Complaint Review: Princess Cruise Lines - Internet

Ah yes the normal "I don't like what you have to say you you must be an employee".  Well sorry to burst your bubble I am not now nor ever have been an employee of this or any cruise line.  Oh and if you really want to know I personally would not sail on any cruise line owned by Carnival..but not because of this.  So don't think that I am some supporter of them, in fact I would still say the same thing regardless of the cruise line you were on.

But you obviously have years of experience operating a Cruise ship and can tell just by looking out over the bow of the ship if it is safe to continue or if you need to make alternative plans.  I also guess you have years of experience predicting the weather that you know with 100% certinty what the weather will be like a couple of days in the future. 

So perhaps you are right, perhaps the Captain on his own just decided to tick off a couple thousand paying passengers and not dock at these ports just because he didn't want to.   After all that is so much more logical than there were actual weather issues that kept him from doing that.

Oh and as for you to say that all you want is "something"...really...so would $25 satisfy you?  No, in fact that would probably tick you off more.  So sorry but contrary to what you are trying to convince people (and perhaps yourself) is that you are looking for a specific amount of what you think is enough compensation.

 I'm not sure if you are connceted with Princess, Robert, or just a troll.  Either way I have to rebut your remarks.  You picked on the fact I called the Westerdam a "sister" ship.  OK, technically it does not fit the definition, but being similar to the Star Princess, owned by the same conglomerate, and sailing from Seattle at the same time on the same itinerary is close enough for me.

Yes, I agree that the priority of the Captain is for the passengers safety.  As for size differnces, please don't make us laugh.  Are you saying that a ship that close in size to the Star, yet LIGHTER, is better suited to travel rough seas?  I'd like to see which you would choose to sail rough seas - a heavier ship, or a lighter ship?

If in fact the Star could not berth in Ketchikan, why did the Captain promise us that we would alternatively berth in Victoria as planned and then go on to Vancouver and yet this never happened?  The weather was clear and the seas calm when we approached both of these ports!

Ah yes, the small print in the contract.  If in fact ALL ships didn't make there scheduled ports I could understand and abide by the small print.  However, the Star was alone in missing these ports.  Wouldn't it make sense for the company to do something for their customers as a good will gesture?

Now to address your rudeness.  How dare you infer that we should have gone at a different time and only sailed on the last voyage of the season to save money.  The cruise cost us over $6000 and when we booked, which was a full seven months in advance there were no price breaks.  This cruise was to celebrate my 75th and my wife's 70th birthday.

As to how much consideration would have made us happy, it was not a question of how much but more of showing a customer who already booked a future cruise some gesture of good will.  We would have been happy with anything other than a cold and blunt refusal.

Again, you did not state if you are connected in any way with Princess.  If you are with Princess the readers will see how badly Customer Relations handled my inquiry, thereby losing a future customer. 

I did not go on that date to save money as there was NO DISCOUNTED rate available as I booked the cruise months in advance since that date cosinsided with my 75th and my wife's 70th birthday.  As far as compensation I would have been happy to speak with a Customer Relations rep who would be more responsive and since I had ALREADY placed a deposit for a future cruise add some money for onboard credit or an courtesy upgrade.  Based upon your rude assumption that I booked the cruise to save money I think that you have exposed yourself to all who will read this as an uncaring company.  I have sent correspondence directly to Mr. Arison to see how he feels about this.  As far as ship size, get real - what excuse was there to skip Victoria and Vancouver when the weather had already cleared?

 First off the Westerdam is NOT the sister ship of the Star Princess.

A "sister ship" would be a ship of the same class and specifications, and owned by the same company.  Now yes Princess and Holland America are both owned by the same parent company Carnival, but for all intensive purposes they are independent of each other.

As for the specificiations the Star Princess is a bigger ship and therefore may not be able to get into the same ports as a smaller ship in the exact same conditions.  And as much as you wanted to get into the port, I am sure you also want to remain alive and not end up on the 6 o'clock news beaming pictures of your ship running aground or you being lowered in lifeboats so you don't go down with the ship.  The priority of the Captain and crew is for the safety of the passengers and ship.

The Basics of the Westerdam: 81,000 Gross Tons, 936 Feet long, 11 decks

The Basics of the Star Princess: 109,000 Gross Tons,  950 Feet Long, 13 decks.

Now, while you are saying well there is not "that" much difference, cruise ships are not built for manuverability.  Trying to operate one of those in bad weather is like comparing driving a mini-van vs. a 50 passenger bus.

As to compensation..if you actually read your cruise contract(for any cruise line) you will see that they have the option to skip ports if the weather conditions make it unsafe.  You will also see that in most cases you are entitled to exactly zero compensation.  But in some cases they may refund the port fees, but don't expect a windfall..those equate to around $5-$20 per person per port.

In all honesty if those ports were so important to you, you should have gone in the height of the summer season, not at the end of the Alaskan Cruise season when the weather is generally better...oh wait let me guess you went at that time because the costs were lower...ummm..perhaps you should think about the reason for that.

Out of curriosity just how much "consideration" were you looking for?