Princess Customer Service Needs Drastic Improvement

[brewcrew]

I literally was on the phone with a rep and had my cruise cancelled in 5 minutes.  I just hung up with her about 15 minutes ago.  She was a helpful and kind rep too. Our cruise was scheduled for this Saturday, 3/14.  Got to start looking for where my future cruise is going to be!

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, brewcrew said:

I literally was on the phone with a rep and had my cruise cancelled in 5 minutes.  I just hung up with her about 15 minutes ago.  She was a helpful and kind rep too. Our cruise was scheduled for this Saturday, 3/14.  Got to start looking for where my future cruise is going to be!

My experience too..... called twice today and was connected to a CSR within 5 minutes each time.... both were very helpful and great....karma works!

Edited March 10, 2020 by PrincessLuver

[garycarla]

Whenever there is a SIGNIFICANT issue taking place, Customer Service will suffer.

 

Why is that so hard for people to understand?

 

Will ships stuck out to sea. With cancels going crazy. Ports closing. Countries being closed down

 

If any company could handle that extra load,  they would be out of business with the size of call centers available for them. 

 

Sure, they could maybe hire a bunch of temps, and then electronically implant all of the training into their brains.

 

And then find them desk and phone lines.  Oh wait, people are being asked to stay home.  Yes, they have some that work from home, but they have to be trained.  And some of those that work from home are now taking care of kids that are out of school.

 

The reasons go on and on.

 

Anyone that does not understand should... well... this is a public board.

[bobloblaw007]

My experience calling EzAir to reschedule flights at the last minute was as follows: The hold times are long (1.5 hours to 2 hours) each time.

First time I called, the operator picked up but couldn't hear me for some reason. She hung up after 30 seconds. Maybe a fluke?

Second time I called, I spoke with someone. She put me on hold while she looked up the flights, but when she came back, we got disconnected for some reason.

Third time I called, Immediately I gave a call back number to the agent in case we got disconnected. This agent was very helpful, she rebooked us after only 10 minutes. (I gave her the flight numbers I had research on my own so she didn't have to spend her time looking up flights)

 

So, I think the hold time is long (think 4-5 hours for the 3 call attempts combined), but once you actually reach someone, they are very fast to resolve your issue. Upset, yes, but there are people worst off so think positive. They will fix the problem in the end, I have faith in that.

[hobbyfarmer2]

On 3/9/2020 at 4:19 PM, Ereggae said:

I don’t need a lecture.  Was just making a statement.

The hold time you experienced was a statement.  The rest was your opinion.  That opinion invites a response.  No big surprise people responded.

[CRUZBUDS]

Our big box TA has and automated system set up - If you are canceling on any of the main lines, including Princess, you are directed to send an email with your name to a special email address.  They reply with a link to a site to fill out a form with all of your info including a drop down box to choose the cruise line.  

 

Before they added Holland to the list, we spent hours on hold last weekend to cancel our cruise this Saturday.  We waited two stints of three hours on Saturday and almost three on Sunday before being helped.  The agent told me they had 702 lines on hold and were working 10 hour shifts.  It never occurred to me to get angry with them, frustrated and stressed, yes.   Something like this has never happened.  

 

[gorge girl]

I called yesterday to cancel our 3/21 Caribbean Princess.  My biggest concern being that if someone (passenger or crew member) came down sick on the cruise we would ALL be quarantined for another 14 days on some military base somewhere.  Not fear of the virus but fear of the government quarantining sick and non sick passengers. I had tried Monday afternoon but after a 20+ minute wait, I hung up.  Yesterday I was connected to a representative within 5 minutes.  A kind, compassionate employee who answered all my questions, ran through all the numbers of what I would be getting back as a credit to my credit card and as a future cruise credit. I could tell she was working from home as her young child was in the background.  She said she had worked Saturday, Sunday and Monday and the calls were extremely heavy and Tuesday was much lighter.  She said how bad she felt that when people were calling to ask if their cruise would be cancelled, she was unable to tell them as she just didn't know.  Princess has some wonderful employees, who are working long hours and we look forward to our next cruise whenever that may be.  

[jp2746]

I have posted on another board, but I wanted to post here quickly.   I was in the "Princess has horrible customer service" club until yesterday.  This is our first time cruising with Princess and I agree, its is very stressful when you have a lot of money invested in a vacation that you now have to cancel.  Not to mention dealing with flights, cars, your employer and vacation time if that is an issue. So, I understand the stress and frustration.  I had to wait on hold for about a hour on Sunday.  Our cruise was cancelled on Saturday and we just wanted to re-book on the same cruise for this weekend.  The fare had gone up and after trying several times with different agents to just book the same cruise, same room for the same price, they finally came through.  The first two days they did not have a protocol.  Sunday I asked to speak to customer relations.  I was told the the agents were handling these issues.  I was told the same thing on Monday.  On Tuesday I explained my situation and I was immediately transferred over to customer relations where I waited 45 minutes for a representative.  But, the wait was worth it because she made everything I asked for work out.  I realized that we are all going through this together and Princess is learning as they go just as we are.  Try to take a deep breath and know that they will take care of you.  If you have decided to cancel, they will cancel.  If you decide to re-book, they will re-book.  I had the kindest lady yesterday helping me and I think that if you are patient, realistic, and maybe a little persistent, they will come through.  Just know that this isn't something anyone has a playbook for so we are all walking blindly, including Princess.  They are doing a great job and I am so happy that we are (hopefully) going out on Saturday using our FCC.  

[flamingo lover]

I have posted on another board, but I wanted to post here quickly.   I was in the "Princess has horrible customer service" club until yesterday.  This is our first time cruising with Princess and I agree, its is very stressful when you have a lot of money invested in a vacation that you now have to cancel.  Not to mention dealing with flights, cars, your employer and vacation time if that is an issue. So, I understand the stress and frustration.  I had to wait on hold for about a hour on Sunday.  Our cruise was cancelled on Saturday and we just wanted to re-book on the same cruise for this weekend.  The fare had gone up and after trying several times with different agents to just book the same cruise, same room for the same price, they finally came through.  The first two days they did not have a protocol.  Sunday I asked to speak to customer relations.  I was told the the agents were handling these issues.  I was told the same thing on Monday.  On Tuesday I explained my situation and I was immediately transferred over to customer relations where I waited 45 minutes for a representative.  But, the wait was worth it because she made everything I asked for work out.  I realized that we are all going through this together and Princess is learning as they go just as we are.  Try to take a deep breath and know that they will take care of you.  If you have decided to cancel, they will cancel.  If you decide to re-book, they will re-book.  I had the kindest lady yesterday helping me and I think that if you are patient, realistic, and maybe a little persistent, they will come through.  Just know that this isn't something anyone has a playbook for so we are all walking blindly, including Princess.  They are doing a great job and I am so happy that we are (hopefully) going out on Saturday using our FCC.  

I just go off phone with a very helpful young lady. All questions answered only 20 min wait


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[TracieABD]

On 3/9/2020 at 5:35 PM, Ereggae said:

Talk is cheap.  You are not the one cruising in a couple weeks with several thousand dollars on the line.

Actually, I am. This is to be our honeymoon cruise. It was rather spendy. And CoViD-19 is concerning for us all... especially in light of several Princess ships being affected or near-affected.

 

Even so, I recognize that Princess is doing the best it can. My guess is that they are scrambling to meet the needs of its clientele. In speaking with our rep, they are working long, hard hours.

 

A little patience, understanding, and empathy would be most appreciated. It is certainly in order.

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, TracieABD said:

Actually, I am. This is to be our honeymoon cruise. It was rather spendy. And CoViD-19 is concerning for us all... especially in light of several Princess ships being affected or near-affected.

 

Even so, I recognize that Princess is doing the best it can. My guess is that they are scrambling to meet the needs of its clientele. In speaking with our rep, they are working long, hard hours.

 

A little patience, understanding, and empathy would be most appreciated. It is certainly in order.

Tracie - congrats on your wedding! So sorry about the uncertainties about your upcoming trip. I actually on Friday cancelled a month long trip and the most expensive trip I have ever booked that included Spain and France which are being hit hard right now. It was to celebrate a milestone and I had saved vacation time up big time for it - so it is a big deal. 

 

I completely agree with you. Best wishes. Email me sometime as I tried emailing you recently and I have an old email address.

[hobbyfarmer2]

Got through in about 5 minutes today.

[charlie murphy]

5 hours ago, TracieABD said:

Actually, I am. This is to be our honeymoon cruise. It was rather spendy. And CoViD-19 is concerning for us all... especially in light of several Princess ships being affected or near-affected.

 

Even so, I recognize that Princess is doing the best it can. My guess is that they are scrambling to meet the needs of its clientele. In speaking with our rep, they are working long, hard hours.

 

A little patience, understanding, and empathy would be most appreciated. It is certainly in order.

you all are the safest on the ship! it's a honeymoon cruise! Unless the other one in the room is sick. there is room service and that's about all you need. congrats on your wedding and trip. 

[icat2000]

On 3/9/2020 at 10:25 AM, Ereggae said:

In light of the current problems, it is impossible to reach Princess by phone.  Wait times on hold are well over an hour.  They should focus on answering the phones in a timely manner and should be giving full refunds for all cancellations.  This decision is not good for future business.

Probably overwhelmed at the moment. 

[Pierlesscruisers]

On 3/9/2020 at 2:35 PM, Ereggae said:

Talk is cheap.  You are not the one cruising in a couple weeks with several thousand dollars on the line.

 

Try calling when they open their call line first thing in the morning (5am Pacific Time). After spending a large amount of time (over an hour) my wife got up the next morning and called in at that time and spoke to a nice lady after about 5-10 minutes.

 

I'm sure that Princess would be very happy not to have such busy lines handling the problems they're having.

 

Tom

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

My bookings are thru casino reservations, so I don't know if that makes a difference?

They definately have a seperate phone #.

I called 7:30am this morning.  She picked up within 2 mins., then we had a long

conversation about whats been going on. Especially since I have 3 upcoming cruises booked.

 

She told me Up until today, there were very LONG Wait times.

She said Today seemed to be much lighter, and didn't know why.

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by CalLuvsCrusingToo