Drydock - May 2020?

[CAL7]

I'm likewise confused. If a cruise company changes the itinerary (e.g. cancels ports of call), then that is not unusual and I believe we passengers are without recourse.  However, canceling the entire cruise, for whatever reason, should entitle us to a 100% cash refund.

 

Can anyone explain if that is wrong? And why? 

[SWFLAOK]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Wait, I'm confused.  Was your cruise cancelled by PG?  In that case don't you get a 100% refund?

Yes, our April 11th cruise was cancelled. And we were not offered any refund unless we rebooked on a cruise with less value in the next 18 months. We were also warned that they cannot tell us if we will get any credit for airfare, or our pre and post hotels, which supposedly is out of their control.

 

Here's the excerpt from the e-mail:

"Fully aware of the complexity of the situation, the Company offers you a Future Cruise Credit* in the amount of your cruise fare paid, valid on a cruise departure in the next 18 months from the departure date of your cancelled cruise. You will be receiving your Future Cruise Credit in the mail in the next few weeks.

*If the amount of the future cruise is lower than that of the original cruise, the difference will be refunded, or carried over to another booking. For any services booked by Paul Gauguin Cruises (i.e. flights and hotel programs), cancellation fees will be applied at the cost that travel partners will charge."

 

Our cruise TA, that we always book through did not receive any notice of the cancellation.

[SWFLAOK]

1 hour ago, CAL7 said:

I'm likewise confused. If a cruise company changes the itinerary (e.g. cancels ports of call), then that is not unusual and I believe we passengers are without recourse.  However, canceling the entire cruise, for whatever reason, should entitle us to a 100% cash refund.

 

Can anyone explain if that is wrong? And why? 

We can't. It seems very wrong to us, but we are willing to use the future cruise credit. But we don't want it exclude the airfare to Fiji from LAX, or the pre and post hotels that they booked at exorbitant rates. They booked it, and they should be responsible for it, and add that to the future cruise credit for our rebooking.

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, CAL7 said:

I'm likewise confused. If a cruise company changes the itinerary (e.g. cancels ports of call), then that is not unusual and I believe we passengers are without recourse.  However, canceling the entire cruise, for whatever reason, should entitle us to a 100% cash refund.

 

Can anyone explain if that is wrong? And why? 

The cancellation or change of ports in most cases is not initiated by the cruise line. It is weather, docking conditions logistics or other technical reasons.  I don't know PG's policy but on other lines when there is a port change after embarkation there is a small OBC or the port taxes is refunded,

Normal times I would expect a cash refund for a cancelled cruises but Ponat or PG simply does not have the cash on hand for refunds. Borrowing cash is possible ,but I imagine with no income and the merger debt FCC's is there only choice.

[SWFLAOK]

9 minutes ago, azdrydock said:

The cancellation or change of ports in most cases is not initiated by the cruise line. It is weather, docking conditions logistics or other technical reasons.  I don't know PG's policy but on other lines when there is a port change after embarkation there is a small OBC or the port taxes is refunded,

Normal times I would expect a cash refund for a cancelled cruises but Ponat or PG simply does not have the cash on hand for refunds. Borrowing cash is possible ,but I imagine with no income and the merger debt FCC's is there only choice.

I'm sorry azdrydock, but this cancellation was required to keep the passengers safe since there are covid-19 cases in Papeete and Fakarava, and not any of the reasons you've listed. They finally realized that we had no chance of getting from Figi to Bali, and getting home on any airline, without being quarantined in Australia for 2 weeks, and possibly another 2 weeks in the US on return. Is that something you would like to experience? Do you think a cruise line should force us to take this cruise? If so, it's time for everyone to rethink taking any cruise.

We're hoping that Ponant had the funds to continue since we have been offered no other choice, and if they don't have cash on hand to continue, then that will really stop us from ever booking a cruise again. While others thought Ponant was a good thing for Paul Gaugin, we never did. After meeting the Ponant rep who came onboard at Aitutaki in September, we were not confident about the future of the Paul Gauguin, and should have cancelled our April booking after that.  There were many people onboard our last PG cruise who were interested in Ponant's other cruises, but PG cruisers aren't allowed to use our cruise credit on Ponant, so they seem to be trying to stay separate. We would  have felt much more confident if IHG still owned the PG.

[azdrydock]

56 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

I'm sorry azdrydock, but this cancellation was required to keep the passengers safe since there are covid-19 cases in Papeete and Fakarava, and not any of the reasons you've listed. They finally realized that we had no .......m to be trying to stay separate. We would  have felt much more confident if IHG still owned the PG.

 

I was responding in general to post #26.  

 

I reread your  posts and if I understand your dilemma correctly PG cancelled your April 11 cruise and offered an FCC to be used in the next 18 months. The value of the FCC does not include your pre and/or post  package  nor airline flights booked through PG. The April 11 itinerary is not repeated so you will be forced to use the FCC on a lower value.

 

If you have travel insurance, have you discussed your situation with them or better yet, a knowledgeable agent?

 

If you are already ticketed you can probably cancel  at no charge. You can deal directly with the Airline that issued the ticket. This is not necessarily one of the airlines you are flying on. Check with one of the airlines involved and they will give you the ticket number and booking airline. The major airlines are now allowing cancellations for flights thru April 30.  If it was booked as non refundable and they will issue a credit for value of the flight that does not have to be to same destination.

 

Life  was simpler and more forgiving a few weeks ago.

 

I was booked on an Oceania Cruise for June that was one of the first cruises cancelled in February and I was bitching about it taking a few weeks to get the cash +25% FCC refund. O was afraid of loosing customers then, now they like Ponant are afraid of losing a cruise line. 

 

The reason you  cannot use your PG FCC on Ponant is there is usually a firewall set up after a merger to prevent one party from dragging the other down. 

 

Maybe when they bailout the cruise lines they will bailout the screwed passengers,

 

 

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

 Interestingly enough there have not been any additional travel advisories out of PG since the March 27th update. The ship did a loop out to sea and came back in recently. I wonder if they went to make water, or exchange the water for something else, or just limbered things up a bit to keep the bottom growth off. 

 It is at least what 6500nm to Singapore from Papeete. Backing up from the 5/20 sailing date, and assuming 2 weeks for the drydock, that means they have roughly 22 days (not including Singapore to Bali return here) to get to Singapore. 
At 6500nm/22 that is about 300 nm/day or about 12 knots which is reasonable but, that is a 24x7 cruise. I don't know what the boat's range is and it is at least another 900-1000nm from Singapore to Bali where the BN cruise starts. 

Are things are looking kind of tight for the boat to cover all that ground and get the drydock done?

[Emdee]

From what I understand drydock is cancelled. Staff are hoping for PG to be in operation mid June. 

 

Just speculating here but wouldn't be surprised if Ponant sells the PG. I similarly expect Regent to sell the Navigator . Cruise lines will need to obtain cash to fund the cold storage of their ships and other obligations in terms of new builds. At most Ponant will lose some market share in FP until they are able to divert another ship to FP or complete the new build which in this climate may or may not happen. 

[FlightMedic555]

Strangely Ponant may be in less financial distress with the PG than other cruise lines.  They already had factored in the time period when the ship would be in drydock which = no revenue.  I am guessing they are saving the $$ (most of probably) that the drydock would have cost as well.  This means that while they did cancel a number of sailings it is not as many as other cruise lines.  Obviously when the come back on line is the million dollar question.  We are scheduled for the June 17 sailing but I am doubtful that this will happen.

[Emdee]

Ponant is owned by a luxury goods company so YSL, Balenciaga and the like should lose sales from closures if nothing else. They have also built some new ships and probably put out money for future builds. 

[Icecat]

On 4/15/2020 at 5:19 AM, Emdee said:

From what I understand drydock is cancelled. Staff are hoping for PG to be in operation mid June. 

Must be true, since this morning the 26th the PG is still in Papeete and dry dock in Singapore was supposed to start on the 28th.

 

[ScriptOhio]

On 3/15/2020 at 5:37 PM, CAL7 said:

I'm likewise confused. If a cruise company changes the itinerary (e.g. cancels ports of call), then that is not unusual and I believe we passengers are without recourse.  However, canceling the entire cruise, for whatever reason, should entitle us to a 100% cash refund.

 

Can anyone explain if that is wrong? And why? 

Here's the links for Paul Gauguin's terms and conditions that you may (or may not) have agreed to when you booked. The links do not specify when they were last changed/updated, so you really don't know what they were when you actually booked unless you happen to have printed out a copy at time of booking. Regardless, this is what they are imposing on the current passengers now.

 

https://www.pgcruises.com/ms-paul-gauguin-passenger-ticket-contract 

 

https://www.pgcruises.com/reservation-policies

 

[ScriptOhio]

On 4/13/2020 at 10:42 AM, SWFLAOK said:

 Interestingly enough there have not been any additional travel advisories out of PG since the March 27th update. The ship did a loop out to sea and came back in recently. I wonder if they went to make water, or exchange the water for something else, or just limbered things up a bit to keep the bottom growth off. 

 It is at least what 6500nm to Singapore from Papeete. Backing up from the 5/20 sailing date, and assuming 2 weeks for the drydock, that means they have roughly 22 days (not including Singapore to Bali return here) to get to Singapore. 
At 6500nm/22 that is about 300 nm/day or about 12 knots which is reasonable but, that is a 24x7 cruise. I don't know what the boat's range is and it is at least another 900-1000nm from Singapore to Bali where the BN cruise starts. 

Are things are looking kind of tight for the boat to cover all that ground and get the drydock done?

 

Re:  Interestingly enough there have not been any additional travel advisories out of PG since the March 27th update.

 

There is an April 23, 2020 update (however, it's basically worthless as it really doesn't say anything new):

 

April 23, 2020, Update

Ia Orana!

We hope that you and your family are safe and in good health during these unprecedented times. We look forward to resuming our voyages in the near future and continuing to offer our guests exceptional cruise experiences in Tahiti, French Polynesia, Fiji, and the South Pacific. 

If you have any questions regarding an upcoming sailing, please contact your Travel Advisor, call us at 800-848-6172, or send us an email at customerservice@pgcruises.com. Our team is at your disposal to assist you Monday – Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST.

[MrRandal]

19 hours ago, ScriptOhio said:

Here's the links for Paul Gauguin's terms and conditions that you may (or may not) have agreed to when you booked. The links do not specify when they were last changed/updated, so you really don't know what they were when you actually booked unless you happen to have printed out a copy at time of booking. Regardless, this is what they are imposing on the current passengers now.

 

https://www.pgcruises.com/ms-paul-gauguin-passenger-ticket-contract 

 

https://www.pgcruises.com/reservation-policies

 

 

You don't need to have a printed copy of the webpage with the cancellation policies when you booked. You can simply go to the Wayback Machine at archive.org. Put in PGCruises.com, scroll to the date you booked, and go to About us, then FAQ, then Reservation Information, Cancellation Policy. This has been their standard cancellation policy for a number of years, at least it was when I booked my last three cruises with them, including a September 2021, 11 night Cook Island cruise.

[CAL7]

That's all oriented toward the scenario in which the passenger cancels. What terms apply if the cruise line cancels? 

[MrRandal]

4 hours ago, CAL7 said:

That's all oriented toward the scenario in which the passenger cancels. What terms apply if the cruise line cancels? 

 

To the best of my knowledge, the only place you can find the terms that apply if the cruise line cancels is contained in the "Passenger Ticket Contract". The Passenger Ticket Contract states in Sec 9 (b) "Company may for any reason whatsoever cancel any sailing or terminate the Ticket/Contract at any time prior to departure of the Ship, and in such event, Company's only liability will be to refund to the Passenger the amount it has received for the Ticket/Contract."

 

This information does not appear to have changed when they changed their cancellation policy. They are simply not following it.

Edited April 28, 2020 by MrRandal
Clarity

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 4/27/2020 at 8:09 PM, MrRandal said:

 

To the best of my knowledge, the only place you can find the terms that apply if the cruise line cancels is contained in the "Passenger Ticket Contract". The Passenger Ticket Contract states in Sec 9 (b) "Company may for any reason whatsoever cancel any sailing or terminate the Ticket/Contract at any time prior to departure of the Ship, and in such event, Company's only liability will be to refund to the Passenger the amount it has received for the Ticket/Contract."

 

This information does not appear to have changed when they changed their cancellation policy. They are simply not following it.

 

I sure hope Ponant rescinds this nefarious behaviour.  I had hoped we would sail on the Paul Gauguin again after six voyages on this wonderful ship.  But at the moment, there's no way I would book them.  Ponant, are you listening?  You are losing loyal fans.

[MrRandal]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

I sure hope Ponant rescinds this nefarious behaviour.  I had hoped we would sail on the Paul Gauguin again after six voyages on this wonderful ship.  But at the moment, there's no way I would book them.  Ponant, are you listening?  You are losing loyal fans.

 

I would hope so too. We have an 11 day Cooks Cruise scheduled with them in Sept of 2021, they have $3600 of our money. We would very much like to take the cruise. It's possible that Ponant could make it through the COVID shutdown, but not be able to fill their ships and become insolvent because of all of the bad will they have generated with the treatment of their booked passengers.