Any experience with cancelled Princess cruise?

[critterchick]

Even for a cruise change almost a year in advance? Wow, that IS generous. But then RCI has a lot fewer ships and doesn't sail to many of the places Princess does.

 

RCI has 22 ships to Princess' 18. But their international itineraries, other than Europe and Down Under, leave a lot to be desired for this Yank - they go into a market with the intention of working the locals (which Lrincess has started doing in Asia), so offer a lot of 3-5 night cruises. I'm not flying 10+ hours to sail on cruises that visit the same ports very few days.

[RDC1]

Asian cruises seem to be prone to charter. Celebrity has canceled their cruise that included Hong Kong for Chinese new year. It is now chartered.

 

The relatively small number of ships, combined with big money Chinese companies mean higher risk of charter.

[LokiMarie]

I'm also curious if the November 9th cruise will also be cancelled - we just rebooked on this one -- I don't want to go through cancelling all hotel reservations, etc., that I just had to do!

 

We decided to go ahead and rebook on the Nov 9 also so maybe we'll see you on it. (hope, hope) Nancy & Dave

[RocketMan275]

You keep saying that they lied. If a ship is chartered, then the current cruise is cancelled. Ipso facto...

 

One would think so but not always the case. I booked a Holland Cruise and learned several weeks later that a Jazz group had booked the same cruise as a 100% charter. No one from Holland contacted me. After discussing with my TA, I cancelled and booked a different cruise on a different line. Over six weeks later, Holland was still selling cabins on that cruise and the Jazz group was still advertising the same cruise as a charter.

[RickEk]

One would think so but not always the case. I booked a Holland Cruise and learned several weeks later that a Jazz group had booked the same cruise as a 100% charter. No one from Holland contacted me. After discussing with my TA, I cancelled and booked a different cruise on a different line. Over six weeks later, Holland was still selling cabins on that cruise and the Jazz group was still advertising the same cruise as a charter.

 

Well, if HAL didn't "cancel" the cruise, then it wasn't a "charter". It was just a group...

[RocketMan275]

Well, if HAL didn't "cancel" the cruise, then it wasn't a "charter". It was just a group...

 

Holland ultimately did cancel the cruise. My point was that for several weeks, Holland was actively advertising and selling the cruise while the Jazz group was also selling the cruise as a 100% charter. So what was it then? A charter or a regular cruise?

[aprilsfool11]

We received a rather shocking and disappointing phone call this morning from Princess Cruises advising that our Oct. 6/15 Grand Asia cruise on the Sapphire Princess has been cancelled. Also turns out the return cruise Oct. 23/15 has been cancelled. Why? They have chartered the ship to a Chinese company for the entire 34 days. Fortunately we haven't booked any flights, hotels, excursions, etc. but we had done a lot of work investigating the various ports and looking at land tours pre and post-cruise in Japan and Cambodia. They have confirmed our deposit will be returned (well, that's nice) but have hesitated to provide any additional compensation.

 

Has anyone had any experience with handling a cancelled cruise? Any ideas on what form you think compensation, if any, should take?

 

I'm really disappointed with Princess. Besides the obvious fact that they clearly favour corporate riches over the loyalty of their individual clients, they didn't handle this well at all (some on our roll call still haven't been advised of the cancellation). When we learned of the cancellation through a friend (who lives in an earlier time zone), we phoned our Princess cruise consultant and were emphatically assured the cruise had NOT been cancelled. We returned a couple hours later from an errand to find a voice mail message sheepishly confessing their error. Then got a pretty cavalier attitude about what they would do to make us feel better about continuing to choose Princess. Perhaps they have forgotten there are other cruise lines out there.

 

Thoughts? Thanks, Greg

 

 

I feel for you, because we were affected by this cancellation as well, and I also did a lot of research, comparing offers, writing e-mails etc. to plan for the cruise - same as you. In addition, I already booked flights and hotels for the four of us which can't be refunded, and as it currently looks like , Princes Cruises are trying to find a way to not pay for our expenses.

I'm also shocked that it evidently happens more often than I imagined and there seem to be so many people here who are indifferent to this kind of business policy - a breach of contract is a breach of contract and IMO to be frowned upon (to put it mildly). I'm unsure whether the General Terms and Conditions are different in other countries (I'm in Germany), but I read those that I agreed on quite thoroughly, and there's no clause in there that Princess can cancel the cruise just because they have a better offer for the ship. For Germany, I have learned that the law also offers the possibility for a compensation for missed holiday enjoyment (there might be a correct law term for it in English, but I'm not a native English speaker I'm afraid), which could also apply here.

So, I'm actually thinking about sueing them, if they refuse to pay the re-imbursemant I applied for because I don't think we should make it so easy for them, and I'd like to encourage everybody else with similar experiences to do so as well, otherwise they will continue to behave that way, and none of us will be able to rely on future bookings.

[RocketMan275]

I feel for you, because we were affected by this cancellation as well, and I also did a lot of research, comparing offers, writing e-mails etc. to plan for the cruise - same as you. In addition, I already booked flights and hotels for the four of us which can't be refunded, and as it currently looks like , Princes Cruises are trying to find a way to not pay for our expenses.

I'm also shocked that it evidently happens more often than I imagined and there seem to be so many people here who are indifferent to this kind of business policy - a breach of contract is a breach of contract and IMO to be frowned upon (to put it mildly). I'm unsure whether the General Terms and Conditions are different in other countries (I'm in Germany), but I read those that I agreed on quite thoroughly, and there's no clause in there that Princess can cancel the cruise just because they have a better offer for the ship. For Germany, I have learned that the law also offers the possibility for a compensation for missed holiday enjoyment (there might be a correct law term for it in English, but I'm not a native English speaker I'm afraid), which could also apply here.

So, I'm actually thinking about sueing them, if they refuse to pay the re-imbursemant I applied for because I don't think we should make it so easy for them, and I'd like to encourage everybody else with similar experiences to do so as well, otherwise they will continue to behave that way, and none of us will be able to rely on future bookings.

 

There has been no breech of contract. You can't sue. German law doesn't apply.

 

From the cruise contract: "Carrier may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel the cruise; deviate from the scheduled ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the ship; comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; or change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the Cruise or substitute ships, aircraft or other transportation or lodging. Accordingly, You should not make any important arrangements or meetings based on the scheduled Cruise, which may change without liability to Carrier."

 

You can't sue. You gave up your right to sue (except for bodily injuries, etc.) when you agreed to the contract where you agreed to "binding arbitration" in Los Angeles CA.

 

German law has no effect on this contract.

 

Don't get me wrong. I had this happen to me and I wasn't happy but there is no recourse. The cruise lines hire very good lawyers to write these contracts and the contracts are written to favor the cruise lines. You can't cruise unless you agree to the terms. Too Bad.

[Coveguy4]

I also had a 10 day cruise on the Sapphire canceled 6 months out when they decided to move her to Asia. I wasn't thrilled, did not expect to or did not receive any compensation and rebooked a 7 day on the CB instead. Had a great cruise and another 10+ friends also booked the shorter cruise so we all had a great time. Hope your replacement cruise is as much fun as mine was!

[RDC1]

There has been no breech of contract. You can't sue. German law doesn't apply.

 

From the cruise contract: "Carrier may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel the cruise; deviate from the scheduled ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the ship; comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; or change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the Cruise or substitute ships, aircraft or other transportation or lodging. Accordingly, You should not make any important arrangements or meetings based on the scheduled Cruise, which may change without liability to Carrier."

 

You can't sue. You gave up your right to sue (except for bodily injuries, etc.) when you agreed to the contract where you agreed to "binding arbitration" in Los Angeles CA.

 

German law has no effect on this contract.

 

Don't get me wrong. I had this happen to me and I wasn't happy but there is no recourse. The cruise lines hire very good lawyers to write these contracts and the contracts are written to favor the cruise lines. You can't cruise unless you agree to the terms. Too Bad.

 

Actually if their TA went through Princess.de or the German agent then German law does apply. If the TA purchased directly through the US then it would not.

[caribill]

Accordingly, You should not make any important arrangements or meetings based on the scheduled Cruise, which may change without liability to Carrier."

 

 

Gee, better never make those airline reservations.

[geoherb]

Reading these horror stories about booking early makes me glad they we usually book our cruises late.

[RocketMan275]

Gee, better never make those airline reservations.

 

Make them through princess, make them fully refundable, buy insurance, or take your chances.

[Brisbane41]

It makes you wonder if charter deals like this pay out a compensation fund for booked passengers and the cruise lines pocket the cash as bonus revenue for them and screw over the passengers.

[Colo Cruiser]

It makes you wonder if charter deals like this pay out a compensation fund for booked passengers and the cruise lines pocket the cash as bonus revenue for them and screw over the passengers.

 

 

Yeah thats it.

[RDC1]

Gee, better never make those airline reservations.

 

or make sure they are covered by trip cancellation insurance, including vendor cancellation coverage.

[caribill]

It makes you wonder if charter deals like this pay out a compensation fund for booked passengers and the cruise lines pocket the cash as bonus revenue for them and screw over the passengers.

 

I doubt any charter would be paying anything (to a cruise line or anyone else) for the airline flights and hotel reservations that the cancelled passengers had made.

[aprilsfool11]

Wow, I never even knew there's such a thing as a trip cancellation insurance, including vendor cancellation coverage (and I'm not sure anybody offers such a thing in Germany). The only thing I have is the common insurance against cancellation if I get sick, some close relative dies or I lose my job for example. These conditions clearly don't apply here, so no help from there. I wish I was flexible enough to just do another cruise, but there are several reasons why this isn't feasible. However, reading all the posts here I'm still stunned that this obviously is a common thing for cruise lines, and moreover that it's probably even supported by U.S. law. It's also likely that we will have to rethink our preference for cruising, I'm afraid, which is particularly bad for my elderly and disabled mother, who loves cruising because it's the only kind of vacation that allows her to see faraway places without too much hassle. Too bad. :(

[likeadisguise]

It's "common" in that it does happen, but it's not something that happens frequently. Princess sends out 18 ships all year long, so if you look at the total number of crises sailed vs the number of cruises cancelled, it's a pretty small percentage. Of course, it feels different when the cruise they happen to cancel is the one you're on.

[RDC1]

Wow, I never even knew there's such a thing as a trip cancellation insurance, including vendor cancellation coverage (and I'm not sure anybody offers such a thing in Germany). The only thing I have is the common insurance against cancellation if I get sick, some close relative dies or I lose my job for example. These conditions clearly don't apply here, so no help from there. I wish I was flexible enough to just do another cruise, but there are several reasons why this isn't feasible. However, reading all the posts here I'm still stunned that this obviously is a common thing for cruise lines, and moreover that it's probably even supported by U.S. law. It's also likely that we will have to rethink our preference for cruising, I'm afraid, which is particularly bad for my elderly and disabled mother, who loves cruising because it's the only kind of vacation that allows her to see faraway places without too much hassle. Too bad. :(

 

Not really supported by US law, as much as the ability for the cruise lines to do so is written into the contract that passengers must agree to when they book, and US law, in general, backs the agreed upon contract. There are some contract terms that are not enforceable in US law, but in general the contract terms win. Other countries are different for example the law in the UK maintains certain protections and the law there is written such that passengers cannot give up those protections. Of course to get those protections passengers have to book through UK mechanisms where the costs are usually higher. If a resident of the UK were to book through a US travel agent or web site they would be booking under a contract under US law, not UK law and would not be covered.

 

German law does not appear to provide the same level of protections. Though the civil code does appear to limit the type of changes a vendor can make, I do not know if individual contracts can provide the vendor with additional flexibility. I assume that it does because such clauses appear to be in the agreements for many tour companies.

 

There are travel insurance companies that protect you in case of vendor defaults and cancellations, just as they protect you in case you get sick. There might be a number of conditions as far as the airline tickets go, concerning residual value, being able to use them in some way. I have such a policy for an upcoming trip that I have. I am using two different vendors (a river cruise and a land tour) with independent air travel so I have a third party insurance that would enable me to be covered in case of an issue with any portion of the trip.

Edited February 24, 2015 by RDC1