whats happened to aurora?

[Globaliser]

The text of the update:-

P&O Cruises can confirm that tests conducted at sea during the night have shown that the repairs to the propulsion motor on board Aurora have not been successful enough to allow her to achieve the required speed to complete the Grand Voyage and the ship is now returning to Southampton.

 

She is expected to berth at the Mayflower Terminal in Southampton at midnight with passengers being invited to disembark from 8.30 am tomorrow (Friday 21 January). Aurora’s Grand Voyage has now been cancelled.

 

P&O Cruises apologises for the disappointment this has caused passengers and offers its assurance that everything possible was done to get Aurora’s Grand Voyage underway before this difficult but unavoidable decision was taken.

 

Passengers will be refunded their full fare together with compensation of 25% of the amount paid for their holiday to be used as a future cruise credit on a cruise holiday booked before the end of January 2007.

 

P&O Cruises would like to thank its passengers for their support and patience during this time.

My commiserations, too, to ladikara and robynp, and everyone else who was looking forward to sailing on part of the trip.

[ladikara]

I was floored when I read the news earlier this morning. They should have canceled the trip a long time ago. But I know they were trying to do their best on making this cruise work for both P&O and the passengers.

 

I think it is best that they take it to dry dock and fix it 100%. It sounded like they have never actually fixed the problem 100% since it broke.

 

As for my family, we are ALL looking forward to the Australia cruise.

 

We still haven't heard from P&O. Now since the cancellation, it will probably be longer before they call us since they have a full boat to take care of too. All we are wanting is our money back and for P&O to hopefully pay for our non-refundable plane tickets we bought from SF to Hong Kong. I don't think we are looking for anything more then that.

[minke]

In my opinion 25% future cruise credit is no where enough for this disaster! other cruise lines are much more generous in this situation!

[ladikara]

I couldn't agree more. My family doesn't seem to really care about the 25% off the future cruise. We just want our refund for the cruise and our plane tickets.

 

P&O has handled this WHOLE situation like a company that doesn't know what the heck they are doing. They have not communicated with passengers and what they did communicate, was the fact that they were going on this cruise, when you know darn well...they knew the problem was not a quick fix. If you fly an "EXPERT" in from the shipyard he/she should know if this ship will go or not. They knew this ship could not go full speed, so how in the world would they be able to keep up with this new schedule?

 

Each day longer we wait for a phone call...the angrier we get. I can't figure out what kind of phone calling tree this company works off of. I read somewhere they called people by departure date. Do they only have 2 people working the phone lines??????? Is it because we didn't pay for the whole cruise and only a section...that we are on the bottom of the list??????? I honestly DON'T get it!!!

 

I PERSONALLY have had a full flight cancel before. A total of 144 passengers. I was able to call them ALL and either speak with a passengers OR leave a message and have it done within 2 hours. I was able to rebook them and refund money. I know it's a different situation and the costs are a lot less for the passenger....but it shouldn't be this hard or take this long! NOBODY has even told us our section was cancelled..let alone the whole cruise!

 

I just don't understand what the hold up is! I know I keep repeating myself with each post, but i'm just floored by the terrible way the company is handling this situation. Hopefully they learn something by this!!!!!! They should have cancelled this whole cruise the first time their sea tests failed!

[mufi]

To be fair this was a very difficult situation for P&O. They certainly would not have messed about for the last week or so unless they had thought that there was a chance that the problem could be fixed. Some years ago I was on a flight back to the UK from LAX that actually got half way down the strip for takeoff only for the pilot to abort the flight. And that was after waiting hours for the fault to be fixed. P&O were obviously not up to dealing with what must be a rare occurence.

 

As to compensation, I would think that you should expect to be refunded all out of pocket expenses and what is still called here in some industries "disapointment money" . The small print probably says different, but I would be drafting a letter quite soon.

 

David.

[alsas]

The first thing i must say is that they did not want to cancel because it was not in their best intrest to do so. The announcment today came for the benefit of the stock market. "There will be a 5 cent per share reduction to profits because of the cancelation of the grand world cruise." The disapointment is shared by all of us, as the reason we are on this web site is our common intrest and love of cruising. The fact that they have not shown the sympathy that they should have is disgusting.My prayer for you all is that what you get to replace this will be so fantastic that you will be able to say "this too will pass".I feel that they will do the right thing. Have peace.

[robynp]

Thank you all for your collective sympathies! At this stage, I will not get involved in negative posts as to what is right/wrong with the whole situation, other than to say I know P&O did their best to avoid cancelling the voyage outright, but unfortunately that is what has happened.

 

I have indeed been contacted by P&O (I was dealing with them direct in the UK, not through an agent), the compensation is generous enough for me. A full refund of all my monies and a future cruise discount of 25% of THOSE monies. As you can imagine I paid quite a bit for a single balcony cabin for 55 nights. 25% of that will be just about a free cruise for me sometime in the future. My refund cheque is being posted from the UK tomorrow, so I think P&O are moving rather swiftly.

 

ladikara - you will receive the full refund, and I can confirm that any expenses incurred in joining/disembarking the cruise etc (which I would imagine is your airfare and HK hotel costs) will also be refunded.

 

Most pax I have been in contact with (who were doing the whole cruise or a sector like ourselves) have heard from P&O, or their travel agents who P&O have contacted with details, so if your agent hasn't heard yet it should not be long now. The World Cruise staff worked through the night and are also working over the weekend - can't imagine that it would be a particularly pleasant job.

 

I'm off now to look at contingency plans.....as disappointed as I am...I must move on with alternative arrangements as I still intend to be away 3 to 4 months as originally planned.

 

Hope something works out for you....Sapphire Princess is doing a series of cruises from Oz at the moment...let me know if Sydney figures into your future plans at all.

 

Cheers

[ladikara]

I let my stepdad read the post you posted Robyn and he's a bit calmer about it. I think his new fret is the rate of exchange. He feels we will lose some $400 USD because the rate is different now then it was then. I'd think they try to match exactly what he paid. I guess we will just wait and see. We spoke to the airline and they will refund most of our ticket price with the exception of $100.00. So we will see what P&O offers when they call.

 

I don't think badly of P&O, I just am upset about how certain things were handled. As I have said before, I understand things can and will break down. It's part of life.

 

We did fully book the cruise leaving out of Sydney, Australia on the Sapphire Princess. We will be flying out there on March 4th and the cruise leaves on the 7th. We are really looking forward to it and it looks like i'm going to be able to get a pretty nice tan while on the ship! :D YAY! :D

[mufi]

25% off a future cruise is only of value if you wish to take another cruise.

 

David.

[Host Walt]

A cartoon in yesterdays' Times of London, accompanying an article about this incident:

 

And a brief mention also appears in this column in yesterday's NYTimes.

[transat_jon]

Are P&O going to change their slogan from "There's a world out there" ?

[annieuk]

:) I have been on the P&0 Cruise Connections site today and there are posts from several people who had their refunds in the post this morning. I expect people who booked through a travel agent would get their money via that agent. I felt that it was great that the majority of people who were interviewed when they left the ship yesterday were very complimentary about the company. There were only a very few shouting about compensation. I saw lots of interviews on our local news (I live just outside Southampton) and some of the interviewers tried very hard to encourage the passengers to rubbish P&O. The majority said they were very disappointed about not having the cruise that they had looked forward to but they felt the company had done everything they could and that the compensation they were receiving was good. It was great to hear that P&O have given all the perishable food on board to charities in Southampton.

I thought that it was amazing to hear the loyalty to P&O that came from the passengers. Yes it must have been horrendous to miss out on such a wonderful trip but machinery does sometimes go wrong no matter how carefully it's serviced and looked after. Obviously some people will not agree with my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own but to me the reaction of the majority of the passengers was very refreshing.:)

[ladikara]

The person who posted on cruise connections about not hearing from P&O is my stepfather. He has been contacted from the travel agency regarding the cancellation. The travel agency stated they had not heard from P&O and when the agency attempted to contact P&O to get information, P&O stated they were not interested in talking to them.

 

I fully agree that the agency needs to do the refund, but if P&O will not speak to travel agencies regarding the cancellation, then it is P&O's responsibility to contact the passenger directly. This isn't happening.

 

As of today, we have still have not heard from anybody regarding the cancellation. :(

 

From the sounds of it, yes P&O did a great job. We are not disagreeing with that. And most likely my parents will travel on them again...they have traveled on P&O since the 1960's. A mechanical problem or a cancellation won't stop my parents from traveling on them in the future. :D

 

What we are having a problem with is the lack of communication between P&O and us as passengers or P&O and our travel agency. Because we booked through a travel agency, does that put us on the bottom of P&O's contact list, I don't know! Our travel agency wants to help us out...but P&O lack of assistance isn't helping them nor us. All we want is our money back...forget compensation.

 

On a side note...

 

I'm not mad/upset at comments made on here or there regarding our situation. I'm not trying to come across as stuck up, it's just that $15,000 USD is a lot of money that is currently in P&O's hands and we need to be told what is going on. We shouldn't have to contact P&O ourselves to get a refund. Robyn said earlier in this post (or on cruise connections) that P&O's staff is going to work through the weekend. So keep your fingers crossed. :o

[Princess Di]

Hi, Robyn,

I lost your address and all of our fun e-mail when my Little Princess (Laptop) sank last July. I'm so glad I have found you again. :D

Please e-mail me. ;)

e-mail: donnaiworldtravel@earthlink.net

Hi, Ladikara

I have information for you. Please e-mail me. :cool:

[ladikara]

The weekend is almost over and still have not been spoken to about the cruise.

 

 

We sent out emails to both our agency and P&O asking when somebody is planning on responding.

 

Boy do I hope to get this all behind me. I don't think i'll be 100% okay until we get our money back. $15K is a lot of money that is tied up in the hands of P&O or the agency. :(

[Princess Di]

I am hoping and praying for you to get your refund + the 25% bonus BEFORE March so that you can buy lots of drinks, spa treatments, and Shopping on the Sapphire. ;)

Let me know what your T.A. says tomorrow.

I know it must take a while to refund to all those passengers making demands; :eek:

however, I tend to believe that the Squeekie Wheel Gets the Grease. :rolleyes: Therefore, I hope your T.A. is a good-talker and/or a high producer for P&O because that will help. :)

[robynp]

Thanks for your message. As you can imagine I'm busy looking at alternatives for my European trip to fill the 'Aurora' gap seeing as I was planning on being away from Oz for 3 to 4 months.

 

One thing I HAVE done though is re-book for Aurora next year - Southampton to Sydney 7 Jan. Despite the unfortunate cancellation, I'm not put off my favourite ship! I'll sail on her again!

 

Will email you soon when I come up for air, and catch up on all the news!

[Princess Di]

Come sail with us. :cool:

Kathy & Dennis, Susan, and I can help you spend 10 days of that Cruise Time you desire. :D

Copenhagen, R/T: Tallin, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Gydnia (Gdansk) Poland; SPb (ST. PETERSBURG), Russia, aboard the STAR Princess, 2 September. ;)

I now have them all memorized. Only one sea day - I love the port days. I am busy lining up flights, hotels, and shorex while K&D are getting ready to hop on the Sapphire on 7 March, Sydney to Bangkok. I had to cancel that one for lack of enough vacation time.

Good for you - I'm glad you re-booked the Aurora. I would like to cruise her sometime if I ever can save up enough vacation. :eek:

[robynp]

Thanks for the offer Princess Di - but September is waaaay out of my timeframe, which is March to June.

 

Sounds like you have a great trip planned on Star Princess.

[Princess Di]

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY, Robyn, and all our other Aussie Friends. Did you all do anything special? I know it was a perfect day there for you in that warm climate. :cool:

 

Good Luck with your new Plans, Robyn. :D

[alsas]

We are happy to say that we are returning to Australia for our second visit, starting Feb 20th in Sydney and then Melbourne folowed by Adelaide,Albany and then Perth.Our first visit was so fantastic that we are holding our breath. The people we met were so hospitable, warm and friendly.We want to wish all our Aussie friend happy happy day.happy sailing

[ladikara]

Well here's my update on what's going on.

 

Nothing!

 

We still have not heard from P&O. We got an email from our agency this morning around 3am our time stating P&O will call us today. Well it's now 7 hours later and P&O has not called us. It's 615pm in the UK, so I doubt they will be calling us anymore today. We got a letter about 3-4 days ago from our agency stating a check was in the mail from P&O for the refund. We have yet to see that check. I've spent the day at home today waiting for this phone call. Our agency is doing their best to help us out, but P&O isn't doing their share. I often wonder how many other passengers are in the same situation we are in. It's been over a week now...2 1/2 weeks since the Hong Kong to SF portion cancelled. :( I'm trying to be patient but the longer this takes, the more my nerves get rattled. I don't think we as passengers should have to make a long distance international phone call to P&O to get this situation handled.

 

Just isn't right. :(

[Globaliser]

Do you know if anyone else in the US is in the same position as you (after having booked the same sectors)? As your cruise portion was further along the itinerary, I'm wondering whether they are, for example, prioritising all the passengers who were doing earlier parts of the cruise and they just haven't got to you yet. It's not an excuse for complete non-communication, but it might just be the explanation.

[robynp]

ladikara - sorry to hear you are still having problems.

Only information I can give you is that the whole world cruise, including yours and my sectors were officially only cancelled on 20 January - not 2 and a half weeks ago. My understanding is the Passenger Relations Dept is still working through a backlog of around 1,500.

 

Also there are passengers who sailed aboard Oriana from the UK and who were expecting to sail back to the UK onboard Aurora.

 

Given the number of sectors and passengers with not only the cruise, but flights and accommodation booked with P&O affected, I think Globaliser's explanation may possibly be the reason.

[ladikara]

I understand they may be backlogged. I FULLY understand that. It has to be a huge task. That's why we had settled down about this and just patiently waited this past week.

 

BUT don't tell the travel agency you will call a passenger "today" if you cannot get to it. Just tell them that your still working on calling people and will try to do it ASAP.

 

I've been sitting around waiting since 7am for a phone call. (that isn't going to happen anymore today, since it's late at night in the UK) When I could have gone out and gotten my chores taken care of that I originaly had planned today. Just is a tad frusterating to see other people get calls and refunds, yet we have gotten nothing except broken promises. First the letter stating a check was already sent (the check should have shown up before the letter) to an email stating we will get a phone call today.

 

I don't know anybody else who had our segment. I know there was a total of 12 parties doing the Hong Kong to San Francisco segment.

 

It was Jan 18 when the HK to San Fran portion cancelled, which is what I was talking about a couple posts back. So a little over a week ago. Seems like it has been forever ago since it cancelled, we have been busy setting up plans with the new cruise. So I stand corrected.