at that point.

 

On the plus side, the cruise staff handled things extremely well. The entertainment was terrific. Service was great. The food was okay. Even the Princess coffee tasted better to us. Desserts were (unfortunately) much better on the ship this year than last year.

 

The one stop was in Cozumel and we had a good time there, too.

 

Arriving back in port in Houston, we took the Houston highlights tour which was OK, but not great.

 

All in all, not my favorite cruise, but okay and it sure beats going to work. Future Caribbean cruises will be out of Florida for us. We aren't taking the chance of going out of Houston again.

 

Ohiodoglover

I quote the OP's first post in its entirety just to remind folks that the topic was a disinclination to not sail out of Houston again -- not a general complaint about Princess (as far as I interpreted the post, anyway...)

 

I, too, am disinclined to sail out of Houston again (I am also disinclined to sail with Princess again, but that is another story...)

 

We are perhaps spoiled by having only sailed out of Fort Lauderdale, and perhaps someday we will find ourselves either recognizing that Houston wasn't so bad because we have an even more inconvenient experience than sailing from Bayport, or perhaps we will someday have a very inconvenient experience sailing out of FL. It could happen. (I hardly think I'll be having issues at the port of Abu Dhabi, as one poster mentioned, but that is just me...:rolleyes:)

 

We found the research and cost involved in getting from the airport (Hobby) to the distant port to be a big negative, even though we managed to organize it and we had no particular issues. But we still prefer the ease of Fort Lauderdale (or theoretically any city where, unlike what we found in Houston, the airport and port are relatively near each other, transportation between airport, hotel and port is easy and inexpensive, and non-fast food restaurants near the hotels are numerous and easy to find.)

 

Fog was an issue for our cruise, as it had been for several cruises previous to ours. Although it only caused us a delay of a few hours, it could have been much worse. The oil spill occurred as we were disembarking, so we "threaded the needle" between the fog and the spill.

 

In addition, we were not thrilled with the "port tax" added to alcoholic beverages while we were in port and in the channel (which represented about four or five hours), nor the lack of variety in alcoholic options available while we were still in "Texas territory."

 

The risks and inconveniences involved in sailing out of Bayport cause us not to want to bother flying out there from Georgia to sail. The port is popular (no surprise) with Texans and others who drive to the port. They invest less, I guess, so the higher risks cost them less. They love the convenience.

 

We cannot cruise often, so issues causing us to miss out on any aspect of our cruise would be more problematic for us than for those who might be able to hop back on a ship soon to make up for what they missed in the first go-round.

 

For these reasons, Houson/Bayport is not for us, nor are we tempted to try Galveston.

[caribill]

We found the research and cost involved in getting from the airport (Hobby) to the distant port to be a big negative.

 

If you are going to limit yourself to airports no further away than FLL is to Port Everglades, there are many ports to avoid.

 

Some examples.

 

From HOU to Bayport: 22 miles

 

From MIA to Port Everglades: 29 miles

 

From ANC to Whittier: 60 miles

 

From LAX to San Pedro: 20 miles

 

From FCO to Civitavecchia: 39 miles

 

From LHW to Southampton: 65 miles

 

From NRT to Yokohama: 61 miles

 

From ATH to Piraeus: 29 miles

[Times Prince]

We were on the Caribbean Princess cruise out of Houston following the OP's and everything went exceptionally smoothly. No delays, no weather issues. ... and for us no illnesses contracted when flying from FLL.

 

Problems can happen on any cruise, and to rule out a port based on the one cruise seems a little extreme. Yes, Princess should have been crisper in their offer, without second guessing themselves, and it was a personal decision whether to leave or enjoy a stay at a luxury floating hotel. Sorry that some have regretted their decision.

 

It really is luck of the draw whether one has a great cruise, or just a memorable one. We had a great cruise.