Have you ever got a refund or credit for a future cruise?… If so, how did you go about it?

[Ingesey]

My main frustration is that our ship’s captain refused to stop at the first two (of our three) scheduled ports. He cited safety concerns, but other ships were able to stop. And when he decided that it wasn’t safe, rather than wait for awhile to see if the conditions changed, he immediately headed to our next port and told us we were having a “day at sea.” We were on the ship “at sea” for almost 5 days straight. I realize that some people might cruise to be on the boat, eat and rest, but we cruise to visit other places and to have new experiences. I was about ready to jump off the boat. And I paid quite a lot for this trip for our family of 5, including upgrading to the Premier package, and I feel like I was robbed of a true vacation. Have you ever successfully gotten any money back from Princess?… 

*Also, why are there not arrangements made to have an alternate/backup port?… 

[kefthecruiser]

Short answer - NOPE, though they do refund port fees automatically to your onboard account. Longer answer is the cruise contract which you agreed to, but perhaps did not read (does anyone besides me?), gives them the ability to completely change / skip the cruise ports without any recourse to the passenger. I believe this is standard contract condition across all cruise lines. 

Well, at least you could make good use of the drink package.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@Ingesey Unfortunately these sorts of things do happen and I doubt Princess Cruises is going to issue any sort of credit for this itinerary change. It's quite normal for itineraries to shift due to natural circumstances such as weather or a medical emergency. I can imagine that being on a cruise for 5 days without the opportunity to explore on land must have been disappointing but thankfully you did have the Preimire package and likely took advantage of all the ship had to offer. I agree that offering a backup port of call would have been a better outcome, but it doesn't always end up that way. Which Princess Cruises ship did you cruise on? 

Was this the cruise you were on? https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruise-ship-misses-two-ports-on-caribbean-cruise/98280

If so, it seems the bad weather truly influenced the outcome of this itinerary. 

@kefthecruiser Cheers to getting your money's worth while utilizing the drink package for those extended times at sea! I agree that the terms and conditions of any cruise state itineraries are subject to change due to uncontrollable circumstances such as weather.