Not good enough Seabourn !

Just returned from a 12 day cruise on Encore. Cruise was wonderful but how we were treated at the end of the cruise was deplorable. We had a full Seabourn air/transfer package. We were notified by BA that due to French air traffic controllers dispute our 11.40 am flight was cancelled. We spoke to Seabourn adviser who said don’t worry we will make other arrangements and will let you know by letter that evening. After dinner we found the letter which stated we would be on BA 9.40 pm. We clarified by phone that evening that they were finding a hotel with day room. Next morning a message on tannoy from cruise director announced we would be staying on until 1 pm and would have lunch in the Collonade and then transferred to airport. We went to see adviser and asked about the day room that had been promised and was told it was not possible. I disputed that in Barcelona with the large number of hotels that this could not have been arranged. I was told they would record my complaint. This was our 8th cruise with Seabourn on two of the cruises we had evening flights. On one occasion we were taken by taxi to an hotel provided with food voucher and then collected by taxi. On the second occasion we were with a party of 10 taken by coach to an hotel provided with lunch including wine. To add to our misery flight was delayed by 2 hours. As a Carnival shareholder such poor service may reflect badly on Seabourn’s fine reputation.

It is always interesting how a set of facts can be interpreted so differently by different people,and both can in some sense be right. As I read this story, and thinking back to my own experiences when a major airline goes on strike, I was thinking how well Seabourn handled a chaotic situation. Too bad about the day room, but I can understand how difficult it could be for Seabourn to secure one. And surely Seabourn can't be blamed for the flight leaving 2 hours late, although it surely did contribute to the misery.

David, when did the seabourn experience you describe happen?

No offence but if air traffic control goes on strike, your flight gets cancelled yet somehow Seabourn manages to rebook you (and many others) amidst the chaos, get you out on the same day, makes arrangements for you to stay on board longer, etc. - I think they’ve done a phenomenal job. It will be very difficult to arrange day rooms on such short notice on any day, and even more so when air traffic control is on strike and thousands try to do the same.

Floris

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David, when did the seabourn experience you describe happen?

I haven't yet been on Seabourn, and my first experience with them will be this September. Sorry that I didn't make that clear. My experience is with other cruise lines and also some land-based tour operators.

The way that Seabourn handled the situation with the airline strike makes me more confident that I made a wise choice in deciding to sail with them.

Firstly, dealing with BA on any day of the week is a very painful experience. Expect lengthy delays. We once had the BA phone rep inform us "sorry, I don't know where BA is located in Heathrow, we're in India".

A day room isn't always possible and they probably didn't have enough notice to book "a day room - which is often charged at a a full day's rate" and the transfer with other passengers to sort out when the more cost effective option is to have your air at the airport. That's not to say it is acceptable, just that it was probably considered acceptable to the cruise director.

Uniworld in my (limited) experience have been the most accomodating. When there were Air France strikes, they updated all the affected passengers and even arranged escorted transfers for those going to the airport.

Read your docs regarding flight times and amenities offered for flights after a certain hour. I don't recall seeing lunch in the Colonnade, but do remember something about day rooms. If in fact they could not arrange a last minute day room, they could have offered a better solution than shipping you off to the airport almost 9 hours before your flight.

They really need to work on how to manage unexpected travel situations.

I am not blaming Seabourn for the cancellation by BA of our flight. Seabourn by the Sunday should of been aware of the possibility of our flight being cancelled. If on the Monday Seabourn had not told us that we would be provided with a day room I would have tried to find one myself. Two other options could have been considered 1. Keeping us on board until 6 pm and then transferring us to airport. 2. Arranging a coach tour of Barcelona in the afternoon before dropping passengers off at the airport.

“Deplorable” is an extremely negative word for what you describe was Seabourn handling of an air traffic controller strike. Did you check to see if any “day” rooms were available yourself? I believe the strike may have filled most hotel rooms. If a hotel can rent the room for 24hours, they will do that before a 10-12 hour stay. Did you have insurance that covers trip delays? There is a chance they may cover a strike and give you something for your hours at the airport

I hope the cruise itself was not deplorable.

A tricky one. I do agree that you were dropped off at the airport very early but staying onboard longer was actually quite a good option. It means you don't have to rush around in the morning.

Obviously the ship is getting ready for arriving passengers so they do need to clear previous guests.

You would have faced difficulties had you been booked independently, at least this way Seabourn dealt with everything.

British Airways would be my second choice .........

........ behind everyone else :)

Henry :)