Star Princess going or not?

[flyguy404]

I also just contacted Princess and they assure me the 04/02 sailing will occur. If indeed they are aware the ship will not sail on this date it is cruel and unprofessional to not allow us the weekend to make other arrangements. I understand their delimma but it is situations like this that can either build or destroy customer loyality. Having worked for an airline for 17 years I understand how travel disruptions occur, albeit primarily on a smaller scale. Just let us know Princess and we will all deal with it. We are all adults here. The stalling tactics dont sit well in the age of the internet and instant information...and occasional misinformation.

 

Cheers:)

[cusyl]

If you will go to the Princess site and go thru the motions of making a reservation, without going that far, you will see that all of the options are in RED which means you can not book it. It could be that they are fully booked for that month, but I really doubt it.

[Toto2Kansas]

I think you are going to have to give Princess a little more time before you know for sure. It is not like replacing one airplane with another, there are no excess ships out there that can take over.

I know this is hard, but they have got to totally access the damage and get through the investigation before they will know much of anything, and then that is never for sure.

Sorry this has disrupted your plans, I am sure I would be terribly upset if it were me. Hang in there, they want the ship to sail as badly as you want to sail on it, I am sure.

[vivalv66]

I know it really sucks to have your vacation ruined.

I am really sorry for you.

I don't think it will be sailing for a long time.

To much damage.

I do give them credit for all they are offering you though. Full refund plus expenses. 25% off next cruise.

I had a bad cruise experience with a flooed room and ants in a suite and got nothing.

Hang in there and I hope everything works out for you and everyone else who is booked.

[Coral]

I just want to say that I would also be very frustrated if I was in your situation.

 

I actually can see the ship sailing - minus those 150 cabins. Though, on the other hand - I am not going to be surprised if they cancel your sailing. I understand that they need to get the ship back and do a full accessment before they make any decisions.

 

I wish you and everyone else on the sailing all the luck with your vacation plans.

[flyguy404]

Thank you for your kind words but I am not worried about me at all. I will have a nice cruise at some point in the near future regardless of whether or not the Star sails on 04/02. I am however concerned for those that have less flexable travel plans than do I. I am aware that cruise lines do not have spare ships just sitting around awaiting a situation like this. The best analogy I can give you is a HUGE snowstorm hitting the northeast affecting tens of thousands of air travelers. Everyone can see what is occuring by simply watching the Weather Channel. The real challenge for the airlines is to be realistic and honest with those affected and deal with the situation as quickly as possible. Basiclly I think I just want Princess to state the obvious...the Star isnt going anywhere for a while. This will allow folks some time to make whatever arrangements they can in the next 10 days. Do we all not dislike being lied to..or at the very least being treated with less than complete honesty? That is my point.

[RED318is]

After a fire that big, It seems to me that almost everywhere on the ship would smell like smoke. Also, I would think there would be quite a bit of water damage from the fire fighting attempts.

[krisandchris]

Amen flyguy!!!! They so need to be straight forward with us... I mean I have another cruise on hold and just want to have final plans. There are even TA's assuring travelers that the upcoming sailings will move on as planned. Where are the getting this assurance from and why aren't we getting it? As of today you can't buy any April sailings so they MUST know something. They were not sold out yesterday.

[Coral]

Now, wouldn't you think that in the midst of a major incident for this company, they would have made arrangements to have customer service people available to handle this?

 

I know I'm going to get flamed for this (especially based on the responses that other people have received here), and quite frankly I don't really care. Princess has the capability to make a difference here, and they are refusing to do it! I've had numerous, and calm discussions with them over the past two days and have gotten NOWHERE. This was to be our first experience with Princess, but based on how they have treated their potential customers, we will NEVER give them our business again.

 

I am not going to flame you but wanted to make a few comments. They can hae tons of customer service available but until the company figures out the situation - the customer service people have nothing new to report. They have to take their ques from management and right now, management doesn't know what they are doing until they can do an assessment.

 

Right now - I understand why you are mad. But having watched the fire situation with Carnival in the past (Estacy), the situation with the fire with the Norway, Celebrity having to cancel cruises at the last minute with their bad iPods - I can tell you that Princess isn't acting any better or any worse than other situations with other cruise lines. It is just noticable because it is directly affecting you.

 

Again - best of luck and I hope you have your answers soon.

[flyguy404]

Precisely the kind of customer reaction I was hoping Princess would try to avoid. I am becoming more and more frustrated by the hour. The constant refusal to state the obvious and allow those affected to explore additional options is inexcusable. We understand this was an ACCIDENT....but the refusal to relay accurate information to those affected is purely calculated and quickly becoming unforgivable.

[Irishjayne]

I too will not flame you. I can totally understand your frustration. I think you need to come to the realization that due to this unfortunate incident, your vacation has been disrupted and out of your control. I am sure Princess will make things right but you have to give them time. As for your vacation plans, you have 2 options. Cancel and rebook another cruise for a later date or choose something else to do. It is that simple.

[FamilyGuy1010]

I am supposed to be on the 4/9 sailing. Princess says on their website they will know more Monday. Maybe the damage is not as bad as it looks (let's hope).

 

I am willing to give them a chance.

[drjochen]

I just called them and got nowhere, too. I am getting very frustrated. :mad:

Its sooooooooo obvious that it will be no fun to be on that ship in less than 10 days. What do they expect? Make repairs in a week or while the ship sails (imagine the noise, dirt, etc...). - pathetic. Even the biggest idiot can see that there was quite a bit of damage done (just look at the missing balconies!). As and engineer, I am also worried about substantial structural damage to the ship due to the heat from the fire.

All I want is my money back for the cruise leaving on 4/2, so I can book something else and enjoy my first vacation in a year, but they refuse to help me.

[flyguy404]

Jayne you miss the point completely. I am fully aware of my options at this point (which are more than 2 by the way). The entire reason for this thread is the lack of credable and accurate information being provided by Princess. To state the obvious...that the ship is far to damaged to continue its current schedule would be what most of us would expect. For Princess to still be saying that the ship WILL sail on 04/02 seems disingenous and is directly affecting thousands of their passengers. Simply tell us the truth and "release" us from the 04/02 sailing so we can deal with this situation.

[jerseygirl3]

After seeing the photos, I can't imagine the ship sailing for quite some time. Cosmetic issues aside, I'm not sure the ship would be considered habitable with all those melted balconies, and I'm sure there is a smokey smell throughout the ship.

 

Now having said that, I would be totally bummed if I were booked on one of the upcoming sailings. But I think the reason Princess is not releasing complete information right now is that they are probably trying to figure out what type of compensation would be appropriate and for how many sailings into the future do they offer it. Let's say they cancel cruises for the next 8 sailings. Do the people 8 sailings from now get the same exact compensation as someone who was due to sail this coming weekend? Those are probably the nitty gritty issues they have to settle on before they can make a public announcement. Once they make an announcement, there is no going back. And I'm guessing they have to go through insurance companies for compensation issues as well as awaiting assessments by whoever clears ships to be okay to sail (like when you get a Certificate of Occupancy for a house).

[flyguy404]

After seeing the photos, I can't imagine the ship sailing for quite some time. Cosmetic issues aside, I'm not sure the ship would be considered habitable with all those melted balconies, and I'm sure there is a smokey smell throughout the ship.

 

Now having said that, I would be totally bummed if I were booked on one of the upcoming sailings. But I think the reason Princess is not releasing complete information right now is that they are probably trying to figure out what type of compensation would be appropriate and for how many sailings into the future do they offer it. Let's say they cancel cruises for the next 8 sailings. Do the people 8 sailings from now get the same exact compensation as someone who was due to sail this coming weekend? Those are probably the nitty gritty issues they have to settle on before they can make a public announcement. Once they make an announcement, there is no going back. And I'm guessing they have to go through insurance companies for compensation issues as well as awaiting assessments by whoever clears ships to be okay to sail (like when you get a Certificate of Occupancy for a house).

That being said would you not think that for those scheduled on the char princess in 10 days would at least be given the opportunity to cancel that sailing due to obvious circumstances? Honesty and credability are always the best way to deal with people..this instance is no different.

[Princess Chatterer]

Plain common sense and your eyes looking at the extensive damage should tell you that the Star Princess isn't going to sail anytime soon. I expect you will get all of your money back. When is the question. However if Princess continues to play hardball with you then you better find a good Bermuda admiralty lawyer.

[saltycaptn]

Jayne you miss the point completely. I am fully aware of my options at this point (which are more than 2 by the way). The entire reason for this thread is the lack of credable and accurate information being provided by Princess. To state the obvious...that the ship is far to damaged to continue its current schedule would be what most of us would expect. For Princess to still be saying that the ship WILL sail on 04/02 seems disingenous and is directly affecting thousands of their passengers. Simply tell us the truth and "release" us from the 04/02 sailing so we can deal with this situation.

 

Flyguy,

 

I don't think Princess really knows right now how much real damage is involved. I think it will ultimately be the Coast Guard that will issue the certification for seaworthyness. Technically, if the area was sealed off for safety reasons and the boat is worthy to travel they could in theory take a load of passengers, but definitely not a full load. I would expect that they would only be able to take part load so as not to cause list...but I could be wrong.

 

I think you have to let Princess assess the situation. I know it is hard and myself would be in the same panic state! We had problems with the Dawn back when I was on her in 2004. Not quite the same but it was still a worry because we were not sure if the engines would be replaced.

 

It has only been a couple days, let them get the ship out of Montego Bay and up to Fort Lauderdale. Their assessment team probably has to fly out of headquarters and if that were the case...it would probably only been today that they could have put a team on the ship.

 

I wish you luck, and having travelled with Princess before. I think you will find that Princess will try to make things right. I have never really had a major problem with Princess!

 

Have a good weekend! I hope you will have a trip.

 

Saltycaptn

[drjochen]

That being said would you not think that for those scheduled on the char princess in 10 days would at least be given the opportunity to cancel that sailing due to obvious circumstances? Honesty and credability are always the best way to deal with people..this instance is no different.

 

See, this is all I want, too. I don't want any compensation etc., I just want to be released from the contract. Thats it.

[drjochen]

Btw., the agent I spoke to told me the Star Princess is now on its way back to FL. That was over 1 hour gao and the bridge cam still shows the ship in port. So much for accurate information....:(

[smeyer418]

For what it is worth. This happened yesterday. Give them a few days. They have a ship that is badly damaged. They need to get a full survey of the damages and how much it will cost to repair. They need to get the stuff ordered to repair it(these are not off the shelf items). So letting them have until monday is a reasonable request by them.

My personal opinion is that it will be 90 days or more before it is completely repaired. I don't even know if the ship is sea worthy. A naval surveyer , the Brits and the USCG will decide that. It could sail with the damaged rooms until the parts are fabricated and the ship goes to a repair facility. They won't know this for a couple of days. Take a deep breath let it out and wait until Monday..IMO

[drjochen]

Amen FlyGuy404!

 

If we do end up sailing, lets all meet for a drink!

 

I am in!!!!!

[Irishjayne]

Jayne you miss the point completely. I am fully aware of my options at this point (which are more than 2 by the way). The entire reason for this thread is the lack of credable and accurate information being provided by Princess. To state the obvious...that the ship is far to damaged to continue its current schedule would be what most of us would expect. For Princess to still be saying that the ship WILL sail on 04/02 seems disingenous and is directly affecting thousands of their passengers. Simply tell us the truth and "release" us from the 04/02 sailing so we can deal with this situation.

 

I didn't miss the point. You can be frustrated with me. I have big shoulders. Hope all works out well for you.

[flyguy404]

For what it is worth. This happened yesterday. Give them a few days. They have a ship that is badly damaged. They need to get a full survey of the damages and how much it will cost to repair. They need to get the stuff ordered to repair it(these are not off the shelf items). So letting them have until monday is a reasonable request by them.

My personal opinion is that it will be 90 days or more before it is completely repaired. I don't even know if the ship is sea worthy. A naval surveyer , the Brits and the USCG will decide that. It could sail with the damaged rooms until the parts are fabricated and the ship goes to a repair facility. They won't know this for a couple of days. Take a deep breath let it out and wait until Monday..IMO

Yes it did "just happen yesterday'. It does not require a navel architect or a British suveyer to see this ship is not going to be ready for a cruise in 10 days. Regardless of what plans they have for repairing this mess they should at least give those of us on the 04/02 sailing an opprotunit to make alternative arrangements. With all that has happened is that to much to ask? But instead when you talk directly with Princess they act as if all will be fine on the 04/02 sailing and by the way why the hell are you questioning us. Simply state what is apparent and stop playing games with us. For the record I LOVE Princess Cruise Lines..I simply want them to handle this situation in a manner that common sense and logic would dictate...not what the PR people are telling them.

[smeyer418]

Yes I see your point you want what you want and you know it won't sail...