Coral Princess cruise passenger Michael Psirakis was quite happy with this cabin on Deck 8 midship. That was until he was upgraded to Deck 5 right at the back of the ship.
Who wouldn’t like an upgrade. Right? But Mr Psirakis wasn’t pleased.
“Has anyone else had this done to them? Can they do that without telling us?” passenger Psirakis asked on the ship’s Facebook forum.
“I was told by Princess Cruises that because Ozcruising did not give us the option to refuse an upgrade they had the right to change our cabin,” he posted, explaining the move would cause problems for his wife who suffers from seasickness.
“We were on Deck 8 obstructed view midship dead in the middle,” he said. “They gave us Deck 5 midship the very last cabin next to the laundromat right at the back of the ship and because it had a window they told me we were upgraded.
“I told them I didn’t want it because my wife gets seasick.
“They (Ozcruising) said, and I quote: ‘You can take it or don’t go on this cruise and get your wife some pills’,” he said, adding he was disappointed in the customer service.
A Princess Cruises spokesperson told Cruise Passenger as soon as the line learned of the couple’s concerns, they offered to return them to their Deck 5 cabin. However, the offer was declined on a number of occasions.
Ozcruising declined to respond to Cruise Passenger about the complaint.
Psirakis said he sent the agency two emails marked urgent regarding the matter on the day before departure but had failed to receive a reply.
“I just hope we get calm waters because 28 days is a long time,” Psirakis said. The Australia round-trip started October 25 and ends November 22, 2023.
Just say no?
The story produced a debate over whether or not an upgrade should be enforced once passengers had decided on their cabin.
The lesson, some readers point out, is that the Psirakis’ did not stipulate – and the story serves as a warning to others that if you are happy with your cabin, tick that box.
One comment suggested Psirakis should have asked the agent to stipulate “No Upgrades”, when booking the trip.
Another suggested they enjoy the upgrade from obstructed Oceanview to non-Obstructed Oceanview.
“They changed ours,” complained passenger Cat Taylor. “But they had to change it back as they upgraded a wheelchair accessible cabin to a non-wheelchair accessible cabin. Some brain work needs to go into upgrades.”
And Marie Ratterree Hickman advised: “Call them and stand firm re your original booking!!”
One reason the couple turned down being downgraded to their original cabin is the weather. Right now Coral Princess is sailing in light seas, according to Cruise Mapper.
After reading the above articles I only book through Clean Cruising who are Australian and in Brisbane It is not offshore – I have had trouble with other agents now off shore . I have bee on RC never again so we keep to Princess , P&O or Norwegian ,Princess is my favourite never had a problem with any of them . We don’t like the large ships may as well have a holiday in a shopping centre.
Couple of absolute whingers. If you are worried about seasickness don’t go on a cruise.
Don’t go calling people idiots Llanore. Keep it tidy.
We have sailed with Princess over 20 years. Never went for the upgrade option as chose what we wanted from the get go.
We are on the Coral now for the around Australia trip and the staff just bend over backwards to help.
We book through E-cruising quite a lot. Kara Lane is wonderful and never have we had a problem.
No they can’t it’s illegal. I would still put in a complaint to the cruise line concerned. Telling them you were inconvenienced and the condition of your wife. It’s not on .
You are a total idiot.
We have cruised with Princess cruises since 2006 every year and would never cruise with anyone else. They bend over backwards for their passengers, we have cruised Mediterranean many times and elsewhere with them. They are the best Do you choose the cheapest option . . . No windows etc!!! Get over yourself and go on a boring land trip and stop complaining!!
This is a worrying situation and potentially problematic.
I have just booked for myself and 2 others, I said yes to an upgrade.
I will re-visit my agent and say NO to an upgrade.
The behaviour by this cruise line is unacceptable!!
I am sympathetic toward your experience, thankyou for sharing.
You can choose your own cabin with no changes but as you did not book Princess direct you will always have problems
OzCruising strikes again. This is why you use a TA and not a faceless website.
There is great deal of frustration with Princess Cruises since they outsourced customer service. The outsourcing is tipi a third party in the Phillipines. The Sydney office was reduced in size. The Future Cruise Planners in the Phillipines hardly know the difference between port and starboard.
When you book through an agent your contract is with that agent! Princess just provide the product. Some agents have NO experience in cruising. Buyer beware.
If you are offered a Guaranteed cabin. That only means you are guaranteed to sail on the ship. If you want a particular cabin you will have to pay more AND stipulate NO upgrades.
The cruise industry uses these confusing terms so they can fill ships. An upgrade isn’t necessarily and upgrade.
Well did she get sea sick ???? Why did you decide not to go back your original cabin ???
I had a similar change without my consent. I wrote a very damning letter to cruiseline head office telling them I did not want so-called upgrade and would tell everyone who would listen how badly Princess were treating me if they didn’t withdraw so called upgrade. The have me back the cabin I had chosen.
We are on Princess cruises and every one has been marred by Princess. The latest is spending 5 days getting a bottle of wine I never ordered or drank removed from my account. Make sure you check yr account daily even if you have a drinks package as we have because it seems some staff member who has left the ship has enjoyed the wine an I’m paying for it.
Having been a sailor since the age of 16 and I am now 72 and sailed on aircraft carriers (Sydney and Melbourne) and destroyers (Brisbane, Perth and Hobart) and now a paying passenger with wife in tow usually on Princess Cruises, let me tell you that being at the stern of any ship is less “seasick traumatic” than being mid ships or most certainly towards the front. You should be thanking Princess, not causing grief. Sea sickness is not pleasant and I understand your concern but you are incorrect in your assertions that Princess did you wrong.
We are currently on this around Australia trip & totally disappointed & furious over our cabin on deck 8 which has a complete obstructed view.
When I booked through Princess cruises direct over 12 months ago I requested an ocean view definitely not an obstructed view.
On arrival at our cabin astounded to see a tender boat fully obstructing the view.We were so annoyed we immediately contacted Guest Services requesting another cabin as originally booked.
We were advised nothing was available & nothing they could do.
We were so paranoid & we had no view.
The very next day we requested an upgrade again to no help.
We are platinum members & we are seeking & requesting further compensation for further cruising & expect an urgent reply.
Twenty eight days Sydney to Sydney is a long time under these unexpected circumstances.
Very poor work by Ozcruising. I’m an agent. They should have asked if you wanted Yes or No to potential upgrading and then they should have informed you immediately as you usually got 24hrs to accept or decline if the ship upgraders you. I actually love aft cabins but if nr looking for a proper travel agent and not just an online one.
We were upgraded once from a mid-ship balcony cabin to a stern end suite.
The suite had a separate bedroom, double sized balcony with jacuzzi, dining room, lounge room, walk-in wardrobe, a 2nd jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and a butler.
Upgrades aren’t all bad!
Just returned from cruise on po auckland to fiji. I got really sick 3 days out. Took 2 days before the medical office answered our calls. When I saw them they said just wait till you get off and see a dr. They gave me cough mix. I had severe pneumonia
I have been sailing with princess for many years and have noticed the decline courtesy. Had an excursion cancelled without notification. Common interest book removed crom library. Quality of food in bakery has gone down. When mentioning these to relavent people, just had blank stares.
Yet again..issue is attrubuted to the agent. Why not book direct and tick tye no upgrade choice?
They should not make an assumption that what they think is an upgrade suits everyone. I pick my cabin number for a reason and do not want it to be altered or “upgraded” to suit the cruise line or the travel agent. Reading this there is no way I would be booking anything with Ozcruising.
I had a recent issue with P & O Australia where 6 days prior to sailing I booked a balcony cabin with cabin number to be advised . It was advised the next day , on deck 14 . E tickets issued , all documentation finalised. 2 days later, 3 days prior to sailing , I received a phone call from their call centre , in Manila , advising my cabin was being changed , due to operational issues , and I would be downgraded to an outside obstructed view on deck 8. I was flabbergasted and said I wouldn’t accept that , only to be told under their conditions of contract they had the right to change cabins . I said let’s cancel it and was advised that if I did so it was now 100% non refundable. They did give a differential refund and $400 on board credit to soothe my anger. I made 4 calls to Manila without success , you cannot speak to anyone in Australia as all calls divert to the contact centre , brought it up at the wharf to staff who genuinely seemed amazed it had happened and on board to the reception centre , who initially didn’t seem to believe me.
As P & O are part of the Carnival Group including many shipping lines I have cruised on , I am now hesitant to book any future cruises.