mps lady anne and mps amsterdam

[poppy gravesend]

Have you tried to get a refund from your credit card company under section 75? At first they refused me but I appealed it and they refunded me in full [£1981.50] Im still getting letters from RCL to say they will sue me for a now unpaid holiday but Solicitors have warned them off. Has anyone got any idea where we can all go to get this company highlighted as a no no other than ABTA [who as I said didnt want to know] or Watchdog?

[Last Supper]

We had a holiday from hell. Many of those on our coach held a meeting on departure away from the Tour Manager who was part of the problem and agreed to contact our local trading standards.

I like the idea of trying to get 'Watchdog' involved and will suggest this to the others I am in contact with.

Our itinerary was changed and we missed the parades at the Floriade and the Bulbfields.......one of the reasons we booked.

The 'wonderful food' we were promised in the brochure never appeared.

We were on the main deck and as has been stated elsewhere it it a health and safety hazard with a smell of diesel fumes along the corridor.

Our cabin was so small with thought at first it was a cupboard. We had one carpet square of floorspace when the beds were down.

See attached photographs.

[Last Supper]

The shower/toilet wasn't paticularly nice either! The floor is the shower tray.

[poppy gravesend]

the cabins and shower are the same on the Lady Anne .our friends had to wakw each other up if they needed the loo during the night so that the bottom "bed" could be lifted up otherwise they couldnt get past...some fire hazard god forbid that should ever happen but if it did one would not stand any chence of getting out

[poppy gravesend]

Has anyone had a reply from Watchdog? or has anyone any other ideas as to how to bring this awful company to rights?

[Ship Shape2]

I have received an acknowledgement but 'Watchdog' is off-air at the moment and I am not expecting anything to happen quickly. The greater the number of people contacting them the more likely they are to investigate the company.

[Wooden Leg]

Has anyone had a reply from Watchdog? or has anyone any other ideas as to how to bring this awful company to rights?

After reading the reviews on this site it is clear that the tide is already turning against this company. Like others I too have experienced problems, but a company offering such poor value for money and showing contempt towards its clients will always be found out. It may take a while but eventually word will spread and contacting consumer champions such as 'Watchdog' can only speed up that process.

Unfortunately the redress we want will not happen overnight so be patient and watch this space.

[lahlah57]

Mental note.........No MPS amsterdam and RIVERCRUISELINE!

Sounds like a hideous nightmare of a trip.......sheesh!:eek:

[poppy gravesend]

thank you "wooden leg" for your wise words. You are right when you say thats it not just dreadful river cruises this awful company sell people it is also they way they treat their customers with utter contempt from first contact up to the MD who cant even be bothered to reply to letters addressed to him personally. As you say what goes round comes round so keep fingers crossed that someone will take notice and bring this company to its just closure before too many other unsuspecting holiday makers fall victim to them:(

[poppy gravesend]

and NO to the MPS Lady Anne aswell

[Audi Dealer]

As a treat I paid for my aged parents to go on a river cruise with this company and ended up feeling guilty because they encountered exactly the same problems which others have identified. The so called holiday was a disgrace and I admire Tullius Cicero for taking lega[ action against the company. Sadly my parents are too old to face the prospect of appearing in the County Court, otherwise I would have gone down this route without any hesitation.

[poppy gravesend]

Sorry to hear about your parents bad experience ,but not at all surprised. You can claim your money back from your crdit card provider[i assume you did pay by credit card!] under section75 consumer credit act. Whwn I went down that route I was uncertain as I thought if I got refunded that would be the end of it and River Cruise would get off scott free,but thats not how it works. If you ger refunded your credit card co then takes the money out of ,in this case RCL/Diamond holidays hence Im still getting letters from them to say I havent paid for my holiday and they will sue me ,so a solicitor comes in useful . The more people who also claim their money back and get it the harder itll hit RCL in their pocket. If you need any help or copies of papers etc let me know

[poppy gravesend]

I meant to say " in this case RCL/ Diamond holidays processing bank. So they are well aware that refunds are being made. A few other passengers on our trip are also in the process of taking RCL to court.

[Audi Dealer]

Thanks Poppy. However I booked through a travel agent which makes things a bit more difficult.

Some friends of ours who are booked on a cruise in September intend to cancel after what my parents experienced. They feel that the loss of their deposit is a small price to pay, rather than subject themselves to the sort of treatment others have endured on these vessels and with this company. As long as they cancel 56 days before the departure date their loss will be limited to £100.00. They will leave it to the last minute to cancel thereby making it more difficult for the company to fill their places. As the company has imposed a £50.00 surcharge each since they booked the holiday this will effectively be offset against their loss.

The £50.00 surcharge was made despite a strong pound against the euro and recently falling fuel prices which says a lot in itself about the company and its ethics.

[poppy gravesend]

its certainly worth loosing £100 NOT to go with this company:eek:

[Ships Rudder]

It seems that their coach holidays are as bad as their river cruises. Some friends of ours did a Gardens Tour during the recent hot weather on a coach that had a broken air conditioning system and were almost roasted alive!

Rather than travel home on the coach they and four other passengers took their cases off and returned by rail.

No doubt the company will deny responsibility and claim that all of the other passengers were happy with the coach........their usual line of defence.

[poppy gravesend]

I am surprised at you Ships Rudder....how come you didnt warn your friends about this company? I have made sure that anyone I know goes nowhere near Diamond Holidays /river cruises/coach holidays or train holidays. Bottom line is THIS COMPANY DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ITS CUSTOMERS their only interest is in RIPPING PEOPLE OFF. Lets hope your friends have better luck than any of us have had in getting an apology and a refund/compensation, but as you rightly say they will say its not their fault and 98% of their customers have already rebooked for later this year or next year!!!!!!:rolleyes:

[Ships Rudder]

We told them about our experience in Amsterdam with the Rivercruiseline but the decision to go ahead with the Diamond Holidays coach booking was theirs not ours Poppy!

[poppy gravesend]

I was saying this tounge in cheek of course the desision was theirs just a shame you couldnt stop them. Be interesting to hear what [if any] response they get...keep us posted. Has anyone had any reply from Watchdog?

[Ships Rudder]

'card shap' reports his problems with the prison ship on a seperate page which can be viewed by typing River Cruise Line MPS Amsterdam into the forum search.

[Jockthelad]

Just come from a cruise on the MPS Amsterdam organised by The River Cruise Line and am wondering if I was on the same boat as the others in the forum. I admit that the cabin was compact compared to BIG cruise ships but you get what you pay for. The food was excellent with a choice each day at dinner, and it was well presented. The staff were excellent and very helpful. Stairs were a bit steep, but had a chair lift for those who could not manage. Altogether We were very pleased with our cruise, Tehe Rhine in Flames and Floriade.:)

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Just come from a cruise on the MPS Amsterdam organised by The River Cruise Line and am wondering if I was on the same boat as the others in the forum. I admit that the cabin was compact compared to BIG cruise ships but you get what you pay for. The food was excellent with a choice each day at dinner, and it was well presented. The staff were excellent and very helpful. Stairs were a bit steep, but had a chair lift for those who could not manage. Altogether We were very pleased with our cruise, Tehe Rhine in Flames and Floriade.:)

 

Thank goodness someone has posted a positive spin on this cruiseline/ship. We have booked for next week (our first River Cruise) andI must say were really becoming anxious after reading the above critical posts. Previously we have done Ocean cruises (mainly with Cunard) but this is our first River Cruise. Can anyone advise on dress code - I know it's casual, but how casual and also on wine/beer prices on board? Many thanks sue

[poppy gravesend]

Hi Sue in reply to your questions wear what you want no one gives a damn and take LOTS of cash to pay for the drink cards you will need it as drinks are very expensive. Good luck rather you than me!

Can I also reply on Jockthelads comment of "you get what you pay for" we paid £1980 for 2 people for 7 days so helloooooo NO YOU DONT as far as this company goes

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Hi Sue in reply to your questions wear what you want no one gives a damn and take LOTS of cash to pay for the drink cards you will need it as drinks are very expensive. Good luck rather you than me!

Can I also reply on Jockthelads comment of "you get what you pay for" we paid £1980 for 2 people for 7 days so helloooooo NO YOU DONT as far as this company goes

 

Thanks for the response Poppy. I am very interested in your earlier comments and would ask you

1. What are you comparing your holiday with RCL against - i.e. have you taken previous river cruises?

2. When you say the food was bad, was this because it was not english, -do they only serve german food?

3. Although you say that the company didn't give a damn regarding your complaints, what about on board the ship - were the cruise staff on board OK or was there also a problem with them, if so what?

4. What type of cabin did you have, main deck or promanade deck?

5. Did the itinery change from the stated one in your booking and if so was this due to falling water levels?

Thanks in advance for your response to these queries.

Cheers, Sue

[poppy gravesend]

Hi Sue You dont work for this company do you? to answer your questions

1. not comparing to any other cruise never been on one before [and have no desire to ever go again]

2. I only wish they did serve some German food my Mother was German and my Dad Austrian so I love the food no the problem was it was all frozen or pre-packed, we were even served frozen cakes and rolls and semi-raw fish, the salads were all pre-packed.

3.