Sapphire Princess May 11, 2024 Cruise Delayed - Propulsion Issues

[CalTexCruiser]

10 minutes ago, Princessscrewedme said:

Thanks mom! I just want to cry! But I appreciate your support! There isn't anyone offering any support here on the cruise so it means a lot!

love your screen name

 

Really sounds horrific what Princess has done

 

The same thing happened last year on Princess’ other rust bucket Crown

[Greyhoundmom2006]

10 hours ago, Justme9998 said:

I am booked on the shop for the trip from Whittier back to Vancouver on May 18th.  I am concerned about possible missed ports on the trip.  Just wanted to thank everyone for the posts... good to have some advance information.  Have they announced anything about when it will be fixed?

 

Same here. We fly up to Anchorage on Thursday so the clock is ticking for info from Princess before 17 hours of travel🙏🏻🙏🏻

[arizonaperson]

Totally feel your frustration for all those onboard and for all of those of you in the near future that have Sapphire Princess booked.

[Princessscrewedme]

Just now, Greyhoundmom2006 said:

Same here. We fly up to Anchorage on Thursday so the clock is ticking for info from Princess before 17 hours of travel🙏🏻🙏🏻

Just know they departed without telling us anything is wrong, just know they may do the same thing to you.

[SCX22]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

I have been on ships that missed 4 ports and ended with 8 straight days of sea. I never complained at all

 

Alaska tends to be a one and done destination for many.  Lots of first and only time cruisers.  Thus the high number of first time "blue" cruisers in relation to Captain's Circle.  You have to sympathize with the passengers who wanted to experience Alaska for the first and only time.  After this experience, wouldn't be surprised if these people were turned off to cruising for life.

 

Also, RC did a much better job of dealing with the same situation when the Radiance lost propulsion this past April.  While the Passage Contact indemnifies Princess from missed ports, it's pretty clear that Princess was overly optimistic about the problem with the Sapphire--no weather was involved.

[CPs4591]

My heart breaks for all of you, especially the folks who saved up for this and had as a bucket list.  And especially new cruisers.  Princess really should NOT have taken off, but refunded everyone, and gotten the ship fixed.  I hope things will be made as right as they can be for all of you.  

[Alaska05]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

 Romano is the hotel GM.

My apologies. I pulled the wrong name 

[Host CJSKIDS]

Okay guys, frustration is justifiably high for those cruisers who are on the ship and dealing with the major disappointment.  There are new posters who may have just heard about CC.  Just because they have not been a member on here before, means very little.

 

There are clear guidelines for posting on this board and one of the major things is to treat each other with respect.  For both new members and those who have been around for a bit, reading the guidelines is always a good thing.  

 

I really don't want to lock this thread but will have to if the constant bickering and personal comments that are not kind continue.  

 

Let's please show compassion and respect and everyone please take a deep breath. 

[Misson]

5 minutes ago, CPs4591 said:

My heart breaks for all of you, especially the folks who saved up for this and had as a bucket list.  And especially new cruisers.  Princess really should NOT have taken off, but refunded everyone, and gotten the ship fixed.  I hope things will be made as right as they can be for all of you.  

Thank you so much for your understanding and sympathy. It is my 16th cruise with Princess, tens of cruises with other companies. But it is the very first ever for my travel companion. After this bad first experience with Princess Cruises no chances for a cruise again...,  with Prinddes anyway. 16 hours on the plane to get here was for nothing...

[Host CJSKIDS]

For everyone on board, I'm so sorry that your vacation has taken such a sour turn.  I hope you can get into your last ports and that you can somewhat enjoy the rest of the cruise.  Hopefully you are all well taken care of. 

[CPs4591]

1 minute ago, Misson said:

Thank you so much for your understanding and sympathy. It is my 16th cruise with Princess, tens of cruises with other companies. But it is the very first ever for my travel companion. After this bad first experience with Princess Cruises no chances for a cruise again...,  with Prinddes anyway. 16 hours on the plane to get here was for nothing...

We haven’t been on a big ship for 20+ years (we did Windstar last year) but I got on these boards because we are doing one of our bucket list trips in Fall to the Panama Canal on Princess.  If something like this happened to us, I would never get my spouse on another big ship again as well.  And so many of you saved up, rarely get to do a trip like this and have just had your whole trip ruined.  Just heartbreaking.  Hoping Princess does something to make up for this.  So sad for all of you!  My brother did Alaska last year for his 60th, same sort of lifelong dream, saved and saved, got his PTO, etc.  He would’ve been absolutely crushed.  Hang in there, there are people out here feeling or your folks.  

[opshannon]

The passengers deserve a full refund for this trip. They are getting virtually nothing that they paid for. I understand missing a port, we have had that happen before. It stinks, but it can happen. But to miss so much is not acceptable. I understand that it is a mechanical issue, etc., but they should not have sailed.

[Princessscrewedme]

I talked to the front desk people today. I've been worried about them because people are so mad right now, but the desk people seemed to be in good spirits, despite the challenging customers (I'm furious myself, I'm just not taking it out on the crew like others are), and they said compensation has been determined and that it would be explained in the letters delivered to our rooms tonight. I hope it's something good. If anyone gets the letter please share a copy of it here!

[azbirdmom]

Just now, Princessscrewedme said:

I talked to the front desk people today. I've been worried about them because people are so mad right now, but the desk people seemed to be in good spirits, despite the challenging customers (I'm furious myself, I'm just not taking it out on the crew like others are), and they said compensation has been determined and that it would be explained in the letters delivered to our rooms tonight. I hope it's something good. If anyone gets the letter please share a copy of it here!

 

Oh good!  I was hoping that Princess would communicate what they are offering very soon.  And I hope it's something meaningful to all of you living through this.  Please keep us posted.

[Misson]

7 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Okay guys, frustration is justifiably high for those cruisers who are on the ship and dealing with the major disappointment.  There are new posters who may have just heard about CC.  Just because they have not been a member on here before, means very little.

 

There are clear guidelines for posting on this thread and one of the major things is to treat each other with respect.  For both new members and those who have been around for a bit, reading the guidelines is always a good thing.  

 

I really don't want to lock this thread but will have to if the constant bickering and personal comments that are not kind continue.  

 

Let's please show compassion and respect and everyone please take a deep breath. 

Dear Host, i am on the Sapphire Princess at present. Have cruised extensively before. Top Loyalty status on Princess and Carnival. Cruised on various continents, Europe, Australia, South Pacific, USA. I always read people's reviews and then decide if the comment are relevant to my planning purchase, activity etc. When I booked the cruise a year ago, I could choose a different cruise line and a different ship. This is my first cruise aafter covid. But I have to honestly say that the standard of facilities and benefits has gone down enormously. I just returned from the bathroom and only one was working. All others were blocked. Of course there was a loooong queue.

I think that all comments here are an enormous bank of information for the new potential travellers who are not yet sure which ship to choose. Unfortunately, Princess has a very old fleet. But they still continue using them in Australia under the name of P&O Australia. One of the latest changes was to withdraw the Sun Princess and transfer it to the cheaper version under the name of the Pacific Adventure. I know because i cruised on both of them. I wanted to see the changes and comoare the standard.

[jannieb]

10 hours ago, telecheck said:

If there is another move over offer for the next few sailings for Sapphire Princess, people should seriously consider those offers and take them if possible. At this point, it is better to be on another ship as the full impact of the propulsion issue for this ship is still unknown. I imagine people on the current sailing are regretting not taking the move over offer last week.

We are on the 5/25 sailing. If a move over offer is given, how are passengers notified that it's an option and how quickly must one respond? 

[azbirdmom]

8 minutes ago, Misson said:

I think that all comments here are an enormous bank of information for the new potential travellers who are not yet sure which ship to choose

 

Yes the constructive ones are definitely helpful, good and bad.  The ones attacking others aren't helpful and are in fact against the Cruise Critic rules.  I have seen many on this thread that have since vanished and I have no doubt that the hosts are working hard to remove such posts.  I don't envy what any of you are going through and honestly although I've done Alaska cruises multiple times my heart breaks for all of you having anticipated an entirely different experience.  And I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the hosts either for having to try to keep folks on track here.  As I've said a couple of times now I really hope that whatever Princess provides in compensation is meaningful enough to offset the loss of the full Alaska cruise experience.

[californiagirl]

My heart goes out to everyone onboard.  Back when we had little vacation time and little money to spend on it we would have been devastated by what you are experiencing.  You have every right to feel duped and angry. This ship should never have sailed and Princess should be cancelling the next cruise and maybe more until the problem is resolved.  I’m elite with Princess, but shame on you Princess!  I think those of you on this cruise should get a full refund AND a free future cruise.  
 

For those of you on your first cruise don’t give up on cruising.  It can be a wonderful way to see the world.  If you choose to cruise again, book a newer ship if possible.  While unforeseen events can happen to any ship it’s less likely on a newer one.

[SCX22]

13 minutes ago, jannieb said:

We are on the 5/25 sailing. If a move over offer is given, how are passengers notified that it's an option and how quickly must one respond? 

 

Move overs are for oversold situations.  This is a mechanical problem and IF Princess was to decommission the Sapphire for repairs and cancel subsequent cruises, Princess's obligation, per the cruise contract, would be to refund the cruise fare and ancillary charges of those affected.

Edited May 14 by SCX22

[telecheck]

8 minutes ago, jannieb said:

We are on the 5/25 sailing. If a move over offer is given, how are passengers notified that it's an option and how quickly must one respond? 

In this situation, I highly doubt if any move over offer will be given. If one is indeed offered, I am sure it will be taken up in a few minutes. Returning to normal procedures, passengers will receive an email notification from Princess stating that the ship is overbooked and offering to move them to other ships or alternative dates. It is important to act quickly, as once they have enough people willing to move over, they will stop offering the option.

[cblanke6]

6 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Move overs are for oversold situations.  This is a mechanical problem and IF Princess was to decommission the Sapphire for repairs and cancel subsequent cruises, Princess's obligation, per the cruise contract, would be to refund the cruise fare and ancillary charges of those affected.

 

[cblanke6]

We are a family of 9 scheduled on the June 7th cruise. Is it possible this mechanical issue could be fixed by then? 

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Why are there mostly posts here from people who obviously don’t cruise and just created profiles. I would love here from someone on the cruise who has had an account for more than a few days. 

I’m not sure why that would make a difference. I can easily recall situations when cruisers had thousands of posts and hundreds of days at sea and ran into issues, and people here doubted everything that was said. 

[tiller]

41 minutes ago, Misson said:

Dear Host, i am on the Sapphire Princess at present. Have cruised extensively before. Top Loyalty status on Princess and Carnival. Cruised on various continents, Europe, Australia, South Pacific, USA. I always read people's reviews and then decide if the comment are relevant to my planning purchase, activity etc. When I booked the cruise a year ago, I could choose a different cruise line and a different ship. This is my first cruise aafter covid. But I have to honestly say that the standard of facilities and benefits has gone down enormously. I just returned from the bathroom and only one was working. All others were blocked. Of course there was a loooong queue.

I think that all comments here are an enormous bank of information for the new potential travellers who are not yet sure which ship to choose. Unfortunately, Princess has a very old fleet. But they still continue using them in Australia under the name of P&O Australia. One of the latest changes was to withdraw the Sun Princess and transfer it to the cheaper version under the name of the Pacific Adventure. I know because i cruised on both of them. I wanted to see the changes and comoare the standard.

The bathrooms still aren't working? I was on the Sapphire on the cruise before this and gave up on the public bathrooms on day 2. That should have been a sign the ship wasn't in good shape. I'm so sorry for everyone on your cruise. 

[jannieb]

43 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Move overs are for oversold situations.  This is a mechanical problem and IF Princess was to decommission the Sapphire for repairs and cancel subsequent cruises, Princess's obligation, per the cruise contract, would be to refund the cruise fare and ancillary charges of those affected.

Thanks for the clarification