Rip Off & Money Hungry

[ar1950]

There is also a Perth in Scotland..........

......................

I also can't understand why someone would travel, presumably overseas, without sufficient credit or funds to cover all of their travel costs and any emergencies.

 

Probably due to youth and inexperience. I know that, looking back, I did some less than smart things when I was young.

 

Also, a lot of good information in many of the replies. Hopefully the OP will check back and get the benefit of that information. I'm skeptical of that, though. It sounded like she mainly wanted to vent and, mostly about the snafu with the credit/debit card situation. The other stuff just sounded like piling on to further make her complaint about the cruise experience sound worse than it probably was.

[mbible]

We were also on the Grand Princess and everyone was great. Too bad you had problems but it sounds more like inexperience with cruising than Princess issues. Of course one can have a one off with rude staff but a complaint on the ship will normally solve that in a heartbeat.

[joybook]

Have sailed with Princess quite a few times. We are not drinkers but have never been hassled by waiters. Nor have we ever had any problems with credit cards/ship board accounts etc.:)

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I'm not understanding what the OP is saying about charging their credit card daily. As I understand it any holds would be placed at the beginning of the cruise and the card charged at the end of the cruise. :confused:...

 

In my experience, Princess places daily holds on your credit card based on your onboard spending. I believe some other lines just put a fixed amount on hold at the beginning based on the length of the cruise, as hotels often do. Not sure if the OP actually used a debit card or credit card, but either way the holds on it apparently used up the available credit or funds they counted on to get home.

Edited May 24, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[M4dC0w]

Only harassment I find are the ships photagraphers, on the gangway, and entrances to dinner in costumes, I don't mind a nice portrait, but dont bother us when we are eating. And they don't take no for an answer there sometimes, I actually had to complain to my head waiter last cruise to get her to leave.

[aprime23]

I confess, I am a sucker for a tray of umbrella drinks. I cannot help myself and cave instantly if asked if I would like to buy a drink while on vacation. I apologize for singlehandedly trying to drive the KPI you fear through the roof.

[GUT2407]

Only harassment I find are the ships photagraphers, on the gangway, and entrances to dinner in costumes, I don't mind a nice portrait, but dont bother us when we are eating. And they don't take no for an answer there sometimes, I actually had to complain to my head waiter last cruise to get her to leave.

 

 

I find even with the photogs they aren't too pushy.

 

It is a job I once did on land and I suspect I was a lot pushier than those on Princess are.

[joll]

We are from Australia and have done 25 cruises using Visa and MasterCard Credit Cards (not Debit cards).

 

When we returned from a Princess cruise last December, I checked our MasterCard statement online and noticed small amounts showing for the last 5 days we were on the cruise. The information shown had no reference to Princess and just said "Purchases". I contacted the bank and they could not tell me the merchant. They then went through the process of cancelling and issuing a new card. I checked the account each day and the amounts dropped off (one by one) daily over the next few days.

 

This was the first time I had noticed these amounts ever being put on the bank account. It was only after organising a new card that I had the thought that they may be Princess 'holds' that I had read about on Cruise Critic which I thought only related to Debit Cards.

 

When we did another cruise two months later with Royal Caribbean, the same thing happened. By this time, we assumed this was the norm and waited for a few days for the charges to drop off our bank/credit card account - which they did!

 

The conclusion for us is that this is a process that Cruise Companies utilise, similar to when you book into a hotel and they swipe a credit card to cover for additional incidentals.

[pablo222]

I'm not understanding what the OP is saying about charging their credit card daily.

 

My experience with paying with a credit card on Princess is --

throughout the cruise, they post wierd little authorizations.

These don't match my account balance, spending, or anything

else I can divine.

 

At the end of the cruise, princess charges the card once for

any charges I have accrued.

 

After a while the authorizations drop off.

 

It is not something I have ever worried about, nor had a problem with.

 

If having a few hundred dollars in authorizations (that will drop off) were

a financial problem for me, I would really think twice about taking a

cruise. What if my car needed emergency repairs, so I could keep

going to work...or something like that?

 

A cruise is hardly a necessity of life.

[chamima]

I just have to say this all sounds familiar.

We also went on a cruise for our honeymoon.

We were seated at a table with 3 other honeymoon couples, one of whom had never been out of their hometown before.

They were miserable the entire cruise.

They just weren't prepared for the experience.

The last night (and since this was 45 years ago people tipped cash on the last night) they didn't show up to dinner as they hadn't brought any cash.

 

The whole scenario is the same, a young couple with a debit card with probably a low limit who were just too young and inexperienced to plan ahead.

Princess did nothing wrong but I still feel badly for the couple.

[ssbeagle]

Yes, there are some charges that are automatically put on your account such as the daily tips of around $11/day per person that are for the wait staff and cabin steward. Some people ask to have those removed as they either won't tip or will tip what they want at the end. These people work very hard for their tips. If there are any other charges on there it is because you put them on there by booking tours, buying drinks, gambling, etc. all cruise lines are in the business to make money but no one forces you to spend any more than you want to. By the way, the credit card is not charged until the end of the cruise.

 

Even if you go with another line you will have the same thing. Three little words, no thank you, is all it takes when someone asks if you want something. After a while they get to know you don't want to be bothered. Cruising, even though it includes meals, room and some entertainment, is not all inclusive.

[Colo Cruiser]

Not something we worry about either. My cards are protected against unauthorized charges. I just make sure at the end that the charges are correct, the rest drop off. :)

[seamwoman]

I wonder of the OP was not expecting the gratuities to be added to the bill. We recently were on a Panama Canal cruise with a lot of Australians who do not believe in tipping. We had a spirited conversation about it. Bottom line: they did not do their homework. Karen

[GUT2407]

My experience with paying with a credit card on Princess is --

throughout the cruise, they post wierd little authorizations.

These don't match my account balance, spending, or anything

else I can divine.

 

At the end of the cruise, princess charges the card once for

any charges I have accrued.

 

After a while the authorizations drop off.

 

It is not something I have ever worried about, nor had a problem with.

 

If having a few hundred dollars in authorizations (that will drop off) were

a financial problem for me, I would really think twice about taking a

cruise. What if my car needed emergency repairs, so I could keep

going to work...or something like that?

 

A cruise is hardly a necessity of life.

 

 

 

Is so.

[shepp]

Ah, here we are 70 posts later and the OP hasn't been back to continue the conversation or concede that, having gotten more info, some of her initial accusatory whining might have been off-base. Any bets on how unlikely she and her new hubby will some day be on a 50th anniversary cruise? Or even a 5th anniversary one?

[shepp]

A cruise is hardly a necessity of life.

 

OK, maybe not for you. ;)

[SteerageJack]

I would never go on anoher princess cruise.

 

We went on the grand princess alaskan tour. Alaska was amazing but princess cruises was anything but. Most staff were nice and there were a couple of outstanding people but its clear one of thier KPI's is to get you to spend money.

We were constantly harrassed to spend money onboard, my husband doesnt drink or at least very little and frankly i was getting infuriated that we were being harrassed by wait staff to buy drinks sometimes by 5 or 6 people in the space of a few minutes.

 

This was our first cruise so maybe a bit naive but it will also be our last or at least with princess. They charged our credit card daily which was fine those funds sat there as a pending transaction so not un expected but then they charged us in full again when we got off the cruise but hen didnt release all of our pending funds. I contact my bank thinking its a bank issue and apparently princess cruises wont release those funds until nesrly a month after we got off the cruise.

 

Frankly i cant be surprised they are clearly desperate for money and want their cashflows looking better but quite itritated as now we have no spending money left for the rest of our honeymoon and have had to borrow money from our parents to get home.

 

Just be aware if you choose to book a princess cruise that this could happen to you if you spend a decent amount of money on board you will be billed during and again after the cruise and like us you might not get the bulk of the on board money you were billed back until a month later.

 

Very disappointed

 

Wow, this hasn't been our experience with Princess. It is unfortunate that your experience was so bad. Hopefully, you will give another line a chance and find one more to your liking.

[Hlitner]

Sorry for the OP's experience, but we would have to agree that "Very Disappointed" is simply naive about mass market cruising. While the OP might call bar waiters asking if you would like a drink, "harassment" many others would simply call it good service :). In fact, we tend to get upset when there are not enough bar waiters around when we need them. As to the "Credit Hold" practice, this is normal on nearly all mass-market cruise lines. In fact, Holland America discloses (buried on their web site) that they put a $60 per passenger/day hold on the registered credit card. Other lines have similar policies. Unfortunately for the OP, the credit holds are often not released for several days (or even weeks) after the cruise.

 

Hank

Edited May 24, 2015 by Hlitner

[librarymom]

Just off the same cruise and everyone was lovely. No hard sells. I would repeat the experience in a second.

[JF - retired RRT]

Now we have no spending money left for the rest of our honeymoon and have had to borrow money from our parents to get home.

Dear Very Disappointed,

How were you planning on getting home BEFORE the holds were placed on your debit/credit card?

Did you forget to make a reservation for your return flight/train trip/bus/whatever?

[Shmoo here]

Dear Very Disappointed,

How were you planning on getting home BEFORE the holds were placed on your debit/credit card?

Did you forget to make a reservation for your return flight/train trip/bus/whatever?

 

I doubt that you're going to get an answer.

[suzyed]

I just have to say this all sounds familiar.

We also went on a cruise for our honeymoon.

We were seated at a table with 3 other honeymoon couples, one of whom had never been out of their hometown before.

They were miserable the entire cruise.

They just weren't prepared for the experience.

The last night (and since this was 45 years ago people tipped cash on the last night) they didn't show up to dinner as they hadn't brought any cash.

 

The whole scenario is the same, a young couple with a debit card with probably a low limit who were just too young and inexperienced to plan ahead.

Princess did nothing wrong but I still feel badly for the couple.

 

We were on NCL to Alaska a while back and they had a Honeymooners/Anniversary party! We met a young newlywed couple at the party. Well the groom brought his credit card and it was already maxed out 3-4 days into the cruise. Neither DH or I remember how they remedied the situation, but we took them to dinner in one of the Specialty restaurants to treat them and to celebrate with them. Nice kids, but totally unprepared. I guess their waiters and room steward didn't get tipped either! :eek:

[avcruz]

I'm not expecting the OP to return to read any of our comments. All I have to say is what a pity that their first post on Cruise Critic wasn't BEFORE they went on their cruise. They could have learned so much and could have been better prepared about what to expect.

[OzKiwiJJ]

My experience with paying with a credit card on Princess is --

throughout the cruise, they post wierd little authorizations.

These don't match my account balance, spending, or anything

else I can divine.

 

At the end of the cruise, princess charges the card once for

any charges I have accrued.

 

After a while the authorizations drop off.

 

It is not something I have ever worried about, nor had a problem with.

 

If having a few hundred dollars in authorizations (that will drop off) were

a financial problem for me, I would really think twice about taking a

cruise. What if my car needed emergency repairs, so I could keep

going to work...or something like that?

 

A cruise is hardly a necessity of life.

 

Ah, OK, thanks. I've never noticed authorisations on my card - I am aware they happen but not sure how to check for them. Anyway our cards have enough "slack" in the credit limit to cover minor authorisation holds without inconveniencing us.

[caribill]

Ah, OK, thanks. I've never noticed authorisations on my card - I am aware they happen but not sure how to check for them.

 

Some banks show this information when you look online at your credit card account. Some do not.