Harry Peterson

Nothing remotely difficult about it, and very often it’s the way to transform a potentially negative ex-customer into a very positive advocate for the company. Companies are judged by the way they handle complaints. Unfortunately, though, P&O either haven’t understood this, or, more likely, do understand it but prefer the Ryanair approach - just ignore complaints and tough it out because it’s cheaper.

Everything hinges on these words in Clause 40 of the terms and conditions (see above for the full Clause): "If P&O Cruises makes a significant alteration to the Package the Guest will have the choice of either accepting the alteration, accepting an offer of an alternative Package of comparable standard if available (P&O Cruises will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value) or cancelling the Package and receiving a full refund of all monies paid." If you can establish that the port changes amount to a 'significant alteration' you're entitled to cancel with a full refund. Problem is, though, that what's significant will depend entirely on the facts, and will vary from case to case. P&O always take a hard line on this, for obvious reasons, but you can persuade them if the facts support your claim. One or two minor changes probably won't work, but big changes such as say Venice, Amsterdam, St Petersburg etc might. The number of changes is relevant, whether they were 'important' destinations, how long the cruise is, how many other ports - these are all relevant factors. This is quite helpful guidance, but it only scratches the surface: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/a-change-was-made-to-my-cruise-itinerary-can-i-get-a-refund

Matt, topical as always:

Thanks. She mentioned something about the children having bingo cards, so that explains it!

Me too - 11pm. My daughter said Mika was good too. You and I might be around the same sort of age group, because I can remember that Sing Little Birdie song too. And indeed 'Non ho l'età (per amarti)' from Gigliola Cinquetti which won in 1964. Great song, but she's only slightly older than I, and in 1964 I was very taken with her, in a teenage sort of way. She sang it again last night - to a lot of applause. After what I saw last night, I think we'll start watching it again - our daughter's already planning an even bigger event for next year because they all enjoyed it so much last night - scorecards and everything! Some things have got worse over the years - Eurovision seems to have got infinitely better.

Sorry to hear that. I thought P&O had perhaps changed their attitude. Looks as if you’ll be relying on the wording towards the end of this, then, and arguing that it’s a ‘significant change’ - though what that actually means is incapable of definition and might have to be argued out. You can be pretty sure though that P&O will view it as restrictively as they can. They can sometimes be ‘persuaded’ though but it takes persistence and a preparedness to use the court process: 40. Whilst P&O Cruises will do its best not to cancel or to make any alteration to a Package after a booking has been made, such changes are sometimes necessary. Most alterations made by P&O Cruises will not be significant and P&O Cruises has the right to make such alterations without paying the Guest compensation. Any alterations made by P&O Cruises to their pre and post departure requirements and procedures for reasons of health and safety (such as any alterations required in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)) are unlikely to constitute significant alterations and such alterations do not give the Guest the right to compensation or the right to cancel the Package without charge. P&O Cruises shall nevertheless be entitled at any time prior to departure to cancel the Contract or to change and/or curtail the Package where this reasonably becomes necessary on operational, commercial or other grounds. P&O Cruises will inform the Guest or the Guest’s travel agent of any such cancellation or change of Package as quickly as possible (with, where appropriate, written confirmation as soon as reasonably possible thereafter). If P&O Cruises makes a significant alteration to the Package the Guest will have the choice of either accepting the alteration, accepting an offer of an alternative Package of comparable standard if available (P&O Cruises will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value) or cancelling the Package and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. The Guest recognises and agrees that it will not normally be possible for P&O Cruises to offer an appropriate substitute Package which is available at about the same time as and/or with a similar itinerary to that originally booked, but P&O Cruises will do its best to provide a suitable alternative Package of similar duration and value. The Guest must notify P&O Cruises of his/her decision as soon as reasonably possible and in any event not later than 14 days of being informed of the significant alteration.

Hadn’t watched Eurovision for a good few years but did catch a few bits of last night’s - and wow, hasn’t it changed! Hugely better than it used to be, and the stage settings and theatricals were incredible. Favourite here was the completely nutty Norway entry, quite a change from the old ‘nul points’ and a good reflection of Norway today maybe. A hugely rich country that can afford and enjoy a sense of fun. They sensibly kept and invested their oil revenues! Our daughter had a Eurovision buffet with the children and friends - couldn’t imagine doing that a few years ago!

I’m not sure why P&O are so keen to dissuade people from booking direct, but this is yet another reason not to book with them. Why are they so keen to hand over around 10% of their income (and a much larger percentage of their profit) when they have no need to?

I agree. And if Molecrochip is in a position to feed back anything from these forums, poor customer service landside is maybe one of the big issues. Perceptions of companies matter. Some companies, such as Lakeland and Richer Sounds, absolutely stand out for their customer service, and customers keep returning. Others, such as Ryanair, stand out for bad service, and customers return only if it’s cheap enough. Maybe P&O is choosing the Ryanair route? It’s very profitable, but I’m not sure that the business model works as well with cruises as short haul flights.

This might help - contact Equiniti, the registrars: https://www.carnivalcorp.com/investor-relations/contacts

Good breakfast, Graham! Used to love Carluccio breakfasts, but ours closed when they hit financial problems. One of the nicest breakfasts around.

There are circumstances in which port changes could lead to a refund, but they’re very limited and will almost certainly involve a lengthy battle with P&O. Their T&Cs protect them against most changes - but not all.

Good point, Brian - basically, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the north-west! As a kid, six different schools in Essex, Kent, London, Cornwall and Suffolk - all great, but for a kid of 13/14 Cornwall was unbeatable! The midlands as a student, then a variety of places after leaving there - restless, or just being chased by rent collectors? 😉

P&O don't do 'upfront' I'm afraid. Not so long ago they changed all the Amsterdam overnight stays into Ijmuiden overnight stays because it was going to save them money. Not remotely what passengers wanted - they'd booked for Amsterdam. Refunds and price adjustments were refused (though some succeeded in claiming by using the threat of court action) and the term they insisted on using for the change was 'operational reasons'. They never did come clean on the real reason.

Not just Tesco - same Hull factory supplying Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Aldi, the Co-op, Pret a Manger and Marks & Spencer. This isn't just Salmonella - it's M&S Salmonella.............

Absolutely! Beautiful area and rarely too crowded. One of our favourite places to visit, and a lot of old haunts from when we lived in Taunton. My wife used to love driving across the Somerset Levels to dish out birth control in the days when it was frowned on in certain parts. Places around there were even more remote than they are now. Somerset hadn't been discovered then, and Taunton was very much the County Town. The M5 changed everything!

Basically, I wrote mine off when the full impact of Covid hit home and stock markets crashed. Kept them, but with low expectations. It was a bad investment made for all the wrong reasons. Swore never to do buy for perks again but ignored my own rule.

I graduated in the 1960s - ballpoint pens were the talk of the lecture rooms! 🙂 We did have good rag weeks though......

I suspect this might interest quite a few here! https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017412 Staffordshire Oatcakes – a Potteries tradition going strong The Food Programme In our world of globalised food, there are few things that have remained true local specialities, and the Staffordshire oatcake is one of them. This oatmeal, yeasted pancake is an institution in Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding area, but still hardly anyone beyond the Midlands seems to have heard of them. The oatcake has a history stretching back hundreds of years as a staple food for workers of the Staffordshire Potteries – it then suffered a dip in popularity from the 1960s which led to concerns about its future, but today we hear reports that local production is healthy, and even going up. In the programme Leyla Kazim visits oatcake bakers in Stoke to hear how they’re keeping this much-loved local staple going strong. And we catch up with Glenn Fowler, the owner of the very last traditional ‘hole in the wall’ shop which closed in 2012, to find out how this Stoke institution lives on through its recipe. But as demand goes up, this is driving more automated production, so what could that mean for the traditional methods and the long-established recipes? And it is time for this overlooked oatmeal pancake to finally gain nationwide appeal? Presented by Leyla Kazim and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.

I do really feel for Sue in this situation, and there are some pretty clear laws regulating what employers can and can’t do (often dismissed by certain sectors as Health and Safety gone mad until suddenly one of them discovers they really are there for good reasons). Employers vary, though, and bad employers can be vindictive - sometimes successfully because it’s too expensive to take them on. Know your employer before taking them on. What will be dealt without problems by a company like John Lewis may well be used by companies like Amazon to secure a dismissal in the longer term.

Apologies, Michelle - I wasn't meaning to pry. It's just that through very regular contact with quite a few people in my own position (under 75 but with an auto-immune condition that's controlled by drugs which knock out the vaccines) I know that people who are already due jabs 4 and 5 aren't getting them simply because the administrative procedures have been somewhat mangled. You'll remember Jane Beckett, who used to post here until the end of last year (I do hope she's well and just found better things to do in retirement!). She knew - as a Practice Manager - how complex the systems are, and how easy it is for someone to miss out on something that's due. I feel deeply sorry for the GPs, and all their staff, having to contend with Covid, the aftermath of Covid, and the complications caused by Covid, all under attack from certain newspapers who haven't the slightest awareness of the facts, or interest in the facts. Just a cheap story.

Haven’t you been offered yours already, Michelle? You and I are, I think, in a similar position and I’ve now had 4 jabs, with a fifth due any time now. That’s the original two, then a third primary dose, then a booster (4th jab), and a second booster (5th jab) due between 3 and 6 months after jab 4. Complicated, isn’t it? 😶

Glad they're in touch, and obviously closely monitoring. This now seems to be the usual route, judging by the comments on a related closed FB group for the CEVs, and the outcomes are good - Omicron seems to have made all the difference! Doctors know so much more about this than even a few months ago, thank goodness.

Thanks Brian. We get the occasional top up delivery from Waitrose - I’ll see if they have any next time. None at the moment.

Do you have a contact number you can use, Michelle? Sometimes, I understand, the system needs a little nudging to ensure that it works.