Discrimination for solo booking

[pacificlover]

Just tried to book Christmas cruise with Pacific Explorer as a solo passenger.  Was told sorry no cabins available.  When I asked about twin share, then cabins immediately became available.  As a solo booking I would have been paying double the price, ie for two berths, how is that not discrimination?  I realise P&O worry about lost on board spending with only the one person buying, but do they really think it is worth a cabin sailing empty by denying a solo cruiser?

[icat2000]

Just book a second passenger in with passport details and when you check in say they couldn’t make it.

[Aus Traveller]

30 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

Just book a second passenger in with passport details and when you check in say they couldn’t make it.

My thinking also. 👍

[Brisbane41]

Princess is doing the same. If you look at some booking online and select solo then there are no cabins available. If you then look as a couple they all become available.

 

The best way to get around this is to simply give someones name (make sure they are not on the number one spot) and book as a couple. Then you have two options. If you find someone to go with you then put their name in or simply tell them at boarding that your friend was sick and unable to come.

[getting older slowly]

It is very unfair....  My mum is a solo traveller.... and just got a good deal on Azamara

with a solo bonus promotion , so she only play 1 and a half fares for her cabin.....

 

Cheers Don

[Brisbane41]

This topic has given me second thoughts. I would be interested to hear if we have any lawyers or solicitors on these forums. I do sports with both criminal lawyers and solicitors and prefer not to ask general questions like this to them at sports but I think it might be illegal under state and federal law in Australia for a cruise line to do this. They are selling cruises to people in our country they have to abide by our laws. I think it breaches the  against the discrimination act NSW 1977

 

It is illegal for a company to discriminate against you if they have different policies for:

"marital or domestic status" means the status or condition of being--

(a) single, or

(b) married, or

(c) married but living separately and apart from one's spouse, or

(d) divorced, or

(e) widowed, or

(f) in a de facto relationship.

[pacificlover]

Thank you Brisbane41.  I feel I should not have to lie or pretend to be in a partnership in order to book a cabin.  If I am prepared to pay double (gulp!!) then I should be allowed to choose whichever cruise I want. The cruise lines in the past have taken my booking, but in this case it is a "last minute" booking, and therefore cheaper.

[mr walker]

5 hours ago, pacificlover said:

Just tried to book Christmas cruise with Pacific Explorer as a solo passenger.  Was told sorry no cabins available.  When I asked about twin share, then cabins immediately became available.  As a solo booking I would have been paying double the price, ie for two berths, how is that not discrimination? 

 

Are you sure this was not just a misunderstanding issue ie the agent thought you were talking about 'solo cabins' ie cabins for just 1, rather than saying you couldn't book a twin cabin just for one?

[Docker123]

3 minutes ago, mr walker said:

 

Are you sure this was not just a misunderstanding issue ie the agent thought you were talking about 'solo cabins' ie cabins for just 1, rather than saying you couldn't book a twin cabin just for one?

I have seen the same doing online “bookings”. No interaction with any agents.

 

Put in 1 passenger, nothing.

Change to 2 passengers, plenty of cabins.

 

They make more money in bars, etc with more people. Particularly at holiday seasons.

 

[pacificlover]

No Mr Walker........I particularly queried her constant reference to "solo" cabin.  Told her I was not interested in special cabin, but wanted a regular twin cabin - willing to pay for that, but with only one passenger.  This was a direct call to P&O.  I quoted my loyalty number and she was aware that I have extensive history with P&O.  In fact my last cruise in September with my family I was given priority treatment.  P&O have never done that before for me, but I was given priority boarding, fruit bowls delivered to my cabin on two occasions, choc covered strawberries on one and an invitation to a cocktail party for very small group of passengers.  All without any request by myself.  I am Elite with Princess but have never experienced this treatment with P&O before.  I was pleasantly surprised.  But obviously none of this counts when trying to book a cabin for myself when "specials" are being offered.

[Aus Traveller]

55 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

 In fact my last cruise in September with my family I was given priority treatment.  P&O have never done that before for me, but I was given priority boarding, fruit bowls delivered to my cabin on two occasions, choc covered strawberries on one and an invitation to a cocktail party for very small group of passengers.  All without any request by myself.  I am Elite with Princess but have never experienced this treatment with P&O before.  I was pleasantly surprised.  But obviously none of this counts when trying to book a cabin for myself when "specials" are being offered.

On our last P&O cruise we were also delighted to be given priority. In addition to priority boarding and disembarkation, fruit, choc strawberries, hors d'oeuvres, we found that a dining room time had been reserved for us for the entire cruise and, on disembarkation day, our duty free alcohol was delivered to our cabin. All this was very welcome and added to our enjoyment of the cruise. 🙂

[MMDown Under]

I recently applied on line for a single booking on a cruise to NZ, which was on special.  The price was more than double the twin price per person.  So I decided on an island holiday, which was on a per room basis.

[GUT2407]

4 hours ago, Brisbane41 said:

This topic has given me second thoughts. I would be interested to hear if we have any lawyers or solicitors on these forums. I do sports with both criminal lawyers and solicitors and prefer not to ask general questions like this to them at sports but I think it might be illegal under state and federal law in Australia for a cruise line to do this. They are selling cruises to people in our country they have to abide by our laws. I think it breaches the  against the discrimination act NSW 1977

 

It is illegal for a company to discriminate against you if they have different policies for:

"marital or domestic status" means the status or condition of being--

(a) single, or

(b) married, or

(c) married but living separately and apart from one's spouse, or

(d) divorced, or

(e) widowed, or

(f) in a de facto relationship.

But you aren’t being discriminated against due to marital status, but for wanting to sail solo which isn’t a protected species under the ANti Discrimination Act.

[Brisbane41]

38 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

But you aren’t being discriminated against due to marital status, but for wanting to sail solo which isn’t a protected species under the ANti Discrimination Act.

you forgot the "domestic status" in particular section (a) single. which is protected under the act.

[Brisbane41]

3 hours ago, pacificlover said:

Thank you Brisbane41.  I feel I should not have to lie or pretend to be in a partnership in order to book a cabin.  If I am prepared to pay double (gulp!!) then I should be allowed to choose whichever cruise I want. The cruise lines in the past have taken my booking, but in this case it is a "last minute" booking, and therefore cheaper.

What I would suggest doing is next time you are on the phone to the consultant and want to book a cruise as a single try saying the following if they say there are no single cabins.

 

"Are you aware that it is illegal to discriminate against single people or ones domestic situation under the NSW anti-discrimination Act 1977" Suggest to them that they have cabins available for couples yet they are refusing to release these cabins to singles which could be against the law with companies and individuals held accountable.

 

I bet that would shake up the consultant enough to get their supervisors and start looking into the situation with urgency.

[GUT2407]

3 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

you forgot the "domestic status" in particular section (a) single. which is protected under the act.

Yep they can’t stop you cruising because you are single, but can refuse to sell you a solo cabin,  not matter if you are single or married, or defacto, widowed, whatever.

[Brisbane41]

1 minute ago, GUT2407 said:

Yep they can’t stop you cruising because you are single, but can refuse to sell you a solo cabin,  not matter if you are single or married, or defacto, widowed, whatever.

 

No lets clear this up there is no such thing as a solo cabin on a Princess ship. They must follow the laws. It is illegal for them to refuse to sell a single person a cabin based on their domestic status.

 

They charge for cabins at a per person basis. Therefore they will expect to get two fares for a cabin. A single person will pay the full fare for the cabin which is usually both. To refuse them that would be illegal and against the anti-discrimination act and leave them open to legal repercussions.

[GUT2407]

You asked for a lawyers advice, I gave it. They aren’t discriminating on basis of domestic relationship. married people book solo too at times, and have the same possibility of being told no.

 

but anyway you seem convinced so take them to the Federal Circuit Court.

 

I can assure you if you were to ask me to act for you I’d be demanding a big fat sum in the trust account first and wanting written acknowledgement that I had told you that the case was, in my opinion, doomed.

[dragonlord24601]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

You asked for a lawyers advice, I gave it. They aren’t discriminating on basis of domestic relationship. married people book solo too at times, and have the same possibility of being told no.

 

but anyway you seem convinced so take them to the Federal Circuit Court.

 

I can assure you if you were to ask me to act for you I’d be demanding a big fat sum in the trust account first and wanting written acknowledgement that I had told you that the case was, in my opinion, doomed.

Brisbane41 is correct. You are incorrect. It has nothing to do with being married or not. It is illegal to withhold sale of cabins based on gender, race, sexual orientation, domestic status. If cabins are available for couples and the same cabins are not available for a solo guest then it becomes a form of discrimination and is against the law.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Let's get real here. And I mean real in business terms. P&O presumably determines what mix of cabin sales provide the minimum profit level for the cruise, and that takes into account onboard sales as well as fares. Cruise lines know very well how solo cruisers affect their bottom line so they set limits. Although I sympathise with the OP in principle, if s/he is trying to book that cruise for this Christmas coming then she/he should be aware that last minute bookings do mean that if quotas are already filled then there is little chance of getting the required cabin as a solo. But, as others have mentioned, there is a loophole and the OP should take full advantage of that. 

[pacificlover]

Enough already.  This has become unpleasant.  I knew that I could put another person on my booking, but that did not sit well with me.  I cruise at least 3 to 4 times a year and would hate to be denied further bookings because I fraudulently entered into the agreement of booking my cabin.  Gone are the days when I was able to "share with a stranger" and so must rely on friends to be available to cruise when a deal comes up.  I have been on the past two Christmas cruises on the Explorer (with friends) and loved every minute.  Had hoped I could repeat the experience this year.

[MicCanberra]

Good luck and have a nice Xmas whether you cruise or not.

[mr walker]

18 hours ago, pacificlover said:

No Mr Walker........I particularly queried her constant reference to "solo" cabin.  Told her I was not interested in special cabin, but wanted a regular twin cabin - willing to pay for that, but with only one passenger.  This was a direct call to P&O.  

 

OK, thanks for clarifying - understood now. 

[Aus Traveller]

The way I see it is that P&O is not discriminating against single people. Any number of single people can book, but apparently they have a policy that on their reduced-price cruises, they want a minimum of two people (single or married) in each cabin. I cannot see that this is discrimination.

 

Disclosure - I am married and usually travel as part of a couple, but I have just booked a rather expensive cruise as a solo, paying double.😢 At least Princess let me book it, but the price was not reduced. It was probably brochure price. 😢

[gbenjo]

9 hours ago, pacificlover said:

Enough already.  This has become unpleasant.  I knew that I could put another person on my booking, but that did not sit well with me.  I cruise at least 3 to 4 times a year and would hate to be denied further bookings because I fraudulently entered into the agreement of booking my cabin.  Gone are the days when I was able to "share with a stranger" and so must rely on friends to be available to cruise when a deal comes up.  I have been on the past two Christmas cruises on the Explorer (with friends) and loved every minute.  Had hoped I could repeat the experience this year.

Why would you be denied future  bookings ...if you book and PAY for  a twinshare stateroom and at the last minute the second person cannot make it, the cruiseline could not care less. You have paid for the room and can do what you like. This situation occurs all the time. In my nine years as a check in agent I have seen this countless times.  A single cabin is a totally different thing and they probably did not have any available when your agent enquired but if you were willing to pay for two people twin share there would be no dramas.  This rubbish about discrimination that certain people are carrying on about is ridiculous.. the cruise lines are far too savvy and aware of the ramifications to be involved in such practices. The rooms were being sold on a twin share basis. End of story.