CRUISE NEWS - I'LL NEVER CRUISE WITH THEM AGAIN
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- CRUISE NEWS - I'LL NEVER CRUISE WITH THEM AGAIN.
I just had a client reach out to me and said cancel all my cruises with Princess Cruise Lines. He was told that if he wanted the perks in the new Princess plus package he would have to pay more money. even though the cruise has been booked for over a year. He's drawing a line in the sand and says he will never sail with Princess Cruise Lines again.
My Mailing Address is :
Don's Family Vacations PMB #471 900 Greenbank road Nepean Ontario K2J 4P6
MAJESTIC PRINCESS May 19th 2024 dterris@travelonly.com
Caribbean Princess Canada cruise Sept 19th 2023 dterris@travelonly.com
Check out My Two other channels here and maybe subscribe for some laughs.
Just Don
• I TESTED POSITIVE AGAIN
Movie Related
• Man Vs Bee Review
For those of you who are wondering, yes I am a Travel Agent and I work with anyone in Canada and the United States :)
He did the right thing more people should do it 👏 👏 👏 👏
If I was not under cancellation penalty I would.
I’m little over 2 weeks out from our cruise. It we hadn’t already paid in full and had time to rebook with another cruise line I would. This will be a one and done trip for us. Just messaged Princess about dropping the old plus package and I was told we would have to cancel the WHOLE cruise and rebook it 😡 the amount of money we have spent for this bucket list cruisetour is insane and they had the nerve to ask for more!!! (Upgrade to the NEW plus package instead, WTF). We’ll go, make some memories with the kids but won’t be booking with them in the future.
I wish I could, sailing in September and November on Princess. Honestly if Princess tells me one more time you booked in 2022, you have the “old plus package” - really I know when we booked and I am fully aware of what that package included and there was unlimited casual dining. So I’m being penalized because I book early . Shameful! If I upgrade both cruises I’ll get 2 casual dinings the entire cruise- one cruise is 14 days the other 15. So Let’s pay extra money to get casual dining twice. My loyalty to Princess no longer exists. Already Booked 3 cruises in 2024 and 2025. 2 on Holland -one is 28 days the other on Celebrity.
Princess Cruise Line your not the only player in the market!
That’s what people have to do, cancel their cruises,in order for cruise lines to quit taking advantage of cruisers. It’s getting ridiculous!!
Exactly. I guess the cruise lines aren't paying attention to what happens when corporations don't give their customers what they want or expect (Disney anyone?).
I would cancel my upcoming cruise. But the issue would be I won't have vacation no more specifically for the price I paid. Or will have to look for new destinations 😢
Yes, absolutely! People must stand together and boycott the fools running Princess, or other lines if they do the same!
I had a Princess cruise scheduled for September and I cancelled it!
@@nyantaplay4769can’t you get a refund?
It was a well-deserved rant. Whoever is in corporate making these kind of decisions has no business being there.
If the people working for the corporations can show that they’re making more money than ever with these policies, you can expect there will be more and more of this.
Wow! That is nuts!
The usual evil American greed. (I can say that because I am American and have seen it getting worse over the years.)
I agree. It’s just plain laziness and greed.
It is awful what Princess is doing and it does not sound legal either. I would be cancelling too.
You weren’t ranting don you were just speaking up for Joe Public v the cruise lines so well done cheers don
This guy did the right thing. We need more people to do the same thing and maybe the people in Princess headquarters will wake up.
We're sailing on Princess in 30 days. We have the Princess Plus package so it'll be interesting to see what we end up with. It's certainly frustrating to have the cruise line pull a fast one like this. It just shows how little management cares about their guests.
And their employees who will be the ones dealing with the results face to face with unhappy guests.
@@jenniferlevine5406😊
I'm surprised that no one is suing Princess for a bait and switch con. If you book something in advance, that's a contract, and then they change the terms of that contract, that's fraud.
Yep, but they have in print that they can change anything at any time and when you book you have to accept and agree to it in order to proceed. It is just terrible. We have just become Elite and found on the last cruise that it does not matter very much.
I thought that Princess' fine print enables what you're referring to as bait and switch to be an allowable action. But it's still not very nice.
When a credit card issuer changes it's terms, they have to send you notice and they give you the opportunity to accept those terms or cancel your card. If the cruise lines have the right to change the terms at any time, then the customer should have the right to cancel within a certain time frame and get all of their money back because the new terms are not what they agreed to. The cruise lines don't get to have their cake and eat it too.
Also, bait and switch is a tactic before you contract. This tactic is extortion.
@@johnhunady3526 Yeah, it always sucks when you work and pay your way into the 'elite' class, only to find that they have moved the goal posts on you...again.
Good for him. I hope more of their loyal cruisers do the same. Sadly, it's the only way they are going to listen to their customers.
Don't apologize for "this little rant." You are totally justified in your feelings, as is your client. I think Princess is absolutely out of line with this change policy and I hope there are many cancellations. It's the only way for them to show they're listening to their customers.
WTH Princess?!! This is totally unacceptable. As a TA, what are we supposed to tell our clients that booked (an deserve) a package that is now changed? I suppose it’s in the Terms & Conditions somewhere that you can treat guests any way you please. Always honor your bookings or have an acceptable option.
as a former TA I would have had a real issue calling clients to tell them what is now not included in the cruise they booked with me. It not only makes the cruise line look unethical but also reflects poorly on agents and I think many people will get on the ship only to be surprised when they go to Alfredos for a pizza and are told the cost.
As a TA, right now I cant justify pushing Princess. The last seminar made me crazy and I didnt stay for the whole thing. Carmen and Marsha must think we are dumb. No thanks Princess.
I’ve been advising my clients to phone Princess and bitch.
And as aTA also what about all the cancelled cruises you know Princess will not follow through with our commission.
@@debbichrissinger9764 agreed. Debbi don't cruise lines offer fam trips or good discounts for agents on these voyages? I follow a few vloggers including don and they always claim the cruises are not free or discounted. In my day fam trips were pretty easy to get. Just wondering.
I personally think this change Princess did on their packages that folks had already paid for could either become a class action lawsuit or get enough traction and complaints Congress threatens to investigate and change rules that prohibit this bait and switch tactic!
LOL - people are getting what they paid for in their packages, the way Don describes it makes it sound like they don't but as usual he misrepresents the actual facts in his videos. Doubt anyone actually called him to cancel 3 cruises...
@@BobTheTruth No they aren't and only the village idiot would suggest otherwise!
Be gone you miserable troll! He's far from the only cruise influencer or TA's whose opinion is the same about Princess's changes!
@@BobTheTruthHow so?
@@BobTheTruth found the princess employee
@@debbiefergerson3538 Found the conspiracy theorist
I really appreciate the fact that you tell us the truth Don, and I especially admire you for telling Princess that what they’re doing is wrong. I was going to book a Princess cruise this week and I’m not going to now. Their Corporate office needs to feel it in the pocketbook. So much for their 3day sale a couple of months ago! 😤
Princess was recommended to me so when I planned a cruise I went with them. I book standard since the cruise is 21 days. I was very excited about all the inclusive things. Now I feel cheated. I paid in full immediately. I’ve lost quite a bit of enthusiasm now because of the changes. I feel people who paid should be grandfathered in. Booked another cruise yesterday and went with Norwegian.
I agree,Don! They should have at least honored any bookings that had already been made. That’s the part that is really bad. 😞
We have booked 4 princess cruises -alaska next month, booked in May, Caribbean 2 cruises Nov and Jan booked in June and Alaska may 2024 booked in July of this year. We are elite and are outraged at what princess did. We do not get a package since we don't drink alcohol. It's like we are getting punished for not getting a package
This whole thing is becoming ridiculous! We all know that the cruise lines in general are trying very hard to recover losses for the last few years of troubles but this is not the way to do things.
They all want our loyalty but then they try to empty our wallets with all this nonsense. They can sail empty the way things are going!
I hate to break it to everyone, but this is a direct result of everyone rolling over and accepting the mandates, shutdowns, and poor policy. It started with the governments and has been pushed down to companies and now we have to pay the price? I applaud this person and more people need to stand up and simply say no enough is enough. Don't keep making the same mistakes
@jjk9275 Amen Brother
Thanks for calling them on this crap Don! You are our voice!
I’m on a Princess cruise as we speak. I was in talking to future cruising about booking an Alaskan cruise for September & when they explained the change from now until then I told them “no, that’s not going to work for me” they looked a bit taken aback as I walked away.. as did the couple behind me.. we discussed that this might be our last cruise for awhile. Cruise lines are trying to make up for their losses, I get that.. but, the phrase “slow and steady wins the race” is very appropriate in this case. I instead just booked a month in Hawaii for less than a 10 day Alaskan cruise.
I took my first Princess cruise in 2015 and fell in love with the line from the first moment.. Presently I am just 2 cruises away from Platinum status with Captains Circle. I do not drink alcohol and I do not care about internet connectivity while on vacation. Therefor, Princess's plus packages offer no savings to me. Additionally as a single traveler I already am paying double fare. I was annoyed when the New Grounds Coffee Package disappeared as that was the only valuable perk for my situation. But I find these money grabbing schemes that have the effect of spitting in the eye of already loyal customers to be appalling. I am loathe to find a new cruise line being so close to attaining Platinum status. Thank you Don for your advocacy and for using your voice which holds more sway than that of just an insignificant customer.
100%, Don. Considering canceling my upcoming suite on the Regal. These are unscrupulous business practices.
I have to agree with you, Don - Princess really stepped in it. They're doing just enough really annoying things to get people to consider moving to another cruise line. Connie & I love Princess, but the last cruise we booked is on Holland America, and the one before that on Celebrity. We're at the Elite level but we'll be looking at other cruise lines more in the future.
From what I understand Royal Caribbean is pushing their loyal cruisers. People are getting disgusted.
Agreed - I am looking elsewhere too. This was a very crappy classless move by Princess - shame
Just cancelled our upcoming cruise in Princess in November and as well next year. If we don’t take a stand we give clear notice to Princess that it’s ok to do this and rest assured this will embolden them to bring on more. Won’t be long and we’ll be charged for buffets and lifevests.
100 percent correct. More people SHOULD DO THIS.... POWER IN NUMBERS. grandfather clause in effect
I LOVE cruising, but rising prices, unpredictable policy changes, without honoring prior bookings, and lessened quality in many areas, have led me to take a break, and spend my travel money elsewhere. Hopefully, things will change for the better soon, because I’ll miss being at sea!
Because my wife and I are not retired there’s more at stake than just money, there is our precious two weeks of allowed vacation time.
I agree with you Don. People shouldn't be charged more if you have a price locked in.
I think a lot of people are feeling the same. I’m not going to sail with them again. All this “Nickel & diming is turning people off.
Princess needs to make changes in the corporate office (Padgett), and if they don’t, then they need to be prepared as I, and fellow loyal Princess fans will be making the change to a different cruise line.
Padgett has to go.
I took my first cruise recently on Celebrity. After we paid in full, some things in our package changed, such as the fee for room service. I did not appreciate this because our contract was pretty specific for our part. Unfortunately the person who canceled cruises will probably face this again. I don’t feel it is right for the cruise lines to make these changes for passengers who have already paid for a certain expectation.
Did you enjoy your cruise on Celebrity?
Sure did!
We’ve taken 8 or 9 cruises and never ordered room service, even though there was no extra charge at the time. Not a fan of cold coffee or cold meals that should be hot. Love meal service in the main dining room.
@@ellenflanagan2220 Good for you. We’ve ordered room service dozens and dozens of times and I’ve never gotten cold coffee or cold food. If you’ve never ordered room service as you stated how would you even know ?
Thanks for keeping us informed Don! As a travel agency owner I would be mad too! Corporate America is getting horrible because all the good long time employees are retiring and are being replaced by idiots. Our education systems are broken, people no longer have to start at the bottom and work their way up. So they no idea what’s going on.
It use to be fun to cruise now it is crap. They have changed so many things that made it fun. I am thinking of walking away from cruising and doing the all inclusive resorts for my vacations.
Thanks Don..
Can't blame that cruiser for being upset. He should have been grandfathered in for the cost he already paid. Already subscribed and also did hit the like button. One of the first things I do when I come on site.
My issue with Princess is that this is the 2nd time since I booked my cruise that they've changed what's included with the Premier package. First it was that additional cost for the desserts and the fitness classes and juices. Fine I said, I'll shell out more money to get the more all inclusive fare. That's what I paid for the Premier package for. Now with this new addition, I called Princess and I STILL dont know if there's going to be an additional charge. I was told to wait for an email from Princess for my sailing. That's 6 months away now. I've already made my final payment for this cruise. I asked again and again if this would incur an additional charge. The agents dont even know. This is very disturbing to me that I now dont know what all's included in my plan as well as I dont know if they're going to slam me with more fees for this sailing prior to final payment date.
I'm quite disappointed in Princess with this. Am I still going to go on my cruise in February? Yes, its a bucket list item for me. But at the same time, i'm now going to make DAMN sure I get everything that's owed to me with this package. And I hate being wasteful, but if the cruise line is just going to nickel and dime me, I'm going to nickel and dime them.
I feel you on that! I have the old plus package and to remove it I’d have to cancel my entire cruise and rebook it… while I don’t drink alcohol we’ll find other ways to get our money worth out of it. 😡 not happy with the changes and we sail in a little over 2 weeks so not enough time to rearrange anything.
You’re a top salesperson because you are honest and don’t make excuses for bad things that the cruise lines do. You call them out!!! Good for you. I’m so happy to see that you are doing so well after your surgery.
Don, we are on the Emerald Princess this week on our 30th cruise with Princess. We agree with your client’s position. We are Elite and we typically book a suite. We have noticed many changes as this is our first cruise since the dreaded Ruby Princess cruise in AUS/NZ when the world shut down due to Covid on March 13,2020.
Princess has done away with the chocolates at turndown (how expensive could that be?), the Elite discount on bottles of wine, the Elite discount in the shops on board, no note paper in the cabins (to leave the cabin steward a note). I am looking at other similar cruise lines now. Princess will not get any more of our money.
Glad you are speaking out. I hope Princess listens to you!
Amen Don. You're looking better every day.
Princess does not care if you cancel because they are confident they can sell your room to someone else at the higher price. This arrogance is going to hurt them in the long run.
One would think that anyone who booked the cruise before the changes were made, would get the price at the time of their booking. That seems only fair. It appears to be an attempt at a small money grab that went horribly wrong for the line.
If enough people get tired of this kind of corporate greed and do something about it ,this will send a message to all cruise company's that we as paying passengers are not going to put up with this any more.
Totally agree Don.
The problem is that people aren't getting the cruise they booked and paid for.
Oceania Cruises is changing to an all-inclusive brand that they named "Simply More." They did it right: new name, only on the new voyages, and people who are booked have the OPTION of changing to the new offer or keeping the old one. People might not be happy withe the change, but it was done fairly.
I’ve heard that and I think they’re trying to do more of what Viking does.
@@lynnleipold2617 I agree. It’s a direct response to what Viking offers.
Oceania is definitely responding to Viking. Oceania is at least offering some shore excursion credit although it is per stateroom and not per person. I have no idea what their excursions run but I don't see $600 going very far for two people on a 7 to 9-day cruise. This is still a ways from Viking which includes one shore excursion per person at every port of call. I can state the included Viking excursions are very good and are at the level you would expect from a high-end line. What we paid for more focused, specialty Viking excursions was reasonable as the cost of an included excursion was probably already baked in. Oceania is also finally matching Viking by including beer and wine with lunch and dinner.
You are being much more honest than some other Vloggers
Great presentation today, Don. We completely agree, every should be ranting! And canceling!
Couldn’t agree more. Good on you for calling them on their BS. 👏🏼
Thanks Don for your integrity to report on topics that could cost you personally. You’re a good man!
Quite right for the rant! They will end up losing customers but ultimately , unfortunately , more people will take up their cruises. Maybe your customer will find a cruise line he prefers. Good on him for taking a stand.
Just canceled 3 back to back cruises coming up in May 24, thanks for all you do Don, keep up your unbiased reporting.
I am glad you said something Don. I understand things change but take care of your clients. Honor your commitment to their vacation. You don't get far alienating your customers, especially when there is plenty of competition to scoop your customers up.
I agree Don. We booked 16 day cruise for March 2024 in October of 2022. RIDICULOUS!! This may be our last cruise.
Agree with your stance on this. My wife and I cruise every year and we've notice the trend. We cruise because it is the best bang for the dollar! Even with the changes it is still the best deal so I am not sure if cancelling cruises will actually work? I think the cruise lines should remember the reason they are so successful is the loyalty of the customers. I'm ok with them making changes, charging for some services etc.. but, there is a wrong way and a correct way to implement it. In this case Princess chose poorly.
Good on you Don for calling Princess out in this.
Amen, Don. We're Princess Elite and really unhappy with our "go to" cruise line. Maybe it's not "go to" anymore...
I dont blame him, Im on the verge of doing the same thing.
I apologize folks...this is all my fault. As soon as I decided to take my 1st ever cruise, the industry went berserk!! ENDLESS price hikes & removal of included items etc. I started educating myself (hi hi lol) and we had originally planned to go this fall. Now, we pushed that off and if the industry doesn't adjust, I'm either going to Disney (which I've been boycotting until they do better....sigh) or just going to a resort. Thankfully, I live in New England, so I can amuse myself with beaches etc that people travel far & wide to get to. But we all want to get away and FEEL like a real vaca! But I'm not going to pay 10's of thousands of dollars, travel like cattle through airports (which now mean 2x wasted days, and GL finding a direct flight anywhere, and I live near a major US airport), then be nickeled and dimed every step of the way.
Disney is the biggest rip-off ever. Just go find a resort.
I thought it was my fault 😂 my first cruise was booked for April 2020 and we’ll we all know what happened then… now I booked an Alaska cruise with Princess (leaving 08/19) … WTF. This will be our first and probably last cruise. I’m so frustrated… if it wasn’t already paid for and only a few weeks away I consider cancelling too. Next year will be local road trips for us.
We don't support Disney because they are ungodly groomers of children. So for us, Disney is NOT an option either.
En-see-el.
😂 I have never desired to go a cruise until several months ago after watching UA-camrs. Now, I'm not so sure because of recent news of price increases and people having their bookings taken from them to someone else, etc. I would be livid.
We agree Don. If it isn't a Bait & Switch, it's price gouging. Just disgusted.
You tell them Don. Very frustrated with Princess lately. We cancelled 3 cruises because of changes thankfully just before our final payment.
We're also sailing on Caribbean Princess on 9th September, and we have the Princess Plus package. We notice we have now been moved from the Green Lane to the Blue Lane, because we are Canadians and don't have the Medallion in our possession. (We have to pick it up at the Cruise Port). Not happy about that, but it will be interesting to see what Princess decides to do about the unhappy customers these changes are making. They are certainly going to lose customers if they continue to add costs unfairly, especially for those who've taken the steps to book early. Totally on your side, Don.
Well done - glad you spoke your mind. 'Corporate' is getting too greedy post pandemic. Time for us to make our feelings about this kind of thing known.
We have a Princess cruise scheduled for October, and if we wereen't celebrating 20 years of marriage, I would cancel that cruise. (Loyal Princess cruisers here.) Granted, we did downgrade from a trans-atlantic cruise to Alaska, but I am chronically ill and realized I can't fly all the way to Spain. Seattle will work much better. We were already upgraded to a higher package, but we are still angry. Why to they need money all of a sudden? It's not like they have waterslides or bumbercars to maintain. They aren't offering anything new to warrant this nickle and diming!!
Nearly exactly what Princess told us when we experienced a cruise from hell with them. "There are a lot of cruisers out there, we don't have to solve problems" is what they told our agent. And this was pre-covid in Alaska where it is hard to screw up a cruise. They did, and because of that, NEVER AGAIN ON PRINCESS. His problem was only 'money' think of problems with allergies of bedding, poor attention of wait staff, minor problems unresolved, blaming us for being the cause of the problem, no, no never again on Princess.
Don....stay well, so you can give Princess hell!!!😊❤
Don, you’re looking really good. I’m glad you are having a good recovery. Stay healthy from now on. I’m not happy with Princess either. Their web site was not working properly yesterday and I’m so frustrated with them. Phone service was awful and prices have really increased. I put a cruise on hold which was only 1 day and if I cancel I have to pay a fee. Was looking forward to happy sailing--celebrating my birthday from Monday--turned 82! Sorry, I don’t like being a complainer!
Happy Birthday to you!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
We just got off a 14 day Cruise with Princess and it’s a good thing they didn’t do what they are doing now. We would have canceled for sure! No more Princess cruises for us. I feel bad for all those who have cruises booked and now fall under these changes. Shame on Princess.
PREACH BROTHER DON!!! Totally agree.
Don, I agree with you 100%.
I am glad to see you calling Princess out for this. I see some people making excuses for Princess, and it frustrates me. My cruise was booked in December after comparing what it offered to another line. Now I will not get what I feel I paid for and wish I had gone with the other line. I won’t cancel because the offer from the other line expired. I still have 6 more months until my cruise, and my hope is that they don’t revise again in November. I will cruise Princess this time, but I may not book with them again. After a dozen cruises on 4 other lines, this is really a first for me. Losing items I feel I paid for is not fair and shows no respect for your clients.
We sail in a little over 2 weeks and this is the second time Princess has made a change to our cruise … we’ll be one and done with them. Horrible rollout of these new changes. They should have grandfathered people in to the new “perks” and rolled out increases on the future cruise bookings not already booked.
Boycott that line !
Cruise companies have forgotten where their bread is buttered. People will vote with their feet. There are a lot of other things people can do with their money. We have cruised many times but now the giant play lands at sea don’t appeal to us. Good for you calling them out. We know it isn’t your staples making you cranky! 😊
Not to mention, they have been earning interest on the money that you pay, which for a single cruiser might not seem like much, but when you multiply it across the number of cruisers that they have an a year that turns into a hefty chunk of money
I am glad that your client stepped up and that you covered this issue. This reflects very poorly on the Princess Cruises brand.
It is really frustrating. Cannot believe Princess is going back to people who already booked and paid asking for more money. They are basically screwed..they can pay the $600 additional or cancel and loose all. I guess if they even paid for Princess Plus when booking originally, they will not get those added amenities. So sad to see a cruise line like Princess doing this.😢
We have cancelled many cruises with Princess and you don't loose any money and also get your future cruise deposits back either refunded or back to reuse.
Agree 1000% !
VERY Poor decision from Princess.
I canceled mine too. It's just wrong and they need to fix it. I agree with you.
Applaud to him :)
We are now looking at other cruise lines after more than 50 cruises with Princess!
I have written directly to Princess, the casino, my casino host, and travel agent...pinning their ears back with my rage over Princess's Marketing's Bud Light moment... Imagine buying a sofa from a major store...all paid for, and the day before it arrives, the furniture store calls and says that if you buy the Premium Furniture Package, we will throw in the sofa legs and cushions for free!!!
Wow!!
Add this add that. That’s why I cruise Azamara. No surprise and with all the add ons you have to pay on other cruise line, you can sail on a more luxury boutique ship.
My biggest complaint with Princess is their lack of shore-side customer service. To reach them by phone, the hold time is as much as two hours, often to be disconnected after the wait. If you email customer service, you get an automatic response telling you that they have received the email, and NEVER get a human response with an actual answer to your concern. I generally sail 30 weeks each year, mostly with Royal Caribbean. By-enlarge, the service on the ship, with both lines that I sail with, is great. Shore-side service with Royal gets mixed reviews, but Princess leaves much to be desired in this regard.
Ben and David’s latest post indicated that Princess is the most hated cruise line. I like all cruises, but have to say that my recent cruise on the Caribbean Princess was one of the worst I’ve had. I usually cruise on NCL on which I’ve always had a great experience.
Agreed! No smiles from the employees either…will not cruise Princess ever again.
You are right Dn. These are CONTRACTS which should be honoured.
I am an Elite Princess cruiser. I have 3 booked cruises coming up shortly. After them, I am very much considering land- based travel and river cruises only.
Hi Don!! well said, and needed to be said! I'm totally disgusted with Princess. We are Elite and have been sailing with them for over a decade. We have been on several cruises since the start up. I believe what's getting lost in this conversation with the price increases is the decline in quality and service across-the-board. this has been going on for quite a while. In addition, they hyped the medallion experience like there was no tomorrow!!! now they want to nickel and dime you to death to experience that as well. Wi-Fi is still c*****In our opinion, using the medallion app is glitchy and frustrating. ordering food to be delivered to you? Half the time the orders get canceled. Or you wait for over an hour and then the crew can never find you. But they wanna charge you for that experience as well.. joke! I believe that they are going after the younger crowds. They don't care about their loyal customers because they know most of us are aging and will be out of the picture in a few years. So let's just soak the newbies cause they don't know any better!!!
Just disembarked from the Celebrity Apex. I can feel myself so related to this man... They changed so many things since last year that they're putting me and my family in a situation that we don't feel like cruising anymore. Never had before that feeling of paying for things that used to be included (ice cream scoops, for instance!!) under the excuse of "getting a better service". No; that service used to be included in the fare I have already paid for... so no need to pay twice just to get the same. Worst service in the restaurants, queues for dinner, to go to the shows or get a good sitting...
I think this is not anymore the Celebrity that it used to be. However, it's clear to us that all brands are now starting to nickel-and-dime the passengers, so it's a matter of time that this sort of strategy collapses before us, the clients, decide to take another type of vacation.
Try Oceania or Azamara.....more inclusions = better value.
@@danielbobberson9849 Thanks! We are taking another cruise next week, with HAL. The expectations are quite low right now, so let's see how it results. Fingers crossed! 🤞
You are absolutely correct. More people need to cancel!
Great rant! I totally agree.
I have to agree with your client. My wife and I have considered Princess as our favorite cruise line. But, I have noticed that since Jan Schwarz was replaced as CEO, things have gone downhill. I was sent an email recently concerning another perk that has been changed in a negative way; you can no longer take advantage of the military benefit and the Shareholder benefit together. You can only use one of them. Also, the loyalty benefits have been decreased - and now Alfredo's, room service, and priority check-in. These changes have certainly given us pause in going to Princess first to book a cruise. I won't say that we have sworn off Princess yet, but we will be hoping that they don't cut any more, and hoping that they will rethink some of the cuts the have made.
P.S. - glad to see you are recovering from the recent surgery!
CEO Padgett must go!!!!
I agree, if you paid for something BEFORE it changed, you should get what's included in the changes. All cruise lines are increasing prices and making changes, but customer loyalty should matter. I've been cruising with Princess more often because NCL wasn't rewarding my loyalty. I hope I won't have to switch again...
I gotta say, Im grateful to you tube for keeping me away from cruises!! I expected a everything paid for luxury party at sea. And now....rip offs, hidden fees, plague, tourist traps, and deception over all. Saved a TON of $$!!!! Thank you!!
@Donsfamilyvacations.No. I'm keeping my $$.
This is what happens when a bean counter is in charge.
Thanks, Don. I hope you don't mind, but I also shared this video on Princess' Facebook page along with my comments that we would be rethinking any future cruises with them, as well. Not happy with these changes. The price of the Princess Plus package (which we got on our last cruise earlier this year) has also gone up significantly. So sad to see such a good cruise line resort to these tactics. 😞
I agree, Don! When people start voting with their wallets, maybe corporate will know they’ve gone too far.
HA! If only that were true. Princess Corporate is completely brain-dead to us peons. They don't live in the same world you do. They will see profits drop and they will blame the staff of the ships. They will blame you. They will NEVER EVER EVER accept responsibility. Rule one of corporate management, "Never admit you were wrong!"
We are canceling a 20 day cruise, because a week after we booked, the changers were announced. We booked the premier, but the new items aren’t included and we’d have to pay more (it’s also not very clear on their website either that it’s not included). We liked the itinerary and the deposit was very low so we jumped on the deal, but this change and some of the negative reviews that Princess has gone downhill, cemented the need to cancel. We’ve booked a different cruise line now as this trip is a major anniversary for us and I don’t have faith in Princess anymore. 😢
Don saying “Money, money, money” made me laugh. It reminded me of Scrooge McDuck. I do agree the cruise line should give them a big discount since they aren’t giving them what they paid for.
You're absolutely right it does 'Stink'!!!! I would say to them if I was you I will cancel ALL my Bookings unless you change this money grabbing idea!!
It is shameful! I would have canceled too. It all goes back to that ‘Cruise Contract’ which leaves nothing out to protect the cruise line. No other industry in the United States would be allowed to get away with that. More people need to push back by canceling cruises when the cruise line changes the terms that impact the booked cruiser in a negative way. Without us, th3 passengers, they will be in real financial trouble!
People also need to challenge the cruise terms in a court of law to hold the cruise lines accountable for these terms that other businesses could never get away doing.
Spot on Don!!!! Shame on Princess!!
I agree with you Don that the new Princess changes are really smelly! To Corporate we are dollar signs. We have been loyal Princess passengers but now perhaps it’s time to vote with our wallets and try another line.
I had the same issue when they had one drink package at the time of booking. Princess added another package and told me on-board that I had the lower package, even though my confirmation said the name of the higher one, (I think called Premier). Now they changed Alfredo's. We go to Alfredo's everyday! It's one of the highlights! We are thinking of cancelling both cruises😐.
Everyday? That's a lot of Pizza! 😮
Many many years ago the only choices to make was an inside cabin or the Royal suite and in between ! After that everybody got everything onboard the same ! All was include ! Now they nickel and dime you while taking away so many always things ! SUCKS !
We all understand price rises but when they tried to package it as a benefit and an improvement, that’s where they went wrong. Plus to change it for people that booked under the old system.
I said the same thing several years ago (pre-covid, I'm not sure how much before that). Princess insists that they don't owe me a $200 refund that they DO. My TA went the rounds with them and we finally had to give up. Bottom line, I said that I'd probably never cruise Princess again and if I ever did, it would be because they offered a location that no one else did. Well, since then, I've booked a bunch of cruises but not with Princess. They have to treat customers fairly financially! And this is just a widespread example of trying to gouge people. Good for this guy canceling 3 cruises.