LGC100

On 6/9/2020 at 4:11 PM, devonport said:

Just had a cheque from Cunard for Cape Town to Southampton cruise.  Did send numerous emails/telephone calls over the past weeks.

Just need to get the remainder of the holiday reimbursed from UK travel agent (hotel/air fares) they said up to 90 days seems along time seeing Cunard has refunded already?

Dare I hope that our refund for Cape Town to Southampton may arrive soon? Like you we will still be waiting on a UK travel agent for the remainder of the holiday. The travel agent also told us up to 90 days from when we filled in their refund claim form (May 19th because we were not asked to complete one before then) even though we have confirmation from them that we asked for a full refund on March 26th. We are so sick and tired of the goal posts being moved at every opportunity that we raised a CC section 75 claim last week. 

Credit card claim submitted today for repayment from a U.K. Cruise TA for our Cape Town & QM2 voyage. If Cunard do eventually send us a cheque for the QM2 part it would be very much appreciated but ultimately the contract we entered into was with the Cruise agent so we've submitted a claim for the whole package (flights, hotel and QM2) that we were sold.

On 5/23/2020 at 2:00 PM, Ray66 said:

 

Doubt it. We're Diamond. We should be on the QM2 now (20th May cruise). We cancelled with online TA on 15th March and their acknowledgement email was on 23rd March. Over 60 days now and heard nothing since.

Another lesson is never book through a TA.

Ours completely ignored our email request for a full refund on 9th April but acknowledged our online form request with a 90 day wait from the form filling date (last week). 

And no the TA didn't tell us we had to fill in an online form. I found it by accident after Googling the TA's website. 

Hope you've not got the same TA as us. 

22 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

There are people in a situation now that they didn't expect to be in (that would be all of us) and some may well need the money. But it's not the 'not getting it back' that is the problem. Had the cruise or holiday gone ahead they would still have been without the money. They would have had a holiday, but still no money.

Have you not read #242 from Hattie The Host? I suggest that you do because some people need the money now due to being in a financial situation that they didn't expect to be in. Not everyone is in a position to provide Cunard with an interest free loan. 

14 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

And you seem to expect priority over all the others in the same or worse position that need their attention. 

I was replying to the arrogant assumption "that I doubt many on this board are in need of urgent cash in anycase. Cunard needs your money more than you do Fact.".

You have no idea how urgently I, or anyone else on this board, need our cash back. You have also made the assumption that I expect priority over all the others. No I don't expect any priority but I do expect Cunard to return the money that I saved up hard for. Unlike Cunard I don't have billions of assets in the bank. They are legally obliged to return my money within 14 days of cancelling the cruise but are asking me to wait 45 days. I can only hope that they fulfill their promise and I get my money tomorrow because I am not in a fortunate enough position financially to be able to prop up Cunard and that is indeed a 'Fact'.

18 hours ago, Liberal_Baggie said:

I'm a little surprised at people on this board expecting quick return of cruise payment money. It will be several weeks as Cunard needs your cash to fund its operations and they will have strict guidelines to how much money they can afford to pay back per week. Some of you may never have run a business but when things are tight you get the cash in and hold onto it for as long as possible. No matter how much a customer moans, you are just in a line there are thousands of people in front of you. I doubt many on this board are in need of urgent cash in anycase. Cunard needs your money more than you do Fact.

You speak for yourself. My cruise was cancelled. I'm entitled to my money back. Cunard have had my money since November last year and they haven't fulfilled their part of the contract. Simple. 

For UK people the CMA are looking into companies that are flouting the law and failing to refund people for cancellations due to Coronavirus. 

We booked a package through a UK cruise company and have just filled in the CMA form to notify them of the company concerned.

The CMA don't act for individual cases but they are prepared to put pressure on companies flouting the law. 

https://www.coronavirus-business-complaint.service.gov.uk/

5 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Refunds TL5HR post above.

 

I was on the April 1st Capetown to Southampton,  this was cancelled on 15th March in a letter that only mentioned FCC. I have never received a cancellation invoice. 

 

I emailed customer services saying I  wanted a full refund.

 

I was then too busy trying to get back to UK.

 

I only found out about cancellation form , ie forfeit of FCC from this forum. I filled it in a week ago. Still no response from Cunard.

 

Any one else on this cruise what is experience. 

We were booked on the QM2 1st April cruise. Flight, 5 nights CT hotel and cruise all booked through TA. I received a Cancellation email from Cunard on 15th March saying that they would automatically credit our account with 125% FCC. On 20th March our TA sent us a Cancellation Notification but with no information about FCC or refunds. 

Through this site I found a link to the 'Forfeit of FCC' on the Cunard web site that they asked anyone who wanted a 100% refund to fill in regardless of how you booked.  Last Thursday (26th March) the form was filled in with an 'up to 45 day' refund period quoted. 

I also contacted our TA last Thursday & again Friday to be told that they had passed our refund request to their 'Retention & Rebooking Team'. When I told them that I'd already filled in Cunard's Refund Form and wanted a full refund and wasn't interested in booking another cruise they said I'd be contacted in 48 hours. Well I was - by email. Still waiting for them to discuss the refund on the rest of our package. 

We are hoping that Cunard send us the refund direct and then that just leaves the TA for refund of flights and hotel. At the end of the day we have insurance, it was paid for using a CC and the TA is ABTA & ATOL bonded so there are other options to recouping the money. 

It's going to be a long slog but we will get reimbursed one way or another even if we have to go through the Retention & Rebooking Team. A 'Refund Team' might be more appropriate. Hey Ho. 

Can anybody clarify what amount of FCC we would be entitled to. We would like to make an informed decision regards cancelling completely or accepting their offer of 125% of the value of our cancelled cruise (M009). Our cruise was booked as a 'cruise and stay' through a TA. Our booking confirmation says that the contract is between us and Cunard with our TA acting on behalf of Cunard. Neither our TA or Cunard are taking calls  but neither do I want to phone them knowing they've got better things to be doing right now. 

Will the FCC be 125% of the total package value or will they separate out the Cruise value and base the FCC on that?

The online cancellation form asks for the total paid but I wouldn't like to assume that the FCC would be calculated on the total package only to find that it isn't. 

2 hours ago, longton said:

My cruise Cape Town to Southampton on QM2 is cancelled. It was due to depart 1st April.

 

In the cancellation email I was offered FCC of 125% for cruises booked before 31 December 2020.

 

On Cunard.com it now states:

 

If you have a Cunard voyage booked that was due to depart prior to 11 April 2020, we’re very sorry to have to cancel your plans. We are pleased to offer you a 125% Future Cruise Credit to be used for a new future cruise sailing any time before the end of March 2022 – simply book by 31 December 2021. 

 

Contradictory messages.

We were due to sail on the same from Cape Town and have received the same email. We don't want a FCC we just want our money back. Cunard won't allow us to use the FCC against any of the 3 cruises in 2021 & 2022 that we've put deposits on so why would we want another cruise. We've booked the only cruises that were of interest and have no time this year even if travel restrictions are lifted to take another cruise. 

Fortunately we had booked through a TA so it is in their court to refund us under their ABTA insurance. We will be lodging a claim through our own insurers and the credit card company that we used to pay for the cruise as well. 

In for the the long haul but hopefully we will eventually get our money back from someone. 

3 hours ago, alc13 said:

Not a silly question!  No answers, but some sympathy for your predicament.  Good luck -

For goodness sake it's just a means to get from A to B. My mum was 84 and flew from London via Singapore to Auckland for her granddaughter's wedding and in economy too. She's 92 now and lived to tell the tale. She had no problems with flying. 

If you got ill on board ship they would offload you and medivac you home so you'd have to fly then. 

Take me a chill pill. 

7 hours ago, turnip eater said:

Have you got your flights yet? We’re flying out tomorrow, Monday, with American Airlines, booked through British Airways. The flight was wide open yesterday morning, now there only a few spaces left. Just can’t wait to be back in Blighty.

Don't rush to come back here. It's total madness. Like the world is about to end. We're stuck the wrong side of the world as well. But that's because although we're UK resident we have NZ residency and decided to treat ourselves to the Cape Town voyage on QM2. Have to go into isolation if we go back to family in NZ. Bonkers !

50 minutes ago, turnip eater said:

We had an e-mail on Thursday evening requesting that we call Friday morning(March 13th). We phoned Cunard and stated that we were expecting a taxi at 10:30 to take us to Heathrow. We were told that the cruise was going ahead, but check with our insurance provider. We did so and we’re told that we were covered for health issues and disruption.

so we are now in Fort Lauderdale. We received an e-mail at 10:15am today (Saturday 14th). Very sorry but your cruise. QV departing  Fort Lauderdale is cancelled. No new passengers and crew will board in FL. Cunard will be in touch....WHEN? Do we wait , enjoy a few days here and possibly Florida will go into lockdown! Do we try to get out ASAP? (Rhetorical questions)

Looks like the QV will drop off passengers, but not pick UK passengers with UK passports who want to sail home. 

Doesn’t seem to be any joined up thinking.

 

will update

Can't you just book a flight home and claim back the cost?

2 hours ago, Neuhoftraveler said:

Neither Johnson (I assume you mean the UK PM) nor anyone else knows how many cases there actually are or have been, in the UK or most other places.  Nor is there reliable information on what number of the many UK deaths daily are attributable to covid-19.  The figure of 11 dead is merely those known to be covid-19 cases.  In other words, we don't know the denominator (total infections) or even the numerator.  Anyone who feels comforted by the known numbers is whistling in the dark (not to say past the graveyard).

 

That doesn't mean Cunard passengers or future passengers should panic.  It means they should stay put, at least until facts become clearer.  As to the safest place being on board QM2 or any other cruise ship, I doubt there is a single medical or public health professional who would agree, without firm evidence that not one single passenger on the vessel in question has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.   All it would take is one.

Just read a tweet from a passenger on QM2 in Fremantle. They aren't allowing anyone new to board but they are allowing the passengers to get off and back on again in Fremantle. How crazy is that. As you say they can't guarantee they won't come into contact with Covid-19 in Fremantle. https://twitter.com/klasact1/status/1238624255316824078?s=21

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

This is as clear as mud,

 

a simple statement as to whether  over 70s allowed to sail is needed and I've asked them , via Twitter. If I  can't  sail back from Capetown,  need and answer asap to make other arrangements. 

 

70 is an arbitrary age, fitness must be more important than age

Cunard aren't preventing over 70's from sailing. It's the UK Gov that's advising UK nationals not to travel. We read that to mean that our TA should cancel our booking because they can't send us against Foreign Office advice. A full refund (less admin costs) should be forthcoming. Fingers crossed 🤞

6 minutes ago, Roger Ackroyd said:

Also received. Sounds as if Cunard are moving rapidly towards full cancellation. QV is in the Caribbean right now and will be back in U.K. waters at the end of the month. 14 days time. That’s when the Canaries and the subsequent Spain cruises will be pulled is my guess. Hold tight, don’t cancel and wait for refund.

My husband is 75 so can we get a full refund from Cunard or our travel agent or our insurers? Not sure where to go to first or even if it's FO travel advice even, in which case we're covered by travel insurance. Totally confused. M009 - departing LHR 26th March for Cape Town for embarkation 1st April 

8 minutes ago, bodsfanclub said:

It’s a shame that most if not all of the posts on here are concerned with monetary gripes and whinging about obc appearing then disappearing. Yes, we work hard to pay for our cruises but at the end of the day they are a luxury we choose to take. The folk who man the desks at all cruise line hq, the port authority staff, the officers and engineers and the bar staff, housekeepers, chefs, restaurant and security staff - all stand to lose their and possibly their family’s only source of income if things get worse. It’s not nice for the many people in the cruise industry to read speculative posts on boards like this about companies going belly up. That’s their livelihood. We owe them a measure of respect by not talking down their companies and employers. I for one will be putting my confidence in the cruise industry by taking my cruise in June and if it’s cancelled, I’ll be rebooking first later in the year. Others may wish to cancel - for whatever reason - and that’s fine too. But please don’t traduce and speculate about the livelihoods and possible demise of the companies who’ve served us well in times past. As my later mother would say - if you’ve got nothing positive to add to the conversation then keep quiet! 

You have your opinion and I respect that but Cunard have been paid a very good price by me, my husband and thousands of other people who choose Cunard. They set the price to maximise their profit. We are not however, as much as we respect the crew, a charity and it is Cunard as their employers who are duty bound to look after them not us. 

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

I see no exceptions to the $900 on the cruise critic site

Can you send me the link. Cunard web site still has 4 of the QM2 voyages excluded. 

On 3/11/2020 at 10:01 AM, LittleFish1976 said:

 

So if you're on any of those voyages, it's bad luck? That seems very harsh - we're all in the same situation of being loath to submit ourselves to the danger which coronavirus poses to some of us. I think that's very unfair. I haven't commented before now on this matter and I'm a big supporter of Cunard but I think to exclude these particular cruises is the wrong thing to do. Totally unfair.

 

 

How do you think we feel? Booked on M009 from Cape Town to Southampton on 1st April and yesterday we were being given $900 obc. Today Cunard have added our cruise M009 to the exclusion list and so we get nothing. 

Its put a sour note on a cruise we've been looking forward to for ages. It's not a good way to treat your customers and is it legit to move the goalposts overnight? They published yesterday and that was read and understood by us and many more. If there was an error then that's their problem and they should honour what they published yesterday. 

Yesterday they had only excluded Q prefixed cruises for the obc offer. Today they've moved the goalposts and excluded a load of QM2 cruises including ours - M009. 

Presumably the new cancellation terms still apply and we can cancel for 10% cash and 90% FCC?

Feeling now like cancelling altogether. They give one day and take away on the next.

1 hour ago, longton said:

I've just had an email from Cunard telling me there was a mistake in their email re cancellation I received yesterday.

 

It says that for my voyage M009 Cape Town to Southampton departing on 1 April there will be no additional on board credit. So $900 disappeared overnight!

We're booked on M009 and haven't received any emails from Cunard but the Covid-19 Flexible Booking Terms is plastered across the home page of their website and there are no exclusions that I can see. We're going ahead with the cruise but $900 would be useful!