Brittania docking late tomorrow

[Eglesbrech]

15 minutes ago, pete14 said:

And those who arrived back late should be billed for an extra morning on onboard that they did not pay for? 😇😌

Don’t give the bean counters any ideas 😀

[Eglesbrech]

34 minutes ago, the english lady said:

I guess those on the late getting back cruise were happy with how pando dealt with them, and didn't feel the need for social media..or like a lot of people wouldn't dream of compo compo compo. As I said who pays in the end. 

 

Or more likely they were concentrating their time and efforts on trying to sort out onward travel, rebooking flights, calling family to let them know they would be late, calling work to say they may not be back in time for their next shift, calling the kennels to extent their booking etc etc etc.

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Not really a valid reason for letting P&O off the hook of paying a fair compensation for inconvenience and lost holiday time, with cruise prices of £100-£200pppn a 5, or as it turned out 7 hour delay should result in a lot more than £20 compensation.  

Flight delays are far more generous and now enshrined in law.

 

The flight delay compensation is a good comparison. Airlines now make much more effort to be on time to avoid paying it which can only be good for customers. As an example we were on a flight a couple of weeks ago and it was delayed by an hour beyond the threshold that they would have had to pay out. They clearly moved heaven and earth to make up the time as by the time we boarded we were 1 minute below the time limit for compensation. We still had a very long boring delay but I suspect that had there been no legislation then we would have waited a whole lot longer. It was amusing that they made of point of the boarding time being that 1 minute short - they had clearly thought about it!

 

If there is no penalty for organisation when they get it wrong (with things that are within their control)then they are less likely to improve how they treat customers.

[terrierjohn]

58 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Many airlines are going bust, could this be a contributing factor?

I watched a programme about Heathrow last night where due to a breakdown, a smaller replacement plane was sent, meaning some 40 passengers could not board. They were given 600 Euros compensation due to regulations each in cash and many managed to book different flights the same day.

This cannot bode well for the airlines.

Andy

Andy, I think the increase in fuel price is by far the major problem causing the current rash of airline failures.  I doubt that airlines like the compensation regulations one bit, but I guess they allow for this when setting their fares, as should, and probably do, P&O.

[Harry Peterson]

45 minutes ago, the english lady said:

No not the shareholders. Prices will go up for the customers...joe public...so they can pay out all the compo people want and still turn a profit.

No, as I said, ultimately the shareholders.

 

Prices have to remain competitive with other cruise companies, other holidays, and what people can and will afford to pay. Compensation is a fact of life, and having to pay it, as in the case of the airlines, encourages companies to make sure they're efficient enough to avoid having to pay it.

 

It's precisely the 'compensation isn't right' attitude among some customers that allows P&O to get away with poor customer service, not being truthful about problems when they arise, and not fixing problems until refits!

 

Knowing that compensation claims are a real risk factor encourages companies to act responsibly. Thinking they have a customer base that will allow them to get away with it does nobody any favours I'm afraid.

[jeanlyon]

12 hours ago, hansol1966 said:

Jeanylion would you want compensation if this happened to you yesterday on late embarkation to Brittania when we we the first passengers after self disembarkation to get off with priority 5.00PM. With the rest of the ship still to get off 2hrs later. 2 more hours then embarkation..then safety drills..then luggage..9.00 PM minimum..

It is not the passengers problem......it is Britannia’s problem by not building in more maintenance time apart from once a year. The rest of the year ships are firefighting the problem. As I said it is NOWHERE near as bad arriving late as having to wait for your cruise...try it sometime....

We were 18 hours late back on Oriana as I said before.  They paid for extra kennelling, National Express rebooking for our friend.  Free wifi to sort it out.  Not sure what they did for those who had lost a day, I'm sure they were given compensation of some sort.

[jeanlyon]

2 hours ago, pete14 said:

And those who arrived back late should be billed for an extra morning on onboard that they did not pay for? 😇😌

 

Definitely!!

[the english lady]

A few years ago we went with Fred Olsen a couple of times. Then  nobody boarded before 2pm...and there was nowhere to have lunch. The terminal had sandwiches etc for sale, and that was it until your evening meal. Heavens knows how the people who sail with pando would cope with that. I was discussing this thread with OH. I said cruising used to be special and different. Now it's not. Armchair captains who can't see why a ship cannot go faster into a strong headwind..etc..it has already been posted that Britannia missed her early morning arrival slot, so she had to come in a lot later so they could slot her in amongst all the other traffic.

 

[majortom10]

6 minutes ago, the english lady said:

A few years ago we went with Fred Olsen a couple of times. Then  nobody boarded before 2pm...and there was nowhere to have lunch. The terminal had sandwiches etc for sale, and that was it until your evening meal. Heavens knows how the people who sail with pando would cope with that. I was discussing this thread with OH. I said cruising used to be special and different. Now it's not. Armchair captains who can't see why a ship cannot go faster into a strong headwind..etc..it has already been posted that Britannia missed her early morning arrival slot, so she had to come in a lot later so they could slot her in amongst all the other traffic.

 

That is exactly the same way that P&O boarded until the arrival of Ventura and that is when they started early boarding and providing buffet lunch.

[daiB]

9 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

That is exactly the same way that P&O boarded until the arrival of Ventura and that is when they started early boarding and providing buffet lunch.

Yes in 2006 we sailed on Arcadia, TA in October. We had been upgraded to a full suite from a mini. It was the year I retired so this was my gift to me. We still did not board until 14.30 and we had priority. No lunch but a very nice afternoon tea in Arcadian Rhodes. 

[Manx buoy]

3 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

The flight delay compensation is a good comparison. Airlines now make much more effort to be on time to avoid paying it which can only be good for customers. As an example we were on a flight a couple of weeks ago and it was delayed by an hour beyond the threshold that they would have had to pay out. They clearly moved heaven and earth to make up the time as by the time we boarded we were 1 minute below the time limit for compensation. We still had a very long boring delay but I suspect that had there been no legislation then we would have waited a whole lot longer. It was amusing that they made of point of the boarding time being that 1 minute short - they had clearly thought about it!

 

If there is no penalty for organisation when they get it wrong (with things that are within their control)then they are less likely to improve how they treat customers.

The EU261 compensation threshold is based on arrival times not departure times

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, Manx buoy said:

The EU261 compensation threshold is based on arrival times not departure times

 

Thanks that’s really helpful to know as although we were boarded at just on the threshold we actually stuck on the tarmac for quite a while before departure so the actual delay on arrival was well over the limit. 

 

I have had a quick read of the regulations and it seems that the one minute meant that they did not have to feed us during the delay, which might explain the precision of the boarding time.

 

The principle remains that where legislation prescribes compensation organisations are more likely to be more proactive in expediting issues.

[majortom10]

Just to put a cat amongst the pigeons we were on Britannia 4th-11th May which arrived late into Southampton due to headwinds delaying our arrival but we also had a power cut earlier on in the cruise when everything went off including lifts and we were running on emergency lighting for a short period.

[AndyMichelle]

6 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Andy, I think the increase in fuel price is by far the major problem causing the current rash of airline failures.  I doubt that airlines like the compensation regulations one bit, but I guess they allow for this when setting their fares, as should, and probably do, P&O.

Fair point John.

It just seemed rather a large penalty for a problem that was possibly out of their control.

Andy

[terrierjohn]

34 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Fair point John.

It just seemed rather a large penalty for a problem that was possibly out of their control.

Andy

Maintenance issues are now considered to be within the control of the operator, and they should be ensuring that sufficient engineering effort is applied to ensure the Ship, plane or motor vehicle operates as planned. Therefore any breakdown is their responsibility.

Edited May 27, 2019 by terrierjohn

[jeanlyon]

5 hours ago, the english lady said:

A few years ago we went with Fred Olsen a couple of times. Then  nobody boarded before 2pm...and there was nowhere to have lunch. The terminal had sandwiches etc for sale, and that was it until your evening meal. Heavens knows how the people who sail with pando would cope with that. I was discussing this thread with OH. I said cruising used to be special and different. Now it's not. Armchair captains who can't see why a ship cannot go faster into a strong headwind..etc..it has already been posted that Britannia missed her early morning arrival slot, so she had to come in a lot later so they could slot her in amongst all the other traffic.

Yes I've sailed with Fred a few times.  Didn't board until 1430.  So we just brought a sandwich with us.

5 hours ago, the english lady said:

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

Someone is asking about the drinks packages on another thread. That’s another thing that those boarding may want a partial refund for if they paid £40pp and didn’t get on until very late, get through the drill etc.

[AndyMichelle]

13 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Someone is asking about the drinks packages on another thread. That’s another thing that those boarding may want a partial refund for if they paid £40pp and didn’t get on until very late, get through the drill etc.

I don't think you can buy the drinks package until onboard?

Andy

[jeanlyon]

No you can't,

[Rupert2251]

Ooo wait a moment I see someone has changed their profile!!

[AndyMichelle]

7 minutes ago, Rupert2251 said:

Ooo wait a moment I see someone has changed their profile!!

Very observant Rupert, but I am not allowed to drink it at the dinner table...

Andy

 

[Rupert2251]

7 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Very observant Rupert, but I am not allowed to drink it at the dinner table...

Andy

 

Lol very good Andy but that was not what I was referring to. Keep looking and you will see that it is the name not the picture. 

[NoFlyGuy]

We were delayed boarding last year on a Ventura 28 night Caribbean cruise. Think we got £15 pp on board credit.

Of course it was a pain but, as been pointed out, these ships sail 24/7365 days except when undergoing a refit.

What's the solution? Drag them in to dry dock every time there's a problem and cancel the next cruise(s) with all the misery ,cost and frustration that would cause? Not to mention would it would cost to the overall cost of cruise holidays. This goes for any cruise line not just P@O.

We are back on Oriana on Thursday (30th), Hopefully there will be no medical emergency or other glitches but am sure all cruise lines  take a safety first approach first.

There do seem to be certain people on these boards who just like to whinge and seek compensation at every opportunity. Perhaps a different type of holiday would suit them better? 

[P&O SUE]

11 hours ago, Rupert2251 said:

Lol very good Andy but that was not what I was referring to. Keep looking and you will see that it is the name not the picture. 

 

I've noticed that too!!

 

News on FB this morning that Britannia had to speed up to get to La Coruna early for a medical emergency - so the engines seem to be working ok now!

[amfc_lenny]

Good to see they got to la Corina feel sorry for the poorly passenger.

 

Have to admit if I'd been stuck in my car for many hours waiting to park with cps. £20 and a bottle of water is not much compensation. Appreciate these things happen, but p and o customer services is pretty dire.