Princess Cruise Lines review: Princess confirmed my cruise, then told me to pay more and switch dates

I’m furious about how Princess handled what was supposed to be my first cruise with them. I called Princess directly, and their own representative booked me over the phone on the February 28, 2027 Sun Princess sailing using a Bally’s casino voucher. Princess took my payment for taxes and port fees, plus a $400 fee that was supposed to come back as onboard credit, and emailed me a confirmation.

We made plans based on that confirmation. We booked flights, my family paid for their own stateroom, and my partner, who’s a doctor, rescheduled patients and arranged coverage so he could take that week off.

More than a week after I booked, Princess told me the sailing didn’t qualify for the promotion and I’d have to move to an earlier date. Then they wanted about $80 more in taxes and port fees for the same itinerary. Why should I pay more to switch to a date my family couldn’t make when Princess had booked and confirmed the original sailing themselves?

I asked them to honor the cruise they sold me. When they called back, they still insisted I switch and offered me a future cruise voucher for the amount I’d spent on flights. How does a voucher for another cruise help me take the trip I already booked with my family? I’d explained the flights, the separate stateroom, and the work and patient schedules we’d already rearranged. Their response felt like they didn’t care whether they kept my business or my family’s. That’s why I canceled.

I’ve sailed with Virgin Voyages,Royal and Norwegian many times and have never had a confirmed reservation handled like this. I gave Princess a chance because of the Bally’s voucher and because my family wanted to bring their kids along. I was looking forward to that trip. After the way Princess handled this, I won’t be booking with them again.

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