Customs and purchases on domestic cruises

[gbenjo]

19 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

You need to go back and read from the beginning. They were both longer international cruises with a coastal sector in Australia. The rules on Sun Princess were clear with the sticker placed and rules explained prior to boarding.

 

On the Sea Princess there was no sticker and in all the shops they were declining services to domestic guests for absolutely everything.

 

Besides I am not the only one to complain. There were quite a few people going up to Brisbane on the Sun Princess and returning to Sydney three days later on the Sea Princess.

 

You would expect the rules to be exactly the same on the Sea Princess as the Sun Princess for exactly the same situation.

That was my point ..the rules are the same but if someone on the ship did not organise an indicator on your sea pass to tell shop staff etc that you were not entitled to purchase duty free then it is a bit tough to blame the shop staff

[Aus Traveller]

49 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

That was my point ..the rules are the same but if someone on the ship did not organise an indicator on your sea pass to tell shop staff etc that you were not entitled to purchase duty free then it is a bit tough to blame the shop staff

He is complaining that he was not allowed to buy  normal retail items (not duty free items). These should be available even on domestic cruises. I can see his argument, but I am not getting excited about it. Maybe I would, if I wanted to buy any of this stuff.

[Brisbane41]

59 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

That was my point ..the rules are the same but if someone on the ship did not organise an indicator on your sea pass to tell shop staff etc that you were not entitled to purchase duty free then it is a bit tough to blame the shop staff

Again you have completely misread and totally misunderstood what was written.

 

Go back and read again from the very beginning. I cannot give you reading lessons or teach you how to understand English if it is your second language.

 

Let me make it 100% clear. It was entirely the fault of the staff on Sea Princess because they were under the misguided impression that domestic guests were not entitled to purchase anything from the ships shops including band-aids, toothpaste, consumables etc. As far as they were concerned domestic guests were banned from all of the ships shops. 

[Brisbane41]

11 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

He is complaining that he was not allowed to buy  normal retail items (not duty free items). These should be available even on domestic cruises. I can see his argument, but I am not getting excited about it. Maybe I would, if I wanted to buy any of this stuff.

Yes kind of like that. Except add to the bonus a free mini-bar setup in the mini suite, a gift of red and white wine and $150 on board credit (non refundable) for a 2 night cruise. That money needs to be spent on something and they gave me plenty of alcohol to start the cruise!

[MicCanberra]

I would have hit the Casino, wouldn't have had any OBC left but may have walked away with a bit of cash.

[The_Big_M]

4 hours ago, gbenjo said:

 

 Am I correct in assuming that as "B41 " had a sticker on his seapass to indicate that he was a coastal pax and that his cruise  on the Sun was part of a longer, international cruise but it would have been extremely difficult for staff on the Sea Princess to know this if this was the case for his return trip to Sydney if there was no indicator on his seapass so may have lead to the " confusion". At least now they have been admonished and berated for their incompitance they will be more aware in future.

 

The sticker just made it easier. On Sea Princess the shop staff just checked your sailing date on your sea pass (which shows beginning and end) to see that you were only on the domestic sailing. They also then checked the details on the computer when you went to buy.

[Aus Traveller]

14 hours ago, Brisbane41 said:

Yes kind of like that. Except add to the bonus a free mini-bar setup in the mini suite, a gift of red and white wine and $150 on board credit (non refundable) for a 2 night cruise. That money needs to be spent on something and they gave me plenty of alcohol to start the cruise!

We were on the Sea Princess for a domestic cruise late last year. This was not a 2-nighter that could be part of an international cruise: all the passengers were on a domestic cruise. The ship put on their usual shop sale in the deck 5 dining room. We had OBC and bought a couple of pieces of clothing at greatly reduced prices😊. The point I am making is that this sale was put on for a 'ship-load' of domestic passengers. I have agreed with you from the start of this thread regarding the sale of non-dutyfree items, but our experience last year shows that the problem you encountered must have been the particular staff member now in charge of the shops.

 

By the way, I believed our OBC was non-refundable. It was as part of the 'deal' and an extra bit for the number of cruises we have had with Princess. After a charge for corkage, drinks and the clothes, we bought a couple of small items for our granddaughters to use it up. We had 46 cents left. On the last afternoon we got a print out of our accounts just to check that there were no errors. The statement appeared to show a credit balance. We were puzzled so we went to the desk to nicely ask for help in interpreting it. The CSR confirmed that we had a credit balance and added that he couldn't give it to us in cash because he was limited to $25. He said a cheque would be sent. Two months later a cheque arrived. 😊😊

[MicCanberra]

As I stated, different rules and policies are being used and enforced (or not) on differing ships, it doesn't make sense but it happens anyway.

[Brisbane41]

It doesn't make sense at all does it? given that Sun Princess and Sea Princess are both ships under the same company and the shops on board are run by exactly the same set of people and contractual agreements. Yes they do have to follow local customs and laws of the country they are in but to have majorly different rules is not right and is bound to get people asking questions.

 

By the second day of the cruise I had got what I wanted and considered it a victory for common sense. I had thought of directly writing to customer relations and saying this is what is going on can you please get your staff on ships to follow a uniform set of rules. However doing that would seem a waste of time to me because all customer relations seem to do is act as a shield to hide all the mistakes from senior management and sweep it under the carpet.

 

What we need is a direct line to the very top at Princess if we want policy changes or to bring to their attention discrepancies or things that should not be happening on their ships.

[MicCanberra]

There is some very valid reasons why these people cannot be contacted directly, but it would be good if they got the messages and made an appropriate response.

[Brisbane41]

5 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

There is some very valid reasons why these people cannot be contacted directly, but it would be good if they got the messages and made an appropriate response.

That is exactly right. It is a major cruise line. Having a bad business attitude of pulling in new passengers isn't going to make the cruise line any good and eventually they will start having a financial loss and wonder why they lost control. Even being part of the major Carnival corop it will leave no interest to even try HAL or Cunard or any other line. Most people who vote to leave the line will either go to the Royal Caribbean brands or step over to the likes of Crystal or Regent or other obscure up and coming cruise lines not affiliated with the global leaders.

 

If they care about their cruise line and put an effort into caring then it will be better for them financially and they will have a much better passenger turnover of people prepared to pay more just to go.

[gbenjo]

29 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

There is some very valid reasons why these people cannot be contacted directly, but it would be good if they got the messages and made an appropriate response.

Don't know about Princess  but Royal still have the  post cruise surveys  and there is a fair amount of  " legitimate" feedback that they take seriously and act upon.

[MicCanberra]

2 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

Don't know about Princess  but Royal still have the  post cruise surveys  and there is a fair amount of  " legitimate" feedback that they take seriously and act upon.

True, but they do not come back to individuals and address any issues or let them know what action (if any) will be made.

[gbenjo]

25 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

That is exactly right. It is a major cruise line. Having a bad business attitude of pulling in new passengers isn't going to make the cruise line any good and eventually they will start having a financial loss and wonder why they lost control. Even being part of the major Carnival corop it will leave no interest to even try HAL or Cunard or any other line. Most people who vote to leave the line will either go to the Royal Caribbean brands or step over to the likes of Crystal or Regent or other obscure up and coming cruise lines not affiliated with the global leaders.

 

If they care about their cruise line and put an effort into caring then it will be better for them financially and they will have a much better passenger turnover of people prepared to pay more just to go.

OMG  I did not realise not selling a couple of souvenirs  on one of their ships could lead to the cruiseline going broke...scarey

[gbenjo]

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

True, but they do not come back to individuals and address any issues or let them know what action (if any) will be made.

Some they do...might be in the way they are asked ( told)😱

[MicCanberra]

23 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

Some they do...might be in the way they are asked ( told)😱

Luckily, I have the ear of a very influential gentleman that can make things happen for me.

[Brisbane41]

43 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

OMG  I did not realise not selling a couple of souvenirs  on one of their ships could lead to the cruiseline going broke...scarey

Once again reading things incorrectly and misrepresenting what people are saying. It is like explaining things to a child.

 

This is about their cruise line as a whole. Looking at threads recently there has been a list of discrepancies such as the people who had insufficient air conditioning on a group booking and then the serial complainers who allegedly got almost $750 for a bit of soot on a balcony that is a well documented problem.

[gbenjo]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Luckily, I have the ear of a very influential gentleman that can make things happen for me.

Just don't put anything in writing......apparently I can't read 😱😂

[MicCanberra]

5 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

Just don't put anything in writing......apparently I can't read 😱😂

Actions speak louder than words anyway.