P and O change/Cancellation policy

[NauticalMiss]

When it is said "if the final balance has been paid", does this mean after the deadline when the final balance was due to be paid and has been paid. I am thinking about people who book years ahead and pay 100% of the fare at the time of booking. Will they not be disadvantaged from the outset?

 

Regards John

 

We normally pay in full for our cruises far in advance (budgetary reasons). If we have had to cancel or move the cruise for any reason, we have been refunded the cost of the cruise less the deposit, provided we have not passed the '90 days before you travel' deadline. This is what you would expect and therefore, you are not disadvantaged by paying in full before the 90-day deadline.

[Daddyglove]

hi we booked a cruise for next easter but did not realise at the time that the kids go back to school the day after easter monday and we didny want our daughter to miss any school.

so about 3 weeks after booking our early saver my wife rang p and o direct and she got a lovely lady and after explaining our mistake we changed our cruise from a 1 week azura fjords cruise to a week earlier on the ventura

we had originally booked an inside on our azura cruise but changed to a balcony on ventura the total cost was only £200 more

also the lady said the £100 to change our cruise was discretionary and we would not be charged and our future cruise deposit on our original booking had expired she passed it on to this cruise

me and my wife was very happy

[Waju]

On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 4:13 PM, Eglesbrech said:

I suggest you google the unfair contract terms rules which are part of the consumer rights act 2015. In short firms are not entitled to keep any sum that could reasonabley be saved by reselling a holiday to another customer

 

So if P&O sell out your cabin grade (not just your cabin) on your cancelled cruise they should not keep all your money. Companies are only apparently allowed to charge what your cancellation has actually cost them plus reasonable administration costs. If they resell then it has cost them nothing, unless they have to resell at a lower price.

 

 

There have been a couple of test cases on this but they have settled at the door of the court so to speak. Holiday companies are apparently the worst offenders as they will be well aware of the legislation but it’s reported that they generally won’t budge unless action is initiated.

 

 

Someone on here provided the info about this, won and got their deposit returned. Can’t remember their name but it was in the last year they posted about it. They may see this and offer you more informed advice than I can.

 

Sorry to bring this thread back - this is a message for Eglesbrech really - I have been searching for the previous thread you mention but can't find it anywhere.  P and O are holding on to my £3000+ deposit even though they will resell the cruise in the 12 months that is left before it sails.  Before everyone jumps on my back, yes I know T&C's are there for a reason but this a huge sum they will make for nothing! 

 

Eglesbrech - I would appreciate any further information you may remember!

[Eglesbrech]

20 minutes ago, Waju said:

 

Sorry to bring this thread back - this is a message for Eglesbrech really - I have been searching for the previous thread you mention but can't find it anywhere.  P and O are holding on to my £3000+ deposit even though they will resell the cruise in the 12 months that is left before it sails.  Before everyone jumps on my back, yes I know T&C's are there for a reason but this a huge sum they will make for nothing! 

 

Eglesbrech - I would appreciate any further information you may remember!

 

Hi. Really sorry but I can’t remember the name of the person who won the case but they did post on here. They actually took legal action to win. Their post went into great detail about it all.

 

Have a look at Which, they provide some detail about all of this.

 

Hope you have some luck.

 

 

[Waju]

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

Hi. Really sorry but I can’t remember the name of the person who won the case but they did post on here. They actually took legal action to win. Their post went into great detail about it all.

 

Have a look at Which, they provide some detail about all of this.

 

Hope you have some luck.

 

 

Thank you, the information on Which? it looks really helpful. 

 

Do you remember if the legal action case you mention was on the P and O board?  The search for it is driving me mad!

[pete14]

14 hours ago, Waju said:

 

Sorry to bring this thread back - this is a message for Eglesbrech really - I have been searching for the previous thread you mention but can't find it anywhere.  P and O are holding on to my £3000+ deposit even though they will resell the cruise in the 12 months that is left before it sails.  Before everyone jumps on my back, yes I know T&C's are there for a reason but this a huge sum they will make for nothing! 

 

Eglesbrech - I would appreciate any further information you may remember!

 

I am still struggling with the £3000+ deposit. At the moment it is only 5% of the total cost which equates to a £60,000 cruise. If it were as high as 15%, it would still be a £20,000 cruise. Either it is a very long cruise, a long cruise in a suite or for a larger group of people. This leads me to suspect it is a saver fare which requires payment in full up front rather than a deposit. This is clearly pointed out in the booking process and the risk you take for a cheaper fare. However, you say there are still 12 months before the cruise departs so saver fares don’t always apply so far ahead. Before people leap to conclusions and suggest legal action, the full circumstances need to be established.

 

You say they will sell the cruise in the 12 months before it departs and it is possible that they will. However, re-selling your cabin may mean a similar cabin being left unsold because they are in yours instead. Only when every cabin is sold will your point become valid. I agree that it is a huge sum for P&O to gain for doing nothing though.

 

If it is a select fare booking, you can transfer the cruise in question to another one of the same or greater value. They charge an admin fee of £100 for this and when we had to do this, everything went through smoothly.

[Waju]

8 hours ago, pete14 said:

 

I am still struggling with the £3000+ deposit. At the moment it is only 5% of the total cost which equates to a £60,000 cruise. If it were as high as 15%, it would still be a £20,000 cruise. Either it is a very long cruise, a long cruise in a suite or for a larger group of people. This leads me to suspect it is a saver fare which requires payment in full up front rather than a deposit. This is clearly pointed out in the booking process and the risk you take for a cheaper fare. However, you say there are still 12 months before the cruise departs so saver fares don’t always apply so far ahead. Before people leap to conclusions and suggest legal action, the full circumstances need to be established.

 

You say they will sell the cruise in the 12 months before it departs and it is possible that they will. However, re-selling your cabin may mean a similar cabin being left unsold because they are in yours instead. Only when every cabin is sold will your point become valid. I agree that it is a huge sum for P&O to gain for doing nothing though.

 

If it is a select fare booking, you can transfer the cruise in question to another one of the same or greater value. They charge an admin fee of £100 for this and when we had to do this, everything went through smoothly.

 

It is/was a world cruise.  For personal reasons we can no longer go, we have insurance but our reason for having to cancel wouldn't be covered.

 

The 2019 cruise that has left this week has been sold out on all inside cabins for many weeks so I have no doubt at all P and O will resell the cruise.

 

Because of our reason for having to cancel the chance of booking further cruises isn't really an option.  We have another cruise booked and the deposit they hold would partly pay that off but they won't do that. 

 

Sorry I can't go into anymore detail, it just seems a bit mean of P and O at the moment.

 

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

 

It is/was a world cruise.  For personal reasons we can no longer go, we have insurance but our reason for having to cancel wouldn't be covered.

 

The 2019 cruise that has left this week has been sold out on all inside cabins for many weeks so I have no doubt at all P and O will resell the cruise.

 

Because of our reason for having to cancel the chance of booking further cruises isn't really an option.  We have another cruise booked and the deposit they hold would partly pay that off but they won't do that. 

 

Sorry I can't go into anymore detail, it just seems a bit mean of P and O at the moment.

 

 

Thanks for the extra information. In the circumstances you describe, it does seem a little unfair for P&O to insist on retaining all of your deposit. I wish you well.