missed port fiasco

[connorfam]

A short update to our previous review of the Majesty whereby the Captain (company) failed to include the port of La Gomera, which at the time disappointed the vast majority of the passengers. Having cruised with different companies they all decide in their own way how to deal with the problem and keep the customer happy. Thomson (on behalf Louis Cruise line who actually own the ship) have , on our part, decided to ignore our claim that there should be some sort of recognition for our disappointment. Lauren Haynes from the Directors Office of the the AftertravelCS department of Thomson has decided , finally by letter instead of the dreaded email, that I quote : "unfortunately this was indeed an exceptional circumstance, I completely appreciate your disappointment, we do not raise compensation for changes in itinerary, these matters are beyond our control" unquote. That may be true to the half dozen passengers or so who had the unfortunate experience of having their flight rearranged but NOT true for the thousand or so passengers on board the ship who missed the port call and had no time to make any other arrangements on the da as the announcement was not made until last thing at night. So, in my opinion, if anything goes wrong with anything whilst on a Thomson cruise do NOT expect that you will get sympathy or anything else from Thomson as it will not be their fault and "beyond their control". Lauren Haynes also writes that she hopes that despite our experience we will not be deterred from considering Thomson for future travel plans, who is she kidding we will NEVER set foot on a Thomson ship again. As previous review the rest of the cruise was Third Class at the best.

[campolady]

Don't Thomson, and most other cruise lines, have a disclaimer in their booking conditions saying they are not responsible for an unexpected change/loss of a port?

Edited April 25, 2015 by campolady

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I have just read your review and I'm not quite sure why the port was missed. Was the Luton flight delayed?

 

We missed two ports on Fire and Ice last year, due to the weather, but were not offered any OBC or compensation. TBH we never thought of asking for any! In 19 cruises we had only ever missed one port, so I think we had been quite lucky. Missed ports are just one of those things you have to put up with when cruising, I'm afraid :rolleyes:

[bluebelle]

A short update to our previous review of the Majesty whereby the Captain (company) failed to include the port of La Gomera, which at the time disappointed the vast majority of the passengers. Having cruised with different companies they all decide in their own way how to deal with the problem and keep the customer happy. Thomson (on behalf Louis Cruise line who actually own the ship) have , on our part, decided to ignore our claim that there should be some sort of recognition for our disappointment. Lauren Haynes from the Directors Office of the the AftertravelCS department of Thomson has decided , finally by letter instead of the dreaded email, that I quote : "unfortunately this was indeed an exceptional circumstance, I completely appreciate your disappointment, we do not raise compensation for changes in itinerary, these matters are beyond our control" unquote. That may be true to the half dozen passengers or so who had the unfortunate experience of having their flight rearranged but NOT true for the thousand or so passengers on board the ship who missed the port call and had no time to make any other arrangements on the da as the announcement was not made until last thing at night. So, in my opinion, if anything goes wrong with anything whilst on a Thomson cruise do NOT expect that you will get sympathy or anything else from Thomson as it will not be their fault and "beyond their control". Lauren Haynes also writes that she hopes that despite our experience we will not be deterred from considering Thomson for future travel plans, who is she kidding we will NEVER set foot on a Thomson ship again. As previous review the rest of the cruise was Third Class at the best.

 

Having been to La Gomera, I would have been very disappointed about this but don't know much about compensation. Thomson should have offered something though!

[john watson]

All cruise lines have within their terms and conditions a clause stating that they may well have to amend an itinerary which may mean substituting or even cancelling a port or all the ports on an itinerary. Most often it's because of bad weather or sea conditions which make it dangerous to land and or tender. You may recall the recent death on the Queen Elizabeth which occurred during tendering (we do not know of exact circumstances) and the terrorist killing of the nine passengers from the MSC ship on a shore excursion. The cruise lines are not stopping there for the foreseeable future. They do not always make it clear to passengers why the itinerary was changed and I can see why. Most cruise line offer some form of compensation where they have let you down; engine problems etc. but the weather is part of travel and likewise not guaranteed. What the OP experienced is standard throughout the industry and when you have been on more cruises you will understand that this happens but it is pretty rare. I have been on cruises where a port was cancelled; all the ports were cancelled and where all the itinerary changed; the embarkation port was moved from Southampton to Dover, the start date was changed by two days replacing two sea days with two hotel days in the UK, different ports of call were substituted due to late running of schedule, overnight was cancelled at disembarkation port where one and a half days were lost and it was straight to the airport to fly back to the UK. Some of the passengers were trying to get some sort of compensation claim going but I said you will just wind yourselves up and ruin what is left of the holiday. I met some interesting and nice friends on the five day holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it some of the others did not fare as well. I have been on a cruise where the only port was cancelled leaving us with eighteen consecutive sea days. This is cruising.

 

Regards John

Edited April 25, 2015 by john watson

[connorfam]

Thank you all for your comments and having a few cruises under our belts we were aware of the disclaimers and the unlikely possibility of any compensation but it is the off hand way in which Thomson has dealt with our enquiries.

On board we felt that we were the ones who were in the wrong and it was "noted on the , it took 2 emails and 6 weeks to get a sensible reply I can only feel that if I ran a company in this way then my customers would be few and far between. For example a small mishap with a recent coach company (Lochs and Glens) and the company were more than helpful to all the customers.

Anyway "nuff said" Thomson wont being seeing our custom any time soon.

[davecttr]

Why did they cancel La Gomera?

[wales4ever]

We were on the same cruise in February - we did not stop there either. It would have been a highlight of our cruise and one of the reasons we booked.

We will never sail with Thomson again either but for different reasons.

[geomagot]

missed ports at very short notice are very common on all cruise lines and can happen for a number of reasons (mostly reasons of safety)

 

its written in the t&c of every cruise brochure that itineraries can be subject to change

 

I have found that thomsons will try to let pax know as soon as they can if they know that a change will occur, we have received emails well in advance, informing us of future itinerary changes, but yes, sometimes changes are made at very short notice

 

in defence of thomsons:

 

we were stranded on the island escape during the icelandic ash cloud aircraft groundings in 2010

 

i have nothing but praise for how thomsons dealt with that situation (which was well beyond their control)

 

the cruise was curtailed in tenerife (the last day of our cruise) thomsons decided they would sail us all home to falmouth in cornwall and bus us from the port to our original airports

 

imo they went beyond their duty

 

those that had booked cruise only with independent flights (easyjet) had accommodation arranged for them while waiting for their flights to be rescheduled (hard to find on tenerife with 1000s of stranded tourists from all over europe) and those trying to make their way back to lanzarote etc had transport arranged for them (thomsons didnt need to do that? but they helped people as much as they could?)

 

we picked up stranded holidaymakers from tenerife and madeira, the sail to uk took 4 days

 

during this time those on ai continued to enjoy free ai, we stayed in our original cabins no one was moved, the entertainment was stepped up to keep us entertained, the ship was packed to the rafters with relieved families, babes in buggies, worried 20 somethings trying to get back to college, and lots of holidaymakers who had never been on a ship before, everyone was looked after like gold, people were given free phone calls and internet conections..... i didn't hear a single complaint.... only praise

 

we were given personally addressed letters for our travel insurance ....imo we didn’t have any extra expenses to claim? thomsons looked after everything, many others said the same

 

they had reps waiting at the airport (when we finally made it home) to sort out any issues anyone had reclaiming their cars from the car park and saw to it that we weren't charged for the 4 day overstay

 

imo if there is some sort of major problem? thomsons do try to look after their pax to the best of their ability, i agree that thomsons do have their (administrative) foibles but generally I trust them with my holiday(s) and I trust them to look after us should we encounter any sticky situations?

Edited April 25, 2015 by geomagot

[WeeCountyMan]

Why did they cancel La Gomera?

 

That is the key question obviously.

[davecttr]

That is the key question obviously.

OK, I read the review. they cancelled La gomera because an incoming flight or flights from Luton was very late. I guess the flight was arriving sometime in the early hours and there would not be enough time to sail to La Gomera and then make it to Funchal for the following morning? Maybe La Gomera was a half day call like La Palma and waiting for the plane would mean getting to La Gomera at about the time they would have to leave for Maderia.

Edited April 25, 2015 by davecttr

[Little Nell]

Where was the ship sailing from? I assume it wasn't from Tenerife as it takes under an hour on the ferry from Los Cristianos to La Gomera so a little longer from Santa Cruz.

 

We had a missed port on our Celebrity cruise last year and had over a hundred dollars credited to our account which came as a welcome surprise to us :)

Edited April 25, 2015 by Little Nell

[kruzseeka]

We have missed quite a few ports over the years. We missed two on a Baltic cruise (Aarhus and Tallinn) when the Celebration was 18 hours late leaving Harwich due to mechanical problems. We received compensation for that - across the board - a fixed % of what you'd paid. Very disappointing but the correct response! It was an operational problem (ship broke down) so Thomson's fault if you like - although not something they could have anticipated or avoided.

 

Failure to dock on other occasions has been due to:

political issues; Sochi - we won an extra half day in Yalta,

weather: Santorini - diverted to Patmos, Sete - went to that port near Portofino, Bruges - made a run for Le Havre Harbour, Mykonos - arrived in the next port Athens the evening before we should have, Aarhus (again!) just ploughed on as a storm in N Sea delayed us by hours

not quite sure; (berthing? economic?) didn't make Ashdod but had two days instead of one in Haifa

 

Whilst the early arrival in Athens was unsatisfactory as there wasn't much time in the evening to make much of that, (not Thomson - the other examples are) I suppose on the whole the response either had been the best they could do or possibly the only thing they could do and we were given no compensation nor did we expect any in the circumstances.

 

However we have also missed ports through engine problems in the Caribbean: once missed Costa Maya and limped into Gr Cayman in the evening (we should have been there the next day) - OK we got off and went to a bar but it wasn't much of a substitute for a day in a resort and on a beach. Another time we arrived in Jamaica an evening early having missed Gr Cayman but again wasted time really - not a place to wander around in the dark - again the beach is the main attraction and it was too late for that.

 

I don't think we had any compensation for those two but I believe we should have had since the problem was with the ship i. e. down to the cruise company.

 

I think the example of the ship waiting for one of their planes (or one contracted by them) is down to mechanical or operational problems and is therefore the responsibility of the cruise company with whom you have a contract. Whatever the 'exceptional' circumstances, Thomson decided to miss a port to make their life easier (not have to get a plane load of people over night hotels then fly them to catch up with the ship) and in solving their problem deprived all the other passengers of one of their destinations.

 

In the circumstances a sweetener in the form of some obc would to me seem fair and good PR. It wouldn't lessen the disappointment of missing La Gomera but the Company would have at least been seen to recognise the passengers on board as well as the ones on the plane.

 

I have sympathy for the situation Thomson find themselves in and as geo says, often they step up to the plate and do a brilliant job. We were really upset to miss Tallinn and Aarhus on our Baltic trip but felt Thomson had done everything they could in the circumstances and we appreciated that.

 

But there is a distinction between

1. events outside of their control like politics or weather when no compensation is due imo although an alternative PoC is very welcome and should be provided if at all possible and

2. outside of their control but down to their operational failure (ship, plane or other breakdown in the service for which they are responsible) when some concession to passengers should be forthcoming.

 

 

Gosh in writing this I think there's an important underlying message - don't book the same cruise as me - missed ports 'rare'? Well hardly in my experience!! And I doubt if this has covered them all - only the ones I can remember! :D:eek:

[davecttr]

Lauren Haynes from the Directors Office of the the AftertravelCS department of Thomson has decided , finally by letter instead of the dreaded email, that I quote : "unfortunately this was indeed an exceptional circumstance, I completely appreciate your disappointment, we do not raise compensation for changes in itinerary, these matters are beyond our control" unquote.

 

Well Lauren as the holiday was a package and the airline is 'yours' there is no exeptional circumstance. You inconvenienced 1000+ passengers to make things easy for yourself.

 

BTW lots of exeptional issues with aircraft are no longer deemed to be so and compensation is due. The airlines are squealing about it but tough :rolleyes:

 

Taking the fast ferry? to La gomera would mean bussing the passengers the length of Tenerife?

[kruzseeka]

Well Lauren as the holiday was a package and the airline is 'yours' there is no exeptional circumstance. You inconvenienced 1000+ passengers to make things easy for yourself.

 

BTW lots of exeptional issues with aircraft are no longer deemed to be so and compensation is due. The airlines are squealing about it but tough :rolleyes:

 

Taking the fast ferry? to La gomera would mean bussing the passengers the length of Tenerife?

 

Hadn't thought of the fast ferry Dave - yes that would have been a good option. Of course they may have had to provide some hotel accommodation for passengers to rest or at least freshen up first (no shortage in Tenerife with Thomson's presence and infrastructure there!) but that would involve some considerable organisation - oh and would have cost them money! Wonder why they didn't do that! :rolleyes:

 

Costs them money for passengers to 'catch up' with ship or to compensate passengers. It's a loss, loss for Thomson

BUT wait for passengers (no extra cost getting them to the ship) fail to compensate and it's win, win! At least for Thomson. No wonder people get disillusioned!

Edited April 26, 2015 by kruzseeka

[davecttr]

Yes, saving money was the only consideration. Ferries to La Gomera sail from Los Christianos in the south west of Tenerife. Of course the airport is down south too!

 

First fred olsen ferry departs at 9am takig 40 mins to reach La gomera. There is a 'big' ferry as well which takes 70 minutes.

 

La Gemera does have an airport.

[BaggersCruising]

Another time we arrived in Jamaica an evening early having missed Gr Cayman but again wasted time really - not a place to wander around in the dark - again the beach is the main attraction and it was too late for that.

 

I don't think we had any compensation for those two but I believe we should have had since the problem was with the ship i. e. down to the cruise company.

 

Missing Grand Cayman and heading early to Montego Bay was down to the weather that turned after we had left Cozumel. As Grand Cayman was a tender port, the captain took the decision to skip out the scheduled port of call and head to Jamaica early. We were very disappointed, as we weren't bothered about Montego Bay in the slightest, but really fancied visiting Grand Cayman! Such is life though!

[kruzseeka]

Stand corrected re the second occasion missing Gr Cayman - no compensation nor any due in that situation then. The first was definitely engine trouble though as we limped into Gr Cayman for repairs having jettisoned the Mexican port. Tell you - you don't want to cruise with me - so many missed ports - no wonder I get mixed up!!!!!!!! :D

[BaggersCruising]

Stand corrected re the second occasion missing Gr Cayman - no compensation nor any due in that situation then. The first was definitely engine trouble though as we limped into Gr Cayman for repairs having jettisoned the Mexican port. Tell you - you don't want to cruise with me - so many missed ports - no wonder I get mixed up!!!!!!!! :D

 

Lol, yes please let us know in advance which cruises you're going on so we can avoid them :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Agreed, as it was for our own safety, we couldn't expect any compensation. It was more disappointing though, as we really wanted to visit there. Still, gives us an excuse to cruise around there again sometime in the future!

[GaryT-UK]

I've had a missed port with NCL and rearranged ports with RCI and Thomson (not always for obvious reasons). As someone else said I've never thought to ask for compensation, I assumed that was a fact of cruising life.

I booked to go to Ashdod in July, safe in the knowledge that if politics makes it unsafe I'll end up somewhere else (fingers crossed Israel has a quiet summer [emoji4] ).

More than once with Thomson we haven't sailed away at the sailaway party due to a late flight. But I like the fact that if you fly with Thomson you won't miss the ship - however disappointing that is for those who arrived on time you can't say they don't look after their customers - but they can't always please everyone.

[aerobics9876]

we were on this cruise on 20 Feb which missed La Gomera, we were at Grand Canaria and one of the flights was cancelled, we were told at dinner that we would be staying at Grand Canaria overnight to wait for this flight, it was unfortunate for us that we missed La Gomera but just think how much worse it was for those who missed one day of their holiday, at least we were on the ship enjoying ourselves and the weather was better on the 2nd day.:)

[FOD1984]

Yes, airlines, quite rightly 'squealing' at the fact that they have to pay £400 per person, despite people often paying just a fraction of that for the ticket and no other form of transport is hit with such punitive measures. However, at the end of the day everyone pays for this in the form of increased ticket prices so it's hardly a win for anyone involved.

 

There are many variables and a lot of things that can go wrong for an airline and many exceptional circumstances are exactly that, out of their control, and I don't see why anyone should get a penny for that.

 

You'd soon come crying if planes were being dispatched with technical problems just so that airlines don't have to pay up. A Thomson 757 is potentially £160,000 compensation liability for a return flight. Less reputable airlines might just go with technical problems to save paying compensation not a great situation.

 

In this instance the cause of the delay for the flight could be exceptional circumstances, so no compensation is due and shipping does not have such a draconian punishments for shipping lines, so with that in mind no compensation would be due.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Thank you all for your comments and having a few cruises under our belts we were aware of the disclaimers and the unlikely possibility of any compensation but it is the off hand way in which Thomson has dealt with our enquiries.

On board we felt that we were the ones who were in the wrong and it was "noted on the , it took 2 emails and 6 weeks to get a sensible reply I can only feel that if I ran a company in this way then my customers would be few and far between. For example a small mishap with a recent coach company (Lochs and Glens) and the company were more than helpful to all the customers.

Anyway "nuff said" Thomson wont being seeing our custom any time soon.

 

So you are disapointed at not stpping at a port of call.

You knew that this can happen, you mentioned that you are familiar with the T&C of the cruise line.

On board you felt that you were in the wrong !! In what way exactly ?

Did you go ranting and raving to the reception / pursers desk saying that the port of call was the best thing since sliced bread, and your cruise was ruined ????

 

You were looking for some kind of refund are you ?

You are not a victim of anything.

If there is a problem with customer services, then it is with customer services and the length of time they responded to your emails.

 

But you are not a victim you seem to be creating a problem.

 

 

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Edited April 27, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is great

[BaggersCruising]

Yes, airlines, quite rightly 'squealing' at the fact that they have to pay £400 per person, despite people often paying just a fraction of that for the ticket and no other form of transport is hit with such punitive measures. However, at the end of the day everyone pays for this in the form of increased ticket prices so it's hardly a win for anyone involved.

 

There are many variables and a lot of things that can go wrong for an airline and many exceptional circumstances are exactly that, out of their control, and I don't see why anyone should get a penny for that.

 

You'd soon come crying if planes were being dispatched with technical problems just so that airlines don't have to pay up. A Thomson 757 is potentially £160,000 compensation liability for a return flight. Less reputable airlines might just go with technical problems to save paying compensation not a great situation.

 

In this instance the cause of the delay for the flight could be exceptional circumstances, so no compensation is due and shipping does not have such a draconian punishments for shipping lines, so with that in mind no compensation would be due.

 

I completely agree with you and have never liked this airline compensation bill since it was introduced by the EU.

 

It will lead to unsafer skies and us all paying in the long term. If the UK does end up leaving the EU, this would be one of the benefits, having to give up this stupid ruling.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

If the UK does end up leaving the EU, this would be one of the benefits, having to give up this stupid ruling.

 

The UK will still have to comply with EU rules and regulations,

(in or out) especially this, as much of UK air travel is to-from the EU.

 

 

 

 

 

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