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Cunard let me down.


bernyp
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Having travelled in all the Cunard vessels over the past 20 years I was looking forward to celebrating my retirement with a Cunard cruise to Sydney, Australia, earlier this year. Unfortunately a few days before embarkation I was very unwell and unable to travel. The cruise, for my wife and I, was fully paid up and though the travel agent was sypathetic nothing could be done. No refund, no transfer to another Cunard cruise. No point in dwelling on my loss, just have to soldier on. I thought. As my wife is a Cunard snob and likes to rub shoulders with Captains, first officers and the usual hoi polloi found at officer's parties I would at least try and claim points necessary to take us to the next level of World Club membership - Diamond - top of the tree (or even crow's nest). I applied to recoup my points but my appeal fell on deaf ears - now this has wrankled with me all year, after all Cunard had received full payment for our cruise the only reason they offered was that the points are added to your account on completion of a sailing, not settling your invoice. However they are the losers, I don't even open the mailshots and emails they continually bombard me with any more.. Am I right ?? Opinions and judgements would be appreciated.

Edited by Host Hattie
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I believe you are absolutely right. While they may have the legal right to ignore your plea for failing to get a travel insurance, I guess it is not unreasonable to expect a little discretion based on compassion on the plight of long-standing customers. Relationships, personal or business, should be mutually beneficial. JMHO.

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I'm sorry for your illness, but cruise lines do not give loyalty credit for cruises not taken, even if they receive full payment. The same thing happened with my mother on Crystal. Very unfortunate. Their argument is that they do not make additional revenue for a guest that does not travel: no excursions, bar bills, spa bills, etc.

 

Ricki

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In the future, you might consider buying Cunard's travel insurance, or finding another insurance company that sells such insurance. I have a dear friend who had a stroke while on board, and she was treated extremely well by the Cunard Care insurance. However, having said that I think Cunard missed an opportunity to save a customer with some kind of offering to you. Perhaps you should write to their US head office and make a plea in writing.

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Not everyone can get full travel insurance, and UK customers can't get Cunard Care. Because of a cancer diagnosis, we can't get cancellation cover for more than £5000 per person, nor for more than 60 consecutive days. My partner will have to be 5 years post diagnosis before we can be considered for increased cancellation cover. We could find ourselves in a similar situation :(

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I think not awarding points or credits for cruises not taken but paid for with no refund on cancellation is probably standard. We have had exactly the same experience with Regent despite complaining at a high level. Fortunately our holiday insurance covered most of our financial loss, but not our disappointment.

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Bedruthen, we are in the UK and in 2015 we had to cancel a cruise the night before we sailed with another line and we got a full refund from our insurer. I then had a cancer diagnosis. I am in remission and my insurer for an additional premium still insures me for £6000 per person for 40 days. The only areas they will not insure me for are the Americas, Canada and the Caribbean.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Bernyp, perhaps you might have felt better had Cunard offered you a little something, such as OBC, towards a future cruise, to encourage you to book again? I'm sure Cunard must deal with many guests each year who unfortunately find themselves in your situation, without travel insurance but having to cancel at short notice before sailing. (You didn't mention travel insurance, but I am assuming from what you said that either you did not have it, or it did not pay out for some reason).

 

Whilst I agree with Cunard's position about the World Club points (and any refusal to offer a refund/transfer to another voyage if you enquired via your travel agent), I do think it would have cost them nothing to reply to you sympathetically - and would surely cost them very little to offer you something towards a future Cunard voyage, to show appreciation of your past loyalty.

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If Cunard started to award credit for nights paid for but not taken, then I'd be on Diamond by now. As a solo I pay 175% in Britannia Staterooms or 200% in Grill staterooms. No additional World Club accummulation despite paying double.

That's wrong,Princess give you double credit if solo and another credit if in suite.Carnival should standardise things like this.

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We had the same thing about 2 years ago. We'd booked a short cruise with friends (paid the full Cunard Fare as well, not a saver fare). They had to change it so we did the same, and it cost £100 each or something to change. Then just a few days before the date of the new cruise, my wife had a serious injury so we had to cancel. Cunard refunded us 10%. Thankfully the insurance covered almost all the loss.

 

But we did not get any points for the cruise. I would not have really expected any, and it certainly did not bother me. I was more concerned about not going than a few points just so I get closer to a different coloured cruise card.

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... I would at least try and claim points necessary to take us to the next level of World Club membership - Diamond - top of the tree (or even crow's nest). I applied to recoup my points but my appeal fell on deaf ears - ... However they are the losers, I don't even open the mailshots and emails they continually bombard me with any more.. Am I right ?? Opinions and judgements would be appreciated.
Hi bernyp,

 

Sorry to read you had to cancel a cruise for health reasons, hope all is well now.

 

Being totally frank and honest I feel that you're punishing yourself excessively over something quite trivial. The increased benefits of being "Diamond" over "Platinum" in the Cunard World Club are nothing special IMHO, the only truly useful thing to me is the increased free internet time (some also like the "free" lunch/dinner option, which doesn't bother me too much).

 

So given that, with the correct choice of voyage, you'd go "Diamond" next time, if it were me, I'd mutter under my breath, fume inside, and book another cruise with Cunard. Clearly, with the number of trips you've obviously enjoyed over the years, by not booking again the only people you are punishing are yourselves, certainly not Cunard. To me, your reaction (not booking again on principle) seems out of proportion.

 

I'd urge you to put this episode down to experience and book again.

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Thank you, thank you for all who took the time to comment - it is much appreciated and all the comments taken on board. I didn't make it clear that we did have insurance and most of the trip was covered but we were still a fair bit short of the actual cost!! The unfortunate thing as far as I was concerned that we have travelled Cunard for many years - this one was to be where we pushed the boat out a little so spent considerably more than normal. I just think it sad that Cunard take such a short sighted view, I just know that if I had run my business on their model I wouldn't have had many customers, after all in real terms what would it have cost them? - a couple of glasses of cheap fizz at the next officer's party! I know it wasn't their fault that I couldn't make the trip but it is their fault I won't be boardong another Cunard ship.

Thanks again to everyone who took time out to read my thread.

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From what I've read on previous threads on here and other cruise forums it seems that Cunard just take their standard line and that's it. So they do not look at cancellations on a case by case basis - they just follow the letter of their T&Cs. So it could be your very first trip, and you have to cancel say because of something trivial (I can't think of a trivial example mind you), or you could have been 50 times before and you have to cancel because of say the death of your partner; they view those two cases exactly the same.

 

They are not bothered about loyalty or future business; they just count the pound notes.

 

I'm pleased you did have insurance and got most, if not all, of your money back.

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I think not awarding points or credits for cruises not taken but paid for with no refund on cancellation is probably standard. We have had exactly the same experience with Regent despite complaining at a high level. Fortunately our holiday insurance covered most of our financial loss, but not our disappointment.

 

 

I agree with you.

 

All cruise lines encourage their customers to take out insurance and therefore they quite rightly assume that your costs were covered by that insurance.

 

On that assumption they can then claim that as the passenger wasn't 'out of pocket' the awarding of credits, in any form, is not necessary.

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I agree with you.

 

All cruise lines encourage their customers to take out insurance and therefore they quite rightly assume that your costs were covered by that insurance.

 

On that assumption they can then claim that as the passenger wasn't 'out of pocket' the awarding of credits, in any form, is not necessary.

Well said Solent Richard.
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If a line were to give out "points" just for booking a trip (but not completing it) as standard practice...

If I repeatedly booked, cancelled at the last minute, and then asked for the "points" I would have earned, had I taken the cruise, to be awarded anyway, could I get to "Diamond" without taking a single voyage?

 

I stress I am NOT suggesting for a moment that the above has any connection whatsoever with the OP.

Edited by pepperrn
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Welcome to Cruise Critic, I'm sorry to hear that you missed your special trip due to illness.

I can understand it must be disappointing but if you enjoy sailing with Cunard I don't understand why you would deny yourself the future enjoyment over World Club status.

Are there other lines you are just as happy to sail with ? Do you think they would have done anything different ?

 

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Forums mobile app

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The loyalty program of a hotel or airline would probably handle your situation the same way. If you had a non-refundable air ticket and cancelled, you would not get the flight miles despite having paid for them. Same with a hotel. Should you have used a non-refundable rate and cancelled you would not get the paid for nights credited to a loyalty account.

 

You've essentially said that you are now done with Cunard and that is your perogative. But what are you hoping for now? Some advice on how to appeal further? To warn us that we might expect the same treatment? Just want to vent? We occasionally see first time posters here who find this forum after they search for some hoped for resolution to their disappointment.

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You are quite right Blue Riband - I have been an avid reader of Cruise Critic but never posted, I do find it useful to read others points of view on all sorts of matters. On the subject of Cunard's loyalty points scheme I am not expecting any recompense - after all I am just a number to them, a cash cow, but I really cannot see the logic in their argument, and that's what really pees me off. I can get satisfaction in knowing I will not travel with them again, trouble is as they are part of the Carnival group I am running out of ships...........................

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Thank you, thank you for all who took the time to comment - it is much appreciated and all the comments taken on board. I didn't make it clear that we did have insurance and most of the trip was covered but we were still a fair bit short of the actual cost!! The unfortunate thing as far as I was concerned that we have travelled Cunard for many years - this one was to be where we pushed the boat out a little so spent considerably more than normal. I just think it sad that Cunard take such a short sighted view, I just know that if I had run my business on their model I wouldn't have had many customers, after all in real terms what would it have cost them? - a couple of glasses of cheap fizz at the next officer's party! I know it wasn't their fault that I couldn't make the trip but it is their fault I won't be boardong another Cunard ship.

Thanks again to everyone who took time out to read my thread.

This is why we are advised to get insurance, I would think your insurance company, would have loved you to have been fit enough to go to the land of OZ. ;p

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