Very upset with P&O

[Dreamgirl1957]

I know it's not the same situation but we had a cruise booked with Cunard a couple of years ago. Three weeks before we were due to go I broke my ankle so there was no hope of going. We had paid the balance at this point. My TA contacted Cunard to see if we could transfer the booking to a cruise with the same itinerary 6 months later. No way - we were told we had to cancel the booking. We have yearly travel insurance so we are covered from the moment we have booked a cruise. Eventually we got all the money back - including the car parking charge we had paid.

 

I suppose all it meant was having to do the paperwork - get forms - get doctor to complete them etc. and then we were re-imbursed. I do not mean to be unsympathetic but they can't really bend the rules in one case and not another.

 

I agree they can't bend the rules.

I think they should change them.

 

They would then be in line with many of the other cruise lines.

 

It's 2012, everything is computerized, we are not in the dark ages when of course these things would cause problems .

Changes are quick and simple to do.

Just charge an admin fee and have some good will p&o !!!!!

 

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[Tizzy]

Times are changing I am afraid and you cannot always guarantee to be available for the Holiday you have booked. Thousands of Military people lost their holidays completely this year when they had to go back to the UK to help with the Security for the Olympics.

It wasn't their fault this happened and Travel Insurance rarely pays out in my experience. Perhaps we have just been unlucky.

[ovccruiser]

I will sit on the fence as to who is right or wrong, but I will say, Don't let principals get in the way of enjoyment.

[simonpjd]

I am amazed that insurance would not pay out - I must read the small print on mine. If that is so then I apologise for being a bit harsh - but taking out your insurance early is still generally a good bet.

I hope you come back to P&O at some time. We have now been with HAL, Fred O, P&O, HAL and a couple of smaller ones who have now gone under and we reckon P&O is just right. Cunard a bit too stuffy, Fred too British and too old. P&O the happy middle ground.

[Dreamgirl1957]

I am amazed that insurance would not pay out - I must read the small print on mine. If that is so then I apologise for being a bit harsh - but taking out your insurance early is still generally a good bet.

I hope you come back to P&O at some time. We have now been with HAL, Fred O, P&O, HAL and a couple of smaller ones who have now gone under and we reckon P&O is just right. Cunard a bit too stuffy, Fred too British and too old. P&O the happy middle ground.

 

Thanks Simon, I would really love to sail with p&o, I have always wanted to, just can't justify in my own mind how they could keep so much money especially when we actually wanted to re book. Not as if we just wanted to cancel . Takes us a long time to save that much I'm afraid.

We are not like most cruisers, retired with a nest egg its a big deal for us.

They could even have said we could keep a percentage or all of it against a future cruise if booked within two years etc, that way they would ensure we booked with them again but the fact they would not compromise at all is very petty. Not just for us but others too. Thanks though for the nice reply.

 

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[jeanlyon]

How could insurance pay out? They only pay for illness, death of a family member, etc. They don't pay out just because you have a job that suddenly needs you. I agree that the rules should be changed, but they are what they are.

[Dreamgirl1957]

I will sit on the fence as to who is right or wrong, but I will say, Don't let principals get in the way of enjoyment.

Yes you are possibly right, cutting our nose off as the saying goes...

[cruiseluvva]

This has just happened to us.

 

We were due to cruise to the Carribean and back in November, but because of elderly relatives that since booking have severely deteriorating health conditions, but are not actually at death's door at this moment, we felt we had to cancel before paying the balance. Because they were deteriorating but had not actually died or were not expected to die within days, we weren't able to claim on our insurance. We lost over £2,000 because we had changed the cruise once, annoying yes very, but we read the Ts&Cs when we booked and knew the score.

[Dreamgirl1957]

How could insurance pay out? They only pay for illness, death of a family member, etc. They don't pay out just because you have a job that suddenly needs you. I agree that the rules should be changed, but they are what they are.

 

Thanks Jean

 

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[Dreamgirl1957]

This has just happened to us.

 

We were due to cruise to the Carribean and back in November, but because of elderly relatives that since booking have severely deteriorating health conditions, but are not actually at death's door at this moment, we felt we had to cancel before paying the balance. Because they were deteriorating but had not actually died or were not expected to die within days, we weren't able to claim on our insurance. We lost over £2,000 because we had changed the cruise once, annoying yes very, but we read the Ts&Cs when we booked and knew the score.

 

That's dreadful, I think you are being very good about it all, I feel for you.

 

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[glasgow_canuck]

I didn't realise you could only change things once...I must re-read the T&C bit! Seems far too rigid to me especially as everything is computerised...if one is willing to pay an admin fee, then I can't see any rationale for not allowing the changes.

[cruiseluvva]

That's dreadful, I think you are being very good about it all, I feel for you.

 

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At the end of the day, if my MIL or FIL die, my husband needs to be back vey quickly as the funeral would be within a day or at most two, so going was a risk we couldn't afford to take.

 

His mantra is it's only money! I am somewhat less relaxed about it!

[aa2009]

The sad truth is that p&o just want money they take a risk in thinking that you will book again in the future anyway! So they think £627 clear profit for nothing. More than they would make on your cruise if you went on it.

 

One part of the t&c's that always confuses me is it states that if transfering to a different cruise this will be treated as a new booking

 

If this is the case why cant you transfer again under the terms it states for booking

 

Can someone more clever than me ( not hard ) explain this??

[louthebowler]

I feel for you, nobody knows what another persons work commmitments are like , my husband and I book time off but that can change for a number of reasons so we have learnt to book some holidays as late as possible, luckily we have been fortunate with finding something good.We did enjoy p and o but rcl was really nice too but very different, at least you have plenty of cruiselines to choose from so you will still be a winner and p and o have maybe lost out in future by rigid rules.I'm hoping its safe to be slightly negative about p and o here( if i was on the rcl threads i would be in real trouble!!)

[Dreamgirl1957]

I didn't realise you could only change things once...I must re-read the T&C bit! Seems far too rigid to me especially as everything is computerised...if one is willing to pay an admin fee, then I can't see any rationale for not allowing the changes.

 

Rules for the sake of rules it seems, lets hope they move with the times soon, unless they are still using quills and parchment ( only joking !)

[Tizzy]

I wish I had more courage to book holidays later rather than sooner. I like to plan my whole year out and I enjoy having time to organise all the different parts of the holiday. I suppose because we live overseas it is more difficult as we need additional flights. We are unable to drive to Southampton to take advantage of one of the cheaper deals on offer. It must be so nice to be able to do this.

I do sometimes look at Cruise only deals but we can never match suitable flights. It does hurt when you have to cancel a cruise and lose a deposit and I sympathise with the people on here who have had this happen to them recently.

[Dreamgirl1957]

I feel for you, nobody knows what another persons work commmitments are like , my husband and I book time off but that can change for a number of reasons so we have learnt to book some holidays as late as possible, luckily we have been fortunate with finding something good.We did enjoy p and o but rcl was really nice too but very different, at least you have plenty of cruiselines to choose from so you will still be a winner and p and o have maybe lost out in future by rigid rules.I'm hoping its safe to be slightly negative about p and o here( if i was on the rcl threads i would be in real trouble!!)

 

Dont worry, im sure its ok, we are only putting our point across and i think its clear everyone loves P&O , ( i would like to get the chance to) its just this one point.

We enjoyed Rci this year very much too, Its just we had really wanted to go with P&O .

We went with Thomsons last year and enjoyed that too, booked with them for next year. We'l just have to work our way round them all, im quite sure it wont bother P&O at all they have lost our business and i thought the point was very true that someone made saying that they would have made far more out of us by keeping our deposit than they ever would had we taken the cruise!!

Looking at it that way it is even worse , they are the winners all round. We are just one of thousands of potential future customers, a drop in the ocean ... :(

[GHDPeter]

Those out there who believe that you should be able to cancel at the last moment without financial penalty please answer this, if the company allowed you to onsell your booking or if the company did it and refunded you the fare they were able to sell it for ( so if you paid $1000 and they were able to sell it at last minute for $800 so the company keeps $200) would you think that was a fair approach?

[terrierjohn]

Those out there who believe that you should be able to cancel at the last moment without financial penalty please answer this, if the company allowed you to onsell your booking or if the company did it and refunded you the fare they were able to sell it for ( so if you paid $1000 and they were able to sell it at last minute for $800 so the company keeps $200) would you think that was a fair approach?

Please read this thread carefully again and see if you still think your example fits the facts.

The OP was not trying to cancel her booking she just wanted to change it to another P&O sailing. It was in no way a last minute change since the original cruise was for November 2012 and the new was for July 2012. This would have allowed P&O to re-sell her original cabin and still keep her custom.

IMO this request was quite reasonable and but for some very restrictive booking rules any sensible customer service organisation would have ignored the rule book and just gone ahead with the change.

[Dreamgirl1957]

Please read this thread carefully again and see if you still think your example fits the facts.

The OP was not trying to cancel her booking she just wanted to change it to another P&O sailing. It was in no way a last minute change since the original cruise was for November 2012 and the new was for July 2012. This would have allowed P&O to re-sell her original cabin and still keep her custom.

IMO this request was quite reasonable and but for some very restrictive booking rules any sensible customer service organisation would have ignored the rule book and just gone ahead with the change.

 

Thanks John , i think youve put it perfectly. :)

[Tizzy]

Vicki I don't think the Cruise Companies are winners if they lose a customer. The customer usually goes on to tell their friends and work colleagues if they are unhappy with a particular company and word soons gets round to AVOID at all costs. I get asked all the time about Cruise companies we have sailed with and as one in particular was very difficult with us I have made my feelings about this particular brand quite clear This is why I enjoy contributing to forums such as this one. It is always refreshing to hear what others think ! It is a shame P&O are not a little more helpful when it comes to altering bookings as our son who has worked on several P&O ships says they are the best company. I will have to see how we get on in January when we cruise with P&O for the first time !

[Dreamgirl1957]

Vicki I don't think the Cruise Companies are winners if they lose a customer. The customer usually goes on to tell their friends and work colleagues if they are unhappy with a particular company and word soons gets round to AVOID at all costs. I get asked all the time about Cruise companies we have sailed with and as one in particular was very difficult with us I have made my feelings about this particular brand quite clear This is why I enjoy contributing to forums such as this one. It is always refreshing to hear what others think ! It is a shame P&O are not a little more helpful when it comes to altering bookings as our son who has worked on several P&O ships says they are the best company. I will have to see how we get on in January when we cruise with P&O for the first time !

 

Thanks Tizzy, i agree i think they are possibly the best although we wont know now. I've done P&O ship visits and really really wanted to sail with them. I have gone out of my way to recommend them when i worked as a TA too so really feels like a kick in the teeth that they could have been so blinkered and not even considerd our circumstances at all.

I have written in and asked that it be looked at but i am not holding my breath at all as i know i will only get the stanard " these are our terms and conditions" reply with an undertone of tough luck i fear!! :rolleyes:

Very sad as they will lose our custom ( not that they seem even the slightest bit bothered at all !) and sad for us as we really wanted to try at least four of their ships in turn and had actually planned to try and do that after Ventura or at least in the years to come. Hope you enjoy your cruise x :cool:

[Dreamgirl1957]

Thanks Tizzy, i agree i think they are possibly the best although we wont know now. I've done P&O ship visits and really really wanted to sail with them. I have gone out of my way to recommend them when i worked as a TA too so really feels like a kick in the teeth that they could have been so blinkered and not even considerd our circumstances at all.

I have written in and asked that it be looked at but i am not holding my breath at all as i know i will only get the stanard " these are our terms and conditions" reply with an undertone of tough luck i fear!! :rolleyes:

Very sad as they will lose our custom ( not that they seem even the slightest bit bothered at all !) and sad for us as we really wanted to try at least four of their ships in turn and had actually planned to try and do that after Ventura or at least in the years to come. Hope you enjoy your cruise x :cool:

 

Sorry Tizzy meant to add... it looks from my previous cruises we havnt bothered to try them in the past but thats not the case . I was lucky to get the cruise on the Thomson Spirit as a staff perk at a really good rate but had already booked the cruise with P&O before that. As soon as we could afford to book our first cruise i chose P&O , just looks like im not meant to be a P&O'er after all sadly!

We booked next years on the Thomson Dream as we enjoyed the Spirt so much . We still had Ventura booked at the time but wanted to get booked for 2013 as we have to book in advance before the dates we need are taken etc . We were expecting to really enjoy Ventura so poor old Thomsons may not have got a look in for 2014.

[LibraLass41]

Today I have just booked a balcony cabin on a sold out and wait-listed cruise on Oceana over Newyears Eve. This cabin wasn't cheap, infact it was quite expensive for a 4n cruise but we fancied a break after cooking for everyone all over Christmas and Boxing day and were prepared to pay it.

 

That cabin was someones cabin who had cancelled so P&O have 2 lots of money for the same cabin....it wouldn't of hurt them to be more lenient they probably re-sale the same cancelled cabins over 60/70% of the time and perhaps should be more flexible in this modern day when many cannot for-see months in advance their working holidays. I agree that a £100 admin fee should be enough to change the booking even for the 2nd time. I am sorry you lost so much money, and I bet your cabin has been re-sold !

[Dreamgirl1957]

Those out there who believe that you should be able to cancel at the last moment without financial penalty please answer this, if the company allowed you to onsell your booking or if the company did it and refunded you the fare they were able to sell it for ( so if you paid $1000 and they were able to sell it at last minute for $800 so the company keeps $200) would you think that was a fair approach?

 

We did not want to cancel at all, that is my point, we still wanted to go, just needed to change the dates due to un-forseen circumstances that were out of our control.