Golden Princess route reversal causes big problem

[Demanding client]

About to leave on Golden Princess Jan 10/18 for New Zealand. Princess reversed the cruise schedule and didn’t inform us. They are very good at sending us emails selling stuff, but for some reason never informed us the schedule of ports had been reversed. We had to undo commitments meetings friends in various ports. Princess was unsympathetic to our plight, saying it was their “right” to change the schedule. We will likely have to consume their expensive internet time trying to rearrange our commitments. I agree it was their right, but don’t you think they should have informed us? What other “rights”are hidden in the small print.

[cruzsnooze]

You have the right to remain silent...

 

..

So do you when not adding anything to the conversation.

 

Princess' contract allows them to do almost anything. Passengers give up most rights when they accept their booking. It makes for a long and boring reading but you might want to review it. I agree it would make good customer relations to inform you of any changes. Many of us have private excursions and other plans that we are counting on.

[fishywood]

Looking at the 2017-18 Cruise Atlas the January 10 departure is footnoted

12-day voyage operates in reverse order and does not include Bay of Islands

 

On the Princess website the port sequence for this sailing after embarking Melbourne is Auckland/Tauranga/Gisborne/Wellington/Akaroa/Dunedin/Fjordland National Park

Which is precisely the reverse of the "normal" itinerary.

 

Are you saying Princess reversed the reversal without notification--or updating the webiste?

Or that you had been given the "normal" sequence when booking? And that is what had been showing in your Cruise Personalizer all this time?

I am confused as to how one can be unaware of this until the weekend before their cruise.

[Steelers36]

I think the OP simply did not pay sufficient attention when booking this cruise. The website indicates the correct order and it changes to the opposite if you switch dates to the next cruise. If the Cruise Atlas has it correct, then it cannot be a "last minute" change. The Cruise Personalizer must have had it correct as well.

[2theship]

My Princess booking confirmations always list a day-by-day schedule for my specific cruise including arrival and departure times. If the OP was working from this information and Princess changed it on them without notice, I think they have a valid complaint.

[Katie333]

My Princess booking confirmations always list a day-by-day schedule for my specific cruise including arrival and departure times. If the OP was working from this information and Princess changed it on them without notice, I think they have a valid complaint.

 

Agreed.

 

I watch my cruise personalizer like a hawk, just in case there are any changes or notifications. Princess has gotten much better about putting updates there and including details such as credits etc.

 

While Princess can do almost anything per the contract, I think most of us would find it a big pain if we had any plans ashore that were made outside of Princess reservations. I typically book mainly private tours for example, and in most cases, well in advance and would suspect I would lose out on these if the dates changed dramatically.

[Thrak]

It's unfortunate but almost certainly an "operator error" type of thing. Looking at a cruise and itinerary and then picking a different date it might be quite easy not to notice the reversal. I've made some pretty "GAH!!!" errors in the past with some things (although not a cruise) so I know how it feels. Hopefully things work out for the OP and it will be a great cruise.

[Bill B]

What other “rights”are hidden in the small print.

 

- Lock you up

- Kick you off the ship

- Change your stateroom...

[pablo222]

What other “rights”are hidden in the small print.

 

The inalienable right to complain on cruise critic.

 

Just in case your question was serious...

 

https://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/

[likeadisguise]

Did you book through a travel agent? If you did, the itinerary change notice went to them, and they didn't bother to tell you. Your beef may be with your TA.

[PoohUnderstands]

I think it really was an OP error as he/she has been quiet since initial post. I have, also, looked at an itinerary and then looked at dates and almost booked before seeing that little asterisk that says itinerary reversed!!!!! I understand his/her pain, but did he/she not look at personalizer at all during the slow wait time between booking and going? I look every day almost!;p

 

I have booked a TA 24 day cruise for August, 2019(!), and recently got an email about a change to the itinerary. And it was only the time getting into a port of call from 9am to 11am due to tidal constraints!!!! So if I am getting official minor affects like that so far ahead of time, I am sure that he/she would have gotten an official itinerary change email from Princess.

 

Either way, it is a shame that the OP didn't see it sooner, but at least, didn't get to cruise itself and then find out!

[Bazandgiz]

I have relatives on this sailing, they were informed about a week ago of the changed itinerary. The Golden has mechanical issues of some sort which are preventing it from sailing at full speed, so the itinerary had to be modified (and I believe the next sailing is missing Auckland). The OP should definitely have been notified of the changed itinerary, but it might be an issue of the TA not passing on the info.

[caribill]

I have relatives on this sailing, they were informed about a week ago of the changed itinerary. The Golden has mechanical issues of some sort which are preventing it from sailing at full speed, so the itinerary had to be modified (and I believe the next sailing is missing Auckland). The OP should definitely have been notified of the changed itinerary, but it might be an issue of the TA not passing on the info.

 

Even if the TA did not pass it on, there should be a note in the Personalizer.

 

 

Of course most people do not look at the Personalizer frequently to see if there has been an itinerary change nor should they need to.

[jefa]

When the whole itinerary of my cruise was changed, the only way I found out was in my Personaliser. My TA didn't know until I phoned her! However, the map of my original cruise is still showing on my Personaliser, not the revised itinerary.

[leck57]

Princess changed some ports on my last cruise and I received nothing. Even the Personalizer did not change for some time and I found out about the changes from the CC Roll Call. Not good enough I reckon considering we get heaps of emails from Princess trying to sell just about everything before the cruise.