mps lady anne and mps amsterdam

[poppy gravesend]

To Finchfield 31...so sorry to hear what happened to you thats awfull. Did you pay on credit card I did and got my money back through them, I realise its notjust about the money in your case thought. Do you have legal cover on your house insurance you could go through them we were all set to do that when credit card co payed up. I have papers and photos etc which youd be welcome to if it helps. Let me know and Ill happily send them to you

[finchfield31]

Thank you for your reply Rent15c. I have a dossier of information ready for my case against River Cruise Line. I have come across a few things not mentioned before about them. For example the Lady Anne was originally built as a cargo ship. During December 2008 the boat was quarantined at Boppard on the Rhine and over 80 of the passengers were hospitalised with a virulent strain of norovirus those that remained on the boat were attended to by the Red Cross and there has been several cases reported on the boat since. It is said that most cases can be traced to food handled by one person.

I have read RCL lawyer's defence papers and I am not impressed but you can never be sure what the outcome will be with the small claims court. My worry is that our case is so bazaar that the judge may think we must have done something bad to have got kicked off the boat. Only those like yourself that have a wide experience of different hotels and expect a decent standard from what is rated as 3 to 4 star accommodation can fully understand what a "rip off" and amateur set up a cruise on the Lady Anne is.

Where else can you get watered cabbage soap to be drunk with a dessert spoon. A choice of take it or leave meal. Porridge so watered down Oliver Twist would not have asked for more. To be told to get out of the dining room when you have finished your meal as the crew have to follow. Where gentlemen are told to sit on the lavatory seat not stand and to be quiet while having sex. To be told children's fairy tales rather than the interesting history of the places and towns the boat passed by just about sums up the mentality on which the boat is run. I hope to give the fully story later.

I have sent details to Watchdog along with copies of other reviews as others have done so before. I have little hope it will get aired but it is worth a try.

[finchfield31]

To Finchfield 31...so sorry to hear what happened to you thats awfull. Did you pay on credit card I did and got my money back through them, I realise its notjust about the money in your case thought. Do you have legal cover on your house insurance you could go through them we were all set to do that when credit card co payed up. I have papers and photos etc which youd be welcome to if it helps. Let me know and Ill happily send them to you

 

I made the mistake of paying by debit card something I never usually do however as it was used unauthorised for our plane trip to Gatwick I got that back. I do have photos of the cabin that should be enough thanks. I was asked or rather told to sign a paper, 'it was for the port authorities', she said (I checked they never recieved it) by the the Cruise Director a few minutes before leaving it was rediculous so I refused. I was then told if you don't I will cancel you plane and you will lose your money - and of course we would have been stranded.

[finchfield31]

I made the mistake of paying by debit card something I never usually do however as it was used unauthorised for our plane trip to Gatwick I got that back. I do have photos of the cabin that should be enough thanks. I was asked or rather told to sign a paper, 'it was for the port authorities', she said (I checked they never recieved it) by the the Cruise Director a few minutes before leaving it was rediculous so I refused. I was then told if you don't I will cancel you plane and you will lose your money - and of course we would have been stranded.

 

On second thoughts I think it would be wise for me to take your kind offer the more evidence I have the better. I am puzzled how to make contact without giving all my details. I have a special Email address I can give that you and you could identify yourself by answering questions such as say how many static bikes on the Lady Anne. I will cover the cost of postage. If there is a better way let me know. Thanks again.

[poppy gravesend]

You are more than welcome. If you send me the e mail address I will answer your questions. We didnt have any static bikes when we sailed! Not too sure how we can do this. Friends we made when we went 18 months ago are about to proceed with their court summons.

 

Let me know how to best get my paperwork,photos etc over to you:)

[finchfield31]

:)

You are more than welcome. If you send me the e mail address I will answer your questions. We didnt have any static bikes when we sailed! Not too sure how we can do this. Friends we made when we went 18 months ago are about to proceed with their court summons.

 

Let me know how to best get my paperwork,photos etc over to you:)

 

You can get in touch with me on the special Email address: lacase1.outlook.com

I can then send you all the details to contact me: If your friends need any help from me or an extra witness I would be more than willing to help. Thans again.

[finchfield31]

:)

 

You can get in touch with me on the special Email address: lacase1.outlook.com

I can then send you all the details to contact me: If your friends need any help from me or an extra witness I would be more than willing to help. Thans again.

 

I made a mistake the Email address should have been lacase@outlook.com

sorry about that but you may have noticed anyway.

[poppy gravesend]

:eek:I have tried to email you using lacase@outlook.com but it comes back as message sending failed. What do you want me to do now?

[finchfield31]

:eek:I have tried to email you using lacase@outlook.com but it comes back as message sending failed. What do you want me to do now?

 

In my haste to correct my mistake I made another one the address is lacase1@outlook.com I missed the number one, outsorry about that. Looking forward to hearing from you.

[Ships Rudder]

Here are some photographs that we took of our cabin on the Lady Anne.

[poppy gravesend]

I have sent you an e mail to address you gave hope you have got it. How did ships rudder manage to send photos? As soon as I have your address etc I will send you everything I can that may help you ignore the bit about the photos....can see them,they are good should certainly help your case

[poppy gravesend]

Just read the Daily Mail and RCL have a large ad/feature to "sell" trips on the Lady Anne saying how wonderful and caring their highly experienced staff are and how wonderffull a trip on LA would be etc !!! How on earth are they getting away with this?

[finchfield31]

Just read the Daily Mail and RCL have a large ad/feature to "sell" trips on the Lady Anne saying how wonderful and caring their highly experienced staff are and how wonderffull a trip on LA would be etc !!! How on earth are they getting away with this?

 

The cabins you show looks palatial compared to the one we had. RCL, after our experience, are now saying they cater for vegetarians. Vegetarians that eat chicken and fish? Vegetarians they have had on the boat before have always eaten chicken and fish my wife and I were told. They were taken by surprise (and annoyed) we did not. They claim not to be responsibility for special meals even though in our case it was written in contract. There are more than 60 million vegetarians in the world and every large supermarket in the UK sells such meals it is not particularly special anymore. As for the delicious home cooking - watery cabbage soup, soggy defrosted cakes; not in my home. The captain claims his boat offers "Home from Home" 3 to 4 star accommodation. If you are used to frequenting decent 3 star hotels awarded by a recognised body, unless there has been a gigantic improvement recently in the standard you will be in for a nasty surprise when you arrive and enter your cabin on the Lady Anne. There are far better ways to spend 10 days of your life than on the Lady Anne - maybe jail!

[finchfield31]

We took River Cruise Line to court, Friday 19 April, and won our case. The judge agreed we were told to leave the boat without any specific reason given. I maintain the reason was my wife's food poisoning bearing in mind the massive problems the boat has had previously with noro virus and food poisoning and the difficulty the crew had, through lack of knowledge, preparing vegetarian meals. There was several other points I brought up in court but my lack of experience with the law let me down. We were awarded compensation for part of the 'holiday', full expenses for our return journey and court costs. So hopefully, "another nail in the coffin" for River Cruise Line.

The cost to River Cruise Line to employ solicitors and a barrister must have run into thousands of pounds. The barrister's travel expenses to court cost £200 and he was in court for about seven hours.

The cruise director managed to get six old ladies to sign witness statements against my wife and I. The statements were all made at the same time, three days after we had left the boat, all followed the same pattern, with high praise for Brenda Moir. We had no idea who four of the witnesses were. In addition there was statements from the captain and the cruise director and not one witness turned up at the court. The question that comes to mind is did those ladies know their statements where to be presented to the court.

I found the cost to use the small claims court expensive and the procedure to get there not at all straight forward. Preparation required a lot of work, much of which due to my lack of experience proved to be futile. Some of the arguments I put forward in court that were perfectly reasonable and logical to me were seen as irrelevant to the judge. Advice from a practicing lawyer would have been beneficial. Unfortunately the cost of employing one was prohibitive.

Lastly I would like to thank all those on these pages that offered me help and advice.

[poppy gravesend]

Well done you...you won out of principle

[rent 15c]

Congratulations finchfield31! We're very pleased that you succeeded in winning your case. Our philosophy is that winning against this company exhonerates you from their wrong doing and poor management. You should be very proud. This warrants a toast! Are you going again this year!!! Ha ha!! They are advertising at around £100 a night per person for the smaller cabins and if you read some of the adverts you too could have a spacious cabin with ensuite, fabulous food, the services of a knowledgeable cruise director and nightly entertainment. We for one will not be taking up their offers as you might imagine. Try some of the bigger boats, or if you prefer we would recommend an ocean cruise with Fred Olsen. They will restore your confidence in cruising. The prices are very competitive if you leave booking to the last minute, ie a few weeks before going.

Kind regards and again many congratulations, rent 15c :p

[Cruzin Terri]

WOW!

I have read through this whole thread and it is just unbelievable. I just can't believe that such a cruise line exists. How do these people stay in business?

 

Kudos to those who have taken them to court and have won your case. I hope more do.

 

As for food, it is subjective. Some people will eat anything. Others are fussy (me). I wouldn't be caught dead on that cruise line. I would probably lose a lot of weight on a cruise like that. A lot of money too.

 

I guess there are a lot of unscrupulous businesses out there. I just can't believe that people actually book cruises on this line and they remain in business. Isn't there any organization that oversees the river cruise lines to make sure they meet some kind of minimum standards?

Terri

[poppy gravesend]

To Tbrein...WOW indeed this compant REALLY does exsist..some of us have contacted things like Watchdog but got nowhere. What does one have to do to put them in their place. A friend booked a coach trip not realising it was part of this company and that turned out to be a nightmare too. Once again well done Finchfield 31 oh and there are others who are in the process of taking them to court...watch this space

[finchfield31]

Thank you Rent 15c. No I will not be sailing with River Cruise Line again I would sooner sail over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Many years ago I took my family on a 3 week sea cruise and it was excellent (where have I heard that word before?) so I realise there are some decent cruise holidays out there.

[george17]

just been on MPS amsterdam operated by the rivercruiseline it was the worst cruise of the twenty cruises we have done (river and ocean) the food was very poor and the cabin was smaller than you could imagine we could not pass one another in the space between beds the shower drain was higher than the tray so water flowed into the bathroom unless you continiously moved it with a towel(the cabin girl had to leave us numerous clean towels daily) one day we had chicken curry,it consisted of THREE thumbnail sized chicken pieces and the beef bourguignon lacked proper ingredients(we think chef forgot the wine and .shallots .and added peppers instead) very poor like you we would not recommend this river boat to anyone never never never

[RiverT]

I have read through all the posts regarding River Cruises. We have always done ocean cruising and I was wondering if this line might be OK to try a river cruise. I had an email advertising them and they seemed much cheaper that some other firms - NOW I KNOW WHY!!!

I'll stick to Fred Olsen I think - I've had lovely holidays with them.

[Talisker92]

Dear River T.

Apparently that cruise line leaves a lot to be desired. If you read some of the other threads about other lines, many people, including us, have enjoyed them. There are many other lines that market to the UK, and I would suggest looking at them.