Your attitude is so uplifting. You were tired and frustrated, you expressed your feelings, and then you went forward without it ruining your day. I can't wait to hear about the rest of the cruise, both good and bad.
It amazes me how often folks like yourself travel. There are always hiccups that make the process more difficult and frustrating. I can only put up with all that once every few years. 😅
We learned a lesson when our Medallions would not unlock our cabin door after making 3 trips to CS. After the fourth time we went to the electronic directory in CS area with an assistant. It didn't work, assistant made 2 more trips, while we found a comfy place to sit, before both Medallions worked correctly. Lesson learned: Try Madallion as soon as you board. If it still doesn't work after standing in CS line twice, get an assistant and let them take care of it.
Nice of you to give the guy a tip, my grandaughter is a student in Southampton and, since she loves ships, worked for 3 years as a baggage handler. In that time she helped people find their bags on disembarkation day. She helped when passports had to be retrieved at last minute and on two occasions informed people they were at the wrong terminal and got verbal abuse for her trouble. Tips were few and fare between. To be fair we do not have a tips culture in this country however its nice to reward when someone goes the extra mile. Hope rest of cruise goes well.
Don - I crown you with the Nicest Customer Award 🤴🏻 In all my tens & tens 😏 of cruises I've never had a female room steward 🤷🏻♀ PS, I like your picture. Looks fun!
Wow! Sorry you had to go through that. I honestly don't feel that embarkation and disembarkation days should be counted as that when we spend so much time going through and setting up so much stuff that its already dinner time! Disembarkation day we are sadly getting off the ship by 8 a.m. So, I say we lose 1 day in a cruise doing and undoing things . Thanks for sharing!
Glad you're able to keep these 1st World problems in perspective. Just always glad when you get to share a good medical report. Keeping you in my prayers while watching you let us tag along on your adventures. God Bless!
Dang it, that is frustrating, and they need to do better with the medallion, but I do believe that Embarkation Day is the most stressful as you don't know what problems you might encounter. Enjoy Don as you are onboard and cruising.
Guest Services on the Sun Princess was the worst setup I’ve ever seen in all my years of cruising. It was hard to find and was just as you described it. Fortunately I got there when the line was fairly short and I got to the desk without much of a wait. When I left there was a long slow line. Frankly, the Sun Princess didn’t impress me that much.
Basically, the message is "We want you to use the app." It's yet another way to wring money out and create more friction so it's harder to "waste" their time.
We had the same experience on the Majestic Princess this summer. Super long lines and congestion at embarkation. My sister's medallion didn't work and she stood in long customer service line and they told her it was the battery as well. It repeatedly didn't work etc. Fortunately mine did and could let us in. Multiple people including head room steward to get it resolved. In addition though, our beds were together rather than two so we had to leave while they got it sorted. My parent didn't have the welcome champagne in their suite, etc. There were more issues throughout the week. I was really surprised at all the glitches on Princess after all the great things i had heard. No fun towel animals that I've had on other cruise lines. Just a fun little missing perk.
I had been raving to my family about the other cruises I had been on as this was their first cruise and I was very disappointed all week (especially the buffet eating area). I don't know if it was Princess in general or just the ship I was on. To the point that I'm unsure I will take them again.
That sounds a very frustrating start. Great that you are such a positive person. I guess if there was a general problem that’s why the lines were so long.
Don, I always enjoy your tales about your cruising experiences. Because you cruise so often, you seem to have more negatives than I ever did on my six cruises, but on the other hand, I'm sure you have many more perks than I ever did. Keep up the good work!
Totally agree with you about customer service. It has been a problem from the very first cruise and I had hoped it would have been addressed by now. It could be a simple fix if they would just put up a roped that separated elite from others.
Same here Don, the Barcelona luggage attendant was surprised that I've tip him 5 euro boarding the Sun Princess in May. They certainly changed the procedure compared to my boarding during embarkation the color coding system was used to pick up medallion and help service.😁
Wow, not a good start but you will rock on and have a great cruise. Sounds like the customer service is inconvenient. Maybe the hope less people will go there. Ha. . Enjoy. Looking forward to the Dec cruise on the Sun. ❤
Get antibiotic at the medical center. Your cheek looks swollen. It will at least take care of the abscess and be ready for evaluation upon your return home. If it needs a crown, at least you can get a temporary while you go to Singapore. ( From personal experience). Going on a cruise with one in a couple of weeks. My life has been spent at the dentist! And I’m older than you! Hope you get relief!🙏🏻🫶🏻
What Don described is definitely not the norm. We have never had this type of issue with our medallions but it is technology and even the simplest form doesn't work at times. If you have never sailed with Princess - give them a try!! We love them!!!
My medallion stopped working on the third week of my four week cruise. They first thought it was the door then they made me a new medallion. The room steward let me in.
I thought a lot of people say to ask your Cabin Stewart when you are first introduced to them, about your perks and benefits that come with your cabin? That they can tell you all of that and get you set up with what you need in a reasonable time?
Celebrity at least has the desk in a quiet area and lots to wait. They should be able to test the medallion prior to handing them out! Such a mess! I had that in a hotel room and kept going back down! Bad things for a good ending!!
Sounds like my embarkation day on HAL ship in Quebec City 9/14. Due to “computer glitch” boarding passes were not valid. Hundreds of people standing in line waiting to be manually processed. Even worse, HAL reps couldn’t agree on which line people should stand in. Then the safety drill- we went to muster station at the appointed time. The HAL crew arrived late. We completed the required process -no, wait- another crew member arrived and said we didn’t complete the briefing, and they reversed the lines. And then there were the excursions-excursion desk manually cancelled over 2000 excursions to correct the “computer glitch”. More time standing in line to rebook excursions we had reserved months in advance. On the positive, our stateroom attendants were outstanding, and the itinerary was awesome. Eastern Canada is beautiful. Unfortunately for HAL, first impressions are everything. We will NEVER book another HAL cruise.
The same glitch hit us boarding the Koningsdam in Vancouver B.C. on Sept. 14th. Over 3 hours to get through check-in, then more queuing for security and cruise card pickup. The port staff took hours to adapt and start collecting luggage direct from the passengers, so those of us who did not use HAL transfers, had to drag luggage along in the queue. HAL IT and App/Web development have always been substandard, so this should not have been a surprise, but still annoying. Fortunately, the cruise was excellent, so I won’t abandon HAL, but they need to fix all things IT.
That’s horrible. I’ve cruises 10 times with HAL and never once had an issue like that. The problem with tech is it’s wonderful when it works but a nightmare when it doesn’t.
Agreed about the customer service room. I was just on the sun princess a few weeks ago. It was terrible in our case. They did not have anyone out front guiding you. We basically walked into a round room going what do we do? We were elite and went to desk, but that was the only desk that was open anyway. We did put that we did. It was very confusing.
I had a problem with my medallion last time. It wouldn’t open the door. When I did get in and put the tv on, it said I’m not in the cabin. I needed a new one and it worked then.
Since you're on the Sun Princess, say hello to Gopher and Issac for me . I assume you've already met with July McCoy the cruise director with all your problems, and on your way to see Dr Bricket for your tooth ache ! 🙂 Sadlyl Capt Stubbing has left us.
The Elite and. Suite guests are supposed to go to the Elite desk according to Princess. We got two new medallions each and in the end it was the door handle battery. Contact us if you have more issues. We know how to handle them including the room temperatures. We can hook you up to the right guy. ❤
Years ago cruise lines were proud of their product and wanted customers to be satisfied. Now they don't care at all. Everything is just a money grab with the cruise lines determined to get every dollar they can from the passengers. Years ago the comment forms allowed you to make comments or suggestions. Now the only thing they are interested in is the ratings you assign to the crew so they can decide to keep them or fire them. Comments or suggestions on any problems you may have encountered or constructive criticism is of no interest to them.
Odd, on our last princess cruise, my medallion didn't work. Dead battery, but they just change the battery and off I went. Not sure why they replaced your whole medallion.
Kind of odd. I had problems with my Medallion on the Discovery on Sept 7th to 14th. Had to get a new battery, too. It never worked perfectly the whole cruise. Odd.
Your attitude is so uplifting. You were tired and frustrated, you expressed your feelings, and then you went forward without it ruining your day. I can't wait to hear about the rest of the cruise, both good and bad.
It amazes me how often folks like yourself travel. There are always hiccups that make the process more difficult and frustrating. I can only put up with all that once every few years. 😅
We learned a lesson when our Medallions would not unlock our cabin door after making 3 trips to CS. After the fourth time we went to the electronic directory in CS area with an assistant. It didn't work, assistant made 2 more trips, while we found a comfy place to sit, before both Medallions worked correctly.
Lesson learned: Try Madallion as soon as you board. If it still doesn't work after standing in CS line twice, get an assistant and let them take care of it.
Good to hear the baggage handler's honesty was rewarded! 🙂
We are on the ship with you, hope we get to meet! Also thank you for being patient and not letting it ruin your day. :)
Nice of you to give the guy a tip, my grandaughter is a student in Southampton and, since she loves ships, worked for 3 years as a baggage handler. In that time she helped people find their bags on disembarkation day. She helped when passports had to be retrieved at last minute and on two occasions informed people they were at the wrong terminal and got verbal abuse for her trouble. Tips were few and fare between. To be fair we do not have a tips culture in this country however its nice to reward when someone goes the extra mile. Hope rest of cruise goes well.
Wow! That’s a tough embarkation day!!
I would've felt the same way, Don.
I always tip the man taking my luggage
Oh Don, we just had the exact same issue from Southampton on Caribbean Princess. It was a nightmare for 9 days of a 12 day cruise.
It'll get better Don lol
We always buy the on boarding picture. Sometimes only one we buy.
Keep calm and carry on!
Small price to pay for a wonderful holiday!
Don - I crown you with the Nicest Customer Award 🤴🏻 In all my tens & tens 😏 of cruises I've never had a female room steward 🤷🏻♀ PS, I like your picture. Looks fun!
All that and a sore tooth to boot! Party on, Don.
That’s the best pic😅
Wow! Sorry you had to go through that. I honestly don't feel that embarkation and disembarkation days should be counted as that when we spend so much time going through and setting up so much stuff that its already dinner time! Disembarkation day we are sadly getting off the ship by 8 a.m.
So, I say we lose 1 day in a cruise doing and undoing things . Thanks for sharing!
Fun pictures. So sorry about the delay with the medallion!
He made sure your luggage got there extra quick for the extra money!
Glad you're able to keep these 1st World problems in perspective. Just always glad when you get to share a good medical report. Keeping you in my prayers while watching you let us tag along on your adventures. God Bless!
Embarkation day is always stressful for us.
Travel is stressful period, especially at airports.
Dang it, that is frustrating, and they need to do better with the medallion, but I do believe that Embarkation Day is the most stressful as you don't know what problems you might encounter. Enjoy Don as you are onboard and cruising.
Guest Services on the Sun Princess was the worst setup I’ve ever seen in all my years of cruising. It was hard to find and was just as you described it. Fortunately I got there when the line was fairly short and I got to the desk without much of a wait. When I left there was a long slow line. Frankly, the Sun Princess didn’t impress me that much.
Basically, the message is "We want you to use the app." It's yet another way to wring money out and create more friction so it's harder to "waste" their time.
Thanks Don!
Awww. A little bit of inconvenience. No tears. On you go
Great picture - Fun! And...You're gonna need a vacation after your vacation!!!
We had the same experience on the Majestic Princess this summer. Super long lines and congestion at embarkation. My sister's medallion didn't work and she stood in long customer service line and they told her it was the battery as well. It repeatedly didn't work etc. Fortunately mine did and could let us in. Multiple people including head room steward to get it resolved. In addition though, our beds were together rather than two so we had to leave while they got it sorted. My parent didn't have the welcome champagne in their suite, etc. There were more issues throughout the week. I was really surprised at all the glitches on Princess after all the great things i had heard. No fun towel animals that I've had on other cruise lines. Just a fun little missing perk.
I had been raving to my family about the other cruises I had been on as this was their first cruise and I was very disappointed all week (especially the buffet eating area). I don't know if it was Princess in general or just the ship I was on. To the point that I'm unsure I will take them again.
Mentioning tips, I just stopped at my bank today to get a large number of $5's and $1's, for tips. 15 more days, and I start my 21 day Panama cruise.
The picture looks like Monty Python comedy skit super imposed on background. Fun.
Lol, love the pictures. 😂
Hi Don, Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good.
Oh wow. Hope the rest of your cruise goes smoothly. This is unusual for Princess.
That sounds a very frustrating start. Great that you are such a positive person. I guess if there was a general problem that’s why the lines were so long.
Great picture Don!!!
We cruised out of South Hampton back in June on Princess Regal with no issues. We are Platinum and get right on.
keep up the good work!
Just goes to show that things happen. You handled it with grace and provided an example for us all.
Hope things get better.
Don, I always enjoy your tales about your cruising experiences. Because you cruise so often, you seem to have more negatives than I ever did on my six cruises, but on the other hand, I'm sure you have many more perks than I ever did. Keep up the good work!
the first day always the most stressfull day. A lot of things to think. Thanks Don
Brits don't Tip, so quite a surprise for that Porter.
Excuse me! Some of us do thankyou.
Brits don’t tip for “everything” like in the U.S. we trust the companies to pay employees a living wage.
We also have experienced medallion problems on a couple of Princess embarkations. They can be very frustrating.
You are so kind Bob🙏🇺🇲🇵🇭
Totally agree with you about customer service. It has been a problem from the very first cruise and I had hoped it would have been addressed by now. It could be a simple fix if they would just put up a roped that separated elite from others.
Same here Don, the Barcelona luggage attendant was surprised that I've tip him 5 euro boarding the Sun Princess in May. They certainly changed the procedure compared to my boarding during embarkation the color coding system was used to pick up medallion and help service.😁
Wow, not a good start but you will rock on and have a great cruise. Sounds like the customer service is inconvenient. Maybe the hope less people will go there. Ha. . Enjoy. Looking forward to the Dec cruise on the Sun. ❤
Don, if you weren’t complaining - we wouldn’t be happy. So, keep up the good work.
Don is the cruiser with the rain cloud perpetually hovering over his head. Traveling seems to always be kicking his bumm.
😂😂 thanks for those pictures. I’m sitting in an airport waiting for my delayed flight. Just spit my coffee out 🤣🤣🤣
I think your picture looks good!
Embarkation is not going well for us either. We're on the Ruby and our room floor is flooded already ⚓️
Some times problems will arise
That was a very bad way to start off your trip. Praying it all gets better from there on.
We just disembarked on Thursday from the mariner of the seas both embarking and disembarking were easy as pie within two minutes time
Love the Mariner
You had a bit of a rough start...hope the rest of your cruise is great.
Have fun Don
What a rough start to your cruise.
If you cruise enough times, something happens. You just have to go with the flow. Glad it worked out, eventually.
Get antibiotic at the medical center. Your cheek looks swollen. It will at least take care of the abscess and be ready for evaluation upon your return home. If it needs a crown, at least you can get a temporary while you go to Singapore. ( From personal experience). Going on a cruise with one in a couple of weeks. My life has been spent at the dentist! And I’m older than you! Hope you get relief!🙏🏻🫶🏻
Hi Don. Have a safe trip
I ❤ your honest opinion!
Keep up the good work don. Enjoy your cruise.
That's crazy Don! I'm rethinking about sailing with Princess!😢
What Don described is definitely not the norm. We have never had this type of issue with our medallions but it is technology and even the simplest form doesn't work at times. If you have never sailed with Princess - give them a try!! We love them!!!
Sorry you had such a hard time ,Don.
You made that porter’s day.
Hope the medallion is working well now.
My medallion stopped working on the third week of my four week cruise. They first thought it was the door then they made me a new medallion. The room steward let me in.
Mine stopped on day 3. sapphire princess.
We sail from Southampton regularly and we always tip x
I hope they tweet the customer service procedure to assist guests
I thought a lot of people say to ask your Cabin Stewart when you are first introduced to them, about your perks and benefits that come with your cabin? That they can tell you all of that and get you set up with what you need in a reasonable time?
ROFLOL!! MADE MY DAY, GOV!! LOL
no matter what ship or line there will be issues. its the number of passengers that dictate the time to resolve.
In Australia they don't get tips for taking your luggage.
Sorry you had issues with the medallion, but it sounds like everything else went well getting there!
That sounds ruff!
If I was having issues with the Medion, I would have thought it was due to my magnetic personality.
Celebrity at least has the desk in a quiet area and lots to wait.
They should be able to test the medallion prior to handing them out! Such a mess! I had that in a hotel room and kept going back down!
Bad things for a good ending!!
Don, you’re too funny😂
Sounds like my embarkation day on HAL ship in Quebec City 9/14. Due to “computer glitch” boarding passes were not valid. Hundreds of people standing in line waiting to be manually processed. Even worse, HAL reps couldn’t agree on which line people should stand in. Then the safety drill- we went to muster station at the appointed time. The HAL crew arrived late. We completed the required process -no, wait- another crew member arrived and said we didn’t complete the briefing, and they reversed the lines. And then there were the excursions-excursion desk manually cancelled over 2000 excursions to correct the “computer glitch”. More time standing in line to rebook excursions we had reserved months in advance. On the positive, our stateroom attendants were outstanding, and the itinerary was awesome. Eastern Canada is beautiful. Unfortunately for HAL, first impressions are everything. We will NEVER book another HAL cruise.
The same glitch hit us boarding the Koningsdam in Vancouver B.C. on Sept. 14th. Over 3 hours to get through check-in, then more queuing for security and cruise card pickup. The port staff took hours to adapt and start collecting luggage direct from the passengers, so those of us who did not use HAL transfers, had to drag luggage along in the queue. HAL IT and App/Web development have always been substandard, so this should not have been a surprise, but still annoying.
Fortunately, the cruise was excellent, so I won’t abandon HAL, but they need to fix all things IT.
That’s horrible. I’ve cruises 10 times with HAL and never once had an issue like that. The problem with tech is it’s wonderful when it works but a nightmare when it doesn’t.
Agreed about the customer service room. I was just on the sun princess a few weeks ago. It was terrible in our case. They did not have anyone out front guiding you. We basically walked into a round room going what do we do? We were elite and went to desk, but that was the only desk that was open anyway. We did put that we did. It was very confusing.
I had a problem with my medallion last time. It wouldn’t open the door. When I did get in and put the tv on, it said I’m not in the cabin. I needed a new one and it worked then.
Since you're on the Sun Princess, say hello to Gopher and Issac for me . I assume you've already met with July McCoy the cruise director with all your problems, and on your way to see Dr Bricket for your tooth ache ! 🙂 Sadlyl Capt Stubbing has left us.
You would think they would test them before they issue them. But technical difficulties do happen. But 5 hours waiting, I would have said something.
Rooms should be ready well before the cruise begins
Princess made a mistake , almost everyone is Elite. HAL is better, you really have to have Cruise days to reach certain levels.
On HAL you also have to have days to move up stars.
Southampton’s for embarkation was so quickly
DON you need Advil. Ibuprofen to shrink swelling also an antibiotic...they can't pull...etc until it's not infected...Advil works
Your lucky day, indeed
Hi Don, just curious did you get the Princess Premium package included with the winning bid to Sanctuary mini suite?
Bummer
They do not have a tipping culture in England like We do.
That's ridiculous it took that long to get into your stateroom!
The Elite and. Suite guests are supposed to go to the Elite desk according to Princess. We got two new medallions each and in the end it was the door handle battery. Contact us if you have more issues. We know how to handle them including the room temperatures. We can hook you up to the right guy. ❤
New ship equals problem glitches.
cruising isn't what it used to be, everyone knows this but they don't talk about it.
Years ago cruise lines were proud of their product and wanted customers to be satisfied. Now they don't care at all. Everything is just a money grab with the cruise lines determined to get every dollar they can from the passengers. Years ago the comment forms allowed you to make comments or suggestions. Now the only thing they are interested in is the ratings you assign to the crew so they can decide to keep them or fire them. Comments or suggestions on any problems you may have encountered or constructive criticism is of no interest to them.
Odd, on our last princess cruise, my medallion didn't work. Dead battery, but they just change the battery and off I went. Not sure why they replaced your whole medallion.
Kind of odd. I had problems with my Medallion on the Discovery on Sept 7th to 14th. Had to get a new battery, too. It never worked perfectly the whole cruise. Odd.
Hide it so people can’t find it to complain.
With technology Don
they couldn’t have sent people in the situation a broad text!!?? Omgoshhhh