Terrible customer service and overcharge on bidding

[t&atravel]

When I do the math it looks like you were charged $80 pp for the upgrade and had a reduction in taxes.  New fare $298 - orig $138 = $160 ($80 x 2).  Orig taxes $200 - $164 = cr of $36, so $160 - $36 = $124.  Was your $80 bid per person?

Edited September 23, 2023 by t&atravel

[Shippy]

11 hours ago, donswife said:

I thought the bidding was handled by a third party vendor, so Princess agents will not have a clue what is going on. Is there contact info in the original email?

You are right.

Princess has NOTHING to do with the bidding process. It is handled by a third party company.

Do NOT get mad at the Princess agents. They have nothing to do with it. They probably know nothing about it.

It will say on your bidding offer that everything is final if your bid is accepted. I do not think there is a way to reach them.

 

[dickinson]

2 hours ago, t&atravel said:

When I do the math it looks like you were charged $80 pp for the upgrade and had a reduction in taxes.  New fare $298 - orig $138 = $160 ($80 x 2).  Orig taxes $200 - $164 = cr of $36, so $160 - $36 = $124.  Was your $80 bid per person?

If you look at the post just before yours the OP shows a copy of what they received.  It says $40/person so total is $80.

[no1racefan1]

2 hours ago, Shippy said:

You are right.

Princess has NOTHING to do with the bidding process. It is handled by a third party company.

Do NOT get mad at the Princess agents. They have nothing to do with it. They probably know nothing about it.

It will say on your bidding offer that everything is final if your bid is accepted. I do not think there is a way to reach them.

 

Are you suggesting that OP just accept that Princess is charging additional charges they are not aware of agreeing to? 

[t&atravel]

2 hours ago, dickinson said:

If you look at the post just before yours the OP shows a copy of what they received.  It says $40/person so total is $80.

So it seems then he was charged $80 more than he should have been not the $44 he is trying to point out to Princess. The reduction in taxes should not be a factor as it’s the fare increase that reflects his bid and he may get further with Princess if he shows that he was double charged the bid. 

[Coral]

12 hours ago, ldtr said:

A  friend of ours tried a CC dispute. Lost the dispute and is now banned by Princess.

 

Can you elaborate more on this situation?

[ccheng6401]

5 hours ago, t&atravel said:

When I do the math it looks like you were charged $80 pp for the upgrade and had a reduction in taxes.  New fare $298 - orig $138 = $160 ($80 x 2).  Orig taxes $200 - $164 = cr of $36, so $160 - $36 = $124.  Was your $80 bid per person?

It's $40pp, $80 for the stateroom.  I will be happy to just get  $44 back.  

 

I just checked my credit card again and both  $84 and $40 charges are posted.  

 

If TA can't solve the issue today, I will go to the ship customer service desk to see if they can help.  We are embarking today.  

 

I am still glad we did the bidding to learn about the hidden charge.  $44 is a small price to pay if we can't get the money back at the end.  We will definitely not do any bidding with Princess again in the future. 

[dickinson]

Enjoy your cruise!  Maybe Guest Services will give you a little OBC to make up for it as I doubt they know anything about the billing.

[Shippy]

9 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Are you suggesting that OP just accept that Princess is charging additional charges they are not aware of agreeing to? 

  Not exactly sure how this part works....

since a third party company handles the bids...are they the ones that actually make the charge or is it Princess ?  If it is the other company.....?

[ccheng6401]

I got a refund of $80 today. Princess totally confused me because I only asked for $44 back.  Someone mentioned in an earlier post that Princess actually overcharged me by $80.  I honestly have no clue how Princess calculates the bidding price but I am happy about the result.  

 

My TA communicated with Princess before my departure.  I didn't hear back from my TA so I approached the guest service desk on board and they forwarded my request to their main office.  

I still don't think I will do the bidding again knowing that what I bid is not what I will pay at the end. Thank you again for all of your valuable opinions. 

 

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, ccheng6401 said:

I got a refund of $80 today. Princess totally confused me because I only asked for $44 back.  Someone mentioned in an earlier post that Princess actually overcharged me by $80.  I honestly have no clue how Princess calculates the bidding price but I am happy about the result.  

 

My TA communicated with Princess before my departure.  I didn't hear back from my TA so I approached the guest service desk on board and they forwarded my request to their main office.  

I still don't think I will do the bidding again knowing that what I bid is not what I will pay at the end. Thank you again for all of your valuable opinions. 

 

Did you get the cabin you placed a big for?  What was the final bid cost?  I am confused.  
 

Thanks for the update. 

[Itried4498]

On 9/23/2023 at 7:47 AM, Coral said:

Can you elaborate more on this situation?

 

Pretty common.  For example, if a customer wins a credit card dispute, Delta is known for pursuing the monies it believes it is owed via a collection agent + will ban the person from flying Delta again. 

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

Pretty common.  For example, if a customer wins a credit card dispute, Delta is known for pursuing the monies it believes it is owed via a collection agent + will ban the person from flying Delta again. 

Back when the various cruise lines were inundated with requests for refunds due to all the Covid cancellations, there were many posts in various cc forums of people who "won" their credit card disputes but ended up being banned from future cruises by the cruise line whose charge they had disputed. And there were also posts warning that this would be what would happened and counseling others to instead of disputing a charge they should be patient.

[BlerkOne]

A TA typically will lump extra stuff under taxes - anything they don't get a commission on. Port fees and taxes themselves could have changed for everyone and can be passed on.

[ccheng6401]

12 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Did you get the cabin you placed a big for?  What was the final bid cost?  I am confused.  
 

Thanks for the update. 

I won the bid for $40pp and $80 total for the stateroom. We did get the mini suite onboard. Princess charged me $124 (over charged by $44) so I requested $44 refund.  However, Princess refunded me $80 so my final cost to upgrade became $44.   I think Princess’s bidding mechanism is a mess. 

[Princessfan20]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Back when the various cruise lines were inundated with requests for refunds due to all the Covid cancellations, there were many posts in various cc forums of people who "won" their credit card disputes but ended up being banned from future cruises by the cruise line whose charge they had disputed. And there were also posts warning that this would be what would happened and counseling others to instead of disputing a charge they should be patient.

 

We disputed a significant amount of a paid cruise with Princess during Covid and were able to submit to the CC all the emails and announcements when Princess said they were going to refund us and others and the CC honored the request.  No problem cruising Princess since then and we have been invited to 3 Most Traveled Luncheons in the past year.   Patience will only take you so far.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Princessfan20

[Pylon]

On 9/22/2023 at 2:45 PM, PacnGoNow said:

I tried that, but that’s not 8% or 12%.  If they have PVP ins.

Standard vacation protection is no longer 8%, which seems to have gone unnoticed.  I only know because I got sick a couple of days ago the day before boarding a Princess ship. In the course of contacting our Princess Cruise planner, to cancel etc., I noticed that the posted fee is now 9%, and 12%, which I mentioned to planner. The planner was not even aware of the change and it seems to have been applied since sometime in August.  

 

A 9% charge does not explain $84 though. 

 

But it suggests that increases in charges (and service etc. reductions) are being slipped in here and there in many deferent ways. 

 

I mentioned to the planner that the 1% increase is now being applied to more expansive cruise fare amounts (compared to before fares and related charges started escalating), which are increasingly being sold with the Plus and Premier packages, with the 1% increase also being applied.  

 

Further, as an observation, I would suspect that a target of the 1% increase is that large base of Elite and Platinum members who get the 12% protection package previously for 8% and now 9%. In my view Princess is playing with fire if the target is actually Elite and Platinum members, who presumably Princess also want to purchase more expensive cruise packages.

 

It does not seem Princess is advertising the change. I wonder what the reception will be?

 

 

 

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, Pylon said:

Standard vacation protection is no longer 8%, which seems to have gone unnoticed.  I only know because I got sick a couple of days ago the day before boarding a Princess ship. In the course of contacting our Princess Cruise planner, to cancel etc., I noticed that the posted fee is now 9%, and 12%, which I mentioned to planner. The planner was not even aware of the change and it seems to have been applied since sometime in August.  

 

A 9% charge does not explain $84 though. 

 

But it suggests that increases in charges (and service etc. reductions) are being slipped in here and there in many deferent ways. 

 

I mentioned to the planner that the 1% increase is now being applied to more expansive cruise fare amounts (compared to before fares and related charges started escalating), which are increasingly being sold with the Plus and Premier packages, with the 1% increase also being applied.  

 

Further, as an observation, I would suspect that a target of the 1% increase is that large base of Elite and Platinum members who get the 12% protection package previously for 8% and now 9%. In my view Princess is playing with fire if the target is actually Elite and Platinum members, who presumably Princess also want to purchase more expensive cruise packages.

 

It does not seem Princess is advertising the change. I wonder what the reception will be?

 

 

 

You are absolutely correct!  I did see that when I recently did my FP.  It seems as though It is really another hit on us.  Even though small, still affects us.

Thanks for reminding me.