I need to vent.....

[It'smegrandma]

Add a cancellation made with Australian dollars to a major nightmare.  Not really sure what was OBC or CC or what the exchange rate was that particular day!  Phew!  My mind is gone!

[CDNCruiser55]

I feel your pain. Last year after our cruise we had questions about charges for excursion bookings and spent hours at guest services while on the ship and then hours on the phone after the cruise and all anyone could tell me was that we were not overcharged. Nobody could actually explain why. I probably talked to 6 or 7 people before I actually got someone capable of giving a detailed explanation of the confusing situation (we cancelled and rebooked the cruise and had to get excursion booking moved over to the new cruise booking and there were numerous credit/refunds on my credit card but nobody there could explain it)

 

Recently I wanted to re-fare a cruise to save $600. After an hour on and off hold they came back and said they had good news and they could match the new price on the website only to quote me a price $1000 higher and $400 higher than my current booking. Back on hold I go. After 2 hours they finally match the website price and they re-fare it however now they tell me I owe $1000 in deposit. I told them I used my FCD and that should suffice. Back on hold again. 10 minutes later they say they applied the FCD and all is good. I get off the phone and check the booking online and see they added a second FCD which I am planning on using for a future booking. Back on the phone again to ask they remove the second FCD.

 

Princess customer support used to be good. Pre-covid I had no problems and they were helpful. Now customer support is dreadful. Nobody has a clue. It's sad and has me looking at other cruise lines.

[memoak]

33 minutes ago, CDNCruiser55 said:

I feel your pain. Last year after our cruise we had questions about charges for excursion bookings and spent hours at guest services while on the ship and then hours on the phone after the cruise and all anyone could tell me was that we were not overcharged. Nobody could actually explain why. I probably talked to 6 or 7 people before I actually got someone capable of giving a detailed explanation of the confusing situation (we cancelled and rebooked the cruise and had to get excursion booking moved over to the new cruise booking and there were numerous credit/refunds on my credit card but nobody there could explain it)

 

Recently I wanted to re-fare a cruise to save $600. After an hour on and off hold they came back and said they had good news and they could match the new price on the website only to quote me a price $1000 higher and $400 higher than my current booking. Back on hold I go. After 2 hours they finally match the website price and they re-fare it however now they tell me I owe $1000 in deposit. I told them I used my FCD and that should suffice. Back on hold again. 10 minutes later they say they applied the FCD and all is good. I get off the phone and check the booking online and see they added a second FCD which I am planning on using for a future booking. Back on the phone again to ask they remove the second FCD.

 

Princess customer support used to be good. Pre-covid I had no problems and they were helpful. Now customer support is dreadful. Nobody has a clue. It's sad and has me looking at other cruise lines.

Why don’t all you people who hate the main customer support line (as do I) get US based CVP’s ? 

[CDNCruiser55]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

Why don’t all you people who hate the main customer support line (as do I) get US based CVP’s ? 

I had one but they left Princess so I got another. I tried contacting them but it seems they have left too. I tried requesting a new one through the Princess website (three times) but got no response. Next time I have an issue I'll call and get a CVP but if nobody monitors the requests from the online form they actively promote then it is just another failure from Princess. It shouldn't be this way.

[memoak]

23 minutes ago, CDNCruiser55 said:

I had one but they left Princess so I got another. I tried contacting them but it seems they have left too. I tried requesting a new one through the Princess website (three times) but got no response. Next time I have an issue I'll call and get a CVP but if nobody monitors the requests from the online form they actively promote then it is just another failure from Princess. It shouldn't be this way.

You can call and request one

[CDNCruiser55]

12 minutes ago, memoak said:

You can call and request one

 

Which is why I wrote 

 

37 minutes ago, CDNCruiser55 said:

Next time I have an issue I'll call and get a CVP...

 

[CDNCruiser55]

20 hours ago, memoak said:

You can call and request one

 

I took your advice and called to get a CVP so next time I I need assistance I would be prepared. We chatted for a bit and he didn't seem to have much knowledge about the various Princess cruise ships or what ports they cruise out of for Caribbean cruises. 'One of the new ones' he thought was scheduled to be cruising in the Caribbean. He admitted he had never been on a cruise and that most CVPs are just students. He didn't really inspire a lot of confidence in me that he will be a helpful resource but we'll see.

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, CDNCruiser55 said:

 

I took your advice and called to get a CVP so next time I I need assistance I would be prepared. We chatted for a bit and he didn't seem to have much knowledge about the various Princess cruise ships or what ports they cruise out of for Caribbean cruises. 'One of the new ones' he thought was scheduled to be cruising in the Caribbean. He admitted he had never been on a cruise and that most CVPs are just students. He didn't really inspire a lot of confidence in me that he will be a helpful resource but we'll see.

Why not look for a TA who has actually sailed many times and really does have knowledge of the cruise industry? And that does not even take account of he or she may be able to discount or give OBC and works for you, not the cruise line.