October onwards cruisers…

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

The refund will be back to your method of original payment.  The process is smoother (mostly) for direct bookings.

So different to the original system, when cheques were sent out, even if you paid by cc ?

 

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, No pager thank you said:

Good news is that the timelines around refunds do appear to have improved from the first lockdown (famous last words)...

 

Now, even on P&O's terms, they have an automated system for refund processing and additional staffing, so my expectation will be around 14 days (reference the package tour regulations).  The cancellation invoices are coming out much more quickly now (i.e., I had mine before the refund request).

 

Bad news is that there appears to be no rhyme nor reason to the order (i.e., it's not by ship, itinerary, amount, cabin grade or anything else).  To the best of my knowledge, it is simply when the form is processed by the team collecting them.  From experience, there is zero appreciation by customer services about any delays, however long they are, or however badly they mess up.  So it's a question of patience, and if you do get fed up, remember to use the number to book a new cruise to check on progress. 

 

The refund will be back to your method of original payment.  The process is smoother (mostly) for direct bookings.

 

In fairness, although delays of four months or more were known in the first batch, I have heard of more recent cancellations receiving refunds within 2-4 weeks.  The issue is that this is the largest block of en masse cancellations P&O have done, so volume will be an issue.  But fingers crossed for you (and me!) that it won't be as silly as it was in March 2020.

Good info, thank you. Will keep the board updated as to progress 🙂

[No pager thank you]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

So different to the original system, when cheques were sent out, even if you paid by cc ?

 

I always received CC refunds and that's what appeared to be the case for most, although not all, of those complaining on the P&O Facebook page.  This meant that I had to organise a refund of the positive balance on the CC to my current account in each case.

 

I think (don't know) that cheques were sent out in some cases, for instance, where the CC number had expired between the point of the initial payment being made and the refund being required to be made, for direct bookings.  Also, partly due to the chaos.  However, most of the FAQs (including the ones relating to any purchases from "My P&O Cruises") indicate that the refund will be made back to the original payment method.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

I think (don't know) that cheques were sent out in some cases, for instance, where the CC number had expired between the point of the initial payment being made and the refund being required to be made, for direct bookings

Certainly not in my case  (cheque received from P&O despite cc still being current) and many others on here also received cheques, despite having paid by cc. The whole re-payment process seemed a bit random. There was no apparent correlation between paying direct or via a TA. In my case, payment was made direct to P&O via a TA.

That's not to say that this time around, the payment will not go back onto your cc, but historically that was not always the situation.

[Adawn47]

A little advice please.

We cancelled our two cruises on Arcadia before P&O cancelled them, and moved the deposits to next October. One deposit was transfered across to the new booking, as I was told they could only use the one and the other would go through the finance department and be  transfered to it later. Never having been in this situation, is this the usual procedure in this instance?

Avril

[Bazrat]

11 hours ago, downsmead said:

They, and other cruise lines, have been doing this with payment 30 days before sailing, so it can be done.

Like I said short term 

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

So different to the original system, when cheques were sent out, even if you paid by cc ?

 

Or even worse sending out a refund by cheque when paid by CC and then 2 days later send out a cheque for same amount meaning refunded twice which is what Cunard did. They then made it very difficult to reimburse one refund and cheque was never cashed and then demanded payment for double refund for a fee higher than the initial payment. Total fiasco by Cunard which by the way are the same staff who were dealing with P&O refunds.

[Bazrat]

17 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

If P&O are genuinely concerned about their customers, then until things stabilise and get back to some sort of normality, then I think 30 days should be standard. That should enable passengers to make a more reasoned decision about whether they are happy about the proposed cruise experience.

Just throwing this one out there you book multiple cruises than you cancel the ones you don’t fancy 30days before, there are people on here who used to do that but in the past the company had more time to resell the cruise

[ToxM]

3 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Just throwing this one out there you book multiple cruises than you cancel the ones you don’t fancy 30days before, there are people on here who used to do that but in the past the company had more time to resell the cruise

 

Ultra late cruise deals might be the way forward … conditions and rules are so liquid at this point and may continue to be so for a while. 

[terrierjohn]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

Certainly not in my case  (cheque received from P&O despite cc still being current) and many others on here also received cheques, despite having paid by cc. The whole re-payment process seemed a bit random. There was no apparent correlation between paying direct or via a TA. In my case, payment was made direct to P&O via a TA.

That's not to say that this time around, the payment will not go back onto your cc, but historically that was not always the situation.

Perhaps P&O recognise your exalted status wowzz  which would be why you received special treatment  rather than the CC refund given to us plebs.😉

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Perhaps P&O recognise your exalted status wowzz  which would be why you received special treatment  rather than the CC refund given to us plebs.😉

Not that exalted John - I still had to wait 70 days for the cheque to arrive.

[jaydee6969]

I have just checked online with my CC, and my refund for our cancelled October Arcadia cruise booked way back in 2019 at launch, is showing as a pending credit already.

 

More annoying is that the statement is due on the 25th, and could have gone towards my P&O excursion purchases.  

[wowzz]

42 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

I have just checked online with my CC, and my refund for our cancelled October Arcadia cruise booked way back in 2019 at launch, is showing as a pending credit already.

 

More annoying is that the statement is due on the 25th, and could have gone towards my P&O excursion purchases.  

That's pretty good from P&O - looks like they may have got the refund system running properly at last.  They've had plenty of time to get it right!

[bee-ess]

Good to see a few Caribbean islands on the new Green LIst, a step in the right direction for the Caribbean season.

[jaydee6969]

14 hours ago, wowzz said:

That's pretty good from P&O - looks like they may have got the refund system running properly at last.  They've had plenty of time to get it right!

 

And today, our pre-booked excursions are all back on a CC too.

[ToxM]

My refund is starting to arrive…

 

Good quick work P&O

[Guest]

Anyone on a fly cruise at the end of this year had their flight details yet?

[No pager thank you]

29 minutes ago, ToxM said:

My refund is starting to arrive…

 

Good quick work P&O

Same here, well 2 out of 3!

 

Pleased that you didn't have to wait

 

[bee-ess]

59 minutes ago, Glitterati said:

Anyone on a fly cruise at the end of this year had their flight details yet?

We are due to fly out to Barbados on Jan 1st, haven't heard anything yet. However, strangely we do have a full set of excursions available to book, we aren't doing that yet though.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, bee-ess said:

We are due to fly out to Barbados on Jan 1st, haven't heard anything yet. However, strangely we do have a full set of excursions available to book, we aren't doing that yet though.

Yeah I fly out 25th December! 
 

When we booked the Lady on the phone said it would be 6 months before instead of 8. Today is 6 months and there is nothing there yet! 
 

Makes me a bit uneasy! 
 

I can see excursions, but won’t book until nearer the time as they keep mentioning they will be adding more as you can’t go ashore alone

 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Glitterati said:

I can see excursions, but won’t book until nearer the time as they keep mentioning they will be adding more as you can’t go ashore alone

Not sure that this will be the case by the end of the year. The US cruises that are resuming to the Caribbean shortly,  are, IIRC, allowing independent shore visits.

[downsmead]

No flights for our 19th November sailing when I last checked

[Bazrat]

38 minutes ago, downsmead said:

No flights for our 19th November sailing when I last checked

I hope there are flights or we will have a long swim back

[silkworms]

2 hours ago, Glitterati said:

Anyone on a fly cruise at the end of this year had their flight details yet?

No not yet updated, it’s says 8.00 am from Manchester but I think

that is a generic time as it has always been there!

 

however, I have booked some excursions now they are live. Have been 

trying to visit Virgin Gorda for years but each time the sea was too

rough and it was cancelled, so fingers crossed for this time. Have also booked St Barts which is an island we have never visited (it does warn you on the excursion that everything is very expensive!)

 

Why not join the roll call I started for Azura, we are going on a special

28 day cruise but the roll call encompasses both 14 day cruises.

 

Terri

[downsmead]

59 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

I hope there are flights or we will have a long swim back

😂