It took 2 years for Princess to reply to my email about what ended up being our last Princess cruise

[CineGraphic]

Our last sailings with Princess were b2b sailings on the Ruby out of San Francisco in April of 2022. These were the worst cruises we’ve ever taken. Among other things, they were taking reservations for both specialty dining rooms but only opening 1 each night. We were served a partially eaten appetizer from another table in Sabatinis, and they did nothing about the pot smokers on board, despite the posted policy. Since then, we’ve been very happy sailing with Virgin Voyages, in fact we’re sitting in a hotel in Miami at this very moment as we are boarding the Valiant Lady tomorrow for our 6th sailing with Virgin since October of 2022. I just received an email from Alvin Stokes, the new head of customer support for Princess in which he apologizes for the delay (2 years) and as an offer to win me back, he’s offered us $50 OBC. 🤣 Needless to say, I think we’ll pass. So glad we unloaded our CCL stock too. I hope they put that $50 to good use instead of digging a bigger hole for themselves.

 

[Gail & Dan]

WOW!! and you dint jump on that LOL ! thers still time 

 

 

Dan

 

Edited May 9 by Gail & Dan

[dickinson]

OMG!  Shocking to say the least.  Glad you found a new "home".

[CineGraphic]

1 minute ago, dickinson said:

OMG!  Shocking to say the least.  Glad you found a new "home".

Pathetic is a good word too 😁

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

🙀 Two years & $50....🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️

No wonder we haven't seen you around Princess threads!

[Kay S]

Not surprised. Glad you found a new line to cruise. 

[PacnGoNow]

I’m really shocked.  Better late than never!  Or, is it?  
We do miss you, around these parts.

Best of luck to you!  Happy sailing.

[skynight]

If they are trying to look good they would have been better off not offering anything then $50. I recently received $300 FCC, not OBC, for a plumbing issue that lasted a few days. 

[azbirdmom]

That is bizarre on so many levels.  Not only the length of time to respond to the title of "Head of Customer Support" which is unusual to say the least.  I wonder if whoever was responsible for the errant "free cruise" offers that went out last week is behind this?  It would be nice if Princess started taking all of the service issues seriously but $50 OBC????

[ChutChut]

So bizarre two years later. Have fun on your Virgin cruise.

[that]

@CineGraphic

Oh PUHLEEZ to Alvin Stokes 🤬

Disappointing!  Thank you for sharing this laugh

 

Have missed your insights and wry comments here on the Princess Boards

and read on the Virgin Voyages site here and there

the delight and satisfaction you and Pam have found..  

Nothin’ better than being on a cruise ship

Edited May 9 by that

[CineGraphic]

3 minutes ago, that said:

@CineGraphic

Oh PUHLEEZ to Alvin Stokes 🤬

Disappointing!  Thank you for sharing this laugh

 

Have missed your insights and wry comments here on the Princess Boards

and read on the Virgin Voyages site here and there

the delight and satisfaction you and Pam have found..  

Nothin’ better than being on a cruise ship

Thank you for your kind words.

We used to be such cheerleaders for Princess, and always imagined we’d be on a Princess ship, in a suite for our 25th anniversary. We cancelled all of our remaining Princess bookings while still on our first Virgin sailing. There’s literally no comparison. Tomorrow we sail as “Mega Rockstars” with complimentary private transportation to and from the port, a bottomless in-room bar, and all other sorts of wonderful freebies. There’s not a single hint of John Padgett and his nonsense anywhere on the ship.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

No surprise here with the way their customer service is now

 

How do you like Virgin?  Been thinking about trying it.

Edited May 9 by kywildcatfanone

[CineGraphic]

13 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

 

How do you like Virgin?  Been thinking about trying it.

Food is cooked to order, no announcements, no art auctions, no cruise director, unique shows, no Effy, and the happiest crew at sea who get paid the same no matter if the ship is empty or full. There is even a health and happiness office on board for the crew.

On this sailing we’ll have two crew members join us for dinner as it’s their last sailing of their contracts. 

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

Not only the length of time to respond to the title of "Head of Customer Support" which is unusual to say the least.

 

Maybe they have a “Cold Case” section to handle old cases like they do for crimes??? ☺️

 

[Cruise Raider]

I’m kind of grossed out about a half eaten appetizer and to be honest, quite surprised.  
I’ve seen pot smokers on many sailings.  I am actually more disgusted by cigarette smoke even though I don’t smoke either one.  
sounds like you found something that works much better for you.  

[Dock B]

Just for grins, I googled this customer service guy.

 

Found same name, working in customer service field…don’t know if same person or not and I only took a very cursory look.

 

But interestingly, the guy I googled, runs a company that uses AI to help other businesses address their customer service issues.

 

Hmmmmm…

[walkingsoon]

For what it's worth, I did a probably identical B2B out of San Francisco in Sep/Oct 2022. They were struggling pretty badly with long lines, unhappy customers and unhappy crew. I chalked that up to residual problems from the Covid shutdown. Lots of the passengers were behaving very poorly, the crew just struggling to deal with it. I felt badly for them.

 

In November 2023 they seemed to be getting their act together for a very nice cruise to Southern Caribbean.

 

Regarding pot smoking, I would assume that with Virgin's demographic and short duration itineraries in the Caribbean that they'd have their share as well.

 

[CineGraphic]

16 minutes ago, walkingsoon said:

Regarding pot smoking, I would assume that with Virgin's demographic and short duration itineraries in the Caribbean that they'd have their share as well.

The demographic you see advertised is quite different from reality. We’ve yet to smell any weed while on board Virgin.

So far only Princess potheads 😁

[azbirdmom]

2 hours ago, Dock B said:

Just for grins, I googled this customer service guy.

 

Found same name, working in customer service field…don’t know if same person or not and I only took a very cursory look.

 

But interestingly, the guy I googled, runs a company that uses AI to help other businesses address their customer service issues.

 

Hmmmmm…

I think you are on to something.  It looked like a rather generic response and the email address / title don't really fit the normal way these things appear in the Princess world.  I wonder if they are trying to stir up business by mining the unanswered complaints and think they can lure folks back into the fold with OBC?  Wonder who answers that phone number?  If it's Princess Promotions I think I'm done.

[Kay S]

4 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

There’s not a single hint of John Padgett and his nonsense anywhere on the ship.

 

Music to my ears.

[walkingsoon]

2 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

The demographic you see advertised is quite different from reality. We’ve yet to smell any weed while on board Virgin.

So far only Princess potheads 😁

I was on a Carnival cruise some years back and the teenagers in the cabin forward of me were frequently out on the balcony trying to finish their stash before getting back to Ft. Lauderdale. I bumped into the gent in the cabin aft of me one day and he was glaring at me angrily. He looked remarkably like the photo from your profile.

[AllHandsAstern]

Wow 50 bucks, that's like almost a tank of gas 🤠🤠

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, AllHandsAstern said:

Wow 50 bucks, that's like almost a tank of gas 🤠🤠

 
Thanks to their status match program, every time we sail with Virgin, Pam and I each get $100, free specialty coffees daily, free laundry, upgraded wifi, early boarding. and an invite to a champagne reception.

$50 is a joke.

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

Food is cooked to order, no announcements, no art auctions, no cruise director, unique shows, no Effy, and the happiest crew at sea who get paid the same no matter if the ship is empty or full. There is even a health and happiness office on board for the crew.

On this sailing we’ll have two crew members join us for dinner as it’s their last sailing of their contracts. 

But no medallion. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣