Mutiny on Cunard

[Dreamer333]

I just read that the passengers on this sailing receive a 100% refund!!!

[bdjam]

I just read that the passengers on this sailing receive a 100% refund!!!

This is apparently true. I think Cunard has set a very dangerous precedent.

[Dreamer333]

This is apparently true. I think Cunard has set a very dangerous precedent.

 

I agree!!!!

 

(I personally thought that a 50% refund was extremely generous!)

[mii]

For some very interesting reading go over to the Cunard board and read past posts. As soon as it was announced that Cunard was doing thi[sB] i went right over to that board. LikeI said, very interesting comments [/b]

 

Marilyn

[mii]

As soon as Cunard announced that statement I went over to the Cunard board and read some very interesting comments and there were MANY posts on that subject.

 

marilyn

[Dena]

I have a lawyer friend who once said "litigation is a rich man's sport". These pasengers threatened to sue and, as I understand, actually had a lawsuit filed before they reached Rio, so there was no question in Cunard's mind that they had the resources and the know-how to make the litigation happen. How may people who cruise NCL have the resources, know-how, experience, connections and desire to be involved in litigation as sport? Could this be why our previous posters report such shabby treatment from NCL, and any other of the so-called "cruise lines for the masses?"

 

Notice also how quick Cunard was to offer 50% off - would an offer even this generous have been made on, say, Princess?

[Pam in CA]

I just read that the passengers on this sailing receive a 100% refund!!!

It's true but there's more to it. The leg between Ft. Lauderdale and Rio was only part of the cruise and most of the passengers were going all the way around South America. It was meant as a mostly sea days cruise with a couple of stops in the Caribbean and one in Brazil before Rio. Only those people (I believe a few hundred) who were sailing ONLY between FLL and Rio received the 100% refund. Those who were doing the full cruise, i.e., continuing on, received a refund equivalent to the portion of the cruise from FLL to Rio in relation to their entire cruise cost. Not sure if I'm making sense here but to simplify, if the FLL to Rio portion was 1/3 of their entire booked cruise, they received 1/3 refund.

[kool kruiser]

As an interesting aside many Brits use the QM2, as Cunard is a line with a strong British history and identity ( the line was previously owned by a UK listed company before it was sold to P&O and then Carnival).Passengers leaked the story to the UK media who had a field day, with the story hitting the front pages of even our ''quality'' newspapers and being extensively reported on BBC TV news, especially with the ''mutiny'' and ''sit-in at Rio'' aspects. Our leading consumer affairs tv programme ''Watchdog'' was also informed and was fed home videos of the on-board meetings, passenger interviews etc, as shot by guests.

 

On the evening before arrival in Rio Cunard capitulated and paid out. Their CEO also flew to Rio to meet the disembarking passengers. Many consumer experts in the UK feel that the reason Cunard caved in was due to the immense collective ''people power'' on board and media interest and pressure, rather than the legal threats. A thought for the future?

[D&L-01]

It's called Customer Service. The mishap happened and the ship returned to port for a night. If management was concerned about the ship speed with 3 pods operating, they should have been able to project the probability of missing some ports. THAT, is what they should have assesed and notified the passengers they might miss many ports, and they should have offered while still in Miami, reasonable options. This wasn't a cheap cruise by any means, so some sensitivity to the customers is in order here.

While the contract pretty much gets Cunard off the hook, waving that contract in this instance would only serve to inflame the situation. Modern business today needs to reevaluate the approach to customer service, and to have in place a reasonable resolution when they anticipate not meeting a customer's expectations.

Droppping a port due to safety or weather is one thing, dropping a bunch of them with previous knowledge and keeping the clients in the dark is a whole different problem.

Summation: The mushroom treatment only inflames a bad situation!

(FYI Mushroom Treatment = keep the client in the dark and feed them b*llsh*t.)

AMEN