Princess Cruises
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Disappointed from the start!
First time Princess cruisers and not likely to book with them again. We booked to go on the Coral Princess over 12 months before sailing. We asked specifically for a midships balcony cabin portside, which we were assured we had. Unbeknowns to us six months before sailing we were 'upgraded' to a mini-suite at the bow starboard side. I have never had the privilege of an upgrade in my life, and this was one I certainly did not want! When we discovered this two weeks before departure I started ringing Princess. I rang every day to try and get some clarification as to why they changed the cabin without notification. They kept quoting that it was a 'guaranteed' cabin so they could change us where they like as long as it was an upgrade. This was not explained to us at the time of booking. So I calmly asked that they sort it out and return us to our original booked cabin. Each day I rang I got a different person at the 'call centre' and I got fobbed off every time. We were told that the ship was full and there were no cabins available and told us that our cabin had been booked - to which I said yes it is booked by us! Imagine our surprise that a few days before departure we were sent an email stating that passengers could put in a bid for a better cabin! Once onboard we went straight to the Customer Service desk to be told that no they could not move us anywhere and there was nothing available midships. Again to our surprise we were chatting to a person who had won one of these auction bids and had been given a cabin midships portside. Ringing the Customer Service people before the cruise was a complete waste of time. They were not going to help us, we were not considered at all. They were not listening to me and certainly did not care at all. To the cruise itself: Firstly, the staff were nothing short of fantastic, especially our cabin steward. Food was okay in the buffet and the dining rooms. We went to one of the speciality restaurants one night and it was not worth the extra money. The shore excursions were good but getting off the ship was appalling. I felt that the activities were not very appealing. The nighttime entertainment was not that good either although a few shows were outstanding, especially the last night. We have sailed with different companies so was not new to this type of travel. I think the whole problem with our cabin in the first place tainted the cruise for us and the fact that you really could not get to speak to anyone with any authority.