Megabear2

This appears to be a new development. I doubt it will be covid related as apparently all cabins are now bookable with little or no quarantine allocation. If this continues it may become interesting as many tick no upgrade for a specific reason.

Kopchadder I'm sure will clarify the position. There are two ways to read his post. The first is that his email to customer relations has received a reply leading to dialogue. The second is he has received the standard automated reply - I have approaching 30 of these over the past 18 months. Many on this forum have indicated over the years they have had this "automated" reply and it certainly doesn't mean a case has opened only that P&O are undertaking to contact you after 28 days. As for the letter he mentioned it in his first post as being provided. I'm guessing - no doubt he will clarify - that this too is part of the standard automatic cancellation procedure. Certainly when my famiky and i had to cancel a cruise due to covid earlier this year a flurry of automated emails were received within minutes of our failing the questionnaire. Perhaps Kopchadder will post here when he has time details of exactly who is speaking with him and by which channels of communication and who initiated the conversations. I have no axe to grind here, this is nothing directly to do with me. However I am concerned that as Kopchadder has chosen to put his problem to the media at the same point as trying to open a dialogue with P&O then he may become trapped in the case one of those other mediums does take the bait and start a story. I doubt P&O would speak to him or help him if a journalist from the Mail or whoever rang them out of the blue saying 'oy what's your game 'ere then"! P&O's own channels are notoriously defensive and slow, I hope you would agree. Neither you or I know if P&O are in this case actually in communication with Kopchadder. I'm guessing not because he's gone out of his way to join the forum and tell his story which indicates a man trying any channel to get help.

Yes, I agree. Those of us silly enough to book early are taking a very major hit financially. My next cruise now looking at a difference of £2,000 in favour of new bookers. They also get £30 more OBC and the cabin in question is the one next door to mine. One proviso I make here: I've noticed the select fares on the cruises I'm following are now beginning to rise and in some cases look to be back to the £1500 to £2000 different with the saver fare. Interestingly while the £100 Arvia reductions are in place those headline prices are not being lowered in the same way others are. Some of the Caribbean itineraries especially look very over priced if, as Moley believes, extra cabin capacity has caused the price drops and bargain basement type fares. I continue to patiently wait before thinking about a March booking.

If the comment is directed to my suggestion, which I believe it may be, the poster has apparently already contacted the media etc and therefore has already taken steps that necessitate P&O being made aware of this. I would agree with you 100% that P&O should be offered the chance to deal with the issue, however because they like to hide behind the 28 days of ABTA response and treat all correspondence the same, my experience is that the time afforded is not used to look at the issue but merely to buy time to do so. In other words the automated response triggered is a false flag. It will be better for all if those in the Executive Office are aware the poster has gone down the route he has chosen and as a result might actually speak to him and start to look into it. Silence will just aggravate the problem. If proper replies with a named person start to be received it takes the sting out of the problem. Feeling ignored will make things even worse. My suggested actions should, in my experience, get them to take the matter as urgent and actually open a line of dialogue and most importantly still within the 28 days. Personally I would not have taken the route of using the media at this stage, but fully understand the frustration of the poster and his extended family in choosing to do so. He has large sums of money involved, lost his holiday and now faces a long and arduous fight with his insurer and P&O. Neither you or I are thankfully in that position. A situation like the poster's can lead to very serious stress and mental health issues. P&O need to be aware of this when using their deliberate delaying tactics. Never forget my dialogue started months ago and they still wiggle and thrash like a fish on a rod. In fact a very slippery eel.

Sadly on my last Azura cruise, ones with holes!

I've got two fully paid ones still. One is from this year and small at £999 and the other is a cancellation on a long ago forgotten cruise which was mixed up and not available when I booked this year and next year's Christmas cruises. That's a bigger one at £4,700. Both are valid well into 2024. If, and it's a big if, the insurance situation is sorted they'll be used in March this year or paid towards the Christmas booking.

The government regulations do not apply to cruises. They are special rules, hence all the crap in the past.

It may not be P&O wanting this but they are being guided by other countries' rules and regulations.

They would have to give the cash back by law. By looking like they were Santa offering the first tranche by way of reduced price they reduced the cost of the cruise. They then only gave the 10% on the remaining "cost" thereby saving themselves money in the event of a rebooking. Customer gets all his outlay back, P&O risks less, ie £5,000 initial cruise cost, reduce by 15% and return £750. A couple of weeks later cancel cruise and give the passenger back his remaining £4,250 with FCC of £425. If the price had stayed at £5,000 it would have been £500 FCC. Doesn't sound much but for 5,200 people that £75 adds up to £390,000!

Thank you. I intend to contact this lady directly next week as I feel she may have some interest in my discussions with Holiday Extras.

Totally agree with that. Problem is that the cruise lines are treating or being forced to treat covid in a totally different way to the other illnesses which in turn leads to the passenger being treated differently. There doesn't seem to be any joined up thinking and everything is being stacked against the passenger. Examples are everywhere: answer our questionnaire but it's not interested in anything other than covid now, buy insurance to protect your money but it won't in most cases cover you in the scenarios we are actually creating by following out of date rules, don't wear a mask there's no risk but just in case we'll direct you to wear one when we say, don't tell anyone if the inevitable covid cases onboard are large in number just ignore them then wonder why several hundred are suddenly struck down, everything's back to normal because we want you to believe it - but just in case we'll keep the right to treat a covid case different to any other illness so that your rather unclear insurance we've told you to buy won't pay out. The list goes on and on. The simple solution is for the ridiculous special conditions where covid occurs to be done away with and for insurers to stop having special covid cover regulations and revert to travel policies which actually cover every scenario rather than offering loopholes for cover to be denied. Will anyone do it? How long is that piece of string ...

Yes please!

Before we descend into the usual chaos on this thread, I'd like to say thank you to Walkingdude for his investigative work into the background. He is after all on his holiday and very kindly offered to trawl the corridors and back alleys of Britannia noting any information which might be helpful going forward with regard to the conspiracy some believe P&O to be carrying on. I for one have found his detailed reports helpful in my information gathering regarding the insurance (or lack of it !) situation. It is difficult to discuss and present a case when you have little knowledge save hearsay of what a "normal" voyage looks like disease wise and as with everything the numbers and when and where they occur or vital. This particular sailing was of huge relevance in the case to be presented as it is the first one for months where all passengers were required to be tested before boarding (and no I'm not going to enter into debates about waste of time, doesn’t work etc etc). To present a proper argument to P&O and the insurance companies it is necessary to speak with certainty. So from me a personal thank you to Walkingdude for carrying out the time consuming research he has in the cause of the many. Many thanks to Bazrat too, he always manages to see the good side of everything when he's onboard enjoying his cruise.

I'm delighted it went well. Your story is proof that if you do it right insurers do have a heart and are human. Hope the next cruise is even more enjoyable and you get your medical condition sorted quickly as well.

This from 30.09.2022 I’ll try to address your questions and concerns below. On your first point regarding this paragraph from P&O: “We’re unable to accept guests who, within 10 days prior to the cruise, have been unwell with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. If you’re impacted by this, you would need to call our Customer Contact Centre on 0344 338 8003 (local call charges apply) and not travel to the terminal/airport” This is a rule put in place and enforced by P&O, and is not in line with any current government guidance or advice, and therefore any denial of boarding or cancellation would not be classed as an insurable event and is therefore not covered under our policies. In terms of what would be accepted as a reason for cancellation, a medically verified test can be a lateral flow test verified by your doctor. We would need this same verification for a cancellation claim for any other medical condition or issue. Regarding non-positive travellers and close contacts of a positive result, this is again a rule put in place by P&O and is not in line with current government guidelines, which do not require you to isolate yourself if you come into contact with somebody who has tested positive. Our policies will cover you for cancellation if one of the following people tests positive for COVID: you, your relative, a member of your household, travelling companion, or person that were due to stay with. And finally, I can confirm that our underwriter’s stance on passengers being forced to disembark against the advice of the insurer’s medical assistance teams has not changed since our discussions earlier this year.

Because I've booked and paid for non refundable in person tests! We will go anyway in case we need to prove to insurance if we're refused boarding or collapse before but it's a waste of £60 for us.

Apologies, ask for it to be removed by all means. How was the allotment, I presume the sun was excellent as you aren't far from me. I assume we are now going to get your further promised take on the issue under discussion and await it with interest.

Assuming you are saying that you have submitted your claim form and been told they can't look at it for 6 weeks? If that's not the case and it takes that long to answer the query of its insurable its definitely not acceptable. In that case keep pushing Insure and Go. Call them and state 6 weeks is unacceptable, record and document the call. Give them 14 days that's a reasonable time to respond to communication. Emphasise that you are going to need to explore legal routes if there is no cover - this won't actually be against Insure and Go but P&O. If they say tough tell them you are contacting FCA due to exceptional circumstances, in fact call them anyway. When writing to P&O quote Adam Edinburgh of Holiday Extras. If you can't find his text on the thread post here and I'll put it on. If you want help in writing your communication let me know - to date I have been able to rattle them as I check all facts meticulously and do not add any emotion. I'd be grateful if you don't mention me personally in communication with P&O/Carnival as I don't want them to see me as some rampant vigilante!!

Yes, I've just got it too. Not happy.

Trouble is P&O don't "police" the pool areas unlike other lines. As a single traveller on an RCI Middle East cruise I nipped to the loo and stopped to speak to someone on the way back. When I returned for my seat my belongings had gone to the towel desk for me to collect. Until the staff are instructed to deal with the issue the rows will continue.

Great detective work. Delighted Britannia is behaving herself - look after her! Things sound very good on disease. I suppose the "danger zone" is the four days from Tenerife one. Assuming you've not got loads of coughing and sneezes as so far all reports from those of you posting onboard are excellent.

So sorry to hear of your plight which is unfortunately occurring more often. It's not much help to you but discussions are ongoing on the issue with both P&O and ABTA. I am also in contact with P&O's insurers Holiday Extras but unfortunately I can confirm that their stance is no cover unless you had covid or another doctor certified illness. Unfortunately your family members are most likely not covered either as no one has covid. Happy to try to assist you in any way I can. Would you be able to let me know the name of your insurer please? Appreciate it is a difficult time but i assume you are all submitting claims. If it's not too much trouble would you be able to keep us up to date on what is happening with the insurer in particular? Please also enter immediate communication with P&O's executive office on this email address: Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com They are VERY aware this is an uninsurable event and I am due to speak with them and their legal representative at the end of this week. You will not be able to lodge a complaint with ABTA until you have a final letter from P&O. If you have communication with them in writing stating they have no obligation this may suffice. There's no harm in calling ABTA if you have the written refusal but you will need to open the complaint on line. Sorry I can't be any more helpful at this point but I can assure you I am working on this matter daily.

I'm still on the case Harry, just in the background. Conversations are ongoing ...

Well we seem to have successfully scared off Clarets which is a shame. Reading the history they were originally booked on the Iona maiden and this is their replacement cruise. Sadly yet another thread that's lost it's way and apparently Clarets with it.

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