Moved from Accessible Room to Standard Room by Princess! What to do??

[ehyup71]

Hi! Looking for advice or suggestions, if anyone else has been in this situation.

 

About a month ago my parents booked a 2 week Alaska cruise on the Royal Princess leaving June 11.  They booked an inside accessible cabin (the last one available as far as we could tell) because my mother has mobility issues and travels with a scooter.  They promptly filled out the Mobility Questionnaire and emailed it to the access office.  Within the first week of booking they logged into the Princess site and they had been "upgraded" to an obstructed balcony cabin NON-ACCESSIBLE.  My mother immediately contacted Princess by telephone who advised her that there were no longer any accessible cabins available (they had already sold their cabin to someone else!) and to contact the access office (which she had already emailed and not heard back from).  She emailed them again telling them she had booked an accessible cabin for a reason and was moved without being contacted.   She phoned again. No answers. 

 

Finally today only 4 DAYS from sailing she received a reply, NOT acknowledging that they had originally booked an accessible stateroom, but saying "oh I see your scooter is 23.5 inches wide and the standard door is only 23. Kindly Note you will need to collapse the scooter to cross the threshold into the room.  If you have any other questions please contact Guest Service once onboard". 

 

This is NOT acceptable. Does Princess really expect that every time my mother wants to enter or exit her room she needs to try and wrestle her scooter through the door!  Not sure how they can just take away your accessible room and then just say 'deal with it'. Is there any way to contact the Hotel Manager onboard the Royal Princess in advance to try and deal with this issue?  Will they just have to wait until they are onboard and hope to hell they can move them into a room where her scooter will fit through the door?

 

They have only sailed Princess once before, although cruised many times, and never had this kind of thing happen before. 

[cruzsnooze]

Sounds like a bad situation. Can you mom walk into the cabin leaving the scooter in the hallway. Can she use a walker from the door to inside the cabin? The doors are the same in all the categories that are not accessible so it's doubtful something can be done after boarding. 

[Connie N Crew]

I'm so sorry this happened to them! I would recommend getting back on the phone and if they encounter anyone telling them there's nothing they can do or that they'll have to speak to someone onboard, ask to speak to their supervisor/manager to keep escalating this issue. (And continue to ask to speak to their manager if you get the same answer from their supervisor.)

 

p.s. It's good to remember (and acknowledge to them that you know) that at their best, they probably really are people who want to help make this right, even if they don't know how immediately. I hope you find a solution and it works out well for them!

[Guest ldtr]

Unlikely not much can be done at this late stage.  

 

If they have cancel for any reason insurance I would cancel.  However, before doing that I would make one more attempt to contact Princess and escalate the call.  there used to be a resolutions department that handled these kinds of issue, but do not know if they survived Covid.  Would be better for Princess to recognize the problem and refund than to have to use insurance.  

 

I believe that scooters are not allowed to be left in the hallway.

 

So the only other option would be to rent a narrower scooter that would fit into the room for cruise.

Edited June 8, 2022 by ldtr

[cruzsnooze]

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

 

 

 

 

I believe that scooters are not allowed to be left in the hallway.

 

 

 

They plug them in by the elevator so they're not really in the hallway. 

[brisalta]

This is the sort of situation where one should skip all the underlings and directly email Jan Swartz at jswartz @princesscruises.com.

 

[LindaandJeff]

3 hours ago, ehyup71 said:

"Hi! Looking for advice or suggestions, if anyone else has been in this situation.

 

About a month ago my parents booked a 2 week Alaska cruise on the Royal Princess leaving June 11.  They booked an inside accessible cabin (the last one available as far as we could tell) because my mother has mobility issues and travels with a scooter.  They promptly filled out the Mobility Questionnaire and emailed it to the access office.  Within the first week of booking they logged into the Princess site and they had been "upgraded" to an obstructed balcony cabin NON-ACCESSIBLE.  My mother immediately contacted Princess by telephone who advised her that there were no longer any accessible cabins available (they had already sold their cabin to someone else!) and to contact the access office (which she had already emailed and not heard back from).  She emailed them again telling them she had booked an accessible cabin for a reason and was moved without being contacted.   She phoned again. No answers. ..."

 

Do you know if your parents answered the question agreeing or declining to be upgraded when booking? If they said "no upgrades" that will be helpful. Unfortunately, due to the limited number of accessible rooms, they reserve the right to reassign those rooms. If they didn't think her scooter would fit in the inside stateroom overnight for charging, they would reassign her. (They don't let people leave them in the hall anymore.) if your parents used a TA, they should reach out to that person to advocate on their behalf. Good luck! 

 

 

[dog]

Any chance she could rent a wheelchair? One that fits through the cabin?

[PacnGoNow]

I would contact PCL and insist she be put on a waitlist for a cancelled accessible cabin?  No matter where it is? They can do an upgrade if needed.

 

 Do the PCL wheelchairs fit in the doorways?  Could she rent a narrow 

wheelchair or scooter?

 

I have seen people leave these in the hallways, even though you’re not supposed to.  
 

If she does go, I would immediately go to Guest services and ask for the hotel manager to rectify this situation if possible with an acceptable cabin, in case there is a last minute cancellation.

It is a last resort, but possible if someone cancels with an accessible cabin.

 

Sounds like a mistake made by someone in the reservation division or a computer error.  

 

[GloriaF]

I am completely sympathetic to this issue and hope it is resolved satisfactorily.  If no accessible inside cabins remain available, then Princess must upgrade them to an accessible cabin even if it is a full suite.  

 

I agree with the suggestion to contact Jan Swartz directly.  Mention the American Disability Act as well, and threaten to involve them if necessary.  Princess is not registered in USA but they do business in US and want to maintain goodwill.

 

This telephone has been posted, and while it probably is not the correct department it may help to connect you to the correct department - 800-872-6779.  (Ext 30317 seems to have been disconnected, but maybe calling the number will help.). I have a fax # as well that I used when applying for shareholder benefit.  The # is 661-753-0180.  No idea if these numbers will help, but worth a last minute try.

 

Lastly, in the future reservations should be marked 'No Upgrade' to possibly avoid this issue.

Edited June 8, 2022 by GloriaF

[CruiseNYC]

You can also have a look at the Scootaround Transportable Scooters with a base width of 21".  We almost never get an accessible cabin and these work perfectly in all cabins.

[compozer]

How frustrating!!!   I am so sorry they have to go through this.     Please keep us updated.   Hope they get a nice upgrade.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, GloriaF said:

I am completely sympathetic to this issue and hope it is resolved satisfactorily.  If no accessible inside cabins remain available, then Princess must upgrade them to an accessible cabin even if it is a full suite.  

 

I agree with the suggestion to contact Jan Swartz directly.  Mention the American Disability Act as well, and threaten to involve them if necessary.  Princess is not registered in USA but they do business in US and want to maintain goodwill.

 

This telephone has been posted, and while it probably is not the correct department it may help to connect you to the correct department - 800-872-6779.  (Ext 30317 seems to have been disconnected, but maybe calling the number will help.). I have a fax # as well that I used when applying for shareholder benefit.  The # is 661-753-0180.  No idea if these numbers will help, but worth a last minute try.

 

Lastly, in the future reservations should be marked 'No Upgrade' to possibly avoid this issue.

We often travel in suites and the doors have never seemed any larger than standard cabins

[ehyup71]

I just want to thank everyone for their comments!  I did take Brisalta's suggestion to email Jan Swartz. I also found out that Dirk Brand was the Hotel Manager currently working on the Royal and cc'd him on the email. I was polite, explained what happened but expressed disappointment in how the situation was handled and that I hoped it could be resolved before boarding.

 

Now, I can't say for sure what happened was a result of my email, BUT... today my parents got a phone call from a woman in the access office at Princess who apologized for the situation.  She said their original cabin booked had a plumbing problem which was why they were moved, and it was overlooked that they were moved to a non-accessible cabin.  She was working on trying to resolve the issue and promised to get back to them as soon as possible.

 

At 5:00 this afternoon they received confirmation that they had been moved to an inside accessible cabin near the front mid-ship elevators.  Hooray!! (They are perfectly happy in an Inside and it is what they had booked).  They are packed, ready to go, Negative COVID tests received today and GREEN on the Medallion App for boarding tomorrow.  😁

Edited June 11, 2022 by ehyup71

[cr8tiv1]

@ehyup71I am so pleased to hear that your parents have a cabin that will work for them.  Maybe if enough people wrote to Jan Swartz with SERIOUS  issues, Princess will start to get the message that they are broken. 

 

Yes, I do believe that your communications/email to Jan is what prompted the phone call.  It happened for me a couple of weeks ago.  I don't think this is a coincidence.  I am not recommending everyone do this.  That would dilute the effect.  

 

Happy cruising to all.

[Connie N Crew]

10 hours ago, ehyup71 said:

I just want to thank everyone for their comments!  I did take Brisalta's suggestion to email Jan Swartz. I also found out that Dirk Brand was the Hotel Manager currently working on the Royal and cc'd him on the email. I was polite, explained what happened but expressed disappointment in how the situation was handled and that I hoped it could be resolved before boarding.

 

Now, I can't say for sure what happened was a result of my email, BUT... today my parents got a phone call from a woman in the access office at Princess who apologized for the situation.  She said their original cabin booked had a plumbing problem which was why they were moved, and it was overlooked that they were moved to a non-accessible cabin.  She was working on trying to resolve the issue and promised to get back to them as soon as possible.

 

At 5:00 this afternoon they received confirmation that they had been moved to an inside accessible cabin near the front mid-ship elevators.  Hooray!! (They are perfectly happy in an Inside and it is what they had booked).  They are packed, ready to go, Negative COVID tests received today and GREEN on the Medallion App for boarding tomorrow.  😁

Congratulations...that’s terrific news. I’m so glad for them!

[carefreebee]

10 hours ago, ehyup71 said:

I just want to thank everyone for their comments!  I did take Brisalta's suggestion to email Jan Swartz. I also found out that Dirk Brand was the Hotel Manager currently working on the Royal and cc'd him on the email. I was polite, explained what happened but expressed disappointment in how the situation was handled and that I hoped it could be resolved before boarding.

 

Now, I can't say for sure what happened was a result of my email, BUT... today my parents got a phone call from a woman in the access office at Princess who apologized for the situation.  She said their original cabin booked had a plumbing problem which was why they were moved, and it was overlooked that they were moved to a non-accessible cabin.  She was working on trying to resolve the issue and promised to get back to them as soon as possible.

 

At 5:00 this afternoon they received confirmation that they had been moved to an inside accessible cabin near the front mid-ship elevators.  Hooray!! (They are perfectly happy in an Inside and it is what they had booked).  They are packed, ready to go, Negative COVID tests received today and GREEN on the Medallion App for boarding tomorrow.  😁

I'm so glad this has worked out I was going to suggest getting a message to Dirk. He is a very nice gentleman and has a very upbeat personality. Tell your parents to look for Dirk around the ship and say hi. He's big, strapping and super friendly. He always has a smile on his face.