Marella Discovery Itinerary Change. Colours of the Far East (Merged threads).

[Pensioncruiser]

Thanks for that we have booked a JS good luck with your cruise. This might help, apparently its a new set up they have located in the Baltics, it's the team that actually Phoned me about my situation. Might be worth a try. 

[ekco]

Pensioncruiser, could you explain who Michael Rowell is? And what this department is for? Thanks.

[blossomleh]

Hi everyone 

 

Thanks so much for replying, apologies for my late response - WiFi is in short supply out there!

 

We got home in the early hours yesterday and after reading all your replies and looking at the social media comments marella have been receiving (seems everyone has been receiving different onboard spend and advice) I called TUI this morning. 

 

The first team I spoke to, who the ship themselves directed us to speak to, transferred me to another central team who have been tasked with dealing with the complaints, they then proceeded to tell me that TUI are 'digging their heels in' and the £250pp is all people are going to receive as everyone had the chance to cancel or not board the ship. Once I reiterated that as the fire happened whilst we were onboard I'm not sure how we would have been able to cancel prior to it happening he then transferred me to an after travel team, who yet again said the £250pp was the offer. When I said I wasn't willing to accept they said that head office will be in touch via email but likely not until after Christmas.

 

In the meantime I've contacted my travel insurance who do cover us for missed ports, which although isn't much, was a much nicer experience than dealing with TUI and anything is better than nothing. 

 

On 12/17/2019 at 11:24 AM, Pensioncruiser said:

Have a look at Package Traval Regulations namley Reg 15 Unsatisfactory Holiday Arrangements and possibly Reg 4 Descriptive matter must not be misleading 👍

 

This was very helpful thank you and I will be keeping this as a resource when needed! I definitely think it applies.

 

On 12/15/2019 at 12:57 PM, davecttr said:

Just in case people might start making comments about old worn out Marella ships P&O Ventura, 10 years younger than Discovery last week had engine failure in the Canaries and was towed to Tenerife where she spent a few days. After temporary repairs she is on her way back to Southampton. 600 passengers flew home from Tenerife and the rest are risking it. The next cruise is cancelled, substantial compensation has been offered.

 

so not just 'old' ships break down!.

 

Completely agree and it sounds like they've dealt with this a lot better than Marella have.

 

Anyway the honeymoon was not a disaster of course and we made the most of all the ports we saw, just focusing on recouping as much as possible now to try and do a similar trip again in the near future as a bit of a re-do honeymoon! :) 

 

thanks again all

 

bw

 

L

[Pensioncruiser]

I believe he's the director of communications but not certain if that relates to the whole group. The new set up is a trial for twelve months think it's all about sustainability and communications. It did have a press release. As I say they contacted me, twice, after I wrote to the CEO about a maintenance issue. Can't fault them. 

[Margaret Rees]

I really hope we end up in a happy place with all this ! We are totally loyal TUI customers both for our land holidays and cruises. We are travelling with our daughter and her friend ,neither of whom have been East ! Its a big deal for us and as the mother hen I feel really responsible especially as they have limited annual leave allocation ,unlike us ,and holiday time is very precious .

[ekco]

Like you Margaret we can only email the CEO as Pensioncruiser suggests and maybe get a result from the new department.  If everyone complains then just maybe they will take notice of paying customers.  What’s the betting top management jetted off to Bali yesterday, coincidence?  We have always been loyal customers but that is changing, we went to Madeira recently with Jet2, new, clean planes with good legroom and arrived early both legs.  Nice change.  At least the refund will pay for a few trips, I believe from tripadvisor that half days ones are less arduous than the long ones.

[idh2019]

TUI announce a change to number of sea days and we have an unhappy time but eventually think "let's make the best of it". Now they tell us of changed arrival departure times in port . Holidays are supposed to be something to look forward to, not hoping they cancel.

 

Yesterday on phone to TUI, I specifically asked if there were any changes to arrival/departure times :  "We have not been told of any changes".  5 hours later an e-mail listing the changes!

 

What's the point of arriving in Langkawi at 1800? Nothing to do at that anchorage.  Effectively another day at sea which surely moves this cruise into "Significant changes to the cruise"?

 

Compared to the first re-arranged itinerary of last week, this seems worse. This ship is more damaged than they admit - they miss out Malacca and still need another 12 hours to get to Langkawi. Just hope we don't end up adrift in the Gulf of Thailand with no propulsion.

 

interesting comment about "accepting the compensation". I did not accept on the phone. Mentioned how disappointed I was and I hoped the cruise would be cancelled. Was told I could cancel but standard T&Cs applied. Thought "ah yes I'll just give you thousands of pounds for deciding to screw the customer". 

 

Worrying with all those sea days, unhappy passengers and all inclusive drinks. No riots please!

 

Will the captain do his usual "present the crew" in the atrium? "And here is Joe Bloggs, Chief Engineer who keeps the engines running, well tries to keep them running for as long as possible so we don't have to cancel and refund you."

 

Pity there are no legal opportunists looking at this and thinking about a "class action" - no win no fee!

 

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by idh2019
spelling

[ekco]

Totally agree.  I was thinking about a class action earlier.  If a furniture company brought you a totally different sofa to the one you ordered you would be entitled to a refund.  Why is the holiday trade any different?  Also, what state is the ship going to be in in 5 weeks when we travel after starting the problems last week?  If this was a plane would anyone fly in it?  Why do the T&C’s regarding cancellation apply when the customer is not changing their mind but the company is defining a fault on their part. Why should we lose 100% of our money? Maybe too many questions here for one post.

[Pensioncruiser]

ekco  have you checked the other similar post on this subject? read my contribution 're package tour regulations. You do have rights but it's not easy sorting them out. Solicitors no longer do no win no fee on holidays but you can do it yourself or resolver. If it goes to court don't worry very good chance they will not show up and you will win by default.😉

[ekco]

Ha, ha.  I’m not sure I’m the Gina Miller of cruise complaints.  Having just got back from Madeira where customer service has been top notch, plus loyalty discounts in the restaurants and bars of the hotel of up to 22% on double discount weeks, it’s a shock to have to readjust to TUI’s abysmal service.  They are great when things are going well but no help when there is a problem.  It’s all about them.

[Pensioncruiser]

32 minutes ago, ekco said:

Ha, ha.  I’m not sure I’m the Gina Miller of cruise complaints.  Having just got back from Madeira where customer service has been top notch, plus loyalty discounts in the restaurants and bars of the hotel of up to 22% on double discount weeks, it’s a shock to have to readjust to TUI’s abysmal service.  They are great when things are going well but no help when there is a problem.  It’s all about them.

I do apologise was just trying to be helpful. We have only ever had three issues in over sixty cruises with Tui. 

[nancyneptune]

We are not on this cruise but I feel so sorry for the people who have booked their holiday of a lifetime and been left so disappointed by everything that has happened this year again with the Discovery. 

It's not just the fact they they have lost the chance to visit some of their dream destinations, had their flights changed at short notice but the appalling way the Tui Marella are dealing with it. No consistency and little information.

 

We have enjoyed many, many Thomson / Marella cruises over several years but we have had good reason to complain a few times and have to say Thomson / Tui / Marella's customer service is atrocious. They will say they will contact you within 28 days. Sometimes they do , sometimes they don't. They just hope you will go away. If you persist they will do everything in their power to fob you off. The call centre staff can at times be very rude and will cut you off.

 

 We had been thinking of booking the repo. to the USA on Discovery but having second thoughts now. Six days across the Atlantic could possibly turn into several more if the same problems arise again. What a nightmare that would be drifting in the Atlantic for days with lots of disgruntled passengers, some of them overindulging in the AI. 

 

I hope the problems will be resolved soon and people on board can relax and enjoy their holiday. It must be very stressful for all affected by this fiasco. 

[ekco]

Please don’t apologise, I was being flippant as I have the least legal brain in the world.  Onwards and upwards.😊

[Vitalsign]

We are thinking of booking the cruise repositioning from Montego Bay to Port Canaveral April 2021 on Discovery God help us if we go via a 6 day Atlantic Voyage Nancy !!!! ☹️

I was expecting to go north up the Mississippi to New Orleons and then on to Florida

BUT we also have held back from booking due to the second lot of problems with the ship. We are booked to pick her up this coming April in Dubai so really hope they've sorted her before then

I feel sorry for Gavin (CD) I bet he's getting some right stick - poor man - nothing he can do about it 

[idh2019]

@ekco

 

I see you are joining on 31st. We will have been on the ship for a week by then (Colours of the Far East).  Hopefully I will have a smile on my face and enjoying the (reduced) cruise.

 

Just hoping nothing else changes. it is the drip feed of changes that wears you down: change of itinerary, change of port times, cancellation of excursions. You get accustomed to one  thing and they throw another at you. Pity those who have booked non-TUI excursions which do not fit with new timings - hope they can cancel without charge.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by idh2019
additional text

[nancyneptune]

6 hours ago, Vitalsign said:

We are thinking of booking the cruise repositioning from Montego Bay to Port Canaveral April 2021 on Discovery God help us if we go via a 6 day Atlantic Voyage Nancy !!!! ☹️

I was expecting to go north up the Mississippi to New Orleons and then on to Florida

BUT we also have held back from booking due to the second lot of problems with the ship. We are booked to pick her up this coming April in Dubai so really hope they've sorted her before then

I feel sorry for Gavin (CD) I bet he's getting some right stick - poor man - nothing he can do about it 

 

 

The six days across the Atlantic I was referring to was the Discovery re-positioning to the Caribbean in December 2020 before commencing the re-positioning to the US in 2021. 

We were thinking of doing the Transatlantic cruise in December 2020 and also the re-positioning cruise the following April. Should have made that clearer in my post.

Was thinking if there were problems with the Discovery on the Transatlantic we we wouldn't consider doing the USA but would look at another company.

There's a lot of water to flow under the bridge before then so we will wait and see how things go over the next few months before making any decisions on either cruise on this ship.

[ekco]

 Nancyneptune.  Hopefully things will be sorted out by then for you but when will they do it?  Years ago the ships would go in for an overhaul in the winter as they only did a few itineraries at that time but now they seem to go from one to another without a break.  At some point someone is going to have their cruise cancelled to accommodate a repair.  I hadn’t thought about the non-Tui cruise trips, shame for them and for some people who meet up with friends or relatives who live in the area as well.

 

Also, we paid a £50 add-on to our European insurance for worldwide without USA and the Caribbean, if the worst happened and the ship broke down before we left I bet we wouldn’t get that back.  We don’t intend to travel outside Europe again next year and only paid that for this trip and where would we stand with our insurance as we know about the fault beforehand.  It never stops.  As idh2019 says it's the drip feed that gets you down, it’s supposed to be a holiday but you are on edge waiting for another email bearing bad news.  I can feel one coming.😮

[Vitalsign]

Nancy - I was confused as I thought you meant April 2021 thanks for explaining I'm sure the ship will be fine by next December I was more concerned about this coming April repositioning back to Palma as hubby has read the ship can't be repaired properly until it gets back to Europe. I'm sure Discovery was in Malta for a couple of weeks before she left for the Far East so maybe when we call at Valletta on the way back she may be fixed there

[brian1]

13 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

The six days across the Atlantic I was referring to was the Discovery re-positioning to the Caribbean in December 2020 before commencing the re-positioning to the US in 2021. 

We were thinking of doing the Transatlantic cruise in December 2020 and also the re-positioning cruise the following April. Should have made that clearer in my post.

Was thinking if there were problems with the Discovery on the Transatlantic we we wouldn't consider doing the USA but would look at another company.

There's a lot of water to flow under the bridge before then so we will wait and see how things go over the next few months before making any decisions on either cruise on this ship.

Water UNDER the bridge,lol.Just have to hope it doesn't go above.

[nancyneptune]

1 hour ago, Vitalsign said:

Nancy - I was confused as I thought you meant April 2021 thanks for explaining I'm sure the ship will be fine by next December I was more concerned about this coming April repositioning back to Palma as hubby has read the ship can't be repaired properly until it gets back to Europe. I'm sure Discovery was in Malta for a couple of weeks before she left for the Far East so maybe when we call at Valletta on the way back she may be fixed there

 

My mistake Vitalsign I didn't word it properly.  Too much going on for Christmas lol .  

 

I hope you have an enjoyable cruise in April. I'm sure all problems should be resolved by then.

[nancyneptune]

1 hour ago, brian1 said:

Water UNDER the bridge,lol.Just have to hope it doesn't go above.

 

Water under the bridge

A saying my granny always used to use when there was a  potential problem ahead, lol 

 

It will be alright in the end.  If it's not alright , it's not the end  😉

[thepeb]

we are on far east 1 cruise and today have had the below:

We’re experiencing a temporary technical issue with our propulsion power, which means we are sailing at a slightly slower speed    This means that no longer going to one stop and will be at sea. Also the next stop is now from 6pm, which is another day at sea really. £100 offered as compo!

[thepeb]

just had this 😞

 

Dear

RE: Your Marella Cruise

Departure date 05-02-2020.

We’d like to give some important information about your cruise on Marella Discovery.

We’re experiencing a temporary technical issue with our propulsion power, which means we are sailing at a slightly slower speed to usual. Like all live operations, we occasionally experience technical issues that need parts and technicians to complete the repairs.

We would like to reassure you that the safety and wellbeing of our customers and staff is our highest priority.

As a result of our reduced speed, there have been some changes to your itinerary. We are really sorry for any disappointment this may cause, and we are working hard to ensure you still have the best shoreside experience possible.

Your new itinerary looks like this:

Day Port Arrive Depart

1 Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand 23:59

2 Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand 00:00 15:00

3 Sihanoukville, Cambodia 09:30 19:00

4 At Sea

5 Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam 07:00 18:00

6 At Sea

7 At Sea

8 Langkawi, Malaysia 18:00 23:59

9 Langkawi, Malaysia 00:00 22:00

10 Penang, Malaysia 08:00 17:00

11 Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia 08:00 18:00

12 Singapore, Singapore 08:00 19:00

13 At Sea

14 Koh Samui*, Thailand 08:00 17:30

15 Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand 07:00

*Tender to shore

We do understand that this isn’t the cruise experience you booked. With that in mind, we’ll be refunding £100 per person by way of an apology for the disruption to your holiday.

[idh2019]

Compared to my itinerary for 26-12-2019 that shows:

 

Port Klang and Singapore back to their original times with Koh Samui reinstated.

[ekco]

Doesn’t sound temporary to me if they expect it still be there in 5 weeks.  They’ve got you over the barrel with the £100 as you are onboard by the looks of it.  A few years ago we were stuck in Gran Canaria for three days on the Majesty due to a bit of wind, even though it was dead calm there.  We got £50 PER CABIN! That didn’t go down well either and needless to say we knew everything there was to know about Las Palmas by the time we left.  You have to laugh though because it’s not as if they go fast in the first place, the times I’ve looked at marinetraffic to see a ship going round in circles, could they go much slower.

 

Jan