funinhounslow

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Does anyone still even use the post for renewal these days ?

You have to return your old passport to be cancelled. 

4 minutes ago, BrianI said:

The photo requirements are very stringent. Had about four goes using my phone and my camera which were all rejected. So went to Max and this was rejected. Went back and this was finally accepted.

They need a photo of your face against a plain background with no shadows on either. You may need to experiment a bit to comply with the no shadows requirement but that’s it. 
 

Take your hat and sunglasses off, DON’T SMILE and you’re done. 

As wowzz notes, very easy to renew online now. The process is very straightforward.
 

£25 to take your photo and stick some documents in an envelope is... interesting 

8 hours ago, staygulf said:

The other thing to bear in mind is that you only have to pay the deposit on credit card for the whole cruise amount to be claimable against the credit card company.  

This is true for S75 only. 
 

Chargeback only covers you for the amount you put on the card. 

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

I found Sarah very good and we had 12 emails in total between us before I got my refund

If she’s that good why did it take so many emails to sort your issue?

44 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

I agree with Jean, giving out a BUSINESS e-mail is not against the privacy laws, it is a public service.  Otherwise all the CEO email services etc would be shut down

My suggestion was that putting someone’s email on social media without asking is - to put it mildly - inconsiderate. 
 

I didn’t say anything about “privacy laws” but would point out that a work email that contains an individual’s name would certainly be considered “personal data” under GDPR which is (possibly) why the moderator asked not to post them. 

3 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Surely when it is a work related customer service issue, passing on a reliable contact is perfectly acceptable.

Sticking someone’s email address on social media without asking them is far from “acceptable”...

This is common sense, surely...?!

8 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

 her email is everywhere, Michelle got it from fb... 

But how did it get there in the first place? Unless the owner of the email address put it on herself (which I doubt) then that’s not really good enough. Two wrongs and all that

6 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

That's why I don't worry. 

Might I suggest you’d be less sanguine if it was your email being shared by the world and his wife?

Why not put yours on here and see what happens? (In all seriousness don’t do that...)

I’m clearly banging my head against a brick wall here so I’ll leave you to it...

1 minute ago, jeanlyon said:

I hardly think a busines email is a problem.  Bit different if it was a personal one.

Well if the person whose contact details you have posted (presumably without their agreement) agrees, fine. 
 

But probably best to double check with them first...

If someone shared my contact details widely without my consent I’d be annoyed to put it mildly. The work/personal distinction is irrelevant. 

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

 and the usual at Carnival

I am sorry to be a bore about this but unless this lady has specially confirmed you can put her contact details in the public domain, I really think you should stop doing it. 

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

try this one 

 

You will need your cruise ref, DOB, address, name and bank details, sort code and acc number.

51 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Email the lady Jean suggested or guest relations team leader who is sorting ours and get them to put you on the Bacs list immediately.

 
Just wondering - did you check with the individuals concerned before putting their contact details on here for the world to see...?

22 hours ago, No pager thank you said:

What we have also seen is more noticeable cost cutting or "value engineering" in recent years, flowing to reduced on board fares.  Examples include reduced ratios of waiters and wine waiters in the MDR; the difference with speciality dining is more telling now - particularly at a venue like the Epicurean, which charges £30 cover.

 

I would agree with this but I would say that the paid for venues still offer good value for money imo. Particularly for Americans if the current exchange rate lasts...

If this is likely to be your only P&O cruise I would highly recommend a visit to the Epicurean for a special evening. Sindhu would also be worth a visit to try Indian food.

More casual options at Glass House and Beach House...

4 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

I always thought it the was the flag that flies at the stern of the ship that determined it's nationality.

 

That is where the particular ship is registered

17 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

P&O is American owned

It's a PLC so it's "owned" by its shareholders. 

Plenty of them have been on this forum telling us about their "free" OBC if I remember rightly...

They're a PLC with their registered office in Southampton.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04039524

Struggle to see how they can be described as anything other than a British company...

8 hours ago, bourdon said:

There we go. An example of rudeness which seems to be a hallmark of this forum. 
 

P&O might be owned by an American company but it certainly it’s an American line. 

Carnival PLC based in Southampton which suggests they're British. 

I don't think anyone would say Land Rover was an Indian company because they're part of Tata.

And Carnival Corp is based in Panama...

48 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Agree with you.  I would imagine they have very few staff able to process refunds.  Some will be sort out refunds to cc's or debit cards, or bank accounts.  Others will be doing cheques.  Then as she told me, someone collects all the chequs and has to post them!!

O'Leary (Ryanair) said on the radio that rescheduling a flight or going for a voucher/credit note is an automated process as opposed to refunds which have to be manually processed. Make of that what you will, but it does have the "ring of truth" especially when considered with this. I would imagine having staff working from home adds another layer of complication.

My own experience backs this up - went for FCC which my travel agent was able to "see" on my account days later.

6 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

So if you had not recovered your chargeback then sec 75 would have been your final route to recover your money .

 

S75 doesn't always apply if your booking is via an agent. That's why I went via Chargeback.

I had to show that all other avenues to get my money back had been exhausted. If I had been promised a refund which was delayed I'm not sure this condition would have been satisfied. 

Like I said, Chargeback (and by implication S75 protection) is very much a "last resort"

31 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I was also under the impression that chargeback had a fairly short time limit and wonder if this could cause a problem in this scenario? Cruise balances are due 90 days before sail date (even longer if you use a TA) and then P&O is saying allow 60 days for a refund. Could it not be the case that in some cases by the time someone gets frustrated with P&O and attempts to go down that route they might be too late?

 

I booked direct with P&O, so are you saying that if my 60 days for a refund comes and goes and I am not getting anywhere with them then a Section 75 route is open to me? If so, is it particularly complex / expensive? I am awaiting £5k so a small cost would be acceptable. 

Sorry I should have been more precise. The Chargeback "clock starts ticking" from the date you don't receive the service/goods you paid for if you see what I mean. In my case, I booked accommodation via Amoma some months before a holiday -  in the intervening period Amoma went bust and I was only aware of the problem when I tried to check in at the hotel. I looked at S75 but realised I wasn't covered as I'd paid an agent, not the hotel directly. I read about the 120 day Chargeback time limit so thought I was stuffed but then found out the 120 days was from the first night in the hotel room I'd booked. 

This suggests that in the case of cruises the 120 day "clock" starts on the first day of your cancelled cruise.

To the best of my knowledge you would be covered by Section 75 if you booked direct with P&O. I don't know about the process but the Chargeback procedure was for me pretty painless. And free - didn't cost me a penny and I got all my money back!

One thing though - to pursue a Chargeback claim I had to show that I'd exhausted all other avenues to get my money back - it is very much a last resort. 

I don't know if it would be the same with S75 but logic would suggest so - so you may be on a hiding to nothing if you've applied for a refund from P&O and they have committed to returning your money but are working through a backlog.

I would not take this as gospel though - there are valuable resources elsewhere - if you're an expert in saving money, that website would be a good starting point...

They aren’t one and the same. Section 75 is a legal requirement, Chargeback is a service offered by Visa, MasterCard and Amex only and you have to submit a claim within 120 days. 
 

If your disputed transaction falls within S75 protection you should definitely go that route rather than Chargeback 

Like I said S75 didn’t cover me when a booking agent I used went bust so I claimed under Chargeback 

1 hour ago, Bin man said:

On the 75 route not sure how that would work as we payed the T.A. who then pay P and O so who is the claim against ?

S75 not appropriate in this case - it is only for when the payment was directly with the supplier of the goods/services which haven’t been provided. 
 

If you used an agent you have to go down the chargeback route. I did this last year when Amoma went bust...

9 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

 

The Cutty Sark is indeed a wonderful piece of history.

 

If you're ever in London and have the time, the visit is well worth the effort.  Can also be combined with Greenwich Observatory and the Maritime museum.  And a great day out in Greenwich Park as well.

Don’t forget the Painted Hall and a boat trip to Thames Barrier or Tower Bridge!

41 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

If you charge 3 times the price to those 1000 passengers you would

 

And get them all to triple their on board spend...

13 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

As Michelle is missing her favourite cruise tipple and as we were supposed to be on Britannia on Sunday,

Dragging this off topic but so were we! 
 

Was really looking forward to the overnight in Rotterdam, a fantastic city...

Have previously been there on the QM, EasyCruise 2 and was looking forward to a hat trick of photos by the Erasmus Bridge...

On 4/9/2020 at 12:33 PM, funinhounslow said:

Thinking about it, it would prob be prudent for cruise ships to sail below capacity for a while, if only to make social distancing easier.

Looks like this will be the case. Makes sense for all sorts of reasons. 
 

I think anyone hoping for a cheap cruise when we emerge from this mess is going to be disappointed. 
 

https://apple.news/AsXziiePcTMGWzL_wOgGp5w