Great destinations but disappointing ship and staff

Caribbean Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5
Caribbean Princess

10 Night Panama Canal W/Costa Rica & Caribbean-New Locks (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 28, 2022

Ship: Caribbean Princess

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Just returned Dec 9 from 10 day Partial Transit Panama Canal out of Ft Lauderdale. Booked balcony mini suite which was great until we returned from a rain filled all day shore excursion to find our room completely torn apart because they decided to do upgrade work that was best suited for the shipyard, not while guests onboard. All I wanted was to shower and change since we had reservations that night in the Crown Grill. After a rude assistant to the Hotel Manager offered me a free drink( mind you we bought the drink package) I insisted that the Hotel Manager, Antonio Romano, seek me out. We met him ashore the next port call and he agreed with me that it was rude to perform shipyard style maintenance while guests were onboard. He upgraded us to club class dining and offered us $1,000 future cruise credit, which I asked to have in writing. He did email us a letter to that regard. On Dec 7 we decided to book another cruise with Princess. I paid $200 with my credit card and produced the credit letter given to me by Romano. For the past month I have inquired of Princess why my account only shows $100 credit card deposit and why I do not se the $1,000 credit. Call after call both to my travel agent Vacations to Go and to princess no one could iunfderstand the difference between a genuine cash credit and an onboard credit. We were given a cash credit for future cruise, not an onboard credit. We paid $200 not $100 on the credit card. I finally gave up in disgust and cancelled the trip. After 4 bookings with Vacations to Go they have lost my business, as an email to the boss, Mr Fox yielded no response. Once again, a company, Princess, has gone the route of hiring offshore telephone operators that do not understand English well or US business practice. Theywill never get my business again, not Vacations To Go evidently do not care how important repeat business is, and that it is the most cost effective means of ensuring a company's success.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
smooth

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
buffet awful and underwhelming

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
good layout very comfortable

Ship tip

don't

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

4 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

5 out of 5

Cristobal, Panama

3 out of 5

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

4 out of 5

Falmouth, Jamaica

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 26

8 Comments

christine1234    1 year ago

Sorry to hear about your poor cruise experience due to ship maintenance disrupting your cabin enjoyment and use. A suggestion in contacting Vacations to Go to see if they can assist you with getting the promised compensation from Princess, call VTG, dial "O" for operator and ask for a supervisor. There are supervisors specifically assigned to help with cruise issues. I wouldn't expect a personal response from Mr. Fox.

booger1xx    1 year ago

Another suggestion is to get a Princess vacation planner. Not that it would change this situation but you would have someone who works for the cruise line and be an advocate for you as they do get commission. I have received a fcc in the past and I wanted to use it to be a cruise deposit but was advised it was a future cruise credit and not a future deposit credit. Ours was applied to the cruise balance.

Willomar    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing.

Carnivalfoodie    1 year ago

Frustrating

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

CruzeFan    1 year ago

Why does the cruise date say 12/28 when you say you returned 12/9?

javawoody    1 year ago

Appreciate the feedback

1960cruiser    1 year ago

Two things.........first, I tried using vacations to go and found that their prices were deceptive at best, with many hidden fees, upcharges, ect. Secondly, you should have taken care of any promise of FCC while on board, either by talking to guest services, or Cruise next desk. I have learned over the last 50 years that a person's word, even with documentation, usually means nothing.

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